Bristol Silver Mine

The Bristol Silver Mine is a copper, lead, zinc, and silver mine located in Lincoln county, Nevada at an elevation of 7,251 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: Bristol Silver Mine
Secondary: Snyder Shaft
Secondary: Gypsy Shaft
Secondary: May Day Shaft

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Manganese
Secondary: Gold

Location

State: Nevada
County: Lincoln
District: Bristol And Jackrabbit Districts

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

Type: Unknown

Ownership

Owner Name: Bristol Silver Mines Co.(1920'S)

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1878
Discovery Year: 1965
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic replacement

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR TO TABULAR

Form: IRREGULAR TO TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Thrust Faults

Type: L
Description: Faults; Barren Post-Mineral Faults

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Lead
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Plumbojarosite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Melaconite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED AREA. UTM IS TO SYNDER SHAFT, WHOSE WORKINGS ARE CONNECTED WITH THE MAY DAY SHAFT 400 FT TO THE NORTH, AND THE GYPSY SHAFT 100 FT TO THE SOUTHWEST ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1972)

Comment (Production): 800 TONS/MONTH PRODUCED, JULY, 1926

Comment (Development): OWNED AND OPERATED BY DAY-BRISTOL CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. IN EARLY 1900'S, WHO BUILT AERIAL TRAM IN 1914. BRISTOL SILVER MINES CO WAS ORGANIZED IN 1919 AND THEY PURCHASED THE JACKRABBIT-PIOCHE NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD. PRIOR TO 1926 BRISTOL OPERATED WITH GASOLINE ENGINES, THEN DIESEL ENGINES CONNECTED TO GENERATORS UNTIL 1937 WHEN ELECTRICAL POWER WAS OBTAINED FROM BOULDER PIOCHE POWERLINE. PRODUCTION AT THAT TIME WAS 3000 TONS/MONTH. BRISTOL SILVER MINING CO OWNED MOST OF THE PROPERTY IN THE DISTRICT FOR SOME TIME, BUT THIS RECORD TREATS ONLY THE MAIN SNYDER-GYPST-MAYDAY WORKINGS.

Comment (Deposit): IN 1942 THE PROPERTY CONSISTED OF 638 ACRES OF PATENTED LAND AND 1222 ACRES OF UNPATENTED LAND. THE BRISTOL SILVER MINES CO OWNED MOST OF THE MAIN WORKINGS OF THE DISTRICT BUT ONLY THE CENTRAL SNYDER, GYPSY &MAY DAY WORKINGS ARE HERE IN DESCRIBED. THE OTHERS ARE TREATED AS SEPARATE RECORDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Deposit): SEVERAL BADLY BRECIATED ZONES NEAR FAULTS CARRY GOOD COPPER AND LEAD ORE WITH SILVER. 4 MAIN VEINS ACCOUNT FOR THE BULK OF PRODUCTION: MAY DAY, TEMPEST, GYPSY-NATIONAL, AND THE LEAD-ZINC. THESE ORE BODIES OCCUR ALONG FRACTURED ZONES, IN BRECCIATED AREAS AND IN INTERSECTING FISURES. THE MAIN FISSURE SYSTEM (MAY DAY) RUNS E-W. THE TEMPEST ALSO RUNS ABOUT N80E, BUT THE TEMPEST DIPS 70, WHILE THE MAY DAY DIPS 45. THE GYPSY-NATIONAL SYSTEM STRIKES NE AND DIPS 70-85E, AND THE LEAD-ZINC VEIN STRIKES S NW AND DIPS 90. THE 2 LATTER INTERSECT THE TEMPEST AND MAY DAY FISSURE, AND IN THESE INTERSECTIONS ARE FOUND LARGE BRECCIATED ZONES IN WHICH OXIDIZED ORE OCCURS. SULFIDE ORE IS RARE, BUT SOMETIMES OCCURS AS "NODULES" WITH GALENA CORES ENCASED IN CERUSSITE, THEN CARBONATE AND THEN A FILM OF COPPER OXIDE. BEDDING CONTACTS AND FLAT BEDDING THRUSTS OFTEN LOCALIZE ORE DEPOSITION. OREBODIES ARE VERY IRREGULAR IN SIZE AND SHAPE. ORE IS VERY SOFT. SOME OF THE LARGER OREBODIES DEVELOPED AT

Comment (Deposit): INTERSECTIONS OF THE MAY DAY AND TEMPEST FISSURES. STOPING WAS PRACTICALLY CONTIGUOUS FROM THE MAY DAY COLLAR TO THE 1000 LEVEL OF THE SNYDER SHAFT.

Comment (Workings): MAY DAY SHAFT, TUNNEL, AND CROSS CUT; MAIN SNYDER SHAFT TO 1780 FT IN 1940'S, ON 70S INCLINE; GYPSY SHAFT (VERTICAL); MAJOR STOPES ARE THE DAVE FOX STOPE, BINGHAM CANYON STOPE, BONANZA STOPE, CAVE STOPE, PERRY STP`E. ;;PUD STP`E. KPJMSPM STP`E. SJROMLAGE STP`E AMD ORPM STP`E/ 2-MILE AERIAL TRAMWAY FROM WORKINGS TO R.R. TERMINUS AT JACKRABBIT.

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1960'S?

Comment (Commodity): PYRITE (BELOW 1700 FT).

Comment (Geology): SHALE (BELOW 1700 FT), DOLOMITIC LIMESTONE, BOTH MASSIVE AND THIN-BEDDED.

References

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MINING DISTRICT FILE 171, ITEMS 3 (UNPUB REPORT BY COLEMAN, GEMMILL, BUEHLER) (1940'S); ITEM 6 (MAP OF WORKINGS), ITEMS 12,13,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27

Reference (Deposit): COLEMAN, H.S., 1943, BRISTOL SILVER MINES CO., MINING CONGRESS JOURNAL, JULY, 1943; NBMG MINING DISTRICT FILE 171, ITEM 11

Reference (Deposit): WEED, W.H., 1922, THE MINES HANDBOOK, VOL. XV, P. 1152-1153

Reference (Deposit): MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE U.S., 1908, PT. 1, P. 493; 1909, PT. 1, P. 416-417

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.