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Diatom King Quarries

Producer in Esmeralda county in Nevada, United States with commodity Diatomite
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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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10106934
MRDS ID M242113
Record type Site
Current site name Diatom King Quarries
Alternate or previous names Grefco Mines, Basalt Diatomaceous Earth Quarries, Dicalite Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -118.22372, 38.00715 (WGS84)
Elevation 1829
Relative position ABOUT 4 MILES EAST OF THE JUNCTION OF US. HGWY 6 WITH CALIF. STATE RTE. 10

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Esmeralda(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Miller Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Excelsior Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Walker Lake(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 002N;002N 033E;034E 29 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • ADJACENT TO US. HGHWY 6., STRADDLING THE MINERAL CO-ESMERALDA CO. LINE. UTM IS TO NEAR CENTER OF LARGE CLAIM BLOCK ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1972

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Diatomite Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Diatomite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    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 > Lake Sediments
    Rock unit name Esmeralda
    Rock description Esmeralda

Nearby scientific data

(1) -118.22372, 38.00715
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form BLANKET

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shallow Basin In Western Sector Of Deposit, While Central And Eastern Zones Are Monoclinal.

Comments on the geologic information

  • "DURING THE INTERVAL OF DIATOMACEOUS DEPOSITION, THERE WAS A MINIMUM OF CONTAMINANTS INTRODUCED BY INTERIOR DRAINAGE INTO THIS EMBAYMENT... THE LACUSTRINE SECTION OVERLIES BASALT AND ANDESITE FLOWS, AND IS ITSELF OVERLAIN BY BASALTIC FLOWS." LACUSTRINE SEDIMENTS ARE DIATOMITE, ARGILLACEOUS DIATOMITE, CALCAREOUS DIATOMITE, CLAY, SAND, VOLCANIC ASH.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1944
Year of first production 1944
Year of last production 1980

Mining district

District name Black Horse District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Grefco (Great Lakes Carbon Corp.), Robert Mannon, Plant Manager
    Home office P.O. Box 288, Mina, Nv. 89422

Comments on the production information

  • ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL PRODUCERS OF DIATOMITE IN NEVADA

Comments on the workings information

  • AT LEAST 3 OPEN PITS COVERING OVER 2500 ACRES.

Comments on development

  • ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL PRODUCERS OF DIATOMITE IN NEVADA. LISTED AS ACTIVE OPEN PIT MINE AND MILL IN 1980, EMPLOYING 24 PERSON; STILL ACTIVE IN 1983, EMPLOYING 22 PERSONS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ALBERS, J.P. AND STEWART, J.H., 1972, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF ESMERALDA CO., NEV; N.B.M.G. BULL 78.

  • Deposit

    STATE INSPECTOR OF MINES, 1981, DIRECTORY OF MINING OPERATIONS ACTIVE IN NEVADA DURING CALENDAR YEAR 1980.

  • Deposit

    SMITH, 1982, FIELD EXAMINATION (AUG 4, 1982)

  • Deposit

    NBMG MAP 84, 1983, ACTIVE MINES AND OIL FIELDS IN NEVADA.

  • Production

    ALBERS & STEWART, 1972, P. 62

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE PROPERTY COVERS 2500 ACRES. "THE DEPOSIT IS AN ISOLATED EMBAYMENT OF A LARGE FRESH-WATER LAKE... "

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1981 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.

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.