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

Kinsley Mountain Mine

Past Producer in Elko county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Mercury, Antimony, Arsenic
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. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310334
Record type Site
Current site name Kinsley Mountain Mine
Alternate or previous names Kinsley Mountain Project, Kinsley Mine, Main, Lower Main, Access, Ridge, West Ridge, Upper ore zone, Wod ore zone

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -114.34266, 40.14976 (WGS84)
Elevation 1980
Relative position The Kinsley Mountain Mine is located about 40 miles southwest of Wendover Nevada, in Elko County just north of the White Pine County Line.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Elko(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Kinsley Mountains(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Currie(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Elko(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Spring-Steptoe 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 Elko

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 026N 068E 06, 07 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The Kinsley Mountain property consists of 69 unpatented claims, covering about 2 square miles over the crest of the Kinsley Mountains.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Mercury Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: gold
  • Gangue Materials: quartz, calcite, iron oxides, and pyrite in hand specimen, as well as cinnabar, stibnite, and arsenopyrite in thin section

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Quartz Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Cinnabar Gangue
Stibnite Gangue
Arsenopyrite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Alteration associated with gold mineralization consists mainly of silicification, oxidation, and decarbonatization with minor argilllization and local quartz veining. Skarn formation is associated with intrusive activity in the southern part of the property and silicification and with range-front faults. Widespread bedding parallel replacement silicification forms a widespread jasperoid body that is intermittently exposed over several square miles at the contact between the Lamb Dolomite and the overlying Candland Formation. Rocks are bleached adjacent to structures.

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 calcareous
    Rock unit name Candland Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Siltstone
    Rock unit name Candland Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Windfall-equivalent formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Rock unit name Kinsley stock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Eocene
    Chronological age 40
    Dating method K-Ar
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Oligocene
    Chronological age 33
    Dating method K-Ar
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Lamb Dolomite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -114.34266, 40.14976
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description NW-trending high-angle structural zones. Alter, post-mineral N-S trending Basin and Range type faulting.
Type of structure Regional
Structure description The Kinsley Mountains are situated along teh southern flank of the Tooele Arch, an early Paleozoic uplift.

Ore body information

  • General form blanket to tabular

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Much of the gold mineralization occurs in bedding-parallel zones in shale and siltstones, as well as in NW-trending high-angle structural zones cutting shale, siltstone, and limestone.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1984
Discoverer Usmx
Year of first production 1994
Year of last production 1999
Production years 1994-1999

Mining district

District name Kinsley District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Elko BLM administrative district

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Lateegra Resources Corp.
    Year 2002

Comments on the workings information

  • The Kinsley Mountain mine is developed by several open pits. There are historic underground workings south of the current mine area, including the adits and shaft of the Phalen (Kinsley Consolidated) Mine.

Comments on other economic factors

  • The mine produced a total of 138,151 ounces of gold and at least 24,452 ounces of silver from 1995 through 1999. Oxide reserves in 1991 were reported at 2.6 million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.046 ounces per ton gold. No reserves were reported for the refractory ore.
    Remaining reserves in 1996 were reported as 3.4 million tons of ore grading 0.032 ounces per ton gold.

Comments on development

  • Silver-lead-copper ores were discovered in the area in 1862, after which George Kingsley organized the district in 1865. There was sporadic small production of copper, silver, lead, tungsten, marble, and gold from the district over several decades. The Kinsley Mountain deposit was first discovered in 1984 by USMX, and later explored by Cominco Limited (now Teck Cominco Limited) and Hecla Mining Company. This exploration included extensive drilling (over 700 holes) as well as detailed surface sampling and geophysics. In April 1994, the property was purchased by Alta Gold Company for $3.0 million and was put into production in 1994. The mine produced until 1999 when it closed at the time that Alta was forced into bankruptcy. During the production period a further 432 exploration holes were drilled bringing the total amount of holes drilled to 1,132. In October 2002, Lateegra Resources Corp. completed an option agreement whereby it has the ability to earn a 60% interest in the Kinsley Gold Project.
    The results of a study of property IP data on the Kinsley Mountain property in early November 2002 by Lateegra Resources Corp. indicate that the oxide gold ore zones of the Kinsley Mountain Mine are directly underlain by zones of sulfide mineralization associated with epithermal alteration and gold emplacement. Encouraged by these results, Lateegra planned to continue its exploration bytesting these newly identified targets with a 10,000-foot reverse-circulation drill program. The deeper, high-grade zone has been tested by ten drill holes. Holes in this zone yielded gold grades that ranged from 0.235 ounce per ton on the east side of the range to 0.149 ounce per ton one mile to the northwest. Since these are bedded deposits, Lateegra Resources feel there is a high potential that Kinsley Mountain contains many times the amount of gold already mined in the yet to be explored high grade zone(s).

    In 2004, it was reported that Pan American Gold Corp. had an option to earn a 60% interest in the Kinsley Mountain Property, to be earned when Pan American completes a bankable feasibility study. A drill rig was mobilized to the former gold producer as a step in that direction. The drill program will test both oxide and sulfide targets beneath existing open pits, anomalous gold soil values, and areas identified in recently completed magnetic and VLF geophysical survey. The plan calls for drill holes up to 1200 feet in depth.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Monroe, S.C., 1991, Kinsley Mountain Project, Elko County, Nevada; Geology and ore deposits of the Great Basin; field trip guidebook compendium, eds.,Buffa, Ruth H andCoyner, Alan R.

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-2002

  • Deposit

    Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-206A, 33 p.; 98-206B. one 3.5 inch diskette.

  • Deposit

    Lateegra Resources Corp., press release, 11/28/02

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-1987-2002

  • Deposit

    Steininger, Roger, 1966, Geology of the Kingsley mining district, Elko County, Nevada, BYU Geol. Studies, v. 13, p. 69-88.

  • Deposit

    MI-87 thru MI-98

  • Deposit

    NBMG Map 91, 2nd, 3rd

  • Deposit

    Currie Land Status Map, 1979

  • Deposit

    Amer. Mines (1996), 1995 thru (2000), 1999.

  • Deposit

    NWMA website, 2005. http://www.nwma.org/pdf/04onbulletin.pdf

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The Kinsley Mountain Mine is a near surface Carlin-type sediment hosted gold/silver deposit.
Gold mineralization occurs in a northwest-trending zone that transects the Kinsley Mountains from the eastern pediment to the western pediment. Mineralization is epithermal and disseminated in carbonate rocks. Much of the gold mineralization occurs in bedding-parallel zones in shale and siltstones, as well as in NW-trending high-angle structural zones cutting shale, siltstone, and limestone. Gold occurs as micron-sized particles with quartz and silicified carbonate rocks. Oxidized ore is present as well as unoxidized sulfide and carbonaceous ore in some areas adjacent to oxide ore. The mineralized zone extends for 7000 feet along strike and is 2000 feet wide. An upper oxide deposit was the only portion of the deposit partially mined, leaving the high-grade portions of the deposit untouched, and in some places, even exposed in the pits. The previous operator, Alta Gold, also left a considerable amount of oxide ore un-mined.
The deeper, high-grade zone has been tested by ten drill holes. Holes in this zone yielded gold grades that ranged from 0.235 ounce per ton on the east side of the range to 0.149 ounce per ton one mile to the northwest.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-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.

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.