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Bluff Mine

Occurrence in Esmeralda county in Nevada, United States with commodities Mercury, Gold, Silver
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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. 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. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10047228
MRDS ID M242496
Record type Site
Current site name Bluff Mine
Alternate or previous names NBMG Sample Sites 1255, 1966

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -118.02676, 37.733 (WGS84)
Elevation 1646
Relative position 4 MILES NE OF TOWN OF DYER-LAST 2 MILES IS A WASHED ROAD.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Esmeralda(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Dyer(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Benton Range(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Mariposa(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Fish Lake-Soda Spring Valleys(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 Esmeralda

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 002S 036E 30 PROJECTED FROM WEST SW Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • AT FOOT OF SILVER PEAK MOUNTAINS, ABOUT 3 MILES ENE OF THE CIRCLE L(CORD) RANCH ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1972)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary
Gold Primary
Silver Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • CINNABAR IS PINKISH AND FINE-GRAINED

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification; Gossan-Like Alteration

Analytical data

Result ASSAY ACROSS BEST SHEAR ZONE MATERIAL ASSAYED 4.4 LB/TON HG
Result AVERAGE PROBABLY 1 LB HG/TON (1964). STREAM SEDIMENT SAMPLES CONTIGUOUS WITH AND NORTH OF THE MINE (SS-129 AND SS-132) WERE ANOMALOUS IN W, HG AND TO A LESSER EXTENT, PB AND CU. SAMPLE 1255 CONTAINED 15% FE, 0.1% MG, 0.1% CA, 0.03% TI, 200 PPM MN, 5 PPM AG, 50 PPM BA, 5 PPM CO, 30 PPM CR, 20 PPM CU, 10 PPM NI, 1000 PPM PB, 300 PPM V.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -118.02676, 37.733
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Highly Contorted Limestone

Ore body information

  • Strike N 40 E; ALSO N 70 W STRUCTURE
    Dip 50 SE; 70 SW
    Thickness 0.61M
    Width 15.24M
  • Strike N 40 E; ALSO N 70 W STRUCTURE
    Dip 50 SE; 70 SW

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Intersecting Faults: One N 40 W, 60 Sw; One N 70 W, Sw Dip; Shear Zone

Comments on the geologic information

  • POROUS TO MASSIVE LIMONITE AFTER PYRITE IN DRIFT, WITH FAIRLY COMMON CINNABAR. "BLUFF" TO NE OF MINE IS COMPOSED OF MASSIVE BLEACHED LIMESTONE (MARBLE), UNDERLAIN BY A SHALE UNIT

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Dyer District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Wright, Mr.
    Home office Dyer, Nv
    First year 1964

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 15.24M
    Overall depth 13.72M

Comments on the workings information

  • ONE INCLINED SHAFT BEARING DUE S, INCLINED AT 55 DEGREES, 45 FT DEEP. AT ABOUT 40-FT DEPTH, THERE IS 50 FT OF LEVEL WORKINGS TO THE EAST. SEVERAL OLD HAND-DUG PITS AND DOZER CUTS. EXTENSIVE BULLDOZER WORK.

Comments on development

  • DOZER WORK IN LAST 10-15 YEARS HAS CUT HILL PERPENDICULAR TO THE STRUCTURE. SEVERAL TRENCHES BOTH ACROSS AND ALONG THE SILICIFIED ZONE HAVE OBSCURED GEOLOGIC RELATIONS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BAKER, ART III, 1964, UNPUBLISHED SCOUTING REPORT ON THE BLUFF MINE; NBMG FILE 88, ITEM 1.

  • Deposit

    TINGLEY, J.V., 1982, FIELD EXAMINATION OF 16 AUGUST 1982.

  • Deposit

    QUADE, JACK, 1984, FIELD EXAMINATION OF 20 APRIL 1984.

  • Deposit

    NBMG OFR 83-12, 1983

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit FAULT INTERSECTION WITH STRONG LIMONITE AND SILICIFICATION FOR ABOUT 100 FT FROM THE INTERSECTION, BOTH ALONG FAULTS AND BETWEEN THEM. SHEAR ZONE WITH POROUS TO MASSIVE LIMONITE AFTER PYRITE, CONTAINING CINNABAR. CINNABAR ALSO OCCURS AS SMALL PATCHY FILMS AND LOW-GRADE DISSEMINATIONS

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1985 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.

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.