The Vail Placer Mine is a gold mine located in Lander county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,600 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: 5,600 Feet (1,707 Meters)
Commodity: Gold
Lat, Long: 40.61889, -117.05000
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.
Vail Placer Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Vail Placer Mine
Secondary: Acacia-Hawkeye Group
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Tungsten
Location
State: Nevada
County: Lander
District: Battle Mountain 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/Underground
Ownership
Owner Name: Pacific Placers
Years: 1940 -
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Placer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1915
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: Placer Au-PGE
Orebody
Form: BLANKET, CHANNELS, TERRACES
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene
Name: Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Holocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: AVG. 890
Analytical Data: GOLD FINENESS RANGED FROM 86 TO 915
Materials
Ore: Gold
Ore: Scheelite
Comments
Comment (Location): IN VAIL CANYON FOR A 1 1/2 MILE STRETCH
Comment (Production): TOTAL PRODUCTION FOR 1915-1942. LARGEST NUGGET FOUND WEIGHED 3 OZ.
Comment (Development): ORIGINALLY LOCATED AS LODE CLAIMS BUT MAIN PRODUCTION WAS FROM PLACER OPERATIONS 18 UNPATENTED CLAIMS. 1938-1940, PACIFIC PLACERS OPERATED A DRAG-LINE DREDGE, HAMPERED BY SCARCITY OF WATER.
Comment (Deposit): PLACER DEPOSIT
Comment (Workings): SHAFTS, OPEN CUTS, CONNECTING DRIFTS ALONG BEDROCK
Comment (Geology): LARGEST NUGGET FOUND WEIGHED 3 OUNCES. AVERAGE DEPTH OF ALLUVIUM IS 10 FEET. PRINCIPAL CONCENTRATION OF GOLD WAS ON BEDROCK. MANY GRAINS OF GOLD CONTAINED QUARTZ & HAD NOT MOVED FAR FROM ITS SOURCE. NUGGETS OF AN OUNCE OR MORE WERE FAIRLY COMMON.
Comment (Deposit): THE PLACER GOLD WAS DERIVED MAINLY FROM LOCAL SOURCES AND WAS CONCENTRATED DURING EROSION OF THE SOURCE VEINS. ORIGINALLY, THE CLAIMS IN VAIL CANYON WERE LOCATED FOR LODE DEPOSITS, BUT MAIN PRODUCTION WAS FROM PLACERS DISCOVERED IN 1913 BY JASPER VAIL. HE LEASED OUT HTE CLAIMS FOR A 20% ROYALTY. DEVELOPMENT IN 1938 COSISTED OF SEVERAL HUNDRED SHAFTS AND OPEN CUTS, 5 TO 30 FEET DEEP. SOME WERE INTERCONNECTED BY DRIFTS DRIVEN ALONG BEDROCK. PROPERTY CONSISTS OF 18 UNPATENTED CLAIMS. IN 1938-1940, PACIFIC PLACERS OPERATED A DRAG-LINE DREDGE, WHOSE OPERATIONS WERE HAMPERED BY A SCARCITY OF WATER ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
References
Reference (Deposit): VANDERBURG, W.O., 1939, RECONNAISSANCE OF MINING DISTRICTS IN LANDER CO., NEV; USBM INF. CIRC. 7043
Reference (Deposit): ROBERTS, R.J. AND ARNOLD, D.C., 1965, ORE DEPOSITS OF THE ANTLER PEAK QUADRANGLE, HUMBOLDT AND LANDER COUNTIES, NEVADA: U.S.G.S. PROF. PAPER 459-B.
Reference (Production): ROBERTS, R.J. AND ARNOLD, D.C., 1965.
Reference (Deposit): STEWART, J.H., MCKEE, E.H., AND STAGER, H.K., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF LANDER COUNTY, NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 88
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.
