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Pumpkin Hollow Copper Project

Past Producer in Lyon county in Nevada, United States with commodities Copper, Iron, 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. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310476
Record type Site
Current site name Pumpkin Hollow Copper Project
Alternate or previous names Lyon Prospect, Lyon copper-magnetite property, E-2, East, North, Northwest, South, Southeast

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -119.28098, 38.94685 (WGS84)
Relative position The deposit is located about 8 miles southwest of Yerington.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lyon(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Artesia Lake(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Smith Valley(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Walker Lake(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

West Walker(hydrologic unit)

Walker(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Lahontan(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Lyon

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 013N 026E 02 03 04 09 10 11 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • 5,240-acre property

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Iron Secondary
Gold Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: chalcopyrite, pyrite, magnetite, bornite, chalcocite, azurite, malachite, chrysocolla, covellite, native copper
  • Gangue Materials: garnet, epidote, wollastonite, quartz, calcite, pyroxene

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Bornite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Azurite Ore
Malachite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Covellite Ore
Copper Ore
Garnet Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Wollastonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Pyroxene Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 59
USGS model code 18b
Deposit model name Skarn Cu
Mark3 model number 8

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Marble
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Hornfels
    Rock type qualifier calc-silicate
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granodiorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cretaceous

Nearby scientific data

(1) -119.28098, 38.94685
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description batholith

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore is controlled by the contact of carbonate rocks with intrusions.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Deposit size Large
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1960
Discoverer USX Corporation

Mining district

District name Yerington District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Carson City BLM Administrative District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Nevada Copper Corp.
    Interest 100
    Home office Suite 1238, 200 Granville Street\nVancouver, BC\nCanada V6C 1S4\nTelephone: (604) 683-8992\nEmail: info@nevadacopper.com
    Year 2006
    First year 2005

Comments on the workings information

  • drilling

Comments on other economic factors

  • Preliminary resource estimates, based on 358 holes drilled by Cyprus are: 138 million tons grading 0.71% copper, 27% magnetite, and 0.001 opt gold in the North Porphyry; 203 million tons grading 0.36% copper, 31% magnetite, and 0.001 opt gold in the South Porphyry; 3 million tons grading 3.35% copper in the Northwest Zone skarn; 7.1 million tons grading 3.35% copper, 23.6% magnetite, and 0.01 opt gold in the East skarn; 2 million tons grading 3.6% copper, 27.9% magnetite, and 0.02 opt gold in the E-2 skarn. The property has not been mined.
    In 2006, Nevada Copper Corp. (100% owner) reported that Pumpkin Hollow contains measured and indicated Resources totaling 2.7 Billion pounds of copper plus additional Inferred Resources of 3.4 billion pounds of copper (all using a 0.2% copper cutoff grade). This 6 billion pound copper and associated 75 million ton iron resource was estimated in July, 2006.

Comments on development

  • In the early 1960s, a regional air magnetics survey first identified the large buried copper-iron skarn deposit. Subsequent drilling of the targets by Cyprus identified seven magnetite-salite skarn zones all of which have adjacent and over-printed copper mineralized zones. Metasomatizing hydrothermal fluids emanating from Jurassic age plutons formed exoskarns in surrounding Triassic limestones and limey clastic rocks.

    The property was owned by Conoco in 1982.

    In 1998, International Taurus Resources acquired the Lyon copper-magnetite property from Cyprus Metals Exploration. A due diligence field program was planned to test gold content of the copper mineralization as well as determine the engineering parameters required for an underground mining operation at the Lyon site. Mineralization at the Lyon deposit is in six zones: the North and South porphyries, and the Northwest, East, E-2, and Southwest skarns. Preliminary resource estimates, based on 358 holes drilled by Cyprus are: 138 million tons grading 0.71% copper, 27% magnetite, and 0.001 opt gold in the North Porphyry; 203 million tons grading 0.36% copper, 31% magnetite, and 0.001 opt gold in the South Porphyry; 3 million tons grading 3.35% copper in the Northwest Zone skarn; 7.1 million tons grading 3.35% copper, 23.6% magnetite, and 0.01 opt gold in the East skarn; 2 million tons grading 3.6% copper, 27.9% magnetite, and 0.02 opt gold in the E-2 skarn.

    In 2006, Nevada Copper Corp owned the property 100% and reported that Pumpkin Hollow contains measured and indicated Resources totaling 2.7 Billion pounds of Copper plus additional Inferred Resources of 3.4 Billion pounds of Copper (all using a 0.2% copper cutoff grade). This 6 Billion pound copper and associated 75 million ton iron resource was estimated in July, 2006, and the Technical Report is available on the Resource page of this website and at www.sedar.com.

    Historical work at the Pumpkin Hollow property includes over 590,000 feet of drilling conducted by U.S. Steel Corp., Anaconda Copper Corp. and Cyprus Minerals Corp. among others. These were among the largest mining companies in the world at the time. Numerous resource, metallurgical and economic studies have been completed over the years.

    The Company intends to move the property forward through feasibility, and is confident that at current metals prices, the Pumpkin Hollow Copper property will soon host Nevada's Next Copper Mine

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Described by some as? western North America's largest undeveloped copper-gold-magnetite iron deposit. ?
Mineralization at the Lyon deposit is in six zones: the North and South porphyries, and the Northwest, East, E-2, and Southwest skarns.
In the early 1960s, a regional air magnetics survey first identified the large buried copper-iron skarn deposit. Subsequent drilling of the targets identified seven magnetite-salite skarn zones all of which have adjacent and over-printed copper mineralized zones. Metasomatizing hydrothermal fluids emanating from Jurassic age plutons formed exoskarns in surrounding Triassic limestones and limey clastic rocks.
First to form were hydrothermal dolomirte and garnet skarnoid rock, subsequently partially replaced by anhydrous salite-magnetite skarn. Iron-depleting skarn formation in the granitic rocks was roughly contemporaneous with the formation of the exoskarn and was probably the source fo the iron to form the magnetite-salite exoskarn. As the period of anhydrous skarn formation waned, hydrous retrograde skarn alteration consisting of calcite, talc, chlorite, amphibole took over, affecting both the exoskarn and endoskarn. Sulfides, including chalcopyrite, were emplaced during this period of hydrous retrograde thermal metamorphism. Later Mesozoic tectonism rotated the mineralized zone about 40 degrees to the west along a N20W horizontal axis. Tertiary tectonism again rotated both the Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks another 70 degrees west in conjuncton with listric faulting. The listric faulting has sliced and separated teh skarn deposit into as many as 5 structural blocks.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-FEB-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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