Nighthawk Ridge Mine

The Nighthawk Ridge Mine is a gold mine located in White Pine county, Nevada at an elevation of 6,539 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: Nighthawk Ridge Mine
Secondary: Easy Junior

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Thallium
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Barium-Barite
Tertiary: Mercury

Location

State: Nevada
County: White Pine
District: White Pine District (Closest); Cortez Trend

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Alta Bay Joint Venture
Percent: 100.0

Owner Name: Alta Gold Co.
Percent: 60.00
Home Office: 2319 Foothill Drive #140, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84109

Owner Name: Echo Bay, Ltd.
Percent: 40.00

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1989
Discovery Year: 1986
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 & Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Carbonate-hosted Au-Ag

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: Low Amplitude, Open Folds With Axes That Strike Between N-S And N15e.

Type: L
Description: Nighthawk Fault.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification, Jasperization, Argillization, Decarbonization. Silicification Is The Most Common Alteration Within The Orebody. Chainman Shale And Pilot Shale Are Argillized And Silicified Adjacent To Nighthawk Fault.

Rocks

Name: Shale
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Mississippian

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Opal

Comments

Comment (Development): TO TENNECO MINERALS CO. WHICH HAD SINCE ACQUIRED HIMCO. ALL DRILLING UP TO THIS TIME HAD BEEN COMPLETED IN THE VICINITY OF THE OUTCROPPING JASPEROIDS. IN 1986, TENNECO EXTENDED THE CLAIM BLOCK NORTH TO INCLUDE WHAT WOULD BECOME THE NIGHTHAWK RIDGE DEPOSIT. A SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY GRID IDENTIFIED TWO LINEAR GOLD ANOMALIES WHICH LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF OUTCROP OF FOLDED AND SILICIFIED CHAINMAN SHALE WITH ABUNDANT BARITE AND MINOR SCORODITE ALONG FRACTURES. 36 SAMPLES FROM THIS OUTCROP ASSAYED AS HIGH AS 2.33 PPM GOLD, BUT AVERAGED 0.5 PPM GOLD. HG,TL, AS, AND SB WERE ALSO ANOMALOUS. A 41 DRILL HOLE PROGRAM WAS INITIATED IN SEPTEMBER, 1986. THE DISCOVERY HOLE WAS THE 39TH HOLE, INTERSECTING 320 FT./0.066 OPT GOLD. ; ECON.COM: CASH COST OF PRODUCTION OF $240/OZ. GOLD.

Comment (Deposit): 75% OF ORE IS IN CHAINMAN SHALE, 25% IN JOANA LIMESTONE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Deposit): REFER TO RECORD RE00028 FOR DATA ON THE ADJACENT DECKER FLATS DEPOSIT.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): THE GEOLOGIC INVENTORY OF GOLD IN THE HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEM IS OVER 400,000 OUNCES, BUT MUCH OF THE MINERALIZATION IS BEYOND ECONOMIC MINING DEPTHS.

Comment (Development): THE ORIGINAL EASY JUNIOR CLAIMS STAKED IN 1979 BY EARTH RESOURCES CO. ON THE BASIS OF PROMINENT JASPEROID OUTCROPS. THESE CLAIMS WERE ACQUIRED BY HOUSTON INTERNATIONAL MINERALS CO. IN 1980. HIMCO DRILLED EIGHT HOLES TOTALLING 1810 FT. IN 1980, BUT ONLY ONE HOLE CONTAINED ANOMALOUS GOLD MINERALIZATION. HIMCO SUBLEASED EASY JUNIOR TO CONSOLIDATED MINERAL RESOURCES 1981-1983, DURING WHICH EIGHT HOLES TOTALLING 2620 FT. WERE DRILLED. DRILL RESULTS WERE DISCOURAGING. IN 1984, CONSOLIDATED MINERALS CONVEYED INTEREST IN EASY JUNIOR TO AAMINEX FOR STOCK, AND AAMINEX SUB-LEASED THE PROPERTY TO SANTA FE PACIFIC MINING CO. DURING 1984-1985, SANTA FE COMPLETED GEOLOGIC MAPPING, A VLF SURVEY AND 16 DRILL HOLES TOTALING 9295 FT. SEVERAL OF THESE HOLES INTERSECTED NARROW ZONES OF GOLD MINERALIZATION, THE BEST BEING 45 FT./0.059 OPT GOLD. ALL MINERALIZED INTERCEPTS WERE AT THE CONTACT OF THE CHAINMAN SHALE AND JOANA LIMESTONE. SANTA FE TERMINATED THE LEASE IN 1985, THEN AAMINEX RETURNED CLAIMS BACK

Comment (Location): AT NORTHERN END OF RAILROAD VALLEY AT THE SOUTHEAST END OF CORTEZ TREND.

Comment (Commodity): AU:AG RATIOS GENERALLY > 50:1.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): ESTIMATE CALCULATED USING A CUTOFF OF 0.009 OPT AU.

References

Reference (Deposit): CARDEN, J.R., 1991, THE DISCOVERY AND GEOLOGY OF THE NIGHTHAWK RIDGE DEPOSIT AT EASY JUNIOR, WHITE PINE COUNTY, NEVADA, IN GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT BASIN, RAINES, G.L., ET AL, EDS., THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA, RENO, P. 665-676.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1991, THE NEVADA MINERAL INDUSTRY 1990, NBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION MI-1990, P.25.

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.