Defense Mine

Producer in Humboldt county in Nevada, United States with commodities Tungsten, Copper
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. Production statistics
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014338
MRDS ID D011068
Record type Site
Current site name Defense Mine
Alternate or previous names Cold Spring Mine, Cold Springs, NBMG Sample Site 2973

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -118.68795, 41.86431 (WGS84)
Elevation 1463
Relative position AT WEST END OF DISTRICT AT COLD SPRING, ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTH OF DENIO.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Humboldt(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Vicksburg Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Denio(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Vya(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Thousand-Virgin(hydrologic unit)

Black Rock Desert(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 Humboldt

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 045N 029E 13 N Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • ON WEST FLANK OF PINE FOREST RANGE. . INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1972)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Tungsten Critical Primary
Copper Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Scheelite Ore
Actinolite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Contact

Analytical data

Result SAMPLE 2973 SELECTED FROM DUMPS, EXPOSED VEIN IN LOWER ADIT AND CONTACT ZONE, CONTAINS 10 % FE, 0.5 % MG, 10 % CA, 0.1 % TI, 1500 PPM MN, 10 PPM B, 30 PPM BA, 1 PPM BE, 20 PPM CO, 15 PPM CR, 700 PPM CU, 7 PPM MO, 10 PPM NI, 20 PPM PB, 7 PPM SC, 700 PPM SR, 300 PPM V, 70 PPM W, 10 PPM Y, AND 20 PPM ZR.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 42
USGS model code 14a
Deposit model name W skarn

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Hornfels
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Slate
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Marble
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Phyllite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist > Mica Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -118.68795, 41.86431

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults Striking Ne, Dipping Steeply Nw

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Dip }
    Thickness 6.1M
    Length 25.91M
    Width 1.52M
  • General form TABULAR
    Dip }

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Igneous Contact; South Hill Fault

Comments on the geologic information

  • METAMORPHIC ROCKS ARE IN CONTACT WITH THE WEST EDGE OF A GRANITIC STOCK 8 MILES LONG AND 2.5 MILES WIDE. APLITE AND DIORITE DIKES WERE INTRUDED ALONG THE STOCK-SEDMINENTARY CONTACT. SKARN ZONE AND QUARTZ VEINS OCCUPY SOME FAULTS AND OCCURS WITH TACTITE ALONG THE CONTACT. THE METAMORPHIC ROCK IS PRIMARILY MICA SCHIST CONTAINING A FEW LAYERS OF MARBLE AND HORNFELS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1942
Discoverer C.C. Crow, G.D. Mathewson, Vern Cannon, Cecil Cannon, And Frank Cannon.

Mining district

District name Warm Springs District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Cannon Family
    Home office 820 6th Ave., Helena, Mt.
    First year 1984

Production statistics

  • Year 1971
    Period 1942-1971
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.5-2.0 % Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Wo3 Tungsten Tungsten 1wt-pct

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN PIT (GLORY HOLE); SEVERAL LARGE ADITS, 2 SHAFTS, NUMEROUS PROSPECTS, AND 500 FEET OF UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.

Comments on development

  • PROPERTY WAS LEASED FROM 1942 TO 1944 TO C.A. WAGNER AND J.P. JONES WHO MINED ABOUT 3000 TONS OF ORE WHICH WAS MILLED AT THE OLD ASHDOWN MILL ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTH. MINE WAS AGAIN ACTIVE FROM 1953 TO 1956 AND FROM 1969 TO 1971 YIELDING AN ADDITIONAL 1200 UNITS WO3. THERE WAS NO ACTIVITY AT TIME OF FIELD EXAMINATION (1984), BUT MINE WAS STILL IN FAIR CONDITION.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    QUADE, JACK, 1984, NBMG FIELD EXAMINATION REPORT AND SAMPLE ANALYSIS: NBMG UNPUBLISHED (TINGLEY) FILE.

  • Deposit

    WILLDEN, R., 1964, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY, NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 59.

  • Deposit

    STAGER, H. K. AND TINGY, J. V., 1988, TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS IN NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 105, P. 96.

  • Deposit

    STAGER, H.K., IN PREP

  • Production

    STAGER AND TINGLEY

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit TWO KINDS OF ORE BODIES HAVE BEEN MINED: TACTITE BODIES ALONG THE GRANITE-METAMORPHIC ROCK CONTACT; AND QUARTZ VEINS ALONG FAULTS. MAIN OREBODY WAS IN TACTITE AND CONSISTED OF QUARTZ, EPIDOTE, ACTINOLITE, AND SCHEELITE. SKARN REPLACED A THIN BED OF MARBLE, REMNANTS OF WHICH WERE LEFT ON THE HANGING WALL. OREBODY WAS 25 FEET LONG AT SURFACE, INCREASING TO 85 FEET ON ADIT LEVEL. 100 FEET BELOW SURFACE, OREBODY WAS 75 FEETT LONG, CUT OFF BY A FAULT AT NE END. SCHEELITE WAS ALSO MINED FROM A QUARTZ VEIN 5 FEET WIDE, ABOUT 1200 EEFT SOUTH OF THE ADIT, BUT ITS GRADE WAS ONLY A FEW TENTHS OF A PERCENT WO3. TWO SMALL ORE SHOOTS WERE MINED, REPORTED TO HAVE YIELDED ABOUT 1400 TONS ORE THAT AVERAGED ABOUT 1.0 % WO3.
Deposit THIS RECORD HAS BEEN MERGED WITH M242861, WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1984 Blaskowski, Michael J. (Elliott, James E.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAR-1987 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-APR-1993 Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1993 Humphries, S. E. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1994 Li, Zhiping (Peters, S.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

External references

Authoritative Nevada resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.