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Golconda Tungsten Mine

Past Producer in Humboldt county in Nevada, United States with commodities Tungsten, Manganese
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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. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10043948
MRDS ID M231257
Record type Site
Current site name Golconda Tungsten Mine
Alternate or previous names Iron Mask Group, Rare Metals Corp. Mines, NBMG Sample Site 2906

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.42902, 40.94322 (WGS84)
Elevation 1372

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Humboldt(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Golconda(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Humboldt(hydrologic unit)

Humboldt(hydrologic accounting unit)

Black Rock Desert-Humboldt(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Humboldt

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 036N;035N 040E;040E 36;01 Nevada

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Tungsten Critical Primary
Manganese Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Hollandite Ore
Psilomelane Ore
Pyrolusite Ore
Goethite Gangue
Iron Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Lepidocrocite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification, Argillization And Pyritization Of Underlying Rocks

Analytical data

Result 1918 ORE: 32.5% MN
Result 1.5%W
Result 5.2% FE R.A.F. PENROSE'S ANALYSIS OF ORE YIELDS: MN 0-66%
Result WO3-2.78%. SAMPLE 2906 FROM A SINGLE PIECE OF MN OXIDE MATERIAL ON DUMP OF A SMALL ADIT JUST NORTH OF MAIN PIT CONTAINS 2 %- FE, 1 % MG, 1 % CA, 0.02 % TI, +5000 PPM MN, 30 PPM B, + 5000- PPM BA, 10 PPM BE, 2000 PPM CO, 30 PPM CU, 30 PPM MO, 500 PPM- NI, 7 PPM SC, 2000 PPM SR, 150 PPM V, 2000 PPM W, 100 PPM Y, -50 PPM ZR.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 156
USGS model code 25g
Deposit model name Epithermal Mn

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.42902, 40.94322
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form BLANKETS AND VEINS
    Strike NNE
    Dip BLANKETS DIP GENTLY NW
    Depth to bottom 1.22M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Sedimentary Beds; Underlying Vein System; Adjacent N25e Fault

Comments on the geologic information

  • LENTICULAR DEPOSIT INVEDDED IN A SOFT BUFF CALCAREOUS TUFA CONTAINING FRAGMENTS OF SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND LIMESTONE: THE BLACK, ORE BED IS UP TO 3 1/2 FT. THICK. LOCAL MN-RICH SPRING WATER PROVIDED THE MN FOR THE DEPOSIT WHICH FORMED BY PRECIPITATION OF THE MINERALS FROM SUPER-SATURATED BRINES OF PLEISTOCENE LAKE LA HONTAN. BEWEATH THE BLANKET DEPOSIT ARE VEINS OF SIMILAR MINERALIZATION WHICH MAY HAVE PROVIDED THE SOURCE OF THE OVERLYING ORES.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1866
Discoverer W.C. Gregg
Year of first production 1893

Mining district

District name Golconda District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Rare Metals Corp. (1945?)

Production statistics

  • Year 1945
    Period 1941-1945
    Material W
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.8-1.0 Percent Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Tungsten Tungsten 1wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • THREE CARLOADS MN ORE IN 1893; ONE IN 1918; 83739 UNITS WO3 FROM 105,591 TONS ORE IN 1940'S

Comments on the workings information

  • PITS, SHALLOW STOPES, LARGE DUMPS

Comments on development

  • IMPORTANT SOURCE OF TUNGSTEN DURING W.W.II.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit VEINS CONSIST OF LINEAR MASSES OF ANASTOMOSING GROUPS OF VEINLETS ALONG NE TREND BENEATH TUFA CAPS. BOTH FERRUGINO-US AND MANGANIFEROUS VEIN FILLINGS CONTAIN TUNGSTEN WITH QUART-Z, BARITE AND JAROSITE. KERR REPORTS THAT THE FERRUGINOUS ZONE-S IN PART REPLACE THE MANGANIFEROUS PHASES AND THERE IS A HIGH-ER CONCENTRATION OF TUNGSTEN IN THE FERRUGINOUS ZONES. IN GENE-RAL, THE MANGANIFEROUS AND FERRUGINOUS MATERIALS ARE SEPARATED- INTO DIFFERENT LAYERS, ALTHOUGH BOTH OCCUR AS STREAKS IN THE -LAYERS OF THE OTHER MATERIAL. BOTH ARE UNDERLAIN BY A MASSIVE -ILLITE LAYER WITH SOME FINE QUARTZ RICH ZONES. TUNGSTEN OCCURS- IN ALL OF THESE LAYERS.
Deposit W.C. GREGG MADE THE FIRST LOCATIONS IN THE AREA AND ORGANIZED THE DISTRICT IN 1866. MANGANESE ASSOCIATED WITH TUNGSTEN WAS DISCOVERED 4 MILES EAST OF GOLCONDA IN 1885. IT WAS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF TUNGSTEN FROM 1941 TO 1945. EXCAVATION OF THE HIGH-GRADE ORE CONTAINING UP TO 7% WO3, HALTED EARLY IN 1945. THE W-BEARING LAYERS OF FERRUGINOUS AND MANGANIFEROUS CLAYEY GRAVEL & FUFA WERE WORKED BY OPEN PITS AND FLAT, SHALLOW STOPES. THE DEPOSITS ARE OF HOT-SPRINGS ORIGIN AND ARE ALIGNED ABOVE A NNE-TRENDING VEIN SYSTEM IN STEEPLY-DIPPING CAMBRIAN ROCKS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1981 La Pointe, D.D. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-SEP-1985 La Pointe, D. D. 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.