Weepah Mine

Site Name

Primary: Weepah Mine

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Commodity

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

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Location

State: Nevada
County: Esmeralda
District: Lone Mountain (Weepah) 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: BLM Tonopah subdistrict

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Owner Name: Dia Met Minerals
Info Year: 1997

Owner Name: Tseng Mining-RRM., James D. Youngblood, General Manager
Home Office: P. O. Box 437, Mina, NV 89422
Info Year: 1983

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: contact metasomatic; vein
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Year First Production: 1904
Year Last Production: 1987
Discovery Year: 1902
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: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein

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Orebody

Form: Vein, Au-quartz, peraluminous granite

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Structure

Type: L
Description: The deposit occurs along a fault

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Alterations

Not available

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Rocks

Name: Alkali-Granite (Alaskite)
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Jurassic
Age Old: Tertiary

Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Description: peraluminous
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Jurassic
Age Old: Tertiary

Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Jurassic
Age Old: Tertiary

Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Slate
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Cambrian
Age Old: Precambrian

Name: Limestone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Cambrian
Age Old: Precambrian

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz

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Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings consist of an open pit.

Comment (Development): The deposits were first discovered in 1904 by Frank Horton. A few tons of ore were hauled initially but ore zones were small. A 35-ft shaft was sunk and abandoned. In 1927 Horton's son reopened a prospect shaft and took out $150,000 worth of ore. The mine was then intermittently operated until 1934, when the mine was purchased and Weepah Nevada Mining Co was formed to operate it. An open pit mine was developed and worked at 250 tons/day. It was listed as an active open pit silver-gold mine employing 10 persons in 1983. The property was drilled by Pacific Realm in 1984-85, Sunshine Mining Co. leased it in 1986 and began mining it in Sept. 1986, shipping 1000 tpd to its Sixteen-to-One mill, 14 miles away at Silver Peak The owner of the property in 1997 was Dia Met Minerals, Ttd.; Goldtex Resources, Ltd. and ongoing exploration activity was reported. Goldtex Resources merged with Cantex Mine Development in 2001. In 2001 Dia Met did not list the Weepah as one of its properties.

Comment (Economic Factors): Production from 1904 to 1935 was reported as 4,600 cubic yards of ore. Production from 1935 to 1939 was 336,304 short tons grading 0.17 opt Au valued at $1,615,037. Production from1986 to 1987 was 58,000 ounces of gold. Reserves were estimated in 1986 to be 200 kilotonnes of ore grading 0.1 opt Au and 0.4 opt Ag.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: free gold, galena, unknown Cu mineral

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: gangue minerals: quartz, altered country rock

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References

Reference (Deposit): Bonham, H.F., 1986, NBMG Map 91.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MI-1980, MI1983, and MI1986-MI1999.

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): Sonderman, F. J., 1971, The Geology of the Weepah Mining District, UNR M.S. Thesis.

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

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Mining District File 96b, press clippings.

Reference (Deposit): Goldfield Land Status, 1978.

Reference (Deposit): Pay Dirt 10/86.

Reference (Deposit): Sunshine Annual 1986-1988 Annual Reports

Reference (Deposit): Tingley, J. V. and Maldonado, F.,1983, Investigation of the mineral potential of the Clipper Gap, Lone Mountain-Weepah, and Pipe Spring plutons, Nevada; NBMG Open-File Report, Report: 83-8, 106 pp.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Map 84, 1983.

Reference (Deposit): Spurr, J.E., 1906, Ore Deposits of the Silver Peak Quad., Nev.: USGS PP 55, p. 80-81.

Reference (Deposit): Oxnam, T.H., 1936, Weepah Gold: Eng. and Mining Jour., vol. 137, no. 6, p. 300-303.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Bull 38

Reference (Deposit): Albers, J. P. and Stewart, J. H., 1972, NBMG Bull 78

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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.