Fravel Mine

The Fravel Mine is a silver and gold mine located in Washoe county, Nevada at an elevation of 6,079 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

Name: Fravel Mine  

State:  Nevada

County:  Washoe

Elevation: 6,079 Feet (1,853 Meters)

Commodity: Silver, Gold

Lat, Long: 39.59667, -119.90083

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.


Satelite image of the Fravel Mine

Mine Description

The Fravel mines, including the Golden Fleece mine, are located at the abandoned camp of Poeville in secs. 13 and 24, T. 20 N., R. 18 E. The mineralization occurs in schistose metavolcanics cut by dikes of quartz monzonite porphyry of Tertiary age. The rocks are bleached in the zone of weathering and grade downward into greenish propylitized rocks containing abundant pyrite. The trend of the foliation in the meta volcanics ranges from about N. 30° E. to about N. 70° E. with a near vertical dip.

The economic metallic mineralization occurs in quartz-calcite stringers or veinlets, which contain abundant pyrite and varying amounts of enargite, galena, sphalerite and argentite. These veinlets are concentrated in lodes or stockwork-like bodies of unknown dimensions which, in general, parallel the foliation of the metamorphic rocks.

Hill (1915, p. 193) states that the ore in general was low grade, ranging between $4.60 and $12.00 per ton in gold and silver. Some pockets of high grade gold-silver ore were mined in the oxidized zone, and small bunches of rich silver-copper are have been mined in the sulfide zone.

The workings in the Poeville area consist of several shafts and tunnels and numerous pits and trenches. The main shaft at the Fravel-Paymaster mine is reportedly 400 feet deep and includes 2,000 feet of lateral workings (Overton, 1947, p. 76). Most of the workings are now inaccessible. None of the shafts can be entered.

Source: Geology and Mineral Deposits of Washoe and Storey Counties, Nevada. Bulletin 70, Nevada Bureau of Mines

Fravel Mine MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Fravel Mine
Secondary: Poe Consolidated


Commodity

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


Location

State: Nevada
County: Washoe
District: Peavine 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

Not available


Ownership

Not available


Production

Not available


Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S


Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Pacific Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Cascade-Sierra Mountains
Physiographic Section: Sierra Nevada


Mineral Deposit Model

Not available


Orebody

Not available


Structure

Not available


Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Propylitic


Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene


Analytical Data

Not available


Materials

Ore: Enargite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Argentite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite


Comments

Comment (Workings): MINERALIZATION OCCURS IN SCHISTOSE METAVOLCANICS CUT BY DIKES OF QUARTZ MONZONITE PORPHYRY. ROCKS ARE BLEACHED IN WEATHERED ZONE, GRADE DOWN INTO GREENISH PROPYLITIZED ROCKS CONTAINING ABUNDANT PYRITE. TREND OF FOLIATION IN METAVOLCANICS RANGES FROM N30E TO N70E, WITH NEAR VERTICAL DIP. ECONOMIC MINERALIZATION OCCURS IN QUARTZ-CALCITE STRINGERS WHICH PARALLEL THE FOLIATION IN THE METAVOLCANICS. VEINLETS ARE CONCENTRATED INTO LODES OR STOCKWORK-LIKE BODIES.


References

Reference (Deposit): BONHAM, H F, GEOL & MIN DEP OF WASHOE & STOREY CO, NEV, NBMG BULL 70, 1969

Reference (Deposit): OVERTON, T D, MINERAL RESOURCES, DOUGLAS, WASHOE, ORMSBY CO, NEV, NBMG BULL 46, 1947

Reference (Deposit): HILL, J F, USGS BULL 594, 1915


Nevada Gold

Gold Districts of Nevada

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.