Horse Canyon Mine

Past Producer in Eureka county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Barium-Barite
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. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310318
MRDS ID M242255
MAS/MILS ID 0320110228
Record type Site
Current site name Horse Canyon Mine
Alternate or previous names Cortez Joint Venture, Horse Canyon pit, South Silicified pit
Related records 10047015, 10310460, 10246495

Comments on the site identification

  • This record supersedes the earlier record M242255 and includes all material in the earlier record.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.56342, 40.15991 (WGS84)
Elevation 2530
Relative position The Horse Canyon area is located about 50 km south of Beowawe, approximately two miles east of Mount Tenabo in the Cortez Mountains in Eureka County. The Horse Canyon/Cortez unified exploration area in 2004 is located approximately 35 air miles southeast of the community of Battle Mountain in both Lander and Eureka counties

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Eureka(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cortez(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Crescent Valley(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Pine(hydrologic unit)

Humboldt(hydrologic accounting unit)

Black Rock Desert-Humboldt(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 Eureka
United States Nevada Lander

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 026N 048E 03 04 Nevada
Mount Diablo 027N 048E 33 34 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • UTM is to large open pit area at head of Horse Canyon on east flank of Mount Tenabo near saddle between Horse Canyon and Mill Canyon.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: gold, barite, sulfides
  • Gangue Materials: quartz, clay, jarosite, iron oxides, pyrite

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Barite Ore
Quartz Gangue
Clay Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) silicification, bleaching, clay alteration

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 173
USGS model code 26a.1
Deposit model name Sediment-hosted Au
Mark3 model number 17

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier carbonaceous
    Rock unit name Vinini Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier siliceous
    Rock unit name Vinini Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier cherty
    Rock unit name Vinini Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Wenban Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Devonian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock type qualifier small rhyolite intrusives less than 1 mile away.
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.56342, 40.15991

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Roberts Mountains Thrust; Cortez Window
Type of structure Local
Structure description high angle faulting; fractures; folding

Ore body information

  • General form tabular to irregular

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore is localized by the Roberts Mountains Thrust plate contact and by north-striking high angle structures.

Comments on the geologic information

  • The deposit area was visited by NBMG geologists in 1982 before it was mined. Along the southeast drill roads, the most conspicuous feature was a Vinini-hosted jasperoid breccia forming a resistant NW-striking rib above the drill roads. Jasperoid is highly silicified, fractured, and iron stained along the fractures. Bedding is preserved in the jasperoid in places and dips southeast. Below the jasperoid breccia are thin contorted beds of black carbonaceous shales. In one area the southeast -dipping shales are cut by an altered igneous dike, mostly altered to clays. The surrounding shales have been bleached. A sample was taken here, of black siliceous shale and cherty shale drill cuttings. To the northwest in probable future pit area, the resistant rib of Vinini jasperoid breccia is still present. Below the breccia are thin bedded siliceous sediments. A large boulder of breccia found on the road was cut by a small breccia vein containing a clast of quartz-eye porphyry. However, the most notable occurrence was of abundant euhedral jarosite crystals developed in the open fractures of the jasperoid (sampled). Some barite vein and gangue was also noted in this area. Another sample consists of drill cuttings of dark gray calcareous shales with fine disseminated sulfides.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1976
Year of first production 1983
Year of last production 1993
Production years 1983-1993

Mining district

District name Cortez District

Land status

Ownership category Private
Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Elko & Battle Mountain BLM Administrative Districts

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Cortez Joint Venture: Placer Dome, Inc.
    Year 2004
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Cortez Joint Venture: Kennecott Explorations
    Year 2004

Comments on the workings information

  • The Horse Canyon mine area encompasses the Horse Canyon and South Silicified open pit mines.

Comments on other economic factors

  • Reserves in 1984 were reported at 3.94 million tons or ore grading 0.055 ounces of gold per ton.
    The mine was in production from 1983 to 1985, and again from 1988 through 1993. 1984 production from Horse Canyon Mine was 40,000 ounces of gold. 1988-93 production was included with that of Gold Acres.

Comments on development

  • The Horse Canyon deposit was discovered about 1982 and open pit gold mining commenced in 1983, employing 106 workers. Annual recovery of 40,000 ounces of gold was projected. The mine produced until 1985 and again 1988-1993. With the upswing in gold prices, Cortez Gold Mines began re-exploring near the old Horse Canyon Mine area and in late November 2002, five drill rigs were mobilized in the area. With the 2002 discovery of the Pediment and Cortez Hills deposits, CJV continued exploration in what they call the Horse Canyon/ Cortez Unified Exploration Program for which and Environmental Assessment was filed in Sept., 2004. The EA described a proposed Phase I Exploration Program that would involve widespread exploration drilling to advance/test target areas. It will include approximately 150 drill sites followed by follow-up drilling of another 100-200 drill sites.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Fine-grained gold is disseminated in carbonaceous shale in the upper plate of the Roberts Mountain thrust. Ore is localized by the Roberts Mountains Thrust plate contact and by north-striking high angle structures. Ore zone is characterized by jasperoid breccia. The surface expression of the deposit was a bouldery resistant rib of jasperoid trending northwest along most of area covered by drill roads prior to mining. .

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-2004 LaPointe, D. D. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Editor 01-SEP-2007 Schruben, Paul G. U.S. Geological Survey Converted from S&A FileMaker format to Oracle. Edit checks on rocks, units, and ages with Geolex search, and other fields.

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.