Bull Run Prospect

The Bull Run Prospect is a lead, gold, and silver mine located in Elko county, Nevada at an elevation of 7,972 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

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Bull Run Prospect
Secondary: Blue Jacket Mine

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Copper

Location

State: Nevada
County: Elko
District: Aura District

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.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Blue Jacket Mining Company
Info Year: 1972

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Polymetallic vein and replacement
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1868
Discovery Year: 1868
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Form: tabular

Structure

Type: R
Description: The Trail Creek fault emplaced western assemblage cherts and argillites over transitional assemblage rocks a few miles north of the Blue Jacket Mine

Type: L
Description: The area is transected by a series of northeast-trending faults

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Granodiorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Cretaceous

Name: Shale
Role: Host
Description: finely laminated siliceous
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Ordovician

Name: Limestone
Role: Host
Description: dark gray, finely crystalline
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Ordovician

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Economic Factors): The bulk of the mine?s production took place between 1876 and 1885, during which time the mine produced 3.17 tonnes of gold and 135.7 tonnes of silver. The remaining resource was estimated by the USBM in 1989 to be 1800 kilotonnes of ore containing 0.3 tonnes gold, 137 tonnes silver, 4.5 kilotonnes copper, 36 kilotonnes lead, and 33 kilotonnes zinc (Long and others, 1998).

Comment (Geology): The area is transected by a series of northeast-trending faults. Some intrusive granodiorite was also found on the dumps.

Comment (Identification): This record includes all material in MRDS record M232793 for the historic Blue Jacket mine and has been updated with Bull Run material.

Comment (Development): The Blue Jacket was the first discovery in the district in 1868 and was worked through 2 tunnels and a shaft until the early 1900s. Two 5-stamp amalgamation mills were built in Blue Jacket Canyon to treat the ore. The bulk of the mine?s production took place between 1876 and 1885. The area was idle by 1908, and all workings were inaccessible in 1956. The area was re-explored in the 1960s, and sporadic mining and reworking of the dumps continued into the 1970s. The Blue Jacket Mine and Millsite are patented.

Comment (Workings): The property was developed by two tunnels and a shaft, with several smaller workings located above the adits.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite,copper carbonates

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: quartz, calcite, pyrite, iron oxides, copper oxides.

Comment (Location): The mine workings are located 1.6 miles NNE of Porter Peak, about one mile west of Blue Jacket Creek.

Comment (Deposit): The deposit is a replacement vein in dark gray, finely crystalline limestone and finely laminated siliceous shale of the Ordovician Aura Formation. Galena, pyrite and iron oxides occur in a white quartz vein with minor amounts of sphalerite and tetrahedrite. The vein also contains boxwork pods of iron and copper oxides. The limestone in the mine area is cut by abundant white calcite veins. Much of the mine dump rock consists of brecciated white vein quartz recemented by silica and iron oxides. Smaller workings in the vicinity of the main shaft are aligned along a fault striking N54E.

References

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

Reference (Deposit): Granger, A.E., 1957, Mineral Resources of Elko Co. Nev, NBMG Bull. 54.

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

Reference (Deposit): Decker, R.W., 1962, Geology Of The Bull Run Quad, Elko Co., NBMG Bull 60.

Reference (Deposit): Schmauch and others, 1992.

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): Bentz and Brooks, 1982, field examination report, NBMG files.

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.