Gold Bar Mine

Producer in Eureka county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Antimony, Arsenic, Mercury, Barium-Barite, Manganese
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 10047572
MRDS ID M242943
Record type Site
Current site name Gold Bar Mine
Related records 10191472, 10310542

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.44063, 39.75936 (WGS84)
Elevation 1972
Relative position LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 48 KM NORTHWEST OF EUREKA, NV.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Eureka(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Three Bar Ranch(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Simpson Park Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Millett(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 022N 049E 22,23,26,27 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATED ON THE SOUTHWEST FLANK OF THE ROBERTS MOUNTAINS. . INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1972)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Mercury Tertiary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • AU OCCURS AS MICRON-SIZED GRAINS IN DECALCIFIED ZONES AND ALONG FRACTURES IN THE SILICIFIED ZONES. PETROGRAPHIC EXAMINATION AND METALLURGICAL TESTING INDICATE THAT THE AU IS NOT ENCAPSULATED BY SILICA.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Major Decalcification, Silicification, Carbon Remobilization, And Iron Oxidation And Redistribution. Minor Bleaching, Calcite Veining, Argillization. See Geology Comments.

Analytical data

Result SB, AS, HG CORRELATE WITH AU IN BOTH SOILS AND DRILL CUTTINGS. BA, BE, BI, CD, CU, F, PB, MO, MN, AG, TL, W, ZN, TOTAL CARBON, AND TOTAL SULFUR HAVE ONLY LIMITED CORRELATION WITH AU.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 172
USGS model code 26a
Deposit model name Carbonate-hosted Au-Ag
Mark3 model number 15

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Chronological age 23.8
    Dating method K-Ar
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Mudstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Siltstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Upper Denay Formation
    Rock description Upper Denay Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.44063, 39.75936

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Roberts Mountain Thrust
Type of structure Local
Structure description Paleozoic Thrusting And Folding And Tertiary High Angle Faulting. Limestone Beds Are Gently Folded Along Ene-Trending Fold Axes, Forming Anticlines And Synclines That Plunge 10-40 Degrees To The East. The Dominant Tertiary Fault Sets Strike Northwest And North-South; Other Sets Strike East-Northeast And Northeast.

Ore body information

  • Thickness 76.2M
    Length 914.4M
    Width 213.36M
    Depth to top 1.52M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • A Northwesterly Fault Is The Main Feeder Structure For Mineralizing Fluids. Wider, Thicker, And Higher Grade Portions Of The Orebody Occur At Intersections Of This Main Feeder With Northwest-Striking High Angle Normal Faults. Thin Bedded Silty Limestones Are A Lithologic Control Of Gold Deposition.

Comments on the geologic information

  • ALTERATION COMMENTS: MAJOR DECALCIFICATION, SILICIFICATION, CARBON REMOBILIZATION, AND IRON OXIDATION AND REDISTRIBUTION. MINOR BLEACHING, CALCITE VEINING, ARGILLIZATION. ALL ALTERATION TYPES OCCUR MAINLY UP DIP FROM THE FEEDER STRUCTURE. THE PARTIAL SOLUTION OF INTERSTITIAL CALCITE BY HYDROTHERMAL FLUIDS INCREASED PERMEABILITY IN THE HOST LIMESTONE ALLOWING GOLD-BEARING SOLUTIONS TO PENETRATE. DURING DECALCIFICATION, CARBON WAS ALSO REMOBILIZED, PRODUCING A BLACK, "SOOTY", CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL ALONG FRACTURES. SILICIFICATION VARIES FROM MINOR QUARTZ VEINING AND OVERGROWTHS ON QUARTZ GRAINS TO COMPLETE REPLACEMENT AS JASPEROID. JASPEROID DEVELOPMENT IS CONCENTRATED ALONG THE FEEDER FAULT AND AT THE CONTACT BETWEEN THE BASAL THICK BEDDED LIMESTONE AND THE OVERLYING LIMEY SILTSTONES. THE OXIDATION OF PYRITE AND SUBSEQUENT REMOBILIZATION OF IRON OXIDES HAVE PRODUCED SPECTACULAR BRICK-RED TO DARK YELLOW BROWN BANDING IN THE OXIDIZED, DECALCIFIED LIMESTONE. IN MANY AREAS THE ORE IS
  • INTENSELY LIESEGANG BANDED. MOST OF THE CALCITE VEINING IS CHARACTERIZED BY 0.1-30 CM VEINS LOCATED UP DIP FROM THE OREBODY. ARGILLIZATION IS RARE. ILLITIC CLAYS HAVE BEEN LOCALLY ALTERED TO MONTMORILLONITE AND ALLOPHANE. GEOLOGY COMMENTS: PETROGRAPHIC DATA SUGGEST THAT GOLD MINERALIZATION POSTDATES SILICIFICATION AND IS CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH, OR IMMEDIATELY POSTDATES, DECALCIFICATION. THREE ORE TYPES ARE KNOWN: 1) OXIDIZED, 2) JASPEROIDAL, AND 3) CARBONACEOUS. THE OREBODY CONSISTS MAINLY OF OXIDIZED ORE WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF JASPEROIDAL AND CARBONACEOUS ORE. THE CARBONACEOUS ORES ARE TWICE THE GRADE OF THE OXIDE ORES.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1983
Discoverer Atlas Precious Metals, Inc.
Year of first production 1986
Year of last production 1990
Production years 1986-1990

Mining district

District name Antelope District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Atlas Precious Metals, Inc.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1984
    Total resources 1000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.541 g/mt Gold Major 1984
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1986
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 5.59 g/mt Gold Major 1986
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1990
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 3.811 g/mt Gold Major 1990

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN PIT

Comments on development

  • EXPL.COM: REGIONAL RECONNAISSANCE IN 1983 LED TO LAND ACQUISITION. IN LATE 1983, 16 WIDE- SPACED ROTARY HOLES WERE DRILLED. HOLE 11 INTERSECTED 5 FT./0.13 OPT AU. FOLLOW-UP MAPPING, SAMPLING, AND DRILLING WAS CONDUCTED IN THE SPRING OF 1984 IN THE VICINITY OF HOLE 11. HOLE 28, THE DISCOVERY HOLE, INTERSECTED 110 FT./0.138 OPT AU STARTING AT A DEPTH OF 15 FT. BELOW SURFACE. GRID DRILLING ON 100 FT. CENTERS BEGAN IN THE SUMMER OF 1984. 270 HOLES DEFINE THE GOLD BAR DEPOSIT. MINING BEGAN IN 1986. MINING AT GOLD BAR WAS COMPLETED IN 1990, ALTHOUGH STOCKPILED REFRACTORY ORE FROM THIS DEPOSIT WAS PROCESSED THROUGH THE MILL AFTER MINING CEASED. ; MILL.CAP: 3000 TPD. ; ECON.COM: MILL CONSTRUCTION WAS COMPLETED IN JANUARY, 1987 WITH AN INITIAL CAPACITY OF 1500 TPD. IT EMPLOYS CARBON-IN-LEACH TECHNOLOGY USING ACTIVATED CARBON WITH AU RECOVERIES OF >90%. EXPANSION OF MILL CAPACITY TO 3000 TPD WAS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF 1988.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BROILI, C., ET AL, 1988, GEOLOGY AND GOLD MINERALIZATION OF THE GOLD BAR DEPOSIT, EUREKA COUNTY, NEVADA, IN SCHAFER, R.W., ET AL, EDS., BULK MINEABLE PRECIOUS METAL DEPOSITS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA, RENO, P. 57-72.

  • Deposit

    MASINTER, R.A., 1991 ZONING OF ALTERED WALL ROCK AND SPATIAL RELATIONS TO GOLD ORE, GOLD BAR MINE, NEVADA, IN RAINES, G.L., ET AL, EDS. GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT BASIN, THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA, RENO, P. 701-703.

  • Deposit

    UNPUBLISHED DRAFT REPORT BY ATLAS PRECIOUS METALS, INC., 1988, NBMG DISTRICT FILE 106, ITEM 14.

  • Deposit

    NBMG, 1988, THE NEVADA MINERAL INDUSTRY-1987, NBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION MI-1987.

  • Deposit

    NBMG, 1991, THE NEVADA MINERAL INDUSTRY-1990, NBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION MI-1990.

  • Deposit

    TINGLEY AND SMITH, 1983, A MINERAL INVENTORY OF THE SHOSHONE-EUREKA RESOURCE AREA, BATTLE MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, NEVADA: NBMG OFR 83-3.

  • Deposit

    TINGLEY AND SMITH, 1983, RESULTS OF GEOCHEMICAL SAMPLING WITHIN THE SHOSHONE-EUREKA RESOURCE AREA, EUREKA, LANDER, AND NYE COUNTIES, NEVADA: NBMG OFR 83-4.

  • Deposit

    BONHAM, H.F., 1989, BULK-MIEABLE PRECIOUS-METAL DEPOSITS AND PROSPECTS IN NEVADA, NBMG MAP 91.

  • Deposit

    NBMG MINING DISTRICT FILE 106, NUMEROUS PRESS CLIPPINGS.

  • Deposit

    FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT - PROPOSED GOLD BAR EXPANSION PROJECT (NV64-EA9-74), BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, NOVEMBER 29, 1989.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1992, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1992.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1991, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1991.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1990, ANNUAL REPORT FORM 10-K FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1990.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1989, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1989.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1988, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1988.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1987, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1987.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1986, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1986.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS CORPORATION, 1985, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1985.

  • Deposit

    NBMG, 1994, MI-1993

  • Deposit

    NEVADA DIVISION OF MINERALS, 1994

  • Production

    1987: UNKNOWN 1988: ATLAS CORPORATION, 1988, ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1988. 1990: NBMG, 1991, THE NEVADA MINERAL INDUSTRY-1990, NBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION MI-1990. NBMG MI-1993

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE NEARBY GOLDSTONE, GOLD RIDGE, AND GOLD PICK OREBODIES WERE DISCOVERED BY ATLAS 1986-87. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV
Deposit THE OVERALL SHAPE OF THE DEPOSIT IS LIKE A FLATTENED CIGAR.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1988 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-FEB-1992 Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAR-1993 Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1994 Li, Zhiping (Moyer, Lorre A.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusActive since 04/22/2019
MSHA mine ID2602818
Mine name (MSHA)Gold Bar
Current operatorMcEwen Mining Nevada, Inc
Current controller (parent)Rob McEwen
Mine typeSurface (Metal / non-metal)

Inferred by coordinate + name similarity (1262 m, 1.00 match). Confirm against MSHA if precision matters — non-USGS-curated cross-references may occasionally point at a neighbouring mine.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

External references

Authoritative Nevada resources

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