Wind Mountain Mine

The Wind Mountain Mine is a gold and silver mine located in Washoe county, Nevada at an elevation of 4,649 feet.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Wind Mountain Mine
Secondary: NBMG Sample Sites 476
Secondary: 477
Secondary: 2401
Secondary: Sed Claims
Secondary: North Wind
Secondary: Breeze

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Clay
Tertiary: Sulfur
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Mercury

Location

State: Nevada
County: Washoe
District: San Emidio Desert District

Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Amax Gold, Inc.

Production

Year: 1990
Material type: AG
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.07 Opt Au Recoverable Grade
Year: 1989
Material type: AG
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.09 Opt Ag Recoverable Grade
Year: 1990
Material type: ORE-AU, AG
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.018 Pt Au
Year: 1989
Material type: AU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.009 Opt Au Recoverable Grade
Year: 1989
Material type: ORE-AU, AG
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.02 Opt Au
Year: 1990
Material type: AU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.01 Opt Au Recoverable Grade

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1989
Discovery Year: 1988
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Great Basin
Physiographic Detail: Basin And Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Hot-spring Au-Ag

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR

Structure

Type: L
Description: See Comments

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: See Comments

Rocks

Name: Clay, Mud
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Clay, Mud
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Clay, Mud
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Clay, Mud
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Miocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: THE WIND MOUNTAIN MINERALIZED ZONES OCCUR WITHIN >20 PPM AS AND >170 PPM AU GEOCHEMICAL HALOES THAT ARE UP TO 2.6 KM LONG AND UP TO 0.5 KM WIDE. THE >50 PPM AS AND >340 PPB AU HALOES CORRESPOND CLOSELY TO THE ORE ZONES. THESE GEOCHEMICAL HALOES ARE DEFINED BY COMPOSITE ANALYSES FOR THE UPPER 50 FT. OF BEDROCK INTERCEPT FROM EACH OF 373 DRILL HOLES.

Materials

Ore: Electrum
Ore: Jarosite
Ore: Goethite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Travertine
Ore: Opal
Ore: Sulfur
Ore: Kaolinite
Ore: Cinnabar
Ore: Calcite
Ore: Illite
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Chalcedony
Ore: Clay
Ore: Alunite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): THIS IS AN UPDATED RECORD INCLUDING DATA FROM RE00016 WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Comment (Geology): THE WIND MOUNTAIN MINE IS LOCATED AT THE NE EDGE OF THE SAN EMIDIO KNOWN GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE AREA. TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING 100 DEGREES C HAVE BEEN ENCOUNTERED OVER AN AREA OF 26 SQUARE KM. ORMAT ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. OPERATES A GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT 7 KM SOUTH OF THE MINE. NATIVE SULFUR AND CINNABAR OCCUR IN A 200 FT. WIDE STRONGLY ARGILLIZED ZONE IN QUATERNARY GRAVELS FOR 7 KM ALONG THE RANGE FRONT SOUTH OF WIND MOUNTAIN.

Comment (Development): RESPECTIVELY. NO SIGNIFICANT NEW MINERALIZED ZONES WERE ENCOUNTERED AND THE PROPERTY WAS RETURNED TO THE OWNERS. AMAX REEVALUATED THE PROPERTY IN 1986 AND REACQUIRED THE PROPERTY IN 1987. 28 WIDELY SPACED REVERSE CIRCULATION HOLES AND 4 CORE HOLES WERE DRILLED IN 1987. HOLES A-28 AND A-31, SPACED 122 METERS APART ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN, INTERSECTED 78 METERS OF 0.99 GPT AU AND 16.6 GPT AG AND 78 METERS OF 0.93 GPT AU AND 21.5 GPT AG, RESPECTIVELY. EACH OF THESE HOLES CONTAINED 1.5 METER THICK INTERCEPTS OF 161 GPT AU AND 44.5 GPT AU, RESPECTIVELY. 105 ADDITIONAL HOLES WERE DRILLED IN 1988. AN OREBODY CONTAINING 13.7 MILLION METRIC TONS GRADING 0.72 GPT AU AND 11.4 GPT AG WAS DEFINED BY JUNE 1988, AND THE DECISION TO DEVELOP THE MINE WAS MADE. IN 1989, 188 DRILL HOLES TOTALLING 20,591 METERS WERE COMPLETED. MINE CONSTRUCTION WAS DELAYED TO JANUARY 1989, PENDING COMPLETION OF AN ARCHEOLOGICAL MITIGATION SURVEY. ; ECON.COM: CASH OPERATING COSTS WERE $265/OZ AU IN 1989 AND

Comment (Development): $197/OZ AU IN 1990. TOTAL OPERATING COSTS (INCLUDING DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION) WERE $372/OZ AU IN 1989 AND $310/OZ AU IN 1990. THE PRECIPITATE PRODUCT FROM HEAP LEACHING IS TRANSPORTED TO THE SLEEPER MINE FOR PROCESSING INTO DORE.

Comment (Development): THE EARLIEST PROSPECTORS WERE PROBABLY PREHISTORIC INDIANS WHO COLLECTED SILICA CHIPS FOR TOOLMAKING. THE FIRST MINING CLAIMS WERE STAKED IN THE AREA AROUND 1900. OLD PROSPECT PITS INDICATE NATIVE SULFUR, CINNABAR, AND OPAL WERE OF PRINCIPAL INTEREST. MINOR QUANTITIES OF AU AND AG WERE DISCOVERED IN THE 1930'S AND SEVERAL ADITS AND PROSPECTS WERE EXCAVATED IN A SMALL AREA 1 KM SSE OF WIND MOUNTAIN. PROSPECTING ACTIVITIES FOR SULFUR, CINNABAR, GOLD, SILVER, AND MONTMORILLONITE CONTINUED THROUGH THE 1970'S. IN 1979, TMB ASSOCIATES STAKED THE CORE CLAIM BLOCK. AMAX EXPLORATION, INC., LEASED THE PROPERTY IN 1980 AND DRILLED 10 HOLES. HOLES A-3 AND A-4 INTERSECTED A ZONE 76 METERS THICK THAT AVERAGED 0.79 GPT AU AND 25 GPT AG. AMAX RELINQUISHED THE PROPERTY IN 1982 DUE TO THE OVERALL LOW GOLD VALUES AND APPARENT SMALL SIZE OF THE MINERALIZED AREA. SANTA FE PACIFIC MINING CO. AND CHEVRON RESOURCES CO. HELD PARTS OF THE PROPERTY FROM 1983 TO 1986, AND DRILLED 31 AND 7 HOLES,

Comment (Commodity): AG:AU RATIO APPROX. 15:1 METALLURGICAL TESTING INDICATES GOLD OCCURS ON MICROFRACTURE SURFACES AND IS NOT ENCAPSULATED BY SILICA, SUGGESTING GOLD DEPOSITION POSTDATES MOST OF THE SILICIFICATION. THE CLAY USED TO CONSTRUCT HEAP LEACH PADS, ETC. WAS MINED ON SITE FROM ZONES OF ARGILLIZATION. THE CLAY MAY HAVE POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT.

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT FORMED IN A NEAR SURFACE ENVIRONMENT FROM A HOT SPRING TYPE GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM. INDIVIDUAL BEDS RANGE FROM 5 CM TO 1 M THICK. SEVERAL SMALL SUBAQUEOUS BASALT OR BASALTIC ANDESITE FLOWS ARE INTERBEDDED WITH SILTSTONE AND SHALEY LAKE BEDS. 2-3 SQ KM OF PLIOCENE TUFFACEOUS AND VOLCANICLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS ARE ARGILLIZED AND SILICIFIED. A SMALL HILL ON THE PROPERTY IS CAPPED BY STONGLY SILICIFIED MATERIAL, PROBABLY SUBAQUEOUS SPRING SINTER AS WELL AS SOME LENSES OF LIGHT GRAY CHALCEDONY. HYDROTHERMAL STOCKWORK BRECCIAS OCCUR AT SEVERAL LOCALITIES, THE LARGEST IS A ZONE 40 M WIDE AND EXTENDS 600 M ALONG A N20W NORMAL FAULT AND THE LAKE RANGE FAULT. THREE MAJOR GOLD MINERALIZED ZONES HAVE BEEN DEFINED BY DRILLING; THE WIND MOUNTAIN OREBODY AND THE CURRENTLY SUBECONOMIC NORTHWIND AND BREEZE GOLD ZONES.

Comment (Workings): OPEN-PIT, CYANIDE HEAP LEACH.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): JUNE 1988 FIGURES CALCULATED USING STRIP RATIO OF 0.34:1 AND CUTOFF GRADE OF 0.012 GPT. THESE SAME FIGURES FORMED THE BASIS OF THE DECISION IN 1988 TO PROCEED WITH MINE DEVELOPMENT.

Comment (Location): ON NW FLANK OF LAKE RANGE, ON SOUTH PORTION OF A 7000-FT. LONG NS TRENDING RIDGE. BOUNDED ON WEST BY SAN EMIDIO DESERT. . INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1972)

Comment (Production): AU RECOVERY IN 1989 WAS 43.3% AND IN 1990 WAS 56%.

References

Reference (Deposit): AMAX GOLD, INC., 1988, ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, THE WIND MOUNTAIN PROJECT.

Reference (Deposit): THE MINING RECORD, SEPTEMBER 7, 1988, "AMAX GOLD PROCEEDING WITH WIND MOUNTAIN PROJECT."

Reference (Deposit): PAY DIRT, JULY 1988, "AMAX GOLD SETS NEW NEVADA MINE."

Reference (Deposit): WOOD, J.D., 1991, GEOLOGY OF THE WIND MOUNTAIN GOLD DEPOSIT, WASHOE COUNTY, NEVADA, IN RAINES, G.L., ET AL, EDS., GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT BASIN: THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA, RENO, P. 1051-1061.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1991, THE NEVADA MINERALS INDUSTRY - 1990: NBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION MI-1990.

Reference (Deposit): MINING JOURNAL, MONTAGU MINING FINANCE, 8/10/91, MINING DATA BASE.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1994, MI-1993

Reference (Deposit): AMAX GOLD INC. ANNUAL REPORT, 1989

Reference (Deposit): CALIFORNIA MINING JOURNAL, OCT. 1989

Reference (Deposit): NEVADA DEPT. OF MINERALS, 1994

Reference (Production): MINING JOURNAL/MONTAGU MINING FINANCE, 8/10/91, MINING DATA BASE. NBMG MI-1993

Reference (Reserve-Resource): NBMG MI-1993

Reference (Deposit): GARSIDE, C.J., 1983, NBMG FIELD EXAMINATION AND SAMPLE ANALYSIS.

Nevada Gold

Nevada has a total of 368 distinct gold districts. Of the of those, just 36 are major producers with production and/or reserves of over 1,000,000 ounces, 49 have production and/or reserves of over 100,000 ounces, with the rest having less than 100,000 ounces. Read more: Gold Districts of Nevada.