Plum Mine

The Plum Mine is a silver mine located in Storey county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,315 feet.

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

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Site Name

Primary: Plum Mine
Secondary: Billy the Kid Pit
Secondary: Billie the Kid Mine
Secondary: BTK pit
Secondary: BTK deposit
Secondary: Lucerne pits
Secondary: Lucerne Dump Project
Secondary: Lucerne Deposit
Secondary: part of South Comstock Gold Project
Secondary: part of Oliver Hills (Haywood-Santiago)
Secondary: Silver City Lode Deposit
Secondary: part of South Comstock Joint Venture

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Iron
Tertiary: Manganese

Location

State: Nevada
County: Storey
District: Silver City subdistrict

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.
Administrative Organization: Carson City BLM Administrative District

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: GoldSpring, Inc.
Info Year: 2004

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: vein, stockwork, breccia
Operation Type: Surface
Year First Production: 1871
Year Last Production: 2004
Discovery Year: 1870
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Epithermal vein, Comstock

Orebody

Form: tabular

Structure

Type: R
Description: block faulting; Silver City Fault

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Metasedimentary Rock
Role: Associated
Description: metasedimentary rocks
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Mesozoic

Name: Andesite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Miocene
Age Old: Middle Miocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Silver
Ore: Electrum
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Argentite
Ore: Ankerite
Ore: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Development): The Silver City branch of the Comstock Lode south of Virginia City has seen many generations of mining and exploration activity for precious metals over the years. It was estimated that between 1871 and 1940, the Silver City lode vein system produced about 6 tonnes of gold and 236 tonnes of silver from 611,000 metric tonnes of ore. The area continued to attract precious metals exploration activity in the 1960s, and in the 1970s-1980s, Houston Oil and Minerals Corporation operated a gold-silver mine on part of the current Goldspring property. Houston closed down operations in the 1980s but the Lucerne Pit area has continued to be worked intermittently since first discovered. Rea Gold did exploratory drilling in the early 1990s and planned to mine the smaller, higher grade Lucerne Starter pit followed by mining of the larger Lucerne Main pit. The operations were called the South Comstock Joint Venture (listed in Lyon County, but workings extend just over the county line to the north in Storey County) and produced 6,936 ounces of gold and 72,139 ounces of silver from 124,000 tons of ore in 1993-1994. Plum Mining Company was active in the district from the mid-1990s to 2004, and GoldSpring, Inc. was also active in the area, with a dump reworking project on the Comstock lode dumps to the north and placer claim operations three miles to the south. BMR also operated the South Comstock Joint Venture in the late 1990s, with property extending across the county line to the south into Lyon County. In 2004, GoldSpring, Inc. purchased Plum Mining Company, LLC, owner of the Billie the Kid open-pit mine, which was reported to contain substantial drill-proven reserves. The pit was on patented land and fully permitted for operation. The average drill proven grade was 0.074 opt Au and 0.32 opt Ag. Goldspring began operating the Billie the Kid (Plum) Mine in 2004. It is just 500 meters south west of the Lucerne open pit, where additional reserves remain. GoldSpring, Inc. set up a Direct Electrowinning (EMEW) gold and silver metals recovery plant at the Plum Mining Cyanide heap leach facility to enable recovery capacity to exceed 100 oz gold and 200 oz silver per day. As of end of 2004, 100,000 tons of ore from Billie the Kid open pit have been mined and loaded on the heap leach pad since January 2004 and regular shipments of gold-silver dore have been made to Johnson Matthey Refinery in Salt Lake City since June 2004. Approximate production as of September 20, 2004 was 1,500 ounces of gold and 6,500 ounces of silver. Annual production estimates were projected to be 25,000 ounces of gold and 125,000 ounces of silver, at a projected cash cost per ounce of gold production of $190. The project life estimate is 5 to 7 years.

Comment (Workings): Early underground workings have been largely obliterated by subsequent open pits. The Billie the Kid pit was designed for removal of 607,000 tons of ore. The Lucerne Starter pit was designed for removal of 392,000 tons of ore. The Lucerne Main pit was designed for removal of 2,291,000 tons of ore containing 0.050 ounces of gold per ton. Trucks transported ore to heap leach pads.

Comment (Economic Factors): Between 1871 and 1940, the Silver City lode vein system produced about 6 tonnes of gold and 236 tonnes of silver from 611,000 metric tonnes of ore. Production from 1993-94 was 6,936 ounces of gold and 72,139 ounces of silver from 124,000 tons of ore. Reserves for Billie the Kid were reported in 1993 as 607 kilotonns of ore grading 0.047 ounces of gold per ton and in 1997, proven and probable 84,701 ounces of gold equivalent Reserves for Lucerne North Starter Zone in 1993 were reported as 182 kilotonnes of ore grading 0.061 ounces of gold per ton and 11,102 contained ounces of silver. Reserves for Lucerne South Starter Zone in 1993 were reported as 210 kilotonnes of ore grading 0.065 ounces of gold per ton and 13,650 ounces of silver. Reserves for Lucerne deposit in 1999 reported by the South Comstock Joint Venture were 400 kilotonnes of ore grading 0.07 ounces of gold per ton and 0.26 ounces of silver per ton. The Oliver Hills South Comstock Joint Venture project produced 573 ounces of gold and 6,947 ounces of silver in 1991. In 1990, it reportedly contained reserves of 3.37 million tons of ore grading 0.054 ounces of gold per ton and 1.2 ounces of silver per ton. In 1993 it reportedly contained reserves of 4 million tons of ore grading 0.05 ounces of gold per ton and 0.5 ounces of silver per ton, and a geologic resource of 225,000 ounces of gold and 2.25 million ounces of silver.

Comment (Geology): Gold mineralization is contained within breccias, as is typical of Silver City lode deposits. The hanging wall and mineralized rock are younger, Tertiary volcanics, while footwall is composed of Mesozoic units. Locally, Tertiary-aged rocks are also found in the footwall.

Comment (Identification): This record includes material from MRDS records RE00291 for the historic Billy the Kid Mine workings and W700442 for the historic Lucerne pit workings, as well as additional material for the more recent operations. Goldspring, Inc. currently owns and operates the Plum Mine at these old properties, which are less than 500 meters apart.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: free gold, native silver, electrum, pyrite, argentite

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: calcite, ankerite, manganese oxides, quartz

Comment (Location): The mine is located in the American Ravine; Hartford Hill separates the Billie the Kid pit from the Lucerne pit which is in Gold Canyon adjacent to Nevada State Highway 342.

Comment (Deposit): Goldsprings' current mining operations are located on the historic Silver City lode vein deposits. Concentrated gold and silver are contained within a three-dimensional interlocking quartz stockwork and in manganiferous-quartz-calcite veins. Outside of the manganiferous zone, significant gold and/or silver values generally conform to the geometry of the Silver City lode. Gold mineralization is contained within breccias, as is typical of Silver City lode deposits. The hanging wall and mineralized rock are younger, Tertiary volcanics, while footwall is composed of Mesozoic units. Late pyrite (post-mineral) occurs abundantly in gouge and wallrocks. Locally, Tertiary-aged rocks are also found in the footwall. Ore production was confined to shallow depths, (less than 300 ft).

References

Reference (Deposit): State Writer's Project, 1940-41, Individual Histories of the mines of the Comstock; Unpublished Open-File Report, Nev. Bur. Mines & Geol.

Reference (Deposit): website: http://goldspring.us/p-billie.htm
URL: http://goldspring.us/p-billie.htm

Reference (Deposit): Goldspring, Inc. news release, 9/24/2003.

Reference (Deposit): Stoddard, C., and Carpenter, J.A., 1950, Mineral Resources of Storey and Lyon Counties, Nevada: NBMG Bull. 49.

Reference (Deposit): "Comstock Drilling Extends Lucerne," The Northern Miner, May 24, 1993, p. 10.

Reference (Deposit): Burgoyne, A.A., 1993, Rea Gold Corp. Operating Plan Summary for South Comstock Joint Venture: Unpublished Letter.

Reference (Deposit): Gianella, V.P., 1936, Geology of the Silver City District and the southern portion of the Comstock Lode, Nevada: NBMG Bull. 29, Vol. 30, No. 9.

Reference (Deposit): USGS Staff, 1888, Map of the Washoe District (showing mining claims): Plate III.

Reference (Deposit): Becker, G.F., 1882, Geology of the Comstock Lode and the Washoe District: USGS Monograph 3.

Reference (Deposit): NDOM Staff, 1988, Directory of Nevada Mine Operations Active During Calendar Year 1987: Nevada Division Of Mine Inspection, 84 p.

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.

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.