Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Mil Lard County, Utah
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Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Mil lard County, Utah U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1 728-G AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS AND MAPS OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Instructions on ordering publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, along with prices of the last offerings, are given in the cur rent-year issues of the monthly catalog "New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey." Prices of available U.S. Geological Sur vey publications released prior to the current year are listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List." Publications that are listed in various U.S. Geological Survey catalogs (see back inside cover) but not listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List" are no longer available. 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E-146,701 C St. Maps For maps, address mail orders to U.S. Geological Survey, Map Distribution Maps Federal Center, Box 25286 Maps may be purchased over the counter at the U.S. Geologi Denver, CO 80225 cal Survey offices where books are sold (all addresses in above list) and at the following Geological Survey offices: Residents of Alaska may order maps from ROLLA, Missouri-1400 Independence Rd. Alaska Distribution Section, U.S. Geological Survey, DENVER, Colorado-Map Distribution, Bldg. 810, Federal New Federal Building - Box 12 Center 101 Twelfth Ave., Fairbanks, AK 99701 FAIRBANKS, Alaska-New Federal Bldg., 101 Twelfth Ave. Chapter G Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah By MICHAEL F. DIGGLES, GARY A. NOWLAN, H. RICHARD BLANK, JR., and SUSAN M. MARCUS U.S. Geological Survey RICHARD F. KNESS U.S. Bureau of Mines U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1728 MINERAL RESOURCES OF WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS EAST-CENTRAL NEVADA AND PART OF ADJACENT BEAVER AND IRON COUNTIES, UTAH U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1990 For sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section U.S. Geological Survey Federal Center, Box 25425 Denver, CO 80225 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mineral resources of the Marble Canyon wilderness study area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah / by Michael F. Diggles...[et al.]. p. cm. (Mineral resources of wilderness study areas east-central Nevada and part of adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah ; ch. G) (U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 1728) Includes bibliographical references. Supt. of Docs, no.: I 19.3:1728-G 1. Mines and mineral resources Marble Canyon Wilderness (Nev. and Utah) 2. Marble Canyon Wilderness (Nev. and Utah) I. Diggles, M.F. II. Series. III. Series: U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 1728-G QE75.B9 no. 1728-G 557.3 s dc20 90-14080 [TN24.N3] [557.93'15] CIP STUDIES RELATED TO WILDERNESS Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (Public Law 94-579, October 21,1976) requires the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to conduct mineral surveys on certain areas to determine the mineral values, if any, that may be present. Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the President and the Congress. This report presents the results of a mineral survey of part of the Marble Canyon (NV-040-086) Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah. CONTENTS Summary Gl Abstract Gl Character and setting Gl Identified mineral resources Gl Mineral resource potential Gl Introduction G2 Location and physiography G3 Procedures and sources of data G3 Acknowledgments G4 Appraisal of identified resources G4 Mining activity G4 Oil and gas G4 Results of field investigation G4 Smith Creek adits G4 Limestone and marble G4 Conclusions G5 Assessment of mineral resource potential G5 Geology G5 Lower-plate rocks G6 Upper-plate rocks G6 Tertiary rocks and Quaternary surficial deposits G6 Structure and metamorphism G6 Geochemistry G7 Methods and background G7 Results and interpretation G10 Geophysics G12 Aeromagnetic data G12 Gravity data G13 Mineral resource potential G14 Limestone and marble G14 Gold and silver G14 Copper, lead, and zinc G14 Tungsten and molybdenum G14 Beryllium and fluorite G14 Barite G14 Oil and gas G15 Geothermal energy G15 References cited G15 Appendixes G19 Definition of levels of mineral resource potential and certainty of assessment G20 Resource/reserve classification G21 Geologic time chart G22 FIGURES 1. Index map showing location of Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G2 2. Mineral resource potential and generalized geologic map of Marble Canyon , Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah G8 3. Geochemical anomaly map of Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah G10 Contents 4. Aeromagnetic map of region including Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah G12 5. Bouguer gravity anomaly map of region including Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah G13 TABLE 1. Statistics for selected elements in drainage samples collected in and near the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah Gil VI Contents Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah £y Michael F. Diggles, Gary A. Nowlan, H. Richard Blank, Jr., and Susan M. Marcus U.S. Geological Survey Richard F. Kness U.S. Bureau of Mines SUMMARY study area is by four-wheel-drive vehicle on roads in Marble Wash, Coyote Canyon, Bars Canyon, and Smith Creek. Abstract Most of the study area is underlain by shales, quartz- ites, and carbonate rocks of early Paleozoic age (see "Appen The 19,150-acre Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area dixes" for geologic time chart). The oldest exposed rocks in (NV-040-086) was evaluated for mineral resources (known) the area are shale, quartzite, and marble of Early and Middle and mineral resource potential (undiscovered), and fieldwork was conducted in 1987. The acreage includes 6,435 acres that Cambrian age. Shale of Late Cambrian age has been faulted is now designated as part of the Mount Moriah Wilderness over the older metamorphosed rocks. Dolomite and quartzite under the Nevada Wilderness Protection Act of 1989 (S. 974), of Ordovician and Silurian age are also in fault contact with most but not all of which is included in 8,300 acres for which the Upper Cambrian rocks. Small areas of dolomite and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management requested a mineral sur limestone of Devonian to Permian age crop out east of the vey. In this report, the ''wilderness study area," or simply "the range-front fault; their relation to the rocks west of the fault is study area" refers to the entire 19,150-acre tract. obscured by alluvium. The structural history of the study The area is underlain by quartzite, shale, and carbonate area includes the development of a detachment fault that jux rocks. The northern Snake Range decollement is a detachment taposes metamorphosed Paleozoic rocks beneath, and in flat- surface that separates rocks of similar age but different meta- fault contact with, less metamorphosed to nonmetamorphosed morphic grade within the study area. Large inferred subeco- rocks. This detachment surface is part of the northern Snake nomic limestone and marble resources in the study area have no special or unique properties. The mineral resource potential Range decollement. for limestone and marble is high in two canyons and is moder ate in the rest of the wilderness study area.