Mountain City Placers

The Mountain City Placers is a gold mine located in Elko county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,574 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: Mountain City Placers
Secondary: Mountain City District

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Nevada
County: Elko
District: Mountain City

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

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Placer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1870
Discovery Year: 1870
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Columbia Plateau
Physiographic Section: Payette Section

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Form: BLANKET, CHANNELS

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Holocene

Name: Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Monazite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): WORKINGS ALONG THE OWYHEE RIVER DOWNSTREAM FROM MOUNTAIN CITY. FOR A FEW MILES. SOUTH SIDE OF OWYHEE RIVER, NEAR SUGARLOAF PEAK, AND IN GRASSHOPPER GULCH, (WHICH IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN PLACERED EXTENSIVELY IN EARLY DAYS (1870'S) FOR 1/2 MILE ALONG THE GULCH. THE PLACERS WERE WORKED AS EARLY AS 1870 WHEN CHINESE PLACER MINERS WERE REPORTED TO RECOVER $2-$3 PER DAY PER MAN FROM GRAVELS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RIVER. ; INFO.SRC : 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Location): IN GRASSHOPPER GULCH & ON OWYHEE RIVER, NEAR THERE

Comment (Production): ESTIMATED RECOVERY: LESS THAN 200 OC. PRE-1900, 50 OZ. AFTER 1900.

Comment (Development): THE PLACERS WERE WORKED AS EARLY AS 1870, WHEN CHINESE PLACER MINERS RECOVERED $2-$3 PER PERSON.

Comment (Deposit): PLACER IN STREAM GRAVELS

Comment (Geology): SOURCE IS SMALL, PYRITIC GOLD-SILVER VEINS IN GRANODIORITE PLUTON MONAZITE OCCURS IN STREAM GRAVELS. RADIOACTIVITY POSSIBLY DUR TO THORIUM.

References

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, M. G., 1973, PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF NEVADA; U.S.G.S. BULL. 1356

Reference (Deposit): GARSIDE, L. J., (1973) RADIOACTIVE MINERAL OCCURRENCES IN NEVADA; NBMG BULL. 81.

Reference (Production): JOHNSON, M. G., (1973), SMITH, R. M. (1976)

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, R. M., 1976, MINERAL RESOURCES OF ELKO COUNTY, NEVADA; U.S.G.S. OPEN FILE REPT. 1976-56

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.