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Last Chance Mine

Past Producer in Pershing county in Nevada, United States with commodity Mercury
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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. Alteration
  9. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Ore body information
  14. Controls for ore emplacement
  15. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  16. Mining district
  17. Land status
  18. Ownership information
  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 10040470
MRDS ID M055272
Record type Site
Current site name Last Chance Mine
Alternate or previous names Rat Hole Prospect, Bluebird Claims

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.87179, 40.3399 (WGS84)
Elevation 1890
Relative position 1 MI. NW OF MOUNT TOBIN MINE; W SLOPE TOBIN RANGE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pershing(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Granite Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fish Creek Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Dixie Valley(hydrologic unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management NV)

Bureau of Land Management NV BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Pershing

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 029N 039E 35,36 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • ON BOTH SIDES OF BUSHEE CREEK CANYON; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = MOUNT TOBIN (1961) 1:625000

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Pyrite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Local Silicification, Bleaching, Argillization Along Joints.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 177
USGS model code 27a
Deposit model name Hot-spring Hg

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Koipato Group
    Rock description Koipato Group
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.87179, 40.3399
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Fault, Fracture Sets (Ne)

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Strike N30E
    Dip NE STEEP

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Steep Fractures Striking N30e And Bedding Planes

Comments on the geologic information

  • CINNABAR OCCURS AS PAINTY FILMS AND VEINLETS ASSOCIATED WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF PYRITE IN FRACTURES AND BEDDING PLANES IN PEBBLY SHALE & SANDSTONE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1938
Year of first production 1940
Production years 1940-1942

Mining district

District name Mount Tobin District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner E. W. Simpson, Virgil Olson And Associates

Comments on the production information

  • A FEW FLASKS HG WERE PRODUCED, 1940-1943

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 68.58M

Comments on the workings information

  • GLORY HOLES 130 X 40 X 30 FT. DEEP, 20 X 20 X 40 FT. DEEP. MOST WORK DONE ON N SIDE OF CANYON. WORK PRIOR TO 1944 CONSISTED OF AN ADIT 50 FT ABOVE THE CANYON WITH 225 FT OF- DRIFTS AND CROSSCUTS DRIVEN TO TAP 2 SMALL GLORY HOLES. SUBSE-QUENT MINING HAS ENLARGED THE GLORY HOLES SO THEY COALESCED AN-D HAS DEEPENED THEM TO A LITTLE BELOW THE ADIT LEVEL. OTHER WO-RKINGS HIGHER ON THE HILL ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND SEEMINGLY UNP-RODUCTIVE; ACROSS THE CANYON TO THE SOUTH A SHORT ADIT EXTENDS- SOUTHWARD INTO THE HILL.

Comments on development

  • ACQUIRED BY H. W. GOULD & CO IN 1940, AND ABOUT 100 TONS ORE WERE MINED, SORTED AND HAULED AND TREATED AT THE MT TOBIN FURNACE, BUT THE GRADE WAS REPORTEDLY TOO LOW TO JUSTIFY CONTINUED MINING. IN 1942, THE PROPERTY WAS SOLD TO W. L. LOW WHO IN 1943 RECOVERED A SMALL AMOUNT OF HG BY RETORTING SORTED ORE. HE HELD THE PROPERTY UNTIL 1949 BUT REPORTED NO FURTHER PRODUCTION. IN 1954, THE GROUND WAS RESTAKED AS THE RAT HOLE CLAIMS BY E. W. SIMPSON, VIRGIL OLSON, AND W. POLKINGHORNE. IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, THEY EXPLORED THE PROPERTY BY BULLDOZING, PUT DOWN 2000 FT OF SHALLOW DRILL HOLES, AND ALSO PRODUCED A FEW FLASKS MG FROM ORE TREATED IN A 4-PIPE RETORT. AFTER 1958, NO MINING WAS DONE, AND TITLE WAS ALLOWED TO LAPSE IN 1962. WITH RISING MERCURY PRICES IN 1965, THE AREA WAS RESTAKED BY SIMPSON AS PART OF A GROUP OF 8 BLUEBIRD CLAIMS. SOME MERCURY WAS RECOVERED IN 1967 AND FROM TIME TO TIME THROUGH 1971, THOUGH RECORDS OF PRODUCTION DURING THIS PERIOD ARE INADEQUATE. IN 1971 ITIS REPORTED
  • THAT 75 TPD WERE BEING FURNACED FOR THE GENERAL MERCURY CORPORATION OF ARIZONA; HOWEVER, THE FURNACE FOUNDATION SEEN ON THE PROPERTY IN 1980 WOULD HAVE ACCOMMODATED A FURNACE OF NO MORE THAN 25TON CAPACITY AND THE BURNT ORE DUMP CONTAINS NO MORE THAN 500 TONS OF CALCINES. SINCE JAN, 1972 NO MINING HAS BEEN ATTEMPTED.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BAILEY AND PHOENIX, 1944, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN NEVADA.; NBMG BULL. 41

  • Deposit

    JOHNSON, M.G., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA; NBMG BULL. 89

  • Deposit

    HOLMES, 1965, MERCURY IN NEVADA; IN USBM 1C 8252

  • Deposit

    GARSIDE, L. J., 1985, FIELD EXAMINATION OF DISTRICT.

  • Deposit

    NBMG STAFF, 1985, NBMG OFR 85-3.

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E. H., RYTUBA, J. J. AND JONES, R.3., 1984, UNPUBLISHED DATA ON HG PROPERTIES OF NEVADA.

  • Production

    JOHNSON, M.G., 1977

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PROPERTY WAS LOCATED AND EXPLORED IN 1938. UNDERGROUND WORKINGS TREND N 80 DEGREES W AND CONSIST OF 225 FEET OF DRIFTS & CROSSCUTS WHICH TAP 2 SMALL GLORY HOLES 130 X 40 X 30 FT. DEEP AND 20 X 20 X 40 FEET DEEP. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV
Deposit FILMS, VEINLETS OF CINNABAR IN FRACTURES & ON BEDDING PLANES.; OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY A LITTLE PYRITE

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1974 Bergquist, Joel R. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-JAN-1986 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-FEB-1981 Royse, Sue E. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-SEP-1994 Li, Zhiping (Peters, S.) 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.