Silica Mine

The Silica Mine is a silica mine located in Pershing county, Nevada at an elevation of 4,600 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: Silica Mine
Secondary: My Pal Group
Secondary: NBMG Sample Site 2545

Commodity

Primary: Silica
Tertiary: Mercury

Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Table 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

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Asarco Claim Block
Years: 1984 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Hot-spring Hg

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Intense Acid Leaching

Rocks

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

Name: Shale
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Pleistocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: SAMPLE 2545 CONTAINS 2 % FE, 0.02 % MG, 1 % CA, 0.2 % TI, 10 PPM AG, 50 PPM B, 700 PPM BA, 20 PPM CR, 50 PPM CU, 5 PPM NI, 30 PPM V, 200 PPM ZR, AND +5.0 PPM HG. THE SAMPLE WAS CHIPPED FROM PIT OF SHALES AND ACID-LEACHED ROCK.

Materials

Ore: Cristobalite
Ore: Opal
Gangue: Clay
Gangue: Sericite

Comments

Comment (Location): SE COR. SEC. 2

Comment (Development): "AS THE MAJOR EMPHASIS HERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ON DEVELOPING THE DEPOSIT FOR ITS SILICA POTENTIAL, PERHAPS THE SEARCH FOR MINEABLE MERCURY HAS BEEN NEGLECTED."

Comment (Deposit): POSSIBLY HOT-SPRINGS DEPOSIT. NE-TRENDING ACID-LEACHED ZONE IN MESOZOIC SHALES APPEARS TO PARALLEL RANGE-FRONT. SOME FRAGMENTS OF ACID-LEACHED GRANITE SEEN ON DUMP, BUT NOT IN PLACE. ACID-LEACHED ROCK APPEAR TO CONSIST OF CRISTOBALITE? AND OPAL GRADING INTO SERICITE AND CLAYS, SOME FE OXIDE LOCALLY AND IN THE WHITE TUFF ARE VERTICAL ZONES OF SILICIFICATION, ALTERATION, AND FE-MN STAIN. PANNING OF A FEW SAMPLES GRABBED FROM VARIOUS POINTS IN THE WALLS OF THE MAIN SILICA PITS, INCLUDING THE MAIN ALTERED ZONES FAILED TO YIELD ANY CINNABAR. HOWEVER A SAMPLE TAKEN IN ONE OF THE SMALLER NORTHERN CUTS EXCAVATED IN REDDISH, SHALY PHYLLITE YIELDED MORE THAN 50 GRAINS OF CINNABAR ON PANNING.

Comment (Geology): POSSIBLY A HOT SPRING DEPOSIT

Comment (Deposit): POSSIBLY A HOT SPRING DEPOSIT ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Comment (Workings): SEVERAL LARGE OPEN CUTS, PIT, TRENCHES.

References

Reference (Deposit): WALLACE ET AL., 1969, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE BUFFALO MTN. QUAD., PERSHING AND CHURCHILLOUNTIES, NEVADA; USGS MAP GQ-821.

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY, E.H., RYTUBA, J.J., AND JONES, R.B., 1984, UNPUBLISHED DATA ON HG DEPOSITS OF NEVADA.

Reference (Deposit): BONHAM, H.F., 12 SEP 84, NBMG FIELD EXAMINATION REPORT AND SAMPLE ANALYSIS.

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, M.G., 1977, NBMG BULLETIN 89.

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.