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Copper Canyon Porphyry Copper Deposit

Past Producer in Lander county in Nevada, United States with commodities Copper, Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Iron
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310307
MRDS ID M231317
Record type Deposit
Current site name Copper Canyon Porphyry Copper Deposit
Alternate or previous names Copper Canyon Mine (underground), Virgin deposit, Superior deposit, South Canyon deposit, Galena Canyon Area Mines & Prospects, Copper Canyon East orebody, Copper Canyon West orebody, Silver King Mine

Comments on the site identification

  • This record encompasses the historic mines and surrounding areas involved mainly in the Copper Canyon porphyry copper deposit, described in earlier MRDS records #M231317, M234137, and M234145 and MRDS # D011062 from which material has been incorporated into this record and additional new material has been added.

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Geographic coordinates: Elevation UTM Precision Relative position Point location
Pit -117.12899, 40.53241 (WGS84) 1770 Location is for the Copper Canyon underground mine shafts, which were erased by later open pit operations. The Copper Canyon porphyry copper deposit is located about 15 miles SW of the town of Battle Mountain.
(click for info)
Ore Body -117.12611, 40.545 (WGS84) 100 Silver King mine. Located 1/2 mi. SSE of Nevada mine. Now encompassed by Duval Corp's Copper Canyon West orebody open pit.
Plant -117.12997, 40.53685 (WGS84) 100 Copper Canyon mill

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada Lander

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 031N 043E 27 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The mine area is on the east side of Copper Canyon, 2.25 miles south of Galena Canyon, on Battle Mountain.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Lead Secondary
Zinc Secondary
Iron Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, copper carbonated, cuprite, iron oxides, native cu, chrysocolla, malachite, chalcocite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, azurite.
  • Gangue Materials: limonite, siderite, calcite, quartz, jarosite

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Galena Ore
Cuprite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Malachite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Arsenopyrite Ore
Azurite Ore
Limonite Gangue
Siderite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Jarosite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Strong sericitic, propylitic, phillic, pyritic alteration, especially of the granite porphyry; argillic, leaching. Wallrocks of the oxidized zone were strongly leached, argillized, and iron oxide stained.

Analytical data

Result Oxidized ore ran 10% Cu. Hypogene ore averaged 0.5 to 1% Cu.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 53
USGS model code 17
Deposit model name Porphyry Cu
Mark3 model number 4
Model code 59
USGS model code 18b
Deposit model name Skarn Cu
Mark3 model number 8

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Battle Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Pennsylvanian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier calcareous
    Rock unit name Battle Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Pennsylvanian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier siliceous
    Rock unit name Battle Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Pennsylvanian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock type qualifier limey
    Rock unit name Battle Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Pennsylvanian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granodiorite
    Rock unit name Copper Canyon
    Chronological age 38.23
    Uncertainty 0.8
    Dating method K-Ar
    Type of media biotite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Eocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock type qualifier porphyry
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Porphyry
    Rock type qualifier granite

Nearby scientific data

Pit (1) -117.12899, 40.53241
ListMap
Ore Body (2) -117.12611, 40.545
ListMap
Plant (3) -117.12997, 40.53685
ListMap

Geologic structures

Type Description Terms
Local The Virgin Fault, Hayden Fault, Estes, Superior Estes & Superior Faults were the loci of enriched-copper ore-bodies which yielded much of chalcocite ore stoped from upper levels. The Estes-trends NW, dips NE steeply to 35 degrees; The Superior; trends N30E, dips 55 to 70 NW. The West fault trends NW.
Regional Dewitt, Golconda and Antler thrust faults at depth

Ore body information

  • Name of the ore body dimensions are from the deleted Copper Canyon Underground record 10044003
    General form tabular, blanket, irregular
    Strike N10-20E
    Dip 45-60W
    Thickness 12M
    Length 90M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Mineral deposits related to the Copper Canyon porphyry copper mineralizing system show regional concentric metal zonation away from the intrusive center of the Copper Canyon granodiorite. Both copper and copper-gold deposits are present near the intrusive center, with gold-silver deposits outboard from these, and lead-zinc-silver deposits present in a distal concentric zone. The upper levels of the original underground Copper Canyon Mine, the West orebody, and the East orebody are of the central copper-gold skarn type. Copper-silver skarn deposits include the Fortitude and Tomboy-Minnie deposits, and the Sunshine, Bonanza, and South Canyon deposits of the Reona project. Distal lead-zinc-silver deposits include the mines & prospects of the Galena Canyon area and a lower-level deposit of the old Copper Canyon Mine. Mineralization in the Copper Canyon underground mine was characterized by veins in sub-parallel N-trending fractures, with chalcocite-enriched zones.There is a series of subparallel N-trending fractures and faults some of which controlled ore formation.

Comments on the geologic information

  • The Virgin Vein on west side of the main ore zone ranges from 4 to 10 feet wide, up to 40 ft. Locally. oxidized ore persists to greater depths along the Virgin Vein than along the Superior Vein, which is more often characterized by primary base-metal sulfides.
  • The Virgin Fault, Hayden Fault, Estes, Superior Estes & Superior Faults were the loci of enriched-copper ore-bodies which yielded much of chalcocite ore stoped from upper levels. The Estes-trends NW, dips NE steeply to 35 degrees; The Superior; trends N30E, dips 55 to 70 NW. The West fault trends NW. Dewitt, Golconda and Antler thrust faults at depth. Supergene-enriched copper ore was found primarily above the 300-foot level of the old Copper Canyon underground mine and was composed of primary copper-gold ore plus secondary chalcocite and minor native copper. The grade of this enriched ore averaged nearly 10% Cu, five times that of the primary ore. The copper-enriched zone characteristically carried very low silver-gold values. Oxidized ore was present mainly above the 200 foot level of old Copper Canyon underground mine and consisted of malachite with minor azurite, cuprite, and chrysocolla. Wallrocks of the oxidized zone were strongly leached, argillized, and iron oxide stained. The deposits are strongly oxidized to a depth of up to 200 feet. Strong sericitic, propylitic, phillic, pyritic alteration, especially of the granite porphyry; argillic, leaching. Wallrocks of the oxidized zone were strongly leached, argillized, and iron oxide stained. Mineral deposits related to the Copper Canyon porphyry copper mineralizing system show regional concentric metal zonation away from the intrusive center of the Copper Canyon granodiorite. Both copper and copper-gold deposits are present near the intrusive center, with gold-silver deposits outboard from these, and lead-zinc-silver deposits present in a distal concentric zone. The upper levels of the original underground Copper Canyon Mine, the West orebody, and the East orebody are of the central copper-gold skarn type. Copper-silver skarn deposits include the Fortitude and Tomboy-Minnie deposits, and the Sunshine, Bonanza, and South Canyon deposits of the Reona project. Distal lead-zinc-silver deposits include the mines & prospects of the Galena Canyon area and a lower-level deposit of the old Copper Canyon Mine. Mineralization in the Copper Canyon underground mine was characterized by veins in sub-parallel N-trending fractures, with chalcocite-enriched zones.There is a series of subparallel N-trending fractures and faults some of which controlled ore formation.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Deposit size Medium
Significant Yes
Discovery year <1866
Discoverer Messrs. Tanehill, Sinclair, and Heath
Year of first production 1870
Year of last production 2006
Production years 1870 to 2006 with a few brief lapses

Mining district

District name Baattle Mountain District

Land status

Ownership category Private
Ownership category BLM Administrative Area
Area name Battle Mountain BLM Administrative District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Newmont Mining Corp.
    Year 2006
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Copper Canyon Mining Co. (1940'S)

Comments on the workings information

  • Open pit mining since the 1970s obliterated most of the original underground workings, which totaled several miles of shafts and drifts.

Comments on other economic factors

  • Between 1871 and 1954, the Copper Canyon Mine produced more than 680,000 short tons of ore yielding more than 9.6 million pounds of copper, 6.3 million pounds of lead, 3.3 million pounds of zinc, 48,000 ounces of gold, and 860,000 ounces of silver.

Comments on development

  • In 1863, silver was discovered in Galena Canyon and shortly thereafter in 1864; copper and silver were discovered in Copper Canyon with the first development in the district on the Virgin copper vein. The predominantly underground mines produced hand-sorted ore from 1868 through 1875 that was shipped via rail to San Francisco, and thence to smelters in Swansea, Wales. There was a decline in district mining from 1875 to 1900, but in 1909, gold was discovered in Philadelphia Canyon, prompting a rejuvenation of the district. 1916 saw the formation of the Copper Canyon Mining Company, which obtained the main property, discovered new orebodies in the footwall of the Virgin vein and became a major producer of copper from both Copper Canyon and Copper Basin during World War I. In 1936, Copper Canyon Mining Co. discovered a large tonnage of gold-copper orebodies from the surface down to the 300-ft. level. There was intermittent production until World War II when there was another production boom. While the property was under lease to International Smelting and Refining Company in 1941, a 50-ton mill and a 3-compartment vertical shaft were constructed. Copper Canyon Mining Co. later resumed work until a declining copper market forced them to switch to lead-zinc operations in the late 1940s to 1950s. ASARCO did exploration work in the district from 1959 to 1961, when Duval acquired the properties and continued the exploration and development that culminated in the opening of both Copper Canyon and Copper Basin open pit mines in 1967, placing Battle Mountain on the map as one of the largest copper producers in Nevada and the U.S. In 1977, Duval announced plans to phase out copper production in Copper Canyon milling operations because of a severely depressed copper market, while at the same time converting to a gold-producing facility, with the increase in gold prices. Battle Mountain Gold Company took over operations in 1985 and gold took precedence over copper as the primary commodity produced from the district mines through the 1980s and 1990s. The East and West copper-gold skarn orebodies were mined in the 1970s and the world-class Fortitude gold-silver skarn deposit was discovered north of the West orebody in late 1980. After three years of stripping and mining of the lower grade Upper Fortitude ore zone, production from the larger and richer lower Fortitude ore zone began in late 1984, ending in 1993 when reserves were depleted. In 1992, Battle Mountain Gold Company announced that it had outlined a low-grade millable orebody of about 500,000 ounces of gold between the Fortitude and the West orebodies, called the Fortitude Extension. In 2001, Newmont acquired Battle Mountain Gold Company, giving Newmont ownership of the Phoenix property where historic mining has left a halo of lower-grade gold and copper reserves. Gold and copper production is expected to begin at Phoenix in the first half of 2006. The skarn deposits at and near the Fortitude orebody are now part of Newmont?s Phoenix Mine deposit.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS M234145 MRDS dep_id 10046157 merged into this record.
U.S. Bureau of Mines Minerals Availability System MAS 0320150392 MRDS dep_id 10246813 merged into this record.
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS M231373 MRDS dep_id 10044052 merged into this record.
U.S. Bureau of Mines Minerals Availability System MAS 0320159004 MRDS dep_id 10125369 merged into this record.
Mine Safety and Health Administration MSHA MSHA 2600867
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS M231317 MRDS dep_id 10044003 merged into this record.

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Hill, J.M., 1915, Some Mining Districts in Northeastern California and Northwestern Nevada: USGS Bull 594

  • Geology

    Wotruba, P., Benson,R., and Schmidt,K., 1986, Battle Mountain describes the geology of it Fortitude gold-silver deposit at Copper Canyon: Mining Eng, SME, vol. 38 no. 7 pgs 495-499

  • Deposit

    Roberts, R.J. and Arnold, D.C., 1965; Ore Deposits of the Antler Peak Quadrangle, Humboldt and Lander Counties, Nevada: U.S.G.S. Prof. Paper 459-B.

  • Deposit

    Sayers, R. W., Tippett, M. C., and Fields, E. D., 1968, The Ore Deposits at Copper Canyon and Copper Basin, Lander County, Nevada: AIME Annual Meeting Paper, N.Y.

  • Deposit

    Blake, D. W., Kretschmer, E. L., 1980, Gold Deposits at Copper Canyon, Lander Co., Nev., Abstract, Precious Metals Symposium, AIME, Sparks, Nevada.

  • 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

    Doebrich, Jeff, 1995, Geology and Mineral Deposits of the Antler Peak 7.5-minute quadrangle, Lander County, Nevada, NBMG Bull 109, 44 p.

  • Deposit

    Theodore and Blake, 1978, Geology and geochemistry of the West orebody and associated skarns, Copper Canyon porphyry copper deposits, Lander County, Nevada, USGS Prof Paper 798-C, 85 p.

  • Deposit

    Blake, D.W., Theodore, T.G., Batchelder, J.N, and Kretschmer, E.L., 1979, Structural relations of igneous rocks and mineralization in the Battle Mountain mining district, Lander County, Nevada, in Ridge, J.D., ed., Papers on mineral deposits of western North America: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 33, p. 87-99.

  • Deposit

    Doebrich, J.L., and Theodore, T.G., 1996, Geologic history of the Battle Mountain mining district, Nevada, and regional controls on the distribution of mineral systems, in Coyner, A.R and Fahey, P.L., eds., Geology and Ore Deposits of the American Cordillera: Geological Society of Nevada Symposium proceedings, Reno-Sparks, April 1995, p. 453-483, CD-ROM.

  • Deposit

    Doebrich, J.L., Wotruba, P.R., Theodore, T.G., McGibbon, D.H., and Felder, R.P., 1995, Field guide for geology and ore deposits of the Battle Mountain mining district, Humboldt and Lander counties, Nevada, in Geology and ore deposits of the American Cordillera symposium: Geological Society of Nevada, U.S. Geological Survey and Sociedad Geologica de Chile, p. 327-376.

  • Deposit

    Theodore, T.G., 1971, Geologic map of the Copper Canyon area, Battle Mountain mining district, Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 71-282, 1:4,800.

  • Deposit

    Theodore, T.G., Silberman, M.L., and Blake, D.W., 1973, Geochemistry and potassium-argon ages of plutonic rocks in the Battle Mountain mining district, Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 798-A, 24.

  • Deposit

    Wendt, Clancy, 2004, Technical Report on the ICBM/COPPER BASIN Property, Lander and Humboldt Counties, Nevada, Staccato Gold website: http://www.staccatogold.com/i/pdf/icbm-43-101.pdf

  • Deposit

    Stewart, J.H., McKee, E.H., and Stager, H.K., 1977, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Lander County Nevada: NBMG Bull. 88.

  • Deposit

    Kotlyar, B.B., Theodore, T.G., Singer, D.A., Moss, K., Campo, A.M., and Johnson, S.D., 1998, Geochemistry of the Au-skarn environment at Copper Canyon, Battle Mountain mining district, Nevada, in Lentz, D.R., ed., Mineralized intrusion-related skarn systems

  • Deposit

    Theodore, T.G., Blake, D.W., and Kretschmer, E.L., 1982, Geology and mineralization of the Copper Canyon deposits, Lander County, Nevada, in Titley, S.R., ed., Advances in geology of the porphyry copper deposits, southwestern North America: Tucson, Univ.

  • Deposit

    Theodore, T.G., Blake, D.W., Loucks, T.A., and Johnson G.A., 1992, Geology of the Buckingham stockwork molybdenum deposit and surrounding area, Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 798?D, 24 p.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Mineral deposits related to the Copper Canyon porphyry copper mineralizing system show regional concentric metal zonation away from the intrusive center of the Copper Canyon granodiorite. Both copper and copper-gold deposits are present near the intrusive center, with gold-silver deposits outboard from these, and lead-zinc-silver deposits present in a distal concentric zone. The upper levels of the original underground Copper Canyon Mine, the West orebody, and the East orebody are of the central copper-gold skarn type. Copper-silver skarn deposits include the Fortitude and Tomboy-Minnie deposits, and the Sunshine, Bonanza, and South Canyon deposits of the Reona project. Distal lead-zinc-silver deposits include the mines & prospects of the Galena Canyon area and a lower-level deposit of the old Copper Canyon Mine. Mineralization in the Copper Canyon underground mine was characterized by veins in sub-parallel N-trending fractures, with chalcocite-enriched zones. Supergene-enriched copper ore was found primarily above the 300-foot level of the old Copper Canyon underground mine and was composed of primary copper-gold ore plus secondary chalcocite and minor native copper. The grade of this enriched ore averaged nearly 10% Cu, five times that of the primary ore. The copper-enriched zone characteristically carried very low silver-gold values.Oxidized ore was present mainly above the 200 foot level of old Copper Canyon underground mine and consisted of malachite with minor azurite, cuprite, and chrysocolla. Wallrocks of the oxidized zone were strongly leached, argillized, and iron oxide stained. All dated Tertiary intrusive rocks in the Battle Mountain mining district are late Eocene to early Oligocene in age (41 to 31 Ma) and mostly monzogranitic to granodioritic in composition. Although Tertiary intrusive rocks are scattered throughout the mining district as small stocks and dikes, the main exposed Tertiary intrusive centers are in the Copper Canyon, Copper Basin, Elder Creek and Buffalo Valley gold mine areas. Associated with each of these intrusive centers are porphyry-style (Cu-Au and/or Mo-Cu) alteration assemblages, mineralized zones, and related base and precious metal deposits (Doebrich and Theodore, 1996).
General ******SEE Related Deposits- Copper Basin Open Pit Mine Area- Deposit ID 10310327 Battle Mountain Copper Basin (Plant)-Deposit ID 10295563 Battle Mountain (Plant)-Deposit ID 10125555 Battle Mountain Complex (Plant)-Deposit ID 10295443 Phoenix Project-Deposit ID 10310421 Copper Basin Skarn Deposits-Deposit ID 10310303 Fortitude Mine- Deposit ID 10310329

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-1980 LA POINTE, 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.