Pine Nut Molybdenum Prospect

Past Producer in Douglas county in Nevada, United States with commodities Molybdenum, Tungsten, Copper, Gold

Sections on this page

Identification information
Geographic coordinates
Site location context
Geographic areas
Public Land Survey System information
Commodities
Materials information
Alteration
Mineral occurrence model information
Host and associated rocks
Nearby scientific data
Geologic structures
Ore body information
Controls for ore emplacement
Economic information about the deposit and operations
Mining district
Land status
Ownership information
Bibliographic references
General comments
Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10310342
MRDS ID	D001198
Record type	Site
Current site name	Pine Nut Molybdenum Prospect
Alternate or previous names	Gardnerville Mine Area, Alpine Claim, Cosmos Claim, Extension Claim, Owl Claim, Ramona Claim, Scheelite Claim, Tungstate Claim
Related records	10008796, 10037734, 10221521

Comments on the site identification

Information form the old Gardnerville Mine record #D001198 has been incorporatd into this record.
The porphyry -type molybdenum prospect is in the vicinity of the old Gardnerville mine and mill, and should not be confused with the Pine Nut/Pine Nut Consolidated/Preacher Mine about 4 km to the WSW.
Refer to Stager and Tingley, p. 46 for property identification.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates:	-119.62488, 38.87019 (WGS84)
Elevation	1710
Location accuracy	100(meters)
Relative position	The prospect is located about 12 miles southeast of Gardnerville.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Douglas(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Double Spring(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Smith Valley(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Walker Lake(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Carson(hydrologic unit)

Carson(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Lahontan(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country	State	County
United States	Nevada	Douglas

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian	Township	Range	Section	Fraction	State
Mount Diablo	012N	021E	25	W2	Nevada

Comments on the location information

The molybdenum prospect encompasses the area surrounding the old Gardnerville tungsten mine and mill.

Commodities

Commodity	Importance
Molybdenum	Primary
Tungsten Critical	Primary
Copper	Secondary
Gold	Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

Ore Materials: scheelite, powellite, molybdenite, huebnerite
Gangue Materials: quartz, pyrite, sericite, calcite, pyrite, limonite, and hematite.

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Scheelite	Ore
Powellite	Ore
Molybdenite	Ore
Huebnerite	Ore
Pyrite	Ore
Sericite	Ore
Calcite	Ore
Pyrite	Ore
Limonite	Ore
Hematite	Ore
Quartz	Gangue

Alteration

(Local) Host rocks have been silicified, sericitized, and K-feldspar altered.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code	80
USGS model code	21b
Deposit model name	Porphyry Mo, low-F

Host and associated rocks

Host or associated

Host

Rock type

Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock

Rock type qualifier

altered

Rock unit name

Oreana Peak Fm

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Late Triassic

Host or associated

Host

Rock type

Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock

Rock type qualifier

altered

Rock unit name

Oreana Peak Fm

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Late Triassic

Host or associated Host

Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Skarn (Tactite)

Rock unit name Oreana Peak Fm

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
Host or associated Host

Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite

Rock unit name Oreana Peak Fm

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic

Host or associated

Associated

Rock type

Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite

Rock type qualifier

porphyry

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Cretaceous

Host or associated Associated

Rock type Plutonic Rock > Porphyry

Rock type qualifier quartz monzonite

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cretaceous
Host or associated Associated

Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Triassic
Host or associated Associated

Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist

Rock type qualifier spotted

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Triassic

Nearby scientific data

(1)	-119.62488, 38.87019	ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure	Local
Structure description	Rocks in the district have been affected by a broad NNE-trending anticline, and by two sets of faults, one striking NNE and one striking NW to NNW, more prominent in the prospect area.
Type of structure	Regional
Structure description	Rocks in the district have been affected by a broad NNE-trending anticline, and by two sets of faults, one striking NNE and one striking NW to NNW, more prominent in the prospect area.

Ore body information

General form disseminated

General form	disseminated

Controls for ore emplacement

The deposit is controlled by lithology where dolomite altered to skarn, and by proximity to a pluton.

Comments on the geologic information

The rocks exposed in the Gardnerville District are Triassic to Jurassic age metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks that have been cut by light gray felsic dikes. Small outcrops of biotite-quartz monzonite are found locally and it is probable that a larger mass of Cretaceous granitic rock underlies the metasedimanetary rocks at a shallow depth. Scheelite occurs in thin beds of skarn which have replaced impure limestone and dolomite in the metasedimentary section. In the southern part of the district in the vicinity of the Gardnerville Mine, molybdenite mineralization has been found in a stockwork of quartz veins generally related to the underlying quartz monzonite stock.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type	Surface-Underground
Development status	Past Producer
Commodity type	Metallic
Deposit size	Small
Significant	Yes
Discovery year	1960
Year of first production	1937
Year of last production	1956
Production years	1937-1940, 1951-1956

Mining district

District name	Gardnerville District

Land status

Ownership category	BLM Administrative Area
Area name	Carson City BLM District

Ownership information

Type Owner-Operator

Owner Climax Molybdenum Company, 1960s

Year 1960

Type	Owner-Operator
Owner	Climax Molybdenum Company, 1960s
Year	1960

Comments on the workings information

The old Gardnerville mine workings consist of 2 shafts with several thousand feet of drifts and crosscuts and numerous pits and trenches. More recent drilling was done after 1960.

Comments on other economic factors

The Gardnerville Tungsten Mine produced 12,938 units of WO3 during the years 1937-1940 and 1951-1956. there has been no molybdenum production and the size of the molybdenum resource is unknown but reportedly significant.
Pine Nut is considered by the USGS to be one of the ?Giant Porphyry-Related Metal Camps of the World?

Comments on development

The Gardnerville mine at the center of the molybdenum prospect, was first operated in 1937 by the Nevada Tungsten Corporation, who built a small gravity mill and produced 723 units of WO3. Rare Metals Corporation acquired the property in 1940 and did some additional development work in an unsuccessful search for more ore. Various owners and lessees operated on the claims from 1951 to 1956, producing more than 12,000 units of WO3.
Climax Molybdenum Company, began exploring the property in 1963 for porphyry-type molybdenum mineralization. A broad zone of molybdenite mineralization was detected by surface geochemical exploration, and subsequent diamond drilling encountered significant molybdenum mineralization.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Deposit

Hill, J. M., 1915 , Some Mining Districts in NE Calif. and NW Nev., USGS, Bull. 594
Deposit

Muncaster, N., 1967, A review of the Pine Nut, Nevada molybdenum prospect: Climax Molybdenum Company unpublished report, 6p
Deposit

Stager and Tingley, 1988, NBMG Bull. 105, p. 46.
Deposit

Unpubl. Nev. Bureau of Mines Files
Deposit

Lemmon, D.M., Unpublished Data.
Deposit

Lemmon, D.M., and Tweto, O.L., 1962, Tungsten in The U.S., USGS Map, MR-25.
Deposit

Moore, J. G., 1969 , Geology and Mineral Deposits of Lyon, Douglas and Ormsby Counties, Nev., Nevada Bureau Of Mines, Bulletin 75.
Deposit

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

Lyon, R. J. P., 1975, Correlation between ground metal analysis, vegetation reflectance, and ERTS brightness over a molybdenum skarn deposit, Pine Nut Mountains, western Nevada; Proceedings of the International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, no.10, Vol. 2, pp.1031-1037.
Deposit

Felix E. Mutschler, Steve Ludington, and Arthur A. Bookstrom, 1999, Giant Porphyry-Related Metal Camps of the World-A Database; USGS Open-File Report 99-556.

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	At the old Gardnerville Mine, scheelite occurs in skarn that partially replaces a 6-ft thick bed of dolomite. The dolomite strikes NW and dips 45-75 SW with a footwall of at least 20 feet of spotted schist and a hanging wall of schist 10 feet thick. Only part of the host dolomite has been changed to skarn and only part of that skarn contains scheelite. The best tungsten ore ran 1.5 % WO3 and was 2-3 feet wide. No tungsten ore was found below the 200 foot level. Powellite occurs with the scheelite especially in the lower levels. On the 400 level of the old Gardnerville Mine, powellite is abundant and fine-grained molybdenum is common. In the 1960s, a broad zone of molybdenite mineralization was detected by surface geochemical exploration and subsequent diamond drilling encountered significant molybdenum mineralization. Molybdenite occurs in a stockwork of quartz and quartz-pyrite veins accompanied by sericite and quartz-K-feldspar alteration. Huebnerite has been identified in some of the quartz-pyrite veins.

Subject category

Comment text

Deposit

At the old Gardnerville Mine, scheelite occurs in skarn that partially replaces a 6-ft thick bed of dolomite. The dolomite strikes NW and dips 45-75 SW with a footwall of at least 20 feet of spotted schist and a hanging wall of schist 10 feet thick. Only part of the host dolomite has been changed to skarn and only part of that skarn contains scheelite. The best tungsten ore ran 1.5 % WO3 and was 2-3 feet wide. No tungsten ore was found below the 200 foot level. Powellite occurs with the scheelite especially in the lower levels. On the 400 level of the old Gardnerville Mine, powellite is abundant and fine-grained molybdenum is common.
In the 1960s, a broad zone of molybdenite mineralization was detected by surface geochemical exploration and subsequent diamond drilling encountered significant molybdenum mineralization. Molybdenite occurs in a stockwork of quartz and quartz-pyrite veins accompanied by sericite and quartz-K-feldspar alteration. Huebnerite has been identified in some of the quartz-pyrite veins.

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	01-JUN-2003	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.