Commodities
PrimarySilver, Gold
TertiaryLead, Copper, Selenium, Mercury, Antimony, Arsenic, Zinc
Commodity typeM
Deposit
Deposit typeHot Spring
Model104: Hot-spring Au-Ag
Deposit sizeS
Orebody formOrebodies are tabular to lenticular in form, following steeply-dipping NNW structures.
Ore controlOre 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.
Materials
Ore mineralsElectrum, Arsenopyrite, Tetrahedrite, Pyrargyrite, Argentite, Acanthite, Aguilarite, Naumannite, Polybasite, Adularia, Pyrite, Marcasite, Calcite, Zeolite
GangueQuartz
Geology
Host rockBasalt,Andesite,Tuff,Pyroclastic Rock
Associated rock"Slaven Chert", "Elder Sandstone", "Valmy Formation"
StructureThe 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., 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.
Tectonic settingINTRACONTINENTAL RIFT?
AlterationAlteration 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.
Economic & production
Development statusProducer
Discovery year1986
Identification
Deposit ID10310546
Alternate namesWest Zone, Section 9 Zone, North Zone, South Zone, Main Zone, Ashcraft Zone
RegionNA
Data scoreB
Coordinates40.5999, -116.68393
References
NBMG MI-1992Thomson and others, 1993, Geology and geochemistry of the Mule Canyon gold deposit, Lander County, NV, SME PreprintNBMG MI-1995NBMG MI-1996Santa Fe Pacific Gold, 1996 SEC Form 10KPay Dirt, 2/1/96, 4/1/96The Denver Mining Record, 12/11/96Engineering and Mining Journal,10/1/95Long, 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.