Wilson-Independence Mine

Producer in Lander county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Arsenic, Molybdenum
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. 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. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10046158
MRDS ID M234146
Record type Site
Current site name Wilson-Independence Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.14595, 40.52546 (WGS84)
Elevation 1631
Relative position ABOUT 15 MILES SW OF TOWN OF BATTLE MOUNTAIN

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lander(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Antler Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Winnemucca(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 Lander

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 031N 043E 08 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • ON WEST SIDE OF RIDGE WEST OF COPPER CANYON ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1972

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Arsenic Critical Secondary
Molybdenum Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cerargyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Jarosite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation, Leaching (Enrichment Of Au And Ag)

Analytical data

Result MO RANGES LESS THAN 5 TO 20 PPM.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pennsylvanian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pennsylvanian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Pumpernickel
    Rock description Pumpernickel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.14595, 40.52546

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Golconda Thrust Fault
Type of structure Local
Structure description N-S-Trending Faults

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shear Zone, Brecciation

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1938
Year of first production 1938
Plant type Leach

Mining district

District name Battle Mountain District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Silver King Industries; Apco Oil
  • Type Operator
    Owner Apco Independence Mining Co.
    ID 2600826
    Year 1975
  • Type Owner
    Owner Independence Gold-Silver Mines Inc.
    ID 2600826
    Home office Washington
    Year 1988

Production statistics

  • Year 1956
    Period 1938-1956
    Material ORE AU AG
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^50-55 Oz/Ton Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Silver Silver 1482g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • TOTAL VALUE OF ORE ABOUT $44,000, CHIEFLY FROM AU AND AG

Comments on development

  • MAIN PRODUCTION YEARS WERE 1938-1943. RECENT EXPLORATION HAS BEEN BY APCO OIL CO.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ROBERTS, R.J., AND ARNOLD, D.C., 1965; USGS Professional Paper 459-B, p. 52.

  • Deposit

    THEODORE, T.G., BLAKE, D.W., AND KRETSCHMER, E.L., 1978; NBMG REPOR T 32, P.45-48.

  • Deposit

    SOUTHERN PACIFIC CO., 1964, MINERALS FOR INDUSTRY, VOL. I - NORTHERN NEVADA & NORTHWESTERN UTAH, P. 86.

  • Deposit

    NEV. DIV. MINE INSPECTION, 1976, DIRECTORY OF NEVADA MINES ACTIVE DURING CALENDAR YEAR 1975, P. 30.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ORE CONSISTS OF LOOSELY COHERENT LIMONITIZED MATERIAL CONTAINING QUARTZ CRYSTALS AND CHERT FRAGMENTS FILLING SHEAR ZONES AND CAVES. ORE BODIES WERE ORIGINALLY MASSIVE SULPHIDES (PYRITE, ARSENOPYRITE, WHICH WERE LEACHED DURING OXIDATION, LEAVING POROUS MASSES OF OXIDE MATERIAL S.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-1980 La Pointe, D. D. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Reporter 12-JUL-1993 Gosling U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 03/28/1988
MSHA mine ID2600826
Mine name (MSHA)Independence Mine
Current operatorHarrison Mining
Current controller (parent)Earl D Harrison; Laraine Griesel
Mine typeUnderground (Metal / non-metal)

MSHA cross-reference per the original MRDS record. Mine status and operator reflect MSHA's last published Mines export (February 2025); MSHA's public bulk feed has been unavailable since, so this may be out of date. See the Mine Data Retrieval System for current status.

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

External references

Authoritative Nevada resources

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