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Star Pointer Gold Mine

Producer in White Pine county in Nevada, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Arsenic, Tellurium, Antimony, Thallium, Fluorine-Fluorite
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310382
MRDS ID W700597
Record type Site
Current site name Star Pointer Gold Mine
Alternate or previous names East Robinson Project, North Star Pointer, Zack, Ruth, Pilot Knob, JD Hill, Twin Peaks, West Liberty

Comments on the site identification

  • This record includes all material from earlier records #W700597 and M242960 and supersedes those two records.

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Pit
Geographic coordinates: -114.97887, 39.25384 (WGS84)
Elevation 2160
Relative position The mine area is located about 5 miles west of Ely, Nevada and about 2 miles south of U.S. Highway 50. About 700 m WSW of the lowest point of the Ruth pit.
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Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Nevada White Pine

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 016N 062E 15 NE,15 Nevada

Comments on the location information

  • The mine area is located about halfway between the old Liberty and Kimberly pits; 2 miles south-southeast of Ruth on the south edge of the Ruth pit. (This note was from old_MRDS record M242960)
  • Old_MRDS record M242960 lat/long coordinates fall 0.45 mi SSW of the lowest part of Ruth pit (as opposed to the comment above stating 2 miles SSE. Old_MRDS record M242960 lat/long coords in NAD27 datum were 39-15-11N 114-58-31W (39.25306 -114.97528); UTM N4346970 E674490 Z11N; PLSS line# 1: Meridian- Mount Diablo, TWNSHP 016N, RNG 062E, Sect 15, Sect_fract NE,15. Old_MRDS record M242960 location lies in the N. edge of a what appears to be a leach pad or tailings pile in Google Earth, as opposed to an open pit mine. Expressing the same lat/long in WGS84 datum shifts the point 200 m N, to undisturbed ground. In contrast, the photo and caption at this link: http://www.geomineinfo.com/mining_photos.htm point to the pits 0.4 miles WSW of the lowest point of the Ruth pit. So the lat/long was changed to WGS84 39.2539 -114.978.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Secondary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Tertiary
Arsenic Tertiary
Tellurium Tertiary
Antimony Tertiary
Thallium Tertiary
Fluorine-Fluorite Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Materials: free gold
  • Gangue Materials: silica, limonite

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Silica Ore
Limonite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) The main alteration is decalcification and silicification of limestone, ad rocks are also localyaffected by advanced argillic alteration.

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 Rib Hill Sandstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Permian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Riepe Spring Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Permian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Rock type qualifier porphyry
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Porphyry
    Rock type qualifier quartz monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cretaceous

Nearby scientific data

Pit (1) -114.97887, 39.25384
ListMap

Geologic structures

Type Description Terms
Local Numerous faults cut the rocks in the mine area.
Regional In mid-Cretaceous time, Paleozoic miogeosynclinal sedimentary rocks were deformed into an overturned E-W-trending anticline whose upper limb was thrust to the southwest. Basin-and-Range normal faulting successively down-dropped the upper portions of the system to the east.

Ore body information

  • General form tablar

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore is controlled by the #9 Fault which trends N60E, dip 60NW and is confined by ithology to the host rock, a fine-grained calcareous sandstone.

Comments on the geologic information

  • In mid-Cretaceous time, Paleozoic miogeosynclinal sedimentary rocks were deformed into an overturned E-W-trending anticline whose upper limb was thrust to the southwest. The axis if the anticline was subsequently intruded by a composite quartz monzonite stock dated at 110 million years. Hydrothermal alteration and mineralization associated with emplacement of the pluton formed the Ruth porphyry copper-gold system. Basin-and-Range normal faulting successively down-dropped the upper portions of the system to the east.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Both metallic and non-metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year <1910
Year of first production 1985
Year of last production 1987

Mining district

District name Robinson District

Land status

Ownership category Private
Area name Ely BLM Administrative area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Alta Gold Co.
    Year 1989
    First year 1987
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Silver King Mines
    Interest 50
    First year 1987
  • Type Joint Venture Partner
    Owner Echo Bay
    Interest 50
    First year 1987

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1986
    Total resources 680,000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 3.952 g/mt Gold Major 1986
    Silver Ag 8.47 g/mt Silver Major 1986
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1987
    Total resources 453,000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 3.67 g/mt Gold Major 1987

Comments on the workings information

  • The mine area has been developed by a large open pit, which has obliterated many of the early underground workings which dated to the early 1900s.

Comments on other economic factors

  • In 1989, reserves were reported as 4.7 million tons of ore averaging 0.45 ounces per ton gold with a 0.1 oz Au cut-off, fo r a total of 210,000 ounces of gold. Production from 1986 to 1987 was 98,207 ounces of gold. In1986, 96,000 ounces of silver were produced.

Comments on development

  • Star Pointer was originally located as a copper deposit. Copper mining began in 1910 and was ongoing in 1912 when a tragic powder explosion at the Star Pointer Mine killed ten miners. Underground mining of the Minnesota Hi copper orebody continued at the Star Pointer until late 1957 or early 1958 when the underground orebody was lost. In the early 1960's, the Ruth open pit copper mine was developed at the head of Ingersoll Canyon right where the Star Pointer underground mine was located, and it again mined the Minnesota Hi orebody. The Star Pointer area explored for gold by Bear Creek in the early 1980s, and was leased by Silver King in 1985. It was put into production as the Star Pointer open pit gold mine in 1985 at rate of 1100 tpd. It was owned by a 50/50 Silver King Mines and Pacific Silver Corp joint venture in1987. In 1988, it was operated by a Silver King and Echo Bay Joint Venture called Alta Gold. No production was reported from the property after 1987, but Alta Gold was still listed as the owner and operater of the property in 1989. Alta Gold went bankrupt in 1999. Star Pointer is now part of the Robinson Project operated by Quadra Mining Ltd. (2004).

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS M242960 MRDS dep_id 10047583 merged into this record.

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Mining Magazine, January 1989, p. 44.

  • Deposit

    Gans, P. B., Seedorff, E., Fahey, P. L., Hasler, R. W., Maher, D. J., Jeanne, R. A., and Shaver, S. A., 2001, Rapid Eocene extension in the Robinson district, White Pine County, Nevada: Geology, v. 29, p. 475-478.

  • Deposit

    Gans, P. B., and Seedorff, E., eds., 2000, Cenozoic tectono-magmatic evolution of White Pine County, Nevada: Core complexes, Eocene-Oligocene volcanic centers, episodic extension and shortening, and disseminated gold deposits: Geological Society of Nevada Symposium 2000 Field Trip Guidebook No. 11, 166 p.

  • Deposit

    Seedorff, E., 2000b, Summary of the gold-silver deposits of the Robinson district, with descriptions of the Northwest Ruth, J. D. Hill, and Star Pointer deposits, in Gans, P. B., and Seedorff, E., eds., Cenozoic tectono-magmatic evolution of White Pine County, Nevada: Core complexes, Eocene-Oligocene volcanic centers, episodic extension and shortening, and disseminated gold deposits: Geological Society of Nevada Symposium 2000 Field Trip Guidebook No. 11, p. 141-166.NBMG, 1988, NBMG MI-1987

  • Deposit

    Smith, M.R., Wilson, W.R., Benham, J.A., Pescio, C.A., and Valenti, P., 1988, The Star Pointer gold deposit, Robinson Mining District, White Pine County, Nevada, in Schafer, R.W., and Cooper, J.J., and Vikre, P.G., eds., Bulk mineable precious metal deposit of the Western United States (Symposium Proceedings, Sparks, Nevada, April 6-8, 1987): Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, p. 221-232.

  • Deposit

    NBMG Mining District File 327, numerous press clippings

  • Deposit

    Bonham, H.F., 1986, NBMG Map 91

  • Deposit

    Wilson, W.R., 1978, in Shawe, D.R., ed., NBMG Rept. 32, p.55-61.

  • Deposit

    Bonham, 1988

  • 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.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit The Star Pointer gold deposit is a distal gold deposit related to the porphyry copper system in the Robinson district, Nevada. The Cretaceous porphyry Cu-(Mo-Au) deposit was dismembered by Eocene extension. Gold at the Star Pointer gold deposit is associated with massive jasperoid. All ore is on hanging wall of the #9 Fault which trends N60E, dip 60NW. Ore is hosted by fine-grained calcareous Rib Hill sandstone that was decalcified by early fluids adjacent to steeply-dipping feeder faults. Later gold-bearing fluids caused a tabular hydrothermal breccia body bounded by a pervasively silicified zone. Similar ore formed at the JD Hill, Twin Peaks, and West Liberty deposits.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-1988 La Pointe, D.D. (Tingley, J.V.) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Updater 01-SEP-1994 Li, Zhiping (Moyer, Lorre A.) U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 01-DEC-2004 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.