Mine detail: Relief Canyon Gold Project

Previously called 'Relief Canyon Gold MineBohannan Fluorite Prospect'

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Location

Lat / long:

40.20518, -118.17014

Resource(B)

Primary:	Gold, Silver
Secondary:	Fluorine-Fluorite
Tertiary:	Arsenic, Antimony, Mercury, Thallium
Ore:	Gold, Silver, Electrum
Gangue:	Quartz, Fluorite, Calcite, Serpentine, Talc, Hematite, Pyrite
Orebody form:	disseminated, stratabound and strata-conformable mineralization.
Discovery year:	1979

Production

Operation type:	Surface-Underground
Deposit type:	hydrothermal breccia-filling, hydrothermal solution-cavity
Production size:	Small
Development status:	Past Producer
Production years:	1984-1985; 1986-1990
First production started:	1984
Last production ended:	1990

Geology

Host rock:	Grass Valley Shale, Natchez Pass Limestone, Cane Spring Limestone
Host type:	Sedimentary Breccia,Shale,Limestone
Associated type:	Quartz Monzonite,Diorite
Structure:	Relief Canyon Thrust. The mine area lies within a northeast-trending structural belt parallel to and 140 km west of the Battle Mountain Trend. The belt is about 65 km long and averages 8.3 km in width., Range front faults terminate ore to the west (Black Ridge Fault). The dip of the brecciated contact (Relief Canyon Thrust? ) between the Natchez Pass and Grass Valley Formations varies and has the appearance of a NE-SW striking anticline that plunges to the SW. A small fold perpendicular to the plane of this anticline forms a dome over the southerly portion of the deposit.
Alteration processes:	Two obvious alteration features present at surface include large resistant outcrops of jasperoid and widespread iron oxide staining. In the jasperoid breccia with clay seams, gold mineralization is related to both silicification and argillization. In the mixed breccia and limestone breccia, gold mineralization is associated with argillic alteration. A detailed comparison of alteration with gold grade from drill data indicates that the highest gold values are often associated with argillic alteration rather than silicification. At surface, diorite intrusives are both extensively oxidized and propylitized.

References

MRDS	M242418
DEP	10310376
Reference	{Deposit:: Fiannaca, M. and McKee, J., 1983, Geology and Development of the Relief Canyon Gold Deposit, Pershing Co., NV; paper presented at the 89th Annual Northwest Mining Convention, Spokane, WA, 1983}{Deposit:: Geological Society of Nevada 1984 meeting and field trip road log, Sept. 1984.}{Deposit:: Division of Mine Inspection, Dec. 1983, Directory of Nevada Mining Operations, active During Calendar Year 1983.}{Deposit:: NBMG Map 84, 1983, Active Mines and Oil Fields}{Deposit:: Lacana Gold Inc * brochure on Relief Canyon Min * official opening, Oct, 1984.}{Deposit:: Wittkop, R. W., Parratt, R. L., Bruce, W. R., 1984, Geology and Mineralization at the Relief Canyon Gold Deposit, Pershing County, Nevada, Preprint No. 84-100, Society of Mining Engineers of AIME, Littleton, Co, 5 pp.}{Deposit:: Pegasus Gold, 1988, Relief Canyon Mine circular (unpublished visito * fact sheet).}{Deposit:: Pegasus Gold, Inc., Annual Reports for 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990.}{Deposit:: Southern Pacific Co., 1964, Minerals For Industry-Northern Nevada and Northwestern Utah, Summary of Geological Survey of 1955-1961, v. 1: San Francisco, Southern Pacific Co, P. 45.}{Deposit:: Wallace and Tatlock, 1962, Suggestions for prospecng in the Humboldt Range and adjacent areas, Nevada, USGS PP 450-B3-B5.}{Deposit:: Wallace,. E., Silberling, N. J., Irwin, W. P., And Tatlock, D. B., 1969, Geologic Map of the Buffalo Mountain Quadrangle, Pershing and Churchill Counties, Nevada, USGS Map GQ-821.}{Deposit:: Tingley, J. V., Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Computerized Geochemistry Database.}{Deposit:: Johnson, M. G., 1977, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Pershing County, Nevada, NBMG Bull. 89.}{Deposit:: Horton, R.C., 1961, An Inventory of Fluorspar Occurrences in Nevada, NBMG Rept. 1.}{Deposit:: Engineering and Mining Journal, June 1988, p. 45-46}{Deposit:: Bonham, H.F., Jr, and Hess, R. H., 1992, Bulk-Mineable Precious-Metal Deposits, in The Nevada Mineral Industry 1991, Nevada Bureau Of Mines and Geology, Special Pub., MI-1991, p24}{Deposit:: NBMG, 1994, MI-1993}{Deposit:: Long, 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.}{Deposit:: Crafford, A.E.J. (ed.), 2003, GSN Road Log 44, Coal Canyon Road East from I80 Exit 112.}
Reporter	Schruben, Paul G., La Pointe, D. D. (Tingley, J. V.), Berger, Mary, Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.), Li, Zhiping ( Peters, S.; Moyer, L.)