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Bruner Gold Deposit

Past Producer in Nye county in Nevada, United States with commodity Gold
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  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. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310398
Record type Site
Current site name Bruner Gold Deposit
Alternate or previous names Phonolite, Silent Friend Group, Lucky Tiger Claim, Annex Extension Claim, Bruner Mine, Aure Claim, Derelict, Duluth, Paymaster Zones, Golden Eagle Mine, Penelas Mine
Related records 10096416

Comments on the site identification

  • This record covers an area which encompasses several mines of the the historic Bruner District Mine described by several earlier MRDS records from which all pertinent material has been incorporated into the current record.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.80094, 39.08325 (WGS84)
Elevation 2090
Relative position The Bruner District is situated at the extreme north end of the Paradise Range, between Lodi Valley on the west and Smith Creek Valley on the east, about 15 miles northeast of Gabbs and approximately 130 miles east-southeast of Reno.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nye(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Burnt Cabin Summit(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Smith Creek Valley(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Millett(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Gabbs 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 Nye

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 014N 037E 13 14 24 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The Bruner District Mines are situated over about a square mile in the vicinity of the old sites of Phonolite and Penelas, at the extreme north end of the Paradise Range.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: native gold
  • Gangue Materials: comb quartz, chalcedony, adularia

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Quartz Gangue
Chalcedony Gangue
Adularia Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 151
USGS model code 25d
Deposit model name Epithermal vein, Sado
Mark3 model number 28

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Latite
    Rock type qualifier tuff
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Rock type qualifier tuff
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
    Rock type qualifier latite to quartz latite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock type qualifier biotite porphyry
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 19.3
    Dating method K-Ar
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Porphyry
    Rock type qualifier biotite rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 19.3
    Dating method K-Ar
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock type qualifier brecciated
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 19.3
    Dating method K-Ar
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 19.3
    Dating method K-Ar

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.80094, 39.08325
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description The Bruner District is situated in the Walker Lane, a broad northwest trending structural belt that hosts many producing mines.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Flow banding in rhyolite is parallel to crushed breccia zone at one place.

Ore body information

  • General form tabular

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore occurs in a crushed breccia/fault zone

Comments on the geologic information

  • The Bruner property area is underlain by Tertiary felsic and intermediate composition volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. Gold mineralization is hosted by a sequence of crystal tuffs that range from latite to quartz latite in composition. The latite is pervasively altered in the central portion of the district, and gold detected in surface sampling and drilling is associated with quartz-adularia alteration. Quartz-adularia veins also occur in the northern and eastern part of the property in a rhyolite porphyry flow-dome that intrudes the volcanic rocks. Narrow very sparse veinlets of comb quartz and chalcedony cut intrusive Tertiary rhyolite. A distinctive light salmon colored chalcedonic vein matter was also noted. Quartz pseudomorphous after lamellar calcite are locally present. Surface mineralization is sparse.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1906
Year of last production 1986
Production years 1936-1944; 1980-1986

Mining district

District name Bruner District

Land status

Ownership category Private
Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Tonopah BLM administrative district

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Patriot Gold Corp.
    Year 2004
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner American International Ventures, Inc.
    Year 2004

Comments on the workings information

  • Old workings consist of two shafts and one adit, as well as several pits, and bulldozer work from more recent exploration activity.

Comments on other economic factors

  • From 1936 to 1944 the Bruner Mine produced ore valued at about $70,000. In 1936 the Paymaster zone produced 308 tons valued at $12,272; In 1939 the Derelict zone produced 228 tons of ore yielding 126 ounces of gold and 6074 onces of silver; From 1936 to 1940, the Penelas zone produced 69,001 tons of ore valued at $898,629; There was a small production from 1980 to 1986.
    In 1992, it was reported that the Duluth Zone contained a geologic resource of 15 million tons of material grading 0.026 opt gold.

Comments on development

  • The Paymaster Mine of the Bruner District had some small production in 1906 and 1919 and was owned in 1922 by the Kansas City-Nevada Consolidated Mines Company, incorporated in 1915, holding 25 patented claims over 487 acres. A 50-ton mill was built at Bruner in 1919 and remodeled in 1921. The company took over the holdings of the Big Henry Gold Mining Co, Phonolite-Paymaster Mining Co, Phonolite- Silent Friend Co, and Duluth Gold Mining Co. The Duluth Mine in the Bruner District was operated in 1936 by Ole Peterson as the Golden Eagle Mine. It is one of several adjoining properties purchased by Kansas City-Nevada Consolidated Mines Co. in 1915.
    The Paymaster was operated on a small scale as an active open pit gold-silvermine and cyanidization mill from about 1980 through 1986, employing 2-3 persons.
    During the past 20+ years, several companies have conducted exploration in the Bruner district for volcanic-hosted, bulk-tonnage precious metal mineralization as well as high-grade bonanza-type mineralization. The Bruner property was optioned from Miramar Mining Corp. from about 1988-1991 by Newmont, who did extensive channel sampling and geochemical testing over the old Duluth workings and defined a 2500 ft by 1000-foot NW-trending gold soil anomaly over the old Duluth zone of the Bruner property. They drilled this and five other targets in the area, but dropped their option in 1991.
    In 1992, Miramar sampled the property and secured an independent contractor who reported that 15 million tons of material grading 0.026 ounces of gold per ton had been outlined. In 1996, it was reported that Newgold had leased the Bruner gold property from Miramar Mining. In 1999, Miramar Gold Corp. still retained an active interest in the Bruner prospect, recording additional claims in the district. Miramar completed an extensive environmental clean up of the property in about 2001. In 2003, Patriot Gold Corp purchased 16 unpatented mining claims of the Bruner property and completed a ground magnetics survey, detailed mapping, and rock chip geochemical sampling of the western portion of the claim block by 2004. Patriot then performed a CSMT geophysical survey to confirm the presence of a major northwest trending structural zone indicated by earlier ground magnetics. Patriot was developing and permitting a drilling plan with hopes of drilling at Bruner in June 2004. Also in 2004, American International Ventures, Inc. (AIVN) announced that it had acquired the Bruner gold property in July 2002 from Miramar Gold Corporation and an affiliated company Orcana Resources, Inc. AIVN owns 28 patented claims totaling 560 acres and 48 unpatented claims totaling 940 acres for a total land position of 1,500 acres in the central Bruner district.
    AIVN summarized earlier work as geological mapping and sampling, about 1,000 soil geochemistry samples, several hundred rock chip samples from outcrops and underground workings, helicopter-airborne and ground geophysics, and 147 mostly RC drill holes totaling 65,185 feet. Earlier magnetic data shows the major north and northwest structural trends on a contoured plot of the total field data. The mineralized structural trend that hosts the Penelas and Bruner deposits is readily identifiable as a linear magnetic low. Gold mineralization was detected in many of the drill holes, and AIVN completed a program of six diamond core holes in 2004 to follow-up and confirm the results of the previous drilling. The results of the drilling were very encouraging. Gold values greater than 0.02 oz Au/ton were detected in all of the holes, and the results are similar to previous drilling on the property. Higher grade intercepts were present in three of the holes.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The Bruner property area is underlain by Tertiary felsic and intermediate composition volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. Gold mineralization is hosted by a sequence of crystal tuffs that range from latite to quartz latite in composition. The latite is pervasively altered in the central portion of the district, and gold detected in surface sampling and drilling is associated with quartz-adularia alteration. Quartz-adularia veins also occur in the northern and eastern part of the property in a rhyolite porphyry flow-dome that intrudes the volcanic rocks. Narrow very sparse veinlets of comb quartz and chalcedony cut intrusive Tertiary rhyolite. A distinctive light salmon colored chalcedonic vein matter was also noted. Quartz pseudomorphous after lamellar calcite are locally present. Surface mineralization is sparse.
A ground magnetics survey by Patriot Gold Corp. in 2003 indicates the presence of northwesterly and northerly trending faults under the pediment cover that may host gold mineralization. Geologic mapping of rocks exposed in the western portion of the claims show several small quartz bearing structures trending northwest and dipping steeply to the northeast. These small structures are thought to be related to a much larger fault-hosted gold vein system under pediment gravel cover in the eastern portion of the district and extending into the broad valley south of the mapping. In 2004, a CSMT geophysical survey confirmed the presence of a major northwest trending structural zone where ground magnetics had indicated the presence of such a structure under gravel cover. The CSMT survey identified a 500m by 700m area of complex structural intersections in altered and possibly mineralized rocks. Depth of the anomaly is 20 to 100m. Patriot was developing and permitting a drilling plan with hopes of drilling at Bruner in June 2004.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-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.

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Authoritative Nevada resources

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