Black Dyke Claim

The Black Dyke Claim is a mercury mine located in Pershing county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,161 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: Black Dyke Claim
Secondary: NBMG Sample Sites 2547, 2548, 2549
Secondary: Mercury 1-4 Claims

Commodity

Primary: Mercury

Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Table Mountain District

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.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Asarco (American Smelting And Refining Co.)
Years: 1984 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1939
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Hot-spring Hg

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Kaolinization, Silicification; Leaching

Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: SAMPLE 2547, RANDOM CHIP FROM TRENCH, CONTAINS 0.07 % FE, 0.03 % MG, 0.05 % CA, 0.3 % TI, 7 PPM AG, 50 PPM B, 700 PPM BA, 20 PPM CU, 5 PPM NI, 20 PPM PB, 20 PPM V, 200 PPM ZR, AND 0.5 PPM AU, BY AA ANALYSIS. SAMPLE 2548, CHIP SAMPLE IN TRENCH, CONTAINS O.O2 % MG, O.7 % TI, 1.5 PPM AG, 1000 PPM BA, 1 PPM BE, 30 PPM CU, 15 PPM PB, 5 PPM SC, 15 PPM V, 10 PPM Y, 500 PPM ZR, AND 0.05 PPM AU, BY AA ANALYSIS. SAMPLE 2549 OF ROTARY CUTTINS CONTAINS 1 % FE, 0.2 % MG, 0.1 % CA, 0.5 % TI, 100 PPM MN, 10 PPM LA, 5 PPM MO, 10 PPM NI, 70 PPM PB, 5 PPM SC, 300 PPM SR, 100 PPM V, 150 PPM ZR, AND 0.1 PPM AU, BY AA ANALYSIS.

Materials

Ore: Cinnabar
Gangue: Opal
Gangue: Sulfur

Comments

Comment (Location): IN NEW YORK CANYON. UTM IS FOR SAMPLE SITE 2547-2548. UTM FOR SAMPLE SITE 2549 IS N4432825, E413000.

Comment (Development): ORIGINAL LOCATION CONSISTS IF FOUR CLAIMS - THREE MORE ADDED IN 1942 BY H.B. BULMER; EXPLORED IN 1940, DROPPED IN 1950, SURFACE EXPLORED IN MID 1950'S; RELOCATED IN 1973 BY C.H. BURCHETT AS MERCURY CLAIMS. NO ACTIVITY AT TIME OF EXAMINATION IN OCT 1984, BUT ASARCO HAD DRILLED FOUR OR MORE ROTARY DRILL HOLES IN SUMMER OF 1984.

Comment (Deposit): FAULT ZONE CUTS MESOZOIC SHALE AND GRANITE, TRENDS N50E DIPS 60-70 NW. ACID LEACHED ZONE ALONG FAULT, OPAL, CINNABAR, NATIVE SULFER. ROCK IS THOROUGHLY ACID-LEACHED IN SHEAR ZONE. LOCALLY, PARTS OF THE ROCK ALONG THE SHEAR ZONE ARE SILICIFIED TO FORM A RESISTANT RIDGE COMPRISING THE "BLACK DYKE" FOR WHICH THE PROSPECT IS NAMED. EARLY EXPLORATION WAS ON THE NORTHERN PART OF THE ZONE, BUT MORE RECENT WORK HAS BEEN CONCENTRATED ON A HILL WHERE A WHITE TUFF COVERS THE "DYKE". THE CREST OF THIS HILL HAS BEEN CROSSED BY FOUR DOZER TRENCHES 150 FT LONG, 25 FT DEEP. THE BEDDED TUFF EXPOSED IN THE TRENCH WALLS IS LOCALLY CUT BY VERTICAL ZONES OF SILICIFIED ROCK MARKING PROBABLE CONDUITS OF HOT WATER OR GAS THAT EMERGED AS HOT SPRINGS AND/OR FUMAROLES.

Comment (Workings): THREE SHORT ADITS AND SEVERAL TRENCHES, FOUR OR MORE ROTARY DRILL HOLES.

Comment (Geology): CINNABAR OCCURS IN A SHEAR ZONE AT THE CONTACT OF QUARTZ MONZONITE AND SEDIMENTARY ROCKS IN DISSEMINATED GRAINS, LOCALLY ACCOMPANIED BY IRREGULAMASSES OF SULFUR.

Comment (Deposit): LOCATED PRIOR TO 1942 AND PROSPECTED SPORADICALLY BUT WITH NO RECORD OF PRODUCTION. PROPERTY IS DEVELOPED BY THREE SHORT ADITS SPACED AT ABOUT 500-FOOT INTERVALS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

References

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, M.G., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA; NBMG BULLETIN 89.

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

Reference (Deposit): HOLMES, 1965, MERCURY IN NEVADA; IN USBM 1C 8252.

Reference (Deposit): WALLACE, ET AL, 1969, USGS GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE BUFFALO MOUNTAIN QUADRANGLE, PERSHING AND CHURCHILL COUNTIES, NEVADA: USGS MAP GQ - 821. #5. BONHAM, H.F., JR., 12 SEP 84, NBMG FIELD EXAMINATION AND SAMPLE ANALYSIS. #6. BAILEY, E.H., RYTUBA, J.J., AND JONES, R.B., 1984, UNPUBLISHED DATA ON HG DEPOSITS OF NEVADA.

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.