Winddfall Mine

Producer in Eureka county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Arsenic, Antimony
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. Reserves and resources
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10044935
MRDS ID M232576
Record type Site
Current site name Winddfall Mine
Alternate or previous names Western Windfall Open Pit Mine, Windfall Venture, Rustler Adjoins To South
Related records 10222389, 10310482

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -115.97784, 39.44993 (WGS84)
Elevation 2438
Relative position ABOUT 7 MILES SOUTH OF EUREKA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Eureka(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Pinto Summit(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Mount Hamilton(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ely(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Diamond-Monitor Valleys(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 Eureka

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 018N 053E 02,11 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • ACC

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Smithsonite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Dolomite Has Been "Sanded" Due To Intergranular Corrosion

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 75
USGS model code 19c
Deposit model name Distal disseminated Ag-Au
Mark3 model number 18

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Hamburg Dolomite
    Rock description Hamburg Dolomite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -115.97784, 39.44993

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Southern End Of Dunderberg-Windfall Belt
Type of structure Local
Structure description Ne Striking Fissures

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractured Permeable Zones And Capping Shale. Intersection Of Northeast Striking Fissures On Faults W/The Upper Hamburg Dolomite.

Comments on the geologic information

  • GOLD OCCURS AS DISSEMINATED LOW-GRADE ORE IN HAMBURG DOLOMITE. THE ORE FORMS A NUMBER OF SHOOTS, THAT WERE CONTROLLED BY THE INTERSECTION OF NORTHEAST STRIKING FISSURES ON FAULTS W/THE UPPER HAMBURG DOLOMITE. THE MINERALIZATION HERE IS UNIQUE IN REGARDS TO THE REST OF THE DISTRICT, BY THE ABSENCE OF THE LEAD AND SILVER

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1904
Year of first production 1908

Mining district

District name Eureka District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Windfall Venture, Marvin Rasmussen, Mine Manager
    Home office P. 0. 326, Eureka, Nv 89316
    First year 1983

Comments on the production information

  • 1908-1916, 65,132 TONS ORE VALUED AT $349,428. WERE PRODUCED, CONTAINING SOME ZINC AS WELL AS THE ABOVE METALS. PRODUCTION, 1980'S IS APPROX. 1500 TONS PER DAY.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1988
    Total resources 1360000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 0.847 g/mt Gold Major 1988

Comments on the workings information

  • IN 1981, THE OPEN PIT WAS IRREGULAR IN SHAPE, VERY DEEP AND NARROW. GEOLOGISTS VISITING THE OPERATION SAID IT LOOKED LIKE MORE MINING WAS PROBABLY BEING CARRIED OUT FARTHER UP (SOUTH) THE CANYON, BUT THE ENTIRE OPERATION WAS NOT VISIBLE FROM THE ROAD.HEAP LEACH RECOVERY PLANT. EARLY WORK WAS UNDERGROUND.

Comments on development

  • DISCOVERED IN 1904, PRODUCED FROM 1908 TO 1916 (65132 TONS VALUED AT $349,428.) ACQUIRED BY IDAHO MINING CORP IN 1968, WHO DEVELOPED IT, RAN PILOT LEACH PROGRAMS 1972-1974, BUILT PLANT IN 1975 AND BEGAN PRODUCTION IN 1976. PURCHASED BY WINDFALL VENTURE IN 1980, SUFFERED CUTBACKS IN 1982, BUT MINING CONTINUES TO PRESENT WITH EXPANSION TO NW. 43 WORKERS EMPLOYED IN 1980, 35 IN 1984 AND 1985.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ROBERTS R.J.,ETAL(1967)GEOLOGY & MINERAL RESOURCES OF EUREKA CO., NEV; NEV. BUREAU OF MINES BULL 64

  • Deposit

    USB OF M (ELY) MILS NO.111, REFERENCE NO 3201100142

  • Deposit

    NOLAN T.B.(1962)THE EUREKA MINING DISTRICT, NEV. USGS PP.406

  • Deposit

    VANDENBERG W.O.(1938)RECONNAISSANCE OF MINING DISTRICTS IN EUREKA CO., USBM IC.7022.

  • Deposit

    NBMG SPEC PUB MI1980, P. 29.

  • Deposit

    BENTZ, J. AND GARSIDE, L. J. 1981, FIELD EXAMINATION REPORT, AUG 31, 1981.

  • Deposit

    DIVISION OF MINE INSPECTION, 1983, DIRECTORY OF NEVADA MINE OPERATIONSACTIVE DURING CALENDAR YEAR 1983.

  • Deposit

    COUCH, B. F. AND CARPENTER, J., 1943, NBMG BULL 37,N0. 4, SER. 38, P. 64.

  • Deposit

    TINGLEY, J.V. AND BONHAM, H.F., 1986, NBMG REPORT 40.

  • Production

    ROBERTS, R.J., ETAL., 1967 (BONHAM, H.F., 1988)

  • Reserve-Resource

    BONHAM, H.F., 1988.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit GOLD OCCURS AS DISSEMINATED, LOW-GRADE ORE IN HAMBURG DOLOMITE, FORMING A NUMBER OF SHOOTS CONTROLLED BY INTERSECTION OF NE-STRIKING FISSURES OR FAULTS WITH THE UPPER HAMBURG DOLOMITE. MINERALIZATION HERE IS UNIQUE FROM REST OF DISTRICT IN THE PAUCITY OF LEAD AND SILVER. THE RUSTLER DEPOSIT, AN EXTENSION OF THE WINDFALL DEPOSIT 0.5 MILE SOUTH WAS FOUND AND PUT INTO PRODUCTION. MUCH OF THE RUSTLER ORE OCCURS IN ZONES THAT HAVE BEEN THOROUGHLY SILICIFIED AND SOME BRECCIATED. DRILLING HAS SHOWN THAT ORE GRADE MATERIAL EXTENDS FROM THE SOUTH END OF THE WINDFALL PIT TO THE NORTH END OF THE RUSTLER PIT.
Deposit THE DEPOSIT WAS DISCOVERED IN 1904 AND FROM 1908 TO 1916 65,32 TONS VALUED AT $349,428 WERE PRODUCED. THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE DUNDERBERG-WINDFALL BELT. THE PROPERTY IS NOW OWNED BY THE IDAHO MINING COMPANY (1978) AND THEY WERE ACTIVITY OPEN PIT MINING AND HEAP LEACHING THE ORE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1980 Kirkham, Richard A. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-OCT-1988 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Authoritative Nevada resources

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