Buckhorn Mine

Eureka County, Nevada, United States

GoldSilverCopperZincThalliumAntimonyMercuryTungstenArsenic

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Description

Joe Lynn, W. S. McRea, William Ebbert, John Swan

Commodities

PrimaryGold, Silver

SecondaryCopper, Zinc

TertiaryThallium, Antimony, Mercury, Tungsten, Arsenic

Commodity typeM

Deposit

Deposit typefault breccia; vein

Model150: Epithermal vein, Comstock

Deposit sizeS

Orebody formtabular

Ore controlHigh angle normal faults acted as conduits for hypogene hydrothermal fluids while subsidiary fracture systems increased permeability in the basalts allowing the development of stockwork mineralization. Overlying graben fill sediments may have locally acted as an impermeable cap rock.

Materials

Ore mineralsGold, Kaolinite, Montmorillonite, Adularia, Jarosite, Goethite, Pyrite, Sericite, Calcite, Gypsum, Plagioclase, Limonite, Marcasite

GangueQuartz

Geology

Host rockAndesite

Associated rockRhyolite

StructureA system of parallel normal faults strikes N10W and controls mineralization. Displacements are less than a few hundred feet., Roberts Mountains Thrust

AlterationArgillization of basaltic andesite host rock is the main alteration. Underlying and overlying sediments are silicified. The upper two-thirds (100 ft.) of the mineralized zone is oxidized, the lower third is pyritic. The oxidation of the upper portion is believed to be hypogene, not supergene. In the oxide zone, white kaolinite-rich rocks are found at the center surrounded by purple montmorillonite-rich rocks in peripheral locations. The change in color typically marks the edge of the possible ore zone. Major elements introduced during alteration include Si, Al, K, and Ti. Major elements depleted in altered rocks are Mg, Ca, Na, Mn.

Economic & production

Development statusProducer

Production years1910; 1914-1916; 1931-1932; 1936; 1984-1991

First production1910

Discovery year1908

Identification

Deposit ID10310544

MRDS IDW016362

Alternate namesJunkyard pit, South Buckhorn workings, Ghost Zone, Glory Hole, NBMG sample locations 1512-1516, 1551-1554, 1557, 1558, North Buckhorn pit

RegionNA

Data scoreB

Coordinates40.18852, -116.48981

References

Roberts, R. J., Radtke, A. S., Coats, R. R., 1971, Gold-bearing deposits in north central Nevada and southwestern Idaho, Economic Geology, v. 66, p. 14-33.Roberts, R. J., Montgomery, K. M., Lehner, R. E., 1967, Geology and mineral resources of Eureka County, Nevada, Nevada Bureau of Mines Bull. 64, p. 68-69.Wells, J. D., Stosier, L. R., Elliott, J. E., 1969, Geology and Geochemistry of the Cortez Gold Deposit, Nevada, Economic Geology, v. 64, p. 526-537.Plahuta, J.T., 1985, Geology of the Buckhorn Mine, Eureka County, Nevada, in Geological Society of Nevada Special Publication #3.Monroe, S.C., et al, 1988, Geology and Mineralization at the Buckhorn Mine, Eureka County, Nevada, in Bulk Mineable Precious Metal Deposits of the Western United States, Symposium Proceedings, the Geological Soceity of Nevada, Reno, p. 273-291.Vanderburg, W.O., 1938, Reconnaissance of Mining Districts in Eureka County, Nevada, USBM Inf. Circ. 7022.NBMG MI-79; NBMG MI-83 to MI-00; NBMG Map 91 1st, 2nd, 3rd; Amer. Mines (1989), 1989 thru (2000), 1999Nevada Dept. of Minerals,1994The Mining Record,v.104, no.41Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Database of significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States; Part A, Database description and analysis; part B, Digital database: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-206, 33 p., one 3.5 inch diskette