Silver Butte

The Silver Butte is a silver and lead mine located in Elko county, Nevada.

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: Silver Butte
Secondary: Dead Horse
Secondary: Golden Pipe

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Lead
Secondary: Zinc

Location

State: Nevada
County: Elko
District: Mud Springs (Dead Horse Medicine Springs Butte Valley)

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: Golden Pipe Exploration Co.
Years: 1978 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Structure

Type: L
Description: Shear Zones

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Lead
Ore: Galena
Ore: Anglesite
Ore: Barite
Ore: Quartz
Ore: Limonite
Ore: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): AGAIN. THE SILVER BUTTE CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. WAS INCORPORATED ABOUT 1923 TO CONSOLIDATE THE NEVADA DIVIDEND MINING CO. PROPERTY AND THE BUTTE VALLEY MINING CO. THIS GROUP WAS OWNED BY SALT LAKE CITY INVESTORS. THE MINE WAS DEVELOPED BY A 2-COMPARTMENT, 600 FT. VERTICAL SHAFT WITH 6 LEVELS, AND IN ALL ABOUT 4000 FT. OF WORKINGS. THE MINE AND MILL WERE OPERATING AGAIN IN 1951 ON THEIR 19 LODE CLAIMS, UNDER LEASE TO THE SILVER BUTTE CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. THE MILL WAS LOCATED AT MEDICINE SPRINGS, 6 MILES WEST OF THE SILVER BUTTE (DEAD HORSE) MINE. THIS MINE WAS THE PRINCIPAL PRODUCER IN THE DISTRICT AND IS CREDITED WITH A SMALL PRODUCTION. THE MILL INSTALLED IN 1950 AT MEDICINE SPRINGS WAS A 60-TON WET CONCENTRATING PLANT. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Deposit): THE DEAD HORSE OR SILVER BUTTE MINE OF 5 CLAIMS IS LOCATED IN A SADDLE SE OF A SMALL BUTTE AT THE NORTH END OF THE RUBY HILLS. FIRST DISCOVERIES IN THE DISTRICT WERE IN 1910, AND THE DEAD HORSE MINE WAS LOCATED IN 1911. ONE FOLLOWS A 2 FT. -3 FT. WIDE FRACTURE, THAT HAS A STRIKE LENGTH OF 1,500 FT. (N35E). THE GANGUE IS COMPOSED OF CALCITE, QUARTZ, AND BARITE WITH VALVES IN POCKETS OF LEAD CARBONATE AND SULPHATES. ON THE HANGING THERE IS A FOOT OF LEDGE MATERIAL CARRYING POCKETS AND STRINGERS OF GALENA SURROUNDED BY ANGLESITE AND CERUSITE. THE FIRST SHIPMENT OF ORE WAS MADE IN 1915 TO THE USSR. SMELTER IS LOCATED IN SALT LAKE CITY. IT WAS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED BY THE NEVADA DIVIDEND MINING COMPANY WITH SOME OF THE ORE RUNNING AS HIGH AS 100 OZ AG AND 3 OZ AU. A 100-TON FLOTATION MILL WAS BUILT IN 1929 AND WAS IN OPERATION IN SEPTEMBER 1929. BETWEEN 1929 AND 1935 THE ORE AVERAGED 7-20% PB. THE MINE AND MILL WERE ACTIVE IN 1935. IN 1937 IT WAS BEING RENNOVATED TO START WORK

Comment (Location): 1:24000 QUADRANGLE ENTRY IS AN ORTHOPHOTO

Comment (Deposit): BARITE VEINS REPORTED

Comment (Geology): BARITE IS ABUNDANT NEAR THE SMALL LEAD POCKETS - AS LENSES

References

Reference (Deposit): HUNT, S.F., (1936), MINING GEOLOGY OUTLINED: 8 MSM REPRINT.

Reference (Deposit): LINCOLN, F.C., (1923), MINING DISTRICTS OF MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEVADA, NEVADA NEWSLETTER PUBLISHING CO., RENO, NEVADA.

Reference (Deposit): GRANGER, ET ALL, (1957), GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF ELKO COUNTY, NEVADA, NBMG BULL. 59.

Reference (Deposit): HILL, J.M., (1916), NOTES ON SOME MINING DISTRICTS IN EASTERN NEVADA, USGS BULL 648.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, R. M., MINERAL RESOURCES OF ELKO COUNTY NEVADA, USGS OPEN-FILE REPORT 1976-56.

Reference (Deposit): MINES REGISTER. 1937.

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.