Cardinal Mine

The Cardinal Mine is a mercury mine located in Mineral county, Nevada at an elevation of 8,671 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: Cardinal Mine
Secondary: Harris
Secondary: Towner and Ott

Commodity

Primary: Mercury

Location

State: Nevada
County: Mineral
District: Pilot Mountains District

Land Status

Land ownership: Federal
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

Type: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: K. W. Dunham

Production

Year: 1943
Time Period: To 1943
Material type: HG
Description: Cp_Grade: ^10 Lb/Ton

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1930
Discovery Year: 1929
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: LENSES AND STRINGERS

Structure

Type: L
Description: Steep Fault And Bedding Shears

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification

Rocks

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Triassic

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Triassic

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: 12 PER CENT CINNABAR
Analytical Data: 16 LB HG PER FT. OF WORKINGS PRODUCED

Materials

Ore: Cinnabar
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Commodity): ORE MAY BE ALTERED MERCURIAL SULFIDE.

Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED TOWNSHIP

Comment (Workings): WORKINGS AS OF 1942. CAVED. LAST OPERATED 1942.

Comment (Geology): TRIASSIC SEDIMENTARY AND VOLCANIC ROCKS WERE FOLDED AND THRUST FAULTED IN EARLY JURASSIC. THESE ARE OVERLAIN AND INTRUDED BY TERT ANDESITE AND RHYOLITE. SUBSEQUENT NORMAL FAULTING. ; MAJOR.UNITS: MESOZOIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

References

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY, E. H., U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, PERSONAL FILES

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY AND PHOENIX, 1944, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 41

Reference (Deposit): ROSS, 1961, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MINERAL COUNTY, NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 58

Reference (Deposit): PHOENIX AND CATHCART, 1951, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN THE SOUTHERN PILOT MOUNTAINS, MINERAL COUNTY, NEVADA: USGS BULL. 973 - D

Reference (Production): USBM UNPUB DATA

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.