Columbus Mine Or Prospect

Occurrence in Esmeralda county in Nevada, United States with commodity Gold
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. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10047079
MRDS ID M242327
Record type Site
Current site name Columbus Mine Or Prospect
Alternate or previous names Part of Valcalda Group

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.71482, 37.79577 (WGS84)
Elevation 2170
Relative position 5.2 AIRMILES N55W OF TOWN OF SILVER PEAK

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Esmeralda(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Silver Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Goldfield(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Goldfield(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Ralston-Stone Cabin Valleys(hydrologic unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Esmeralda

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 002S 038E 01 CENTER Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • EAST SIDE OF HEAD OF ECHO CANYON. UTM IS TO ADIT NEAR CENTER OF CLAIM ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1972

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Calcite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.71482, 37.79577

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Post-Ore Crushing

Ore body information

  • General form LENSES
    Dip FLAT
    Width 1.83M

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1865

Mining district

District name Silver Peak District (1865)

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the production information

  • THE ORE WAS MILLED IN A SMALL STAMP MILL AT VALCALDE SPRINGS

Comments on the workings information

  • SEVERAL TUNNELS, NUMEROUS SHALLOW SURFACE WORKINGS

Comments on development

  • THE COLUMBUS WAS ONE OF FOUR CLAIMS SOLD BY JOHN VALCALDA TO OROMONTE MINES CO., LTD. IN 1927. THE COMPANY'S PLANS FOR ORE TRANSPORTATION WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, AND IT IS DOUBTFUL ANY PROFIT WAS MADE IN THE VENTURE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SPURR, J.E., 1906, U.S.G.S. PROF PAPER NO. 55.

  • Deposit

    SHAMBERGER, H.A., 1976, SILVER PEAK: HISTORIC MINING CAMPS OF NEVADA SERIES, NO. 8: NEVADA HISTORICAL PRESS, CARSON CITY, NEVADA.

  • Production

    SPURR, J.E., (1906). P. 59

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit FLAT-LYING QUARTZ LENSES
Deposit PROPERTY,AND ORE WAS HAULED FROM THE VALCALDA PROPERTY THROUGH THE TUNNEL TO FEED PITTSBURG'S MILL. A FEW YEARS AFTER THE MINES HAD CLOSED DOWN IN 1915, THE VALCALDA PROPERTY WAS SOLD FOR TAXES TO J ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit Discovery Year: 1860'S
Deposit THIS AND A FEW OTHER NEARBY CLAIMS WERE FIRST LOCATED IN 1860'S, RELOCATED BY ELISWEIGER IN 1886, WHO HELD THEM FOR 4 YEARS, AND RELOCATED BY THE VALCALDA BROTHERS, (JOHN, JIM, OTIS AND ANDREW) IN ABOUT 1892. JOHN VALCALDA WORKED THE PROPERTY WITH SHALLOW CUTS FROM 1885 TO 1905 MILLING THE ORE IN A 2 STAMP MILL AND A MORTAR, MAKING ABOUT $2700. THE PROPERTY WAS OPTIONED FROM THE VALCALDA'S IN 1905 BY BILLY AND MIKE O'MEARA AND JOHN LYNCH FOR $30,000, AND THEY FORMED THE SILVER PEAK-VALCALDA GOLD MINING CO., INC. IN 1906, AT WHICH TIME THEY DROVE SEVERAL TUNNELS INTO THE FRANK VEIN AND CONSTRUCTED A MILL WHICH WAS COMPLETED IN 1907 AND RAN INTERMITTENTLY FOR A YEAR. IN 1908, SAMUEL NEWHOUSE, A SUCCESSFUL MINE OPERATOR FROM UTAH, PURCHASED CONTROL OF THE SILVER PEAK VALCALDA GOLD MINING CO. PROPERTIES AND BEGAN PLANS FOR A 200 T.P.D. MILL. IN 1909, THE VALCALDA PROPERTY WAS SOLD TO INTERESTS FRIENDLY TO THE PITTSBURG S.P.G.M. CO., AND A TUNNEL WAS BUILT TO CONNECT IT WITH THE PITTSBURG

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1981 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

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.