Willard Gold Mine

Site Name

Primary: Willard Gold Mine
Secondary: Honey Bee Nose Pit
Secondary: Section Line pit
Secondary: South pit
Secondary: South West pit
Secondary: Willard Draw pit
Secondary: Willard Hill pit

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Manganese
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Iron

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Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Willard 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: Carson City BLM administrative 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 Corporation
Info Year: 1997

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: vein, stockwork, breccia
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Year First Production: 1990
Year Last Production: 1997
Discovery Year: 1980
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 irreular

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Structure

Type: R
Description: Basin and Range faulting

Type: L
Description: Vertical shear zone

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Wall rock is bleached and kaolinized.

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Rocks

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Description: brecciated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Name: Sandstone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Triassic

Name: Phyllite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Triassic

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Variscite
Ore: Fluellite
Ore: Wavellite
Gangue: Quartz

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Comments

Comment (Workings): There were numerous old underground and surface workings in the current mine area and at historic mines to the north and east of the mined area. These include numerous adits, tunnels, shafts, open stopes, cuts, and scattered workings. 1990s development consisted of drill sites and several open pits. The mine site has now been reclaimed. At the old Johnson-Heizer mine about 2 miles to the north, the deposit was developed by a 264-ft inclined shaft from which some 440 feet of drifting and considerable stoping were done, and other historic mines in the district had a considerable amount of underground development.

Comment (Development): The historic antimony mines in the area were worked from about 1915 until about 1950. The area was explored for gold deposits beginning in the 1970s and several drilling programs were active in the area. Western States Minerals Corporation discovered a mineable gold deposit in the 1980s. The Willard deposit of Western States Minerals Corporation was placed into production in May 1990, and was reportedly mined out by 1993, but production amount was not reported. In 1997, in the Willard district, Easton Minerals elected to proceed with the second year of an exploration agreement on its Colado gold-silver property after obtaining encouraging results from the first phase of drilling. Previous work on the project by owner Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corp. indicated an oxide gold resource of 15 million tons grading 0.022 opt. Easton Minerals, Ltd. sti owned the property in 1999, but later dropped the property. Exact location of the Colado deposit is unknown, but it is thought to be near (within a mile or two) of the willard Mine area.

Comment (Economic Factors): Pre-production reserves in 1989 were reported to be 3.61 million tons of ore. Reserves in 1989 were reported to be 15 million tons of ore grading 0.022 opt gold. From 1990 to 1993, the Willard Gold Mine produced gold, but the production amount was not reported. In 1997, at a Willard District property apparently located a few miles to the north, Colado Gold reported reserves of 15 million tons of ore grading 0.022 OPT gold, later transferred to Easton Minerals, Ltd. (1999), which later dropped the property.

Comment (Identification): This is a new record for the recently mined Willard gold mine, but includes some data from earlier records for the historic Willard District antimony mines: M242911, M060396, M242912, M060395

Comment (Location): The Willard gold mine is located at the north end of the West Humboldt Range, about 2 miles due east of the Young Ranch.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: free gold

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: quartz, iron oxides, pyrite, Mn oxide, hematite, variscite, fluellite, wavellite

Comment (Deposit): The northern portion of the deposit consisted of a stockwork network of quartz veinlets in limestone at and near the contact with underlying rhyolite. Mineralization is also present in brecciated rhyolite close to basalt dikes. There is a zone up to 2 meters wide of anastomosing quartz and calcite veinlets and stringers that dips 50-55W. There is some hydrothermal breccia with abundant pyrite. Late-stage green fluorite and very late barite are present. Pyrite is the only visible sulfide mineral. Ore consisted of free-milling gold and silver in copper-stained quartz veins.. In the southern portion of the deposit are a number of E-W-trending hydrofractured breccia zones with anastomosing quartz veinlets cutting interbedded phyllite and sandstone, with iron oxides after pyrite. The quartz is well crystallized, commonly vuggy, with crystals forming rosettes around breccia fragments. There is a quartz vein with breccia and jasperoid along shear zone. There is an extensive stockwork zone of veins, silicification, and iron-staining in phyllite. Ore is controlled by a vertical shear zone.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Vanderburg, 1936, Reconnaissance of Mining Districts in Pershing County, Nevada; USBM IC 6902.

Reference (Deposit): Weed, W.H., 1922, "The Mines Handbook", Vol. XV, Tuckahoe, N.Y. #5.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MI-89 thru MI-95

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Map 91, 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Reference (Deposit): Amer. Mines (1998), 1997

Reference (Deposit): EA, 1988

Reference (Deposit): Lovelock Land Status, 1978

Reference (Deposit): Denver Mining Record 2/19/97, 4/23/97.

Reference (Deposit): Johnson, M.G., 1977, Geology And Mineral Deposits Of Pershing County, Nevada, NBMG Bull 89, p. 102-103.

Reference (Deposit): Tingley, J.V., 20 June 85, NBMG Field Examination and sample analysis.

Reference (Deposit): Bonham, H.F., 17 Jul 85, NBMG Field Examination and sample analysis.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Staff, 1985, NBMG OFR 85-3.

Reference (Deposit): Lincoln, 1923, Mining Districts & Mineral Resources of Nevada; Nevada Newsletter Publishing Company.

Reference (Deposit): MASMILS 0320270349, 0320270746, 0320270831

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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.