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Tonopah District

Producer in Nye county in Nevada, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Tungsten, Arsenic
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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. 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 10310396
MRDS ID D001289
Record type District
Current site name Tonopah District
Alternate or previous names Mizpah, West End Consolidated, Halifax Tonopah, Jim Butler Tonopah, MacNamara, Mizpah Extension, Montana - Tonopah, North Star, Rescue Eula, Tonopah Belmont, Tonopah Extension, Tonopah Midway Mines
Related records 60000041

Comments on the site identification

  • This record includes material from earlier MRDS records #D001289 and #W002911, and other individual records for the major producing mines of the district.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.21925, 38.08327 (WGS84)
Elevation 1890
Relative position The mines surround the town of Tonopah, Nye County seat.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nye(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Tonopah(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Tonopah(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Tonopah(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Southern Big Smoky Valley(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 Nye

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 003N 042E 35 Nevada
Mount Diablo 002N Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The most productive of the Tonopah mines were centered between Mount Oddie and Mt. Brougher, near the south end of the San Antonio Mountain Range.Some fo the more productive mines were on the southwest flanks of Mount Oddie.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Secondary
Lead Secondary
Tungsten Critical Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: argentite, pyrargyrite, cerargyrite, polybasite, stephanite, polybasite, stephanite, copper sulfate, tetrahedrite, galena, electrum, arsenical pyrargyrite, iodyrite, embolite, cinnabar (rarely, in thin streaks) scheelite, wolframite, some native silver
  • Gangue Materials: quartz, pinkish carbonate, barite, apatite, opal, turquoise, pyrite, sericite, adularia, jasper, manganocalcite, rhodochrosite, cacoxenite Fe2(OH)3PO4.4.5H20, pharmacosiderite Fe3(OH)3(AsO4)2.5H20

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Pyrargyrite Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Polybasite Ore
Stephanite Ore
Polybasite Ore
Stephanite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Galena Ore
Electrum Ore
Pyrargyrite Ore
Iodyrite Ore
Embolite Ore
Cinnabar Ore
Scheelite Ore
Wolframite Ore
Silver Ore
Quartz Gangue
Barite Gangue
Apatite Gangue
Opal Gangue
Turquoise Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Sericite Gangue
Adularia Gangue
Jasper Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Rhodochrosite Gangue
Cacoxenite Gangue
Pharmacosiderite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Dominant alteration types affecting volcanic host rocks are silicification, sericitization, argillization and kaolinization . Andesite has been altered to chlorite and calcite. Rhyolite has been altered to chlorite, calcite, pyrite, quartz, sericite, and siderite.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 150
USGS model code 25c
Deposit model name Epithermal vein, Comstock
Mark3 model number 16

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Trachyte
    Rock unit name Mizpah Trachyte
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 20.4
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Tonopah Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name West End Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
    Rock type qualifier rhyolitic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)
    Rock type qualifier rhyolitic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock
    Rock type qualifier tuffaceous
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock type qualifier dikes and intrusives
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Extension Breccia
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Sandgrass Andesite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Esmeralda Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Late Miocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.21925, 38.08327
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Major structures include the Halifax Fault Zone (N-S) and the Tonopah Fault. The youngest group strike NE, NW, and N-S, dipping W.
Type of structure Local
Structure description The Tonopah fault, the N-S-trending Halifax Fault Zone, the Merton fault, and the Monarch-Pittsburg fault.

Ore body information

  • General form Tabular to irregular

Controls for ore emplacement

  • There is strong structural control of all orebodies. Ore bodies are localized by breccia and gouge zones along the Tonopah fault, th eN-S-rending Halifax Fault Zone, the Merton fault, and the Monarch-Pittsburg fault.

Comments on the geologic information

  • Complex faulting has affected rocks in the district. Tertiary volcanic host rocks are nearly flat lying.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1900
Discoverer James L. Butler
Year of first production 1900
Year of last production 1947
Production years 1900-1947

Mining district

District name Tonopah District

Land status

Ownership category Private
Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Tonopah BLM administrative district

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner numerous, most recently Echo Bay Mining Company
  • Type Operator
    Owner numerous

Comments on the workings information

  • Major workings consist of the 850-foot Midway No.1 shaft, the 1,625-foot Midway No. 2 Shaft, the 972-foot Tonopah Extension No 1 Shaft, the 1,440Kfoot Tonopah Extension No.2 Shaft, the 2,375-foot Victor Shaft, the 1,650-foot McKane Shaft, the 1,670-foot Cash Boy Shaft, the 1718-foot Belmont Shaft, the Desert Queen Shaft, the 1,050-foot Rescue-Eula Shaft, the 462-foot Montana-Tonopah Shaft, the 1,000-foot Mizpah Extension Shaft, the Wandering Boy Shaft, the 300-foot Big Tono Shaft, the 490-foot Gold Hill Shaft, 238-foot Fraction No. 1 Shaft, 400-foot Fraction No. 2 Shaft, the 1,200-foot deep Halifax Shaft, the 1,212-foot West End Shaft, the 800-foot Ohio Shaft, and the 700-foot McNamara Shaft with workings on the 200, 300, and 375-foot levels as well as many additional underground and surface workings.

Comments on other economic factors

  • Total production from the Tonopah district mines was more than five million tons of ore worth more than $150 million in silver and gold predominantly, with lesser amounts of copper and lead production. At today?s market the value of precious metals produced would be in excess of a billion dollars.

Comments on development

  • In May 1900, Jim Butler found silver ore samples near Tonopah Springs, but his first assay of the ore at nearby Klondike was unconvincing. Later that year, Tasker Oddie visited Butler and paid for another assay in return for a quarter interest in the claim, after which Austin assayer William Gayhart assayed the samples as high as $600 a ton. Butler and his wife later returned to then county seat Belmont to file on eight claims near Tonopah Springs, of which six became some of Nevada's largest producers: Desert Queen, Burro, Valley View, Silver Top, Buckboard, and Mizpah. Work began on the Mizpah mine in October 1900, and the camp that sprang up nearby was called Butler. Partners Butler and Oddie leased out their claims for a year, taking a 25% royalty on all silver and gold mined from their claims.
    The population of Butler grew from 40 men in Jan 1901 to 60 in March 1901 and to 250 a few weeks later. A post office opened at Butler in April 1901 and changed its name to Tonopah in 1905.
    The Butler mines produced almost $750,000 in gold and silver in 1901, and continued regular production for 40 years. In 1902 Jim Butler sold his claims which were consolidated into the holdings of the Tonopah Mining Company, which controlled 160 acres of productive ground in the main Tonopah district. The company workings consisted of three deep shafts with more than 46 miles of lateral workings.
    The Tonopah-Belmont Mining Company also formed in 1902 with 11 claims (160 acres) adjoining the east side of the Tonopah Mining Company property. The Tonopah-Belmont was developed by two vertical shafts, 1,200 feet and 1,700 feet deep with underground workings totaling almost 39 miles. Ore from both properties was shipped to Millers for processing until 1912, when a 60-stamp 500-ton mill was built at Tonopah. From 1912-1923, it was operated as one of the best-equipped and most efficient silver cyanide mills in the US.
    The town's population grew to more than 3,000 by the end of 1902, at which time substantial new ore deposits were located in the lower levels of some of the existing mines, including the Montana-Tonopah, Desert Queen, North Star and Tonopah Extension. The huge volume of ore being developed in Tonopah's mines by 1903 necessitated the construction of a 60-mile long narrow gauge railroad that connected Tonopah with the Carson and Colorado branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad at the Sodaville junction. The railroad was officially opened on July 25, 1904, and in 1905 was enlarged to standard gauge. When the railroad was extended to Goldfield in 1905, it was named the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad.
    In May 1905, Tonopah replaced Belmont as the county seat and the town continued to grow. In the next few years, two mining companies consolidated between them most of the productive mines in Tonopah: the Tonopah Extension Mining Company, controlling about 700 acres of property west of the Tonopah Mining Company's property. The Tonopah Extension company had three mines - the No. 2, Victor, and McKane, all over 1,500 feet deep, and the Victor reaching almost 2,200 feet deep. The company built a 30-stamp cyanide mill in 1910, which was later enlarged to 50 stamps.
    The second dominant company that evolved was the West End Consolidated Mining Company, with 185 acres adjoining the southwest side of the Tonopah Mining Company's property. West End also controlled the Halifax-Tonopah Mining Company and leased additional claims from Jim Butler. West End's three main shafts were as deep as 1,400 feet, and in 1911 the company built a 200 tpd cyanide mill. More than 20 mining companies were active in the district from the 1910s though the 1920s.
  • A fire in the Tonopah-Belmont mine in February 1911 caused the deaths of 17 men, the only significant mining accident in the history of the Tonopah mines. Peak mine production occurred from 1900 to 1921 yielding almost $121 million in gold, silver, copper and lead ore. The mines declined over the Depression years, and by World War II, only four major mining companies were operating. Following a huge fire in 1942 at the Tonopah Extension mill, the remaining mines closed down by the end of the war and the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad was torn up in 1947.
    There was a brief period of renewed interest in Tonopah in 1968-1969 when Howard Hughes' Summa Corp. bought many of Tonopah Mining Company 's old mining claims in the central mineralized portion of the Tonopah district, including the Mizpah, Silver Top, and Desert Queen mines. Some minor drilling was done and a few of the old mines were retimbered. The claims were acquired by Houston Oil & Minerals in 1977 and in 1981, it was reported that Houston was testing the old dumps of the Mizpah mine with plans to mill 15000 tons at their Manhattan mill. This did not materialize, however. Echo Bay Mining Company acquired the claims, but did not develop them, and later donated them to become the core of the Tonopah Historic Mining Park.

Comments on the environmental information

  • Oxidized subduction-related continental-margin arc along western North America.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Several of the main ore-producing veins of the district are the Mizpah Vein, Montana Vein, Macdonald Vein Oddie-Egan Group, Belmont Vein, Shaft Vein, Lillie Belle Vein, Favorite Vein, IOU Vein, and Burro Vein. The Mizpah vein is a sheeted zone with ore minerals occurring in lenses or films on cracks or crevices. The main ore vein is up to 6 feet wide with a 40-50-foot wide zone of lower-grade vein material. A 112-foot wide quartz vein was reported in the West End Consolidated Mine. A 3-foot vein strikes NE, dipping 40SE in the Fraction No. 2 shaft. Some veins are banded and crustified. Supergene enrichment was a major enhancement to the richness of the Tonopah mines ore. The depth of oxidation was variable, up to 1170 feet.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-FEB-2005 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.

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Authoritative Nevada resources

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