Horse Canyon Mine

The Horse Canyon Mine is a gold mine located in Eureka county, Nevada at an elevation of 8,301 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: Horse Canyon Mine
Secondary: NBMG Sample Sites 1517
Secondary: 1518
Secondary: 1519

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Tertiary: Barium-Barite

Location

State: Nevada
County: Eureka
District: Cortez District

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: Cortez Gold Mines; A. L. Walsh, Mine Mgr.,
Home Office: Cortez, Nv 89821
Years: 1988 -

Owner Name: Cortez Gold Mining Co. And Placer Amex (1/3 Interest) And Others.
Years: 1988 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1983
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Carbonate-hosted Au-Ag

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Roberts Mountains Thrust; Cortez Window

Type: L
Description: High Angle Faulting; Fractures; Folding

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification, Bleaching, Clay Alteration

Rocks

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

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: SAMPLES 1517 A,B,C, 1518 A,B, AND 1519 ARE OF CUTTINGS AND OUTCROPS ON HORSE CANYON DRILL ROADS, AND DO NOT CONTAIN SIGNIFICANTLY ANOMALOUS METAL VALUES. CHEMICAL ANALYSES DATA MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE NBMG, IN MINING DISTRICT FILES.

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Barite
Gangue: Clay
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Jarosite
Gangue: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Development): LISTED AS ACTIVE OPEN PIT GOLD MINE IN 1983, EMPLOYING 106 WORKERS. ANNUAL RECOVERY OF 40000 OZ AU WAS PROJECTED IN1982. PROPERTY WAS BEING DRILLED ON CLOSE SPACING PREPARATORY TO OPEN PIT MINING IN 1982. HAUL ROAD WAS IN PROCESS OF BEING COMPLETED. 1983, MINE WAS OPERATING ON 2 10-HOUR SHIFTS PER DAY.

Comment (Deposit): FINE GOLD DISSEMINATED IN CARBONACEOUS SHALE IN UPPER PLATE OF ROBERTS MTN THRUST. JASPEROID BRECCIA. BOULDERY RESISTANT RIB OF JASPEROID TRENDS NW ALONG MOST OF AREA COVERED BY DRILL ROADS.

Comment (Workings): OPEN PIT, NUMEROUS DRILL ROADS, DRILL HOLES.

Comment (Location): UTM IS TO AREA WITHIN LARGE PROPOSED OPEN PIT AT HEAD OF HORSE CANYON ON EAST FLANK OF MT. TENABO NEAR SADDLE BETWEEN HORSE CANYON AND MILL CANYON. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1972

Comment (Production): SCHEDULED ANNUAL PRODUCTION, 1983 WAS 730,000 TONS AT A STRIPPING RATIO OF 3:1. ORE WAS BEING HAULED TO THE CORTEZ MILL.

Comment (Geology): ALONG SE DRILL ROADS, MOST CONSPICUOUS FEATURE IS VININI-HOSTED JASPEROID BRECCIA FORMING A RESISTANT NW-STRIKING RIB ABOVE DRILL ROADS. JASPEROID IS HIGHLY SILICIFIED, FRACTURED, AND FE-STAINED ALONG THE FRACTURES. BEDDING IS PRESERVED IN THE JASPEROID IN PLACES AND DIPS SE. BELOW THE JASPEROID BRECCIA ARE THIN CONTORTED BEDS OF BLACK CARBONACEOUS SHALES. IN ONE AREA THE SE-DIPPING SHALES ARE CUT BY AN ALTERED IGNEOUS DIKE, MOSTLY ALTERED TO CLAYS. THE SURROUNDING SHALES HAVE BEEN BLEACHED. NBMG SAMPLE 1517 A WAS TAKEN HERE, OF BLACK SILICEOUS SHALE AND CHERTY SHALE DRILL CUTTINGS. TO THE NW IN PROBABLE PROPOSED PIT AREA (1982) THE RESISTANT RIB OF VININI JASPEROID BRECCIA IS STILL PRESENT. BELOW THE BRECCIA ARE THIN BEDDED SILICEOUS SEDIMENTS. A LARGE BOULDER OF BRECCIA FOUND ON THE ROAD WAS CUT BY A SMALL BRECCIA VEIN CONTAINING A CLAST OF QUARTZ-EYE PORPHYRY. HOWEVER, THE MOST NOTABLE OCCURRENCE WAS OF ABUNDANT EUHEDRAL JAROSITE CRYSTALS DEVELOPED IN THE OPEN FRACTURES OF THE

Comment (Geology): JASPEROID (SAMPLE 1518B). SOME BARITE VEIN AND GANGUE WAS ALSO NOTED IN THIS AREA. NBMG SAMPLE 1519 CONSISTS OF DRILL CUTTINGS OF DARK GREY CALCAREOUS SHALES WITH FINE DISSEMINATED SULFIDES.

References

Reference (Deposit): FOO, S.T., AND HEBERT, J. P., 1987, GEOLOGY OF THE HORSE CANYON DEPOSIT, EUREKA COUNTY, NEVADA, IN JOHNSON, J. L., ED., GUIDEBOOK FOR FIELD TRIPS, BULK MINEABLE PRECIOUS METAL DEPOSITS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA SYMPOSIUM, APRIL 6-8, 1988, RENO, NEVADA. P. 326-332

Reference (Deposit): MCCORMACK, JOHN K., 1991, WRITTEN COMMUNICATION.

Reference (Deposit): BENTZ, J., BONHAM, H., TINGLEY, J.V., SMITH,P., 1982, FIELD EXAMINATION REPORT, 7/82.

Reference (Deposit): BONHAM, H.F., 1988, IN NBMG MI-1987.

Reference (Deposit): BONHAM, H.F., 1986, NBMG MAP 91.

Reference (Deposit): UNPUBLISHED REPORT BY CORTEZ GOLD MINES, 1983.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MINING DISTRICT FILE 109, NUMEROUS CLIPPINGS.

Reference (Production): UNPUB. REPORT, 1983.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): BONHAM, 1988. MCCORMACK, JOHN K. 1991.

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.