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Borealis Mine

Producer in Mineral county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Zinc, Copper
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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. Production statistics
  20. Reserves and resources
  21. Workings at the site
  22. Links to other databases
  23. Bibliographic references
  24. General comments
  25. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10037638
MRDS ID M035782
Record type Site
Current site name Borealis Mine
Related records 10310350

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -118.75957, 38.38325 (WGS84)
Elevation 2207
Relative position WEST FLANK OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION WASSUK RANGE ABOUT 3 MILES DUE SOUTH OF LUCKY BOY PASS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Mineral(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Corey Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Excelsior Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Walker Lake(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

East Walker(hydrologic unit)

Walker(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Lahontan(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 Mineral

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 006N 029E 16,17 Nevada

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Alunite Gangue
Barite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Kaolinite Gangue
Montmorillonite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Pervasive Silicification, Alunitization, Kaolinization.

Analytical data

Result ORE AVERAGES 0.1 OZ/T AU AND 0.5 OZ/T AG. ORE-ZONE CONTAINS 1-3 PPM AU
Result 1-30PPM AG
Result 40-80 PPM CU, PB AND SB
Result 30-150 PPM AS, 3-5 PPM HG. PERIPHERAL ORE ZONEROCKS CONTAIN 3-10 PPM AU
Result 10-40 PPM AG AND CU
Result VALUES OF 600 TO 1000 PPM FOR SB AND PB, 500 PPM AS AND OVER 5 PPM HG.

Mineral occurrence model information

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) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -118.75957, 38.38325
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Reg.Struct: Maj. Reg. Trends (Walker Lane Shear Zone; Borealis Trend).
Type of structure Local
Structure description Ne-Trending Faults With Subordinate W-S And E-W Striking Structures.

Ore body information

  • Strike N 40 E
    Dip NEAR 90

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ne-Trending Structures, Fracturing, Hot Springs ?; Intersection Of 3 Fault Systems.

Comments on the geologic information

  • ALUNITE VEINING AT DEPTH.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1935

Mining district

District name Lucky Boy District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Echo Bay
    First year 1988

Production statistics

  • Year 1987
    Period 1981-1987
    Material ORE AU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.12 Oz Au/Ton (From Peripheral Deposits)
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Gold Gold 3g/mt
  • Year 1987
    Period 1981-1987
    Material ORE AU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.12 Oz Au/Ton
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Gold Gold 3g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • SECOND PRODUCTION FIGURE IS FOR THE PERIPHERAL DEPOSITS AT JAIME'S RIDGE AND NORTH CERRO DURO.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1980
    Total resources 1133000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.258 g/mt Gold Major 1980
    Silver Ag 17.506 g/mt Silver Minor 1980
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1981
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.258 g/mt Gold Major 1981
    Silver Ag 17.506 g/mt Silver Minor 1981

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • NBMG DISTRICT FILE 200, PRESS CLIPPINGS

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 60.96M
    Overall length 457.2M
    Overall width 304.8M

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN PITS NOW, WITH OLDER UNDERGROUND WORKINGS

Comments on development

  • BOREALIS WAS MINED IN THE EARLY 1900'S AND INTERMITTENTLY THROUGH THE 1930'S. HOUSTON OIL AND MINERALS (LATER BOUGHT OUT BY TENNECO) ANNOUNCED PLANS FORTHE OPEN-PIT OPERATION IN 1980 AND BEGAN MINING IN 1981, CONTINUING THROUGH THE PRESSNT (1988). FIRST POUR WAS IN LATE 1981. ECHO BAY PURCHASED BOREALIS ALONG WITH MANHATTAN AND MCCOY FROM TENNECO IN 1986.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    REID, R. F., JR., 1984, THE GEOLOGY OF THE BOREALIS DEPOSIT: GSA ABSTRACTS WITH PROGRAMS, 97TH ANN MTG, RENO, NV.

  • Deposit

    NBMG MINING DISTRICT FILE 200, ITEMS 8, 9, PRESS CLIPPINGS.

  • Deposit

    TOOKER, E.W., 19?, IN USGS BULL 1646.

  • Deposit

    STRACHAN, D.G., 19?, GEOLOGIC DISCUSSION OF THE BOREALIS GOLD DEPOSIT, MINERAL CO., NEVADA, IN USGS BULL 1646.

  • Deposit

    BULK-MINEABLE PRECIOUS METALS SYMPOSIUM, 1987, FIELD TRIP GUIDEBOOK.

  • Deposit

    NBMG, 1994, MI-1993

  • Production

    GSN SYMPOSIUM FIELD TRIP GUIDEBOOK, 1987. NBMG MI-1993

  • Reserve-Resource

    PRESS CLIPPINGS, NBMG FILE 200.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit OREBODY IS LOCALIZED SOUTH OF A SPORADICALLY MINERALIZED NE-TRENDING FAULT ZONE. PYROCLASTIC BRECCIA HOST IS PERVASIVELY SILICIFIED BY HYDROTHERMAL QUARTZ AND POTASSIUM FELDSPAR WITH ALUNITE AND BARITE. GOLD MINERALIZATION TERMINATES ABRUPTLY ALONG THE GENTLY NW-DIPPING CONTACT WITH UNDERLYING ANDESITIC FLOW ROCKS. A STRONGLY ACID-LEACHED ZONE HIGH IN AG VALVES IS DEVELOPED BELOW THIS CONTACT. THE INTENSELY BRECCIATED ACID-LEACHED ZONE CONTAINS PODS, STRINGERS AND STOCKWORK VEINLETS OF OXIDIZED QUARTZ-SULFIDE IN A POWDERY BLEACHED, SILICEOUS MATRIX. INTENSE ACID LEACHING (CHARACTERIZEDBY QUARTZ, TIOZ, CLINOCHLORE, BARITE, JAROSITE/ALUNITE) GRADES OUTWARD TO MODERATE ARGILLIC ALTERATION (KAOLIN, MONTMORILLONITE). NE-TRENDING SMALL MINERALIZED PODS ASSOCIATED WITH INTENSE ACID LEACHING OCCUR AS STRUCTURALLY CONTROLLED REPLACEMENTS UNDERNEATH AND TO THE SOUTH OFTHE MAIN ORE BODY. HOT SPRING VENT ORE.
Deposit Discovery Year: 1930'S?

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1979 Fiebelkorn, J. B. (Stewart, J. H.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 06-NOV-1992 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology CHECKED AND MODIFIED ROCK TYPE, ROCK UNIT AND AGES FIELDS.
Editor 01-SEP-1994 Mosier, Dan U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusActive since 10/01/2013
MSHA mine ID2601655
Mine name (MSHA)Borealis Mine
Current operatorBorealis Mining Company, LLC
Current controller (parent)Andreas Steckenborn; Kelly Malcolm
Mine typeSurface (Metal / non-metal)

Inferred by coordinate + name similarity (1055 m, 1.00 match). Confirm against MSHA if precision matters — non-USGS-curated cross-references may occasionally point at a neighbouring mine.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

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.