Kaolin Mercury Mine

The Kaolin Mercury Mine is a mercury mine located in Pershing county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,899 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: Kaolin Mercury Mine
Secondary: Walker Mine
Secondary: Dixie Mine
Secondary: Claybanks Mine
Secondary: Duplex Mine

Commodity

Primary: Mercury
Tertiary: Mica
Tertiary: Clay

Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Spring Valley District

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: W. M. Fisk

Production

Year: 1957
Time Period: To 1957
Material type: HG
Description: Cp_Grade: ^10 Lb/Ton

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1908
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral Not In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Hot-spring Hg

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Kaolinization

Rocks

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

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: ALL OF THE ORE WAS PROBABLY OF LOW GRADE, AVERAGING PERHAPS A POUND OF QUICKSILVER PER TON, AND APPARENTLY ALL THE- ORE WAS CONCENTRATED BEFORE RETORTING.

Materials

Ore: Cinnabar
Ore: Kaolinite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Tourmaline
Gangue: Pyrite
Unknown: Sericite

Comments

Comment (Location): IN AMERICAN CANYON

Comment (Workings): NUMEROUS OPEN CUTS, SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET OF NEAR SURFACE STOPES AND CONNECTING ADITS, A LONG HAULAGE ADIT ABOUT 100 FT BELOW THE STOPES.; DRIFTS AND SEVERAL INCLINED INTERCONNECTING PASSAGEWAYS.

Comment (Geology): GEOL.DESC: ATTITUDE OF COUNTRY ROCK: EW/30N

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT OCCURS IN A LARGE FAULT ZONE THAT BORDERS A PLUG OF RHYOLITE PORPHYRY. CINNABAR OCCURS AS VERY SMALL DISSEMINATED CRYSTALS AND PAINTY FILMS BENEATH THE SHEAR PLANE AND RELATED BRANCHING SHEARS. SCANT AMOUNTS OF CINNABAR COAT QUARTZ CRYSTALS IN SMALL VUGS IN THE ALTERED FELSITE. THE SERICITIZED FELSITE IS CUT BY QUARTZ-PYRITE-TOURMALINE VEINS. THE SHEARING IS POST-SERICITIZATION.. A PROMINENT SLICKENSIDED SHEAR ZONE THAT DIPS NORTH AT ABOUT 25 DEGREES IS EXPLORED BY THE NEAR-SURFACE WORKINGS-. THE ORE IS DEFINITELY LOCALIZED BY THE SHEAR ZONE, AND, AS T-HE SHEARING IS POST-SERICITIZATION, THE CINNABAR IS NOT GENETI-CALLY RELATED TO THE LATE JURASSIC SERICITIZATION AND SILVER M-INERALIZATION AS IS SUGGESTED BY KNOPF.

Comment (Development): DISCOVERED BY TRACING SOURCE OF CINNABAR IN PLACER WORKINGS FURTHER DOWN THE CANYON. ONE OF THE OLDEST MERCURY PROSPECTS IN THE STATE, HAVING BEEN MENTIONED BY BOUTWELL IN 1907 AND EXAMINED IN 1908 BY RANSOME. FROM 1910-11 IT WAS MINED BY E. P. WALKER WHO RECOVERED 78 FLASKS OF MERCURY FROM CONCENTRATED ORE, BUT SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTS AT MINING HERE DURING THE HIGH PRICES OF WORLD WAR II PERIOD YIELDED LITTLE MERCURY. IN 1917, AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO EXPLOIT THE DEPOSIT FOR CERAMIC CLAY, BUT IMPURITIES RESULTED IN THIS BEING UNSUCCESSFUL. IN 1930, THE CLAYBANKS QUICKSILVER COMPANY OPERATED HERE BUT FAILED TO PRODUCE. ACCORDING TO HOLMES THE PROPERTY YIELDED 63 FLASKS IN 1941-43, BUT WHEN VISITED BY BAILEY IN 1943 IT APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN ABANDONED FOR MANY YEARS AND THIS PRODUCTION IS BELIEVED TO HAVE COME FROM ANOTHER DEPOSIT. THE KAOLIN CLAIM WAS RELOCATED IN 1945 BY W. K. SKEOCH, AND ALTHOUGH INVESTIGATED IN 1946 BY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MINERALS CO, NO MINING WAS DONE. RECORDS ARE

Comment (Development): INADEQUATE TO DETERMINE THE TOTAL PRODUCTION OF THE MINE BUT IT PROBABLY IS OLY ABOUT 100 FLASKS, MOST OF WHICH WAS RECOVERED IN THE INITIAL PERIOD OF MINING

Comment (Production): HOLMES INDICATES 150+ FL PRODUCED

References

Reference (Deposit): 5) JOHNSON, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA: NBMG BULL. (IN PRESS)

Reference (Deposit): RANSOME, 1909, MINING DISTRICTS IN HUMBOLDT CO., NEVADA; USGS BULL 414.

Reference (Deposit): VIKRE, P.G., 1978, GEOLOGY AND SILVER MINERALIZATIONOF ROCHESTER DISTRICT, PERSHING CO., NEV.; PHD THESIS, STANFORD UNIV.

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY, E. H., RYTUBA, J. J., AND JONES, R. B., 1984, UNPUBLISHED DATA ON MERCURY DEPOSITS OF NEVADA.

Reference (Production): USBM UNPUB DATA

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): SCHRADER, 1914, THE ROCHESTER MINING DISTRICT, NEV., USGS BULL 580-M

Reference (Deposit): OPF, 1924, ROCHESTER MINING DISTRICT, NEV., USGS BULL 762

Reference (Deposit): HOLMES, 1965, MERCURY IN NEVADA: IN USBM IC 8252

Reference (Deposit): WALLACE, ET AL, 1969, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE UNIONVILLE QUADRANGLE, PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA: USGS MAP GQ - 820.

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.