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Scheelite Chief Mine

Past Producer in White Pine county in Nevada, United States with commodities Tungsten, Copper, Silver
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  18. Reserves and resources
  19. Workings at the site
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10037325
MRDS ID M031307
Record type Site
Current site name Scheelite Chief Mine
Alternate or previous names The Chief, Tungsten Metals, Silver Bell Mine, Minerva Mine, Indian Silver Mine Ne Portion, Chief-Silver Bell Mine.
Related records 10223428

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -114.35445, 38.79439 (WGS84)
Elevation 2012

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

White Pine(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Minerva Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Garrison(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Lund(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Spring-Steptoe Valleys(hydrologic unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada White Pine

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 11N 68E 21,28 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • ON N. SIDE OF MINERVA CANYON. UTM IS TO ONE OF MANY WORKINGS ON 8 CLAIMS. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1982

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Tungsten Critical Primary
Copper Secondary
Silver Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Malachite Ore
Powellite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Pole Canyon
    Rock description Pole Canyon
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -114.35445, 38.79439
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults, E Striking, 40-70 Deg N Dipping

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR TO LENTICULAR
    Strike E-W
    Dip 45-70N
    Thickness 9.14M
    Length 1219.2M
    Width 243.84M

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE ORE BODY IS A SCHEELITE ORE SHOOT IN VEINS OF QUARTZ OR CALCITE ALONG FAULTS. THE SCHEELITE OCCURS MAINLY IN COARSE CRYSTAL AGGREGATES OR IN VEINLETS IN QUARTZ, COMMONLY ALONG THE FOOTWALL SIDE OF THE VEINS

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1869

Mining district

District name Shoshone

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Minerva Tungsten Corp.
    First year 1922

Production statistics

  • Year 1948
    Period 1911-1948
    Material PB
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.4-4.0 % Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Tungsten Tungsten 2wt-pct
  • Year 1956
    Period 1916, 1937-1956
    Material WO3
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.4- 4.0 Percent Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Tungsten Tungsten 2wt-pct
  • Year 1956
    Period 1916,1937-56
    Material W
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^ Avg. 1.0 % Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Tungsten Tungsten 1wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION DATA FOR ENTIRE DISTRICT. NO INDIVIDUAL MINE RECORD AVAILABLE

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1944
    Total resources 25000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Tungsten Wo3 0.5 wt-pct Tungsten Major 1944

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • INCLUDES MEASURABLE, INDICATED AND INFERRED ORE, AND INCLUDES SILVER BELL MINE. THESE RESERVES WERE PARTIALLY DEPLETED BY MINING BETWEEN DEC 1, 1943 AND MAY 1945.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 2438.4M

Comments on the workings information

  • VEIN WAS MINED 1 TO 10 FEET WIDE, 140 FEET HIGH, FOR A PITCH LENGTH OF 600 FEET IN ONE FAULTED SEGMENT, AND 400 FEET IN ANOTHER.SCHEELITE CHIEF WORKINGS INCLUDE A 1500+ FT ADIT, A SHAFT NEAR THE PORTAL OF THE MAIN ADIT AND 3 UPPER ADITS. SILVER BELL WORKINGS CONSIST OF A 365-FT DEEP SHAFT AND SEVERAL THOUSAND FEET OF DRIFTS AND CROSSCUTS ON 5 LEVELS.

Comments on development

  • MINES WERE OWNED AND OPERATED BY TUNGSTEN METALS CORP. DURING MAIN PERIOD OF PRODUCTION (1936-1945). IN 1918 THE MINERVA TUNGSTEN CORP HAD A 150-TON CONCENTRATING MILL HERE. TUNGSTEN METALS CORP WORKED THIS MINE AS WELL AS THE ORIOLE, WEST EVERITT, EAST EVERITT, AND SILVER BELL UNTIL 1945. ROBERT STOPPER THEN OPERATED THE MINES UNTIL THE EARLY 1950'S WHEN THE PROPERTY WAS LEASED TO COMBINED METALS AND REDUCTION CO UNTIL 1956. THE ORIGINAL SILVER DISCOVERY WAS IN 1869 AND THE PROPERTY WAS ABANDONED IN 1876 UNTIL TUNGSTEN WAS DISCOVERED IN 1915THE USBM DRILLED THE PROPERTY IN 1940-1943, AND SAMPLED IT IN 1980.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HOSE, BLAKE, AND SMITH, 1976, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF WHITE PINE COUNTY, NEV. BUREAU OF MINES, BULL. 85

  • Deposit

    STAGER,H.K., NBMG BULL IN PREPARATION ON TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS OF NEVADA.

  • Deposit

    NBMG FILE 332, ITEM 2, MINE MAP.

  • Deposit

    USBM, 1963, UNPUBLISHED DATA, NBMG FILE 332, ITEM 8.

  • Deposit

    LEMMON, D.M., 1944, USGS OFR, NBMG FILE 332, ITEM 9.

  • Deposit

    WEED, W.H., ED.,1922, THE MINES HANDBOOK VOL XV, P. 1257

  • Deposit

    USBM, 1983, MILS DATA.

  • Deposit

    NEWMAN, E.W., GEEHAN, R.W. AND TRENGOVE, R.R., 1950, USBM RI 4648, 12P.

  • Deposit

    USBM, 1983, OPEN FILE REPORT MLA 68-83.

  • Production

    HOSE, ET.AL., 1976. NBM BULL., STAGER, H.K. (IN PREP. JAN. 1984) STAGER, H.K., IN PREP., USBM, 1963, UNPUB. DATA.

  • Reserve-Resource

    LEMMON,D.M., 1944, USGS OFR

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE SCHEELITE CHIEF IS A MAJOR QUARTZ VEIN UP TO 30 FT WIDE, BUT ORE SHOOTS ARE 3-12 FT WIDE. THE MAIN ORE SHOOT WAS 70-100 FT HIGH AND WAS MINED FOR OVER 3000 FT. TUNGSTEN ORE BODIES OCCUR AS SHOOTS IN QUARTZ VEINS OCCUPYING FAULTS. SHOOTS RAKE WESTWARD ROUGHLY PARALLELLING BEDDING.
Deposit OTHER MINES DEVELOPED ON SAME SET OF VEINS INCLUDE THE TONY, ZIG ZAG, CANARY YELLOW AND LONE BUCK MINES ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1979 Giorgi, Albert John (Roberts, Ralph) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-1983 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Nevada resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.