Wildcat Gold Project

The Wildcat Gold Project is a gold and silver mine located in Pershing county, Nevada at an elevation of 6,299 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: Wildcat Gold Project
Secondary: Wildcat Mine
Secondary: Tag-Wildcat prospect
Secondary: Hero/Tag orebody
Secondary: Main orebody
Secondary: Northeast orebody
Secondary: Knob 32 orebody
Secondary: Monarch Mines
Secondary: Monarch Group
Secondary: S. S. Claims
Secondary: Warmoth
Secondary: Big Hero claim
Secondary: Little Hero claim
Secondary: Wildcat claim
Secondary: Jaybird claim

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver

Location

State: Nevada
County: Pershing
District: part of Seven Troughs 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: Vista Gold Corp.
Info Year: 2004

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: vein/shear zone/breccia
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Year First Production: 1907
Discovery Year: 1992
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Epithermal vein, Comstock

Orebody

Form: tabular

Structure

Type: L
Description: N30W 75NE shear zone and a N55E, 80NW shear zone .

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Alteration of host rocks consists of silicification, bleaching, and kaolinization.

Rocks

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Description: dikes
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Name: Granodiorite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Name: Andesite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

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

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Host
Description: tuff
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Electrum
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): The Wildcat property contains a structurally controlled epithermal gold deposit. Gold and silver mineralization has been identified in four areas: Hero/Tag, Main, Northeast, and Knob 32. Gold mineralization occurs with low-temperature silica, chalcedony, and pyrite. The Main, Northeast, and Knob 32 appear to be part of the Hero/Tag deposit, though structurally displaced. The four deposits have generally similar geology and mineralization. Mineralization is spatially associated with the contact between the granodiorite and the overlying tuff. The principal low-grade zone that essentially encompassed all the mineralization is tabular and dips gently to the southeast. There appear to be two main styles of mineralization based on mapping, sampling, and statistics. There is a broad, low-grade zone surrounding higher-grade material. The principal host is the tuff in which the low-grade is represented by pervasive and intense silicification. The underlying granodiorite also contains a low-grade disseminated style of mineralization with highergrade silicified breccias occurring generally as stockwork within it. The granodiorite generally has higher grade and generally is not silicified. Any silicification is restricted to adjacent veins and veinlets, occasionally being discrete veins as were exploited historically but also producing a large-tonnage stockwork. All of the tuff is altered by the epithermal solutions, however, much of granodiorite is unaltered and fresh. Workings at the upper Wildcat shaft expose a N55E, 80NW shear zone which cuts highly kaolinized rhyolite. Rhyolitic breccias outcrop to east of mine area. Breccias exposed on peaks and ridges to the east resemble flow breccias rather than intrusive or hydrothermal breccias; all are, however, silicified. In outcrop the breccias form elongate ridges parallel to silicified shear zones. Pods of white chalcedonic quartz are seen in some breccias. Vein material at the Wildcat dump contains dark bands of fine-grained sulfides and some free gold, the vein being composed of brecciated chalcedonic quartz cemented by silica. SE of the Wildcat Shaft, old workings expose a N30W 75NE shear zone in altered granodiorite wallrock laced with randomly oriented iron-oxide stained fractures; rock is kaolinized. Flow rock seen at upper Wildcat Shaft overlies the granodiorite; the rhyolite may be plugs cutting granodiorite. One adit and dump are in the upper rhyolite breccia, and other adits are collared in granodiorite, near the contact with the overlying rhyolite. Some hornfelsed contact material has wispy lenses of free gold in a matrix of silver sulfides. Ore deposits occur in a network of veins and veinlets paralleling dikes and fissures in rhyolite. They have a general N-S trend but the vein system is crossed by faults and cross stringers. Veins consist of soft crushed material in brecciated zones filled with quartz.

Comment (Development): Gold was discovered in Stonehouse Canyon in 1863 near the small town of Farrell, although there was no development until 1905. Some of the mines in the district were very rich, with the Wihuja Mine reportedly averaging $100,000/ton. The district was active between 1907 and 1962, with the years 1908-1916 having the most production. In the 1980's, several companies explored the deposit, completing about 16,000 ft of drilling. Homestake Mining Company staked claims in the area in 1982. In September 1984 Homestake and Touchstone Resources of Salt Lake City were conducting an extensive drilling program with new roads and drill pads all the way to the top of the mountain. Homestake Mining Company held the ground but was leasing it to Touchstone at the time. Lac Minerals acquired the Wildcat Project in 1992 and conducted a significant amount of exploration mapping, sampling, geophysics and the majority of the drilling on the property, and identified a large low-grade gold deposit on the property. Sagebrush Exploration worked on the project in the period of 1996-1998 completing additional drilling. Vista Gold Corp. completed the purchase of a 100% interest in the Wildcat property from three property owners in October, 2003. Resource studies were performed for Vista by Mine Development Associates of Reno, Nevada, an independent consulting firm, in October 2003 using industry-standard block modeling software on data from 1 underground channel sample, 245 reverse circulation drill holes and 11 diamond drill holes totaling 95,466 feet. Based on the studies, gold resources above a 0.010 opt gold cut-off grade for the Wildcat property are: Indicated resources of 38,108,300 short tons grading 0.018 ounces of gold per ton, for a total contained 679,800 ounces of gold. In addition, there is an inferred resource of 28,354,600 short tons grading 0.015 ounces of gold per ton, for a total contained 435,600 ounces of gold. Total endowment is 1,115,400 contained ounces of gold. The resources for the Wildcat deposit were first`calculated by Mine Development Associates (MDA) in 1994 and updated during 1998. No drilling on`the property has occurred since the 1998 resource estimate. Vista Gold says that numerous drill holes contain assay intervals up to 1.6 opt gold, indicating possible high-grade mineralization that needs to be drilled out, especially to the northwest and at depth from known mineralization.

Comment (Workings): Several shafts, adits, cuts, mill foundations, and prospects are scattered over a few square miles north of the confluence of Wildcat and Stonehouse Canyons.

Comment (Economic Factors): In 2003, indicated resources were 38,108,300 short tons grading 0.018 ounces of gold per ton, for a total contained 679,800 ounces of gold. In addition, there is an inferred resource of 28,354,600 short tons grading 0.015 ounces of gold per ton, for a total contained 435,600 ounces of gold. Total endowment is 1,115,400 contained ounces of gold.

Comment (Geology): The Seven Troughs Range is underlain by Triassic and Jurassic sedimentary rocks and has been intruded by Cretaceous granodiorite. Volcanic domes and plugs of rhyolite, quartz latite, trachyte, and andesite have been emplaced by Tertiary volcanism. Tertiary flows of pyroclastic debris, and vitrophyres of rhyolite, quartz latite, trachyte, and andesite composition blanket much of the area.

Comment (Identification): This deposit encompasses the area covered by MRDS record M060223 and includes all material from that record plus additional material on the more recent prospect.

Comment (Location): UTM is to one centrally located shaft amid the many workings scattered over a 500 m radius. Access is good by newly dozed road (1980s). The Wildcat property consists of 4 patented and 74 unpatented lode claims. The total acreage controlled by Vista is 1389.6 acres located in sections 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 in T31N, R28E

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: native gold, electrum, silver sulfides

Comment (Commodity): Gangue Materials: quartz, iron oxides

References

Reference (Deposit): Vanderburg, 1936, Reconnaissance of Mining Districts in Pershing County, Nevada; USBM IC 6902, p. 13-14

Reference (Deposit): Johnson, M.G., 1977, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Pershing County, Nevada; NBMG Bull. 89

Reference (Deposit): http://www.vistagold.com/wildcat.php
URL: http://www.vistagold.com/wildcat.php

Reference (Deposit): Quade, Jack, 4 Sep 84, NBMG Field Examination and Sample Analyses.

Reference (Deposit): Tingley, J. V., 6 Jun 84, NBMG Field Examination and Sample Analyses

Reference (Deposit): Mineral Resources of the United States 1921, Part 1 Metals; USBM, p. 394-5

Reference (Deposit): Eugene Mtns. Land Status, 1975; MASMILS 0320270803, 0320270842V

Reference (Deposit): Northern Miner, 6/2/97

Reference (Deposit): Amer. Mines (1998), 1997

Reference (Deposit): Amer. Mines (1990), 1990

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MI-89 through MI-02

Reference (Deposit): Mine Development Associates, 2003, Technical Report, Wildcat Project, Pershing County, Nevada USA, prepared for Vista Gold Corp.

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.