Reona-Sunshine Deposit

Producer in Lander county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Copper

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10310321
MRDS ID	MP90060
Record type	Site
Current site name	Reona-Sunshine Deposit
Alternate or previous names	Bonanza Deposit, South Canyon Deposit, Sunshine Deposit, Midas pit (new name for South Canyon and Bonanza pits), part of the Fortitude Complex, part of the Battle Mountain Complex, part of the Phoenix Project
Related records	10048828

Comments on the site identification

This prospect encompasses the Reona, South Canyon, Sunshine, and Midas pit mine areas, part of which was covered in earlier MRDS record # MP90060 from which all material has been incorporated into this record and additional new material has been added.

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference	Pit
Geographic coordinates:	-117.1472, 40.5369 (WGS84)
Elevation	1650
Relative position	Sunshine pit. The Reona-Sunshine mine area is located about 12 miles southwest of the town of Battle Mountain.
(click for info)

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 29		Nevada

Comments on the location information

The Reona Sunshine mine area has traditionally been discussed as three separate deposits: Bonanza, South Canyon, and Sunshine. The first listed lat/long in this record is for the Sunshine deposit area, about a half mile east of Willow Creek, on the west side of the ridge that separates it from Copper Canyon. The Bonanza and South Canyon deposits are on the east side of that ridge, with the South Canyon deposit just north of the Tomboy-Minnie mine and the Bonanza deposit on the east side of Copper Canyon south of the old Copper Canyon mine.

Commodities

Commodity	Importance
Gold	Primary
Copper	Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

Ore Materials: free gold

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Gold	Ore

Alteration

(Local) All rocks have been affected to some degree by contact metamorphism from the associated graniitc intrusions. The Copper Canyon granodiorite

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code	75
USGS model code	19c
BC deposit profile	E03
Deposit model name	Distal disseminated Ag-Au
Mark3 model number	18

Host and associated rocks

Host or associated

Host

Rock type

Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone

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 > Conglomerate

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

calcareous

Rock unit name

Harmony Formation

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Late Cambrian

Host or associated Host

Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Rock unit name Harmony Formation

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian

Host or associated

Host

Rock type

Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Chert

Rock unit name

LU-1 of the Havallah Sequence

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Early Permian
Stratigraphic age (oldest)	Middle Pennsylvanian

Host or associated

Host

Rock type

Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone

Rock type qualifier

micaceous quartzo-feldspathic

Rock unit name

Harmony Formation

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Late Cambrian

Host or associated

Host

Rock type

Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granodiorite

Rock unit name

Granodiorite of Copper Canyon

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Oligocene
Stratigraphic age (oldest)	Eocene

Nearby scientific data

Pit (1)	-117.1472, 40.5369	ListMap

Geologic structures

Type	Description	Terms
Regional	Golconda Thrust fault; Willow Creek Thrust fault
Local	Virgin Fault.

Ore body information

General form tabular to irregular

General form	tabular to irregular

Controls for ore emplacement

There is a combination of lithologic and structural control of the Reona Project orebodies. The Bonanza deposit is in calcareous sediments adjacent to the Virgin Fault. Ore at the Sunshine Deposit is hosted in a sheared contact zone between chert of the Lithotectonic Unit 1 (LU-1) of the Havallah Sequence and granodiorite of Copper Canyon.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type	Surface-Underground
Development status	Producer
Commodity type	Metallic
Deposit size	Medium
Significant	Yes
Discovery year	1990
Discoverer	Battle Mountain Gold Company
Year of first production	1994
Year of last production	2004
Production years	1994-2004

Mining district

District name	Battle Mountain District
District name	Copper Canyon area

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 2004

Type	Owner-Operator
Owner	Newmont Mining Corp.
Year	2004

Comments on the workings information

Old underground and more recent open pit.

Comments on other economic factors

In 1994, total reserves for all three of the Reona project deposits, Bonanza, South Canyon, and Sunshine, were 13.5 million metric tonnes of leachable ore averaging 0.87 grams of gold per tonne (0.028 ounces of gold per ton). Total annual gold production from the combined deposits was expected to be about 50,000 to 70,000 ounces of gold per year to be mined over 5 years. Total recoverable ounces was estimated at 260,000 ounces of gold. There was recorded production of 50,000 ounces of gold and 95,000 ounces of silver from the Reona project in 1994. Total production from the Reona Project from 1994-1996 was reported as 160,058 ounces of gold and 423,267 ounces of silver. Subsequent production was lumped together with that for all of the Battle Mountain Gold complex operations, and after they were taken over by Newmont, Reona becomes part of the greater Phoenix project. In 1996, remaining reserves at Reona were 52.9 million tons of ore grading 0.038 ounces of gold per ton. Total endowment for the combined Reona deposits in 1996 was 259,729 ounces of gold and 1,907,500 ounces of silver.

Comments on development

Battle Mountain Gold Company announced the Reona project reserves in about 1993. Stripping of overburden at the Reona Project began in 1994 and the first gold pour was later that year. In 1994, it was reported that the Reona zone hosts 13.5 million tons of ore averaging 0.028 ounces of gold per ton. With a gold recovery of 70%, the mine was expected to yield a total of 260,000 ounces of gold Annual production was expected to reach 70,000 ounces in 1995. In 2004, Newmont reported that 2005 development work at their Phoenix Project would included developing the Reona Pit, expanding the Fortitude and Northeast Extension Pits to form the Phoenix Pit, and expanding the North Midas and South Midas Pits to form the Midas Pit. The Midas pit is in the immediate vicinity of the Bonanza and South Canyon deposits. Later it became incorporated into the greater Phoenix project of Newmont.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Deposit

California Mining Journal, Dec., 1992
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

Denver Mining Record, 10/19/94
Deposit

Northern Miner, 10/17/94.
Deposit

NBMG MI-1994-2003.
Deposit

Geological Society of Nevada, 1999, Geology and Gold Mineralization of the Buffalo Valley Area, Northwestern Battle Mountain Trend; GSN Special Publication No. 31, 1999 Fall field trip Guidebook.
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
[http://www.staccatogold.com/i/pdf/icbm-43-101.pdf]

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	The Bonanza and South Canyon deposits are hosted primarily in the Battle Formation with minor ore forming in the Harmony Formation. The Bonanza deposit is adjacent to the Virgin Fault. Ore at the Sunshine Deposit is hosted in a sheared contact zone between chert of the Lithotectonic Unit 1 (LU-1) of the Havallah Sequence and granodiorite of Copper Canyon. alternate deposit type: skarn gold

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	01-DEC-2006	LaPointe, 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.