White Basin

The White Basin is a boron-borates mine located in Clark county, Nevada at an elevation of 2,300 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: White Basin
Secondary: Muddy Mountains Borates
Secondary: American Borax Co. Mines

Commodity

Primary: Boron-Borates
Tertiary: Lithium

Location

State: Nevada
County: Clark
District: Muddy Mountains

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: Intermountain Exploration Co.
Years: 1992 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1920
Year Last Production: 1936
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-- Muddy Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Lacustrine borates

Orebody

Form: BEDDED

Structure

Type: R
Description: Faults, Outcrops Are Generally Discontinuous Due To Faults.

Type: L
Description: Faulting And Folding

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Clastic Sedimentary Rock
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Clastic Sedimentary Rock
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Colemanite
Gangue: Hectorite
Gangue: Gypsum

Comments

Comment (Location): AREA UNSURVEYED. INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1992)

Comment (Production): AMERICAN BORAX CO. PRODUCED FROM 1922-1924 FROM AN INCLINED SHAFT WITH ABOUT 100 M OF LATERAL WORKINGS.

Comment (Workings): OLD WORKINGS ARE CAVED; INCLUDED AN INCLINED SHAFT. MUCH OF THE AREA IS COVERED BY PATENTED CLAIMS.

Comment (Geology): SIMILAR SEQUENCE TO THAT AT CALLVILLE WASH (ANNIVERSARY MINE) TO THE SOUTH. WHITE BASIN DEPOSIT IS NOT AS WELL STUDIED.

Comment (Deposit): BEDDED, OCCURING AS LUMPS AND CRYSTAL ROSETTES IN CALCAREOUS CLAY OR AS THIN LAYERS UP TO 0.8 M THICK. ORE BEDS ARE EXTENSIVELY FAULTED. THINNER BORATE BEDS THAN AT CALLVILLE WASH.

Comment (Development): THE OPERATIONS HAD CEASED BY 1936 AND PLANT WAS DISMANTLED. PAPKE (1985) REPORTED RESERVES AS "PROBABLY VERY SMALL". EARLY PRODUCTION BY PACIFIC COAST BORAX CO. AND AMERICAN BORAX CO.

References

Reference (Deposit): HEWETT, D.F., ET AL, 1936, MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE REGION AROUND BOLDER DAM: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 871, P. 106.

Reference (Deposit): LONGWELL, C.R., ET AL, 1965, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF CLARK CO., NEV.: NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 62, P. 203.

Reference (Deposit): PAPKE, K.G., 1985, BORATES IN NEVADA, IN BARKER, J.M., AND LEFOND, S.J., EDS., BORATES: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND PRODUCTION: NEW YORK, SOCIETY OF MINING ENGINEERS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGICAL, AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS, INC., P. 89-99.

Reference (Deposit): ROSKILL INFORMATION SERVICES LTD., 1993, THE ECONOMICS OF BORON 1993, 7TH ED.: LONDON, ROSKILL INFORMATION SERVICES LTD., 156 P.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, G.I., 1985, BORATE DEPOSITS IN THE UNITED STATES - DISSIMILAR IN FORM, SIMILAR IN GEOLOGIC SETTING, IN BARKER, J.M., AND LEFOND, S.J., EDS., BORATES: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND PRODUCTION: NEW YORK, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGICAL, AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS, INC., P. 37-51.

Reference (Deposit): NOBLE, L.F., 1922, COLEMANITE IN CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 735-B, 21 P

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.