The Key West is a copper, nickel, and silver mine located in Clark county, Nevada at an elevation of 3,806 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: 3,806 Feet (1,160 Meters)
Commodity: Copper, Nickel, Silver
Lat, Long: 36.61806, -114.16611
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.
Key West MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Key West
Secondary: Copper King District
Commodity
Primary: Copper
Primary: Nickel
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Platinum
Secondary: Cobalt
Secondary: Palladium
Tertiary: Gold
Tertiary: Ruthenium
Tertiary: Osmium
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Lead
Location
State: Nevada
County: Clark
District: Bunkerville District
Land Status
Not available
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Type: Surface/Underground
Ownership
Owner Name: Key West Mining Co.
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1897
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
Not available
Orebody
Form: DISSEMINATED, PODS AND LENTICULAR MASES IN AMPHIBOLITE DIKE
Structure
Type: R
Description: Key West Thrust
Type: L
Description: A Fault Lies At A Depth Of 450 Ft At Key West, Numerous Small Faults
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Peridotite Altered To Hornblende And Biotite
Rocks
Name: Gneiss
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic
Name: Gneiss
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: CU=2.3%, NI=1.79%, CO=0.08%, PT=.13 OZ/TON (4.5 PPM), TR AU, AG FROM ONE CARLOAD OF ORE (91,600 LB). ONE SPECIMEN OF ORE NEAR SURFACE: PT=0.12 OZ/TON (4.1 PPM), NI=5.6% WITH NO AU, AG, OR CU. THE ORE CONTAINED 6% CU, 0.02 OZ AU (690 PPB), 2.0 OZ AG (69 PPM), 17 OZ PT (580 PPM), 0.22 OZ PD (7.5 PPM), 2.5 OZ NI, 1.5-4.0% CO/TON, WITH NO AS OR SB. (NBMG OPEN FILE DATA, 1932). SAMPLE WITH HIGHEST PT HAD 0.55 OZ/TON (19 PPM). AVERAGE 0.3% NI. 22-55 PPM PGE IN 100% SULFIDE (BOW AND LOUCKS)
Materials
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Millerite
Ore: Garnierite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Chalcanthite
Ore: Brochantite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Pentlandite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Polydymite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Erythrite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Microcline
Comments
Comment (Reserve-Resource): DEPOSIT HAS A RESOURCE POTENTIAL OF A FEW THOUSAND OZ PT, BUT INSIGNIFICANT SMALL-SCALE OVERALL POTENTIAL
Comment (Production): 31,000 TONS OF DEVELOPED ORE, ONE CARLOAD SHIPPED
Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: LATE 1890'S
Comment (Deposit): THE DEPOSITS PROBABLY ARE LATE MAGMATIC DIFFERENTIATES REMOBILIZED BY HYDROTHERMAL PROCESSES. ATTITUDE IS OF HOST DIKE; UNPUBLISHED MODEL NAME: MAGMATIC SEGREGATION.
Comment (Workings): PLAN OF THE KEY WEST MINE IN BEAL (1965, P. 124). 2 SHAFTS, OPEN PIT
Comment (Geology): HOST ROCK HAS BEEN AMPHIBOLITIZED AND MULTIPLY DEFORMED. IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH GRANITIC PEGMATITE, BOTH OF WHICH ARE EMBEDDED IN A MYLONITIC GNEISS TERRANE OF METASEDIMENTARY AND INTRUSIVE ORIGIN. (BOW AND LOUCKS)
Comment (Development): A MILL WAS CONSTRUTED IN 1928 AT A COST OF $120,000 AND WAS USED FROM 1928-1929 BUT WAS ABANDONED DUE TO POOR DESIGN.
Comment (Location): IN WESTERN FOOTHILLS OF VIRGIN MOUNTAINS. LOCATION GIVEN IS MINE SYMBOL FOR KEY WEST MINE SHOWN ON TOPO MAP. INFO FROM LAND.ST :01?
Comment (Commodity): MOLYBDENITE REPORTED BUT NOT CONFIRMED. PGE AND AU GENERALLY HETEROGENEOUSLY DISTRIBUTED WITHIN HOST MINERALS, BUT RU AND OS SUBSTITUTE FOR FE
References
Reference (Deposit): BANCROFT, HOWLAND, 1910, PLATINUM IN SOUTHEASTERN NEVADA, IN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 1909: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 430, P. 192-199.
Reference (Deposit): BEAL, L.H., 1965, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE BUNKERVILLE MINING DISTRICT, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA: NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 63, P. 63-74.
Reference (Deposit): NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, OPEN FILE DATA, FILE NO. 23, ITEM NOS. 2 AND 3.
Reference (Deposit): NEEDHAM, A.B., SOULE, J.H., AND TRENGOVE, R.R., 1950, INVESTIGATION OF THE GREAT EASTERN NICKEL DEPOSIT, CLARK COUNTY, NEV.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 4679, 5 P.
Reference (Deposit): CORNWALL, H.R., 1966, NICKEL DEPOSITS OF NORTH AMERICA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1223, P. 46-47.
Reference (Deposit): LONGWELL, C.R., PAMPEYAN, E.H., BOWYER, BEN, AND ROBERTS, R.J., 1965, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA: NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 62, P. 179.
Reference (Deposit): BOW, C.S., AND LOUCKS, R.R., 1991, THE KEY WEST MINE: A PROTEROZOIC MAGMATIC/HYDROTHERMAL NI-CU-PGE DEPOSIT IN NEVADA [ABS.]: PACIFIC NORTHWEST METALS & MINERALS CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
Reference (Production): LONGWELL AND OTHERS, 1965,
Reference (Reserve-Resource): C. BOW, WRITTEN COMMUN. TO M.L. ZIENTEK, 1991
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.
