Ely Valley Mines

The Ely Valley Mines is a zinc and manganese mine located in Lincoln county, Nevada at an elevation of 6,201 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

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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: Ely Valley Mines
Secondary: NBMG Sample Sites 1429 and 1430

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Manganese
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Tungsten

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: Pioche Mines Co.
Years: 1932 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: 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: R
Description: Ne Trending Normal Frontal Faults On The Pioche Hills Each Flank Of

Type: L
Description: Faulting

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Quartzite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cambrian

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: ORE CONTAINED ABOUT 1 % PB AND 10 % ZN, ANOTHER ASSAY YIELDED 0.325 OZ/T AU, 3.05 OZ/T AG, 9 % PB (1922). SAMPLES 1429 AND 1430 CONTAIN, RESPECTIVELY, 100 AND GREATER THAN 5000 PPM MN, 5 AND 10 PPM AG, 500 AND 700 PPM AS, 50 AND 0 PPM BI, 100 AND 200 PPM CD, 200 PPM CU, 500 AND 20000 PPM PB, 0 AND 500 PPM W, 5000 AND 10000 PPM ZN, 100 AND 0 PPM ZR.

Materials

Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Muscovite
Gangue: Hematite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): DUMP ROCK HEAVILY FE-MN STAINED AND COMPOSED OF SILICIFIED LIMESTONE AND SHALE WITH CRYSTALLINE PYRITE REPLACING LIMESTONE AND CEMENTING FAULT BRECCIA. INTERGROWN CRYSTALLINE CALCITE AND QUARTZ ALSO CEMENT BRECCIA. JAROSITE CRYSTALS COAT FRACTURE SURFACES. NBMG SAMPLES 1429 AND 1430 TAKEN OF MANGANOSIDERITE GANGUE AND OF UNOXIDIZED PYRITIZED QUARTZITE/PYRITE-QUARTZ VEIN MATERIAL. ABUNDANT WAD AND PYROLUSITE OCCUR WITH ORE; SOME ORE IS MAGNETIC. OXIDIZED MATERIAL OCCURS WITH ABOUT 15 % MN AND $5/TON IN AG AND AU (1970) REPLACING HIGHER LIMESTONE BEDS IN THE PIOCHE SHALE AND THE LYNDON LIMESTONE. THE ORE OCCURS IN A BLOCK BETWEEN TWO PARALLEL FAULTS. FAVORABLE GROUND CONTAINING THE OFFSET PORTION OF THE OREBODY IN THE HANGING WALL OF THE FRONTAL FAULT HAD NOT YET BEEN ADEQUATELY EXPLORED IN 1970. ORE CONSISTED OF A POROUS, CAVERNOUS MASS OF SILICEOUS MANGANIFEROUS LIMONITIC ORE FORMED BY REPLACEMENT OF BRECCIATED LIMESTONE. VEIN IS QUARTZOSE ON THE 200-FT LEVEL CONSISTING LARGELY OF

Comment (Geology): ORE IN BLOCK BETWEEN 2 PARALLEL FAULTS. ORE BODY IS 20-50 FT. THICK, 400 FT WIDE, 1,400 FEET LONG, AND CONSISTS OF A POROUS CAVERNOUS MASS OF SILICEOUS MANGANIFEROUS LIMONITIC ORE, FORMED BY REPLACEMENT OF A BRECCIATED LIMESTONE. FAULT SEPARATES LYNDON LIMESTONE FROM PROSPECT MTN. QUARTZITE, WITH A DIP SLIP OF 1,700 FEET. HORNBLENDE-BIOTITE INTRUSIVE ROCK OBSERVED IN FLOAT.

Comment (Deposit): MILK-WHITE QUARTZ. AFTER PASSING INTO THE UNDERLYING PIOCHE SHALE,35 FT ABOVE THE 300 FT LEVEL, IT PINCHES TO A FEW INCHES IN THICKNESS, THOUGH STILL QUARTZOSE.

Comment (Workings): THERE ARE 3 LEVELS IN THE WORKING, AT 123,268, AND 428 FEET. AT THE 268 FOOT LEVEL A WINZE WAS SUNK VERTICALLY 300 FEET STARTING ON THE VEIN; AT THE BOTTOM A CROSSCUT WAS BEING DRIVEN SW TO INTERSECT THE QUARTZITE CONTACT. (1926)

Comment (Development): NO ACTIVITY AT TIME OF EXAMINATION IN 1983, BUT THE SITE HAD BEEN DRILLED AND ASSESSMENT WORK KEPT UP, GATES LOCKED. PROPERTY APPEARED TO BE PROBABLY INTERMITTENTLY ACTIVE. AFTER THE CASELTON MILL WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1941, ELY VALLEY MINES BEGAN WORK TO REACH SULFIDE ORE PREVIOUSLY REVEALED BY DIAMOND DRILLING. DEPLETION OF SULFIDE ORE RESERVES CAUSED THE MINE TO CLOSE DOWN FULL-TIME OPERATIONS PRIOR TO 1951.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): FAVORABLE GROUND THAT CONTAINS THE OFFSET PORTION OF THE ORE BODY IN THE HANGING WALL OF THE FRONTAL FAULT HAS NOT BEEN ADEQUATELY EXPLORED

Comment (Commodity): ORE MINERALS NOT GIVEN IN THE LITERATURE

Comment (Production): $5 IN AU, AG; 15% MN MINED IN OXIDIZED MATERIAL IN THE HIGHER LIMESTONE BEDS OF THE PIOCHE SHALE

References

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

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

Reference (Deposit): USGS MAP MF 136

Reference (Deposit): SHAW, S. F., 1909, ENG AND MIN JOUR, P.545-548.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, P. AND BENTZ, J., 1983, FIELD EXAMINATION REPORT, AUG 24,1983.

Reference (Deposit): WEED, W. H., ED., 1922, THE MINES HANDBOOK, VOL XV, P. 1328.

Reference (Deposit): USBM, 1983, MILS DATA

Reference (Production): TSCHANZ & PAMPEYAN, 1970

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.