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Willard Gold Mine

Past Producer in Pershing county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Antimony, Iron, Manganese
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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 10310458
MRDS ID M242911
MAS/MILS ID 0320270349
Record type Site
Current site name Willard Gold Mine
Alternate or previous names Honey Bee Nose Pit, Section Line pit, South pit, South West pit, Willard Draw pit, Willard Hill pit
Related records 10104132, 10174807

Comments on the site identification

  • This is a new record for the recently mined Willard gold mine, but includes some data from earlier records for the historic Willard District antimony mines: M242911, M060396, M242912, M060395

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -118.33626, 40.24823 (WGS84)
Elevation 1520
Relative position The Willard gold mine is located about eight miles east of Lovelock, Nevada.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pershing(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Coal Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Lovelock(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Lovelock(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Humboldt(hydrologic unit)

Humboldt(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 Pershing

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 028N 032E 35 36 NW, 36 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The Willard gold mine is located at the north end of the West Humboldt Range, about 2 miles due east of the Young Ranch.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Secondary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Iron Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: free gold
  • Gangue Materials: quartz, iron oxides, pyrite, Mn oxide, hematite, variscite, fluellite, wavellite

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Hematite Ore
Variscite Ore
Fluellite Ore
Wavellite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Wall rock is bleached and kaolinized.

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 > Phyllite
    Rock unit name Raspberry Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Raspberry Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock type qualifier brecciated
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
    Rock type qualifier dikes

Nearby scientific data

(1) -118.33626, 40.24823
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Basin and Range faulting
Type of structure Local
Structure description Vertical shear zone

Ore body information

  • General form tabular to irreular

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore is controlled by a vertical shear zone
    .

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1980
Year of first production 1990
Year of last production 1997
Production years 1990

Mining district

District name Willard District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Carson City BLM administrative district

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Western States Minerals Corporation
    Year 1997

Comments on the workings information

  • There were numerous old underground and surface workings in the current mine area and at historic mines to the north and east of the mined area. These include numerous adits, tunnels, shafts, open stopes, cuts, and scattered workings. 1990s development consisted of drill sites and several open pits. The mine site has now been reclaimed.
    At the old Johnson-Heizer mine about 2 miles to the north, the deposit was developed by a 264-ft inclined shaft from which some 440 feet of drifting and considerable stoping were done, and other historic mines in the district had a considerable amount of underground development.

Comments on other economic factors

  • Pre-production reserves in 1989 were reported to be 3.61 million tons of ore.
    Reserves in 1989 were reported to be 15 million tons of ore grading 0.022 opt gold.
    From 1990 to 1993, the Willard Gold Mine produced gold, but the production amount was not reported.

    In 1997, at a Willard District property apparently located a few miles to the north, Colado Gold reported reserves of 15 million tons of ore grading 0.022 OPT gold, later transferred to Easton Minerals, Ltd. (1999), which later dropped the property.

Comments on development

  • The historic antimony mines in the area were worked from about 1915 until about 1950. The area was explored for gold deposits beginning in the 1970s and several drilling programs were active in the area. Western States Minerals Corporation discovered a mineable gold deposit in the 1980s.
    The Willard deposit of Western States Minerals Corporation was placed into production in May 1990, and was reportedly mined out by 1993, but production amount was not reported.

    In 1997, in the Willard district, Easton Minerals elected to proceed with the second year of an exploration agreement on its Colado gold-silver property after obtaining encouraging results from the first phase of drilling. Previous work on the project by owner Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corp. indicated an oxide gold resource of 15 million tons grading 0.022 opt. Easton Minerals, Ltd. sti owned the property in 1999, but later dropped the property. Exact location of the Colado deposit is unknown, but it is thought to be near (within a mile or two) of the willard Mine area.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Johnson, M.G., 1977, Geology And Mineral Deposits Of Pershing County, Nevada, NBMG Bull 89, p. 102-103.

  • Deposit

    Tingley, J.V., 20 June 85, NBMG Field Examination and sample analysis.

  • Deposit

    Bonham, H.F., 17 Jul 85, NBMG Field Examination and sample analysis.

  • Deposit

    NBMG Staff, 1985, NBMG OFR 85-3.

  • Deposit

    Lincoln, 1923, Mining Districts & Mineral Resources of Nevada; Nevada Newsletter Publishing Company.

  • Deposit

    Vanderburg, 1936, Reconnaissance of Mining Districts in Pershing County, Nevada; USBM IC 6902.

  • Deposit

    Weed, W.H., 1922, "The Mines Handbook", Vol. XV, Tuckahoe, N.Y. #5.

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-89 thru MI-95

  • Deposit

    NBMG Map 91, 1st, 2nd, 3rd

  • Deposit

    Amer. Mines (1998), 1997

  • Deposit

    EA, 1988

  • Deposit

    Lovelock Land Status, 1978

  • Deposit

    MASMILS 0320270349, 0320270746, 0320270831

  • Deposit

    Denver Mining Record 2/19/97, 4/23/97.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The northern portion of the deposit consisted of a stockwork network of quartz veinlets in limestone at and near the contact with underlying rhyolite. Mineralization is also present in brecciated rhyolite close to basalt dikes. There is a zone up to 2 meters wide of anastomosing quartz and calcite veinlets and stringers that dips 50-55W. There is some hydrothermal breccia with abundant pyrite. Late-stage green fluorite and very late barite are present. Pyrite is the only visible sulfide mineral.
Ore consisted of free-milling gold and silver in copper-stained quartz veins..
In the southern portion of the deposit are a number of E-W-trending hydrofractured breccia zones with anastomosing quartz veinlets cutting interbedded phyllite and sandstone, with iron oxides after pyrite. The quartz is well crystallized, commonly vuggy, with crystals forming rosettes around breccia fragments. There is a quartz vein with breccia and jasperoid along shear zone.
There is an extensive stockwork zone of veins, silicification, and iron-staining in phyllite.
Ore is controlled by a vertical shear zone.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-2004 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

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