Blue Star Mine

Past Producer in Esmeralda county in Nevada, United States with commodity Talc-Soapstone
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. 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. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10104109
MRDS ID M242001
Record type Site
Current site name Blue Star Mine
Alternate or previous names Shaw Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.74953, 37.48106 (WGS84)
Elevation 1905

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Esmeralda(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Sylvania Mountains(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Last Chance Range(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Goldfield(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Fish Lake-Soda Spring 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 Esmeralda

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 005S 038E 22,27 SW (22); NW (27) Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • ABOUT 3 MILES NE OF TUB WELL IN PALMETTO ON ST. HIGHWAY 3 BETWEEN BIG PINE & LIDA. ACCESSIBLE BY A ROAD THAT STARTS 2.5 MILES EAST OF THE DEAN MILL JUNCTION ON HIGHWAY 3 AND GOES 1.8 MILES NW TO THE MINE. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1972)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Talc-Soapstone Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • UNBROKEN ORE IS COMPACT AND FINE GRAINED. BROKEN ORE IS FINE-GRAINED, FLAKY, SILKY LUSTER, LT. GRAY AND MOTTLED MED. GRAY

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Talc Ore
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Strong Hydrothermal Alteration

Analytical data

Result TALC, SMALL AMOUNTS OF CHLORITE, TRACE TO SMALL AMOUTNS OF CALCITE, AND TRACE AMOUNTS OF QUARTZ

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Hornfels
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Marble
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Poleta
    Rock description Poleta

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.74953, 37.48106

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults

Ore body information

  • General form LENSES
    Thickness 7.62M
    Length 24.38M
    Width 13.72M
  • General form LENSES

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Brecciation Of Limestone; Igneous Contacts; Faults

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1941
Discoverer Claimed By Edward Shaw In 1941
Year of first production 1941

Mining district

District name Palmetto District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Blue Star Mines, Ltd., 810 South Spring St., Los Angeles, Ca

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 182.88M
    Overall depth 30.48M

Comments on the workings information

  • TEST PITS, SHAFTS, DRIFTS, WINZES, 2 INCLINED ADITS. MINING WAS DONE BY SQUARE-SET STOPING TO A DEPTH OF OVER 100 FEET. 2 OLD HOUSES, A LARGE ORE BIN, AND 2 SERVICE BUILDINGS REMAINED AT THE PROPERTY IN 1975

Comments on development

  • LARGEST PRODUCER IN THE PALMETTO DISTRICT. MOST PRODUCTIVE TIME WAS 1941 TO 1946 UNDER LESSEE BLUESTAR TALC MINES, LTD., WHEN ORE WAS TRUCKED TO ZURICH, CALIF. FROM 1952 TO 1956, THE PROPERTY WAS LEASED TO HUNTLEY INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, INC., WHICH PRODUCED ORE BOTH FROM UNDERGROUND AND OPEN-PIT OPERATIONS AND PROCESSED IT AT MILL IN LAWS, CALIF.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USBM, 1943, UNPUBLISHED PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION REPORT ON THE BLUE STAR MINE; NBMG FILE 102, ITEM 9.

  • Deposit

    PAPKE, K.G., 1975, NBMG BULL. 84, P. 15.

  • Production

    USBM, 1943; PAPKE, K.G., 1975, P. 15.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit LENTICULAR BODIES OF TALC FROM 30-80 FT LONG, 1-45 FT WIDE, 3-25 FT THICK, THOUGHT TO RESULT FROM ALTERATION OF MAGNESIUM-BEARING SEDIMENTS, OCCUR IN A ZONE 400 FT LONG BY 200 FT WIDE

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1982 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.

Authoritative Nevada resources

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