The Drinkwater Mine is a gold mine located in Esmeralda county, Nevada.
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.
Drinkwater Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Drinkwater Mine
Secondary: Blair Group Part
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Tertiary: Silver
Tertiary: Lead
Location
State: Nevada
County: Esmeralda
District: Silver Peak District (1865)
Land Status
Land ownership: Private
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
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Metamorphic
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1864
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
Not available
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Form: LENSES
Structure
Type: L
Description: Post-Ore Faults
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification; Sericitization
Rocks
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: SILVER CONTENT IS ONLY 1% OF THE GOLD CONTENT
Materials
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :1972
Comment (Geology): GOLD IS FINELY DISSEMINATED FREE GOLD IN THE QUARTZ AND IS ALSO CONTAINED IN PYRITE AND GALENA, WHICH TOGETHER CONSTITUTE ABOUT 10% OF THE ORE
Comment (Reserve-Resource): SPURR, J.E., (1906) P. 37.
Comment (Production): ABOUT $1,000,000 IN GOLD HAD BEEN PRODUCED FROM THE DRINKWATER MINE BY 1906
Comment (Development): A 30-STAMP MILL WAS BUILT AT SILVER PEAK FOR TREATMENT OF THESE ORES IN 1867 AND WORKED FOR 2 YEARS THE MINE WAS THEN IDLE UNTIL THE 1880'S WHEN IT WAS LEASED FOR 2-3 YEARS. IDLE UNTIL ANOTHER LEASE IN 1893. IN 1893, JOHN CHIATOVICH BUILT A CYANIDE PLANT AT SILVER PEAK TO MILL ORE FROM HIS LEASE ON THE DRINKWATER VEIN
Comment (Deposit): DRINKWATER ZONE OF LENSES IS UPPERMOST IN THIS AREA; MAGAZINE LENS IS INTERMEDIATE AND CROWNING GLORY LENS IS LOWERMOST. LENSES ARE OF WHITE, CRYSTALLINE QUARTZ AND OFTEN OVERLAP, OR WEDGE OUT
Comment (Workings): CHIATOVICH STOPE YIELDED RICHEST ORE - $40/TON. WORKINGS CONSIST OF OPEN CUTS, UPPER DRINKWATER TUNNEL, LOWER HICKEY TUNNEL.
References
Reference (Deposit): SPURR, J.E., 1906, U.S.G.S. PROF. PAPER NO. 55
Reference (Deposit): SHAMBERGER, HUGH A., 1970, SILVER PEAK: HISTORIC MINING CAMPS OF NEVADA SERIES, NO. 8: NEVADA HISTORICAL PRESS, CARSON CITY, NEVADA.
Reference (Production): SPURR, J.E., (1906)
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.
