White Pine Gold Mine

Site Name

Primary: White Pine Gold Mine
Secondary: A-1 deposit
Secondary: A-2 deposit
Secondary: A-3 deposit
Secondary: A-4 deposit
Secondary: A-5 deposit

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Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Tertiary: Tellurium
Tertiary: Bismuth
Tertiary: Mercury
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Copper

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Location

State: Nevada
County: White Pine
District: Bald Mountain District

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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.
Administrative Organization: Ely BLM district

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Owner Name: Western States Minerals Corp.
Info Year: 1997

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Distal disseminated gold-silver
Operation Type: Surface
Year First Production: 1989
Year Last Production: 1990
Discovery Year: 1987
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: M

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Distal disseminated Ag-Au

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Type: L
Description: The dominant structural trend is N45W, but there are NE, N-S, and E-W-trending structures as well. The E-W structures show the youngest period of movement, some of which is post-ore.

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification, argillization, and potassic alteration have affected the host rocks. The main alteration feature is the large halo of silicification and strong argillization. Potassic alteration is recognized at depth.

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Rocks

Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age in Years: 159.000000+-
Age Young: Late Jurassic

Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Description: quartz phenocryst
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Name: Limestone
Role: Host
Description: dark gray
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Mississippian
Age Old: Late Devonian

Name: Shale
Role: Host
Description: calcareous
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Mississippian
Age Old: Late Devonian

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Telluride
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite

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Comments

Comment (Economic Factors): In 1989 reserves were reported as 63,000 ounces of gold in ore grading 0.04 ounces per ton. Production 1989-91: 20.92 M lbs Zn, 1.058 M lbs Cu, 1.835 M lbs Pb, 100,604 oz Ag, 75,343 lbs Cd From 1988 to1990 the mine produced 30,193 ounces of gold and 921 ounces of silver from 927,000 short tons of ore (Long and others, 1998). Total production through closure in 1993 exceeded 60,000 ounces of gold. No data is yet available (1998) on tonnage and grade of remaining resources.

Comment (Geology): The host rocks are calcareous shales and dark gray limestones of the Pilot Shale which weather to iron-oxide stained red-brown-maroon and tan colors. A granitic intrusive with quartz phenocrysts and oxidized pyrite was noted in drill road cuts.

Comment (Location): The White Pine gold project is located at the northern end of the Bald Mountain-Alligator Ridge mineralized area.

Comment (Workings): The mine was developed by open pit methods with recovery by heap leaching.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: gold, tellurides

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: quartz, pyrite

Comment (Deposit): The White Pine deposits are localized along the edges of folds.

Comment (Development): The White Pine deposit was discovered before 1987. Mining began in 1988 and continued through 1993. In 1995, renewed exploration activity in the previously mined area identified several mineralized zones as having significant exploration potential the zones were drilled under a joint-venture agreement between Homestake Mining Co. and Western States Minerals Corp. The property was later dropped by Homestake. U. S. Gold (1988); Western States (1996) operated by White Pine Gold Mining Company (1988); a joint-venture between Homestake Mining Co. and Western States Minerals Corp.(1995)

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References

Reference (Deposit): Dean, D. A., Benedetto, K. M. F., Durgin, D. C., 1991, Part Two: Ely - Bald Mountain - Ely Road Log, in Buffa, R. and Coyner, A., Eds., Geology and Ore Deposits of the Great Basin - Field Trip Guidebook Compendium, The Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, P. 136-162.

Reference (Deposit): A Study of Active U. S. Gold Mines, July, 1986, Metals Economics Group, Boulder, Co, p. 288-291.

Reference (Deposit): Lowe, N. T., Raney, R. G., and Norberg, J. R., Principal Deposits of Strategic and Critical Minerals in Nevada, USBM Information Circular 9035, p. 75.

Reference (Deposit): Placer Dome Inc., Annual Report For 1987.

Reference (Deposit): Placer Dome Inc., Annual Report For 1989.

Reference (Deposit): Placer Dome Inc., Annual Report for 1988.

Reference (Deposit): Placer Dome Inc., Annual Report for 1990.

Reference (Deposit): Bonham, H., Bentz, J., and Smith, P., 1981, Field Examination, June 28, 1981.

Reference (Deposit): Pay Dirt, Oct, 1982.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1982, Open File Report 82-9.

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

Reference (Deposit): Nevada Mining Association Bulletin, 1983.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1994, MIi-1993

Reference (Deposit): Jones and Papke, 1984, Active Mines and Oil Fields in Nevada - 1983, NBMG Map M84.

Reference (Deposit): Homestake Mining Co. press release,10/6/95

Reference (Deposit): Denver Mining Record, 10/11/95

Reference (Deposit): Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-206A, 33 p.; 98-206B. one 3.5 inch diskette.

Reference (Deposit): Northern Miner, 10/30/95

Reference (Deposit): US Gold 1989-90 SEC Form 10K

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MI-1987-NBMG MI-1997, The Nevada Mineral Industry, 1987-1997

Reference (Deposit): The Geological Society of Nevada 1996 Spring Field trip, Geology and Gold Deposits of Eastern Nevada, GSN Special Publication No. 23.

Reference (Deposit): Nutt, C.J., Hofstra, A.H., Hart, K.S., and Mortensen, J.K., 2000, Structural setting and genesis of gold deposits in the Bald Mountain-Alligator Ridge area, east-central Nevada, in Cluer, J.K., Price, J.G., Struhsacker, E.M., Hardyman, R.F., and Morris, C.L., eds., Geology and Ore Deposits 2000: The Great Basin and Beyond: Geological Society of Nevada Symposium Proceedings, May 15-18, 2000, p. 513-537.

Reference (Deposit): Hitchborn and others, 1996, Geology and Gold Deposits of the Bald Mountain Mining District, White Pine County, Nevada, in Geology and Ore Deposits of the American Cordillera Symposium Proceedings, eds. A. Coyner and P. Fahey.

Reference (Deposit): Hill, J. M., 1916, Notes on some Mining Districts in Eastern Nevada, USGS Bull. 648, P. 152-161.

Reference (Deposit): Hose, Blake, and Smith, 1976, Geology and Mineral Resources of White Pine County, Nevada, NBMG Bulletin 85.

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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.