Ophir Claim

Past Producer in Storey county in Nevada, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Iron
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. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10103936
MRDS ID M231240
Record type Site
Current site name Ophir Claim

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -119.64628, 39.31407 (WGS84)
Elevation 1853

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Storey(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Virginia City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Carson City(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Reno(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle Carson(hydrologic unit)

Carson(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Lahontan(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Storey

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 017N 021E 29 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • NORTH END OF VIRGINIA CITY

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Iron Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Propylitization, Oxidation,Pyritization

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 150
USGS model code 25c
Deposit model name Epithermal vein, Comstock
Mark3 model number 16

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Alta Andesite
    Rock description Alta Andesite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -119.64628, 39.31407

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description North-Trending Anticline; Regional Dip To West Or Northwest
Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Comstock Fault

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE FIRST DISCOVERY OF ORE IN VIRGINIA CITY WAS THE OUTCROP OF THE OPHIR BONANZA.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1859
Year of first production 1859

Mining district

District name Comstock Lode

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the production information

  • 1859-1873 PRODUCTION WAS WELL OVER 40,000 TONS ORE FROM $8 TO $2500/TON.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 762M

Comments on the workings information

  • SHAFT AND ASSOCIATED WORKINGS.

Comments on development

  • PART OF THE COMSTOCK LODE PROPER; PRODUCED SPROADICALLY FROM 1959-1873, AND 1874-1928. THE FIRST DISCOVERY OF ORE IN VIRGINIA CITY WAS THE OUTCROP OF THE OPHIR BONANZA

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    STODDARD, CARL, AND CARPENTER, J.A., 1950, MINERAL RESOURCES OF STOREY AND LYON COUNTIES, NEVADA: NBMG BULL 49.

  • Deposit

    BONHAM, H.J., 1969, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF WASHOE AND STOREY COUNTIES, NEVADA:NBMG BULL 70

  • Deposit

    BASTIN, E.S., 1922, BONANZA ORES OF THE COMSTOCK LODE, VIRGINIA CITY, NEV; USGS BULL 735-C

  • Deposit

    WPA STATE WRITER'S PROJECT, 1940-41, INDIVIDUAL HISTORIES OF THE MINES OF THE COMSTOCK UNPUBLISHED OPEN-FILE REPORT, NEV. BUREAU OF MINES & GEOL.

  • Production

    STODDARD, C. AND CARPENTER, J.A., 1950.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS DEPOSIT IS FOUND ON THE COMSTOCK VEIN PROPER, AND CONSISTS FO SILVER SULFIDE ORE WITH A SUBSTANTIAL GOLD CONTENT. THE DEPOSIT IS PART OF THE COMSTOCK LODE, EPITHERMAL PRECIOUS-METAL VEINS GENERALLY FOUND IN THE ALTA ANDESITE. THE MINE IS 2500 FEET DEEP AND EXPLORES THE COMSTOCK VEIN, OUTLIERS OF THE CONSOLIDATED VIRGINIA BONANZA, AND THE HARDY VEIN. SPORADIC PRODUCTION FROM 1859 TO 1873, BUT WELLOVER 40,000 TONS ORE AT FROM $8 PER TON TO $2500. PER TON PRODUCTION FROM 1874 TO 1925 WAS 439,137 TONS ORE AVERAGING $41.16 PER TON IN MOSTLY SILVER VALUES. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit VEIN, COMSTOCK FAULT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1980 Flynn, Patricia Dodd 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.