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

Mount Tobin Mine

Past Producer in Pershing county in Nevada, United States with commodity Mercury
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 10103770
MRDS ID M055019
Record type Site
Current site name Mount Tobin Mine
Alternate or previous names Miner's Dream, Friday Claims, NBMG Sample Site 2326
Related records 10125137

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.53678, 40.33184 (WGS84)
Elevation 1951
Relative position HEAD OF GOLCONDA CANYON; 50 MI. S OF WINNEMUCCA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pershing(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Needle Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fish Creek Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Dixie 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 Pershing

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 028N 039E 01 NE Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • POOR ACCESSIBILITY

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Chalcedony Gangue
Melanterite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Sulfur Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Local Leaching Of Chert Conglomerate And Intense Argillization Of Rhyolite And Shale.

Analytical data

Result SAMPLE 2326 OF SELECT FAULT BRECCIA WITH CINNABAR CONTAINS 0.5 % FE, 0.2 % MG, 0.1 % CA, 0.5 % TI, 100 PPM MN, 70 -PPM B, 200 PPM BA, 1 PPM BE, 20 PPM CR, 150 PPM CU, 100 PPM LA-, 10 PPM NI, 5 PPM SC, 100 PPM SR, 15 PPM V, 20 PPM Y, 300 PPM- ZR.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 177
USGS model code 27a
Deposit model name Hot-spring Hg

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Conglomerate
    Rock unit name Havallah Formation;China Mountain (Koipato Group)
    Rock description Havallah Formation;China Mountain (Koipato Group)
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.53678, 40.33184
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description N-Trending Faults, Ne-Trending Fractures

Ore body information

  • General form BLANKET
    Strike N10E
    Dip 45SE
    Thickness 12.19M
    Length 45.72M
    Width 12.19M
  • General form BLANKET
    Dip 45SE
  • General form BLANKET
    Dip 45SE

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Along Faults And Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • ROCKS IN AREA CONSIST OF INTERLAYERED BEDS OF PRE-TERTIARY CONGLOMERATE & SHALE AND TERTIARY (?) RHYOLITE AND TUFF. EAST ORE BODY IS LOCALIZED BY A N-TRENDING FAULT DIPPING 50 DEGREES E IN CONGLOMERATE WITH CINNABAR OCCURRING IN THE FOOTWALL SHALE AND CONGLOMERATE. THE WEST ORE BODY IS LOCALIZED IN THE CONGLOMERATE PARALLEL TO THE BEDDING PLANES BETWEEN TWO NE-TRENDING FAULT ZONES 60 FEET APART AND DIPPING NW. THE WEST ORE BODY WAS RICHER AVERAGING 12 1/2 LBS HG PER TON BUT WAS NARROW AND DISCONTINUOUS. CINNABAR FILLS FRACTURES AND CAVITIES AND TO A LESSER EXTENT REPLACES THE MATRIX & PEBBLES. IT ALSO OCCURS IN SHALE AND ARGILLIZED RHYOLITE AS PAINTY FILMS AND SMALL DISSEMINATED CRYSTALS; AS ANGULAR FRAGMENTS OF BOTRYOIDAL COATINGS, AND VEINLETS ALONG FRACTURES. ; GEOL.DESC: WEST WORKINGS: ORE LOCALIZED IN CONGLOMERATE PARALLEL TO BEDDING PLANES. EAST WORKINGS: ORE LOCALIZED ALONG N - TRENDING FRACTURES IN CONGLOMERATE

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1929
Discoverer J. A. And V. D. Thornton
Year of first production 1938
Production years 1936, 1939-1943

Mining district

District name Mount Tobin District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Keith N. Meador
    Home office Reno, Nv.
    First year 1984

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 4.626HA
    Length 182.88M
    Overall depth 12.19M
    Overall length 67.06M
    Overall width 24.38M

Comments on the workings information

  • THE SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND WORKINGS ARE DIVIDED INTO 2 GROUPS, USUALLY REFERRED TO AS THE EAST WORKINGS AND THE W-EST WORKINGS. THE EAST WORKINGS FORMERLY INCLUDED A GLORY HOLE- AND CONNECTING STOPE ABOUT 120 FT LONG, 40 FT WIDE AND 45 FT -DEEP, BUT IN RECENT YEARS THE WEST EDGE OF THE GLORY HOLE HAS -BEEN BULLDOZED AWAY AND THE AREA TO THE SOUTH CUT OUT TO FORM -A SHALLOW OPEN CUT MEASURING NEARLY 200 BY 200 FT. A 600 FT LO-NG ADIT EXTENDING UNDER THE OLD GLORY HOLE AND USED FOR HAULAG-E WAS STILL OPEN IN 1980, BUT PARTLY FILLED WITH WATER. THE WE-EST WORKINGS CONSIST OF A SHALLOW GLORY HOLE ABOUT 100 FT LONG-AND 40 FT WIDE WITH A NOW INACCESSIBLE HAULAGE LEVEL ABOUT 20 -FT BELOW. AT LEAST 5 BULLDOZER CUTS 200-300 FT LONG ALSO EXPLO-RE THE AREA BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE MAIN WORKINGS. IN 1984-, MOST WORKINGS WERE CAVED, BUT SOME PARTS OF A ROTARY KILN AN-D 2 OLD TRAILERS WERE ON THE SITE.

Comments on development

  • ORE IS EXHAUSTED (1949), BUT EXTENSION OF THE ORE - CONTROLLING FAULT HAS BEEN INADEQUATELY EXPLORED; GOOD SURFACE PANNINGS TO THE SOUTH (1944). NO ACTIVITY IN 1984, BUT SOME 1984 ASSESSMENT WORK WAS DONE. PROPERTY WAS EXPLORED FOR 10 YEARS INTERMITTENTLY AFTER DISCOVERY AND CLAIM LOCATION IN 1929. IN 1938, A 4-PIPE RETORT WAS INSTALLED AND 45 FLASKS HG WERE RECOVERED. IN 1940, H. W. GOULD & CO PURCHASED THE PROPERTY AND INSTALLED A 20TON ROTARY FURNACE WHICH OPERATED UNTIL THE SUMMEROF 1942, PRODUCING 1410 FLASKS HG. THE FURNACE WAS THEN SOLD AND THE BUILDINGS REMOVED FROM THE PROPERTY. W. L. LOW PURCHASED THE CLAIMS IN DEC 1942 AND IN 1943, AFTER DOING EXPLORATORY AND DEVELOPMENT WORK, RECOVERED 36 FLASKS OF HG BY RETORTING SORTED ORE. HE HELD THE CLAIMS WITH LITTLE MORE WORK THROUGH THE PERIOD OF LOW HG PRICE IN LATE 1940'SEARLY 1950'S. IN 1957 HE RECEIVED AN EXPLORATION LOAN FROM DMEA WHICH LED TO THE DRILLING OF 31 ROTARY DRILL HOLES WITH AN AGGREGATE LENGTH OF 2550 FT. DRILLING
  • WAS CONCENTRATED IN THE ZONE OF ALTERATION FROM 500 FT NE TO 600 FT SW OF THE EAST WORKINGS AND TO A DEPTH OF JUST OVER 100 FT INSOME HOLES, NO ORE RUNNING OVER 1 LB HG/TON WAS FOUND. SOON, WITH FALLING HG PRICES, TITLE TO THE CLAIMS LAPSED. IN 1966 IT WAS RESTAKED BY A. P. JONES AND LATER RESTAKED AS FRIDAY CLAIMS BY K. N. MEADOR

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    JOHNSON, M.G., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OFPERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA; NBMG BULL. 89

  • Deposit

    BAILEY AND PHOENIX, 1944, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN NEVADA; NBMG BULL. 41

  • Deposit

    HOLMES, 1965, MERCURY IN NEVADA; IN USBM 1C 8252

  • Deposit

    GARSIDE, L. J., 11 SEP 84, FIELD EXAMINATION AND SAMPLE ANALYSIS.

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E. H., RYTUBA, J. J. AND JONES, R.B., 1984, UNPUBLISHED DATA ON MERCURY PROSPECTS IN NEVADA

  • Deposit

    NBMG STAFF, 1985, NBMG OFR 85-3

  • Deposit

    1957 DIREXPL DMEA, SHOWED SOME UNECONOMIC MINERALIZATIO

  • Production

    JOHNSON, M.G., 1977

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MAIN MINERALIZED ZONE IS IN A FAULT ZONE IN CHERT PEBBLE CONGLOMERATE. FAULT ZONE IS CRUSHED AND BROKEN ROCK WITH -PAINTY CINNABAR IN HANGING WALL OF THE CRUSH ZONE IN THE GLORY- HOLE ALONG THE FAULT.
Deposit DISCOVERED IN 1929, EXPLORED BETWEEN 1929-1938. PROPERTY WASN'T MINED UNTIL 1938 WHEN 1,491 FLASKS OF HG WERE PRODUCED FROM 1938-1943. MINE WAS WORKED AGAIN IN LATE 1960'S PRODUCING AT LEAST 14 FLASKS OF HG. TWO ORE BODIES WERE MINED; EAST WORKINGS CONSIST OF AGLORY HOLE 150 FT. LONG, 40 FT. WIDE & 40 FT. DEEP, AND A 600 FT. HAULAGE LEVEL NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE GLORY HOLE; WEST WORKINGS CONSIST OF A SMALL GLORY HOLE 110 FT. LONG, 60 FT. WIDE, & 20 FT. DEEP ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1973 Bergquist, Joel R. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-JAN-1986 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

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.