White Peaks Mine

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10103771
MRDS ID M055032
Record type Site
Current site name White Peaks Mine
Alternate or previous names Scossa Mine, Bottle Creek Mine, Last Chance, NBMG Sample Site 2435.
Related records 10271270

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -118.31516, 41.36071 (WGS84)
Elevation 1567
Relative position 55 MILES NW OF WINNEMUCCA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Humboldt(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bottle Creek Ranch(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Jackson Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Vya(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Quinn(hydrologic unit)

Black Rock Desert(hydrologic accounting unit)

Black Rock Desert-Humboldt(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 Humboldt

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 040N 033E 07 NE Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • CENTRAL PORTION OF DISTRICT: 1/2 MILE NW OF BALDWIN MINE

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcedony Gangue
Pyrite Unknown

Alteration

  • (Local) Argillization Of Tuffs, Sandstones, Gravels

Analytical data

Result UNMINED ORE AVERAGES 2 LB. HG/TON ORE. SAMPLE 2435 OF BASIC DIKE MATERIAL FROM BASE OF DUMP AND COUNTRY ROCK RHYOLITE CONTAINS 10 % FE,3 % MG, 3 % CA, -1 % TI, 1500 PPM MN, 3 PPM AG, 30 PPM B, 1000 PPM BA, 50 PPM C-O, 50 PPM CR, 150 PPM CU, 5 PPM MO, 15 PPM NI, 30 PPM PB, 20 P-PM SC, 300 PPM SR, 500 PPM V, 30 PPM Y, 100 PPM ZR.

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 Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase
    Rock unit name Rhyolite (Extrusive);Diabase Dike
    Rock description Rhyolite (Extrusive);Diabase Dike
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase
    Rock unit name Sedimentary Rocks
    Rock description Sedimentary Rocks
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff

Nearby scientific data

(1) -118.31516, 41.36071

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Major N-Trending, Steeply Dipping Faults ; Reg.Trends: Nne
Type of structure Local
Structure description Local Shearing Along Dike Contacts; 2 Sets Of Fractures Filled With Fe-Oxides.

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N
    Dip STEEPLYE
    Thickness 6.1M
    Length 33.53M
    Width 15.24M
    Depth to top 15.24M
    Depth to bottom 50.29M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • 3 Sets Of Cinnabar-Bearing Fractures In Dike

Comments on the geologic information

  • DIKE AVERAGES 20 FEET WIDE. ORE ZONE ALONG FOOTWALL OF DIKE WAS WIDEST AND RICHEST SMALL AMOUNTS OF CINNABAR OCCUR AS IRREGULAR VEINLETS IN THE RHYOLITE OVERLYING THE DIKE. ; GEOL.DESC: DIABASE DIKE CUTS PERM - TRI ARGILLIZED TUFFS, SANDSTONES, AND FINE GRAVELS. RHYOLITE IS POST - DIKE

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1936
Discoverer James And Arnold Scossa
Year of first production 1938
Production years 1939-1940, 1946-1947

Mining district

District name Bottle Creek District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner J. Etchart
    First year 1954
  • Type Owner
    Owner Scossa Brothers. Nassau Co.
    Home office Reno, Nv ?
    First year 1984

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • DIABASE DIKE AVERAGES 20 FT IN WIDTH AND IS REPORTED TO CONTAIN ABOUT 2 LB HG PER TON
  • ITEM 1 513 FL IN 2.6 LB ORE DISCOVERED 1952.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Length 198.12M
    Overall depth 50.29M

Comments on the workings information

  • SHAFT, DRIFTS AT SEVERAL LEVELS.IN 1984, VERTICAL SHAFT, PARTLY OPEN, MAYBE 100+ FT DEEP. STOPE COMES TO SURFACE NORTH OF SHAFT AND PROBABLY TAKES- OFF FROM SHAFT. HEADFRAME LYING ON GROUND. ADIT BELOW SHAFT A-ND APPARENTLY CONNECTED TO IT. REMAINS OF ORE BIN AND RETORT C-OMPLEX EAST OF SHAFT. ALSO SEVERAL CUTS, TRENCHES, AND A PIT O-N WEST SIDE OF KNOB ON WHICH SHAFT IS LOCATED.

Comments on development

  • 10 TON ROTARY (1943)

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ROBERTS, R.J., 1940, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF THE BOTTLE CREEK DISTRICT, HUMBOLDT CO, NEV; USGS. BULL 922A

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E.H., AND PHOENIX, D.A., 1944, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN NEVADA; NEV. BUREAU OF MINES BULL. 41

  • Deposit

    WILLDEN, R., 1964, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF HUMBOLDT CO; NEV; NEV. BUREAU OF MINES, BULL 59.

  • Deposit

    BENSON, W.T., 1956, INVESTIGATION OF MERCURY DEPOSITS IN NEVADA AND IN MALHEUR CO. ORE: U.S.B.M. REPT. OF INV. 5285.

  • Deposit

    JONES, R. B., 1984, NBMG FIELD EXAMINATION, 9-14-84.

  • Production

    USBM UNPUB DATA

  • Reserve-Resource

    BAILEY AND PHOENIX

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE WHITE PEAK CLAIMS, TOGETHER WITH THE RED ORE CLAIMS, WERE THE FIRST TO BE STAKED IN THE DISTRICT. THEY WERE DISCOVERED BY JAMES AND ARNOLD SCOSSA IN 1936. THE FULTON QUICKSILVER CO. DEVELOPED A 112-FT SHAFT AND SOME DRIFTS IN 1937, AND INSTALLED A 20-TON ROTARY FURNACE, BUT TREATED NO ORE. IN 1938. SOME ORE WAS TREATED BY THE SCOSSA BROTHERS. IN 1940, THE WHITE PEAKS MINING CO. PRODUCED 263 FLASKS, AND IN 1942 J.O. GREENAN STRUCK RICH ORE IN THE FOOTWALL OF A DIKE AND RECOVERED 343 FLASKS. THE PROPERTY WAS IDLE IN MID-1943. IN LATE 1954, THE PROPERTY WAS LEASED TO J. ETCHART, WHO BEGAN TO DEWATER THE SHAFT. WORKINGS CONSIST OF A 165-FT. VERTICAL SHAFT WITH LEVELS AT 62, 112, AND 165 FT, WITH UNDERGROUND WORKINGS TOTALLING 650 FT. IN LENGTH. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV
Deposit ORE DEPOSITION OCCURS IN DIABASE DIKE AND IN WALL ROCK ABOVE 112 FT LEVEL

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1973 Bergquist, Joel R. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-JUL-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.

External references

Authoritative Nevada resources

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