The Gold Dust Mine is a gold mine located in Mohave county, Arizona at an elevation of 2,559 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
Elevation: 2,559 Feet (780 Meters)
Commodity: Gold
Lat, Long: 35.01444, -114.39278
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Mine Description
The Gold Dust mine, formerly known as the Victor-Virgin and the Orion, is about a mile southwest of the Ben Harrison shaft.
This deposit, which was located in the early days, produced a small amount of shipping ore prior to 1907. According to local press reports, development was carried on intermittently from 1916 to 1924. Some production was made in 1923-1926 and 1932, but the total output is unknown. Early in 1934, part of the mine was being reconditioned by lessees.
Lausen gives the following description: "The general trend of the vein is northwest, and, on the Virgin Lode claim, the vein branches. The southern branch, striking nearly east-west, intersects the Pioneer vein a few hundred feet south of the Pioneer shaft. The north branch continues northwest and appears to be continuous with the southern extremity of the Midnight vein. The country rock throughout the entire length of this vein is the Oatman andesite.
At some places, the vein consists of solid quartz and calcite with a width up to 7 feet. To the northwest, the vein splits up into a series of small stringers which ramify through a zone of somewhat altered andesite over 20 feet wide. According to Ransome two ore shoots were mined, the largest having a length of 200 feet and extending from the surface to a depth of 160 feet. A small ore shoot, mined near the No.2 shaft, extended only from the surface to the 100-foot level. This ore shoot occurs up the hill to the northwest of the main shaft and at a higher elevation. The vertical range of the ore shoots as mined is approximately 500 feet. Development work from the 500-foot level of the main shaft failed to find ore bodies in depth on this vein. The ore mined consisted of greenish quartz with unreplaced remnants of calcite. Adularia is present in the specimens collected only as a microscopic constituent."
Source: Arizona Lode Gold Mines and Gold Mining, Bulletin137, Arizona Bureau of Mines. Revised 1967
Gold Dust Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Gold Dust Mine
Secondary: Victor - Virgin
Secondary: Orion
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Location
State: Arizona
County: Mohave
District: San Francisco 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
Type: Underground
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year Last Production: 1942
Discovery Year: 1865
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Mexican Highland
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Form: LENTICULAR
Structure
Type: R
Description: Nnw To Wnw Trending Vein And Fault System In Tert Volcanic Rocks
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Andesite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Deposit): TWO ORE SHOOTS WERE MINED, THE LARGEST BEING 200 FEET LONG, EXTENDING FROM THE SURFACE TO A DEPTH OF 160 FEET. THE SMALL ORE SHOOT EXTENDED ONLY FROM THE SURFACE DOWN TO 100 FOOT LEVEL. NO ORE BODIES WERE FOUND BELOW THE 500 FOOT LEVEL. VEIN IS A FISSURE VEIN
Comment (Commodity): DISTRICT ALSO HAS SMALL AMOUNTS OF CHALCOPYRITE, CHALCOCITE, PYRITE, CHRYSOCOLLA, RED PB OXIDE, AND WULFENITE
Comment (Development): CONSISTS OF VICTOR AND VIRGIN CLAIMS; PREVIOUS OWNERS AND OPERATORS INCLUDE CHARLES GOODCHILD, VICTOR GOLD MINING CO, BOLLINGEN, J.L. STARK, HANSEN, GILBRAITH, VICTOR MINING CO, OVERHOLSEN BROS, ORION MINING AND MILLING, J.H. MCCARTHY, FULLER, CURRY, M. COURTNEY, STARK, BARCLAY, BOYER, NELSON, MORRIS, GOLD DUST MINING, JESS AND QUINCY CRAIN,
Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1860'S
Comment (Workings): 2 SHAFTS, 300 FT DEEP, EACH WITH ABOUT 300 FT OF DRIFTS; SEPARATED BY A SHAFT 500 FT DEEP
References
Reference (Deposit): GARDNER, E.D., 1936, GOLD MINING AND MILLING IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS, WESTERN MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA: U.S.B.M. INFORMATION CIRCULAR 6901, P. 39.
Reference (Deposit): SCHRADER, F.C., 1909, MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE CERBAT RANGE, BLACK MOUNTAINS, AND THE GRAND WASH CLIFFS, MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA: U.S.G.S. BULL. 397, P. 190.
Reference (Deposit): LAUSEN, C., 1931, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE OATMAN AND KATHERINE DISTRICTS, ARIZONA: ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 131, P. 110.
Reference (Deposit): WILSON, E.D., 1934, ARIZONA LODE GOLD MINES AND GOLD MINING: ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 137, P. 95-96.
Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 743, 1923, P. 49, PLATE 1.
Reference (Deposit): ABGMT-USBM FILE DATA.
Reference (Deposit): ADMR FILE DATA.
Arizona Gold
"Where to Find Gold in Arizona" looks at the density of modern placer mining claims along with historical gold mining locations and mining district descriptions to determine areas of high gold discovery potential in Arizona. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Arizona.
