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Goldbanks Quicksilver Mine

Past Producer in Pershing county in Nevada, United States with commodity Mercury
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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. 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. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10042634
MRDS ID M060491
Record type Site
Current site name Goldbanks Quicksilver Mine
Alternate or previous names Redman Group, Gbh Group, NBMG Sample Site 2361
Related records 10222179, 10310549

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.67568, 40.47684 (WGS84)
Elevation 1719
Relative position APPROXIMATELY 34 MILES SOUTH OF WINNEMUCCA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pershing(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Goldbanks Hills(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fish Creek Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Dixie Valley(hydrologic unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(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 Pershing

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 030N 038E 14 SE OF NW Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • EAST EDGE OF THE GOLDBANKS HILLS, IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF SQUAW BUTTE. SHOWN AS "QUICK SILVER MINE" ON GOLDBANKS HILLS (1990) TOPOGRAPHIC MAP.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Chalcedony Gangue
Opal Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification (Opalite)

Analytical data

Result GRAB SAMPLE OF SILICIFIED AND OPALIZED MATERIAL COLLECTED FROM SOUTH PIT CONTAINS 0.05 % FE
Result 0.03 % MG
Result 0.05 % CA
Result 0.7 % TI
Result 15 PPM MN
Result 20 PPM B
Result 500 PPM BA
Result 15 PPM CR
Result 50 PPM CU
Result 5 PPM NI
Result 5 PPM SC
Result 15 PPM V
Result AND 200 PPM ZR. IN GENERAL, ORE RAN TO 40 LB/TON
Result 10-18 LB ORE.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 177
USGS model code 27a
Deposit model name Hot-spring Hg

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Dip 0
    Thickness 3.05M
    Length 91.44M
    Width 30.48M
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Silicification Of Ash Flows And Breccia

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE PROTOLITH OF THE OPALITE APPEARS TO BE THE TUFFACEOUS SANDSTONE AND CONGLOMERATES OR BRECCIA, WITH THE BRECCIA FRAGMENTS COMMONLY CHERT OR QUARTZITE. NO SILICEOUS SPRING SINTER WAS OBSERVED. THE OPALIZED UNIT IS REPORTED TO BE OVERLAIN BY UNALTERED (12M-15M YEAR OLD) BASALT. (GARSIDE ANDCHILLING).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1913
Year of first production 1913
Production years 1913-1914; 1916-1917; 1934; 1937-1942; 1944-1947

Mining district

District name Goldbanks District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Bradley Mining Co.
    First year 1943
  • Type Owner
    Owner Star City Mines, Ltd.
    First year 1943
  • Type Owner
    Owner Bear Creek Mining Co.
    First year 1943

Comments on the production information

  • MOST PRODUCTIVE PERIOD WAS 1960S.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Unknown
    Area 0.241HA
    Overall depth 12.19M
    Overall length 83.82M
    Overall width 15.24M

Comments on the workings information

  • TWO SMALL OPEN PITS; BULLDOZER CUTS, AND DIAMOND DRILL HOLES.

Comments on development

  • FIRST DEVELOPED BY NEVADA QUICKSILVER CO. AND OPERATED AS THE GOLDBANKS QUICKSILVER CO., IT PRODUCED MERCURY FROM A BANK OF 15 INCLINED-PIPE RETORTS AND A LARGE, D-RETORT. A NEW HERRESHOFF FURNACE INSTALLED IN 1915 PRODUCED FOR 2 YEARS WHEN IT WAS PARTIALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE. IDLE UNTIL 1934, THEN SPORATICALLY LEASED UNTIL 1937 WHEN MELVIN MCCOY LEASED IT THROUGH 1941; WHEN IT WAS TAKEN OVER BY BRADLEY MINING CO. WHICH COMPLETED CONSIDERABLE DEVELOPMENT AND STRIPPING BUT SHIPPED LITTLE ORE THROUGH 1947. REOPENED IN 1956 BY GOLDBANKS MERCURY CO. WHICH PRODUCED LITTLE MERCURY FROM A 40-TON ROTARY FURNACE. CLOSED UNTIL 1966 WHEN IT WAS REOPENED BY STAR CITY MINES LTD., A SUBSIDARY OF TRIANGLE INDUSTRIES INC. OF NEW JERSEY. IT OPERATED UNTIL 1970. STAKING IN THE EARLY 1980S SUGGESTS THAT THE AREA IS BELIEVED TO HAVE SOME GOLD OR PERHAPS URANIUM POTENTIAL (GARSIDE).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Analytical Data

    GARSIDE (1984)

  • Deposit

    JOHNSON, M.G., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF PERSHING COUNTY NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 89, P. 57.

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E.H., AND PHOENIX, D.A., 1944, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 41.

  • Deposit

    DREYER, R.M., 1940, GOLDBANKS MINING DISTRICT, PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA: NBMG BULL 33.

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E. H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES.

  • Deposit

    STAFF, 1969, AN EXPANSION PROGRAM UNDERTAKEN BY STAR CITY MINES LTD.: ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, V. 120, NO. 6, PP 277-79.

  • Deposit

    GARSIDE, L.J., AND SCHILLING, J.H., 1979, THERMAL WATERS OF NEVADA: NBMG BULL. 91.

  • Deposit

    GARSIDE, L.J., 1984, GOLDBANKS QUICKSILVER MINE-FIELD EXAMINATION AND SAMPLE ANALYSIS, PERSHING COUNTY, GOLDBANKS DISTRICT: NBMG UNPUBLISHED (TINGLEY) FILE.

  • Deposit

    STAFF, 1965, MERCURY POTENTIAL OF THE UNITED STATES: USBM INFORMATION CIRCULAR 8252, P. 260-261.

  • Production

    JOHNSON (1977); GARSIDE (1984)

  • Reserve-Resource

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, 1969.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MOST OF THE CINNABAR IS DISSEMINATED IN TWO TABULAR OPALITE ZONES LYING PARALLEL TO THE BEDDING OF NEARLY FLAT-LYING VOLCANIC ROCKS.THE OPALITE BLANKET IS EXPOSED FOR SEVERAL MILES, BUT IS PRODUCTIVE IN AN AREA LESS THAN 1 SQUARE MILE. MUCH OF THE OPALITE IS CHALCEDONY, BUT OPAL WAS COLLECTED IN A SAMPLE FROM THE SOUTH PIT. VERY SPARSE CINNABAR WAS OBSERVED ON FRESHLY BROKEN PIECES, AND COATS FRAGMENTS AND LINES FRACTURES IN CHALCEDONIC BRECCIA.
Deposit THIS RECORD HAS BEEN MERGED WITH M055018, WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1973 Johnson, Maureen G. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-NOV-1973 Bergquist, Joel R. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-1980 Royse, Sue E. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-APR-1993 Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-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

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.