UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA-RENO Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Un~vrrsiryof Nevada-8.eno Reno, Nevada 89557-0088 (702) 784-6691 FAX: (7G2j 784-1709 NBMG OPEN-FILE REPORT 90-1 MINERAL RESOURCE INVENTORY BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, CARSON CITY DISTRICT, NEVADA Joseph V. Tingley This information should be considered preliminary. It has not been edited or checked for completeness or accuracy. Mineral Resource Inventory Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District, Nevada Prepared by: Joseph V. Tingley Prepared for: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF E INTERIOR '\\ !\ BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Carson City Office Carson City, Nevada Under Cooperative Agreement 14-08-0001-A-0586 with the U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO January 1990 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................ 3 LOCATION .......................... 4 MINERAL RESOURCES ...................... 4 MINING DISTRICTS AND AREAS .................. 6 ALLEN HOT SPRINGS AREA ................. 6 ALPINE DISTRICT .................... 7 AURORA DISTRICT .................... 10 BELL DISTRICT ..................... 13 BELLMOUNTAIN DISTRICT ................. 16 BENWAY DISTRICT .................... 19 BERNICE DISTRICT .................... 21 BOVARDDISTRICT .............23 BROKENHILLS DISTRICT ................. 27 BRUNERDISTRICT .................. 30 BUCKLEYDISTRICT ................. 32 BUCKSKINDISTRICT ............... 35 CALICO HILLS AREA ................... 39 CANDELARIA DISTRICT ................. 41 CARSON CITY DISTRICT .................. 44 CASTLEPEAKDISTRICT .................. 46 CHALKMOUNTAIN DISTRICT ................ 48 CHURCHILL DISTRICT ................... 51 CLARK-DERBYAREA ...............-.53 COMODISTRICT ..................... 55 COMSTOCK DISTRICT ................... 57 COPPER KETTLE DISTRICT ................. 61 CORRAL CANYON DISTRICT ............... 63 DEAD CAMEL MOUNTAINS AREA ............... 65 DELAWARE DISTRICT ................... 67 DESERTMOUNTAINSAREA ................. 70 DIXIE VALLEY DISTRICT ................. 72 EAGLEVILLEDISTRICT .................. 75 EASTGATE DISTRICT .............78 EASTSIDEAREA ................ 82 ELDORADO DISTRICT ................... 84 FAIRVIEW MINING DISTRICT ..........86 FITTING DISTRICT .................... 91 FREDS MOUNTAIN AREA .................. 94 GABBS (DOWNEYVILLE) DISTRICT .......... 96 GABBSVALLEYAREA ................... 99 GALENA DISTRICT ...................102 GARDNERVILLE DISTRICT .................104 GARFIELD DISTRICT ...................107 GENOA DISTRICT .....................109 GOLD BASIN DISTRICT ..................111 HOLY CROSS DISTRICT ................113 HUNTOON VALLEY AREA ..................117 I.X.L. DISTRICT ....................119 JUMBO DISTRICT .....................122 KINGDISTRICT .....................124 LA PLATA MINING DISTRICT ............... 126 LEONARDDISTRICT ....................130 LITTLE VALLEY DISTRICT .................132 LODI DISTRICT .....................134 LUCKY BOY DISTRICT ...................139 MARIETTADISTRICT ...................142 MASONIC DISTRICT ....................147 MINERAL BASIN DISTRICT .................149 MOUND HOUSE DISTRICT ..................151 MOUNT GRANT DISTRICT ..................153 MOUNT MONTGOMERY DISTRICT ..............156 MOUNT SIEGEL .....................159 MOUNTAIN HOUSE DISTRICT .........161 MOUNTAIN VIEW DISTRICT .................163 OLINGHOUSE DISTRICT ..................167 PAMLICO DISTRICT .............170 PEAVINE DISTRICT .................... 174 PILOT MOUNTAINS DISTRICT ................177 PYRAMID DISTRICT ....................181 RAMSEYDISTRICT ....................183 RAWHIDE DISTRICT .................... 187 RED CANYON DISTRICT .................. 190 RED MOUNTAIN DISTRICT .................193 RISUE CANYON DISTRICT .................195 SANDPASSAREA ............-197 SAND SPRINGS DISTRICT .................199 SANTAFEDISTRICT ...................203 SHADYRUN DISTRICT ...................207 SILVERSTAR DISTRICT .................. 209 STATELINEAREA ....................213 STATELINEPEAKAREA ..................214 STEAMBOAT SPRINGS DISTRICT ...............216 TABLE MOUNTAIN DISTRICT ................218 TALAPOOSA DISTRICT ...................220 TUNGSTEN MOUNTAIN DISTRICT ...............222 WASHINGTON DISTRICT ..................226 WEDEKINDDISTRICT ...................229 WELLINGTON DISTRICT ..................231 WESTGATEDISTRICT ...................234 WHISKY FLAT DISTRICT ..................236 WHITE CLOUD DISTRICT ..................238 WILDHORSEDISTRICT .................. 240 WILSONDISTRICT ....................243 WONDERDISTRICT ....................247 YERINGTON DISTRICT ..................251 & APPENDICES A . MINES, PROSPECTS, AND OCCURRENCES (NBMG OPEN-FILE REPORT 90-2 B . SAMPLE DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSES (NBMG OPEN-FILE REPORT 90-3 INTRODUCTION The need for an updated and expanded mineral inventory has been recognized by the BLN, Carson City District, in anticipation of planning requirements for land utilization in the 1990's. A low-level of mineral inventory was conducted within the district in the mid-1970's. Drastic changes in mineral economics and mineral exploration concepts methods have taken place since that time, however, requiring that a new, district-wide inventory be made. Work within the Carson City District was completed in three complementary stages. First, records of all mineral occurrences within the district on file within the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Resource Data Set (MRDS) were obtained and examined. Deposit locations were plotted on topographic maps for field use, and additional literature search was done in some areas to augment information obtained from MRDS. Folios were prepared for each mining district within the study area which included MRDS forms, notes on mineral activity, and pertinent references. During the field examination stage of the inventory project, mining districts within the area were visited and many individual properties were examined and described. Outlying prospects, as well as major mines, were examined in order to provide more complete and accurate information on occurrences beyond that found in the literature. In each area examined, photos were taken to document activity, type of mine workings present, and to record geologic relationships. In addition, samples of typical ore mineralization were collected for analysis to investigate trace element associations in the ores. These samples were Nhigh-gradedlland usually collected from dumps, ore piles, or mineralized outcrops. The samples were prepared for analysis by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology analytical laboratory, and were analyzed by the Branch of Geochemistry, U.S. Geological Survey through a cooperative agreement between that agency and the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. The third stage of this project consisted of evalulation of the data collected during the field examinations, study of geochemical associations, and preparation of the summary inventory report. The report concentrates on metallic mineral resouces. Industrial mineral resources, geothermal resources, and oil and gas are referred to in some sections of the report but are not covered in detail. LOCATION The Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District, consists of approximately 5 million acres of public land in west central Nevada. The district extends east from the California- Nevada state line to the eastern border of Churchill County, and extends from the Esmeralda-Mineral county line on the south to the northern boundary of Churchill County on the north. The district includes all of Mineral, Lyon, Douglas, Storey, and Carson City counties, all but the northern portions of Washoe and Churchill counties, and a small part of western Nye County. The Walker River Indian Reservation is enclosed within the Carson City District, but the BLM does not manage that area. There are also large areas, especially along the California-Nevada state line that are National Forest lands managed by the U.S. Department of Argiculture. MINERAL RESOURCES The first mineral discoveries in Nevada were made within the area of the present Carson City district when the silver and gold deposits on the Comstock Lode were found in 1850. Exploitation of precious metals from the Comstock dominated Nevada mineral production into the 1870's and Virginia City and the surrounding mining districts were among the most active in the state during this time. Discovery of silver and gold in the camps of Aurora and Candelaria added to the volume of production from the western part of the state for a few years prior to 1900. Declining production from the Comstock and discovery of major metal deposits in the eastern and central parts of the state, however, combined to shift the bulk of Nevada's mineral activity away from lands now included within the Carson City district after about 1900. Copper deposits, many with associated values in precious metals, were exploited in many western Nevada mining districts during the first decades following 1900 and one, the Yerington district, produced copper into the late 1920's and again between the mid-1950's and the mid-1970's. Tungsten deposits occur in many of the mining districts within the Carson City district, and several districts generated small to moderate production during periods of high tungsten prices. At the present time, mining and prospecting activity in western Nevada, as well as in most of Nevada and other western states, is confined to precious metals. Within the Carson City district, one large open-pit silver mine, at Candelaria,