Lovelock deposit, Muttlebury Mining District, Pershing County, Nevada, USAi

Regional Level Types
Lovelock deposit	Deposit
Muttlebury Mining District	Mining District
Pershing County	County
Nevada	State
USA	Country

Structure: Anticlines; Synclines; Transverse Faults

Deposit: Considerable gypsum was quarried and shipped from the district during the period 1891-93. There has been intermittent production since 1891. Some gypsum was shipped to the western gypsum co. In reno in 1902-1913. The claim covers most of the deposit and is 5280 ft. Long and 1323 ft. Wide. It was mined by open-pit quarries and explored by tunnels from the quarry floors. Claim is most likely on the same main gypsum deposit As the satin spar and unnamed gypsum prospect but was offset progressively to the northwest by transverse faults. ; info.src : 1 pub lit; 2 unpub rept; 3 field observ alternating laminae of limestone and gypsum that grade at depth to dohydrite with minor shale.. Bedded gypsum and associated limestone occur in several masses for about 2 miles n-s on western side of the west humboldt range. All the rocks are in the upper plate of the thrust and are structurally complex. Bedding has varied attitudes, although north dips are quite common, and bedding is severely contorted locally. Although the thickness of the main gypsum unit cannot be determined, recently drilled vertical holes reportedly encountered As much As 280 ft of gypsum. The surface of the gypsum consists of a medium-grey crust several inches thick devoid of vegetation. Below this to a depth of about 12-inches some vertical banding and vugs are present indicating a slight leaching of gypsum. Some of the gypsum-rich material is indistinctly bedded and quite pure. More commonly, however, the material consists of white friable pure gypsum with variable amounts of light-grey harder rock containing calcite and gypsum in beds less than 1 inch thick. The impure material constitutes As much As one fifth by volume. A few units of limestone up to 3 ft thick are also present, and several bodies of fine-grained igneous rock with disseminated pyrite intrude the gypsum. The better quality gypsum has practically no iron-staining and has minor quartz, mica and montmorillonite impurities.

Development: Drilled in late 1940's by u.s. Gypsum co; drilled in sept, 1984 by pacific coast building productions inc. In 1984- at the time of the examination, the only activity was road-building for pacific coast.

Geology: Gypsum occurs in an impure mixture of gypsum, shale, and limestone, clasts with sand and silt, averaging 4 feet thick, exposed at the southern end of the quarry. It also occurs in alternating beds with limestone.

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Link to USGS MRDS:	10042584

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References