Murray Gold Mine

Site Name

Primary: Murray Gold Mine
Secondary: New Deep

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Mercury
Tertiary: Barium-Barite
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Antimony

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Location

State: Nevada
County: Elko
District: Jerritt Canyon District

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Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
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: Elko District U S Forest Service

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Owner Name: Queenstake Resources
Info Year: 2006

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Sediment-hosted Au; Carlin-type
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Discovery Year: 1918
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: Sediment-hosted Au

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Orebody

Form: tabular; pods; beds.

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Structure

Type: L
Description: breccia zone, faults, fractures

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: silicification, oxidation of sulphides, bleaching, argillization, decalcification

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Rocks

Name: Siltstone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Silurian
Age Old: Middle Ordovician

Name: Limestone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Silurian
Age Old: Middle Ordovician

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Stibnite
Ore: Limonite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Quartz
Ore: Clay
Ore: Gold
Ore: Orpiment
Ore: Realgar
Ore: Barite
Gangue: Calcite

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Comments

Comment (Development): Gold mineralization was originally discovered at Jerritt Canyon in 1972 by FMC, with the property subjected to numerous drill campaigns since the 1970s. Mining at Jerritt Canyon, however, only began in 1981 and has continued uninterrupted until the present. Open pit mining took place from 1981 to 1999. Underground mining started in 1993 and is the current source of mill feed. Jerritt Canyon currently consists of four underground mining operations (Murray, Smith, SSX, and Steer). The MCE mine was permanently shut down during the first half of 2004. The new Steer mine portal was collared in April 2004 and is currently under development.

Comment (Economic Factors): In 2004 the proven reserve was reported as 197,225 tons of ore grading 0.336 ounces of gold per ton for a total of 66,213 contained ounces of gold, with an additional probable reserve of 52,636 tons of ore grading 0.347 ounces of gold per ton (18,258 ounces of gold).

Comment (Identification): The Murray Mine develops a deep deposit below the earlier main Jerritt Canyon open pit mine on the Generator group.

Comment (Location): UTM is to near center of the Generator Pit.

Comment (Workings): Underground workings developed from bottom of earlier open pit.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: gold

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: calcite, quartz, pyrite, oxidation products, limonite, clays, stibnite, barite, realgar, orpiment

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References

Reference (Deposit): Hofstra, A.H., and Rowe, W.A., 1987, Sediment-hosted disseminated gold mineralization at Jerritt Canyon, Nevada, II--Jasperoid paragenesis and occurrence of gold: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 19, p. 704.

Reference (Deposit): Phinisey, J.D., Hofstra, A.H., Snee, L.W., Roberts, T.T., Dahl, A.R., and Loranger, R.J., 1996, Evidence for multiple episodes of igneous and hydrothermal activity and constraints on the timing of gold mineralization, Jerritt Canyon district, Elko County, Nevada, in Coyner, A.R., and Fahey, P.L., eds., Geology and Ore Deposits of the American Cordillera: Geological Society of Nevada Symposium Proceedings, Reno, April 1995, p. 15-39.

Reference (Deposit): Weideman, W.L., Dahl, A.R., and MacDonald, G.D., 1991, The geology of the MAP area gold deposits, Enfield Bell mine, Jerritt Canyon district, Elko County, Nevada, in Raines, G.L., Lisle, R.E., Shafer, R.W, and Wilkinson, W.H., eds., Geology and ore deposits in the Great Basin, symposium proceedings: Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, v. 2, p. 603-606.

Reference (Deposit): Hofstra, A.H., Daly, W.E., Birak, D.J., and Doe, T.C., 1991, Geologic framework and genesis of Carlin-type gold deposits in the Jerritt Canyon district, Nevada, U.S.A., in Ladeira, E.A., ed., BRAZILGOLD '91, The economics, geology, geochemistry and genesis of gold deposits: A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 77-87.

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): Hofstra, A.H., Landis, G.P., Rye, R.O., Birak, D.J., Dahl, A.R., Daly, W.E., and Jones, M.B., 1989, Geology and origin of the Jerritt Canyon sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits, Nevada, in Schindler, K.S., ed., U.S. Geological Survey Research on Mineral Resources-1989, Programs and Abstracts: Circular 1035, p. 30-32.

Reference (Deposit): Hofstra, A.H., Leventhal, J.S., Northrop, H.R., Landis, G.P., Rye, R.O., Birak, D.J., and Dahl, A.R., 1991, Genesis of sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits by fluid mixing and sulfidation: chemical reaction path modeling of ore depositional processes documented in the Jerritt Canyon District, Nevada: Geology, v. 19, no. 1, p. 36-40.

Reference (Deposit): Hofstra, A.H., 1994, Geology and genesis of the Carlin-type gold deposits in the Jerritt Canyon district, Nevada [Ph.D. thesis]: University of Colorado, Boulder, 719 p.

Reference (Deposit): Northrop, H.R., Rye, R.O., Landis, G.P., Lustwerk, R., Jones, M.B., and Daly, W.E., 1987, Sediment-hosted disseminated gold mineralization at Jerritt Canyon, Nevada, V-Stable isotope geochemistry and a model of ore deposition: Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting, Abstracts with programs, v. 19, p. 791. Phinisey, J.D., 1995, Petrography, alteration, and mineralization of igneous dikes of the Jerritt Canyon District, Elko County, Nevada [M.S. thesis]: University of Nevada, Reno, 173 p.

Reference (Deposit): Hofstra, A.H., Northrop, H.R., Rye, R.O., Landis, G.P., and Birak, D.J., 1988, Origin of sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits by fluid mixing: Evidence from jasperoids in the Jerritt Canyon gold district, Nevada, USA, in Goode, A.D.T., and Bosma, L.I., eds., Geological Society of Australia, Proceedings of Bicentennial Gold' 88: Economic Geology, Abstract Series no. 22, p. 284-289.

Reference (Deposit): Hawkins, R.B., 1984, Discovery of the Bell Mine, Jerritt Canyon district, Elko County, Nevada, in Wilkins, J., Jr., ed., Gold and silver deposits of the Basin and Range province western U.S.A.: Arizona Geological Society Digest, v. XV, p. 53-58.

Reference (Deposit): Folger, H.W., Snee, L.W., Mehnert, H.H., and Hofstra, A.H., 1996,Significance of K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar dates from mica in Carlin-type gold deposits: Evidence from the Jerritt Canyon District, Nevada, in Coyner, A.R., and Fahey, P.L., eds., Geology and Ore Deposits of the American Cordillera: Geological Society of Nevada Symposium Proceedings, Reno-Sparks, Nevada, April 1995, p. 41-60.

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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.