Goldbanks Quicksilver Mine

The Goldbanks Quicksilver Mine is a mercury mine located in Pershing county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,640 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: Goldbanks Quicksilver Mine
Secondary: Redman Group
Secondary: Gbh Group
Secondary: NBMG Sample Site 2361

Commodity

Primary: Mercury

Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Goldbanks 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: Unknown

Ownership

Owner Name: Bradley Mining Co.
Years: 1943 -

Owner Name: Bear Creek Mining Co.
Years: 1943 -

Owner Name: Star City Mines, Ltd.
Years: 1943 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1913
Discovery Year: 1913
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: Hot-spring Hg

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification (Opalite)

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: 15 PPM MN
Analytical Data: 0.7 % TI
Analytical Data: 0.05 % CA
Analytical Data: GRAB SAMPLE OF SILICIFIED AND OPALIZED MATERIAL COLLECTED FROM SOUTH PIT CONTAINS 0.05 % FE
Analytical Data: 0.03 % MG
Analytical Data: 10-18 LB ORE.
Analytical Data: AND 200 PPM ZR. IN GENERAL, ORE RAN TO 40 LB/TON
Analytical Data: 15 PPM V
Analytical Data: 5 PPM SC
Analytical Data: 5 PPM NI
Analytical Data: 50 PPM CU
Analytical Data: 15 PPM CR
Analytical Data: 500 PPM BA
Analytical Data: 20 PPM B

Materials

Ore: Cinnabar
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Opal
Gangue: Chalcedony

Comments

Comment (Location): EAST EDGE OF THE GOLDBANKS HILLS, IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF SQUAW BUTTE. SHOWN AS "QUICK SILVER MINE" ON GOLDBANKS HILLS (1990) TOPOGRAPHIC MAP.

Comment (Production): MOST PRODUCTIVE PERIOD WAS 1960S.

Comment (Deposit): MOST OF THE CINNABAR IS DISSEMINATED IN TWO TABULAR OPALITE ZONES LYING PARALLEL TO THE BEDDING OF NEARLY FLAT-LYING VOLCANIC ROCKS.THE OPALITE BLANKET IS EXPOSED FOR SEVERAL MILES, BUT IS PRODUCTIVE IN AN AREA LESS THAN 1 SQUARE MILE. MUCH OF THE OPALITE IS CHALCEDONY, BUT OPAL WAS COLLECTED IN A SAMPLE FROM THE SOUTH PIT. VERY SPARSE CINNABAR WAS OBSERVED ON FRESHLY BROKEN PIECES, AND COATS FRAGMENTS AND LINES FRACTURES IN CHALCEDONIC BRECCIA.

Comment (Workings): TWO SMALL OPEN PITS; BULLDOZER CUTS, AND DIAMOND DRILL HOLES.

Comment (Geology): THE PROTOLITH OF THE OPALITE APPEARS TO BE THE TUFFACEOUS SANDSTONE AND CONGLOMERATES OR BRECCIA, WITH THE BRECCIA FRAGMENTS COMMONLY CHERT OR QUARTZITE. NO SILICEOUS SPRING SINTER WAS OBSERVED. THE OPALIZED UNIT IS REPORTED TO BE OVERLAIN BY UNALTERED (12M-15M YEAR OLD) BASALT. (GARSIDE ANDCHILLING).

Comment (Deposit): THIS RECORD HAS BEEN MERGED WITH M055018, WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED.

Comment (Development): FIRST DEVELOPED BY NEVADA QUICKSILVER CO. AND OPERATED AS THE GOLDBANKS QUICKSILVER CO., IT PRODUCED MERCURY FROM A BANK OF 15 INCLINED-PIPE RETORTS AND A LARGE, D-RETORT. A NEW HERRESHOFF FURNACE INSTALLED IN 1915 PRODUCED FOR 2 YEARS WHEN IT WAS PARTIALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE. IDLE UNTIL 1934, THEN SPORATICALLY LEASED UNTIL 1937 WHEN MELVIN MCCOY LEASED IT THROUGH 1941; WHEN IT WAS TAKEN OVER BY BRADLEY MINING CO. WHICH COMPLETED CONSIDERABLE DEVELOPMENT AND STRIPPING BUT SHIPPED LITTLE ORE THROUGH 1947. REOPENED IN 1956 BY GOLDBANKS MERCURY CO. WHICH PRODUCED LITTLE MERCURY FROM A 40-TON ROTARY FURNACE. CLOSED UNTIL 1966 WHEN IT WAS REOPENED BY STAR CITY MINES LTD., A SUBSIDARY OF TRIANGLE INDUSTRIES INC. OF NEW JERSEY. IT OPERATED UNTIL 1970. STAKING IN THE EARLY 1980S SUGGESTS THAT THE AREA IS BELIEVED TO HAVE SOME GOLD OR PERHAPS URANIUM POTENTIAL (GARSIDE).

References

Reference (Analytical Data): GARSIDE (1984)

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, M.G., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF PERSHING COUNTY NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 89, P. 57.

Reference (Deposit): STAFF, 1969, AN EXPANSION PROGRAM UNDERTAKEN BY STAR CITY MINES LTD.: ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, V. 120, NO. 6, PP 277-79.

Reference (Deposit): GARSIDE, L.J., AND SCHILLING, J.H., 1979, THERMAL WATERS OF NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 91.

Reference (Deposit): GARSIDE, L.J., 1984, GOLDBANKS QUICKSILVER MINE-FIELD EXAMINATION AND SAMPLE ANALYSIS, PERSHING COUNTY, GOLDBANKS DISTRICT: NBMG UNPUBLISHED (TINGLEY) FILE.

Reference (Deposit): STAFF, 1965, MERCURY POTENTIAL OF THE UNITED STATES: USBM INFORMATION CIRCULAR 8252, P. 260-261.

Reference (Production): JOHNSON (1977); GARSIDE (1984)

Reference (Reserve-Resource): ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, 1969.

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY, E.H., AND PHOENIX, D.A., 1944, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 41.

Reference (Deposit): DREYER, R.M., 1940, GOLDBANKS MINING DISTRICT, PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA: NBMG BULL 33.

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY, E. H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES.

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.