Natomas Placer

The Natomas Placer is a gold and silver mine located in Lander county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,249 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: Natomas Placer
Secondary: Copper Canyon Placer
Secondary: Camp Dahl and Christensen
Secondary: Grand Hills Mining Co.
Secondary: Wilson Placer
Secondary: Greenan Placer
Secondary: Guy Davis
Secondary: Homestake
Secondary: Oversight
Secondary: Comet
Secondary: Annex
Secondary: Big Nugget
Secondary: Estes
Secondary: Gold Crown
Secondary: Sunrise Fraction

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Palladium
Tertiary: Copper

Location

State: Nevada
County: Lander
District: Battle Mountain 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: Surface

Ownership

Owner Name: Natomas Co.
Years: 1955 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Placer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1911
Discovery Year: 1911
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral Not In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Great Basin
Physiographic Detail: Basin And Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Form: BLANKET, CHANNELS, LENTICULAR SHEETS

Structure

Type: L
Description: Channels

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: FINENESS RANGED FROM 830-870, AVERAGING 860

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Commodity): AU IS RELATIVELY COARSE; NUGGETS TO 5 OZ FOUND. ONE NUGGET WEIGHED ABOUT 21 OZ. UNABLE TO FIND SOURCE OF PGE DATA (1991); NO MENTION OF PGE IN LITERATURE CITED

Comment (Location): FAN AT THE MOUTH OF COPPER CANYON. LOCATION GIVEN IS PLACER MINE SYMBOL AT MID FAN NEAR CENTER SEC. 33 SHOWN ON TOPO MAP

Comment (Deposit): THIS WAS THE LARGEST PLACER OPERATION IN DISTRICT. IN 1939 CLAIMS COVERED 2,600 ACRES. ALLUVIUM IS 20-100 FT THICK WITH BEST ORE NEAR BEDROCK

Comment (Production): COMBINED PRODUCTION FOR ALL COPPER CANYON FAN PLACERS (1911-1939) IS: 35,310.44 OZ AU AND 4,862 OZ AG.

Comment (Development): NATOMAS PLACER CO. ACQUIRED J.O. GREENAN'S CLAIMS IN COPPER CANYON FAN AREA IN 1941. A DRAGLINE DREDGE MINED THE AREA 1946-1948. IN 1949, A BUCKET-LINE DREDGE OPERATED

Comment (Geology): IN UPPER PART OF FAN, HIGH-GRADE GRAVELS FORM LENTICULAR SHEET-LIKE BODIES OVERLAIN BY BARREN MATERIAL FARTHER DOWN THE FAN, THE RICHER GRAVELS ARE IN SMALL THIN LENSES SCATTERED THROUGHOUT SECTION

Comment (Workings): OPEN PIT DRAGLINE DREDGING OPERATIONS. EARLY MINING INCLUDED DRIFTING, SLUICING

Comment (Deposit): THE LARGEST PLACER OPERATION IN DISTRICT BEGAN WHEN NATOMAS CO. ACQUIRED J.O. GREEAN'S CLAIMS IN COPPER CANYON FAN AREA IN 1941. WW II INTERRUPTED OPERATIONS UNTIL 1946, WHEN A DRAG-LINE DREDGE WAS USED TO MINE GRAVELS IN UPPER PART OF FAN UNTIL 1948. IN 1949, A BUCKET-LINE DREDGE WITH A 9,000 CU YD/DAY CAPACITY WAS PUT INTO OPERATION, DREDGING UP TO 110 FT DOWN. DRILLHOLES PERMITTED PLOTTING OF GOLD DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE FAN. DAHL AND H.C. CHRISTENSEN BEGAN DRIFT-MINING IN 1911 AND CONTINUED UNTIL 1920. IN 1932, D. WILSON TOOK OVER PROPERTY AND WORKED GOLD-BEARING GRAVELS NEAR BEDROCK. IN 1935, GRAND HILLS MINING CO, INSTALLED A MECHANICAL WASHING PLANT AND OTHER LESSEES WORKED PROPERTY WITH DWINDLING RETURNS THROUGH 1930'S, UNTIL J.O. GREENAN BOUGHT IT IN 1939. HE BEGAN A SYSTEMATIC CHURN-DRILLING PROGRAM AND PROVED A LARGE VOLUME OF GOLD-BEARING GRAVEL DOWN AND ACROSS FAN. HE SOLD PROPERTY TO NATOMAS CO. IN 1941. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

References

Reference (Production): JOHNSON, M.G., 1973

Reference (Deposit): STAGER, H.K, 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF LANDER COUNTY, NEVADA, PART II, MINERAL DEPOSITS: NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 88, P. 67.

Reference (Deposit): VANDERBURG, W.O., 1939, RECONNAISSANCE OF MINING DISTRICTS IN LANDER COUNTY, NEVADA: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES INFORMATION CIRCULAR 7043, P. 33-34.

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, M.G., 1973, PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF NEVADA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1356, P. 36-39.

Reference (Deposit): HUTTL, J.B., 1950, HOW NATOMAS KEEPS A LARGE DREDGE OPERATING IN THE DESERT: ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, V. 135, NO. 4, P. 173.

Reference (Deposit): THEODORE, T.G., AND BLAKE, D.W., 1975, GEOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE COPPER CANYON PORPHYRY COPPER DEPOSIT AND SURROUNDING AREA, LANDER COUNTY, NEVADA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 798-B, P. B10.

Reference (Deposit): ROBERTS, R.J., AND ARNOLD, D.C, 1965; ORE DEPOSITS OF THE ANTLER PEAK QUADRANGLE, HUMBOLDT AND LANDER COUNTIES, NEVADA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 459-B, P. B85-B86.

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.