Surprise Mine

The Surprise Mine is a gold and silver mine located in Lander county, Nevada at an elevation of 52 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: Surprise Mine

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Copper

Location

State: Nevada
County: Lander
District: Battle Mountain

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Battle Mountain Gold Co.

Production

Year: 1954
Time Period: 1937-1954
Material type: ORE-AU,AG,CU
Description: Cp_Grade: ^0.161 Opt Au, 1.56 Opt Ag, 1.82% Cu
Year: 1954
Material type: ORE-AU,AG,CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.123 Opt Au, 1.38 Opt Ag, 1.44% Cu
Year: 1947
Material type: ORE-AU,AG,CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.136 Opt Au, 1.32 Opt Ag, 1.77% Cu
Year: 1941
Material type: ORE-AU,AG,CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.198 Opt Au, 1.80 Opt Ag, 1.64% Cu
Year: 1938
Material type: ORE-AU,AG,CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.182 Opt Au, 1.66 Opt Ag, 1.92% Cu
Year: 1945
Material type: ORE-AU,AG,CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.135 Opt Au, 1.29 Opt Ag, 1.57% Cu
Year: 1937
Material type: ORE-AU,AG,CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.237 Opt Au, 2.52 Opt Ag, 2.74% Cu

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Replacement
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1937
Discovery Year: 1938
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: Basin And Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Skarn Cu

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR

Structure

Type: L
Description: Nw-Trending Fault; Normal Faults

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Strong Silicification And Retrograde Alteration Of Prograde Garnet Skarn.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Malachite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Gangue: Goethite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Chlorite

Comments

Comment (Development): EXPL.COM: THROUGH 1986, 114 DRILL HOLES HAD BEEN COMPLETED INDICATING AN IN PLACE AU RESOURCE OF 150,000 OZ. PRE-MINING STRIPPING BEGAN IN APRIL, 1987, INVOLVING ABOUT 2 MILLION TONS OF OVERBURDEN. PRODUCTION OF MILL GRADE ORE BEGAN IN AUGUST 1987. IN 1988, PLANS FOR A HEAP LEACH FACILITY WERE POSTPONED FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR. ; TOTAL$: 3 ; ECON.COM: AU RECOVERY USING HEAP LEACHING IS EXPECTED TO AVERAGE ABOUT 60%. MILL GRADE ORE WILL BE TREATED AT THE FORTITUDE MILL. DEVELOPMENT COSTS TO BRING THE SURPRISE MINE INTO PRODUCTION WERE EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN $3 MILLION.

Comment (Workings): HISTORIC UNDERGROUND WORKINGS CONSISTED OF A 465 FT. LONG ADIT AND CONNECTING WORKINGS. PRODUCTION BEGINNING IN 1987 IS BY OPEN PIT AT THE SITE OF THE HISTORIC UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.

Comment (Deposit): THIS RECORD HAS BEEN UPDATED AND MERGED WITH RECORD M242952, WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED.

Comment (Location): 6 MILES NE FROM FORTITUDE MINE IN COPPER BASIN AREA.

Comment (Deposit): EARLIER WORKERS CLASSIFIED THIS AS A SECONDARY ENRICHMENT DEPOSIT.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 1987 RESERVES WERE CALCULATED USING A CUTOFF GRADE OF 0.07 OUNCES GOLD EQUIVALENT PER TON FOR MILL ORE AND 0.025 OUNCES GOLD EQUIVALENT PER TON FOR HEAP LEACH ORE AND AN OVERALL STRIP RATIO OF 7.4:1.

References

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MINING DISTRICT FILE 147, NUMEROUS PRESS CLIPPINGS.

Reference (Deposit): BONHAM, H. F., 1986, BULK-MINEABLE PRECIOUS METAL DEPOSITS AND PROSPECTS IN NEVADA, NBMG MAP 91.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1988, THE NEVADA MINERAL INDUSTRY - 1987, NBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION MI-1987.

Reference (Deposit): BUFFA, R. AND SCHAFER, R., EDS., 1988, FALL FIELD TRIP GUIDEBOOK, THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA, RENO, P. 271-276.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1994, MI-1993

Reference (Deposit): ROBERTS, R. J. AND ARNOLD, D. C., 1965, ORE DEPOSITS OF THE ANTLER PEAK QUADRANGLE, HUMBOLDT AND LANDER COUNTIES, NEVADA, USGS PROF. PAPER 459-B, 94 PP.

Reference (Deposit): BATTLE MOUNTAIN GOLD COMPANY, 1988, ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1987.

Reference (Production): PRE-1987 ANNUAL AND CUMULATIVE PRODUCTION: ROBERTS, R. J. AND ARNOLD, D. C., 1965, ORE DEPOSITS OF THE ANTLER PEAK QUADRANGLE, HUMBOLDT AND LANDER COUNTIES, NEVADA, USGS PROF. PAPER 459-B, 94 PP. 1987 PRODUCTION: BATTLE MOUNTAIN GOLD COMPANY, 1988, ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1987. NBMG MI-1993

Reference (Reserve-Resource): 1986-1988 FIGURES: BONHAM, 1988, PRESS CLIPPINGS. NBMG MI-1993

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.