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Little Bald Mountain Mine

Producer in White Pine county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Mercury
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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. Alteration
  9. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  19. Reserves and resources
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310383
MRDS ID M242962
MAS/MILS ID 0320330513
Record type Site
Current site name Little Bald Mountain Mine
Alternate or previous names LBM Claims, North pit, South pit, Little Bald Mountain II, Lbm Mine
Related records 10310443, 10310444, 10310446

Comments on the site identification

  • This record includes all material from earlier records M242962 and W700447 which should be deleted from the database.

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Pit
Geographic coordinates: -115.54733, 39.91793 (WGS84)
Elevation 2390
Relative position The Little Bald Mountain Mine is located approximately 110 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Ely, Nevada and about 110 kilometers (60 miles) south-southeast of Elko, Nevada. Lat/long is for the Little Bald Mountain Mine symbol on the USGS topo map. This is just a few meters from the center of the water marking the deepest part of the pit in Google Earth imagery.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

White Pine(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Bald Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Newark Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ely(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Little Smoky-Newark 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 White Pine

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 024N 057E 27 34 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The Little Bald Mountain Mine is located less than a km NE of the Top Deposit, and the Little Bald Mountain II deposit is located about 3 km SSE of LBM.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Mercury Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: free gold
  • Gangue Materials: pyrite, clay limonite, jasperoid

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Clay Ore
Limonite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Alteration at the mine property consists predominantly of argillization and sericitization of igneous rocks, and sillicification of host rocks.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 75
USGS model code 19c
Deposit model name Distal disseminated Ag-Au
Mark3 model number 18

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock
    Rock type qualifier Fine-grained clastic and calcareous
    Rock unit name Antelope Valley Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Ordovician
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Middle Ordovician
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Rock type qualifier porphyry stock with satellitic dikes and sills
    Rock unit name Bald Mountain Stock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Jurassic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Porphyry
    Rock type qualifier quartz monzonite stock with satellitic dikes and sills
    Rock unit name Bald Mountain Stock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Chronological age 159

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description The Bald Mountain district is located in an area of thinned crust along the eastern side of the Late Proterozoic rift that split the North American craton. It is also in the west-central portion of the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Antler foreland basin, and near the eastern edge of deformation related to the late Paleozoic Humboldt orogeny To the west of the Bald Mountain district, geologic interpretations are dominated by recognition of Paleozoic deformation, whereas to the east, interpretations emphasize Mesozoic contraction and plutonism and Tertiary extension.
Type of structure Local
Structure description The rocks in the mine area have been affected by N-trending faults and less prominent W-trending fractures.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shear zones; the East Fault

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1984
Mining method Combined Methods
Year of first production 1985
Year of last production 2004
Plant type Leach
Milling method Heap Leach-Agglomerate-Carbon Column-Merrill-Crowe

Mining district

District name Bald Mountain District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Ely BLM district

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Barrick Gold Corp.
    Year 2006
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Northern Dynasty WP Syndicate (Westfield, Whim Creek Cons., and En Nec Int.)
    Interest 42.6
    First year 1988
  • Type Operator
    Owner New Dynasty Mines (U. S.), Inc.

Production statistics

  • Year 1986
    Period 1985-1986
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.08 Oz Au/Ton
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Gold Gold 2g/mt
  • Year 1991
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Gold 990 T Oz/Yr
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Primary metal recovered Gold Gold 30792g
    Primary metal recovered Silver Silver 25443g
  • Year 1992
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Gold 501 T Oz/Yr
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Primary metal recovered Gold Gold 15583g
    Primary metal recovered Silver Silver 15303g

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1986
    Total resources 453000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 3.4 g/mt Gold Major 1986
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1985
    Total resources 907000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 1.9 g/mt Gold Major 1985
    Silver Ag 7.68 g/mt Silver Major 1985
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1993
    Total resources 1mt commodity
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 100 wt-pct Gold Major 1993
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1996
    Demonstrated 163300mt ore
    Total resources 163300mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 4.15 g/mt Gold Major 1996

Comments on the workings information

  • The pit design was planned in 1984. The mine was developed by both open pit and trackless underground

Comments on other economic factors

  • Reserves in 1989 were: 200 kilotonnes of ore grading 0.13 opt Au, with a geologic resource of 260 Kilotonnes grading 0.127 opt gold.
    In 1993, reserves were: 140 kilotonnes of ore grading 0.13 opt Au, with a geologic resource of 21,800 ounces of gold.
    Production between 1985 and 1989 was 27,200 ounces of gold. In 1989 the mine produced 1500 ounces of silver.

Comments on development

  • In 1984, Northern Dynasty Explorations discovered gold mineralization in a drilling program on its Little Bald Mountain property. Further drilling indicated heap leach potential and a feasibility study was made. Adit Resources had a 19.5% interest in LBM in 1984 when they merged with Yellowstone Resources Inc. Mining was planned to start in spring 1985. Northern Dynasty owned 65% of the LBM property in 1984. WX Syndicate (25% Westfield) acquired a 42.6% interest in LBM mine in 1985. Northern Dynasty decided to Little Bald Mountain into production and construction began with start-up planned for July, 1985. First pour was in August, 1985. Announced resumption of heap leach activity in 1986. Underground work began in mid-1986. McChip Resources acquired a 10% interest in LBM in 1986. An increase in reserves was announced in August of 1986. Underground work was expected to increase annual production to 9000 ounces per year by 1988. In 1993, Placer Dome acquired the LBM claims from Northern Dynasty Mines and continued mining it until the Barrick takeover in 2006.

Comments on the environmental information

  • The Bald Mountain deposits are interpreted as forming in a dilational zone along a west- to northwest strike-slip fault during Jurassic compression, and at depths of 3-6 km.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-86 through MI-02

  • Deposit

    NBMG Map 91, 1st, 2nd, 3rd

  • Deposit

    DEIS, 1995

  • Deposit

    FEIS, 1995

  • Deposit

    Hitchborn and others, 1996, Geology and Gold Deposits of the Bald Mountain Mining District, White Pine County, Nevada, in Geology and Ore Deposits of the American Cordillera Symposium Proceedings, eds. A. Coyner and P. Fahey.

  • Deposit

    The Geological Society of Nevada 1996 Spring Field trip, Geology and Gold Deposits of Eastern Nevada, GSN Special Publication No. 23

  • Deposit

    MASMILS 0320330513; Nevada Land Status, 1990

  • Deposit

    www.placerdome.com

  • Deposit

    Amer. Mines (1989) through Amer. Mines (1991-92)

  • Deposit

    NBMG Mining District Files 323, Press

  • Deposit

    GSN 1985 Meeting and Fall Field Trip Road Log

  • Deposit

    Adamson, T.J., 1987, in Bulk Mineable Precious Metal Deposits of the Western U.S., 1987 GSN, Field Trip Guidebook and Technical Volume.

  • 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

    Nutt, C.J., Hofstra, A.H., Hart, K.S., and Mortensen, J.K., 2000, Structural setting and genesis of gold deposits in the Bald Mountain-Alligator Ridge area, east-central Nevada, in Cluer, J.K., Price, J.G., Struhsacker, E.M., Hardyman, R.F., and Morris, C.L., eds., Geology and Ore Deposits 2000: The Great Basin and Beyond: Geological Society of Nevada Symposium Proceedings, May 15-18, 2000, p. 513-537.

  • Deposit

    BLM, 2004, Bald Mountain Mine Exploration Program Programmatic Environmental Assessment NV040-04-023, Case File # N78825.

  • Deposit

    NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES & GEOLOGY, SPE. PUB. 10, 1990, P16.

  • Deposit

    RANDOL MINING DIRECTORY, 1994/95, U.S. MINES & MINING COMPANIES, P331.

  • Deposit

    RANDOL MINING DIRECTORY, 1996/97, U.S. MINES & MINING COMPANIES, P254.

  • Deposit

    AMERICAN MINES HANDBOOK, 1996, P181.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The Little Bald Mountain deposit consists of 2 mineralized stratigraphic horizons extending from the surface to a depth of 300 feet, connected by at least 2 vertical jasperoid zones of good grade ore. The Main feeder zone is 70-100 feet wide, extending 500 or more feet down the footwall of a major fault structure. Rich ore was encountered in an intensely pyritic, clay-altered shear zone. There are a total of 6 or more altered and/or mineralized zones. Mercury anomalies are roughly indicative of gold mineralization.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-88 Paidakovich, Matthew E. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 01-DEC-88 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-SEP-94 Li, Zhiping (Moyer, Lorre A.) U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 26-JUN-97 Buckingham, David A. U.S. Bureau of Mines
Reporter 01-NOV-04 LaPointe, D.D. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Editor 01-SEP-07 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

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