Caselton Shaft

The Caselton Shaft is a silver, lead, and zinc mine located in Lincoln county, Nevada.

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

Name: Caselton Shaft  

State:  Nevada

County:  Lincoln

Elevation:

Commodity: Silver, Lead, Zinc

Lat, Long: 37.92111, -114.46417

Map: View on Google Maps

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.


Satelite image of the Caselton Shaft

Caselton Shaft MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Caselton Shaft
Secondary: No. 2 Mine of Combined Metals Reduct. Co. . Could Possibly Be Same As
Secondary: St Patrick Zn-Pb-Ag Mine. Could Possibly Be Same As St Patrick
Secondary: Zn-Pb-Ag Mine


Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Secondary: Manganese


Location

State: Nevada
County: Lincoln
District: Pioche 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

Owner Name: Amalgamated Pioche Mines And Smelter Corp. Kerr Mc Gee Corp, M. T. Worley, General Manager, P. 0. B


Production

Year: 1960
Time Period: 1917-1960
Material type: ORE
Description: Cp_Grade: ^5 Oz Ag/Ton 4.5% Pb 12% Zn


Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: M


Physiography

Not available


Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic replacement


Orebody

Not available


Structure

Type: L
Description: Ore Body Deepens To The Sw Due To Step Faulting


Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Sericitization


Rocks

Not available


Analytical Data

Analytical Data: PYRITE 60% OF ORE, SPHALERITE 22, GALENA


Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pyrargyrite
Ore: Proustite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Pyrite


Comments

Comment (Location): UTM'S APPROXIMATED; IN GENERAL VICINITY

Comment (Production): CUMULATIVE PRODUCTION INCLUDES NO. 1 MINE AND THE CASELTON

Comment (Development): OPERATED IN 1940'S WITH POWER SUPPLIED FROM BOULDER DAM. BY 1953, DEVELOPED SULFIDE ORE RESERVES IN CASELTON MINE HAD BEEN LARGELY DEPLETED. THE COMPANY TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO MINE AND MILL MANGANESE ORE UNTIL 1954, AFTER WHICH REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT WORK ON SULFIDE ORE RESERVES RESTORED CASELTON'S PRODUCTION OF PB-ZN SULFIDE ORES AT A PROFITABLE RATE OF 10000 TONS PER MONTH, ATTAINED BEFORE A PRECIPITOUS DROP IN METALS PRICES IN 1957, WHEREUPON THE CASELTON MINE WAS CLOSED. THE SHAFT WAS OPERATED IN 1975 BY ST PATRICK MINING CO TO PROCESS WATER FOR THE CASELTON MILL; LIKEWISE IN 1976 AND 1977 BY BUNKER HILL MINING CO, EMPLOYING 7 PERSONS. IN 1980, KERR-MC GEE CORP WAS EMPLOYING 25 PERSONS IN UNDERGROUND REHABILITATION OF THE MINE.

Comment (Workings): SURFACE MINING CHANNELS PARALLELLED THE MAIN VEIN SYSTEM. ORE WAS MINED IN BLOCKS BETWEEN THE 300 AND 1400 FT LEVELS. AN EXPLORATION SHAFT WAS SUNK TO 2500 FT BUT DID NOT PENETRATE TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS. DRIFTING ON THE 1200 FT LEVEL WAS TO CONNECT WITH DRIFTING FROM THE COMBINED METALS NO. 1 SHAFT.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): SULFIDE ORE RESERVES NOW EXHAUSTED, BUT LARGE QUANTITIES OF OXIDIZED LOW-GRADE PROTORE REMAINS IN THE UPPER LEVELS IN THE W. END OF MINE

Comment (Geology): ORE IS REPLACEMENT BODY OF UNOXIDIZED SPHALERITE-PYRITE-GALENA, 4-40 FEET THICK, AVERAGING 6 FT. THICK. THE REPLACEMENT OCCURS ONLY WHERE THE GREENWOOD FISSURE, STEEPLY DIPPING, INTERSECTS THE LIMESTONE MEMBER. SHALE IS VERY ARENACEOUS. ORE BED MINED FOR OVER 10,000 FEET ALONG AN EAST WEST CHANNEL 100 TO 1800 FT. WIDE. ORE BODY TERMINATES AGAINST THE FRONTAL FAULT. HANGING WALL UNSUCCESSFULLY EXPLORED TO DEPTH OF 2500 FEET.


References

Reference (Deposit): WESTGATE, L.G. AND KNOPF, A., 1932, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE PIOCHE DISTRICT, NEVADA. USGS PROF. PAPER 171 P

Reference (Reserve-Resource): TSCHANZ AND PAMPEYAN, 1970

Reference (Deposit): TSCHANZ, C.M., AND PAMPEYAN, E.H., 1970, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF LINCOLN CO. NEVADA. NEVADA BUR. OF MINES, BULL 73 P

Reference (Deposit): GEMMILL, P., NBMG DISTRICT FILE 175, REPORT.

Reference (Production): WESTGATE AND KNOPF, 1932; TSCHANZ AND PAMPEYAN, 1970

Reference (Deposit): LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD, NOV 12, 1975

Reference (Deposit): DIRECTORY OF MINE OPERATIONS ACTIVE IN NEVADA DURING 1980, 1977, 1976, 1975 (NBMG OPEN FILES).

Reference (Deposit): USBM, 1983, MILS DATA.

Reference (Deposit): JAMES, L. P. AND KNIGHT, L. H., 1979, RMAG-UGA BASIN AND RANGE SYMPOSIUM

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, A. M. AND CARPENTER, J. A., 1931, NBMG DISTRICT FILE 175, ITEM 1.

Reference (Deposit): HILL, J.M., 1916, NOTES ON SOME MINING DISTRICTS IN EASTERN NEVADA USGS BULL 648 P.

Reference (Deposit): COUCH, B.F., CARPENTER, J.A., 1943, NEVADA'S METAL AND MINERAL PRODUCTION (1859-1940, INCLUSIVE) UNIV. OF NEVADA BULL 38, P. 85-89


Nevada Gold

Gold Districts of Nevada

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.