Generator Hill Deposit

The Generator Hill Deposit is a gold mine located in Elko county, Nevada at an elevation of 7,799 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

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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: Generator Hill Deposit
Secondary: Bell Mine

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Mercury
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Barium-Barite
Tertiary: Arsenic

Location

State: Nevada
County: Elko
District: Independence Mountains; Jerritt Canyon; Burns Basin

Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
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: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Joint Venture- Independence Mining Co. (70 %) And Fmc Gold Co. (30%)

Owner Name: Independence Mining Co., Inc.

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Replacement
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1918
Discovery Year: 1918
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Carbonate-hosted Au-Ag

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Form: TABULAR

Name: GENERATOR HILL DEPOSIT
Form: TABULAR

Structure

Type: L
Description: Breccia Zone, Faults, Fractures

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification, Oxidation Of Sulphides, Bleaching, Argillization, Decalcification

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Stibnite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Commodity): ORE CONTAINS VERY LOW TO ESSENTIALLY NO AG, HIGH IN SB, AS, HG,AND SOME SAMPLES HAVE TL. ORE IS CARBONACEOUS AND CONTAINS SOME BARITE.

Comment (Workings): 2 ADJOINING OPEN PITS: THE GENERATOR AND THE MARLBORO CANYON WITH ONE MORE PIT PROJECTED TO THE SE TO EXPLORE THE DEFINED ALCHEM OREBODY. IN 1982, ACTIVE MINING GOING ON IN THE GENERATOR PIT AND STRIPPING IN THE MARLBORO PIT. ORE IS HAULED 7.5 MILES TO THE MILLSITE WHERE ORE IS CRUSHED, TREATED OR CYANIDE LEACHED AT THE MILLSITE.

Comment (Deposit): FRACTURE ZONE CONTAINS CRYSTALS, PODS, & VEINLETS IN BRECCIATED FOOTWALL LIMESTONE. ORE ALSO OCCURS ALONG BEDDING PLANES USUALLY WITHIN TEN FEET OF THE FRACTURE ZONE.

Comment (Location): UTM'S TO NEAR CENTER OF THE GENERATOR PIT. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1972; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = WELLS (1970) 1:250000; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN (1982) 1:24000

Comment (Production): MILL OUTPUT (1982) IS 800 OZ/DAY AU. A MINE LIFE OF 10 YEARS IS PROJECTED BUT WILL PROBABLY BE EXTENDED WITH DISCOVERY OF NEW OREBODIES.

Comment (Development): IN MID-1970'S, FMC SHOWED AN INITIAL INTEREST IN THE AREA DUE TO THE OCCURRENCE OF ANTIMONY DEPOSITS AS CITED BY LAWRENCE (1963, NBMG BULL 61). WHEN GOLD WAS DISCOVERED BY SAMPLING SURFACE EXPOSURES AND DRILLING, FMC ASKED FREEPORT GOLD CO. (NOW INDEPENDENCE MINING CO.) TO JOINT VENTURE WITH THEM. CONSTRUCTION OF MINE BEGAN IN 1980, AT A COST OF ABOUT 105 MILLION DOLLARS. IN 1983, THE MINE AND MILL TOGETHER EMPLOYED ABOUT 272 PERSONS. THEIR CLAIM BLOCK INCLUDES 374 SECTIONS ALONG THE CREST OF THE INDEPENDENCE RANGE WHERE ADDITIONAL EXPLORATORY DRILLING WAS ONGOING BY 5 RIGS IN 1982. PRODUCING MINE SINCE 1981-SEE PRODUCTION COMMENTS.

Comment (Deposit): LOCATED NEAR THE HEAD OF BURNS CREEK. HISTORIC SB DEVELOPMENT CONSISTED OF A 29 FT. SHAFT, 80FT OF UNDERGROUND WORKINGS, AND AN OPEN PIT. 20 TONS OF ANTIMONY WAS PRODUCED IN1918, 12 1/2 TONS IN 1945. THE SB MINE WAS OWNED BY D. WILLIAMS AND D. ANDRAE IN 1957. FOR MINE MAP SEE LAWRENCE 1963 P.47. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Geology): 0.1-0.04 OZ/T AU. THEY COVER THE ENTIRE HILLSIDE N OF THE MARLBORO PIT. JASPEROIDS OCCUR OVER, UNDER, ADJACENT TO, AND FAR FROM THE OREBODIES. IN THE GENERATOR PIT, THE JASPEROIDS ARE MINED.

Comment (Geology): FRACTURE ZONE 12 TO 18" WIDE CONTAIN SINGLE CRYSTALS, PODS, & VEINLETS WITHIN THE BRECCIATED FOOTWALL LIMESTONE. ORE ALSO OCCURS ALONG BEDDING PLANES USUALLY WITHIN 10' OF THE FRACTURE ZONE. A SAMPLE OF STOCKPILED ORE CONTAINED 17% STIBNITE, AND .5 OZ SILVER PER TON. UPPER PLATE ROCKS ARE EXPOSED IN SEVERAL WINDOWS. JASPEROIDS AND JASPEROID BRECCIAS ARE ABUNDANT AND IMPORTANT IN PROSPECTING. ACCORDING TO COMPANY GEOLOGISTS, THERE IS NO WAY TO DISCERN A AU-BEARING JASPEROID FROM A BARREN ONE. THE JASPEROIDS ABOVE THE MARLBORO AND GENERATOR PITS ARE ANOMALOUS IN AU AS WELL AS SB AND BA. OUTCROPS OF JASPEROID CONTAIN ABUNDANT BARITE, STIBNITE AND CALCITE IN PODS AND VUGS. ROCKS SHOW OPEN-SPACE TEXTURES WITH MANY VUGS AND CROSSCUTTING VEINLETS OF DRUSY QUARTZ. THE E-W TRENDING GENERATOR JASPEROIDS SHOW MULTIPLE BRECCIATION OR FRACTURING AND ARE CUT BY MANY QUARTZ VEINLETS. BARITE CRYSTALS UP TO 0.5 IN COMMONLY FILL FE-STAINED QUARTZ-ENCRUSTED VUGS. THE MARLBORO JASPEROIDS REPORTEDLY RAN

References

Reference (Deposit): MKS, WELB AMS FILE (1979) USBM

Reference (Deposit): HAWKINS, ROBERT B., (1973), THE GEOLOGY & MINERALIZATION OF THE JERRITT CREEK AREA, NORTHERN INDEPENDENCE MTS, NEV., IDAHO STATE UNIV, MS THESIS 104 P.

Reference (Deposit): GARSIDE, L. J.; BENTZ, J.; SMITH, P., BROOKS, S., 1982, FIELD EXAMINATION AND MINE TOUR REPORT, 8/13/82.

Reference (Deposit): HAWKINS, R. B., 1982, DISCOVERY OF THE BELL GOLD MINE, JERRITT DISTRICT, ELKO CO, NV: MINING CONGRESS JOURNAL, FEB 1982, P. 28-32; ALSO REFERENCES LISTED THEREIN.

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

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1987, MI-1986.

Reference (Deposit): NBMG, 1988, MI-1987.

Reference (Deposit): BENTZ, J., GARSIDE, L., SMITH, P. AND BROOKS, S., 1982, FIELD EXAMINATION AND MINE TOUR REPORT, AUG, 1982.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): BONHAM, H.F., 1988.

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.