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Easter Project

Past Producer in Lincoln county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Iron, Manganese, 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. 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 10310470
MRDS ID M241676
Record type Site
Current site name Easter Project
Alternate or previous names Taylor Mine, Easter Mine, Eastern Mine, Pioche-Xray Mining & Milling Co. property, NBMG Sample Site 579
Related records 10125211, 10046506

Comments on the site identification

  • This record is a new record for the current Easter Project that includes all material in earlier MRDS record M241676 as well as additional new information.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -114.63306, 37.51275 (WGS84)
Elevation 1660
Relative position The mine area is located on the east side of the Delamar Mountains about 10 airmiles southwest of Caliente.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lincoln(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Chokecherry Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Caliente(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Caliente(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Meadow Valley Wash(hydrologic unit)

Lower Colorado-Lake Mead(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Colorado-Lake Mead(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(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 Lincoln

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 005S 066E 18 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The mine area is accessible by poor jeep trail from Meadow Valley Wash.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Iron Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary
Mercury Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: gold, cinnabar
  • Gangue Materials: quartz, iron and manganese oxides, adularia

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Cinnabar Ore
Iron Ore
Adularia Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Alteration consists of silicification, argillization, and propylitization

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 150
USGS model code 25c
Deposit model name Epithermal vein, Comstock
Mark3 model number 16
Model code 104
USGS model code 25a
Deposit model name Hot-spring Au-Ag
Mark3 model number 45

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Caliente Caldron Complex
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary

Nearby scientific data

(1) -114.63306, 37.51275
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Local structures evident at the property are a shear zone as well as cross-faulting and fractures with slight silicification and mineralization at intersections with main fault zone.

Ore body information

  • General form tabular

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore is controlled by a brecciated shear zone along a normal fault which curves from NW to nearly E-W.

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 1912
Year of first production 1912
Year of last production 1930

Mining district

District name Delamar (Ferguson) District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Las Vegas BLM-administration district

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Beta Minerals
    Year 2005

Comments on the workings information

  • The property was developed by a shaft, several adits, prospect pits, and stopes in one area on the vein structure. More recent drill hole collars and drill core present were present at the time of examination in 1984; drilling had been done within past 10 years. In 1912, the property was reported to have 3 tunnels 130 feet, 48 feet and 25 feet long. Adits shown on topo map are all driven perpendicular to the vein, and all cross-cut the structure. The shaft was sunk down-dip of the vein. Water level is just a few feet below the adit level. The stream flows along the north side of the vein, and the sloping vein surface forms the steep southern wall of the canyon here.

Comments on other economic factors

  • The size of the mine workings suggests that there was significant historic production, much of which is unknown. In 1933, 38 tons of ore was mined yielding 0.95 ounces per ton in gold and 3.94 ounces per ton in silver.
    Drilling in 1994 on the main vein defined gold ore reserves of 1.5 million tons grading 0.069 ounces per ton gold. These are open-pit reserves delineated to an average depth of only 200 feet.

Comments on development

  • The property was covered by 4 full claims (in 1912) along the strike of the vein for 6750 feet. J.W. Taylor was the principal owner in 1912, and Mr. E.C.D. Marriage in 1933. Phil Dolan was the lessee in 1933-1935. The property has been the focus of renewed exploration activity by joint ventures since 1982, including work by Homestake, FMC Gold Company, Hanna Mining, Aur Resources, and Phelps Dodge Mining Company. A total of 104 drill holes have been completed on the prospect, both core holes and reverse circulation holes. Homestake Mining Company made a resource estimate in 1988 of 4 million tons at 0.056 oz/ton at a 0.02 oz/ton cutoff (224,740 oz Au), based upon 25 drill holes.
    In 1995, it was reported that five holes of a phase three drilling program had been completed at the Easter gold property by World Wide Minerals, Ltd. All the holes intersected the previously identified mineralized zone. The drill program was to continue for at least 18 holes totaling 6,000 feet. Phases one and two, conducted in 1994 on the main vein, defined gold ore reserves of 1.5 million tons grading 0.069 opt gold. These are open-pit reserves delineated to an average depth of only 200 feet.
    Geophysical surveys have revealed that the Main vein persists at least 400 feet to the west, and several strong targets were encountered.
    Beta Minerals acquired the Easter gold exploration project in 2003. In August, 2004 Beta Minerals announced completion of and assay results from their drilling program on the Easter Property. Twelve core holes totaling 4,857 feet were drilled during June and July to test gold mineralization along a strike length of 2,840 feet within the 6,500 foot long zone, and tested the mineralization to a depth of 851 vertical feet. 451 samples were submitted for gold assay. The drilling confirmed down-dip continuity of mineralization and expanded the resouce but did not produce the spectaclar results that had been anticipated.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Tingley, J.V., 1984, NBMG Field Examination on April 4, 1984.

  • Deposit

    Smith, A.M., 1933-1934, Report of a preliminary examination of the Easter Mine; NBMG District File 167, Item B.

  • Deposit

    Correspondence between J. W. Taylor and J. E. Spurr, 1912, NBMG District File 167 Item 2.

  • Deposit

    Callaghan, E., 1937, Geology of the Delamar District, Lincoln Co, Nev. Nevada Bur. of Mines vol . 31, no. 5, p. 50-58.

  • Deposit

    Tschanz, C.M. and Pampeyan, .H., 1970, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Lincoln Co. Nev. Nev. Bur. Mines Bull. 73, p. 141.

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-1994, MI-1995

  • Deposit

    Denver Mining Record, 9/6/95, 9/20/95.

  • Deposit

    Beta Minerals website: www.betaminerals.com

  • Deposit

    Snee, Lawrence W. and Rowley, Peter D. , 2000, New 40Ar/39Ar dates from the Caliente caldera complex, Nevada-Utah; at least 10 million years of Tertiary volcanism in one of the world's largest caldera complexes; Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America, vol.32, no.7, pp.461.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Brecciated, recemented vein quartz occurs along a fault zone cutting silicified rhyolite. The wallrock is laced with banded chalcedonic quartz. Wallrock adjacent to the structure is green from propylitic alteration. Within the vein, silicified breccia fragments are embedded in a matrix of chalcedonic quart with open spaces coated with acicular quartz crystals. Some lamellar quartz after calcite is present. Some quartz may have replaced original adularia crystals. There are traces of iron and manganese oxides in vein material. The 10 to15-foot thick silicified breccia zone is exposed for about 1000 feet along strike. An iron-oxide-stained zone in the immediate footwall of the structure has been stoped in one area. Richest ore was found in the farthest east portions of the vein system.
The Easter property mineralization is an epithermal quartz-adularia vein stockwork system within Tertiary volcanics of the Caliente Caldera Complex of southeastern Nevada. The Easter vein has been traced on the surface for a strike length of 6,450 feet and drill tested to a depth of 1,740 feet. The main mineralized zone is lens shaped in plan view, and is 50 to 125 feet wide in the center of the deposit, pinching to 20-25 feet wide to the east and west. The core of the deposit rises as a hillside above the surrounding country, allowing for surface mining with little or no waste stripping required. Gold mineralization is associated with silicification in the form of stockworks, fissure-filling veins and silicified volcanics. The highest grades (up to +0.50 oz/ton Au) are in the immediate hanging wall of the vein.
There is an extensive opaline sinter and argillically altered bedded tuff sequence on the eastern side of the property. Bedded hot-springs-pool opalite containing cinnabar indicates a once active geothermal system with potential for additional precious metal mineralization at depth.

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.

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Authoritative Nevada resources

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