Ratto Canyon Deposit

The Ratto Canyon Deposit is a gold mine located in Eureka county, Nevada at an elevation of 7,316 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: Ratto Canyon Deposit

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Nevada
County: Eureka
District: Prospect Mountain 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.
Administrative Organization: Battle Mountain BLM Administrative District

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Echo Bay Exploration, Inc.
Info Year: 2001

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: disseminated
Operation Type: Surface
Year First Production: 1970
Year Last Production: 1985
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Sediment-hosted Au

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Dolomite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Middle Cambrian
Age Old: Late Cambrian

Name: Shale
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cambrian

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Commodity): Ore Materials: gold

Comment (Development): The deposit was reportedly still in exploration phase in 1987. The topo map shows extensive drill roads, surface exploration trenching and 2 open pit mines on the Ratto Canyon side of Pinnacle Peak and Lookout Mountain in the vicinity of the probable deposit. Staccato website (2004) reports that ?Recent production (1970-1985) consists of 30,000-40,000 ounces Au produced from the adjacent Windfall Mine and the Ratto Canyon/Lookout Mountain Pits. ?

Comment (Location): The Ratto Canyon Deposit is located on the west side of Ratto Canyon on the east flanks of Pinnacle Peak and Lookout Mountain in the north part of the Fish Creek Range .

Comment (Workings): open pit

Comment (Economic Factors): IN 1984, a resource of about 200,000 ounces of gold was reported for the Ratto Canyon Deposit. The Ratto Canyon resource was described in 2006 as 5,400,000 tons of material grading 0.03 ounces of gold per ton with about 162,000 ounces of gold unmined.

Comment (Identification): This record encompasses the area described by earlier record, M242944. The current record includes all material from that record plus additional information.

References

Reference (Deposit): NBMG MI-84; MI-86 thru MI-02

Reference (Deposit): NBMG Map 91, 1st, 2nd, 3rd. editions

Reference (Deposit): Nevada Land Status, 1990.

Reference (Deposit): Bonham, H.F., 1986, NBMG Map 91.

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): Bonham, H.F., 1988, in Nbmg MI-1987.

Reference (Deposit): Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Ruby Hill Project of Homestake Mining Company, January1997

Reference (Deposit): Roberts, et al., 1967, NBMG Bull 64.

Reference (Deposit): http://www.geologix.ca/s/Nevada.asp?ReportID=107208
URL: http://www.geologix.ca/s/Nevada.asp?ReportID=107208

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.