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Barrick Bullfrog Gold Mine

Producer in Nye county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper
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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. 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. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310374
MRDS ID M242413
Record type Site
Current site name Barrick Bullfrog Gold Mine
Alternate or previous names Bonanza Mountain, Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone, North Extension, Phase IV, Phase V, Polaris, Southwest Extension
Related records 10047161

Comments on the site identification

  • This new record describes specifically the most recent Bullfrog Gold Mine operated by Barrick Gold, which encompasses several older historic gold mines in the district, including M242413, M231918, and W002909, from which all pertinent material has been incorporated into this new record. The earlier records should not however be deleted from the database for historic reference.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.85395, 36.8794 (WGS84)
Relative position The Barrick-Bullfrog Mine is located about three miles west of Beatty just north of NV highway to Death Valley.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nye(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Beatty(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Beatty(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Death Valley(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Amargosa(hydrologic unit)

Northern Mojave(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northern Mojave-Mono Lake(hydrologic subregion)

California(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 Nye

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 012S 046E 10, 15, 16 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The mine is located just east of the historic ghost town of Rhyolite centered roughly between Ladd, Paradise, and Montgomery Mountains.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Lead Tertiary
Copper Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: auriferous pyrite, native gold, cerargyrite, limonite, chalcocite, galena
  • Gangue Materials: quartz, calcite, limonite, alunite

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Pyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Limonite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Galena Ore
Quartz Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Alunite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) oxidation, silicification

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 150
USGS model code 25c
Deposit model name Epithermal vein, Comstock
Mark3 model number 16

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff > Ash-Flow Tuff
    Rock type qualifier rhyolitic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock type qualifier ash-flow tuff
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist > Mica Schist
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Silurian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Silurian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Silurian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.85395, 36.8794
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Regional structures are normal faults trending N to NW, blocks tilted east, the E-W-trending Bullfrog fault with dip greater than 20 degrees north.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Veins strike N-S, dip greater than 50 deg; E-W, dip 20 deg N.

Ore body information

  • General form disseminated; lode; tabular; vein/shear zones

Controls for ore emplacement

  • mineralized faults or veins in the rhyolite

Comments on the geologic information

  • Volcanics in the mine vicinity are broken into blocks that dip 40 deg east. Faults trend NW_NE, dip W with normal displacement. Faulting is possibly same age as volcanics. Fault blocks have been rotated with horizontal movement less than vertical

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes

Mining district

District name Bullfrog District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Tonopah BLM Administration District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Barrick Gold Corp.
    Year 2004

Comments on the workings information

  • The Barrick Bullfrog mine was first developed by open pit methods, but as mining progressed deeper, underground methods wre used to mine deeper high grade tabular feeder zones. Adits were collared at different levels within the open pit.

Comments on other economic factors

  • Before mining began in 1989, reserves of 18.6 million tons of ore grading 0.097 oounces of gold per ton were reported.
    By 1996, there was 10.2 million tons grading 0.062 opt gold as proven and probable reserves; plus 3.7 million tons grading 0.040 opt gold in mineralized material.

    From 1989 through 1999, the Barrick Bullfrog Mine produced a total of 2,313,643 ounces of gold and 3,026,451 ounces of silver.

Comments on development

  • The Barrick Bullfrog gold mine won the Nevada Excellence in Mine Reclamation Award in both 1996 and 2000 for reclamation and post-mining land use. In 2004 it was reported that Barrick Corp. intends to transfer 81 acres of its former mining property to the Beatty Economic Development Corporation, a 501(C)3 non-profit. The redevelopment plan proposes the land's use as a wind and solar farm, a demonstration project for "green energy."

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Oxide ore contains native gold, cerargyrite, limonite, chalcocite, galena and crustified and porcelaneous calcite.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-2005 LaPointe, D.D. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Editor 01-SEP-2007 Schruben, Paul G. U.S. Geological Survey Converted from S&A FileMaker format to Oracle. Edit checks on rocks, units, and ages with Geolex search, and other fields.

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.