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Mule Canyon Mine

Producer in Lander county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Arsenic, Antimony, Mercury, Selenium, Copper, Lead, Zinc
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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 10310546
Record type Site
Current site name Mule Canyon Mine
Alternate or previous names North Zone, Ashcraft Zone, South Zone, Main Zone, West Zone, Section 9 Zone

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.68393, 40.5999 (WGS84)
Elevation 1980
Relative position The Mule Canyon Mine is located about 14 miles S75E from the town of Battle Mountain. It lies along the east side of the crest of the Shoshone Range near the headwaters of Mule Canyon and 4 to 7 miles south of Highway I-80.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lander(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mule Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Battle Mountain(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winnemucca(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle 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 Lander

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 031N 047E 04 W2 Nevada
Mount Diablo 031N 047E 05 NE Nevada
Mount Diablo 031N 047E 09 W2 Nevada
Mount Diablo 032N 047E 32 SE Nevada
Mount Diablo 032N 047E 33 SW Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • UTM location is given for an area centrally located within the currently productive ore zones of the mine.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Mercury Tertiary
Selenium Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: electrum, auriferous arsenopyrite, tetrahedrite, pyrargyrite, argentite, acanthite, aguilarite, naumannite, polybasite
  • Gangue Materials: QUARTZ, ADULARIA, ARSENOPYRITE, PYRITE, MARCASITE, CALCITE, ZEOLITES

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Electrum Ore
Arsenopyrite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Pyrargyrite Ore
Argentite Ore
Acanthite Ore
Aguilarite Ore
Naumannite Ore
Polybasite Ore
Adularia Ore
Arsenopyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Marcasite Ore
Calcite Ore
Zeolite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Alteration consists predominantly of pervasive argillization and to a lesser extent, silicification. Alteration is laterally zoned and consists of an intensely altered illite-smectite-quartz-adularia core zone surrounded by an iron-rich smectite-nontronite zone, with an outer propylitic halo of calcite-chlorite-minor smectite alteration.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 104
USGS model code 25a
Deposit model name Hot-spring Au-Ag
Mark3 model number 45

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 16
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Miocene
    Chronological age 15
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock type qualifier basaltic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 16
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Miocene
    Chronological age 15
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
    Rock type qualifier lapilli air-fall
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 16
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Miocene
    Chronological age 15
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Miocene
    Chronological age 16
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Miocene
    Chronological age 15
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Slaven Chert
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Devonian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Elder Sandstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Silurian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Valmy Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Late Cambrian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.68393, 40.5999
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description The Mule Canyon deposit is localized along NNW-trending faults that define the western margin of a graben that is part of the Northern Nevada rift zone, developed contemporaneously with Miocene volcanism.
Type of structure Regional
Structure description The NNW-trending Oregon-Nevada lineament is a narrow, deep-seated crustal flaw exhibited in this area by a diking event that may have provided the feeders for the ore-host volcanic rocks of the deposit.

Ore body information

  • General form Orebodies are tabular to lenticular in form, following steeply-dipping NNW structures.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore zones are controlled primarily by NNW-trending faults which provided the conduits for ascending mineralizing solutions. Gold mineralization is closely associated with silica in stockwork veins and hydrothermal breccias.

Comments on the geologic information

  • The gold ore is hosted by basalt and basaltic andesite. Specifically, the ore host rocks are a lapilli ash tuff (probably air-fall in origin) up to 300 feet thick, with intermixed pyroclastic flow rocks. Welding of both units was partial and spotty. The ore-hosts are overlain by a thick package of finer-grained effusive volcanic rocks.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1986

Mining district

District name Argenta District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Battle Mountain BLM District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Newmont Gold

Comments on the workings information

  • Mine workings consist of several open pits developed on the different orebodies, as well as crushing and heap leach facilities.

Comments on other economic factors

  • Production began in 1996, at which time reserves were 15,918,000 short tons grading 0.09 opt (45 metric tonnes Au). Other sources listed 1996 reserves as 9 million tons grading 0.112 opt gold. About 700,000 additional ounces of gold contained in mineralized material, not included in reserves, have been identified at Mule Canyon.

Comments on development

  • Goldfields Mining Company made the initial discovery in 1986 as a result of a grassroots geochemical exploration program. In 1991, Hanson Natural Resources Company reported that drilling on its Mule Canyon gold deposit had identified six orebodies containing reserves of 8.5 million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.136 opt gold (1.15 million ounces of gold). A test adit was driven in the west zone orebody in fall of 1991 for the purpose of collecting bulk samples for metallurgical tests, which provided the basis to justify feasibility studies on the deposit and to begin the permitting process to develop it into a gold mine. The property was acquired by Santa Fe Pacific Gold Company prior to 1995, at which time reserves were listed as 4.22 million tons oxide ore grading 0.058opt gold and 5.78 million tons sulfide ore averaging 0.145 opt. In early 1996, Santa Fe that drilling was continuing on the project to identify additional mineralization. Newmont Gold Company acquired the property as part of its takeover of Santa Fe in early 1997 and planned to ship the higher-grade sulfide ore to Twin Creeks for autoclave processing. The remaining lower grade ore would be heap-leached on site with the resulting gold-loaded carbon to be shipped to Lone Tree Mine for processing. As a result of this reconfiguration, the need for construction of an autoclave at Mule Canyon was eliminated. Mining activity at Mule Canyon began on Oct. 29, 1996 with trucking of Mule Canyon's high grade ore to the Lone Tree processing facility in early November, and the first Mule Canyon gold was included in gold dore poured at Lone Tree on November 22, 1996. Mule Canyon 1997 production was expected to be about 100,000 ounces annually with cash costs in the range of $240 to $250 per ounce; annual production was expected to increase later in Mule Canyon's projected mine life of eight years.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-1992

  • Deposit

    Thomson and others, 1993, Geology and geochemistry of the Mule Canyon gold deposit, Lander County, NV, SME Preprint

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-1995

  • Deposit

    NBMG MI-1996

  • Deposit

    Santa Fe Pacific Gold, 1996 SEC Form 10K

  • Deposit

    Pay Dirt, 2/1/96, 4/1/96

  • Deposit

    The Denver Mining Record, 12/11/96

  • Deposit

    Engineering and Mining Journal,10/1/95

  • Deposit

    Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-206A, 33 p.; 98-206B. one 3.5 inch diskette.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The deposit is composed of six orebodies called the North, Ashcraft, South, Main, West, and Section 9 zones. The six discrete orebodies are aligned along a N-S-trending zone extending more than 2.5 miles. The ore zones are controlled primarily by NNW-trending faults which provided the conduits for ascending hydrothermal solutions to enter the porous host Miocene age basalts and andesites. These NNW-trending faults define the western margin of a graben that is part of the Northern Nevada rift zone, developed contemporaneously with Miocene volcanism. The hydrothermal activity at Mule Canyon is thought to have started at about the same time as the down-dropping of the NNW-trending graben. A finer-grained cap rock appears to have acted as a barrier and may have trapped ore-forming fluids. Episodic hydrothermal brecciation and hydrothermal fracturing events are recognized and probably aided in the development of ore-grade mineralization. Trace amounts of telluride minerals, including petzite, hessite, stuetzite, and altaite were identified in the ore, as well as trace amounts of stibnite, cinnabar, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, covellite, native copper and galena. The trace element geochemistry is typical of upper level hot spring precious metal systems. The Mule Canyon deposit is located about 3.5 miles west of the Beowawe geothermal field and may represent a fossil analog of this system.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1998 La Pointe, 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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