Delamar Mine

Producer in Lincoln county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron

Sections on this page

Identification information
Geographic coordinates
Site location context
Geographic areas
Public Land Survey System information
Commodities
Materials information
Mineral occurrence model information
Host and associated rocks
Nearby scientific data
Geologic structures
Ore body information
Controls for ore emplacement
Economic information about the deposit and operations
Mining district
Land status
Ownership information
Bibliographic references
General comments
Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10310400
Record type	Site
Current site name	Delamar Mine
Alternate or previous names	Lucky Bar Claim, Jim Crow Claim, Monitor Claim, Monitor No. 2 Claim, Hog Pen Claim, Gold Cup Claim

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates:	-114.76667, 37.45969 (WGS84)
Elevation	1800
Relative position	The mine is located about 18 miles southwest of the town of Caliente, Nevada, and approximately 190 km northeast of Las Vegas.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lincoln(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Delamar(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Clover Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Caliente(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Dry Lake Valley(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	Lincoln

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian	Township	Range	Section	Fraction	State
Mount Diablo	06S	64E	01		Nevada

Comments on the location information

The mine is located on the west flank of the Delamar Mountains, on the ridge above the town of Delamar.

Commodities

Commodity	Importance
Gold	Primary
Silver	Primary
Copper	Tertiary
Iron	Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

Ore Materials: native gold, tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, malachite, chrysocolla, a telluride (?)
Gangue Materials: pyrite, quartz, iron oxides, manganese oxides

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Gold	Ore
Tetrahedrite	Ore
Chalcopyrite	Ore
Bornite	Ore
Chalcocite	Ore
Malachite	Ore
Chrysocolla	Ore
Pyrite	Gangue
Quartz	Gangue

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

Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite

Rock unit name

Prospect Mountain Quartzite

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Early Cambrian
Stratigraphic age (oldest)	Neoproterozoic

Host or associated Host

Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
Host or associated Host

Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)

Host or associated	Host
Rock type	Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Host or associated	Host
Rock type	Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)

Host or associated

Associated

Rock type

Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite

Rock type qualifier

dikes

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Tertiary

Host or associated

Associated

Rock type

Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt

Rock type qualifier

dikes

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Tertiary

Host or associated Associated

Rock type

Rock unit name Caliente caldera complex

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene

Nearby scientific data

(1)	-114.76667, 37.45969	ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure	Regional
Structure description	The dominant structural feature in the region is the Caliente caldera complex, an east-elongated (50X22 mi; 80X35 km) complex of inset calderas in Nevada and Utah. It spans an age of at least 10 million years (23-13 Ma), an unusually long activity period for a caldera complex. It is bounded on its northern and southern sides by transverse zones, which are east-striking late Mesozoic to Cenozoic structures that cross the Great Basin and accommodate different amounts, types, and rates of crustal extension to the north and south. The Caliente complex was highly extended along transverse zones and faults that were synchronous with caldera magmatism. One of these is the Timpahute transverse zone, along the northern side of the caldera complex.
Type of structure	Local
Structure description	Rocks in the Delamar District are cut by abundant normal faults.

Ore body information

General form tabular

General form	tabular

Controls for ore emplacement

Ore formation was controlled by a combination of structure and lithology, by brecciation due to the faulting, and in association with rhyolitic and mafic dikes.

Comments on the geologic information

The faults and magmas of the Caliente area belong to two episodes, first the middle Cenozoic pre-Basin-Range episode of calc-alkaline magmatism and northeast- and northwest-striking oblique-slip faults, folowed by the Basin-Range episode of bimodal magmatism and north-striking normal faults. Gold deposits that surround the caldera complex are interpreted to represent leaching, transport, and deposition of metals by ground water moving through the transverse zones and heated to boiling by intracaldera magmas. The Delamar gold district is situated on the southwestern side of the caldera complex, where these processes took place.In addition to the high-grade underground vein targets on the western half of the Delamar properties, Beta geologists have defined two areas of strong hydrothermal alteration associated with anomalous gold, silver and trace element concentrations on the eastern side of the properties. This mineralization is exposed in a north-trending 300-m wide zone of faulting, which can be traced for 1225 m on the surface. This shear zone is the outer ring fracture zone of the Delamar volcanic caldera formed along the western edge of the collapse structure. The exploration target on the Ring Fracture Zone is a disseminated gold deposit amenable to open pit methods similar to the prolific Round Mountain Mine.
Rocks in the mine area consist of a thick section of tilted and faulted Cambrian quartzite. Sediments are tilted 35 degrees to the southeast; volcanics show less tilting. Sediments show some effects of contact metamorphism. Tertiary basalt dikes and sills, and post ore lamprophyre dikes are present. Tertiary east-west- trending rhyolite dikes post ore. Major deposits of the district were hosted in the oldest rocks, the Early Cambian Prospect Mountain Quartzite. Other deposits are in volcanic breccia, intruded by rhyolite dikes as at the Magnolia Mine, and in several of the limestone units.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type	Surface-Underground
Development status	Producer
Commodity type	Metallic
Deposit size	Large
Significant	Yes
Discovery year	1891
Discoverer	James McFadden, D.A. Meikel and John Purtscher
Year of first production	1890
Year of last production	1930

Mining district

District name	Delamar (Ferguson) District

Land status

Ownership category	Private
Ownership category	BLM Administrative Area
Area name	Las Vegas BLM-administration district

Ownership information

Type Owner-Operator

Owner Beta Minerals

Year 2005

Type	Owner-Operator
Owner	Beta Minerals
Year	2005

Comments on the workings information

Most of the extensive historic underground workings are now inaccessible. There were originally 16 levels of underground workings at the Delamar Mine and a large glory hole.

Comments on other economic factors

The Delamar district has produced approximately 650,000 ounces of gold since its discovery in 1892, and was Nevada's largest gold producer in 1900. The Delamar Mine was the main producer of the district , with a total production through 1933 of $12,854,600. The Delamar Mine reportedly produced 217,000 unces of gold and 420,000 ounces of silver.
Remaining reserves of the Delamar Mine in 1988 were reported to be 200,000 tons of ore grading 0.079 ounces of gold per ton. Reserve figures after that were combined with those for the Easter project.

Comments on development

The first ore in the district was discovered by a group of Italian miners headed by John Vietti working on a lease. The Lucky Bar claim was located by John Roeder, the Goldcup claim by Joe Conway, John Roeder and Cap Garden. Captain DeLaMar purchased claims in 1893 and began the active development that made the Delamar district Nevada's biggest gold producer in the period from 1895 through 1900. The Delamar mines shut down in 1909. The mine operated intermittently under the Bambergers from 1902 until 1932. In 1931, the Caliente Cyaniding Co. was preparing to treat tailings from the Delamar mill. The Jack Berry lease on the Lucky Bar (Hog Pen) claim produced considerable shipping ore.
Beginning in about 1982 the district saw renewed exploration by a series of joint ventures, including work by Homestake, FMC Gold Company, Hanna Mining, Aur Resources, and Phelps Dodge Mining Company. Exploration was not confined to the immediate vicinity of the old Delamar Mine but was also focused on the Easter prospect about five miles east-northeast of the Delamar Mine. More than 100 drill holes were completed on the prospect, and Homestake Mining Company made a resource estimate in 1988 of 4 million tons at 0.056 oz/ton at a 0.02 oz/ton cutoff (224,740 oz Au), based upon results from 25 drill holes.
Fischer-Watt Corp. explored the property in 2001. Beta Minerals became active in the Delamar District in 2003 with a drilling project 5 miles to the northeast at the historic Easter(n) (Taylor) Mine. Beta located 135 mining claims covering 1129 hectares on the western flank of the Delamar Caldera in the Delamar District, Beta's claims contain the extensions of the former producing Delamar vein systems including the Delamar, Magnolia, Jumbo and April Fool veins. In addition to the high-grade underground vein targets on the western half of the Delamar properties, Beta geologists have defined two areas of strong hydrothermal alteration associated with anomalous gold, silver and trace element concentrations on the eastern side of the properties. This mineralization is exposed in a north-trending 300-m wide zone of faulting, which can be traced for 1225 m on the surface. This shear zone is the outer ring fracture zone of the Delamar volcanic caldera formed along the western edge of the collapse structure. The exploration target on the Ring Fracture Zone is a disseminated gold deposit amenable to open pit methods similar to the prolific Round Mountain Mine.
In the 2004 field season, Beta geologists conducted geological mapping, rock chip sampling, and completed two soil sampling grids totaling approximately 82 hectares in area, defining several geochemical anomalies associated with strong hydrothermal alteration and quartz-adularia veining. The company will conduct detailed mapping and sampling on the anomalous areas, and evaluate the potential for geophysical definition of drilling targets along the mineralized zones in 2005.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Deposit

Callaghan, E., 1937, Geology of the Delmar District, Lincoln Co, Nev. Nevada Bur. of Mines vol . 31, no. 5, p. 50-58.
Deposit

Tschanz, C.M. and Pampeyan, .H., 1970, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Lincoln Co. Nev. Nev. Bur. Mines Bull. 73, p. 141.
Deposit

Emmons, S F, 1901, The Delamar and Hornsilver Mines: 2 Types of Ore Deposits in Utah and Nevada: AIME Trans, vol 31, p. 658-683.
Deposit

Lincoln, F. C., 1923, Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada: Nevada Newsletter Pub Co; Reno, NV.
Deposit

Smith, A.M. and Carpenter, J., 1931, Notes on Inspection Trip; NBMG Mining District File 167, item 3.
Deposit

NBMG Mining District File 167, items 6 and 7, Potential National Historical Register Site Report.
Deposit

Godbe, W.S., 1894, Eng. & Min. Jour., vol. 57, p. 106.
Deposit

Bentz, J.and Smith, P., 1983, NBMG Field Examination Report, Sept 30,1983.
Deposit

Barton, Harlan N. and Day, Gordon W. 1984, Reconnaissance geochemistry of the Delamar Mountains; Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Area (NV 050-0177), Lincoln County, Nevada. U. S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report OF 84-0360, 49 pp.
Deposit

Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Database of significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States; Part A, Database description and analysis; part B, Digital database: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-206, 33 p., one 3.5 inch diskette.
Deposit

Rowley, Peter D. and others, 2001, Field trip to the Caliente Caldera Complex, east-striking transverse zones, and nearby mining districts in Nevada-Utah; implications for petroleum, ground-water, and mineral resources; in The geologic transition, high plateaus to Great Basin; a symposium and field guide; the Mackin volume, editor, Erskine, M. C. and others Guidebook - Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, vol.78, pp.401-418, 2001.
Deposit

Beta Minerals website: www.betaminerals.com
Deposit

Snee, Lawrence W. and Rowley, Peter D. , 2000, New 40Ar/39Ar dates from the Caliente caldera complex, Nevada-Utah; at least 10 million years of Tertiary volcanism in one of the world's largest caldera complexes; Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America, vol.32, no.7, pp.461.

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	Ore is found in the Delamar or Monitor vein, which extends for a strike-length of 2700 feet. The vein is composed of 5 main ore shoots each of which is of variable thickness up to up to 300 feet. Material of all grades found in the shoots; grade decreased rapidly below level 10. The ore consists chiefly of breccia cemented by chalcedonic quartz. Mineralization is also found in chalcedonic quartz veins and along bedding planes and fractures. Most ore was oxidized, with a reddish or greenish tint. Only the Hog Pen ore shoot contained free gold. The ore reserves identified by Homestake and World Wide Minerals in the 1980s are within a 1,600-foot-long by 40- to 90- foot-wide segment of the Main Vein, part of a 7,000- foot-long mineralized structure. The Delamar ore bodies included epithermal veins in sedimentary rocks as well as bedding replacement ores in limestone. Gold values ranged up to several ounces per ton on some veins, but the majority of the gold production came from a large underground block cave operation known as the Delamar Glory Hole, where a large tonnage of mill grade ore was mined. The Glory Hole orebody is located at a structural intersection between north-trending gold-bearing veins with east-west trending faults intruded by volcanic dikes radial to the Delamar Caldera. Beta's claims cover relatively untested, similar structural intersections buried under recent sediments to the north and east of the former producer.

Subject category

Comment text

Deposit

Ore is found in the Delamar or Monitor vein, which extends for a strike-length of 2700 feet. The vein is composed of 5 main ore shoots each of which is of variable thickness up to up to 300 feet. Material of all grades found in the shoots; grade decreased rapidly below level 10. The ore consists chiefly of breccia cemented by chalcedonic quartz. Mineralization is also found in chalcedonic quartz veins and along bedding planes and fractures. Most ore was oxidized, with a reddish or greenish tint. Only the Hog Pen ore shoot contained free gold. The ore reserves identified by Homestake and World Wide Minerals in the 1980s are within a 1,600-foot-long by 40- to 90- foot-wide segment of the Main Vein, part of a 7,000- foot-long mineralized structure.
The Delamar ore bodies included epithermal veins in sedimentary rocks as well as bedding replacement ores in limestone. Gold values ranged up to several ounces per ton on some veins, but the majority of the gold production came from a large underground block cave operation known as the Delamar Glory Hole, where a large tonnage of mill grade ore was mined. The Glory Hole orebody is located at a structural intersection between north-trending gold-bearing veins with east-west trending faults intruded by volcanic dikes radial to the Delamar Caldera. Beta's claims cover relatively untested, similar structural intersections buried under recent sediments to the north and east of the former producer.

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	01-JAN-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.

External references

Wikidata: Q49407835 (Delamar Mine)

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.