Relief Canyon Mine

Site Name

Primary: Relief Canyon Mine
Secondary: NBMG Sample Sites 2552, 2552, 2553
Secondary: Bohannan Fluorite Prospect.

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Mercury
Tertiary: Thallium

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Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Antelope Springs District

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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.

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Owner Name: Falconi And Associates

Owner Name: Pegasus Gold, Inc.
Home Office: 9 North Post Street, Suite 400, Spokane, Wa 99201

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Production

Year: 1989
Material type: ORE-AU,AG
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.028 Opt Au, 0.100 Opt Ag
Year: 1984
Material type: ORE-AU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.035 Opt Au
Year: 1987
Material type: AU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.029 Oz/St Au, From 2.15 Million St Ore

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1984
Year Last Production: 1990
Discovery Year: 1979
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Carbonate-hosted Au-Ag

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Orebody

Form: DISSEMINATED, STRATABOUND AND STRATA-CONFORMABLE MINERALIZATION

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Structure

Type: L
Description: Range Front Faults Terminate Ore To The West (Black Ridge Fault). The Dip Of The Brecciated Contact Between The Natchez Pass And Grass Valley Formations Varies And Has The Appearance Of A Ne-Sw Striking Anticline That Plunges To The Sw. A Small Fold Perpendicular To The Plane Of This Anticline Forms A Dome Over The Southerly Portion Of The Deposit.

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification, Argillization, Propylitization. See Geology Comments.

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Rocks

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

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Analytical Data

Analytical Data: NBMG ASSAYED THREE SAMPLES OF SILICIFIED, FE-OXIDE AND FLUORITE-BEARING LIMESTONE OF THE NATCHEZ PASS FORMATION. SAMPLE 2551 ASSAYED 1.7 PPM AU, 20 PPM AG, 400 PPM AS, 46 PPM SB, 150 PPM BA, 7 PPM CU, 100 PPM PB, 30 PPM ZN. SAMPLE 2552 ASSAYED 0.55 PPM AU, 20 PPM AG, 50 PPM AS, 22 PPM SB, NIL BA, 5 PPM CU, 100 PPM PB, 100 PPM ZN. SAMPLE 2553 ASSAYED 3.2 PPM AU, 200 PPM AG, 450 PPM AS, 82 PPM SB, 200 PPM BA, 100 PPM CU, 30 PPM PB, 35 PPM ZN. TYPICAL RANGES FOR TRACE ELEMENTS WITHIN SAMPLES THAT CONTAIN ANOMALOUS AU ARE: AG 0.3 PPM TO 40.3 PPM, AS 17 PPM TO 2620 PPM, SB 1 PPM TO 430 PPM, HG 1.8 PPM TO 18 PPM, AND F 190 PPM TO 11%.

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Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Silver
Ore: Electrum
Gangue: Fluorite
Gangue: Talc
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Serpentine
Gangue: Hematite

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Comments

Comment (Development): HEAP COMMENCED. A TOTAL OF 400,000 TONS OF ORE WAS TO BE PROCESSED IN 1984. THE FIRST BULLION WAS POURED IN OCT 1984. LACANA SUSPENDED OPERATIONS IN LATE 1985 BECAUSE OF DISAPPOINTING AU RECOVERY RATES LEACHING RUN OF MINE MATERIAL (MAX. OF 45% ACHIEVED). THE PROPERTY WAS ACQUIRED BY PEGASUS GOLD, INC. IN JULY 1986. AFTER ADDING CRUSHING AND AGGLOMERATING FACILITIES, PEGASUS PUT THE DEPOSIT BACK INTO PRODUCTION IN NOVEMBER 1986 AND REALIZED AU RECOVERY RATES ON THE ORDER OF 65%. PEGASUS CONCLUDED MINING OPERATIONS IN AUGUST, 1989, ALTHOUGH LEACHING OF ORE ALREADY ON THE PADS CONTINUED UNTIL AUGUST, 1990. ; TOTAL$: 2.7M ; ECON.COM: LACANA EMPLOYED 23 PERSONS AT RELIEF CANYON IN 1983. PEGASUS EMPLOYED 30 PERSONS AT RELIEF CANYON IN 1988; MORRISON-KNUDSEN WAS THE MINING CONTRACTOR, EMPLOYING AN ADDITIONAL 33 PERSONS AT RELIEF CANYON THAT YEAR. CASH COST OF PRODUCTION PER OUNCE OF GOLD WAS $283 IN 1987, $315 IN 1989, AND $438 IN 1990. STRIP RATIO WAS 1.53:1 IN 1989. IN 1989, AU RECOVERY

Comment (Development): WAS 62% AND AG RECOVERY WAS 50%. RELIEF CANYON RETURNED $13.6 MILLION IN CASH FLOW ON AN INITIAL INVESTMENT OF $2.7 MILLION FOR PEGASUS GOLD CORP.

Comment (Workings): WORKINGS RELATED TO HISTORIC FLUORITE PROSPECTING CONSISTED OF 105 FT. OF UNDERGROUND DEVELOPMENT, SMALL OPEN CUTS, AND PITS. THE MODERN GOLD MINE CONSISTED OF AN OPEN PIT WITH 15 FT HIGH BENCHES, LEACH PADS, AND A GOLD RECOVERY PLANT.

Comment (Commodity): AU OCCURS AS 2-4 MICRON-SIZED FLAKES OF NATIVE AU AND RARELY AS ELECTRUM IN THE JASPEROIDS, CARBON-RICH ZONES, BRECCIA MATRIX, OR WITH AMORPHOUS HEMATITE.

Comment (Location): UTM IS TO NEAR CENTER OF DEPOSIT. . INFO FROM LAND.ST :1972

Comment (Geology): OF THIS BRECCIA IS EQUIVOCAL. EARLY WORKERS CONCLUDED THAT IT IS A THRUST FAULT BRECCIA, BUT LATER WORKERS CONCLUDED THAT IT IS A SOLUTION COLLAPSE BRECCIA. AU VALUES TYPICALLY ARE HIGHEST IMMEDIATELY BELOW THE GRASS VALLEY FORMATION AT THE CONTACT WITH THE BRECCIA UNITS AND DECREASE TOWARD THE BASE OF THE BRECCIA UNITS. SEVERAL TYPES OF AU MINERALIZATION HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED AT RELIEF CANYON. A LARGE AMOUNT OF ORE IS PRESENT AS A JASPEROID BRECCIA. HOWEVER, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF ORE OCCUR AS A MIXED BRECCIA COMPOSED OF GRASS VALLEY AND NATCHEZ PASS FORMATIONS, CLAY, AND JASPEROID BRECCIA. AU ALSO OCCURS IN CLAY, A CONDITION WHICH PLAGUED LACANA'S EFFORTS TO HEAP LEACH THE ORE. BELOW MASSES OF JASPEROID, JASPEROID STRINGERS CONTAINING AU EXTEND INTO FRESH LIMESTONE OF THE NATCHEZ PASS FORMATION. IRREGULAR ZONES OF MINERALIZATION ARE ALSO PRESENT IN MINABLE QUANTITIES IN THE CANE SPRING FM. A DIORITE DIKE TERMINATES ORE TO THE EAST. A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE RELIEF CANYON DEPOSIT

Comment (Geology): WAS COVERED BY QUATERNARY ALLUVIUM.

Comment (Deposit): RELIEF CANYON MINE DEVELOPMENT ENCOMPASSED THE INACTIVE BOHANNAN FLUORITE PROSPECT (RECORD M060411). THIS RECORD INCLUDES THE DATA FROM RECORD M060411, WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 1986-87 RESERVE FIGURES ARE AS OF 12/31 FOR EACH YEAR.

Comment (Development): EXPL.COM: IN 1978, FALCONI AND ASSOCIATES LOCATED CLAIMS ON 2000 ACRES OVER THE LONG INACTIVE BOHANNON FLUORITE PROSPECT. IN 1979, DUVAL CORP INITIATED A PRECIOUS METALS EXPLORATION PROGRAM AND DISCOVERED GOLD ON THE FALCONI GROUND. DURING 1981-1982, DUVAL GOT AN OPTION FROM FALCONI AND STAKED AN ADDITIONAL 2300 ACRES. WIDELY SPACED DRILLING INDICATED LOW GRADE GOLD MINERALIZATION. IN OCTOBER, 1982, LACANA OPTIONED THE PROPERTY FROM DUVAL AND DETERMINED POTENTIAL FOR AN ECONOMIC HEAP-LEACHABLE GOLD DEPOSIT. IN 1983 LACANA PROVED UP THE DEPOSIT WITH A 50,000-FT DRILLING PROGRAM AND COMPLETED BULK HEAD LEACH TESTS ON TWO 4300-TON SAMPLES. ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY STUDIES WERE INITIATED IN 1983 AND WERE APPROVED IN APRIL 1984, WITH CALCULATED RESERVES SUFFICIENT FOR AN 8 YEAR MINE LIFE AT A PRODUCTION RATE OF 24,500 OZ AU PER YEAR. CONSTRUCTION OF THE GOLD RECOVERY PLANT AND LEACH FACILITIES IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED. IN SEPT 1984, SPRINKLING OF CYANIDE SOLUTION ONTO THE FIRST 100,000 TON ORE

Comment (Geology): ALTERATION COMMENTS: SILICIFICATION, ARGILLIZATION, PROPYLITIZATION. TWO OBVIOUS ALTERATION FEATURES PRESENT AT SURFACE INCLUDE LARGE RESISTANT OUTCROPS OF JASPEROID AND WIDESPREAD IRON OXIDE STAINING. IN THE JASPEROID BRECCIA WITH CLAY SEAMS, AU MINERALIZATION IS RELATED TO BOTH SILICIFICATION AND ARGILLIZATION. IN THE MIXED BRECCIA AND LIMESTONE BRECCIA, AU MINERALIZATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH ARGILLIC ALTERATION. A DETAILED COMPARISON OF ALTERATION WITH GOLD GRADE FROM DRILL DATA INDICATES THAT THE HIGHEST AU VALUES ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH ARGILLIC ALTERATION RATHER THAN SILICIFICATION. AT SURFACE, DIORITE INTRUSIVES ARE BOTH EXTENSIVELY OXIDIZED AND PROPYLITIZED. GEOLOGY COMMENTS: HISTORIC FLUORITE PROSPECTING FOCUSSED ON MINOR AMOUNTS OF DISSEMINATED FLUORSPAR IN SHALE AND LIMESTONE OF THE NATCHEZ PASS FORMATION. GOLD MINERALIZATION AT RELIEF CANYON OCCURS ALONG THE HIGHLY BRECCIATED CONTACT BETWEEN THE NATCHEZ PASS FORMATION AND THE OVERLYING GRASS VALLEY FORMATION. THE NATURE

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References

Reference (Deposit): LACANA GOLD INC.'S BROCHURE ON RELIEF CANYON MINE'S OFFICIAL OPENING, OCT, 1984.

Reference (Deposit): WITTKOP, R. W., PARRATT, R. L., BRUCE, W. R., 1984, GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION AT THE RELIEF CANYON GOLD DEPOSIT, PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA, PREPRINT NO. 84-100, SOCIETY OF MINING ENGINEERS OF AIME, LITTLETON, CO, 5 PP.

Reference (Deposit): PEGASUS GOLD, 1988, RELIEF CANYON MINE CIRCULAR (UNPUBLISHED VISITOR'S FACT SHEET).

Reference (Deposit): PEGASUS GOLD, INC., ANNUAL REPORTS FOR 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990.

Reference (Deposit): SOUTHERN PACIFIC CO., 1964, MINERALS FOR INDUSTRY-NORTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWESTERN UTAH, SUMMARY OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF 1955-1961, V. 1: SAN FRANCISCO, SOUTHERN PACIFIC CO, P. 45.

Reference (Deposit): WALLACE AND TATLOCK, 1962, SUGGESTIONS FOR PROSPECNG IN THE HUMBOLDT RANGE AND ADJACENT AREAS, NEVADA, USGS PP 450-B3-B5.

Reference (Deposit): WALLACE,. E., SILBERLING, N. J., IRWIN, W. P., AND TATLOCK, D. B., 1969, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE BUFFALO MOUNTAIN QUADRANGLE, PERSHING AND CHURCHILL COUNTIES, NEVADA, USGS MAP GQ-821.

Reference (Deposit): TINGLEY, J. V., NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, COMPUTERIZED GEOCHEMISTRY DATABASE.

Reference (Analytical Data): SAMPLES 2551-53: GEOCH EMISTRY DATABASE, NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY. TYPICAL RANGES: WITTKOP, R. W., PARRATT, R. L., BRUCE, W. R., 1984, GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION AT THE RELIEF CANYON GOLD DEPOSIT, PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA, PREPRINT NO. 84-100, SOCIETY OF MINING ENGINEERS OF AIME, LITTLETON, CO, 5 PP.

Reference (Deposit): FIANNACA, M. AND MCKEE, J., 1983, GEOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELIEF CANYON GOLD DEPOSIT, PERSHING CO., NV; PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 89TH ANNUAL NORTHWEST MINING CONVENTION, SPOKANE, WA, 1983

Reference (Production): 1983-84 ANNUAL PRODUCTION: NBMG DISTRICT FILE BROCHURE. 1986-1990 ANNUAL PRODUCTION: PEGASUS GOLD, INC., ANNUAL REPORTS FOR 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990. 1987 GRADE DATA FROM E AND MJ. MI-1991 LISTS 1989 PRODUCON AS 30,266 OZ AU AND 32,835 OZ AG. MI-1993

Reference (Reserve-Resource): UNPUB. REPORT, 1983.

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

Reference (Deposit): HORTON, R.C., 1961, AN INVENTORY OF FLUORSPAR OCCURRENCES IN NEVADA, NBMG REPT. 1.

Reference (Deposit): ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, JUNE 1988, 45-46

Reference (Deposit): BONHAM, H.F.JR, AND HESS, R. H., 1992, BULK-MINEABLE PRECIOUS-METAL DEPOSITS, IN THE NEVADA MINERAL INDUSTRY 1991, NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, SPECIAL PUB., MI-1991, P24

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1994, MI-1993

Reference (Deposit): GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA 1984 MEETING AND FIELD TRIP ROAD LOG, SEPT. 1984.

Reference (Deposit): DIVISION OF MINE INSPECTION, DEC. 1983, DIRECTORY OF NEVADA MINING OPERATIONS, ACTIVE DURING CALENDAR YEAR 1983.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MAP 84, 1983, ACTIVE MINES AND OIL FIELDS

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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.