Vail Placer Mine

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

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: 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.