Trinity Silver Project

The Trinity Silver Project is a silver mine located in Pershing county, Nevada at an elevation of 5,709 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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Site Name

Primary: Trinity Silver Project
Secondary: Trinity Silver Mine
Secondary: Trinity Silver Prospect
Secondary: Seka Claims
Secondary: U.S. Borax Prospect
Secondary: Trinity Joint Venture

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Iron

Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: Trinity District

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

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Newmont, the Gold Company
Info Year: 2004

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: disseminated; volcanic-hosted
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Year First Production: 1987
Year Last Production: 1989
Discovery Year: 1980
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Epithermal vein, Comstock

Orebody

Form: tabular

Structure

Type: L
Description: Northerly and northeasterly structural trends dominate the area. Breccia zones are associated with rhyolite intrusives that cut rhyolite flows and metasedimentary rocks. Oxide ore zone in section 9 appears to follow a NE trend. The reported sulfide zone in sec. 10 is exposed along a narrow drainage that extends south from Willow Canyon. Metasedimentary rock outcrops limit the extent of the disseminated, rhyolite-hosted ore zone to the NE and east. The earlier-prospected deposit is a polymetallic sulfide vein containing silver-lead-copper mineralization. Drilling in 1984 confirmed the existence of a large deposit high in silver in a 100-ft vein along a N-S-trending fault structure.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Alteration is widespread and consists of silicification and argillization.

Rocks

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Host
Description: flows and intrusive
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Name: Metasedimentary Rock
Role: Associated
Description: metasedimentary rocks
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Early Jurassic
Age Old: Late Triassic

Name: Tuff
Role: Host
Description: rhyolite
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Argentite
Ore: Pyrargyrite
Ore: Freibergite
Ore: Silver
Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrolusite

Comments

Comment (Economic Factors): Production of of approximately 1 million tons of oxide ore grading 6 ounces of silver per ton was made in 1987-1989 by a joint venture between U.S. Borax and Santa Fe. In 2004, Newmont reported that a sulfide resource of approximately 4 million tons of ore grading 2.5 ounces of silver per ton (1.4 oz/t cutoff) lies directly to the northeast of the oxide pit. The mine was operated from August 1987, to November 1989, and processed 1,035,000 tons of ore by heap leaching. The oxide ore was mined from an open pit and heap leached with production of approximately 1 million tons of 6 oz/t Ag. Negligible gold was recovered. 1989 production was reported as 718,714 ounces of Ag, and 70 ounces of gold.

Comment (Development): The Trinity Mine area was prospected historically with unrecorded minor silver production. Silver mineralization was discovered at Trinity by U.S. Borax in 1981 and was drilled by U.S. Borax in 1987, defining a small silver resource that was mined as a joint venture between U.S. Borax and Santa Fe. The mine was operated from August 1987, to November 1989, and processed 1,035,000 tons of ore by heap leaching. The oxide ore was mined from an open pit and heap leached with production of approximately 1 million tons of 6 oz/t Ag. Negligible gold was recovered. The Trinity Silver Mine was owned through a joint venture between Santa Fe Pacific Mining, Inc. and Pacific Coast Mines, Inc. Santa Fe assumed complete responsibility for the site in 1990. The property was subsequently explored further by Santa Fe in the period 1990 to 1992. The mine was subsequently reclaimed. Newmont Mining Corporation and Santa Fe merged in May of 1997, after which Newmont became the sole responsible permittee. AuEx Ventures, Inc leased the Trinity property package from Newmont Mining Corporation in August 2005, and in September, 2005, AuEx signed an Exploration and Development Agreement with Piedmont Mining Company, Inc. on the Trinity property. In 2006, AuEx Ventures Inc. announced that recent drill results at the Trinity Project include 5-40 ft @ 0.92 opt Ag (TSD- 01); 35-65 ft @ 1.04 opt Ag (TSD-02); 70-117 ft @ 1.21 opt Ag (TSD-02); 130-210 ft @ 0.80 opt Ag (TSD-03); 135-150 ft @ 9.31 opt Ag (TSD-07); 50-90 ft @ 1.19 opt Ag (TSD- 08) and 10-150 ft @ 0.80 opt Ag (TSD-09). (resource = 1,000,000 tons @ 5.25 opt Ag)

Comment (Identification): The current prospect area covers several prospects and historic mine areas covered by earlier MRDS records #M242910, M242745 , W700435, and M060286 from which material has been incorporated into the current new record.

Comment (Location): The property consists of two sections of owned surface and mineral rights, nearly six sections of leased mineral interests and 59 unpatented mining claims on BLM administered public land, about 5,800 acres in total.

Comment (Workings): Older workings include several adit and shafts and numerous prospect pits. More recent work include drill roads, drill sites, and one open pit which has a surface area of approximately 19 acres. Maximum depth of the pit is 236 feet. The lateral dimensions are roughly 1400 feet by 500 feet.

Comment (Deposit): The bulk of the mineralization at the Trinity Project is hosted by highly altered Tertiary-aged rhyolitic tuffs, flows and intrusives. The Tertiary section is thin and unconformably overlies Mesozoic sediments of the Auld Lang Syne group which are also altered. Northerly and northeasterly structural trends dominate the area. Alteration is widespread and consists of silicification and argillization. Mineralization occurs as oxidized and unoxidized sulfides in veinlets and disseminated within the host rock. The principal sulfides are pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite. Silver occurs as freibergite, pyragryite, minor argentite and rare native silver. The older workings to the north were along quartz veins cutting older sediments of the Auld Lang Syne group.One vein was a highly oxidized, silicified breccia zone. Breccia zones are associated with rhyolite intrusives that cut rhyolite flows and metasedimentary rocks. Pyrite and silver sulfides are disseminated in rhyolite and occur as fracture coatings with quartz in the breccia zones; outcrop of zone is oxidized; fractures are coated with orange brown limonite, botryoidal managnese oxides; vugs in the breccia are filled with limonite and clear, acicular quartz crystals. Oxide ore zone in section 9 appears to follow a NE trend. The reported sulfide zone in sec. 10 is exposed along a narrow drainage that extends south from Willow Canyon. Metasedimentary rock outcrops limit the extent of the disseminated, rhyolite-hosted ore zone to the NE and east. The earlier-prospected deposit is a polymetallic sulfide vein containing silver-lead-copper mineralization. Drilling in 1984 confirmed the existence of a large deposit high in silver in a 100-ft vein along a N-S-trendings fault structure.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: freibergite, pyragryite, minor argentite, rare native silver, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: quartz, iron oxide, botryoidal manganese oxide

References

Reference (Deposit): Whateley, M K G; Bell, T; Moon, C J., 1995, Disseminated precious metals; Trinity Mine, Nevada, in Evans, A.M., ed., Introduction to mineral exploration: Oxford, Blackwell Science, p. 316-343.

Reference (Deposit): https://www.data.newmont.com/nevada/trinity.asp
URL: https://www.data.newmont.com/nevada/trinity.asp

Reference (Deposit): Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Database of significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States; Part A, Database description and analysis; part B, Digital database: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-206, 33 p., one 3.5 inch diskette.

Reference (Deposit): Struhsacker, E., Jones, L., and Green, S., 1996, Roadside geology and precious-metal mineralization along the I-80 corridor, Reno to Elko, Nevada, in Green, S.M., and Struhsacker, E., eds., Geology and ore deposits of the American Cordillera, 1995; field trip guidebook compendium: Reno, Geological Society of Nevada, p. 1-36.

Reference (Deposit): Tingley, J.V. And Bonham, H.F.,Jr., 1987, Field examination report.

Reference (Deposit): Johnson, M.G., 1977, NBMG Bull 89, Pl. 1.

Reference (Deposit): Tingley, J.V., 1987, Unpublished data from report on Kumiva Peak 1:100000 map area

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.