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Comet Mine

Past Producer in Lincoln county in Nevada, United States with commodities Lead, Zinc, Tungsten, Silver, Gold, Copper, Manganese, Barium-Barite
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  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. Workings at the site
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10072156
MRDS ID W016457
Record type Site
Current site name Comet Mine
Alternate or previous names Part of Comet Coalition Mines, Probably Includes the Tungsten Comet and Silver Comet Mines
Related records 10197953, 10310403

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -114.61334, 37.89052 (WGS84)
Elevation 1987
Relative position 10 MILES W OF PIOCHE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lincoln(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Highland Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Caliente(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Caliente(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Dry Lake 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 Lincoln

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
01S 66E 05,06 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • W SIDE OF THE HIGHLAND RANGE, UNSURVEYED ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1982)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Tungsten Critical Primary
Silver Secondary
Gold Secondary
Copper Secondary
Manganese Critical Tertiary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • WOLFRAMITE OCCURS IN PLACES AS HEAVY AGGREGGATES OF COARSE TABULAR CRYSTALS.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Bornite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Galena Ore
Malachite Ore
Plumbojarosite Ore
Pyrolusite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Wolframite Ore
Limonite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Specularite Gangue

Analytical data

Result SULFIDE ORE AVERAGES: .05-.2 OZ AU, 5-10 OZ AG/TON, 2-4% PB, AND 8-15% ZN. ORE IN 1932 ASSAYED $4/TON IN AU, 5.8 OZ/T AG, 2.8% PB, 0.32% WO3. AVERAGE GRADE OF ORE IN UNOXIDIZED PORTIONS OF THE VEIN IS ABOUT 0.3% WO3, 15% ZN, 4% PB, 0.5% CU, 0.2 OZ/T AU AND 10 OZ/T AG. SAMPLE 1440 CONTAINS 500 PPM MN, 100 PPM AG, 1000 PPM AS, 5000 PPM BA, 50 PPM BI, 200 PPM CD, 20000 PPM CU, GREATER THAN 20000 PPM PB, 700 PPM SB, 200 PPM SN, 200 PPM SR, GREATER THAN 10000 PPM ZN. . ORE IN 1932 ASSAYED $4/TON IN AU, 5.8 OZ/T AG, 2.8% PB, 0.32% WO3. AVERAGE GRADE OF ORE IN UNOXIDIZED PORTIONS OF THE VEIN IS ABOUT 0.3% WO3, 15% ZN, 4% PB, 0.5% CU, 0.2 OZ/T AU AND 10 OZ/T AG. SAMPLE 1440 CONTAINS 500 PPM MN, 100 PPM AG, 1000 PPM AS, 5000 PPM BA, 50 PPM BI, 200 PPM CD, 20000 PPM CU, GREATER THAN 20000 PPM PB, 700 PPM SB, 200 PPM SN, 200 PPM SR, GREATER THAN 10000 PPM ZN.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale

Nearby scientific data

(1) -114.61334, 37.89052
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Highland Thrust Plate, Homoclinal Series, N Strike, E Dip

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR TO TABULAR
    Strike N50-65E
    Dip NW STEEPLY
  • General form IRREGULAR TO TABULAR
    Dip NW STEEPLY

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fault Zone, Brecciation

Comments on the geologic information

  • FOUR QUARTZ VEINS CROP OUT DISCONTINUOUSLY FOR 1400 FEET. LARGEST IS 1-15 FEET THICK IN THE QUARTZITE, AVERAGES 6 FEET WHERE MINED. ORE SHOOTS GENERALLY IN WIDER PART OF THE VEIN, AND LOCALIZED BY SMALL CHANGES IN ATTITUDE OF THE VEIN WHERE MOVEMENT HAS BRECCIATED THE QUARTZ . A PARALLEL FISSURE SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET NORTH OF THE COMET VEIN CONTAINS UP TO 1.4% W03 BUT WAS UNDEVELOPED AS OF 1970. WASTE ROCK ON DUMPS IS PINK, WELL-SORTED, FINE-TO MEDIUM-GRAINED LAMINATED AND/OR MICACEOUS QUARTZITE WITH MINOR REDDISH SILICIFIED SILTSTONE AND SHALE. SOME OXIDIZED PYRITE IS DISSEMINATED THROUGHOUT THE ROCKS. MINERALIZED ROCK ON DUMPS CONSISTS OF MASSIVE SUGARY WHITE TO VITREOUS GREY QUARTZ VEIN MATERIAL. VEIN CONSISTS OF A SET OF PARALLEL VEINS, GIVING IT A BANDED, FISSURED APPEARANCE. SOME LATE-STAGE VUGGY AND/OR OPEN-CENTERED VEINS AND VEINLETS CUT MORE MASSIVE VITREOUS VEINS. THE VEINS, ESPECIALLY THE IRON-STAINED VUGGY VARIETY, CONTAIN FINE TO COARSE CLOTS AND STRINGERS OF PYRITE,
  • CHALCOPYRITE, GALENA, SPHALERITE, COPPER OXIDES, IN ADDITION TO LESSER BORNITE, CHRYSOCOLLA AND MALACHITE. DARK GREENISH-BROWN CLOTS AND COARSE TABULAR CRYSTALS OF HUEBNERITE-FERBERITE (?) (OR POSSIBLY

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1906
Year of first production 1924

Mining district

District name Comet District District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Comet Mines Co.
    First year 1932

Production statistics

  • Year 1942
    Period 1916-1942
    Material WO3
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^.79% Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Tungsten Tungsten 1wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • TOTAL PRODUCTION HAS BEEN 1500 TONS OF OXIDIZED ORE, 14,200 TONS OF SULFIDE ORE, AND 141 TONS OF CONCENTRATE. TOTAL W PRODUCTION OVER $400,000. TOTAL ASSAY VALUE REPORTED AT $10/TON (1932), WITH $4 IN AU, 5.8 OZ AG/TON, 2.8% PB, AND .32% W. CUMMULATION PRODUCTION FIGURES FOR AU, AG, CU, PB, AND ZN FOR ENTIRE DISTRICT

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 146.3M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE OPENED BY 3 SHAFTS; MOST OF THE WORK DONE FROM THE MAIN SHAFT BETWEEN THE 168 LEVEL AND THE SURFACE. IN 1983, MAIN SHAFT (VERTICAL) HAD HEAD FRAME AND HOIST HOUSE, TRACKS, LARGE DUMPS, MILLSITE DOWNSLOPE FROM SHAFT. ALSO, EXTENSIVE AREA OF BULLDOZER WORK AND DRILLROADS (?) ON W FLANK OF HIGHLAND RANGE E AND NE OF COMET MINE. . IN 1983, MAIN SHAFT (VERTICAL) HAD HEAD FRAME AND HOIST HOUSE, TRACKS, LARGE DUMPS, MILLSITE DOWNSLOPE FROM SHAFT. ALSO, EXTENSIVE AREA OF BULLDOZER WORK AND DRILLROADS (?) ON W FLANK OF HIGHLAND RANGE E AND NE OF COMET MINE.

Comments on development

  • NO ACTIVITY AT TIME OF EXAMINATION IN 1983, BUT RECENT ROADWORK AT MINESITE INDICATES RENEWED AND CONTINUING INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY. COMET COALITION MINES INCLUDED THE FORLORN HOPE, LOG CABIN, COMET, AND PAN AMERICAN AND SCHODDE MINE PROPERTIES IN 1949.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    TSCHANTZ CM & PAMPEYAN EH, 1970, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF LINCOLN CO; NEV BUR MINES BULL 73

  • Deposit

    WESTGATE LG & KNOPF A., 1932, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE PIOCHE DISTRICT, NEV. USGS PROF PAPER 171

  • Deposit

    LEMMON DM, UNPUBLISHED DATA

  • Deposit

    LEMMON DM & TWETO O.L., 1962, TUNGSTEN IN THE U.S., USGS MAP, MR-25

  • Deposit

    NBMG DISTRICT FILE 166, ITEM 3, UNPUBLISHED PRELIMINARY EXAMINTION REPORT.

  • Deposit

    BENTZ, J. AND SMITH, P., 1983, FIELD EXAMINATION REPORT, AUG 26, 1983.

  • Deposit

    TRENGOVE, R. R., 1949, USBM R.I. 4541, P. 1-6.

  • Deposit

    LINCOLN, F.C., 1923, MINING DISTRICTS AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEVADA; NEWSLETTER PUB. CO, RENO, NV.

  • Deposit

    WEED, W.H., EDITOR, 1922, THE MINES HANDBOOK, VOL XV, P. 1330, 1362.

  • Deposit

    NBMG DISTRICT FILE 166, PRESS CLIPPINGS, 1924, 1925,1927.

  • Deposit

    11) NBMG DISTRICT FILE 175, PRESS CLIPPINGS, 1914, 1916, 1920.

  • Production

    TSCHANTZ & PAMPEYAN, 1970; WESTGATE & KNOPF, 1932

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-FEB-1980 Harner, Joy L. (Roberts, Ralph J.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-AUG-1984 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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.