Ford Mine

The Ford Mine is a iron mine located in Pershing county, Nevada at an elevation of 4,140 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: Ford Mine
Secondary: Iron Horse Mine

Commodity

Primary: Iron
Secondary: Platinum
Secondary: Palladium
Secondary: Rhodium

Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Mineral Basin District

Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
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

Not available

Production

Year: 1961
Time Period: 1955-1961
Material type: ORE
Description: Cp_Grade: ^58% Fe

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Replacement
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1952
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

Model Name: Skarn Fe

Orebody

Form: VEINS, TABULAR BODIES

Structure

Type: R
Description: Block Faulting

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Scapolitized

Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Jurassic

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Jurassic

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Jurassic

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AVERAGES 66% FE. ORE SHIPPED AVERAGED 58% FE, 10% SIO2+AL2O3, 0.4% P, 0.4% S. 69 PPB PT, 640 PPB PD, 22 PPB RH IN IRON ORE SAMPLE

Materials

Ore: Magnetite

Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): ORE COULD CONTINUE TO CONSIDERABLE DEPTH

Comment (Production): FORD MOTOR CO. AND NEVADA IRON ORE CO. PRODUCED SMALL TONNAGES OR ORE. PARKER BROTHERS OPERATED MINE IN 1954-1955; DODGE CONSTRUCTION CO. OPERATED MINE IN 1955-1961 UNDER A SUBLEASE AGREEMENT. SEVERAL THOUSAND TONS OF LUMP IRON ORE WAS PRODUCED IN 1952.

Comment (Development): LEASED TO FORD MOTOR CO. IN 1952. A MAGNETIC SURVEY DISCLOSED ANOMALY. FORD MINED AND SHIPPED SEVERAL THOUSAND TONS OF LUMP ORE. PROPERTY WAS THEN LEASED TO NEVADA IRON CO., WHICH SUBLET TO PARKER BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION CO. AND DODGE CONSTRUCTION CO. DIAMOND DRILLING IN 1952-1962 OF HIGH-GRADE ORE TO 75 FT BELOW 200 FT LEVEL OF MINE INDICATED THAT ORE COULD CONTINUE TO CONSIDERABLE DEPTH WITHOUT CHANGE IN SIZE OR GRADE. THERE WAS NO ACTIVITY IN 1985

Comment (Deposit): MAIN VEIN IS MORE THAN 600 FT LONG AND VARIES FROM 10-60 FT WIDE. SEVERAL PARALLEL VEINS UP TO 10 FT WIDE ARE PRESENT IN AN AREA OF ABOUT 0.25 MI. VEINS ARE EN ECHELON. MAGNETITE ALSO IS FOUND IN SMALL SEAMS AND NARROW VEINS

Comment (Workings): FOUR OPEN PITS. THE MAIN PIT IS 1200 FT BY 500 FT BY 200 FT DEEP.

Comment (Geology): PROPERTY IS OVERLAIN BY A THIN BLANKET OF LAKE LAHONTAN SEDIMENTS. MAGNETIC ANOMALY OF 5000 GAMMAS OVER 33 ACRES

Comment (Deposit): MINE CONSISTS OF IRON HORSE GROUP OF 10 CLAIMS

References

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, M.G., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA: NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 89, P. 68-73.

Reference (Deposit): MOORE, LYMAN, 1971, ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF CALIFORNIA-NEVADA IRON RESOURCES AND IRON ORE MARKETS: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES INFORMATION CIRCULAR 8511, P. 153-156.

Reference (Deposit): REEVES, R.G., AND KRAL, V.E., 1955, IRON ORE DEPOSITS OF NEVADA, PART A, GEOLOGY AND IRON ORE DEPOSITS OF THE BUENA VISTA HILLS, CHURCHILL AND PERSHING COUNTIES, NEVADA: NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 53, P. 30-31.

Reference (Deposit): ZIENTEK, M.L., 1993, WRITTEN COMMUN. TO J.A. PETERSON

Reference (Deposit): BONHAM, H.F., JR., 18 JULY 1985, NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY FIELD EXAMINATION OF DISTRICT.

Reference (Deposit): NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY STAFF, 1985, NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY OPEN-FILE REPORT 85-3.

Reference (Production): JOHNSON, 1977

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.