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Green Springs Mine

Producer in White Pine county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Iron, Barium-Barite
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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. 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 10310555
Record type Site
Current site name Green Springs Mine
Alternate or previous names C orebody, D orebody, North C orebody
Related records 10047582

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -115.55449, 39.14132 (WGS84)
Elevation 2010
Relative position The mine is located on the west slope of the White Pine Range about 35 miles west of Ely

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

White Pine(county)

Nevada(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mount Hamilton(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Mount Hamilton(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ely(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Hot Creek-Railroad Valleys(hydrologic unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Nevada Desert Basins(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada White Pine

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 015N 057E 21 22 27 28 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • UTM is centered on C pit, the largest of the workings.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Iron Tertiary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: gold
  • Gangue Materials: limonite, scorodite, stibiconite, barite, jarosite(?), pyrite, trace sphalerite and galena

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Limonite Gangue
Scorodite Gangue
Stibiconite Gangue
Barite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Sphalerite Gangue
Galena Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Rocks in the mine area have been silicified and argillized. Silicification in the form of bedding- controlled jasperoid is on a district scale and is not a guide to the proximity of ore. Argillization is structurally controlled and is widespread in both productive and unmineralized areas. Within the ore zones, gold grades are independent of the intensity of argillization. Argillization is comprised of 7a-halloysite, kaolinite, and sericite. Argillization postdates silicification.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 173
USGS model code 26a.1
Deposit model name Sediment-hosted Au
Mark3 model number 17

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Chainman Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Mississippian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Early Mississippian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -115.55449, 39.14132
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description In the mine area, three prominent sets of nearly vertical faults have been mapped, trending north-northeast, east-northeast, and northwest. The north-northeast set parallels the present range front, a conspicuous topographic lineament which corresponds to the main ore trend, the major fold axes, and the bonanza silver veins of the Treasure Hill mine. Northeast- and northwest- striking faults are both pre- and post-ore. Offsets on these faults generally measure only a few meters.
Type of structure Regional
Structure description North-trending folds; Green Springs Thrust Fault.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • The north -northeast alignment of ore zones is believed to be related to a deep, unrecognized "feeder fault", perhaps coincident with the synclinal axis just west of the ore zones. This is conjectural as no single major fault system connecting the individual ore shoots has been identified.

Comments on the geologic information

  • The majority of the ore is hosted by the lower limestone unit of the Chainman Shale.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1986
Discoverer U.S. Minerals Exploration, Inc. (USMX)
Year of first production 1988
Year of last production 1991
Production years 1988-1991

Mining district

District name White Pine District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name BLM Ely Administration District
Ownership category National Forest
Area name Ely District, U. S. Forest Service

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner U.S. Minerals Exploration, Inc. (USMX) during productive years
    Year 1997
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Dakota Mining Corp.
    Year 1997

Comments on the workings information

  • The mine is developed by 3 open pits and a heap leach facility all covering approximately 115 acres. The pits are called: Area C North Pit, Area C South Pit, and Area D Pit. The UTMs given above are for the C pit, the largest of the surface workings at Green Springs.

Comments on other economic factors

  • In 1988, reserves were reported to be 1.25 Million tons grading 0.06 opt Au, with an additional possible resource of 500,000 tons grading 0.036 opt Au.
    The mine produced from 1988 to 1991 and was reportedly mined out in 1992.
    Total production reported from 1988 to 1991 was 63,000 ounces of gold and 9000 ounces of silver, but silver was not reported for all years.

Comments on development

  • The claims were staked in 1979 by USMX, covering a 4 km long north-trending band of jasperoids. From 1980 to 1986, the property was explored by five joint venture partners using the Pilot Formation "Alligator Ridge" deposit model. Approximately 75 holes were drilled during this period, in addition to geologic mapping (1:4800) and grid soil and rock geochemistry. Results were discouraging and the joint venture was terminated. In 1986, USMX elected to explore the property without joint venture partners. The Pilot Formation-hosted model was abandoned in favor of a Chainman Formation-hosted model. The fourth hole of the June, 1986 drilling program intersected 21 meters of 1.9 grams per ton gold starting at a depth of 3 meters below the surface. Over the next 12 months, approximately 350 holes were drilled on a 15 by 30 meter grid, which delineated two orebodies and identified 3 other mineralized zones. The most successful exploration tool at Green Springs was grid soil geochemistry.

    The mine was operated with a stripping ratio of 2.7:1 and a cutoff grade of 0.7 grams/ton. Gold recovery of 80% was achieved using heap leach technology. Dore produced was is 84% Au, 14% Ag. Mining was completed in June 1990; heap leaching continued through 1990 and into 1991. Former owner USMX merged with Dakota Mining Corp. in May 1997, but it is uncertain if they still had Green Springs at that time.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The deposit consists of 4 separate mineralized zones. Gold occurs on limonitic fractures.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-2002 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

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.