strategic minerals investigations 1940 · 292 42. £, nodular chromlte from the black spot no. 1...

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary

^ I ^.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY '^ W. C. Mendenhall, Director

-P Bulletin 922

STRATEGIC MINERALS INVESTIGATIONS1940

PART 1, A-K

Short papers and preliminary reports by

R. J. ROBERTS, T. P. THAYER, D. W. LEMMON

and others

.;...«. : : */ '.-. :

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 1941

CONTENTS

[The letters in parentheses preceding the titles are those used to designate the papers for separate publication]

Page(A) Quicksilver deposits of the Bottle Creek district,

Humboldt County, Nevada, by R. J. Roberts (pub lished in July 1940)............................... 0 1

(B) Quicksilver deposits of the Mount Diablo district, Contra Costa County, California, by C. P. Ross (published in July 1940)............................ 31

(C) Manganese deposits in the Little Florida Mountains, Luna County, New Mexico, by S. G. Lasky (pub lished in August 1940).............................. 55

(D) Chromite deposits of Grant County, Oregon, by T. P.Thayer (published In September 1940)................ 75

(E) Quicksilver deposit at Buckskin Peak, National Min ing district, Humboldt County, Nevada, by R. J. Roberts, (published in September 1940)............... 115

(F) Tungsten deposits of Boulder County, Colorado, byT. S. Lovering (published in September 1940)........ 135

(G) Manganese deposits at Philipsburg, Granite County, Montana, by E. N. Goddard (published in Septem ber 1940)........................................... 157

(H) Tungsten deposits of the Atolia district, San Bernardino and Kern Counties, California, by D. M. Lemmon and J. V» N. Dorr 2d (published in November 1940....................................... 205

(I) Antimony deposits of a part of the Yellow pine dis trict, Valley County, Idaho, by D. E. White (pub lished in November 1940)............................ 247

(J) Chromite deposits in the Seiad quadrangle, Siskiyou County, California, by G. A. Rynearson and C. T.' Smith (published in February 1941).................. 281

(K) Antimony deposits of the Wlldrose Canyon area, Inyo County, California, by D. E. White (published in December 1940)....................................... 307

III

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Plate 1. Geologic map and sections of Bottle Creekdistrict, Nevada................o............ 4

2. Map and sections of White Peak workings ofScossa mine................o................. 20

3. Map and section of Blue Can mine............... 204. Map and sections of McAdoo mine................ 205. Map and sections of Birthday mine.............. 216. Geologic map of the Mount Diablo mine.......... 347. Geologic map of Mount Diablo region, Contra

Costa County, California..................... 358. Geologic map of Mill Workings, Mount Diablo

mine......................................... 429. Topographic and generalized geologic map of

Little Florida Mountains, N. Mex............. 5810. Geologic plan and projection of Manganese

Valley mine.................................. 66llo Geologic plan and projection of Luna mine,,..... 6712. Map of serpentine belts of Strawberry Range

and chromite deposits of Grant County, Oreg.. 8413. Preliminary geologic map of east half of Can

yon City belt of ultramafic rocks, Grant County, Oreg............................ In pocket

14o Geologic map of Chambers chromite depositand sections through diamond-drill holes..... 100

15. Geologic map and section of Iron King chro mite deposit.................................. 100

16. View of quarry at Iron King mine............... 10117. Geologic map and sections of Dry Camp chro

mite deposit...................o........ In pocket18. Geologic map of Marks & Thompson chromite

deposit...................................... 10819. Plan of Ray mine............................... 10820. Plan and section of Silver Lease chromite

deposit.............................. .. ...... 11021. Geologic map and sections of Buckskin Peak..... 11822. A, View of siliceous sinter blanket from the

south; B, Cliff exposure of sinter on the southeast side of the blanket................ 126

23. Cinnabar-bearing layers........................ 12724. Map showing location of Boulder County tung

sten belt and general regional geology.v In pocket25. Geologic map 'of Boulder County tungsten

belt and adjacent area.................. In pocket26. Geologic map of the Philipsburg district.. In pocke't 27o Polished ore specimen from Algonquin mine...... 17628. Manganese-oxide ore. A_, Prom Algonquin mine;

B, From Bryant mine.......................... 17629. Manganese-oxide ore from Headlight mine and

Sharktown glory hole......................... 17630. Cross sections of parts of the manganese-

producing area............................... 18431. Geologic plan of the workings of the Head

light mine 0 ............................. In pocket32. Maps of the Scratch Awl mine.............. In pocket

IV

ILLUSTRATIONS V

Page

Plate 33. Geologic plan of the 400- and 500-footlevels of the Trout mine............... In pocket

34o Geologic plan and section of the WestAlgonquin and Bernard mines.......;.... In pocket

| 35. Geologic map of the Atolia mining dis-,4 trlcto................................. In pocket

36-. Plan and sections of the principal minesof the Atolia mining district.......... In pocket

37o Claim map of the Atolia mining district.. In pocket38. Geologic map of the Yellow Pine mine

area 0 .................................. In pocket39. Topographic map of the Yellow Pine mine....... 27440. Preliminary geologic map and sections of

the northeastern part of the Seiad quad rangle , California..................... In pocket

41. Chromite ore from the Jumbo claim............. 29242. £, Nodular chromlte from the Black Spot No. 1

claim; B, Rudely banded chromlte ore from the Selad Creek deposit..................... 292

43. Orbicular chromite ore from the Octopusclaim....................................... 292

44. Map and sections of the Selad Creek chromltedeposit................................ In pocket

45<> Geologic map and cross section of a part of the area between Wildrose and Tuber Can yons ................................... In pocke t

46<> Geologic map and cross section of thenorth side of Wildrose Canyon............... 318

Figure lo Index map of Nevada showing location of Bot tle Creek district.......................... 3

2. Index map of part of northern Californiashowing location of Mount Diablo district... 32

3. Structure sections through Mill Workings,Mount Diablo mine........................... 48

4. Index map of New Mexico showing location ofLittle Florida Mountains.................... 56

5o Sketch showing common stratigraphic relations of rocks of Little Florida Mountains, N. Mexo........................................ 59

6 8 View of Manganese Valley vein. ....<>........... 627 0 "Pudding ore" in Luna mine.................... 638. Polished specimen of "pudding ore"............ 649. Polished specimen of vein matter showing in-

tergrowth of quartz and calcite............. 6610o Geologic plan of tunnel on Manganese Valley

No. 13 claim................................ 6911. Assay map of high-grade footwall streak in

Manganese Valley mine....................... 7212. Specimen from dump of Ward mine showing rela

tions between nodular ore, spotted ore, and barren dunite............................... 90

13. Superimposed linear and planar banding innodular chromlte ore........................ 91

14. Plan of southwest end of southwest ore bodyat Chambers mine............................ 93

15. Plan of Black Velvet chromite deposit......... 10116 0 Plan of Bald Eagle chromite deposit........... 10417o Plan and section of Celebration mine.......... 10518« Plan of Ray chromlte prospects between Over-

holt and Indian Creeks...................... 10919o Plan of principal opening on Norway claim..... Ill20. Index map of Nevada showing location of Na

tional mining district and other cinnabar- bearing silicsous sinter deposits........... 117

VI ILLUSTRATIONS **

Page ^

Figure 21. Geologic map and section of National mining ^ district and Canyon Creek, Humboldt Coun ty, Nev...................................... 120

22. Map and sections of the East workings, McCor- '-^ mick group.»................................ 128

23. Map and section of the West workings, McCor- -s mlck groupo°................................. . 129

24. Diagram showing possible extension of ore 3 zones, McCormick group...................... 130

25o Perberite concentrates produced in Boulder > County 1900-1938.0..............o........... 136

26 0 Diagram representing conditions of mineral!- .( zation 0 ..................................... 145 v

27 0 Longitudinal section of Cold Spring mine...... 14728o Localization of ore at change in the course -

of a vein................................... 14929. Localization of ore at junction of two inter

secting veinso.............................. 15030o Localization of ore at junction of a branch

vein with a breccia reef.................... 15131. Index map of Montana showing the location of *

the Philipsburg district.................... 15932o Plan and sections of manganese ore body at v

Algonquln mine 0 .............................. 18033. Sketch of ore body in Sharktown glory hole 0 ..o 18134. Longitudinal section of the Pocahontas vein,

Trout mine.................................. 19735. Plan of the upper six levels of the Trout

mine........................................ 19836. Index map of southern California showing loca

tion of the Atolia mining district.......... 20637. Section through the Union No. 1 shaft......... 23338. Section through the Acaley mine............... 23739. Veins and faults on the first level of the

Paradox No. 3 mine.......................... 24040c Index map of Idaho showing location of the

Yellow Pine district........................ 24941. Index map of northern California showing loca

tion of the Seiad quadrangle................ 28242» Diagram showing results of metallurgical tests

made on Seiad Creek ore..................... 29243. Plans of underground workings at the Seiad

Creek chromite deposit...................... 29944 0 Map of the Pairview group of chromite claims. , 30245<> Index map showing relative positions of claims

in the two areas mapped geologically........ 30946o Diagrammatic section showing the relation of

a known vein to an anticline and a syn- cline....................................... 318

INDEX

A Page

Abstracts of reports................. 1,31, 55, 75, 115, 135, 157, 205, 247-248, 281, 307.

Acaleymlne, geology of.......... 236, 237Acknowledgments for aid.............. 2-4,

34, 59, 77-78, 116, 135-136, 158,211, 251, 281-283, 308-309.

Ajax mine, workings of............... 103Algonquln mine, manganese deposit in. 180,

202 Alice Bell claims, workings of....... 29Amador claim, workings of........... 25-27American Gold & Tungsten Corporation,

property of.................... 244Amity mine, workings of........... 236-237Another Chance claim. See Stone &

Hankins mine. Anthill claims, workings of......... 22-25Antimony deposits, Wildrose Canyon

area, Calif..... 307-325, pis. 45-46Yellow Pine district, Idaho....... 247-

279, pis. 38-39 Antimony Ridge, antimony deposits

near........................ 321-324Apex claim, workings of............. 28-29Atolia district, Calif., geology of.. 211-

216, pi. 35 tungsten deposits in.............. 205-

245, pis. 35-37 Atolia Rand Placers, Inc., holdings

of............................. 242

B

Bald Eagle chromite deposit, charac ter of......................... 104

Baldwin mine, workings of........... 28-29Barton claim, workings of............ 306Bernard mine, workings of 202-204, pi. 34 Big Ben shaft, geology of............ 241Big Bertha chromite deposits, charac

ter of............'..... 105, 108-109Big Four claims, workings of......... 29Birthday mine, workings of... 25-27, pi. 5 Black Beauty claim, workings of..... 28-29Black Spot claims, chromite in....... 305Black Velvet claim, chromite deposit

in............................. 100Blackhawk Mining Co., property of.... 243Blue Bucket claims, workings of..... 28-29Blue Bucket Fraction claims, workings

of............................ 28-29Blue Can mine, workings of... 19-22, pi. 3 Blue Eagle claims, workings of...... 22-25Bluebird claims, workings of........ 22-25Bluebird Fraction claim, workings of 22-25 Bottle Creek district, Nev., geology

of....................... 4-9, pi. 1quicksilver deposits of 1-29, pis. 1-5 quicksilver production in......... 4

Bottle Creek Mercury claim, workingsof..................... 19-22, pi. 3

Boulder County, Colo., geology of.... 137-141, pi. 25

tungsten deposits of.............. 135-156, pis. 24-25

Buckskin Peak, Ne\ , geology of...... 119-124, pi. 21

mine workings at....... 127-132, pi. 21quicksilver deposits of ....... 4... 115-

133, pis. 21-23Bull Spring, Oreg. . chromite pros

pects near..................... 113

C . ' Page

California, chromite deposits in.. 281-306 quicksilver deposits In.........., 31-54tungsten deposits in........... 205-245

Campbell mine, location of........... 110Celebration mine, workings of..... 104-105Cerro Colorado claim. See Liberty

claim.Chambers mine, geology of... 96-98, pi. 14 Chromite claim. See Octopus claim. Chromite deposits, Grant County,

Oreg............. 75-113, pis. 12-20Seiad quadratic, Calif........... 281-

306, pis. 40-44Cliff Millslte mine, manganese depos

it in.......................... 202Cliff mine, manganese deposit In 180, 202 Climax mine, manganese deposit in.... 202Cold Spring mine, tungsten deposit of 143,

146-149, 152 Colorado, tungsten deposits in.... 135-156Combination mine, workings of........ 322Conger mine, tungsten deposit of 146, 148 Contra Costa County, Calif., quick

silver deposits in.. 31-54, pis. 6-8 Coyle mine, manganese deposit in..... 202

Delore prospects, production of chro mite from................... 112-113

Dolbear mine, chromite in............ 306Dorr, J. V. N., 2d, Lemmon, D. M.,

and, Tungsten deposits of the Atolia district, San Bernardi- no and Kern Counties, Calif.... 205-

245, pis. 35-37Dry Camp mine, chromite deposit of... 100-

102, pi. 17Durango mine, manganese deposit in 180,202

Fairvlew group, chromite deposit of.. 301-303

Federal mine, workings of......... 241-242Flatiron mine, workings of........... 238-

239, pis. 35-36 Fraction claim, workings of.......... 22-25

Geologic maps:Atolia district, San Bernardino

and Kern Counties, Calif..... pi. 35Bottle Creek district, Humboldt

County, Nev................... pi. 1Boulder County, Colo............. pi. 25Buckskin Peak, National mining

district, Humboldt County, Nev.......................... pi. 21

Grant County, Oreg.............. pi. 13Little Florida Mountains, Luna

County, N. Mex................ ppl. 9Mount Diablo district, Contra

Costa County, Calif........... pi. 7Phlllpsburg district, Granite

County, Mont................. pi. 26Seiad quadrangle, Slskiyou County,

Calif........................ pi. 40Wildrose Canyon area,. Inyo Coun

ty, Calif................ pis. 45-46Yellow Pine district, Valley Coun

ty, Idaho.................... pi. 38

VII

vm INDEX

Page

Glasscock claims, production of chro-mite from................... 111-112

Ooddard, E. N.,.Manganese deposits at Phlllpaburg, Granite County, Mont............ 157-204, pis. 26-34

Goldstone_ mine, condition of......... 237Qoodenough claim, workings of 19-22, pi. 3 Granite County, Mont., manganese de

posits in....... 157-204, pis. 26-34Grant County, Oreg., chromlte depos

its of........... 75-113, pis. 12-20geology of............... 78-87, pi. 13

H

H. * M. 2 claim, workings of...... 127-129Hamburg Bar mine. See Fairview group. Hanenkrat prospect. See Big Bertha. Hanklns mine, production of chromite

from........................... 112Headlight mine, geology and workings

of......... 181, 189-192, pis. 29-31Hector claim, workings of............ 25-27Horton mine, manganese deposit in 180, 202 Howard prospects, chromlte deposit of 105,

107-108Huffman mine, manganese deposit in... 202 Humboldt County, Nev., quicksilver

deposits in................... 1-29,115-133, pla. 1-5, 21-23

I Guess shaft, exploration through... 245 Idaho, antimony deposits in....... 247-279Inyo County, Calif., antimony depos

its in.......... 307-325, pis. 45-46Iron King mine, geology of..'......... 98-

100, pis. 15-16

Jones tunnel, workings of. Jumbo claim, workings of..

45305

Kennedy mine, workings' of............ 324Kern County, Calif., tungsten depos

its in.......... 205-245, pis. 35-37Kingsley mine, chromite deposit of 105,106

Lasky, 3. 0., Manganese deposits in the Little Florida Mountains, Luna County, N. Mex. 55-73, pis. 9-11

Last Chance claim, workings of...... 25-27Lemmon, D. M., and Dorr, J. V. N.,

2d, Tungsten deposits of the Atolla district, San Bernardi- no and Kern Counties, Calif.... 205-

245, pis. 35-37 Liberty claim, workings of........ 304-305Lily tunnel, ore shoot in............ 150Little Dandy mine, manganese deposit

in............................. 202Little Florida Mountains, N. Mex.,

geology of............. 59-61, pi. 9manganese deposits in 55-73, pis. 9-11

Logan mine, tungsten deposits of.ft... 143 Lone Star Fraction claim, workings of 25-

27243243

Long's Folly claim, workings of......Long's Folly Extension, workings of..Levering, T. 3., Tungsten deposits of

Boulder County, Colo........... 135-156, pis. 24-25

Luna County, N. Mex., manganese de posits in.......... 55-73, pis. 9-11

Luna mine, workings of..... 71, 73, pi. 11

M

Manganese deposits, Little FloridaMountains, N. Mex. 55-73, pis. 9-11

Phillpsburg, Mont. 157-204, pis. 26-34 Manganese Valley mine, production

from.......................... 57-58workings of.......... 70-71, 72, pi. 10

Page

Marks & Thompson mine, chromlte de posit In................ 102, pi. 18

Mary Lou claim. See Octopus claim.McAdoo mine, workings of..... 22-25, pi. 4McConnlck group, mine workings in 127-132 McGuffy Creek chroralte deposits,

claims on................... 303-305Meadow Creek mfne, ore deposits of 261-263 Mercury King claim, workings of..... 25-27Mill Workings, features of........... 34,

41-42, 46-49, pi. 8 Milton; Charles, analyses by......... 291Mohawk mine, workings of............. 323Monarch mine, workings of......... 321-322Monopoly mine, features of........ 322-323Montana, manganese deposits in.... 157-204Morning mine, manganese deposit in... 180,

Mount Dlablo district, Calif., geolo gy of............... 35-40, pis.

quicksilver deposits of 31-54, pis.Mount Diablo mine, quicksilver pro

duction from.................. 2

202

6-8 6-8

N

Napatftma (?) claim. See Neptune claim. National mining district, Nov.,

quicksilver deposits of........ 115-133, pis. 21-23

Neptune claim, workings of........... 305Nevada, quicksilver deposits in...... 1-

29, 115-133New Mexico, manganese deposits in... 55-73 Nlebuhr mine, workings of............ 29Norway mine, production from..... 110-111

Octopus claim, workings of........... 304O'Nelll shaft, exploration through... 244 Ore deposits, Atolia district,

Calif....................... 216-229Bottle Creek district, Nev....... 10-16Boulder County, Colo........... 141-156Buckskin Peak, Nev............. 124-133Grant County, Oreg............... 87-95Little Florida Mountains, N. Mex. 61-67 Mount Diablo district, Calif..... 40-52Phllipsburg district, Mont..... 170-188Seiad quadrangle, Calif........ 289-297Wlldrose Canyon area, Calif.... 316-324Yellow Pine district, Idaho.... 259-271

Ore reserves, Atolia district,Calif.............. 223-224, 228-229

Bottle Creek district, Nev....... 14-16Boulder County, Colo.............. 156Buckskin Peak, Nev............. 132-133Grant County, Oreg............... 95-96Little Florida Mountains, N. Mex. 67-70 Phillpsburg district, Mont........ 185-

188, 191-192 Seiad quadrangle, Calif........... 297Wlldrose Canyon area, Calif.... 324-325Yellow Pine district, Idaho.... 271-279

Oregon, chromlte deposits in....... 75-113Osdlck group, geology of.......... 240-241

Papoose mine, workings of............ 238Par mine, workings of 238-239, pis. 35-36 Paradox No. 1 and No. 3 mines, geolo

gy of ...................... 239,240Perhaps claim, workings of.......... 25-27Phllipsburg district, Mont., geology

of.................. 162-170, pi. 26manganese deposits In............. 157-

204, pis. 26-34production of manganese from... 160-161

Pickup claims, workings on.......... 22-25Pine Creek, chromite prospects near.. 105,

108Powers mine, chromite deposit of 105, 107 Prospecting, suggestions for, in

Atolia district, Calif......... 223in Boulder County, Colo........ 153-155In Mount Diablo district, Calif. 52-53 In Phillpsburg district, Mont. 183-185 in Yellow Plrie district, Idaho 267, 269

Q Page

Queen of the May mine, production ofchromite from............... 111-112

Quicksilver deposits, Bottle Creekdistrict, Nev........ 1-29, pis. 1-5

Buckskin Peak, Nev. 115-133, pis. 21-23 Mount Dlablo district, Calif...... 31-

54, pis. 6-8 Quicksilver production, in Bottle

Creek district, Nev............ 4in-Mount Diablo district, Calif... 34

Rainbow Fraction claim, workings of 22-25 Rainstorm mine, workings of....... 236-237Ray mine, workings of..... 102-103, pi. 19Red Butte claim, workings of......... 304Red Ore claims, workings of......... 18-19Red Ore Extension claim, workings of 22-25 Redemption mine, manganese deposit in 202 Redondo Pete claim, workings of...... 242Reed mine, location of............... 110Rhyne tunnel, workings of........... 45-46Roberts, R. J., Quicksilver deposit

at Buckskin Peak, National min ing district, Humboldt County, Nev............. . 115-133, pis. 21-23

Quicksilver deposits of the Bottle Creek district, Humboldt Coun ty, Nev.............. 1-29, pis. 1-5

Rogers mine, tungsten deposit of.. 150-151 Ross, Ci P., Quicksilver deposits of

the Mount Diablo district, Con tra Costa County, Calif........ SI-

54, pis. 6-8 Ryne mine, quicksilver production

from........................... 33Rynearson, 0. A., and Smith, C. T.,

Chromite deposits In the Seiad quadrangle, Sisklyou County, Calif........... 281-306, pis. 40-44

St. Elmo mine, workings of........... 243San Bemardino County, Calif., tung

sten deposits In 205-245, pis. 35-37 Scossa mine, workings of..... 16-19, pi. 2Scratch Awl mine, geology and work

ings of............. 192-396, pi. 32Seiad Creek chromite deposit, geology

and workings of..... 298-301, pi. 44Seiad quadrangle, Calif., chromite

deposits in.................... 281-306, pis. 40-44

geology of............. 284-289, pi. 40Senator claims, workings of......... 28-29Sharktown mine, manganese deposit in 181,

202Sheep Rock chromite deposits, char

acter of.................... 108-109Silver Lease mine, workings of 11.0, pi. 20 Siskiyou County, Calif., chromite

deposits In.... 281-306, pla. 40-44Skylark mine, geology of............. 241Smith, C. T., Rynearson, 0. A., and,

Chromite deposits in the Seiad quadrangle, Sisklyou County, Calif........... 281-306, pis. 40-44

Smith & OeitsfieId mine, productionfrom........................ 110-111

Spanish mine, workings of............ 238-239, pis. 35-36

Page

Spring and Chrome Ridge mine. SeeHankins mine.

Standard claims, workings of........ 22-25Stone & Hankins mine, production of

chromite from............... 111-112Strawberry Range, chromite deposits

of........................... 76-113Sun shaft, exploration through....... 244Sunflower claim, workings of........ 28-29Sun-Set claims, workings of.......... 29

Thayer, T. P., Chromite deposits ofGrant County, Oreg............. 75-

113, pis. 12-20 Tiger claims, workings of........... 22-25Tin Can mine. See Blue Can mine.Top Notch claim, workings of......... 244Trout mine, geology and workings of.. 196-

202, pi. 33 True Fissure mine, manganese deposit

in............................. 202Tungsten deposits, Atolla district,

Calif........... 205-245, pis. 35-37Boulder County, Colo.............. 135-

156, pis. 24-25

Uncle Sam mine, production of chro mite from.................... 111-112

Union mine, geology and workings of 232-235, pi. 36

Valley County, Idaho, antimony depos its In.......... 247-279, pis. 38-39

Veta Grande claim. See Red Butte claim.

W

Ward mine, chromite deposit in.... 105-106West Algonquln mine, workings of..... 202-

204, pi. 34 Western Metals Co., production by.... 308White, D. E., Antimony deposits of a

part of the Yellow Pine dis trict, Valley County, Idaho..,. 247-

279, pis. 38-39Antimony deposits of the Wlldrose

Canyon area, Inyo County, Calif.......................... 307-

325, pis. 45-46 White Peak claims, workings of....... 17-

18, pi. 2Wildrose Antimony mine, workings of.. 321 Wildrose Canyon area,.Calif., antimo

ny deposits of................. 307-325, pis. 45-46

field work in.................. 308-309geology of......................... 310-

324, pis. 45-46

Yellow Pine district, Idaho, antimonydeposits in.................... 247-

279, pis. 38-39 geology of............. 252-258, pi. 38

Yellow Pine mine, tungsten deposit of 143

o

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. C. Mcndcnhall, Director

Bulletin 922-A

QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS

OF THE BOTTLE CREEK DISTRICT

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, NEVADA

A PRELIMINARY REPORT

RALPH J. ROBERTS

Strategic Minerals Investigations, 1940

(Pages 1-29)

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 1940

For Bale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, ,D. C. Price 35 cents

CONTENTS

PageAbstract............................................... 1Introduction and history............................... 2Geology................................................ 4

pre-Tertiary rocks................................. 5Tertiary (?) rocks................................. 6

Lower tuffs, conglomerate, and sandstone....... 6. Basalt.......................................... 6Upper tuffs and clays.......................... 7Diabase dikes.................................. 7Rhyolite....................................... 8

Quaternary deposits................................ 8Structure.......................................... 8

Ore bodies............................................. 10Cinnabar-bearing fault zones....................... 10Cinnabar-bearing diabase dikes..................... 10

Mineralogy..................................... 11Localization of ore bodies..................... 12Size and grade of ore bodies................... 14Reserves....................................... 14

Mines and prospects.................................... 16Scossa mine........................................ 16

White Peak group............................... 17Red Ore group................................... 18

Blue Can mine...................................... 19McAdoo mine........................................ 22Birthday mine...................................... 25Baldwin mine....................................... 28Niebuhr mine....................................... 29

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page Plate 1. Geologic map and sections of Bottle Creek

district, Nevada........................... 42. Map and sections of White Peak workings of

Scossa mine................................ 203. Map and section of Blue Can mine............. 204. Map and sections of McAdoo mine.............. 205. Map and sections of Birthday mine............ 21

Figure 1. Index map of Nevada showing location ofBottle Creek district...................... 3

III

QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF BOTTLE CREEK DISTRICT

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, NEVADA

A PRELIMINARY REPORT

By Ralph J. Roberts

ABSTRACT

The Bottle Creek district in Humboldt County, northwest ern Nevada, produced 310 flasks of quicksilver between September 1938 and October 1939. Although underground work aggregates only about 2,000 feet, the outlook for future production appears promising.

The rocks include an older pre-Tertiary group of com plexly folded and faulted sedimentary and volcanic rocks and a later group probably of Tertiary age, that is also composed of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The Tertiary (?) group has been divided into five units. Three of these units ; the lower tuffs, conglomerate, and sandstone, the basalt, and the upper tuffs and clays dip west and are In fault contact with the pre-Tertiary rocks. All are cut by diabase dikes and all are unconformably overlain by rhyolite flows that dip east.

There are two types of ore deposits: cinnabar-bearing faults and cinnabar-bearing diabase dikes. Prior to January 1940 all the production had come from the dikes, but recent development work has shown material of commercial grade in two fault zones. Ore shoots mined in the dikes are commonly small but of high grade and average about 30 pounds of quick silver to the ton.

In the engineering sense there are no proved reserves, but in the light of past production the probable reserves in known dikes to a depth of 150 feet are estimated at about 3,000 flasks of quicksilver,!/ which can be profitably mined so long as the price of quicksilver remains at $125 or more a flask.

I/ A flask contains 76 pounds.

2 STRATEGIC MINERALS INVESTIGATIONS, 1940

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

The Bottle Creek district is in Humboldt County, Nev.,

about 65 miles by road northwest of Winnemucca, in T. 40 N.,

R. 33 E. (fig. 1). The district is accessible throughout

the year, although rain and snow occasionally make the last

6 miles of road impassable for short periods. No previous

geologic mapping has been done in the area, but the district

was briefly visited and some prospects were described by2/

Vanderburg in 1937.-7 ,

The district lies in the foothills of the northeastern

part of the Jackson Mountains, a northward-trending fault-3/

block range in the northern part of the Great Basin. . Much

of the area mapped is a region of waste-covered slopes be

tween the rugged main range to the west and two rhyolite-

capped hills to the east. (See pi. 1.) Rock outcrops are

sparse and poor. There are no permanent streams, and water

for domestic purposes and mining is obtained from springs.

During August, September, and October, 1939, the writer,

assisted by Arthur E. Granger, spent 34 days in field work.

The geology and topography of 5^- square miles were mapped on

a scale of 1:12,000. The underground workings were mapped on

a scale of 1:240, or 20 feet to the inch. The operators and

miners in the district were uniformly courteous and helpful,

and the writer wishes especially to acknowledge the assist

ance of James and Arnold Scossa, D. J. Wootan, M. S. McCown,

Dr. W. C. McAdoo, Ao M. Tweedt, H. W. Baldwin, and T. C.

Niebuhr. The writer is also indebted to H. G. Ferguson,

2j Vanderlmrg, W. 0., Reconnaissance of mining distracts in Hunfooldt County, Nevada: U. S. Bur. Mines, I. C. 6995, p. 17, 1938.

3/ Russell, I.C., Geological history of Lake Lahontan: U. S. Oeol. Survey Mon. 11, p. 27, 1885.

QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS, BOTTLE CREEK DISTRICT, NEVADA 3

Figure 1. Index map of Nevada showing location of Bottle Creek district.


T. B.. Nolan, and C. P. Ross of the Geological Survey for help

ful advice during field work and in the preparation of this

reports

Although the presence of cinnabar in the Bottle Creek4/

area has been known since about 1928, cinnabar lodes were

not discovered until September 1936, when James and Arnold

Scossa panned cinnabar from stream gravels in Halburg Canyon ,,

and traced the cinnabar to the area now Included in their

Red Ore group of claims. As news of the strike became known,

others staked adjoining ground, and cinnabar was discovered

on several claims. The first retort was installed by D. J.

Wootan, and production began in September 1938. The monthly

production of the district from September 1938 to September

1939 is as follows:

Production of quicksilver, in flasks, in the Bottle Creek district, 1938-39

September 1938.... 8 April 1939........ 13October. .......... 18 May. .............. 33November. ......... 20 June .............. 33December. ......... 29 July. ............. 36January 1939 ...... 25 August . ........... 37February. ......... 14 September. ........ 53March. ............ 11 Total 1938-39. ""

Late in 1938 and early in 1939 quicksilver ranged in

price from $75 to $93 a flask; in September 1939 it rose to

$165. As the district is new and the development is in its

early stages, there is no significant relation between output

and price of quicksilver.

GEOLOGY

The rocks of the Bottle Creek district (pi. 1) include

an older group of complexly folded and faulted sedimentary

and volcanic rocks of pre-T'ertiary age and a younger group

4/ Scossa, James, personal communication.57 Meyer, H. M., U. S. Bur. Mines, personal communication.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 922 PLATE 1

EXPLANATION

Upper tuffs and clays

Lower tuffs, conglomerate,

Geology and topography byRalph J.Roberts and A.E.Granger

3,000 Feet

Phy II ite, greenstone, quartzite, etc.

Fault(Solid where exposed, dashed where concea/ed, doffed where inferred; arrow shows dip)

±*°'

Strike and dip

Shaft-<

Tunnelx

ProspectContour interval 25 feet Assumed sea level datum

6,000-,

'-Jd6,000

s,soo-

s,ooo

GEOLOGIC MAP AND SECTIONS OF BOTTLE CREEK DISTRICT,HUMBOLDT COUNTY, NEVADA

1940

' -'"'V


of Tertiary (?) volcanic and sedimentary rocks that have been

tilted and faulted and only gently folded. Undeformed Qua

ternary deposits overlie both groups.

Pre-Tertlary rocks

The most extensive exposures of pre-Tertiary rocks are

along the western border of the dis.trict, but there are also

outcrops in the central and eastern parts where the over

lying Tertiary (?) rocks have been eroded.

Phyllite, limestone, and fine-grained sandstone are most

abundant in the western part of the district. They are for

the most part finely laminated, and where unaltered, they are

gray to black. Thin beds of quartzite are present in some

places*

Greenstones, which are altered andesitic and basaltic

rocks, and graywacke predominate in the central part of the

district. They are generally dark green when freshly broken

but weather to a reddish-brown soil. The graywackes cannot

everywhere > distinguished from the greenstones, but gener

ally the graywacke.s contain fragments of phyllite and argil-

lite and are locally well-bedded. In some places these rocks

have been hydrothermally altered and are, therefore, not

easily distinguished from the Tertiary (?) tuffs and sedi

mentary rocks. No fossils have been found in the pre-Terti

ary rocks, the specific age of which, consequently, is un

known. They are similar, however, to rocks that overlie

Pennsylvanian limestone and are overlain by the Koipato for

mation of Permian and Triassic age in the Sonoma Range quad

rangle to the southeast.229673 O 40 2


Tertiary (?) rocks

The Tertiary (?) rocks of the district may be divided

into five units. The three oldest units, which may be con

veniently called the lower group, include a lower unit of

tuffs, conglomerate, and sandstone and an upper unit of tuffs

and clays separated by a basalt unit. These three units are

cut by diabase dikes, which contain the ore bodies. The low

er group and the diabase dikes are unconformably overlain by

rhyolite flows. No fossils were found in any of these rocks,

but they resemble known Tertiary rocks in adjoining areas.

Lower tuffs, conglomerate, and sandstone.--The lower

unit of tuffs, conglomerate, and sandstone is exposed at

three places in the central and southern parts of the dis

trict, but it is absent to the north, where basalt flows rest

directly on the pre-Tertiary rocks. Its basal member, which

is exposed only in mine workings, is a red and green clay

that contains fragments of partly decomposed greenstone and

graywacke. It probably represents the weathered soil mantle

developed on the pre-Tertiary rocks. The clay is overlain by

massive to well-bedded pink, white, and gray tuffs with

intercalated sandstone and conglomerate. The tuffs consist

chiefly of rhyolite fragments and quartz and feldspar crys

tals o The conglomerates contain rounded to subangular

boulders of rhyolite and quartzite as much as 6 inches in

diameter. The entire lower unit probably does not exceed

500 feet in thickness. It appears to be overlain by basalt

without angular unconformity.

Basalt.--Basalt crops out in two areas, a large one in

the north-central part and a smaller one in the southern

part of the district. In the intervening area the absence

of basalt is doubtless the result of either post-basalt

erosion or the failure of the basalt flows to cover this


area. The basalt is commonly fine-grained but locally con

tains phenocrysts of plagioclase feldspar as much as an inch

long. In most places it is amygdaloidal. The basalt weathers

to a porous light- to medium-brown soil containing fragments

of chalcedony and calcite that have weathered out of the

amygdules.

Upper tuffs and clays. The upper unit of tuffs and

clays has been mapped only in the west-central part of the

district; elsewhere it appears to have been removed by pre-

rhyolite erosion. Outcrops are poor, but the unit as exposed

in mine workings includes red clays and fine-grained gray

tuffs.

Diabase dikes.--Diabase dikes appear to be more abun

dant in the western part of the district than elsewhere, but

this abundance may be in part the result of the better and

more extensive exposures in that region. Some of the dikes

may be feeders of the basalt flows, which they resemble, but

some of them are certainly younger, as they cut the upper

tuffs and sediments. Where seen underground, the dikes range

in width from 3 to 20 feet, but some mapped on the surface by

the tracing of float appear to be as much as 100 feet wide.

As the dikes do not crop out prominently they are difficult

to trace. Some areas shown as diabase on the map may prove

to be fragmentary basalt outcrops.

The dikes strike northward and commonly dip steeply to

the east or west. Most of them are fine-grained and amygda

loidal at the borders and medium-grained in the middle. They

weather to a brownish porous soil similar to that derived

from the basalt.

The dikes are of especial interest in that they contain

all the quicksilver ore bodies that have been so far pro

ductive.


Rhyolite. Exposures of rhyolite are fairly abundant

throughout the area. The largest outcrops are those on the

hills northeast and southeast of the Scossa mine. The rhyo

lite rests unconformably on all the older formations, and

its eruption clearly followed an epoch of tilting and subse

quent erosion to a surface of low relief. The rhyolite is

massive in most places but locally has well-developed flow

structure. Most of it is dense and contains sparse pheno-

crysts of quartz and feldspar. At the Scossa mine the feld

spar phenocrysts are altered and partly leached, leaving

rectangular voids in the rock. Although most of the rhyolite

appears to consist of volcanic flows, one dike was mapped on

the ridge south of Halburg Mountain; and the massive outcrops

on Halburg Mountain and the ridge north of the Scossa mine

may be intrusive.

Quaternary deposits

* Two post-rhyolite formations are distinguished on plate

1. One of these is the gravel and silt that occurs in the

present stream beds; the other, composed of dissected alluvial

deposits and slope wash, conceals rather large areas of bed

rock in parts of the district.

Structure

The Tertiary (?) and pre-Tertiary rocks qf the district

have been deformed as a result of both tilting and faulting.

Individual formations, moreover, have been differently

affected by both types of disturbance.

The pre-Tertiary rocks have been most severely deformed.

They strike northeast to east, transverse to the general

trend of the range, and dip steeply southeast to south. Local

contorted minor folds suggest that these rocks are complexly


folded. The lower group of Tertiary (?) rocks dip 10°-40° W.

and overlie the pre-Tertiary rocks with marked angular uncon

formity. The rhyolite flows overlie both pre-Tertiary and the

lower group of Tertiary (?) rocks with angular unconformity

and dip gently east.

The major faults in the district strike northward and

dip steeply east. They appear to be most numerous in two

regions--one in the southeastern part of the area, where they

cut rhyolite and pre-Tertiary rocks; the other in the western

part of the area, where the lower group of Tertiary (?) forma

tions have been faulted against the pre-Tertiary.

Faulting occurred during at least two and possibly three

different stages. The earliest stage is represented by some

faults that cut the pre-Tertiary rocks. These faults are

commonly silicified and show evidence of recurrent movement,

but the amount of displacement is not known. They are be

lieved to be older than a second group of faults that cut the

lower group of Tertiary (?) rocks, but the evidence is not

conclusive. The second stage of faulting, which produced the

westerly tilt shown by the lower group of Tertiary (?) rocks,

preceded the eruption of rhyolite. One of the faults formed

during the second stage separates pre-Tertiary from Tertiary

(?) rocks in the southwestern part of the district and appears

to have a displacement of more than 1,500 feet. Some faults

of the second stage are economically important in that they

controlled the intrusion of the diabase dikes that were later

the sites of ore deposition. The youngest group of faults

cuts both the rhyolite and the older rocks. Displacement

along them appears to be small, but some of them have been

mineralized.


ORE BODIES

There are two types of ore deposits in the Bottle Creek

district: cinnabar-bearing fault zones in rhyolite and pre-

Tertlary rocks and cinnabar-bearing diabase dikes. The fault

zones had not become productive at the time the district was

visited, but later development work has shown the presence of

ore in commercial quantity in two of them. The diabase dikes

had yielded all the ore mined prior to January 1940. The ore

shoots in them are as much as 60 feet long, extend as much as

40 feet down the dip, and have been mined to a width of 8

feet. The high-grade shoots are controlled by "rolls" in the

dikes, inclusions of country rock, splits in the dikes, and

faults. The distribution of cinnabar within and adjacent to

the ore shoots is controlled by fractures.

Cinnabar-bearing fault zones

Three cinnabar-bearing fault zones were studied in the

Baldwin and Niebuhr mines. Development work on them, however,

was insufficient to determine the extent of mineralization,,

Two of these fault zones are in rhyolite and contain cinnabar,

caicite, chalcedony, and sparse pyrite. The cinnabar and

accompanying minerals fill cavities in the fault breccia and

replace the rhyolite along flow-bands. The other fault zone,

which is in phyllite, contains cinnabar and limonite within

the fault and on joints and cleavage planes adjacent to the

fault.

Cinnabar-bearing diabase dikes

Fourteen diabase dikes were mapped (see pi. 1). Pour of

those in the central and southwestern parts of the district

have produced ore. None of the others has been explored to


any noteworthy extent, and it is not known whether they are

also mineralized.

The Scosaa mine is on one dike and the workings of the

McAdoo mine and the Blue Can mine are on a second dike in the

central part of the district. In the southwestern part of

the district the Birthday mine and the workings of the Scossa

Bros, on Red Ore Fraction No. 2 claim are on a third dike, and

the workings of the Scossa Bros, on Red Ore No. 1 claim are

on a fourth.

Mineralogy»--Cinnabar, pyrite, and marcasite are the only

sulphides recognized in the ore deposits in diabase dikes.

They are commonly accompanied by chalcedony, quartz, and cal-

cite. The cinnabar is for the most part finely crystalline,

and in some places is interbanded with chalcedony. Locally

crystals as much as a quarter of an inch long may be found

in cavities. A little native quicksilver has been reported

from the Birthday mine. Cinnabar in some places makes up as

much as 7 percent of the ore (about 127 pounds of quicksilver

to the ton), but the average ore retorted in 1939 contained

less than 2 percent of cinnabar (less than 35 pounds of quick

silver to the ton). Emplacement of the ore and gangue min

erals was accomplished almost entirely by the filling of open

spaces along fractures; replacement of the wall rocks occurred

only locally. The diabase in most places has been only

slightly altered by mineralizing solutions, although feldspars

adjacent to the ore veinlets have been altered to clay min

erals, and small .amounts of pyrite, marcasite, calcite, and

silica have been Introduced locally.

Surficial alteration is generally restricted in depth

to 40 or 50 feet but locally extends deeper. Throughout

this depth the diabase, especially where mineralized, has

been so softened that it may be cut with a pick. Sulphuric

12

acid generated by the oxidation of pyrlte and marcaaite in the

ore and wall rocks appears to have been the chief cause of

this alteration. Some enrichment of cinnabar by descending

water may have occurred in the zone of oxidation but appears

to be of minor economic Importance.

Localization of ore bodies.--The localization of the ore

shoots thus far mined in diabase is not the result of a direct

genetic relation between the dikes and ore, as.the mineraliza

tion occurred very much later than the intrusion of the dikes.

The relatively brittle dike rock was more readily and more

thoroughly fractured than its wall rocks, and open fractures

in the dikes appear to have acted as channel-ways for the

movement of ore-bearing solutions. The relatively soft and

plastic tuffs and clays, on the other hand, were less readily

fractured and did not ordinarily permit the formation of

channels for the mineralizing solutions.

In a few places the dikes are uniformly mineralized and

are of sufficiently high grade to be mined throughout their

entire thicknesses. Locally the wall rock adjacent to the

dike is also impregnated with cinnabar or contains cinnabar

in fractures, but such mineralized fractures rarely extend

more than 2 feet from the dike. Commonly, however, the ore

shoot constitutes only a small part of the dike and almost

without exception it occurs along the hanging wall. This

localization suggests that mercury-bearing solutions rising

in the dike were restricted to the dike by the impervious

hanging wall so that they had to deposit cinnabar in the

fractures within the dikes.

The fractures in the dikes are of two types: one, com

posed of contraction cracks formed as the rock solidified

and cooled, is of lesser importance; the other, formed by

stresses related to later faulting, is superimposed on the


first type and accounts for most of the ore shoots. An abun

dance of closely spaced fractures appears to be the principal

requirement for the localization of ore shoots.

Three sets of contraction cracks are common: one set

parallel to the strike and dip of the dike, the other two

transverse to the dike and Intersecting each other at angles

ranging from 45° to 90°. Contraction cracks are commonly

narrow and widely spaced. Those parts of the dikes that are

cut only by them rarely contain ore shoots, as where the dikes

are simple tabular bodies and shearing took place along the

walla.

Concentrations of fractures that were formed during

faulting after the intrusion of the dikes are commonly limited

to such irregularities in the dikes as changes in strike and

dip, splits, inclusions of wall rock, and intersecting faults.

The confining effect of the hanging wall is especially

well shown in the McAdoo, Blue Can, and Scossa mines, where

closely spaced fractures at local flattenings or "rolls"

have localized ore shoots (pis. 2, 3, and 4) <> The dikes above

and below the "rolls" are of low grade or are barren.

Inclusions of country rock or splits in the dikes have

also caused the localization of ore shoots in the Scossa and

McAdoo mines (pis. 2 and 4). They have acted as secondary

hanging walls, though in places they are impregnated with

cinnabar.

In the Birthday mine (pi. 5) pre-ore faulting appears to

have controlled the distribution of ore shoots. Here the dike

is broken into segments by faults. Low-grade or barren seg

ments are separated from high-grade segments by faults, which

evidently controlled the flow of mineralizing solutions.229673 O 40 3

14

Size and grade of ore bodies. The ore shoots mined prior

to September 1939 range from a few feet to as much as 60 feet

in length and extend from 5 to 40 feet down the dip. Their

widths range from a foot or less to 8 feet or more. In some

places the ore shoots are bounded by faults, but they generally

grade laterally into rock too low in grade to be mined and

treated.

The ore bodies of the Bottle Creek district are of rela

tively high grade compared with those in most other quick

silver districts in the United States. The ore retorted has

averaged about 30 pounds of quicksilver to the ton, and some

stopes have yielded ore averaging more than 60 pounds. Pre

liminary information furnished by operators in-this district

indicates that with quicksilver at $76 a flask, ore for the

profitable operation of small retorts must contain more than

25 pounds of quicksilver to the ton. A rotary furnace of

30-ton daily capacity may be able to treat profitably ore that

contains from 6 to 8 pounds of quicksilver to the ton. With

an increase in the price of quicksilver and without a corre

sponding increase in commodity prices, obviously ore of lower

grade can be profitably treated.

Reaerves.--At.present the Bottle Creek district possesses*

essentially no blocked-out ore reserves, but its production

record leads to the expectation that systematic prospecting

will disclose additional ore bodies. Present estimates of

their number and their quicksilver content, of course, can

only be speculative, but the following statement may be of

use as an indication of the possible reserves of quicksilver

in the district.

Pour of the diabase dikes have so far been partly ex

plored and have been productive. Three of them are in Ter

tiary (?) rocks and the fourth is in pre-Tertiary rocks.


Altogether they are known to contain sporadic cinnabar for a

linear distance of about 3,500 feet, of which only 500 feet

has been developed. Prior to October 1939, 310 flasks of

quicksilver had been produced from workings within 50 feet of

the surface. If it may be inferred that the remaining 3,000

feet of unexplored dikes contains ore bodies of about the

same spacing and grade as those mined, it seems reasonable

that within the area mapped about 1,500 flasks may be re

covered within a depth of 50 feet or less. Although ore la

known to extend to a depth of 112 feet in the district, it is

not possible to predict how much deeper the cinnabar extends.

There are many quicksilver mines in the United States that

contain ore bodies at depths of much more than 100 feet. The

diabase dikes and fault zones in which ore shoots are local

ized in the Bottle Creek district are rather persistent later

ally, and it is probable that both dikes and fault zones have

similar persistence in depth. Thus it seems fair to infer

that ore shoots extend at least two or three times as deep as

the 50-foot depth from which production was derived in 1939.

It is questionable, however, whether the reserves will be

proportionately increased, for the spacing of ore shoots along

the strike may well decrease with increasing depth.»

Ten other diabase dikes were mapped during the examina

tion, chiefly in the western part of the area in both Ter

tiary (?) and pre-Tertiary rocks. None of them, nor any of

the fault zones in rhyolite and in pre-Tertiary rocks, had

been sufficiently explored In the fall of 1939 to provide a

basis for estimation of possible additional reserves that they

might contain. Available evidence, however, suggests that ore

bodies may be found in them. Finally, Tertiary (?) rocks

similar to those exposed In this district crop out to the

south, northeast, and north and may prove to be mineralized.


In summary, the Bottle Creek district, though it may

never be as productive as some of the larger California quick

silver districts, is believed to contain appreciable reserves

of quicksilver ore in rather small but high-grade ore shoots,

which because of their apparent localization in diabase dikes

and fault zones, are relatively easy to prospect. A highly

speculative estimate of the reserves, based on a price of $125

a flask, is that the dikes in the area mapped will yield a

minimum of 3,000 flasks of quicksilver at a depth of 150 feet

or less. This minimum may be increased .by additional pros

pecting.

MINES AND PROSPECTS

Mine workings in the district are very Irregular because

for the most part they follow the ore. The levels are num

bered according to their vertical depth below the surface.

The workings are shown as mapped in September 1939.

Scossa mine

The Scossa property, owned by James and Arnold Scossa,

of Winnemucca, consists of two groups of claims the White

Peak Nos. 1, 2, and 3, in the central part of the district,

and the Red Ore Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Red Ore Fraction, and

Red Ore Fraction Nos. 1 and 2 about a mile south of the White

Peak group.

The claims, the first staked in the district, were lo

cated in September 1936. A little assessment work was done

on them in 1936 and early in 1937; and in July 1937 they were

optioned to the Fulton Quicksilver Co., of Reno, Nev. This

company carried on development work including the sinking of

a shaft 112 feet deep on the White Peak No. 1 claim and drift

ing on the 62-foot and 112-foot levels. Several shallow


shafts were also put down on the Red Ore group. In 1938 the

claims reverted to the Scossa Bros., who have since further

developed the property. A 30-ton Cottrell furnace was put

into operation in October 1939.

White Peak group. Development work in the White Peak

group shown in plate 2, includes a 112-foot shaft and about

325 feet of drifts and crosscuts. The shaft, in massive rhyo-

lite, passes into a diabase dike and pre-Tertiary arglllite

and sandstone between the collar and the 62-foot level. The

shaft is timbered, so that the contact of rhyollte with ar-

gillite and diabase could not be seen at the time of visit,

but the rhyolite probably overlies argillite and diabase

unconformably. The arglllite in the underground workings

(pi. 2) is commonly massive, but in some places it is finely

laminated. It strikes about N.. 65° E. and dips about 30° SE.

The diabase dike is overlain by rhyolite north of the

mine, but a shallow shaft on the flat 1,300 feet south of

the Scossa shaft is in a basaltic or diabasic rock that may

be the southward extension of the dike. Where seen under

ground the dike ranges from 15 to 17 feet in width but may

be wider at the southern end of the 62-foot level. It is

generally cut by three sets of cinnabar-bearing cracks, one

of which parallels the strike and commonly dips steeply east,

whereas the other two strike transverse to the dike, one set

dipping 30°-90° S. and the other dipping 35°-60° N. The

cracks are widely spaced except where the dike was fractured

by later movement. No faults have been mapped, although the

dike is locally sheared along the walls.

The dike fills an irregular fissure averaging about

N. 10° E. in strike and dipping southeastward. On the 62-


except for a 4-foot bulge to the east just north, of the shaft

and a 14-foot bulge south of the shaft where the dike splits«

On the 112-foot level opposite the shaft the hanging wall

bends to the east in a broad "roll".

The ore bodies so far developed appear to be controlled

by the broad "roll" that localized fracturing in the dike.

On the 62-foot level between the point 8 feet north of the

shaft where the dip of the hanging wall decreases and the

point where the drift south of the shaft branches (pi. 2,

sees. B-B 1 and C-C')> ore occurs in the dike along the contact

and in the wedge of argillite. 'No ore had been stoped from

this area when the mine was mapped, but later work showed

high-grade ore extending into the roof between the shaft

and the wedge. Elsewhere on this level cinnabar is chiefly

confined to widely spaced fractures and the hanging-wall con

tact. The ore on the 62-foot level consists of cinnabar,

pyrite locally oxidized, calcite, and chalcedony.

On the 112-foot level the crosscut at a point 17 feet

east of the shaft is traversed by a vertical fracture zone

as much as 2 feet wide. The zone is distinct in the argillite

but appears to die out as it passes upward into the dike

(pi. 2, sec. B-B'). It contains velnlets as much as 4 inches

wide composed of cinnabar interbanded with pyrite, marcasite,

calcite, and chalcedony.

The areas most promising for future development appear

to lie above and below the 62-foot level on the "roll" and

near the argillite wedge.

Red Ore group.--The workings on the Red Ore group con

sist of several shallow shafts, open cuts, and two short adits

in Tertiary (?) diabase dikes and tuffs.


The dike on which the Red Ore Fraction No. 2 claim was

located is probably a continuation of the one developed in

the Birthday mine a few hundred feet farther south. It cuts

tuffs of the lower unit of Tertiary (?) rocks and strikes

north and dips 50°-85° W. Cinnabar, iron oxides, and calcite

occur along the hanging wall in the tuff and in the tuff in

clusion on the east side of the drift on the 17-foot level.

Only a little cinnabar was seen in the dike.

Three shafts on Red Ore No. 1 claim are in another dike,

which cuts clays belonging to the upper Tertiary (?) unit. The

dike strikes a little west of north and dips about 60° W. A

few quartz-limonite veinlets containing cinnabar fill cracks

in the dike, and cinnabar occurs along the hanging wall. A

short adit about 200 feet southeast of the shafts has been

driven in tuffs overlain by detrital material that contains

cinnabar nuggets. The largest nugget seen was about half an

inch in its greatest dimension. Presumably the nuggets were

derived from the dike a short distance to the west.

Blue Can mine

The property of the Bottle Creek Mercury Co. known as the

Blue Can or Tin Can mine consists of nine clfeims adjoining the

McAdoo group in the central part of the district. The claims

were located in November 1936 by C. P. Hoskins, T. Smith, and

Thos. C. Niebuhr, of Winnemucca, and are the Blue Can, Blue Can

Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Goodenough, and Bottle Creek Mercury

claims. According to Mr. Niebuhr, the property between

October 11, 1938, and February 5, 1939, produced 40^ flasks of

quicksilver in a two-tube retort from ore averaging 32 pounds

of quicksilver to the ton. The property was sold to James 0.

Greenan, of Reno, Nev., in February 1939 who has since been


carrying on development work. In the course of sampling

operations five flasks of quicksilver was produced in November

and December 1939.

The underground workings in September 1939 included a.

40-foot shaft, a 37-foot shaft, a 37-foot winze, and about

500 feet of raises, drifts, and crosscuts.

The workings (pi. 3) are in a diabase dike cutting the

tuffs and conglomerate of the lower Tertiary (?) unit, which

here strike N. 10°-40° W. and dips 25°-35° SW. The tuffs as

seen underground are massive to well-bedded and are commonly

fine-grained, with local pebbly layers. Conglomerate forms

the hanging wall locally between the 27- and 41-foot levels;

it contains boulders as much as 6 inches in diameter in a

clayey matrix. An altered greenstone breccia in the crosscut

east of the winze on the 78-foot level is probably part of the

pre-Tertiary series. The breccia is overlain by red and green

clays that are in contact with the footwall of the dike.

The dike is traceable on the surface by float for about

1,800 feet north and 1,300 feet south of the North shaft of

the Blue Can mine (pi. 1). In the underground workings north

of the South shaft the strike averages about N. 30° W. and

dips southwest, but west of the South shaft the hanging wall

swings to the northeast. The width ranges from 3 feet in the

south end of the 27-foot level to more than 20 feet just

south of the South shaft. Cinnabar-bearing cracks in the dike

were mapped only where they are systematic; in most places the

joints are unsystematic.

Near the North shaft (pi. 3, sec. A-A') the dike is al-*

most vertical from the surface to the 27-foot level; at the

27-foot level it "rolls" abruptly and is horizontal for about

10 feet, follows beds dipping 25°-35° W. for a distance of

about 20 feet, and then steepens to a dip of about 70° at the


SECTION C-C'\

[SJ 62'LEV EL

112'LEVEL

SECTION B-B'

' ?.] 62'LEVEL

Fracture ̂ zone

112 LEVEL

SECTION A-A'

62LEVEL

EXPLANATION

3'altered zone in dike

High-grad vein let 2-wide

112'LEV EL

mvgdaloidal Strike and dip of cinnabar- HiaBase bearing joints

Vertical cinnabar-bearing joint

WHITE: PEAK ! ^SHAFT

"5.5'

25 Feet

MAP AND SECTIONS OF WHITE PEAK WORKINGSOF SCOSSA MINE


N EXPLANATION

Red and green clays

/, /'' Greenstone breccia

Section A-X

MAP AND SECTION OF BLUE CAN MINE


EXPLANATION

N

NORTH Cinnabar metallization

xJ" Vertical contact

MAP AND SECTIONS OF MCADOO MINESections show interpretative geology not shown on plan


N

A

SECTION A-A'

'L, /

K'Jj IS'LEYEL

SECTION B-B'

SECTION C-C'

'l\.& LEVEL

NORTH SHAFT

CENTRAL SHAFTSurface

18'LEV EL

'44 LEVEL

EXPLANATION

Vertical fault

c'CENTRAL SHAFT

Altered and sheared diabase impregnated

SOUTH SHAFT

Cinnabar, pyrite and carbonate in basalt ordiabase

25 25 Feet

MAP AND SECTIONS OF BIRTHDAY MINE


41-foot level... The "roll" extends southward at least as far

as the south end of the 25-foot level. Below the 41-foot

level the dike dips steeply, but the dip decreases to about

30° just above the 78-foot level. Several faults of apparent-

ly small displacement cut the dike. Movement on them was in

part post-ore, for cinnabar is locally smeared out on slicken-

sided surfaces.

The ore is confined to the dike and immediately adjacent

wall rocks. The ore shoots are controlled by the "rolls"

where the dike has a low-angle dip and is more minutely frac

tured. As in the Scossa mine the ore of highest grade lies

along the hanging wall except in the stope on the 27-foot

level, where the dike is only 3 feet thick and is mineralized

throughout.

The stopes on the 27- and 31-foot levels yielded ore re

ported to contain as much as 127 pounds of quicksilver to the

ton. In the walls of these stopes cinnabar, iron oxides, cal-

cite, and chalcedony fill vertical cracks that strike north

and east within the dike. The cracks are closely spaced in

this part of the mine, and some contain veinlets of solid

cinnabar as much as a quarter of an inch thick.

No ore had been stoped from the 25-foot level at the time

of visit, but in the west crosscut high-grade ore occurs along

the hanging wall and in the adjacent tuffs. The dike in the

drift contains local high-grade spots and a little cinnabar

on joints. Its hanging wall is not exposed.

The drift on the 41-foot level follows the hanging wall

of the dike, which dips steeply where seen and appears to

contain only low-grade material except in the area west of

the North shaft.


The dike in the winze to the 78-foot level is mineral

ized, and the part along the hanging wall may constitute ore«

High-grade bunches occur along the hanging wall in the short

drift on the 78-foot level. The hanging-wa11 conglomerate is

locally cut by cinnabar veinlets for a distance of about a

foot from the contact.

Although only a little ore had been blocked out at the

time the property was examined, several areas underground ap

pear to warrant investigation. One of these lies on the 27-

and 25-foot levels along the hanging wall to the north and

south of the present workings. Another is along the hanging

wall on the 78-foot level just above the level. On the basis

of showings on the 78-foot level, further exploration appears

warranted,.

McAdoo mine

The McAdoo property comprising 25 claims is owned by Dr.

W. C. McAdoo, of Winnemucca. One group, including the Blue

bird Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Bluebird Fraction, Fraction,

Anthill, and Rainbow Fraction Nos. 2 and 4, is in the central

part of the district. The Anthill No. 1, Red Ore Extension,

Blue Eagle Nos. 1 and 2, Pickup Nos. 1, 2, and 3, Tiger Nos.

1, 2, 3, and 4, and Standard Nos. 1, 2, and 3 claims are

scattered throughout the southern and eastern parts of the

district.

The discovery was made on the Bluebird No. 3 claim by

Dr. McAdoo in September 1936, and the discovery shaft was

sunk 6 months later. Some of the claims were under option to

the Fulton Quicksilver Co., of Reno, Nev., during part of

1937 and 1938, but the option was released. A two-tube re-

23

tort-was put Into operation in May 1939, and four more tubes

were added in July 1939. One hundred and fourteen flasks of

quicksilver had been produced by October 19, 1939.

The underground workings (pi. 4) in September 1939 in

cluded two inclined shafts and about 300 feet of drifts,

crosscuts, and raises. Most of the underground work has been

done on the 20-foot and 52-foot levels.

The workings are In a continuation of the dike developed

In the Blue Can mine, about 200 feet to the south (pi. 1).

The dike cuts the lower Tertiary (?) unit, which here strikes

north and dips 20°-30r W. In this unit a continuation of the

conglomerate bed mapped in the Blue Can mine forms the hang-

Ing wall of the dike south of the North shaft between the 20-

and 31-foot levels; elsewhere in the mine tuffs form the

hanging wall. The footwall rocks include clays, tuffs, and

conglomerate.

The dike strikes northward and dips westward. On the 20-

foot level north of the North shaft it strikes about N. 15° W.

and dips steeply southwest. South of this shaft its strike

swings to about N. 10° E. and its dip is steeply northwest as

far as the branch in the 20-foot level. At this branch the

dike flattens and is nearly horizontal on the 22-foot level.

Between the 22- and 31-foot levels it again steepens, dipping

45°-60° W.

The dike ranges in width from 4 feet at one place on the

52-foot level to more than 10 feet on the 20-foot level. In

most places there are four sets of cinnabar-bearing cracks:

two sets parallel the strike of the dike and dip to the east

and west; the other two are transverse to the dike and dip

north and south. Several small faults were mapped, and con

tacts between dike and wall rock are locally sheared.

fcf' '"'"'''


The ore, which is confined almost entirely to the dike,

extends from the 31-foot level to the North shaft along the

hanging wail. Several structural features appear to have

controlled fracturing, which localized the ore. The most ef

fective.is the "roll" in the dike, which apparently followed

bedding and fractures in the sedimentary rocks between the

20- and 30-foot levels. Another is the wedge of tuff and con

glomerate at the point where the 20-foot level branches; and

still another is the steplike hanging wall between the wedge

and the North shafto The dike in general is more minutely

fractured along the hanging wall than elsewhere. The fault

on the south side of the 22- and 26-foot levels may have also

aided in controlling mineralization, for only a little cinna

bar is found in the dike south of ito

The ore body in the "roll" between the 31-foot level and

the point where the 20-foot level branches is from 2 to 8

feet thick and 4 to 15 feet wide and extends down the dip for

more than 40 feet. The ore is oxidized and consists of cin

nabar, iron oxides, calcite, and chalcedony filling closely

spaced fractures. Throughout most of the stope the ore is re

ported to have averaged between 40 and 60 pounds of quicksil

ver to the ton and locally to have contained as much as 80

pounds to the ton.

The wedge of tuff and conglomerate that splits the dike

at the east side of the "roll" projects downward into the dike

about 3 feet below the 20-foot level. It is mineralized in

some places, and high-grade ore occurs in the adjacent dike.

From this wedge to the North shaft ore said to have averaged

55 pounds of quicksilver to the ton was stoped along the

hanging wall. The ore extended about halfway across the drift

in this area.


The drift north of the North shaft disclosed a little

cinnabar along the contact of the dike and in the adjoining

tuffs. No ore had been stoped from this area at the time of

visit.

Although the dike is irregular on the 52-foot level, only

a little cinnabar was seen. Joints at the bottom of the shaft

and near the raise are mineralized, but elsewhere the dike and

tuffs are barren.

Birthday mine

The Birthday mine is owned by D. J. Wootan, M. S. McCown,

G. Wootan, and Mo Wootan. The property includes eight claims',

of which the Birthday, Birthday No. 1, Lone Star Fraction,

Mercury King, Amador, and Perhaps claims are in one group in

the southwestern part of the area mapped. The Last Chance and

Hector claims, in the central part of the district, adjoin the

Scossa White Peak group.

The claims were located in October 1936 by D. J. Wootan.

Ore was discovered on the Birthday claim in June 1938, and the

North shaft was sunk soon afterward. A two-tube retort was

put into operation in September 1938, and two more tubes were

added in September 1939o The property produced 47 flasks of

quicksilver in 1938 from a two-tube retort, and 165 flasks in

1939, when two tubes were operated until September 15 and four

tubes thereafter.

The Birthday claim is now developed by three Inclined

shafts, the North shaft 56 feet deep, the Central shaft 57

feet deep, and the South shaft 100 feet deep. About 400 feet

of crosscuts, raises, and drifts had been driven when the

property was mapped. The workings are In a faulted diabase

dike that cuts tuffs of the lower Tertiary (?) unit and the

overlying basalt. These rocks strike north and dip 10°-25° W.


The tuffs and basalt have been intensely sheared and altered

in most places. Another dike where seen in the crosscut east

of the Central shaft was not mineralized.

The mineralized dike is less than 10 feet wide in the

workings. Commonly one or both of its walls are faulted. It

strikes north to N. 20° W. and dips 45°-50° W. Where intensely

faulted and mineralized the dike is altered. Its feldspars

have been changed to clay minerals and its original dark min

erals have been so thoroughly leached that the rock resembles

the enclosing.tuffs.

The ore bodies, which are confined to the dike and adja

cent wall rocks, appear to have been controlled by faults or

slips, which may be divided into three groups: two of them

are commonly parallel with the dike and strike north to N. 20°

W., one dipping steeply east and west and the other dipping

gently west; the third group strikes N. 45° W. to west and

generally dips steeply southwest. Single faults are commonly

curved, and in places faults of one group curve and join those

of another group. The faults are generalized on plate 5<>

Displacement along individual faults appears to be small, but

the aggregate movement has caused the dike to be broken into

segments that lens out along the strike and down the dip.

Faulting has been most intense in the southern part of the

workings. The faults were probably formed at the time when

the major faulting separated Tertiary (?) and pre-Tertiary

rocks a few hundred feet to the west. They represent readjust

ments in the downthrown block. Some movement took place after

ore deposition, however, for cinnabar is locally smeared out

on slickensided surfaces.

The ore shoots are commonly limited by faults. The larg

est shoot mined was south of the North shaft on the 15-foot

level (pi. 5., sec. A-A')« Here ore was stoped for 32 feet


along the drift from a block 3 to 4 feet by 6 to 12 feet in

cross section. The dike is offset a few inches by two slips

that dip gently to the west. The ore mined was of high grade,

containing as much as 60 pounds of quicksilver to the ton.

The dike on the 37-foot level yielded a little ore from

sheared and faulted lenses in the roof. A high-grade lens

about 10 feet long was mined on the 22-foot level. Three

small lenses (pi. 5, sec. C-C 1 ) were disclosed in the Central

shaft. None of them have been stoped.

The lenses on the 18-foot level were small but of high

grade. -Altogether five lenses, ranging from 2 to 16 feet in

length and commonly less than 3 feet in width, were stoped.

One extended down to the 28-foot level, but the others were

confined to the 18-foot level.

At the time the mine was mapped ore was found in the

South shaft on the 62-foot level about 100 feet down the in

cline. Here the ore occurs in a sheared basaltic or diabasic

rock, but, as the shaft is timbered, the relation of this

rock to the tuffs could not be determined. The ore zone is

as much as 2 feet wide and is faulted on both sides.

The cinnabar is accompanied by pyrite, calcite, and chal

cedony. The ore is oxidized down to the 44-foot level. The

minerals fill vesicles and fractures in the diabase and lo

cally Impregnate the diabase and adjacent tuffs.

Although the ore bodies are small and are much faulted,

exploration to the south between the 18- and 62-foot levels

and to the north between the 44- and 62-foot levels seems

warranted.

28

The Baldwin .group of 12 claims in the eastern part of the

district includes the Blue Bucket, Blue Bucket Nos, 1, 2, 3,

and 4, Blue Bucket Fraction, Blue Bucket Fraction No. 1, Black

Beauty, Senator, Senator No. 1, Apex, and Sunflower claims.

They are owned by H. W. Baldwin, of Winnemucca, and the estate

of John C. Duryea and were located in September 1936. For a

time in 1937-38 they were under option to the Fulton Quick

silver Co., of Rem>, but the option was released. In December

1939 the group was optioned to James 0. Greenan, of Reno, who

has since been carrying on development.

The workings, chiefly on Blue Bucket Nos. 1 and 3 claims,

consist of a 28-foot shaft and a connecting drift and a short

adit, all in rhyoliteo

The shaft is in a flow-banded rhyolite that is locally

sheared and brecciated. The most prominent breccia zone

strikes N. 55° E. and dips 80° SE. and is as much as li feet

wide.. Cinnabar, accompanied by chalcedony, calcite, and a

little pyrite, occurs in and adjacent to the breccia zones,

filling spaces around rhyolite fragments and locally replacing

the fragments.

Two faults trending N. 75° E. and dipping steeply south

east were mapped in the adit about 50 feet southeast of the

shaft. A little cinnabar was noted on fractures in the rhyo

lite between the faults.

Further exploration since the property was visited has

disclosed ore in rhyolite about 300 feet southeast of the6/

shaft. The ore is said to average about 25 pounds of quick-

6/ Baldwin, H. W., and Donaldson,'W. G., personal communication.


silver to the ton over a width of 10 feet. A specimen sent

to the writer shows cinnabar in a silicified and brecciated

flow-banded rhyolite.

Niebuhr mine

The Niebuhr property, owned by T. C. Niebuhr, of Winne-

mucca, is in the northwestern part of the district near the

common corner of Tps. 40 and 41 N. , Rs,, 32 and 33 E. It con

sists of seven claims: Sun-Set, Sun-Set Nos. 1 and 2, Big

Four, Big Pour No. 1, Alice Bell, and Alice Bell No. !<, Cin

nabar was discovered on the Sun-Set claim In March 1939. No

quicksilver had been produced at the time of visit, but Mr.

Niebuhr reports that a two-tube retort was installed and a

flask of quicksilver was produced from about 5 tons of ore

treated in January 1940.

The workings on the property at the time of visit in

cluded a 17-foot shaft and several open cuts. The shaft, in

massive rhyolite, is traversed by a fault zone 2 to 3 feet

wide that strikes about N. 55° E. and dips 65° SE. Cinnabar

coats rhyolite fragments in the fault zone and locally im

pregnates the finely crushed matrix. According to Mr.

Niebuhr, solid cinnabar "bunches" weighing as much as 2 pounds

have been found in the fault zone,,

In an open cut about 1,400 feet northwest of the shaft

phyllite striking N. 55° W. and dipping 25° NE. is cut by a

fault zone striking about N. 60° W. and dipping 70°-90° SWo

Cinnabar accompanied by iron oxides occurs in the fault zone

and in adjacent cracks and on cleavage planes.

A diabase dike that crops out about 100 feet oast of the

open cut (pi. 1) was traced for about 400 feet to the north

and about 3,500 feet to the south of the open cut. Inasmuch

as this dike occurs close to the fault zone, it warrants ex

ploration.

O