DOCSLIB.ORG

Identification of Quartz and Carbonate Minerals Across Northern Nevada

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Identification of Quartz and Carbonate Minerals Across Northern Nevada Identifi cation of quartz and carbonate minerals across northern Nevada using ASTER thermal infrared emissivity data—Implications for geologic mapping and mineral resource investigations in well-studied and frontier areas Barnaby W. Rockwell* Albert H. Hofstra U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, MS 973, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA ABSTRACT posed primarily of other minerals, they were carbonate mapping demonstrated here can inferred to be hydrothermal in origin and be used in well-studied or frontier areas to ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal compared to known occurrences of hydro- verify the accuracy of existing geologic maps, Emission and Refl ection Radiometer) ther- thermal alteration and mineralization. guide future detailed stratigraphic and struc- mal infrared imagery over a 389 km × 387 The ASTER-based quartz mapping iden- tural mapping in lithologically complex ter- km area in northern Nevada (38.5°–42°N, tifi ed thick sequences of quartzite, bed- ranes and allochthons, and identify hydro- 114°–118.5°W) was analyzed to evaluate its ded radiolarian chert, quartz sandstone, thermal features for exploration and resource capability for accurate and cost-effective conglomerates with clasts of quartzite and assessment purposes. identifi cation and mapping of quartz and chert, silicic and/or altered rhyolites, and carbonate minerals at regional to local scales. silicic welded tuffs. Alluvial fan surfaces, Keywords: remote sensing, ASTER, thermal The geology of this area has been mapped at sand dunes, and beach deposits composed infrared, quartz, carbonate. a wide range of scales and includes a diver- of quartz and/or carbonate are prominent, sity of rock types and unconsolidated surfi - well-mapped features. Quartz was also iden- INTRODUCTION cial materials, many of which are composed tifi ed in smaller bodies of jasperoid, quartz- primarily of quartz and carbonate minerals. alunite, and quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration, The Great Basin physiographic province is This area is also endowed with a wide vari- hot spring silica sinter terraces, and several the world’s second leading producer of gold ety of economically and scientifi cally impor- diatomite and perlite mines and prospects. and is also host to a wide variety of ore deposits tant ore deposit types that contain an array The ASTER-based carbonate mapping iden- that contain large resources of silver, base met- of commodities (Au, Ag, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mo, W, tifi ed thick sequences of dolomite, limestone, als, and other important metallic and industrial Sn, Be, F, Mn, Fe, Sb, Hg, and barite). The and marble, as well as small hot spring trav- minerals (Hofstra and Wallace, 2006). Because hydrothermal systems that generated these ertine deposits. Eolian carbonate was identi- hydrothermal silicifi cation accompanies miner- deposits frequently deposited large amounts fi ed in several playas. Dolomite exhibited a alization in many metal deposits, the identifi ca- of quartz where fl uids cool, and generally stronger carbonate response than calcite, as tion and mapping of quartz in rocks composed smaller amounts of calcite or dolomite by predicted based on their thermal spectral mainly of other minerals is of great value for other mechanisms. characteristics. Quartz was detected at lower exploration and assessments of resource poten- To identify and map quartz and carbon- concentrations than carbonates because of tial. Identifi cation of quartz and carbonate in ate minerals, band ratioing techniques were the greater strength of the quartz reststrahlen rocks and unconsolidated surfi cial materials developed based on the shapes of laboratory features in the thermal infrared compared to across large areas holds promise for assessing the reference spectra and applied to ASTER the bending-related spectral features of car- potential for industrial rock-mineral resources Level 2 surface emissivity products of 108 bonates. The 90 m ground pixel size of the including aggregate, sand, gravel, caliche, and overlapping scenes. These mineral maps ASTER thermal imagery prevents the iden- calcrete. The regional mapping of these miner- were mosaicked into a single coverage that tifi cation of small-scale features. Despite this als also facilitates evaluation of existing geo- was overlain with published, vector-format limitation, numerous bodies of hydrothermal logic maps and recognition of locales in need of geologic maps of various scales to determine quartz were detected in or near known Car- more refi ned mapping or topical investigation. which geologic terranes, formations, and lin-type gold deposits, distal disseminated Data from spaceborne remote sensing systems geomorphic features correspond to identifi ed Au-Ag deposits, high- and low-sulfi dation have been applied to prospecting in terranes quartz or carbonate. Where quartz or car- epithermal Au-Ag deposits, and geothermal with requisite geologic and tectonic frameworks bonate minerals were mapped in rocks com- areas. Detection of hydrothermal carbonate for decades, but the Advanced Spaceborne was rare and mainly in geothermal areas. Thermal Emission and Refl ection Radiometer The ASTER-based thermal quartz and (ASTER) sensor aboard the Earth Observing *[email protected]. Geosphere; February 2008; v. 4; no. 1; p. 218–246; doi: 10.1130/GES00126.1; 17 fi gures; 3 tables; 3 plates, 2 supplemental index maps. 218 For permission to copy, contact [email protected] © 2008 Geological Society of America Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geosphere/article-pdf/4/1/218/3341029/i1553-040X-4-1-218.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 Remote identifi cation of quartz and carbonate minerals, Nevada System (EOS) Terra satellite launched in 2000 TABLE 1. MEASURED SPECTRAL emissivity “absorption” features. As the labora- provides revolutionary new capabilities for cost- PERFORMANCE OF ASTER THERMAL tory spectra were measured in biconical, rather INFRARED BANDS effective mineral and landcover mapping over than hemispherical, refl ectance, the generated Central large areas. The ASTER sensor acquires multi- ASTER Band width emissivity spectra can be used to predict only wavelength band (µm) spectral data in 14 bands, including 5 bands in (µm) the spectral shapes, and not absolute emissiv- the mid-infrared, or thermal (8–14 µm), region 10 8.291 0.344 ity values, of the mineral spectra. In both Fig- of the electromagnetic spectrum, in addition to 11 8.634 0.347 ures 1 and 2, the emissivity spectra convolved another band with backward-looking geometry 12 9.075 0.361 to ASTER sampling and bandpass are shown in the near-infrared (NIR, 0.76–0.86 µm) to pro- 13 10.657 0.667 in red. In Figure 1, the emissivity absorption 14 11.318 0.593 vide capability for stereoscopic observation and Note: Data from ASTER (Advanced features of quartz at ASTER bands 10 and 12 digital elevation model generation. The multi- Spaceborne Thermal Emission and are related to fundamental asymmetric Si-O spectral thermal infrared (TIR) data of ASTER Reflection Radiometer) User’s Guide (Earth stretching vibrations (reststrahlen bands). The are vital for detecting nonhydrous varieties of Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center, reststrahlen bands of quartz are the strongest quartz that are not spectrally identifi able in the 2005). of any silicate mineral (Salisbury and D’Aria, visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared 1992b). In Figure 2, the emissivity absorption (SWIR, 1.4–2.5 µm) spectral regions because features of calcite and dolomite at ASTER band of a lack of diagnostic absorption features. The shows the wavelength centers and band widths 14 are related to out-of-plane bending modes of ASTER TIR data also provide capability for the of the fi ve ASTER thermal bands, which have the CO3 ion (Clark, 1999). Note that dolomite remote identifi cation and mapping of areally a ground instantaneous fi eld of view (GIFOV), exhibits a greater decrease in emissivity between extensive occurrences of other minerals, includ- or ground spatial resolution, of 90 m. Figures bands 13 and 14 than calcite. This characteristic ing carbonates, although the ASTER SWIR data 1 and 2 exhibit the spectral features of quartz, is caused by the greater width and shorter wave- are more sensitive at detecting hydrous quartz calcite, and dolomite in this spectral region at length position of the bending feature of dolo- (e.g., opal and chalcedony) and differentiating original laboratory resolution and convolved to mite at 11.15 µm relative to the bending feature carbonate mineral species. Despite its poten- ASTER sampling and bandpass (Table 1). The of calcite at 11.27 µm. tial utility, the mineral mapping capabilities of emissivity spectra shown in these fi gures were In the 8–11 µm spectral region measured by ASTER TIR data are often underutilized in sci- created by applying Kirchoff’s Law, E = 1 – R, ASTER, some fabricated construction materials entifi c studies. where E and R are emissivity and refl ectance, such as paving concrete and asphalt (macadam) This study evaluates the utility of band ratio to refl ectance spectra from a mid-infrared labo- have absorption features that are similar to that analysis techniques applied to ASTER thermal ratory spectral library (Salisbury et al., 1991). of quartz at ASTER sampling and bandpass infrared emissivity data for the identifi cation Kirchoff’s Law inverts refl ectance peaks into (ASTER Spectral Library, 2002), possibly due and mapping of quartz and carbonate minerals emissivity troughs commonly referred to as to quartz sand in the aggregate used to make across a 3.5º × 4.5º (389 km × 387 km) area of the central Great Basin in northern Nevada. The quartz and carbonate mineral maps were over- lain with geologic maps of a wide range of scales (1:500,000–1:6000) to evaluate their reliability and to identify previously unknown occurrences of quartz and carbonate to guide future investi- gations. Of particular relevance to metallogeny was evidence of hydrothermal quartz, includ- ing jasperoids or other quartz associated with argillic and phyllic alteration, in areas of known mineralization.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • LZ Streets County Boundary Printed 4/23/2018 ®
    H R A I L R FR526 D A R G R HORSE SAD I DLE M SO E A A AP 9 STO RIN M N NE G 8 R TAIL RAN P I CH R E O O HORN L BUFFALO C C E O C TW K W A V O T O F N E B H R R C R W E RAWA S DIAMOND PEAK LZ AR E 2 A L E S A D 0 A V S 2 M O K L E A WALNO C R O B F B E O C M R N # K R * N E L I D W R A A E C G L K O D N T A A O D BIG HOLE A E S C N R R E A R R P H N E I E F D R B 8 E R Y R 9 V O P R L F SOAPSTONE PRAIRIE NA NORTH LOT LZ P O F S T R E C C A Y D U U H IX D Y W T M K A C D B L K W E S N F # N * M N T F E A S U L O Y Y IT A O L T M S B N O E Y Y V E M C O B R S D N R K O W A R I I A E N E O A R L R N E H I C IG L C L R W R AN I G 4 W E T D S E C S P F A B 3 R R N 7 A I E U T 8 NG I P F P N S G E R A Q O R F S L R L T H C T I S Y P R V 6 I E F C 4 0 I S N 5 A 2 O N E C D A D S R R C L G R 3 F N R G D 1 W T E N 2 U R N S 0 AIL L E I E O C R RED MOUNTAIN OPEN SPACE LZ K 3 RE K K O A O EK R L E M C Z R M N TIM P L N E BER # S E *N O C G T W H I O K R L N N Y E E N L O K H E C I C N C R L A Y C O I I C L H A O V T L P CR80C & FR87C LZ T E VIRGINIA DALE LZ I N A R G C N R RA ED O N J E E A A L P A R I S SH W E L 2 B R C F Y E R A T *# *# P F 8 1 S H C R C A D 8 O E 1 T A 7 E T A HOHNHOLZ LAKES LZ K R AT R E SOAPSTONE PRAIRIE NA SOUTH LOT LZ R V R N I C O R M M P E T R F F E I T 200 B U E W FR L E P # B S L E # * Y * R E K IN E T S C T I H L O 5 C N G K 4 E LS CREEK R I C DEVI D O F A 5 C N S D N E E W R EATON RESERVOIR LZ A I T F I N P U R E BE R A P E R K Q A D 5 R L 9 P *# N O V N K E I A T S T D L I M U D I CR80C MM 22 LZ L D M H E R E Y *# E C B V U R S L CR80C & CR89 LZ T L T DE D E M R S # W PA N E * A R T U L K HOMESTEAD LZ JOY A R N C 0 O J K CANYON O 4 E W A P HA F W 5 R R # L IV ROUND BUTTE LZ * X E R I ATE D F D M R CR92 W IV # B E * CH E E N L F A AN D R R H E R C 5 T J 2 O 3 R P R 1 .
    [Show full text]
  • Alkalic-Type Epithermal Gold Deposit Model
    Alkalic-Type Epithermal Gold Deposit Model Chapter R of Mineral Deposit Models for Resource Assessment Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5070–R U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Photographs of alkalic-type epithermal gold deposits and ores. Upper left: Cripple Creek, Colorado—One of the largest alkalic-type epithermal gold deposits in the world showing the Cresson open pit looking southwest. Note the green funnel-shaped area along the pit wall is lamprophyre of the Cresson Pipe, a common alkaline rock type in these deposits. The Cresson Pipe was mined by historic underground methods and produced some of the richest ores in the district. The holes that are visible along several benches in the pit (bottom portion of photograph) are historic underground mine levels. (Photograph by Karen Kelley, USGS, April, 2002). Upper right: High-grade gold ore from the Porgera deposit in Papua New Guinea showing native gold intergrown with gold-silver telluride minerals (silvery) and pyrite. (Photograph by Jeremy Richards, University of Alberta, Canada, 2013, used with permission). Lower left: Mayflower Mine, Montana—High-grade hessite, petzite, benleonardite, and coloradoite in limestone. (Photograph by Paul Spry, Iowa State University, 1995, used with permission). Lower right: View of north rim of Navilawa Caldera, which hosts the Banana Creek prospect, Fiji, from the portal of the Tuvatu prospect. (Photograph by Paul Spry, Iowa State University, 2007, used with permission). Alkalic-Type Epithermal Gold Deposit Model By Karen D. Kelley, Paul G. Spry, Virginia T. McLemore, David L. Fey, and Eric D. Anderson Chapter R of Mineral Deposit Models for Resource Assessment Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5070–R U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleozoic Geology of the Dobbin Summit-Clear Creek Area, Monitor
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF DIANE CAROL WISE for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Geology presented on August 13, 1976 Title: PALEOZOIC GEOLOGY OF THE DOBBIN SUMMIT- CLEAR CREEK AREA, MONITOR RANGE, NYiE COUNTY, NEVADA Abstract approved: Redacted for Privacy son Paleozoic limestones, dolomites, quartz arenites, and other clastic rocks were mapped in the vicinity of Dobbin Summit and Clear Creek in the central Monitor Range. Sedimentary rock units present in this area represent the shallow-shelf eastern assemblage and basin and also the basin-slope facies of the traditional limestone- clastic assemblage. The four oldest, Ordovician, units were deposited in shallow shelf environments. The Lower Ordovician Goodwin Formation is composed of about 1200 feet of calcareous shales and thin-bedded limestones. The overlying Antelope Valley Limestone is about 500 feet thick and consists of wackestones, packstones, and rare algal grainstones.The Copenhagen Formation (135 feet thick) is the highest regressive deposit of sandstone, siltstone, and limestone below the transgressive Eureka Quartzite.The Eureka is a quartz arenite 181 feet thick, with an intercalated shallow marine dolomite member. The transition from shallow to deep water conditions can be seen in the change from algal boundstones to laminated lime mud- stones in the Hanson Creek Formation (190 feet thick).The super- jacent Roberts Mountains Formation (285 feet thick) is composed of lime mudstones and allodapic beds deposited in basinal, deep water conditions.During earliest Devonian
    [Show full text]
  • Lassen Volcanic National Park
    LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK • CALIFORNIA • UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RATIONAL PARK SERVICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARNO B. CAMMERER, Director LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK CALIFORNIA SEASON FROM JUNE 1 TO SEPTEMBER IS UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1934 RULES AND REGULATIONS The park regulations are designed for the protection of the natural beauties as well as for the comfort and convenience of visitors. The com­ plete regulations may be seen at the office of the superintendent of the park. The following synopsis is for the general guidance of visitors, who are requested to assist in the administration of the park by observing CONTENTS the rules. PAGE Automobiles.—Many sharp unexpected curves exist on the Lassen Peak Loop Highway, and fast driving—over 25 miles per hour in most places—is GEOLOGIC HISTORY 2 dangerous. Drive slowly, keeping always well to the right, and enjoy the THE ANCIENT BROKEOFF CRATER 5 scenery. Specimens and souvenirs.—In order that future visitors may enjoy the SOLFATARAS 6 park unimpaired and unmolested, it is strictly prohibited to break any THE CINDER CONE 8 formation; to take any minerals, lava, pumace, sulphur, or other rock MOUNTAINS 9 specimens; to injure or molest or disturb any animal, bird, tree, flower, or shrub in the park. Driving nails in trees or cutting the bark of trees in OTHER INTERESTING FEATURES I0 camp grounds is likewise prohibited and strictly enforced. Dead wood WILD ANIMALS :: may be gathered for camp fires. Trash.—Scraps of paper, lunch refuse, orange peelings, kodak cartons, FISHING :4 chewing-gum wrappers, and similar trash scattered along the roads and CAMPING r5 trails and camp grounds and parking areas are most objectionable and unsightly.
    [Show full text]
  • Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotope Geochemistry of the Roberts Mountains Allochthon: New Insights Into the Early GEOSPHERE; V
    Research Paper GEOSPHERE Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry of the Roberts Mountains allochthon: New insights into the early GEOSPHERE; v. 12, no. 3 Paleozoic tectonics of western North America doi:10.1130/GES01252.1 Gwen M. Linde1, James H. Trexler, Jr.1, Patricia H. Cashman1, George Gehrels2, and William R. Dickinson2,* 12 figures; 2 tables; 2 supplemental tables 1Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557-0172, USA 2Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077, USA CORRESPONDENCE: gwenlinde@ yahoo .com CITATION: Linde, G.M., Trexler, J.H., Jr., Cashman, ABSTRACT et al., 1958; Burchfiel and Davis, 1972; Madrid, 1987). Various workers have P.H., Gehrels, G., and Dickinson, W.R., 2016, Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotope suggested wildly disparate sources for the RMA strata. Some workers (e.g., geochemistry of the Roberts Mountains allochthon: Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry provide Roberts et al., 1958; Burchfiel and Davis, 1972; Poole et al., 1992) suggested New insights into the early Paleozoic tectonics of new insights into the provenance, sedimentary transport, and tectonic evo- that the RMA strata originated in western Laurentia (Fig. 1) and deposited in western North America: Geosphere, v. 12, no. 3, p. 1016–1031, doi:10.1130/GES01252.1. lution of the Roberts Mountains allochthon strata of north-central Nevada. an ocean basin to the west. Speed and Sleep (1982) hypothesized that the RMA Using laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, a total of strata are the accretionary prism of a far-traveled arc.
    [Show full text]
  • Carlin-Type Gold Deposits in Nevada: Critical Geologic Characteristics and Viable Models
    ©2005 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc. Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Volume pp. 451–484 Carlin-Type Gold Deposits in Nevada: Critical Geologic Characteristics and Viable Models JEAN S. CLINE,† University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 454010, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-4010 ALBERT H. HOFSTRA, Mineral Resources Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Mail Stop 973, Box 25046, Denver, Colorado 80225 JOHN L. MUNTEAN, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Mail Stop 178, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557-0088 RICHARD M. TOSDAL, AND KENNETH A. HICKEY Mineral Deposit Research Unit, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4 Abstract Carlin-type Au deposits in Nevada have huge Au endowments that have made the state, and the United States, one of the leading Au producers in the world. Forty years of mining and numerous studies have pro- vided a detailed geologic picture of the deposits, yet a comprehensive and widely accepted genetic model re- mains elusive. The genesis of the deposits has been difficult to determine owing to difficulties in identifying and analyzing the fine-grained, volumetrically minor, and common ore and gangue minerals, and because of postore weathering and oxidation. In addition, other approximately contemporaneous precious metal deposits have overprinted, or are overprinted by, Carlin-type mineralization. Recent geochronological studies have led to a consensus that the Nevada deposits formed ~42 to 36 m.y. ago, and the deposits can now be evaluated in the context of their tectonic setting. Continental rifting and deposi- tion of a passive margin sequence followed by compressional orogenies established a premineral architecture of steeply dipping fluid conduits, shallow, low dipping “traps” and reactive calcareous host rocks.
    [Show full text]
  • Summits on the Air – ARM for USA - Colorado (WØC)
    Summits on the Air – ARM for USA - Colorado (WØC) Summits on the Air USA - Colorado (WØC) Association Reference Manual Document Reference S46.1 Issue number 3.2 Date of issue 15-June-2021 Participation start date 01-May-2010 Authorised Date: 15-June-2021 obo SOTA Management Team Association Manager Matt Schnizer KØMOS Summits-on-the-Air an original concept by G3WGV and developed with G3CWI Notice “Summits on the Air” SOTA and the SOTA logo are trademarks of the Programme. This document is copyright of the Programme. All other trademarks and copyrights referenced herein are acknowledged. Page 1 of 11 Document S46.1 V3.2 Summits on the Air – ARM for USA - Colorado (WØC) Change Control Date Version Details 01-May-10 1.0 First formal issue of this document 01-Aug-11 2.0 Updated Version including all qualified CO Peaks, North Dakota, and South Dakota Peaks 01-Dec-11 2.1 Corrections to document for consistency between sections. 31-Mar-14 2.2 Convert WØ to WØC for Colorado only Association. Remove South Dakota and North Dakota Regions. Minor grammatical changes. Clarification of SOTA Rule 3.7.3 “Final Access”. Matt Schnizer K0MOS becomes the new W0C Association Manager. 04/30/16 2.3 Updated Disclaimer Updated 2.0 Program Derivation: Changed prominence from 500 ft to 150m (492 ft) Updated 3.0 General information: Added valid FCC license Corrected conversion factor (ft to m) and recalculated all summits 1-Apr-2017 3.0 Acquired new Summit List from ListsofJohn.com: 64 new summits (37 for P500 ft to P150 m change and 27 new) and 3 deletes due to prom corrections.
    [Show full text]
  • The Regular Meeting of the Incline Village General Improvement District Will Be Held Starting at 6:00 P.M
    The regular meeting of the Incline Village General Improvement District will be held starting at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 in the Boardroom, 893 Southwood Boulevard, Incline Village, Nevada. A. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE* B. ROLL CALL OF THE IVGID BOARD OF TRUSTEES* C. ROLL CALL OF THE IVGID BOARD OF TRUSTEES-ELECTS* Tim Callicrate Kendra Wong D. PUBLIC COMMENTS* (During the Public Comment section of the agenda, the public may comment on any subject pertaining to Incline Village General Improvement District, that is in Reports and/or on the Consent Calendar and/or is not on the agenda for action. Comments from the public, relating to a General Business agenda item, will be taken during the Board's consideration of that item. When recognized by the Chair, speakers are requested to come to the podium at the front of the room, state their name and address, and direct their comments to the Chair. All speakers are made aware that their comments will be included in the minutes of the meeting. Speaking time is limited to three minutes and yielding of time is prohibited. Persons are invited to submit comments in writing on the agenda items and/or attend and make comment. The Chair may or may not provide a response or may take the comment under advisement. The Board of Trustees conducts the business of Incline Village and Crystal Bay and its citizens during its meetings. The Chair may order the removal of any person whose conduct disrupts the orderly, efficient or safe conduct of the meeting.
    [Show full text]
  • F I N a L Mineral Assessment Report
    BLM F I N A L MINERAL ASSESSMENT REPORT Battle Mountain District Office - Nevada J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2 This page intentionally left blank Bureau of Land Management Mineral Assessment Report SUMMARY The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Battle Mountain District Office (BMDO) is in the process of revising the district’s Resource Management Plan (RMP). As part of the RMP revision process, the BLM is required to prepare a Mineral Assessment Report providing information regarding mineral occurrences and potential within the BMDO Planning Area (planning area). This report provides an intermediate level of detail for mineral assessment as prescribed in BLM Manual 3060 (BLM 1994). Information presented in this report will be summarized and incorporated into an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed RMP and into the final RMP. The geologic history of central and southern Nevada and the planning area is very complex and includes two major cycles of sedimentation (western and eastern facies sources), episodic thrust faulting, mountain building, and associated intrusive and igneous activity. More recent geologic history includes a period of crustal extension that was accompanied by bimodal (rhyolite-basalt) volcanism, large volume caldera volcanism, and basin and range block-faulting resulting in high-levels of shallow crustal heat flow. The regional and local geologic setting has been instrumental in the location of and potential for numerous economic metallic mineral deposits in the planning area, as well as development of economic geothermal resources. MINING AND MINERAL ACTIVITY IN NEVADA Mineral exploration, particularly for gold, is an ongoing enterprise in Nevada by both operators of existing mines and by other exploration companies.
    [Show full text]
  • Mineral Potential Report
    FRTC Modernization EIS Supporting Study Mineral Potential Report This Page Intentionally Left Blank REPORT Mineral Potential Report for the Fallon Range Training Complex Modernization for ManTech International Corporation Submitted to: ManTech International Corporation 420 Stevens Avenue, Suite 300 Solana Beach, California 92075 Submitted by: Golder Associates Inc. +1 520 888-8818 18108941 November 2018 November 2018 18108941 Executive Summary This Mineral Potential Report (MPR) has been prepared to support an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the land withdrawal extension and expansion at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon Range Training Complex (FRTC), in Churchill, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, and Pershing Counties, Nevada. This MPR is intended to be used as a planning tool that provides land managers with mineral resource information to develop management plans. The FRTC is part of the US Department of Navy (DON). The FRTC currently encompasses an area of 223,562 acres (ac). Figure ES.1 presents the areas involved. The FRTC consists of federal land that has been withdrawn from public use and reserved for military training and operations through the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1999, Public Law 106-65 (MLWA). The current withdrawal will expire in November 2021, unless Congress enacts legislation providing an extension. Withdrawal of additional lands to support DON activities in ranges B-16, B-17, B-20, and the DVTA may impact public and private lands including mining and geothermal leases, as well as access to mineral exploration and production infrastructure such as roads, pipelines, and temporary and fixed facilities. As part of the EIS process, the DON proposed three action alternatives for the land withdrawal extension and expansion for the FRTC.
    [Show full text]
  • Session 5 Epigenetic Gold Systems
    Session 5 Epigenetic gold systems Chapter 5-1 5-1 Geochemical and isotopic constraints on Palaeozoic orogenic gold endowment and crustal evolution of the south central Andes, NW Argentina Frank P. Bierlein School of Geoscience, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia, and Tectonics Special Research Centre, The Uni- versity of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia Beatriz Coira CONICET and Instituto de Geología y Minería, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, 4600 San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina Holly Stein AIRIE Program, Department of Earth Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1482 USA Abstract. Major and trace element concentrations, and Nd isotope spreading ridges and/or mantle plumes, play important compositions of Ordovician volcano-intrusive rocks in the Puna of roles in the ore-forming process (Bierlein and Crowe 2000). northwestern Argentina point to their formation in a pericratonic Thus, it can be hypothesised that variations in the vol- setting above thickened and evolved continental crust. Input from juvenile sources was limited and there is no evidence for oceanic ume and composition of mafic rocks underlying a meta- crust or the presence of a terrane-bounding suture in the region. In sedimentary succession represent key elements in the eco- contrast to analogous terrains elsewhere in the Central Andes (e.g., nomic evaluation of a given fold belt. in Peru and Bolivia), relatively minor orogenic gold mineralisation In this study, we report results of petrogenetic and iso- is known to occur in the Palaeozoic succession in northwestern Ar- topic investigations aimed at characterising and finger- gentina. Possible explanations for the lack of more substantial oro- genic gold endowment include the absence of hydrated oceanic printing mafic intrusives, related volcanic rocks, and substrate in the Puna, lack of 1st-order conduits and the limited ex- metasedimentary rocks in the Puna Argentina.
    [Show full text]
  • Ordovician News 2005
    ORDOVICIAN NEWS SUBCOMMISSION ON ORDOVICIAN STRATIGRAPHY INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON STRATIGRAPHY Nº 22 2005 ORDOVICIAN NEWS Nº 22 INTERNATIONAL UNION OF GEOLOGIAL SCIENCES President: ZHANG HONGREN (China) Vice-President: S. HALDORSEN (Norway) Secretary General: P. T. BOBROWSKI (Canada) Treasurer: A. BRAMBATI (Italy) Past-President: E.F.J. DE MULDER (The Netherlands) INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON STRATIGRAPHY Chairman: F. GRADSTEIN (Norway) Vice-Chairman: S. C. FINNEY (USA) Secretary General: J. OGG (USA) Past-Chairman: J. REMANE (Switzerland) INTERNATIONAL SUBCOMMISSION ON ORDOVICIAN STRATIGRAPHY Chairman: CHEN XU (China) Vice-Chairman: J. C. GUTIÉRREZ MARCO (Spain) Secretary: G. L. ALBANESI (Argentina) F. G. ACEÑOLAZA (Argentina) A. V. DRONOV (Russia) O. FATKA (Czech Republic) S. C. FINNEY (USA) R. A. FORTEY (UK) D. A. HARPER (Denmark) W. D. HUFF (USA) LI JUN (China) C. E. MITCHELL (USA) R. S. NICOLL (Australia) G. S. NOWLAN (Canada) A. W. OWEN (UK) F. PARIS (France) I. PERCIVAL (Australia) L. E. POPOV (Russia) M. R. SALTZMAN (USA) Copyright © IUGS 2005 i ORDOVICIAN NEWS Nº 22 CONTENTS Page NOTE FOR CONTRIBUTORS iii EDITOR'S NOTE iii CHAIRMAN´S AND SECRETARY´S ADDRESSES iii CHAIRMAN´S REPORT 1 SOS ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2001 1 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIA AND CONFERENCES 4 PROJECTS 7 SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 7 HONORARY NOTES 8 MISCELLANEA 9 CURRENT RESEARCH 9 RECENT ORDOVICIAN PUBLICATIONS 25 NAMES AND ADDRESS CHANGES 40 URL: http://www.ordovician.cn, http://seis.natsci.csulb.edu/ISOS Cover: The Wangjiawan GSSP for the base of the Hirnantian Stage, China. ii ORDOVICIAN NEWS Nº 22 NOTE FOR CONTRIBUTORS The continued health and survival of Ordovician News depends on YOU to send in items of Ordovician interest such as lists and reviews of recent publications, brief summaries of current research, notices of relevant local, national and international meetings, etc.
    [Show full text]