Green Springs Mine

Producer in White Pine county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver
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. Alteration
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  19. Reserves and resources
  20. Workings at the site
  21. Links to other databases
  22. Bibliographic references
  23. General comments
  24. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10047582
MRDS ID M242958
Record type Site
Current site name Green Springs Mine
Alternate or previous names C, D, And North C Orebodies
Related records 10310555

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -115.55449, 39.14132 (WGS84)
Elevation 2006
Relative position ON WEST SLOPE OF WHITE PINE RANGE, 35 MILES WEST OF ELY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

White Pine(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mount Hamilton(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Mount Hamilton(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ely(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Hot Creek-Railroad Valleys(hydrologic unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada White Pine

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 014N 057E 21,22,27,28 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1972)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • LIMONITE, SCORODITE, STIBICONITE, BARITE, JAROSITE(?), PYRITE, TRACE SPHALERITE AND GALENA ARE RECOGNIZED AT GREEN SPRINGS.

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification And Argillization. Silicification In The Form Of Bedding- Controlled Jasperoids Is On A District Scale And Is Not A Guide To The Proximity Of Ore. Argillization Is Structurally Controlled And Is Widespread In Both Productive And Unmineralized Areas. Within The Ore Zones, Gold Grades Are Independent Of The Intensity Of Argillization. Argillization Is Comprised Of 7a-Halloysite, Kaolinite, And Sericite. Argillization Postdates Silicification.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 172
USGS model code 26a
Deposit model name Carbonate-hosted Au-Ag
Mark3 model number 15

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Chainman Shale
    Rock description Chainman Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Mississippian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Mississippian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -115.55449, 39.14132

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description North-Trending Folds. Green Springs Thrust Fault.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Three Prominent Sets Of Nearly Vertical Faults Have Been Mapped: North-Northeast, East-Northeast, And Northwest. The North-Northeast Set Parallels The Present Range Front, A Conspicuous Topographic Lineament Which Corresponds To The Main Ore Trend, The Major Fold Axes, And The Bonanza Silver Veins Of The Treasure Hill Mine. Norhteast- And Northwest- Striking Faults Are Both Pre- And Post-Ore. Offsets On These Faults Generally Measure Only A Few Meters.

Ore body information

  • Length 2133.6M
    Depth to top 24.38M
    Depth to bottom 38.1M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • The North -Northeast Alignment Of Ore Zones Is Believed To Be Related To A Deep, Unrecognized "Feeder Fault", Perhaps One Coincident With The Synclinal Axis Just West Of The Ore Zones. This Is Conjectural As No Single Major Fault System Connecting The Individual Ore Shoots Has Been Identified.

Comments on the geologic information

  • MAJORITY OF ORE HOSTED BY LOWER LIMESTONE UNIT OF CHAINMAN SHALE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1986
Discoverer U. S. Minerals Exploration, Inc. (Usmx)
Year of first production 1988
Production years 1988-1990

Mining district

District name White Pine District? (Closest)

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner U.S. Minerals Exploration, Inc.

Production statistics

  • Year 1990
    Period 1988-1990
    Material ORE-AU
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^2.1 Grams/Tonne
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Gold Gold 2g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • RESERVES DEPLETED 6/90.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1987
    Total resources 725000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 1.27 g/mt Gold Major 1987

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVES ARE POSSIBLY GREATER AS THERE 2 OTHER MINERALIZED AREAS NOT YET FULLY EXPLORED.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall depth 30M
    Overall length 274.32M
    Overall width 70M

Comments on the workings information

  • 3 OPEN PITS, HEAP LEACH FACILITY ALL COVERING APPROXIMATELY 115 ACRES. THE DIMENSIONS GIVEN ABOVE ARE FOR THE C PIT, THE LARGEST AT GREEN SPRINGS.

Comments on development

  • CLAIMS STAKED IN 1979 BY USMX, COVERING A 4 KM LONG NORTH-TRENDING BAND OF JASPEROIDS. FROM 1980 TO 1986, THE PROPERTY WAS EXPLORED BY FIVE JOINT VENTURE PARTNERS USING THE PILOT FORMATION "ALLIGATOR RIDGE" DEPOSIT MODEL. APPROXIMATELY 75 HOLES WERE DRILLED DURING THIS PERIOD, IN ADDITION TO GEOLOGIC MAPPING (1:4800) AND GRID SOIL AND ROCK GEOCHEMISTRY. RESULTS WERE DISCOURAGING AND THE JOINT VENTURE WAS TERMINATED. IN 1986, USMX ELECTED TO EXPLORE THE PROPERTY WITHOUT JOINT VENTURE PARTNERS. THE PILOT FORMATION-HOSTED MODEL WAS ABANDONED IN FAVOR OF A CHAINMAN FORMATION-HOSTED MODEL. THE FOURTH HOLE OF THE JUNE, 1986 DRILLING PROGRAM INTERSECTED 21 METERS OF 1.9 GRAMS PER TON GOLD STARTING AT A DEPTH OF 3 METERS BELOW THE SURFACE. OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, APPROXIMATELY 350 HOLES WERE DRILLED ON A 15 BY 30 METER GRID, WHICH DELINEATED TWO OREBODIES AND IDENTIFIED 3 OTHER MINERALIZED ZONES. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL EXPLORATION TOOL AT GREEN SPRINGS HAS BEEN GRID SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY. ; TOTAL$:
  • 4.0 ; ECON.COM: STRIP RATIO OF 2.7:1. CUTOFF GRADE OF 0.7 GRAMS/TON. 80% RECOVERY USING HEAP LEACH TECHNOLOGY. DORE IS 84% AU, 14% AG. MINING COMPLETED 6/90; HEAP LEACHING CONTINUED THROUGH 1990 AND INTO 1991.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    NBMG MINING DISTRICT FILE 344, NUMEROUS PRESS CLIPPINGS.

  • Deposit

    SCOPING DOCUMENT FOR US MINERALS EXPLORATION CO.'S PROPOSED GREEN SPRINGS MINE DEVELOPMENT, NBMG FILE WHITE PINE GENERAL, ITEM 63, 1987.

  • Deposit

    WILSON, W.R., COX, J.W., LANCE, D.L., 1991, GEOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE GREEN SPRINGS GOLD MINE, WHITE PINE COUNTY, NEVADA, IN RAINES, G.L., ET AL, EDS., GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT BASIN, THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA, RENO, P. 687-700.

  • Deposit

    NBMG, 1994, MI-1993

  • Production

    WILSON, W.R., COX, J.W., LANCE, D.L., 1991, GEOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE GREEN SPRINGS GOLD MINE, WHITE PINE COUNTY, NEVADA, IN RAINES, G.L., ET AL, EDS., GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT BASIN, THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEVADA, RENO, P. 687-700. NBMG, 1990, THE NEVADA MINERAL INDUSTRY 1990, NBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION MI-1990, P. 25 NBMG MI-1993

  • Reserve-Resource

    NBMG MI-1987

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 4 SEPARATE MINERALIZED ZONES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-1988 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-DEC-1991 Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1994 Li, Zhiping (Moyer, Lorre A.) 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.