Saval-Steer Deposit

Site Name

Primary: Saval-Steer Deposit
Secondary: Saval Canyon
Secondary: Steer Canyon
Secondary: Lost & Found Prospect
Secondary: Josie Saval
Secondary: Williams
Secondary: Lost

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Tertiary: Antimony

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Location

State: Nevada
County: Elko
District: Jerritt Canyon District

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Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
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.
Administrative Organization: Elko District U S Forest Service

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Owner Name: Queenstake Resources
Info Year: 2006

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
Deposit Type: carbonate-hosted Au-Ag
Operation Type: Surface
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: S

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Sediment-hosted Au

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Type: L
Description: fracture zone

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: silicification, also oxidation of antimony sulfides.

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Rocks

Name: Siltstone
Role: Host
Description: calcareous
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Silurian
Age Old: Middle Ordovician

Name: Limestone
Role: Host
Description: carbonaceous
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Silurian
Age Old: Middle Ordovician

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Orpiment
Ore: Realgar
Ore: Calcite
Gangue: Stibnite

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Comments

Comment (Economic Factors): Saval Canyon resources have been included in that of Jerritt Canyon Mines since 1988.In 1988, the remaining resource in the Saval-Steer area deposits was estimated to be about 7 tonnes of gold and an unknown amount of silver contained in 1730 kilotonnes of ore.

Comment (Geology): The Lost and Found Sb prospect is hosted by blue-gray thin bedded limestone which is silicified near the workings. Stibnite occurs as single crystals and pods up to 3" across within fractures which cut the limestone. This occurrence overlies the disseminated gold orebody

Comment (Identification): The Steer Canyon gold deposit encompasses the historic Lost & Found antimony prospect.

Comment (Location): UTM's and elevation to historic Lost & Found Sb deposit, near center of Steer Canyon gold deposit. (may change this to current portal of the SSX underground mine)

Comment (Workings): open pit

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: GOLD

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: stibnite, orpiment, realgar, calcite

Comment (Deposit): ALTERATION, GEOCHEMICAL DISPERSION AND ORE CONTROLS AT THE SSX MINE, JERRITT CANYON DISTRICT, NV Alexander Dewitt, Dept. of Geological Sciences and Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic Geology, UNR The SSX deposit (South Saval Extension) is one of several sedimentary rock-hosted gold deposits of the Jerritt Canyon District. The district is located in the central part of the Independence Mountains, 70 km north-northwest of Elko, Nevada. Geologic units exposed in the SSX underground mine are the Upper Ordovician to Lower Silurian Hanson Creek Formation, a Silurian portion of the Roberts Mountains Formation, and the allochthonous Upper Cambrian and Ordovician Snow Canyon Formation. These rocks are intruded by a Pennsylvanian basalt dike that locally hosts ore. Jerritt Canyon District geologists have divided the Hanson Creek Formation into five distinct units (numbered from youngest to oldest) and the three youngest are exposed at the SSX mine. Most of the gold at the SSX mine is hosted in the Hanson Creek Formation, particularly within the rhythmically interbedded micritic limestone and calcareous siltstone unit (unit 3). There are two important sets of structures that localize ore at SSX. The older set of faults is partially occupied by the basalt dike, and strikes range from N70?W to N50?W with nearly vertical dips. The younger set of major faults cut the dike and its associated west-northwest trending faults and have strikes ranging from N10?E to N50?E, and dips ranging from 60 to 800 NW. The northeast-striking faults have normal offset, and share similar features (e.g. dolomitized wallrocks, carbon enrichment, arsenic and iron sulfides, silicification, and both tectonic and decarbonatization/collapse breccias). The ore mineralization/grade and alteration effects are more substantial with proximity to these structures. Wallrock alteration of sedimentary rocks and the basalt dike was mapped in detail on three underground mine levels. Mapped alteration of sedimentary rocks included decarbonatization, dolomitization, silicification, carbon enrichment, and arsenic sulfide mineralization. Alteration of the dike progresses from deuteric to sericitic to argillic with proximity to northeast-striking faults. Petrographic and microanalytical analyses of samples collected from the SSX mine workings provided data for paragenetic interpretation. An early base metal sulfide event was followed by introduction of pyrite, apatite, carbonates, and silica. Ore-related mineralization produced gold-bearing marcasite, orpiment, realgar, carlinite and kaolinite. Geochemical data provided by Independence Mining Company comprising 33 elements from 164 surface drill-holes (3146 samples) were analyzed. Significant correlation was found for two distinct groups of elements. The first group included Zn, Cd, V, Cu, Mo, Ni, and Ag. The second group included Au, As, Hg, and Tl. Although sample intervals were 50-foot composites on average, distinct zoning of gold, arsenic, mercury and thallium was evident. These elements increase in concentration with proximity to northeast-striking faults. Permeability was the most important factor in localizing gold mineralization. Unit 3 of the Hanson Creek Formation was a favorable lithologic unit due to its numerous permeable silty interbeds. Northwest-striking faults and the basalt dike were equally important in localizing ore fluids. However, orebody geometry, alteration patterns and geochemical data indicate that northeast-striking faults were the most important conduits for gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids (Fig. 1).

Comment (Deposit): Fluid flow during the introduction of hydrothermal fluids was focused along the northeast-striking faults. Dissolution of calcite with subsequent dolomite precipitation disrupted sedimentary bedding, resulting in collapse breccias. Fluids spread laterally along the conduits as well as along the Pennsylvanian dike and its parallel structures, generating the alteration zoning in the dike, Hanson Creek Formation and collapse breccias as well as dispersion of ore-related elements.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Database of significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States; Part A, Database description and analysis; part B, Digital database: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-206, 33 p., one 3.5 inch diskette.

Reference (Deposit): LaPointe and others, 1991, Mineral Resources of Elko County, Nevada, NBMG Bulletin 106.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, R.M., Mineral Resources of Elko County, Nevada, USGS Open-File Report 1976-56.

Reference (Deposit): Lawrence E. F., 1963, Antimony Deposits of Nevada, NBMG Bull. 61.

Reference (Deposit): LONG AND OTHERS, 1998

Reference (Deposit): Dewitt, Alexander, 1999, Alteration, geochemical dispersion, and ore controls at the SSX Mine, Jerritt Canyon District, NV; GSN Newsletter, May, 1999.

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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.