Searchlight Deposit

The Searchlight Deposit is a gold mine located in Clark county, Nevada at an elevation of 3,609 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: Searchlight Deposit
Secondary: Duplex Mine Area
Secondary: Quartette Mine Area

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Tungsten
Tertiary: Vanadium
Tertiary: Iron

Location

State: Nevada
County: Clark
District: Searchlight District

Land Status

Land ownership: Private
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: Borneo Gold (most recent)

Owner Name: G. F. Colton
Info Year: 1897

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: District
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: fissure veins
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1898
Year Last Production: 1959
Discovery Year: 1897
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Epithermal vein, Comstock

Orebody

Form: irregular to flat or saucer-shaped.

Structure

Type: R
Description: The area has been uplifted intruded by igneous rock and denuded by erosion.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: The deposit has been silicified by hydrothermal activity, and oxidized.

Rocks

Name: Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
Role: Associated
Description: lava
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene
Age Old: Pliocene

Name: Porphyry
Role: Associated
Description: andesite intrusives
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene
Age Old: Pliocene

Name: Andesite
Role: Associated
Description: porphyry intrusives
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene
Age Old: Pliocene

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Name: Gneiss
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Precambrian

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Vanadinite
Ore: Wulfenite
Ore: Limonite
Ore: Brochantite
Ore: Calcite
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Chalcedony
Ore: Adularia
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Cerussite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, gold, chalcocite, cerussite, cuprite, malachite

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: quartz, chalcedony, hematite, calcite, brochantite, limonite, wulfenite, vanadinite, adularia

Comment (Deposit): Deposits in the district are mainly WNW -trending fissure veins (34), irregular in shape, some flat-lying and saucer-shaped. Vein material consists of a breccia of country rock fragments with vuggy quartz cement. Veins occur en echelon along the western contact of a quartz monzonite intrusive. Most production was from oxidized and weathered veins. In some cases, gash-type fractures are filled with vein material that was later brecciated.

Comment (Development): The first claims were staked on the Duplex property in 1897 by G. F. Colton , and the Searchlight Mining District was founded July 20, 1898. The Searchlight Post Office was established in October 1898. The Quartette Mining Company, formed in 1900, became the mainstay of the Searchlight District, producing almost half of the area's total output.Searchlight began to boom in 1902 and reached its peak year in 1907. In May, 1902, a 16-mile narrow-gauge railroad was built down the hill to the company's mill on the Colorado River. After 1907, the boom crashed and production fell sharply. Mines were operated mainly by lessees after 1911. Total production up to 1940 amounted to $4.5 million. On March 31, 1907, the 23.22-mile Barnwell and Searchlight Railroad connected the town with the then main Santa Fe line from Needles to Mojave. By 1919 trains were operating over the B and S Railroad only twice a week. A severe washout on September 23, 1923, halted traffic completely and train service was never restored. In the 1900s, Searchlight reportedly reached a maximum population of 5000 people and was far larger than Las Vegas at the time. A "Mines of Searchlight" map dated October 1906, shows that there were well over 300 mining claims in the area at that time. Eventually, the gold and silver production dwindled with the decreasing grade of the ore and by 1927, there were only about 50 people left in Searchlight.

Comment (Economic Factors): From 1902 to 1962, the combined Searchlight district deposits produced 7.68 tonnes of gold and 10.96 tonnes of silver from 527 kilotonnes of ore (Long and others, 1998). Most of the district's production came from the Duplex and Quartette mines.

Comment (Geology): apophyses of quartz monzonite

Comment (Identification): This deposit encompasses the area in the Searchlight Mining district called the Duplex and Quartette mines and includes all informationin MRDS record W002897 as well as addiitonal updated material.

Comment (Location): The mainmined area is located just south of the town of Searchlight less than a mile.

Comment (Workings): Underground workings are accessible from 3 shafts, the New Years Gift, the Fraction and the Searchlight shafts. The most recent work was carried on through the Fraction Shaft in about 1959. There are 8 levels developed in the shafts.

References

Reference (Deposit): Ferguson, H. G. 1929, Min Dists of Nevada: Econ Geol, vol 24, P. 135

Reference (Deposit): Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-206A, 33 p.; 98-206B. one 3.5 inch diskette.

Reference (Deposit): Searchlight NV websites.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Map 91, 1st, 2nd, 3rd editions.

Reference (Deposit): Longwell and others, 1965.

Reference (Deposit): Koschmann, A H and Bergendahl, M H, 1968, Principal Gold Producing Districts of the U.S.: USGS Prof. Paper 610, p. 175

Reference (Deposit): Callaghan, E. 1939, Geology of the Searchlight District, Clark Co. Nevada: USGS Bull. 906-D p. 135-188

Reference (Deposit): Lincoln, F. C., 1923, Min. Dists of Nevada: Reno, Nev. Newsletter Pub. Co. P. 24-27

Reference (Deposit): Ransome, F. L., 1909, Prelim Goldfield, Bullfrog & other mining districts in southern Nevada: USGS Bull. 303 p. 63-75

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.