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Treasure Hill Mine Area

Past Producer in White Pine county in Nevada, United States with commodities Silver, Copper, Manganese, Iron
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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. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310457
MRDS ID M233758
Record type Site
Current site name Treasure Hill Mine Area
Alternate or previous names several old historic workings in area of Treasure City, just south of ruins of Hamilton, Hidden Treasure Mine, Eberhardt Mine, Mammoth Mine, North Aurora Mine, Pocotillo Mine, Ward Beecher Mine

Comments on the site identification

  • This record includes all material from earlier records #M233758 and supersedes that record.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -115.48394, 39.2216 (WGS84)
Elevation 2793
Relative position The Treasure Hill Mine is located 11 miles south of U.S. Highway 50 from a point 45 miles west of Ely.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

White Pine(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Treasure Hill(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Mount Hamilton(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ely(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Hot Creek-Railroad Valleys(hydrologic unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada White Pine

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 016N 058E 19 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • These are the old historic mines located In the White Pine Range about 4-5 miles ESE of the later-developed Mount Hamilton Mine.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Copper Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary
Iron Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: native silver, chlorargyrite, bromargyrite, acanthite, aurorite, minerals
  • Gangue Materials: calcite, quartz, pyrite, iron and manganese oxides, oxide copper minerals

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Silver Ore
Chlorargyrite Ore
Bromargyrite Ore
Acanthite Ore
Aurorite Ore
Quartz Ore
Pyrite Ore
Iron Ore
Calcite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Deposit was oxidized

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 72
USGS model code 19a
Deposit model name Polymetallic replacement
Mark3 model number 47

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier interbedded calcareous
    Rock unit name upper Hamburg Formation and lower Dunderberg Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock type qualifier brecciated sandy brown
    Rock unit name upper Hamburg Formation and lower Dunderberg Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cambrian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Porphyry
    Rock type qualifier ganodiorite stocks
    Rock unit name Seligman Stock and Monte Cristo Stock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granodiorite
    Rock type qualifier porphyry stocks
    Rock unit name Seligman Stock and Monte Cristo Stock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cretaceous

Nearby scientific data

(1) -115.48394, 39.2216
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description The White Pine Range is a typical N-S-trending Basin and Range fault block composed of a sequence of Paleozoic carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks intruded by two Cretaceous- age granitic stocks.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore was localized by carbonate lithology, adn by fracturing and brecciation.

Comments on the geologic information

  • Host rock is a brecciated sandy brown limestone. Calcite "stalactites" fill fractures with brecciated material. Also vitreous gray banded, quartz vein with pyrite and a small amount of copper oxide minerals and manganese oxides.

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 1867
Discoverer Reportedly, Napias Jim, an Indian, led A. J. Leathers, Thomas Murphy, and Eddie Marchand to the silver lode
Year of first production 1868
Year of last production 1888
Production years 1868-1888, 1911?

Mining district

District name White Pine District

Land status

Ownership category Private
Area name Ely BLM administrative area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Gold Creek Corp.
    Year 1981
  • Type Owner
    Owner Silver King Mines

Comments on the workings information

  • Glory hole, underground and shallow suface workings as well as a small attempted heap-leach operation by Einar Erickson?s promotional group.

Comments on other economic factors

  • It is estimated that over 30 million ounces of silver was produced, valued at $22 million between 1865 and 1888.
    the Eberhardt mine produced $3 million worth of silver from a single hole that 70 by 40 by 25 feet in size.
    In 1985, a reserve was reported for the Hidden Treasure Mine, one of the Treasure Hill properties, as 600 tons of ore grading 80 ounces per ton silver. Production from 1869-1911 for the same property was reported as 15,498 tons of ore valued at $96,913.

Comments on development

  • A group of Reese River miners discovered silver on the western slopes of White Pine Mountain in fall of 1865 and organized the White Pine Mining District. In 1868, a rich discovery of silver ore on Treasure Hill resulted in rush to White Pine.
    The town of Cave City was formed at the foot of the northern side of the hill at 8,000 feet near some caves that served as early shelters. By 1868, Cave City was renamed for promoter W. H. Hamilton and by mid-winter the population had grown to near six hundred. rush to White Pine, only to find mining was impossible because of the extreme cold. A post office was established in August 1868. Within two years, more than thirteen thousand mining claims were recorded in the district and 195 White Pine mining companies were incorporated. In 1869 the town's population was estimated at 10-15,000, possibly as many as 30,000. The 1870 Census showed 3,913 residents, but in 1873, the shallow ore began to peter out and a decline set in, hastened by disastrous fires in 1873 and 1885. By 1888, the ore had been exhausted and the town was soon deserted. There have been some recent, 1980s efforts to develop more ore in the mine area, including a small attempted heap-leach operation by Einar Erickson?s promotional group. In 1985, ownership of the Hidden Treasure Mine, one of the Treasure Hill properties, was listed as F. W. Lewis Co.

Reference information

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Replacement orebodies.
Host rock is a brecciated sandy brown limestone. Calcite "stalactites" fill fractures with brecciated material. Also vitreous gray banded, quartz vein with pyrite and a small amount of copper oxide minerals and manganese oxides.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1982 Martin, Paul (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Reporter 01-DEC-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.