1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Cortez Silver Mine

Past Producer in Eureka county in Nevada, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Antimony
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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 10044681
MRDS ID M232243
Record type Site
Current site name Cortez Silver Mine
Alternate or previous names Garrison, Arctic, St. Lows, Mt. Tenabo, Fitzgerald, Cortez Metals Mine
Related records 10310410

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.58898, 40.14158 (WGS84)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Eureka(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cortez(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Crescent Valley(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Northern Big Smoky Valley(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 Eureka

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 026N 048E 05 Nevada

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Lead Secondary
Copper Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary
Antimony Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Stibnite Ore
Stromeyerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Dikes Highly Altered To Kaolin, Calcite, Sericite, Quartz.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 72
USGS model code 19a
Deposit model name Polymetallic replacement
Mark3 model number 47

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Hamburg Dolomite;Eureka Quartzite;Hansen Creek Limestone
    Rock description Hamburg Dolomite;Eureka Quartzite;Hansen Creek Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.58898, 40.14158
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Deposit In Window Of Roberts Mtn Thrust

Ore body information

  • General form BLANKET, TABULAR, IRREGULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fissures In Dikes; Carbonates And Quartzite Next To Dikes.

Comments on the geologic information

  • MOST OF THE ORE BODIES WERE IN THE HAMBURG DOLOMITE; LOCALLY THEY DID EXTEND ACROSS THE QUARTZITE, WITH SOME ORE IN THE BASAL PART OF THE HANSEN CREEK LIMESTONE. THE ORE BODIES WERE OF TWO KINDS: 1) BLANKET & PIPE REPLACEMENT MANTOS IN THE DOLOMITE 2) FISSURE VEINS LOCALIZED ALONG OR NEAR DIKES. THE MANTOS WERE FAR MORE PRODUCTIVE, THE REPLACEMENT WAS HIGHLY IRREGULAR AND LOCALIZED BY OBSCURE FACTORS (NASURSKY & GILLULY). FISSURE VEINS WERE ONLY PROFITABLE IN THE UPPER OXIDIZED LEVELS, GOLD WAS ASSOCIATED WITH PYRITE AND AVERAGED .15 OZ/T. THE QUARTZ PORPHYRY DIKES TREND GENERALLY W-NW., THEY ARE NOW MAINLY KAOLIN, QUARTZ, SERCITE, & CALCITE. THE DIKES WERE SHEETED SOON AFTER THEY SOLIDIFIED AND THE FISSURES FILLED WITH BANDED SULFIDE ORE. THE COUNTRY ROCK NEARBY WAS METAMORPHOSED TO A QUARTZ, CALCITE, TREMOLITE, ACTINOLITE,ORTHOCLASE, SERICITE, AND BIOTITE PARAGENESIS (EMMONS W.H. 1910). GRADE AVERAGED 70-90 OPT SILVER.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1863
Discoverer Prospectors From Austin

Mining district

District name Cortez District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Cortez Gold Mines Co. (Present)
  • Type Owner
    Owner Cortez Gold Mines Co. (Present)

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION ALSO INCLUDED SOME COPPER AND ZINC.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 32186M

Comments on development

  • GEORGE HEARST WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THE PROPERTY. FIRST MILL BUILT IN 1869. CORTEZ GOLD MINES CO. OWNS THE PROPERTIES FOR MERLY HELD BY THE TENABO MILL AND MINES CO.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    GILLULY, J. AND MASURSKY, H. (1965): USGS BULL 1175

  • Production

    GILLULY, J. AND MASURSKY, H, (1965)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PROSPECTORS FROM AUSTIN LOCATED THE FIRST CLAIMS IN 1863 ON THE ST. LOUIS VEIN. GEORGE HEARST WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THE PROPERTY. IN 1869 THE FIRST MILL WAS BUILT, PRINCIPLE EARLY PRODUCTION WAS FROM THE GARRISON AND ARCTIC LODES. THE CORTEZ METALS CO., OWNS THE PROPERTIES FORMERLY HELD BY THE TENABO MILL AND MINES CO. UNDERGROUND WORKINGS TOTAL OVER TWENTY MILES.
Deposit 2 KINDS OF ORE BODIES: 1) BLANKET AND PIPE REPLACEMENT MANTOS IN DOLOMITE 2) FISSURE VEINS LOCALIZED NEAR DIKES

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-1980 Kirkham, Richard A. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-SEP-1991 Moyer, Lorre A. (Marcus, S.M.) 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.