Gooseberry Mine

Site Name

Primary: Gooseberry Mine
Secondary: Curtiss-Wright Property (in part)
Secondary: 21 unpatented Red Top claims

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Lead
Tertiary: Zinc

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Location

State: Nevada
County: Storey
District: Ramsey District (Lyon-Storey Counties)

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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.

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Type: Surface/Underground

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Ownership

Owner Name: Scurry-Rainboe Inc. (Sub Westcoast Oil And Gas Corp.)
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 1984

Owner Name: Ican Resources Ltd.
Percent: 25.00
Home Office: Canada
Info Year: 1984

Owner Name: Asamera Minerals (U. S.), Inc.
Home Office: P.O. Box 2267, Sparks, NV 89432
Years: 1983 -

Owner Name: Storey County
Years: 1993 - 1998

Owner Name: Pallas Resources
Years: 1993 - 1998

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: lode, vein
Plant Subtype: Flotation
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Mining Method: Combined Methods
Milling Method: Merrill-Crowe
Year First Production: 1967
Year Last Production: 1990
Discovery Year: 1906
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: Epithermal vein, Comstock

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Orebody

Form: tabular to pinch and swell

Not available

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Structure

Type: R
Description: Regional structures affecting area rocks are the Talapoosa lineament, a major E-W- trending structural zone and the NW-trending Bear Creek structural zone.

Type: L
Description: Numerous faults and shears both subparallel to and across vein.

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Alteration consists of propylitization, pyritization, and local strong argillization of dacite. Potassic and phyllic alteration also reported

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Rocks

Name: Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)
Role: Host
Description: pyroclastic tuffs and volcanoclastic sediments
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Age Old: Miocene

Name: Tuff
Role: Host
Description: pyroclastic
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Age Old: Miocene

Name: Rhyodacite
Role: Host
Description: flows
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Age Old: Miocene

Name: Dacite
Role: Host
Description: altered porphyritic
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Age Old: Miocene

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Analytical Data

Analytical Data: Ave. recovery 90.6% Au and 88.4% Ag.
Analytical Data: Grab samples taken from dump at mine (1959) contained gold values ranging from 0.83 to 1.14 oz/t and silver values of 13.02 oz/t to 69 oz/t. Ave. Grade in 1990 194 ozs Au/ton and 7.24 ozs Ag/ton

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Materials

Ore: Argentite
Ore: Stephanite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Electrum
Ore: Gold
Ore: Silver
Ore: Stephanite
Ore: Polybasite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Dolomite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Adularia
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Gypsum
Gangue: Jarosite

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Comments

Comment (Workings): The Gooseberry Mine is developed by a 1450-ft vertical shaft and drifts on the 500, 800 and 1000 ft levels. Mill capacity is 350 st/day, with 85% gold recovery. Developments include the mine, cyanide flotation process mill complex, a laboratory, heap leach pads, mill tailings and a solid waste landfill.

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: quartz, calcite, dolomite, gypsum, jarosite, adularia, disseminated pyrite

Comment (Deposit): The deposit consists of a nearly vertical quartz-dolomite veins that range from a few inches up to 10 or more feet in width. The veins follow an east-west zone, which is better developed at the 900-ft level than at surface. The vein can be traced for several hundred feet at the surface. Ore minerals are disseminated in numerous thin quartz veins present in vicinity of the mine with occasional areas of considerable jarosite, gypsum, and disseminated pyrite. Fissure vein, shear zone, disseminated.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: free gold, electrum, chalcopyrite, argentiferous tetrahedrite, stephanite, native silver, argentite, stephanite, polybasite, sphalerite, galena

Comment (Identification): This record is an updated version including all information from earlier record M242407 which should be deleted from the database.

Comment (Location): The Gooseberry Mine is located in the Virginia Range about 5 miles south of Clark Station. The property consists of 1 patented claim, 560 acres of fee land, 32 unpatented lode and fraction claims and 21 unpatented Red Top claims.

Comment (Geology): Ore occurs in quartz-carbonate veins that range from a few inches up to 10 or more feet in width. Ore minerals are disseminated or form thin bands.

Comment (Economic Factors): Reserves for the Gooseberry Mine in 1985 were reported to be 216,505 tons of ore grading 0.209 opt gold and 8.08 opt silver. Production from 1978-81 was 235 Kilotonnes of ore grading 0.14 opt gold and 7.18 opt silver. 1985 production was 225 kilotonnes of ore yielding 5,000 ounces of gold and , 225,000 ounces of silver. Asamera halted production after 1985 due to depressed metal prices. Past production reported: pre-1980: 36,858 kg silver and 800 kg gold; 15,551 kg silver in 1980, 4,959 kg silver in 1981, 9529 kg silver and 217 kg gold in 1983.

Comment (Development): A prospector discovered gold and silver at the surface in 1906, and did some trenching and surface work until 1910, when "a Fuller mining man", from back East bought a half interest and soon bought the whole property. The original Gooseberry Shaft was sunk at that time to a depth of 50 ft by hand. In 1928, J.D. Martin, Sr. purchased a half interest in the Gooseberry Mine from "the Fuller man," and together they operated the mine on a small scale, concentrating on development until the early 1930s when they switched from hand operation to a gas engine and air conditioning for the main shaft. The Martin family took over the mine in mid-1930s and for 40 years sank a 70 degree inclined shaft to the 1000-ft level. Over 9000 ft of drifts were driven at 100-ft intervals with the longest at the 1000-ft level extending 2100 feet west and 1640 feet east. Despite all this development, there was no production recorded from 1906 to 1966. Most of the drift material was stockpiled in dumps at surface, with no development of stopes or vein material. In 1974 the Martin family executed a partial sale of the Gooseberry Mine to APCO Minerals Inc. who sampled and began construction of a 350 tpd mill, shaft and plant. West Coast Oil and Gas (subsidiary of Scurry-Rainbow Oil Limited) took over the mine in 1976 and operated the mine until suspending mining operations in 1981. Asamera Minerals purchased the mine in late 1982. Mill capacity was increased to 500 tpd by the end of 1984. Mine closed down to a skeleton crew in 1985, but reopened in 1987 and production continued throughout 1990. Asamera went out of business in 1992. In December, 2004, the Carson City BLM reported the recent successful clean up of hazardous waste from the 90-acre Gooseberry Mine/Mill Complex. In an on-going program of cleaning up and rehabilitating abandoned mine sites in Nevada, the BLM contracted with Phillips Services Corporation (PSC) for on-site management of mine wastes, including the identification, removal and proper disposal of more than 100 drums of containerized hazardous wastes. Former mine heap leach tailings pond materials were also isolated in a lined containment trench to prevent the materials from contaminating surface and ground water as a result of storm/rain runoff. The site is now considered safe from hazardous waste. Future mine site rehabilitation (such as building removal and grading) will be conducted as funds become available. The former owner and operator of the facility, Pallas Resources (1993-1998) filed for bankruptcy and the private property was deeded to the Storey County Treasurer in June 1998. BLM is working with the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and the Nevada Division of Minerals (NDOM) to close and rehabilitate the site.

Comment (Economic Factors): MILL: ON-SITE, ACTIVE, FLOATATION, CYANIDATION OF CONCENTRATES, MERRILL-CROWE ZN PPT, PROCESS RATE; 320 T/D, CONCENTRATES SHIPPED TO ENGLEHARDT INDUSTRIES LOUISIANA.

Comment (Deposit): OPERATION CURRENTLY UNDERGOING RECLAIMATION AS OF 12/96.

Comment (Economic Factors): UNDERGROUND MINE SHUT DOWN IN OCT. 1991.

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References

Reference (Deposit): ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL. 45 TOP U.S. SILVER MINES AND 27 LEADING U.S. SILVER MINING COMPANIES. V. 183, NO. 6, 1982, P. 15.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): NEVADA MINING ASSOCIATION (RENO). GOOSEBERRY MINE MODIFIES LEACH CIRCUIT; AT FULL PRODUCTION. NV MIN. ASSOC. BULL., V. 8, NO. 2, 1984, P. 19.

Reference (Deposit): NEVADA MINING ASSOCIATION (RENO). NEVADA'S GOOSEBERRY MINE IS PROFILED BY MINE GEOLOGIST. NV MIN. ASSOC. BULL., V. 2, NO. 7, 1978, PP. 12-13.

Reference (Deposit): LEWIS, A. LEACHING AND PRECIPITATION TECHNOLOGY FOR GOLD AND SILVER ORES. ENG. AND MIN. J., V. 184, NO. 6, 1983, PP. 48-56.

Reference (Deposit): ______, GOLD AND SILVER CYANIDATION PLANT PRACTICE, V. II. AIME, 1981, 263 PP.

Reference (Deposit): ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL. THIS MONTH IN MINING: GOLD AND SILVER PROJECTS DOMINATE RECOVERING U.S MINING SCENE. V. 185, NO. 6, 1984, P. 21.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): COTTER, N. ASAMERA IN HIGH GEAR AT GOOSEBERRY MINE. THE NORTHERN MINER (TORONTO), VOLUME 69, NUMBER 25, AUGUST 25, 1983, PP. 1-2.

Reference (Deposit): SCHAFER, R. W. THE MINERALOGY, STRUCTURE, AND ALTERATION PATTERN OF THE GOOSEBERRY MINE, STOREY COUNTY, NEVADA. M.S. THESIS, MIAMI UNIV., OXFORD, OH, 1976, 79 PP.

Reference (Deposit): STODDARD, C., AND J. A. CARPENTER. MINERAL RESOURCES OF STOREY AND LYON COUNTIES, NEVADA. NV BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL. BULL. 49, 1950, P. 89.

Reference (Deposit): NORTHERN MINER (TORONTO). HOME OIL, SCURRY, AND ASAMERA IN U.S. GOLD-SILVER MINE DEAL. DEC. 2, 1982, PP. 1-2.

Reference (Deposit): CLISBY, H. NEVADA'S PRECIOUS METALS PICTURE LOOKING BETTER ALL THE TIME. BIG SKY PAYDIRT (BISBEE, AZ), NO. 36, SEPT. 1983, PP. 21A- 25A.

Reference (Deposit): NATIONAL ASSESSMENT, 1995, U.S. DEPOSIT DATA BASE, #103, "GOOSEBERRY".

Reference (Reserve-Resource): OLIVEIRA, J. L. ROAD LOG/TRIP GUIDE: GOOSEBERRY MINE. FIELD TRIP GUIDEBOOK, FIELD TRIP 12. PAPER IN EXPLORATION FOR ORE DEPOSITS IN THE NORTH AMERICAN CORDILLERA, ED. BY J. L. JOHNSON. SYMP. OF ASSOC. EXPL. GEOCHEM., RENO, NV, MAR. 25-28, 1984, PP. FT 12 -1.

Reference (Deposit): WENATCHEE (WA) WORLD. ASAMERA MINING TO CALL FOR BIDS FOR GOLD MINING SHAFTS, TUNNELS. JUNE 16, 1983, P. 14.

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): McMaster, Larry, 1995, Stratigraphy, structure, and mineralization along the Talapoosa - Gooseberry trend, Lyon and Story Counties, Nevada [abs.]: Program With Abstracts, Geological Society of Nevada Symposium on Geology and Ore Deposits of the American Cordillera, April 10-13, 1995, Reno/Sparks Nevada, p. 55-56.

Reference (Deposit): Bonham, Harold F., 1969, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Washoe and Storey Counties, NV.; NBMG Bull 70,

Reference (Deposit): Rose,R.L., 1969, Geology of parts of Wadsworth and Churchill Buttes Quadrangle NV.;NBMG Bull 71, p. 25

Reference (Deposit): Rose, R.L., 1959Open File Report on Curtis Wright Property, NBMG District File 183, item 4.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Map 84, 1983, Active Mines and Oil Fields

Reference (Deposit): Division of Mine Inspection, Dec. 1983, Directory of Nevada Mine Operations Active During Calendar Year 1983.

Reference (Deposit): Brochure on Gooseberry Mine by Asamera Minerals, NBMG District File 183, item 5.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG District File 183, Press Clippings

Reference (Deposit): Personal communication, 12/88, Gooseberry Mine Foreman.

Reference (Deposit): The Mining Record 4/24/91 pp.10-11.

Reference (Deposit): The Nevada Mineral Industry 1990: NBMG Spec. Pub. MI-1990.

Reference (Deposit): Nevada Dept. of Minerals, 1994

Reference (Deposit): Perkins, Caroline, 1987, Geological and chemical comparison of two epithermal precious metal systems: the Late Permian Red Rock deposit, Drake Volcanics, New South Wales, Australia, and the Miocene Gooseberry deposit, Kate Peak Volcanics, Nevada: New South Wales, Australia, University of New England, Ph.D. dissertation, 363 p.

Reference (Deposit): Royse, 1986, Soil geochemical study of the altered zones associated with the Gooseberry Mine area, Storey County, Nevada: M.S. thesis, University of Nevada, Reno, 105 p.

Reference (Deposit): Sprecher, T.A, 1985, Wallrock alteration, vein structure, and preliminary fluid-inclusion studies, Gooseberry Mine, Story County, Nevada: Reno, University of Nevada, M.S. thesis, 93 p.

Reference (Deposit): USBM IC 9035.

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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.