Potosi Mine

The Potosi Mine is a silver mine located in Mineral county, Nevada at an elevation of 6,260 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: Potosi Mine
Secondary: New Potosi
Secondary: Mt. Potosi
Secondary: Peterson
Secondary: Mount Potosi

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Antimony
Secondary: Gold
Tertiary: Iron
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Zinc

Location

State: Nevada
County: Mineral
District: Candelaria

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: G. A. Peterson
Home Office: Mina, Nev.

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1868
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Great Basin
Physiographic Detail: Basin And Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR RESTRICTED SHOOTS

Structure

Type: R
Description: Folding And Faulting

Type: L
Description: Parent Structure May Be Classified As A Bedding Reverse Fault

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Hydrothermal, Oxidation

Rocks

Name: Sandstone
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Triassic

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Jamesonite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): LOCAL SMALL PODS OF SULFIDES WITHIN 200 FEET OF THE GROUND SURFACE, ALTHOUGH THE MAJOR PART OF THE ORE IS THOROUGHLY OXIDIZED TO A GREATER DEPTH. GOLD WAS AN IMPORTANT CONSTITUENT IN THE EARLY PRODUCTION OF THIS MINE

Comment (Commodity): ORES MORE QUARTZOSE THAN THE MINES NEAR PICKHANDLE GULCH AND HIGHLY MANGANIFEROUS. SILVER IS PRESUMED TO LIE IN THE CRYSTAL LATTICES OF GALENA AND JAMESONITE.

Comment (Location): SHAFT AND SURFACE WORKINGS REPRESENTING WESTERNMOST MINESITE OF CANDELARIA DISTRICT

Comment (Production): CUMULATIVE PRODUCTION UNKNOWN. SEVERAL THOUSAND TONS OF ORE SHIPPED BETWEEN 1948 - 1952 VALUED AT $35 - $75 PER TON. AVE. METAL CONTENT/TON = AU 0.5-0.6 OZ.; AG 8 - 12 OZ.; PB 8 - 12 %; SB 4 - 6 %; FEO 12 - 15 %; CU 0.5 %; ZN 0.5 %. IN 1956, THERE WAS SOME UNDERGROUND PRODUCTION, BUT ACTIVITY CEASED BEFORE 1961.

Comment (Deposit): VEIN ESSENTIALLY CONCORDANT WITH THE BEDS OF THE FOOTWALL

Comment (Workings): EXTENSIVE WORKINGS. VEIN HAS BEEN SLOPED CONTINUOUSLY ALONG STRIKE FOR 600 FEET OR MORE TO THE SURFACE. EXTENT OF MORE RECENT WORKINGS UNKNOWN

Comment (Geology): MOST FAVORABLE HORIZON FOR VEINS IS JUST ABOVE THE DIABLO GRIT. WEST OF MINE, 2 OR 3 VEINS LIE SIDE BY SIDE, SHOWING THAT FAVORABLE HORIZON IS NOT CONFINED TO SINGLE STRATUM, BUT COMPRISES SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET OF STRATA.

References

Reference (Deposit): 1961 RECON NEV. BUREAU OF MINES BULL. 58

Reference (Deposit): KNOPF, A., 1923 , CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, USGS, BULL. 735 , PP 1 - 23

Reference (Deposit): PAGE, B. M., 1959 , GEOLOGY OF THE CANDELARIA MINING DISTRICT, MINERAL CO., NEV., NEV. BUREAU OF MINES, BULL. 56

Reference (Deposit): ROSS, D. L., GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MINERAL CO., NEV., NEV. BUREAU OF MINES, BULL. 58

Reference (Deposit): 1922 RECON KNOPF, A., BULL 735, REPORT

Reference (Deposit): 1923 RECON NEV. NEWSLETTER PUB. CO.

Reference (Deposit): 1954 RECON FERGUSON, MULLER, CATHCART, GEOLOGY OF MINA QUAD

Reference (Deposit): 1959 RECON NEV. BUREAU OF MINES BULL. 56

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.