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Carlin-Hardie-Pete Mine Area

Producer in Eureka county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Mercury, Silver, Zinc, Lead, Copper, Thallium
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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 10310467
MRDS ID M055452
Record type Site
Current site name Carlin-Hardie-Pete Mine Area
Alternate or previous names Carlin Gold Mine, East Ore Zone, Carlin Main Ore Zone, Carlin West Ore Zone, Island, Hardie Footwall, Fence, Peregrine (Perry), Pete, Castle Peak, Crow, South Extension
Related records 10295306, 10310420, 10040611

Comments on the site identification

  • This record covers the greater Carlin Mine area deposits, two of which were described by records M055452 (Carlin Gold Mine) and W700382 (Pete deposit), as well as several other satellitic orebodies not described by earlier records.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.32399, 40.91184 (WGS84)
Elevation 1950
Relative position The mine area is located about 20 miles northwest of Carlin, Nevada.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Eureka(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Rodeo Creek NE(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Battle Mountain(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle Humboldt(hydrologic unit)

Humboldt(hydrologic accounting unit)

Black Rock Desert-Humboldt(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Eureka

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 035N 050E 11 12 13 14 24 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The mine area is located near the crest of the Tuscarora Mountains, 20 miles northwest of Carlin, Nevada.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Mercury Secondary
Silver Secondary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Thallium Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: native gold, electrum
  • Gangue Materials: cinnabar, orpiment, stibnite, tennantite, getchellite, tetrahedrite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, covellite, chalcocite, molybdenite, kaolinite, sericite, barite, scheelite, fluorite, calcite, dolomite, carbonaceous materials, illite, pyrite, realgar, native arsenic

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Electrum Ore
Orpiment Ore
Stibnite Ore
Tennantite Ore
Getchellite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Kaolinite Ore
Sericite Ore
Barite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Fluorite Ore
Calcite Ore
Dolomite Ore
Illite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Realgar Ore
Arsenic Ore
Cinnabar Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) The main alteration types present are decarbonatization, silicification, and argillization. In the main ore zone, Bakken (1990) has identified 5 mappable alteration types based on progressive carbonate dissolution (types 1, 2, and 3) and silica replacement (types 4 and 5). High grade gold is associated with type three alteration (complete carbonate removal and doubling of porosity). Jasperoids occur both along bedding planes and as fault fillings discordant to bedding. The discordant jasperoids average around 1 m thick and most often occupy structures striking N40-70E and dipping steeply south. Alteration and mineralization patterns tend to center around these jasperoid bodies.

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 > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Roberts Mountains Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Wenlock
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock type qualifier interbedded dark gray, medium bedded, bioclastic
    Rock unit name Roberts Mountains Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Wenlock
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock type qualifier thinly laminated, silty dolomitic
    Rock unit name Roberts Mountains Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Wenlock
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock type qualifier silty
    Rock unit name Popovich Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock type qualifier bioclastic
    Rock unit name Rodeo Creek Unit
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier calcareous
    Rock unit name Vinini Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granodiorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Late Jurassic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyodacite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Late Jurassic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Quartz Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Late Jurassic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock
    Rock type qualifier jasperoid

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.32399, 40.91184
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description The Carlin Gold Mine is situated along the NNW-striking Carlin trend. Carlin occurs in the Lynn Window of the Roberts Mountains Thrust. Some workers believe the windows in the thrust are due to doming of the Paleozoic sediments by intrusions at depth. Carlin lies near the crest of the NNW-striking Tuscarora Mountains anticline. The regional scale Leeville fault system consists of numerous high angle fault strands that strike NNW and form an important ore-controlling feature along the eastern edge of mineralization.
Type of structure Local
Structure description The greater Carlin-Hardie-Pete deposit area is generally contained within a triangular area bounded by three intersecting major fault systems: the NW-trending Castle Reef fault on the southwest, the NE-trending Hardie fault on the NE, and the NNW-trending Leeville fault on the east.
Within the mine area, three sets of high angle normal faults are recognized. In order of oldest to youngest, their attitudes are 1) N60-80W, dipping steeply north, 2) N45W to N-S, dipping in either direction from 60 degrees to vertical, 3) N40-60E, dipping 50-80 degrees either NW or SE. The third (youngest) set of faults have very minor offsets and may best be described as zones of shearing or rock shattering. Igneous dikes of intermediate composition have been emplaced along some faults.

Ore body information

  • General form irregular fingers and lenses

Controls for ore emplacement

  • High angle normal faults and their intersections apparently were channel ways for hydrothermal solutions. Most of the known orebodies occur in the upper 250 m of the Roberts Mountains Formation, principally within a unit consisting of interbedded dark gray, medium bedded, bioclastic limestone and thinly laminated, silty dolomitic limestone. A small amount of ore at the east end of the east orebody occurs in calcareous shale of the upper plate. High grades of gold probably are linked to increased permeability due to decarbonatization.The Roberts Mountains Thrust does not appear to localize ore either at the Carlin deposit or elsewhere in the district.

Comments on the geologic information

  • Five types of unoxidized ore are differentiated by Radtke (1985) on the basis of mineral content, chemical composition, and associations of the gold: 1) normal ore, 2) siliceous ore, 3) carbonaceous ore, 4) pyritic ore, and 5) arsenical ore. The hydrothermal system responsible for the formation of the Carlin deposit likely operated over a period of at least 100,000 years. Radtke (1985) favors a hot spring model in which gold was deposited at shallow levels via boiling of the hydrothermal fluid. Kuehn (1989) suggests that gold deposition occurred at much greater depths (>3 km) based on stable isotope and fluid inclusion work.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1962
Discoverer John Livermore and Robert Fulton of Newmont Exploration Co., Ltd.
Year of first production 1965
Year of last production 1987
Production years 1965-1987

Mining district

District name Lynn District Carlin Trend

Land status

Ownership category Private
Area name Elko Administrative District
Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Newmont Mining Corp.
    Year 2004

Comments on the workings information

  • The open pit mine is developed by several open pits. In later years, development and mining was by underground methods for some of the higher grade orebodies. Development drifting from the Carlin East underground mine to the new Leeville project also serves as a platform for further exploration drilling (2004).

Comments on other economic factors

  • The main Carlin Gold Mine was idled in 1987 after producing nearly 4 million ounces of gold. Total Carlin production including that from satellitic orebodies in 1988 and 1991 was 4,360,820 ounces of gold. The mine was idle in 1989, and underground development commenced in 1993. Post-1993 production figures are lumped together with the Pete and Lantern deposits. 1994-1996 production from the Carlin/Pete/Lantern deposits was 68,700 ounces of gold.
    The remaining geologic resource for the Carlin mines in 1989 was 20.8 million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.029 ounces of gold per ton. In 1990, that figure was 1.4 million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.066 ounces of gold per ton.
    In 1996, the combined Carlin/Pete/Lantern deposits had a reported proven and probable reserves of 13.7 million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.046 ounces of gold per ton, plus an additional 14.7 million tons of mineralized material grading 0.046 ounces of gold per ton.
    The Hardie Footwall deposit in 1997 had drill-indicated reserves of 1,633,459 tons of ore grading 0.476 ounces of gold per ton for a total of 777,500 contained ounces of gold.
    The Fence deposit in 2002 had a pre-mine resource of 200,000 ounces of gold.
    The Peregrine (Perry) deposit in 2002 had a pre-mine resource of 50,000 ounces of gold.
    The Pete Pit in 2003 was reported to contain 700,000 ounces of gold reserves. Crow had 100,000 ounces of gold reserves, while Castle had 30,000 ounces of gold.
    In its 2005 Annual Report , Newmont Mining Corp. announced that reserves at the Carlin Underground Operations aggregate 7,700,000 tons grading 0.490 opt Au proven+probable, and reserves at the Carlin Open Pit Operations aggregate 238,300,000 tons grading 0.043 opt Au proven+probable.

Comments on development

  • In 1907, small-scale gold placer mining began along Lynn Creek and continued intermittently to the 1980s. Also in 1907, a series of narrow auriferous quartz veins were discovered approximately 1.5 km north of the Carlin orebodies. These veins were developed as the Big Six mine, which achieved maximum production of about 500 ounces of gold between the years 1935 and 1936. The Morning Glory prospect was located during the 1920s in a quartz-barite-stibnite vein 1.5 km east of the Carlin orebodies. Gold was associated with stibnite and antimony oxide minerals along a NW-trending shear zone, but no production is recorded. Based on an exploration model developed by the USGS, Newmont Mining Corp. chose the Lynn Window for detailed exploration in 1961. Mapping and sampling along the Roberts Mountains Thrust began in the spring of 1961, followed by claim staking in October and November of that same year. Exploration drilling began in July 1962, with the first ore intercept encountered in the third drill hole in September 1962. When gold production began in May 1965, reserves of 11 million tons grading 0.3 ounces of gold per ton had been delineated. Carlin was idled in 1987 after producing nearly 4 million ounces of gold.
    Satellitic orebodies to Carlin have been and continue to be developed and mined within a few hundred meters of the original Carlin orebodies. These include the Carlin West Ore Zone, Island, Hardie Footwall, Fence, Peregrine (Perry), Pete, Castle (Castle Peak), and Crow orebodies. As of 2003, Newmont Mining Corp.'s Pete Mine is in production. Pete is a four-phase project that will eventually mine roughly 100 million tons of rock, including gold ore. Pete will be the largest of three open pits that together comprise the Pete Mine. The Pete Pit will provide near-surface oxide ore for heap leaching, although in a later phase, there will be carbonaceous ore for the roaster. The Castle Pit is oxide, and Crow Pit is refractory ore. The Pete Pit will have a life of 8 to 10 years, and contains 700,000 ounces of gold reserves. Crow has 100,000 ounces of gold reserves, while Castle has 30,000 ounces of gold.
    Development drifting from the Carlin East underground mine to the new Leeville project also serves as a platform for further exploration drilling (2004).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USBM, 1975, Mineral Industry Surveys: USBM Mercury Quarterly

  • Deposit

    Noble, L.L., Radtke, A.S., 1978, Geology of the Carlin Disseminated Replacement Gold Deposit, Nevada, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 32, p. 40-44.

  • Deposit

    Roberts, R.J., et al., 1967, Geology and Mineral Resources of Eureka County, Nevada: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 64.

  • Deposit

    radtke, A.S. and Dickinson, F.W., 1976, Structural Controls and Genesis of Carlin Type Deposits: Open-File Report 76-I-39.

  • Deposit

    US Bureau of Mines (Winnemucca) MILS No. 299, Ref. No. 3201100027, Mineral Property File 30.016.

  • Deposit

    Roberts, R.J., et al., 1971, Gold-Bearing Deposits in North-Central Nevada and Idaho: Economic Geology, v6, 14 p.

  • Deposit

    Radtke, A.S., 1985, Geology of the Carlin Ore Deposit, Nevada, USGS Professional Paper 1267.

  • Deposit

    Bakken, B., 1990, Gold Mineralization, Wall-Rock Alteration, and the Geochemical Evolution of the Hydrothermal System in the Main Orebody, Carlin Mine, Nevada, Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University.

  • Deposit

    Newmont Gold Company, Annual Report for 1990.

  • Deposit

    Ryneer, R., 1992, Economic History of the Carlin Trend, in Buffa, R. and Coyner, A., Eds., Geology and Ore Deposits of the Great Basin-Field Trip Guidebook Compendium, The Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, p. 838-843.

  • Deposit

    Lewis, P., 1992, Carlin Mine Geology, in Buffa, R. and Coyner, A., eds., Geology and Ore Deposits of the Great Basin-Field Trip Guidebook Compendium, The Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, p. 854-858.

  • Deposit

    Kuehn, C.A., 1989, Studies of Disseminated Gold Deposits near Carlin, Nevada: Evidence for Deep Geologic Settings of Ore Formation, Unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 350 p.

  • Deposit

    Roberts, R. J., 1960, Alinement of Mining Districts in North-Central Nevada: USGS Prof. Paper 400-B, Art. 9, p. B17-B19.

  • Deposit

    NBMG, 1994, MI-1993

  • Deposit

    Nevada Division of Minerals, 1994

  • 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

    Adella Harding, 10/9/2003, Elko Daily Free press article.

  • Deposit

    Christensen, O. D., Knutsen, G. C., and Ekburg, C. E., 1987, Disseminated Gold Deposits of the Carlin Trend, Eureka and Elko Counties, Nevada: Society of Mining Engineers Preprint Number 87-84, 7p.

  • Deposit

    Rocky Mountain Pay Dirt, June, 1988, p. 3a.

  • Deposit

    Newmont Gold Company, 1987, Annual Report for 1986.

  • Deposit

    Newmont Gold Company, 1988, Annual Report Form 10-K for 1987.

  • Deposit

    Newmont Gold Company, 1990, Annual Report for 1989.

  • Deposit

    Newmont Gold Company, 1992, Annual Report for 1991.

  • Deposit

    Mcfarlane, D. N., 1991, Gold Production on the Carlin Trend, in Buffa, R. and Coyner, A., eds., Geology and Ore Deposits of the Great Basin - Field Trip Guidebook Compendium, The Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, p. 841-843.

  • Deposit

    NBMG, 1994, MI-1993.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The main Carlin deposit contains four ore zones: West, Main, South Extension, and East. The west ore zone contains a tabular vein-like body, striking about N60W and dipping 60-70N. It extends horizontally for about 335 m and reaches a maximum width of 9 m. The main ore zone contains a series of irregular orebodies along a zone 914 m long trending S60W on the southwest side of Popovich Hill, as well as several large connected sheet-like orebodies trending approx. E-W for about 460 m and dipping 30-35N along the south side of the hill. The south extension ore zone occurs in extensively shattered carbonate rocks along closely spaced normal faults trending N40-50E, or at intersections of these faults with older N-S faults. The east ore zone contains two principal orebodies along a zone that begins at the south side of Popovich Hill and continues for 730 m to the northeast.
Gold values of 0.2 - 0.6 ppm are ubiquitous throughout hydrothermally altered rocks in the Popovich Formation above the orebodies hosted by Roberts Mountains Formation. No gold tellurides have been found in Carlin ores. Radtke (1985) states that gold in unoxidized ores occurs: 1) as coatings or thin films on pyrite, 2) sporadically distributed on surfaces of amorphous carbon grains, 3) in association with organic acid(s) as a gold-organic compound, 4) as native gold, 5) dispersed as particles of native gold in realgar or in solid solution in realgar, and 6) in solid solution is sparse grains of elemental arsenic. Bakken (1990) found no such gold "films" or "coatings" on pyrite. She determined that gold is present in three habits: 1) as discrete particles that vary from 50-200 angstroms in diameter that are encapsulated primarily in pyrite, but also in cinnabar and quartz, 2) as free gold particles up to 1000 angstroms in diameter that are associated with 1m illite, and 3) within as-rich pyrite, probably as a lattice component.
Age A K-AR AGE DATE OF 57.6 +/-2.5 MA FOR HYDROTHERMAL SERICITE CONTAINING AU IS TAKEN TO BE A MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE AGE FOR AU DEPOSITION.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-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.

Operator history (post-MRDS)

MRDS records operators as of each record's last update (≤ 2019). Some of the operators listed here have since changed hands or dissolved:

  • Newmont Mining Corp. — renamed to Newmont Corporation (2019)
    Renamed from Newmont Mining Corporation to Newmont Corporation in early 2020 (after the 2019 merger with Goldcorp).

Curated by qvyshift.com from publicly-reported M&A activity (SEC filings, press releases, USGS Mineral Yearbooks). Not authoritative — verify against primary sources before relying on it. The MSHA panel above is the current authoritative source for actively-permitted mines.

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.