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Royal Peacock Mine

Past Producer in Humboldt county in Nevada, United States with commodity Gemstone
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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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10045027
MRDS ID M232679
Record type Site
Current site name Royal Peacock Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -119.08602, 41.78765 (WGS84)
Elevation 1585
Relative position 8 MILES SW OF HGWY 140 ON VIRGIN VALLEY RD.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Humboldt(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Virgin Valley(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Vya(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)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Humboldt

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 045N 026E 17,18,19,30 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • UTM COORDINATES ARE GIVEN FOR THE MAIN WORKINGS. OTHER WORKINGS AND CLAIMS EXTEND TO 1 1/2 MILES NORTH OF HERE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gemstone Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SEVERAL 100'S OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH. OPALS INC. PRODUCED 800 LB. OF OPAL IN 1970, 780 LB. IN 1971, AND AN UNKNOWN TOTAL IN 1972 WHICH INCLUDED ONE RICH POCKET WHICH SOLD FOR MORE THAN $90,000 WHOLESALE. IN 1973, 500 LB. WERE PRODUCED. THE ROYAL PEACOCK OPAL, WEIGHING 191 CARATS, WAS FOUND IN 1970, AND MAY BE WORTH $250,000. THE HIGHER-QUALITY OPALS WERE PURCHASED BY BEVERLY HILLS GEMS. APROX. ONE PERCENT OF THE OPAL MINED WAS CLASSIFIED AS PRECIOUS OPAL, AND IT SOLD FROM $250 TO $500/CARAT, WHOLESALE. IN 1974, WILSON'S TOTAL PRODUCTION WAS 40 LB. OPAL, OF WHICH 6 LB. WAS PRECIOUS.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Opal Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -119.08602, 41.78765
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form BLANKET
    Strike NW
    Dip 2-4 NE
    Thickness 1.98M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Volcanogenic Sed. Strata-(Bentonite Beds)

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE OPAL-BEARING HORIZON IS GREENISH BENTONITE CONTAINING PODS OF ASH, RHYOLITE PEBBLES, PETRIFIED WOOD AND OPAL; THE HORIZON IS UP TO 6 1/2 FT. THICK. THE WATER CONTENT OF THE MINED OPAL INCREASED WESTWARD FROM THE ROYAL PEACOCK NO. 1 TO THE NORTHERN LIGHT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1920

Mining district

District name Virgin Valley District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Wilson, Harry W.
    First year 1978

Comments on the production information

  • HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PRECIOUS OPAL PRODUCED, INCLUDING THE 191-CARAT ROYAL PEACOCK OPAL (1970).

Comments on the workings information

  • CUTS, PITS, TRENCHES, MANY OF WHICH HAVE OBLITERATED EARLY UNDERGROUND WORKINGS DATING BACK TO THE 'TEENS AND EARLY 1920'S.

Reference information

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DURING THE 1920'S AND 1930'S, MR. RHINEHART AND DAN ARACHEVALETA OWNED THESE CLAIMS: KELLY, SKAJWM, ROYAL PEACOCK NOS. 1 & 2, NORTHERN LIGHT, PEACOCK NOS. 2-4, PHANTOM, LITTLE PEBBLE, ANGEL NOS. 1,2, STARFIRE, RED BALL, YELLOW BALL, STAR BRIGHT, BLUE BALL. F.H. LOCHEED AND M. FOSTER RELOCATED THE CLAIMS IN 1937. MR. WILSON PURCHASED THE GROUP IN 1942, AND IN 1968 THE GROUP WAS LEASED BY W.J. KELLEY, WHO FORMED OPALS INC., AND, WITH THE HELP OF A. CARLSON, DISCOVERED A METHOD OF STABILIZING VIRGIN VALLEY OPAL. OPALS INC. LAST WORKED THE CLAIMS IN 1973, AFTER WHICH THE COMPANY WAS BOUGHT BY H.W. WILSON IN 1974, WHO PRODUCED A SMALL AMOUNT OF OPAL THAT YEAR. IN 1975, HE STRIPPED OVERBURDEN IN PREPARATION FOR MORE PRODUCTION IN 1976. MOST PRODUCTION THROUGH 1972 WAS FROM THE ROYAL PEACOCK NO'S 1 & 2 AND THEREAFTER FROM THE NORTHERN LIGHT, BOTH IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE CLAIM GROUP IN SECTIONS 19 AND 30. DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN BY SEVEN LARGE CUTS, SMALLER PITS AND TRENCHES, SOME
Deposit OF WHICH HAVE OBLITERATED ADITS WHICH DATED BACK TO THE 'TEENS AND EARLY 1920'S. ; INFO.SRC : 2 UNPUB REPT
Deposit BENTONITIC ASH-BED

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1981 La Pointe, D.D. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-MAY-1987 La Pointe, D.D. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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.