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Chert Cliff Deposit

Prospect in Eureka county in Nevada, United States with commodity Gold
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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 10310561
Record type Site
Current site name Chert Cliff Deposit

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.29322, 39.89633 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position The Chert Cliff Property is located about 40 miles northwest of Eureka.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Eureka(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cooper Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Simpson Park Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Millett(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Pine(hydrologic unit)

Humboldt(hydrologic accounting unit)

Black Rock Desert-Humboldt(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 Eureka

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 23.5N 50E 01 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The Chert Cliff Property consists of 9 mineral claims, covering approximately 185 acres, about 40 miles northwest of Eureka.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: gold
  • Gangue Materials: jasperoid

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Host rock is pervasively silicified to jasperoid.

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 > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Siltstone
    Rock type qualifier dolomitic
    Rock unit name Webb Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Mississippian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Devils Gate Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Middle Devonian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.29322, 39.89633
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description fault
Type of structure Regional
Structure description Roberts Mountains thrust fault

Ore body information

  • General form bedded, lenticular, stratabound

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore mineralization is bedding-controlled but adjacent to a fault.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes

Mining district

District name Antelope District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Roberts Mountains Wilderness Study Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Columbus Gold Corporation
    Year 2006

Comments on the workings information

  • Exploration, drilling

Comments on other economic factors

  • In 1996, it was reported that the property contained drill-indicated 1.4 million tons of material grading 0.04 ounces of gold per ton, for a total contained 56,000 ounces of gold, with a larger resource inferred.

Comments on development

  • Gold was discovered at Chert Cliff in the mid 1960s during the initial wave of prospecting for carbonate-hosted gold deposits following recognition of the Carlin model in 1961. The most intensive work was carried out by ASARCO in the 1980s which succeeded in outlining the Chert Cliff gold deposit as presently known. The ASARCO drill program delineated a gold deposit at Chert Cliff containing approximately 1.4 million tons grading 0.04 ounces gold per ton (56,000 ounces). ASARCO held the property until at least 1996.
    The Chert Cliff deposit remains open to the west and ASARCO geologists believed it could be expanded significantly by adding additional drilling in that area. Anomalous to ore grade intercepts were also encountered in isolated drill holes north and east of the resource area but were never followed up.
    In 2006, the Chert Cliff Property is 100% owned by Columbus Gold Corporation and has been leased to privately held Platte River Gold Inc. To maintain the lease, Platte River is obligated to make escalating annual lease payments to Columbus totaling US$142,000 over the term of the lease and must pay Columbus US$100,000 in Platte River common shares. Platte River is also responsible for all maintenance payments and is required to make exploration expenditures totaling US$275,000. Columbus is entitled to net smelter return royalties on production of between 2% and 3%.

Reference information

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Geology of the claims area consists of dolomitic siltstones of the Mississippian Webb formation overling massive Devils Gate Limestone in thrust fault contact. Disseminated gold occurs in hydrothermally altered Webb siltstones and jasperoid. The mineralization is stratabound in the Webb formation, but concentrated adjacent to a feeder fault.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-2006 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

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