Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon 

Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, 

Nevada, and Mil lard County, Utah

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Chapter G

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon 

Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, 

Nevada, and Millard County, Utah

By MICHAEL F. DIGGLES, GARY A. NOWLAN, 

H. RICHARD BLANK, JR., and SUSAN M. MARCUS 

U.S. Geological Survey

RICHARD F. KNESS 

U.S. Bureau of Mines

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1728

MINERAL RESOURCES OF WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS 

EAST-CENTRAL NEVADA AND PART OF ADJACENT BEAVER 

AND IRON COUNTIES, UTAH
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director

Any use of trade, product, or firm names

in this publication is for descriptive purposes only

and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1990

For sale by the

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mineral resources of the Marble Canyon wilderness study area, White Pine County,

Nevada, and Millard County, Utah / by Michael F. Diggles...[et al.].

p. cm. (Mineral resources of wilderness study areas east-central 

Nevada and part of adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah ; ch. G) (U.S. 

Geological Survey bulletin ; 1728)

Includes bibliographical references.

Supt. of Docs, no.: I 19.3:1728-G

1. Mines and mineral resources Marble Canyon Wilderness (Nev. and Utah) 

2. Marble Canyon Wilderness (Nev. and Utah) I. Diggles, M.F. II. Series. 

III. Series: U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 1728-G

QE75.B9 no. 1728-G 557.3 s dc20 90-14080 

[TN24.N3] [557.93'15] CIP
STUDIES RELATED TO WILDERNESS

Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (Public Law 94-579, October 21,1976) 

requires the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to conduct mineral 

surveys on certain areas to determine the mineral values, if any, that may be present. 

Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the President and the 

Congress. This report presents the results of a mineral survey of part of the Marble Canyon 

(NV-040-086) Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, 

Utah.

CONTENTS

Summary Gl

Abstract Gl 

Character and setting Gl 

Identified mineral resources Gl 

Mineral resource potential Gl 

Introduction G2

Location and physiography G3 

Procedures and sources of data G3 

Acknowledgments G4 

Appraisal of identified resources G4 

Mining activity G4 

Oil and gas G4 

Results of field investigation G4

Smith Creek adits G4

Limestone and marble G4 

Conclusions G5

Assessment of mineral resource potential G5 

Geology G5

Lower-plate rocks G6

Upper-plate rocks G6

Tertiary rocks and Quaternary surficial deposits G6

Structure and metamorphism G6 

Geochemistry G7

Methods and background G7

Results and interpretation G10 

Geophysics G12

Aeromagnetic data G12

Gravity data G13 

Mineral resource potential G14

Limestone and marble G14

Gold and silver G14

Copper, lead, and zinc G14

Tungsten and molybdenum G14

Beryllium and fluorite G14

Barite G14

Oil and gas G15

Geothermal energy G15 

References cited G15 

Appendixes G19

Definition of levels of mineral resource potential and certainty of

assessment G20

Resource/reserve classification G21 

Geologic time chart G22

FIGURES

1. Index map showing location of Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine 

County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G2

2. Mineral resource potential and generalized geologic map of Marble Canyon 

, Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah G8

3. Geochemical anomaly map of Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and 

Utah G10

Contents
4. Aeromagnetic map of region including Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, 

Nevada and Utah G12

5. Bouguer gravity anomaly map of region including Marble Canyon Wilderness Study 

Area, Nevada and Utah G13

TABLE

1. Statistics for selected elements in drainage samples collected in and near the Marble 

Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah Gil

VI Contents
Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon 

Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, 

Nevada, and Millard County, Utah

£y Michael F. Diggles, Gary A. Nowlan, H. Richard Blank, Jr., and Susan M. Marcus 

U.S. Geological Survey

Richard F. Kness 

U.S. Bureau of Mines

SUMMARY

Abstract

The 19,150-acre Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area 

(NV-040-086) was evaluated for mineral resources (known) 

and mineral resource potential (undiscovered), and fieldwork 

was conducted in 1987. The acreage includes 6,435 acres that 

is now designated as part of the Mount Moriah Wilderness 

under the Nevada Wilderness Protection Act of 1989 (S. 974), 

most but not all of which is included in 8,300 acres for which 

the U.S. Bureau of Land Management requested a mineral survey. In this report, the ''wilderness study area," or simply "the 

study area" refers to the entire 19,150-acre tract.

The area is underlain by quartzite, shale, and carbonate 

rocks. The northern Snake Range decollement is a detachment 

surface that separates rocks of similar age but different metamorphic grade within the study area. Large inferred subeconomic limestone and marble resources in the study area have 

no special or unique properties. The mineral resource potential 

for limestone and marble is high in two canyons and is moderate in the rest of the wilderness study area. Parts of the study 

area above and along the northern Snake Range decollement 

have low potential for undiscovered deposits of gold, silver, 

copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, molybdenum, beryllium, and fluorite. A zone around barite-bearing rock penetrated by adits 

inside the southeast boundary of the study area has moderate 

potential for barite, and the surrounding area has low potential 

for barite; both areas also have low potential for silver, copper, 

lead, zinc, and tungsten. The entire study area has moderate 

potential for oil and gas and low potential for geothermal energy 

resources.

Character and Setting

The Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area covers approximately 19,150 acres and is 5 mi west of Gandy, Utah 

(fig. 1). The terrain is rugged, and the elevation ranges from 

about 9,331 ft at Thunder Mountain to about 5,240 ft in the 

southeast comer of the study area. Access to and within the

Manuscript approved for publication, September 21, 1990.

study area is by four-wheel-drive vehicle on roads in Marble 

Wash, Coyote Canyon, Bars Canyon, and Smith Creek.

Most of the study area is underlain by shales, quartzites, and carbonate rocks of early Paleozoic age (see "Appendixes" for geologic time chart). The oldest exposed rocks in 

the area are shale, quartzite, and marble of Early and Middle 

Cambrian age. Shale of Late Cambrian age has been faulted 

over the older metamorphosed rocks. Dolomite and quartzite 

of Ordovician and Silurian age are also in fault contact with 

the Upper Cambrian rocks. Small areas of dolomite and 

limestone of Devonian to Permian age crop out east of the 

range-front fault; their relation to the rocks west of the fault is 

obscured by alluvium. The structural history of the study 

area includes the development of a detachment fault that juxtaposes metamorphosed Paleozoic rocks beneath, and in flatfault contact with, less metamorphosed to nonmetamorphosed 

rocks. This detachment surface is part of the northern Snake 

Range decollement.

Identified Mineral Resources

Limestone has been prospected and quarried in and near 

the study area. Large inferred subeconomic limestone and 

marble resources inside the study area are without special or 

unique properties. The carbonate rocks are suitable for use in 

aggregate, but there are no nearby markets and similar quality 

resources are present elsewhere.

The exposed northern Snake Range decollement within 

the study area is not mineralized, as indicated by a lack of 

surface expressions and by stream-sediment data. Samples 

taken from fault-breccia zones in nonmetamorphosed carbonate rocks above the northern Snake Range decollement contain 

some pathfinder elements typical of detachment-related deposits, but no mineral occurrences were observed.

Mineral Resource Potential

In the lower parts of Bars Canyon and Marble Wash 

the mineral resource potential for limestone and marble is 

high, and in the rest of the studv area it is moderate.

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G1
Areas of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area 

underlain by upper-plate rocks and the zone of the northern 

Snake Range d6collement have low mineral resource potential for gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, molybdenum, beryllium, and fluorite. The gold and silver are 

associated with low-angle faults within those areas. Geochemical evidence suggests the resource potential for copper, 

lead, zinc, tungsten, and molybdenum in those areas. The 

geophysical study suggests that no plutons are buried beneath 

the study area, but anomalous concentrations of beryllium 

in geochemical samples collected from the study area could 

be explained by the presence of an undetected buried pluton.

Adits inside the southeast boundary of the study area 

reveal exposures of barite, and anomalous concentrations of 

barium were measured in geochemical samples from upperplate rocks near there. A narrow zone around the adits has 

moderate mineral resource potential for barite, and the surrounding area has low mineral resource potential for barite. 

On the basis of geochemical data, the adits and a wider 

zone around them also have low mineral resource potential 

for silver, copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten.

The metamorphosed lower-plate rocks, the thin sequences of faulted upper-plate rocks, and the extrusive 

volcanic rocks exposed in the study area are not conducive 

to the formation and accumulation of hydrocarbons. The 

resource potential for oil and gas in the entire study area is 

moderate, but this assessment may be too high due to the 

lack of likely source rocks. There are two thermal springs 

in Spring Valley to the west of the study area and other 

thermal springs just east of the study area. Range-front 

faults in the region may provide a conduit for the circulation 

of thermal water, and such a system could extend into the 

study area. Therefore, the entire Marble Canyon Wilderness 

Study Area has low potential for geothermal energy resources associated with low-temperature thermal springs.

INTRODUCTION

This mineral survey was requested by the U.S. Bureau 

of Land Management and is the result of a cooperative effort 

by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines.

114°30' 114° OO 1

White Cloud 

mining district

Marble Canyon 

. mining district Jeep I trail 

e . _ ^- 

Wssb North

Schell

Peak

A

APPROXIMATE BOUNDARY _I

OF

MARBLE CANYON 

WILDERNESS STUDY AREA

HUMBOLDT

NATIONAL

FOREST

Mount Moriah

Wilderness 

(patterenedarea)

HUMBOLDT

NATIONAL

FOREST

Great Basin

National

Figure 1. Index map showing location of Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Mil lard 

County, Utah.

G2 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
An introduction to the wilderness review process, mineral 

survey methods, and agency responsibilities was provided by 

Beikman and others (1983). The U.S. Bureau of Mines 

evaluates identified resources at individual mines and known 

mineralized areas by collecting data on current and past mining 

activities and through field examination of mines, prospects, 

claims, and mineralized areas. Identified resources are classified according to a system that is a modification of that described by McKelvey (1972) and U.S. Bureau of Mines and 

U.S. Geological Survey (1980). U.S. Geological Survey 

studies are designed to provide a scientific basis for assessing 

the potential for undiscovered mineral resources by determining geologic units and structures, possible environments of 

mineral deposition, presence of geochemical and geophysical 

anomalies, and applicable ore-deposit models. Goudarzi (1984) 

discussed mineral assessment methodology and terminology 

as they apply to these surveys. See "Appendixes" for the 

definition of levels of mineral resource potential and certainty 

of assessment and for the resource/reserve classification.

Location and Physiography

The Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area comprises 

approximately 19,150 acres in the Basin and Range physiographic province. It is situated in the northern Snake Range, 

principally in eastern White Pine County, Nev., but extending 

a short distance into Millard County, about 5 mi southwest of 

Gandy, Utah. The north and west boundaries follow Marble 

Wash and Coyote Canyon, respectively. The south boundary 

follows an upgraded road from Coyote Canyon to the base of 

Thunder Mountain and the north boundary of the Mount Moriah 

Division of Humboldt National Forest. The east boundary 

follows an upgraded road along the alluvial apron near the 

6,000-ft contour. Elevations in the study area range from 

about 9,331 ft at Thunder Mountain to about 5,240 ft in the 

southeast comer of the study area. The Nevada Wilderness 

Protection Act of 1989 designates 6,435 acres of the study area 

as part of the Mount Moriah Wilderness (fig. 1).

Climate in the study area is classified as arid; precipitation averages 10 in. per year and supports vegetation of the 

Sonoran and Transition Zones. The higher elevations are in 

the Transition Zone where vegetation includes pinon and 

bristlecone pine. Bristlecone pines grow primarily on limestone and are conspicuously absent from hillsides underlain 

by quartzite. The middle elevations are in the Upper Sonoran 

Zone and support white fir and incense cedar. On the dryer 

lower slopes, the vegetation is typically Lower Sonoran sagebrush and mountain mahogany.

Procedures and Sources of Data

The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of 

Mines conducted detailed field investigations of the Marble

Canyon Wilderness Study Area in the summer of 1987. This 

work included geologic mapping at a scale of 1:24,000, field 

checks of existing geologic maps, geochemical sampling, and 

the examination of outcrops for evidence of mineralization.

A detailed literature search was made for geologic and 

mining information pertinent to the study area, and U.S. Bureau 

of Land Management records were examined for information on mining claims and oil and gas leases. Two U.S. 

Bureau of Mines geologists spent 6 days in the field for ground 

reconnaissance and an examination of prospects within and 

near the study area, and they collected 21 rock and 19 streamsediment samples. Those samples were analyzed either by 

inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy or 

fire assay-atomic absorption methods by Chemex Labs Inc., 

Sparks, Nev. Sample data were discussed by Kness (1989) 

and are summarized in this report Complete sample data are 

available for public inspection at the U.S. Bureau of Mines, 

Intermountain Field Operations Center, Building 20, Denver 

Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225.

General stratigraphic studies in the region include a 

correlation of stratigraphic units in the Great Basin 

(Langenheim and Larson, 1973), a description of the stratigraphic section near Eureka, Nev. (Nolan and others, 1956), 

and paleogeographic interpretations (Stewart and others 

1977). Detailed stratigraphic studies include descriptions 

of upper Precambrian and Lower Cambrian strata (Stewart, 

1970), Lower and Middle Cambrian strata (Robison, 1960), 

and Upper Cambrian strata (Palmer, 1960). Whitebread 

and Lee (1961) and Whitebread (1969) described the geology 

of the Wheeler Peak area in what is now Great Basin 

National Park, 15 mi south of the study area. Hose and 

Blake (1970,1976) compiled existing and original geologic 

mapping of White Pine County, and Hose (1981) presented 

the geology of the Mount Moriah Division of Humboldt 

National Forest (formerly the Mount Moriah Roadless Area 

and now included in the Mount Moriah Wilderness). 

Christiansen and others (1987) did detailed mapping just 

south of the study area. The geology in the western part of 

figure 2 is generalized from detailed mapping by Jeffrey 

Lee (1990).

General treatments of the structural geology of the 

region include studies of central northeastern Nevada (Misch, 

1960; Misch and Hazzard, 1962) and descriptions of the 

structural evolution of the eastern Great Basin (Hose and 

Danes, 1968, 1973; Hose and Blake, 1969). Hazzard and 

others (1953) and Nelson (1966) described the structural 

development of the region, including the large-scale thrust 

faulting in the northern Snake Range, a theory that has been 

superseded by the interpretation of the northern Snake Range 

decollement (Wernicke, 1981; Miller and others, 1983). 

Whitebread (1966), Coney (1974), Rowles (1982), and 

McGrew (1986) specifically addressed the northern Snake 

Range decollement. Gering (1987), Miller and others 

(1988b), Huggins (1989), and Jeffrey Lee (1990) discussed 

the metamorphic history of the Snake Range.

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G3
General treatments of mineral resources include a bibliography of Nevada resources (Weimer-McMillion and others, 1983), a map of resource areas in Nevada (Wong, 1983), 

and a description of computer-accessible Nevada mineral resource data (Sherlock and Tingley, 1985). Cox and Singer 

(1986) presented models of mineral deposits and of grade and 

tonnage. Lincoln (1923) provided an early treatment of mining 

districts in Nevada. Morion and others (1977) provided age 

data on ore deposits in Nevada. Darton (1908) reported on 

marble in White Pine County. Smith (1976) reported on the 

mineral resources of White Pine County, and Carlson and 

others (1984) presented the mineral resource potential of the 

Mount Moriah Division of Humboldt National Forest. In 

1983, this study area was included in a U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management Geology, Energy, and Minerals (GEM) inventory program (Great Basin GEM Joint Venture, 1983). Bullock 

and others (1989) presented the data from the U.S. Geological 

Survey stream-sediment sampling program for this wilderness 

study area. Kness (1989) presented the results of the U.S. 

Bureau of Mines mineral resource appraisal for this wilderness study area.

the south. Darton (1908) investigated the marble as a building stone source. Pink-colored marble was tested for crushed 

stone from 1966 to 1969. Results of these tests have not been 

located.

The White Cloud mining district is just northwest of 

the Marble Canyon district (fig. 1; Kness, 1989). The Lead 

King mine, the only one in the district, is near the summit of 

White Cloud Mountain, 7 to 8 mi northwest of the study area. 

Recorded district production from 1949 to 1952 totaled 92 

tons of ore containing a trace of gold, 197 oz silver, 225 Ib 

copper, 25,985 Ib lead, and 1,553 Ib zinc valued at $4,481 at 

the time it was mined. No other mining information on the 

district was found.

The Mount Moriah mining area, in the Humboldt National Forest, is named for mines and prospects on and around 

Mount Moriah (fig. 1). This mining area has produced 

quartzite building stone, garnet abrasives, gold, silver, copper, 

lead, and zinc (Wood, 1983). The Grand View tungsten 

prospect is on the west slope of Mount Moriah. An assay of 

coarse-grained scheelite enclosed in 3 ft of silicified limestone shows as much as 7 percent tungsten oxi

Acknowledgments

The authors greatly appreciate the cooperation of 

Shaaron Netherton, William D. Robison, and Brian Amme of 

the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Ely, Nev. Carl and 

Sheriton Baker made the Horse Canyon spring on their ranch 

available for a field camp site. Jeffrey Lee shared unpublished 

mapping that is pan of his Ph.D. dissertation at Stanford University. Elizabeth Miller and her students from Stanford University shared detailed geologic mapping information on the 

northern Snake Range. R.A. Schreiner assisted the U.S. Bureau 

of Mines author with his field studies.

APPRAISAL OF IDENTIFIED RESOURCES

By Richard F. Kness 

U.S. Bureau of Mines

Mining Activity

No mining has occurred, but prospecting and limestone 

quarrying have taken place in the study area. Unpatented mining 

claims for marble are recorded along parts of Bars Canyon and 

Marble Wash within the study area and north of it The following information on nearby mining districts and a mining area is 

summarized from Hose and Blake (1976) and Smith (1976).

The Marble Canyon mining district encompasses the 

Marble Wash area and the region north of it (fig 1). Marble 

claims were first located in 1891. No production records are 

available, but small quantities of marble were quarried for 

grave headstones and transported to Garrison, Utah, 30 mi to

Oil and Gas

Drilling has occurred near the north boundary of the study 

area. A dry-hole marker was located in Marble Wash (fig. 2), but 

no records were located. Oil and gas leases have been filed near 

and on the east boundary of the study area (fig. 2).

Results of Field Investigation

Smith Creek Adits

The two short Smith Creek adits are just inside the 

south boundary of the study area (fig. 2). Barite, calcite, and 

manganese oxide are in northeast-striking detachment-fault 

breccia zones in upper-plate limestone. The breccia zones 

could not be traced beyond the workings due to surface talus. 

Christiansen and others (1987) mapped this upper-plate limestone as an unnamed Middle Cambrian carbonate unit. Samples of fault breccia contain anomalous amounts of arsenic, 

beryllium, bismuth, mercury, molybdenum, tungsten, and especially barium and manganese (Kness, 1989, fig. 2). Gold 

and uranium were not detected, and silver was at detection 

limits (0.2 ppm). No resources could be defined. The 

unpatented mining claim 0.5 mi west of the adits is shown in 

U.S. Bureau of Land Management records, but no evidence 

of workings was found.

Limestone and Marble

Large inferred limestone and marble resources are 

present in the study area but must meet industry standards

G4 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
or specifications in order to be marketable. Limestone and 

marble are carbonate rocks of essentially the same composition and are used in the chemical and construction industries. They have the same end uses and are cut, crushed, or 

ground to produce a wide variety of stone products. Other 

types of rocks may be utilized or substituted for carbonate 

rocks: granite, sandstone, and slate may be used as dimension or cut stone, and sand and gravel is frequently used as 

an alternative to crushed limestone or marble.

Impurities such as chert, clay, iron, organic matter, 

and silica may affect utilization of carbonate rock. Pure 

calcitic or dolomitic marble is white; any coloration results 

from impurities. Gray, pink, and white marble were noted 

during the field investigation. The quartz content of the 

upper marble units in the northern Snake Range is high; it 

averages 15 to 20 percent but may be as high as 40 percent 

(Nelson, 1969, p. 335). Therefore the marble is too impure 

to be marketable.

Most chemical uses require high-calcium limestone 

containing more than 95 percent calcium carbonate (CaCO^; 

some uses specify more than 97 percent CaCO3 (Carr and 

Rooney, 1983). Limestone and marble samples in and near 

the study area contain CaCO3 ranging from 75.73 to 94.83 

percent (Kness, 1989, table 2); thus, the best material in the 

study area is of marginal quality. In general, marble samples 

contain a higher percentage of magnesium carbonate than 

limestone samples and thus are unlikely to be suitable for 

chemical uses.

Limestone and marble may be cut and used as dimension stone. Principal uses are in building construction and 

monuments. Most dimension marble is cut into thin slabs 

(0.875 to 1.25 in.) for use as veneer or curtain wall construction. Quarry blocks typically weigh 15 to 30 tons and 

may be rejected for unacceptable color or, more commonly, 

structural unsoundness (cracks, joints, or fractures). Because 

most bedded deposits are sawed parallel to bedding, smallscale folds may make it impossible to saw satisfactory slabs. 

Some marble units in the study area are contorted, folded, 

and fractured. Dimension-stone quarries in general produce 

a large amount of waste because only about 25 percent of 

the quarried stone is sent to the mill for sawing, and 50 

percent of that may be lost during manufacturing (see Power, 

1972, 1978). A quarry in this area is likely to have higher 

waste percentages and therefore is less likely to be a viable 

commercial venture.

Marble dimension stone marketability is governed 

largely by stone availability and aesthetic qualities (uniform 

color, patterns, and texture) determined by architects and 

architectural fashions. A new prospect or deposit may be 

successful if it matches or closely matches a currently fashionable stone available in large quantities (see Power, 1972). 

Marble production continues in traditional areas that have 

favorable geology and market proximity such as the Pittsford 

district in Vermont and the Tate district in Georgia. Significant tonnage of marble dimension stone is imported from

Italy. Further testing is necessary to determine if marble in 

and near the study area is suitable for dimension stone. 

Soundness and aesthetic qualities of the stone are largely 

unknown. Large inferred resources are present, but impurities, small-scale folds, and fractures are present in some 

marble units. It is not known whether large, uniform, sound 

blocks are present. Selective mining might be required if 

suitable marble units are identified. Transportation costs 

are high because of weight and the need for special handling 

to prevent finished-stone damage.

Limestone and marble may be crushed and used as 

aggregate. A private mining consultant's report (L.C. 

Armstrong, E.J. Longyear and Co., written commun., 1970) 

estimated that the Marble Wash deposit contains marble 

resources totaling 300 million tons, but aggregate is a highbulk, low-unit-value commodity. In general, hauling crushed 

stone more than 30 mi is not economical (Schenck and 

Tomes, 1983). The distance from the Marble Wash marble 

deposits to U.S. Highway 6 and 50 is about 37 mi and Ely, 

Nev. is the closest market, another 75 mi away. Transportation costs exceed the value of the commodity.

Conclusions

Large inferred subeconomic limestone and marble resources are present in the study area; however, these rocks 

were determined to have no special or unique properties. Low 

CaCO3 content may preclude utilization for chemical purposes. 

Aesthetic qualities of the marble are unknown, and the presence 

of impurities, folds, and fractures may make it unsuitable for 

dimension stone. Even though the carbonate rocks are suitable 

for use as aggregate, the transportation costs to the nearest 

markets exceed the unit value, and market areas may use 

closer carbonate rocks or may substitute other rocks. The 

remoteness of the area would limit development of the carbonate rocks for all but local uses. Local demand at present 

is nonexistent. No nearby markets were identified, and resources of similar quality are present elsewhere.

ASSESSMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCE 

POTENTIAL

By Michael F. Diggles, Gary Nowlan, H. Richard 

Blank, Jr., and Susan M. Marcus 

U.S. Geological Survey

Geology

Rocks not exposed at the surface within the Marble 

Canyon Wilderness Study Area, but presumably present at 

depth, include the Proterozoic and Lower Cambrian Prospect 

Mountain Quartzite, a thick sequence of fine- to 

medium-bedded quartzite that contains interbeds of argillite.

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G5
Exposed rocks in the study area consist of a lower plate of 

Middle and Upper Cambrian metamorphosed sedimentary 

rocks in detachment-fault contact with an upper plate of Lower 

Cambrian through Devonian limestone, dolomite, shale, and 

quartzite that have mostly undergone only brittle deformation. From Late Proterozoic through Early Triassic, the region 

of the study area was the site of relatively continuous continental shelf sedimentation (Stewart and others, 1977). Lowerplate rocks were metamorphosed to amphibolite facies during 

the Cretaceous and underwent retrograde metamorphism to 

greenschist facies in the Tertiary (J. Lee and others, 1988; 

Huggins and Wright, 1989; Huggins, 1990; Miller and others, 

1988b).

Lower-Plate Rocks

The location of the northern Snake Range decollement 

and the stratigraphy of the upper and lower plates were modified from the early work of Hose and Blake (1970,1976) by 

Jeffrey Lee (1990). The lower plate of the decollement within 

the study area includes Middle and Upper Cambrian rocks 

(fig. 2). Elsewhere in the northern Snake Range, the 

decollement cuts through the Middle Cambrian Pole Canyon 

Limestone (Huggins and Wright, 1989).

Middle Cambrian rocks consist of the Raiff Limestone 

of Young (1960) and the Monte Neva Formation of Young 

(1960). These light-gray to dark-gray metamorphosed limestones are combined on figure 2 (map unit -Grm). The 

Middle Cambrian rocks are interrupted by faulting or erosion 

everywhere in the study area, and their total thickness is not 

known.

The Upper Cambrian Notch Peak Limestone and 

Dunderberg Shale are also combined on figure 2 (map unit 

 G nd). The Dunderberg consists mostly of light-olive-gray to 

medium-olive-gray silty shale intercalated with thin beds of 

limestone. It is only about 70 ft thick in the study area. The 

Notch Peak Limestone, which underlies most of the study 

area, is medium gray and massive; locally it is dolomitic and 

contains lenses of chert. The basal part is thin bedded and 

silty. Metamorphosed parts of the Notch Peak include the 

marble for which the area has the highest resource potential. 

Whitebread (1969) shows a thickness of 1,600 to 1,800 ft for 

the Notch Peak Limestone south of the study area.

Upper-Plate Rocks

The oldest rocks exposed in the study area are Lower 

Cambrian shale and quartzite (map unit -Gsq) that include the 

Pioche Shale. The Pioche consists of 150 to 600 ft of darkgreenish-gray to olive-gray silty shale and clay shale intercalated with siltstone and includes some sandstone near its base 

and minor limestone in its upper part. It is exposed in an 

upper-plate block in the southwest part of the study area. 

Where the Pioche is metamorphosed within the study area, 

metamorphic minerals include biotite, muscovite, and garnet.

The undivided Middle Cambrian Monte Neva Formation and 

Raiff Limestone (map unit -Grm) are found in the many small 

exposures of upper-plate rocks in the northern part of the 

study area. The Upper Cambrian Notch Peak Limestone is 

the oldest unit in much of the upper plate, particularly in the 

southern part of the study area where the northern Snake 

Range decollement lies within it in most places.

Ordovician rocks in the study area crop out in the upper 

plate and consist of the undivided Pogonip Group and Eureka 

Quartzite (map unit Oep). The Pogonip Group in the study 

area is limited to small outcrop areas near the decollement in 

the south-central part. It is composed of platy to thin-bedded, 

fine- to coarse-textured gray detrital limestone. The Eureka 

Quartzite consists of about 310 ft of white fine-grained equigranular quartzite with minor dolomitic quartzite.

The undivided Ordovician Fish Haven Dolomite and 

Silurian Laketown Dolomite (map unit SO If) crop out in the 

south-central part of the study area. These formations consist 

of light-gray to dark-gray dolomite. South of the study area, 

chert is locally abundant and the Fish Haven has a dolomitic 

sandstone at its base.

Outcrops of Devonian rocks in the eastern part of the 

study area north of Petes Knoll are the undivided Guilmette 

Formation, Simonson Dolomite, and Sevy Dolomite (map 

unit Dgs). The Guilmette Formation consists of alternating 

dolomite and limestone in roughly equal amounts. The 

Simonson Dolomite is darker gray and commonly more 

coarsely crystalline. The Sevy Dolomite is medium-gray to 

medium-light-gray, microcrystalline, well-bedded dolomite 

with sandy dolomite and quartzite near the top.

Upper Paleozoic rocks also crop out north of Petes Knoll 

(map unit PMre). The undivided Mississippian to Permian 

Ely Limestone and Permian Riepe Springs Limestone of Steele 

(1960) are medium-gray limestones of organic detrital material.

Tertiary Rocks and Quaternary Surficial Deposits

A thin layer of Tertiary volcanic rocks unconformably overlies the Paleozoic rocks on the east side of Petes 

Knoll. These rocks consist of alkali olivine basalt (map 

unit TV). Quaternary surficial deposits include poorly sorted 

gravel, sand, and silt in stream-channel and flood-plain deposits and landslides (map unit Qal), all of Holocene age. 

Older Quaternary stream-channel deposits form terraces that 

are dissected by streams.

Structure and Metamorphism

The presence of metamorphosed Paleozoic rocks beneath, and in flat-fault contact with, less-metamorphosed to 

nonmetamorphosed rocks in the Snake Range has been discussed since the early 1950's (Hazzard and others, 1953) 

when the nearly flat fault was interpreted as a thrust fault 

The fault was interpreted later to be a detachment fault 

(Whitebread, 1966; Coney, 1974) that has juxtaposed younger

G6 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
rocks eastward over older rocks. Detachment faults have 

been described in many areas of the Western United States on 

the margins of metamorphic core complexes (Crittenden and 

others, 1980). Miller and others (1983) interpreted the fault 

to have undergone little or no horizontal displacement. An 

early deformation resulted in a northwest trend to the metamorphic fabric in the lower-plate rocks. A later lower-plate 

metamorphic fabric has a southerly trend that resulted from 

the Tertiary movement on the northern Snake Range decollement (Coney, 1974).

Rocks that have been metamorphosed to amphibolite 

facies in the southern Snake Range have been cut by 160-Ma 

plutonic rocks, thereby constraining the age of the metamorphism to no younger than Jurassic (Miller and others, 1988b). 

Those rocks that were metamorphosed during the Jurassic 

have undergone retrograde metamorphism during more recent 

events.

Cretaceous metamorphism was to upper greenschist or 

amphibolite facies. The age of metamorphism is inferred to 

be 78±9 Ma on the basis of uranium-lead zircon and monazite data (D.E. Lee and others, 1981). Jeffrey Lee and others 

(1988) and Jeffrey Lee (1990) also obtained a Cretaceous age 

from argon determinations (^Ar/^Ar) on hornblende. This 

metamorphism coincides with the time of movement on the 

Sevier thrust belt east of the study area (Miller and others, 

1988a; Miller and Cans, 1989a, 1990). Tertiary metamorphism 

is shown byx ductile strain that produced penetrative foliation 

in the Paleozoic rocks of the lower plate of the northern Snake 

Range decollement (Miller and others, 1988b). Potassiumargon ages on micas from lower-plate rocks yield Tertiary 

ages (D.E. Lee and others, 1970) and ^Ar/^Ar data show that 

the rocks were still being deformed as recently as the Miocene 

(J. Lee and others, 1988; J. Lee, 1990).

The northern Snake Range decollement is interpreted 

by Miller and others (1983) and Cans and others (1985,1986) 

to have developed as a ductile-brittle transition zone at a 

depth of 3.8 to 4.4 mi. The detachment took place during the 

doming of the decollement (Miller and others, 1983; McCarthy, 

1986) and the extension of this part of the Basin and Range 

province. The uplift and detachment represent an Oligocene 

to Miocene event (Miller and others, 1987). The rocks above 

the decollement underwent two generations of east-dipping 

high-angle normal faulting as the extension progressed. These 

high-angle faults do not extend below the decollement (Cans 

and Miller, 1983).

Basin-and-Range-type high-angle normal faulting in the 

Snake Range started in the early to middle Oligocene (Cans 

and others, 1989) and has occurred continuously since then. 

It is responsible for the relief in the study area and for the 

formation of Snake Valley to the east. Normal faults cut 35- 

Ma volcanic rocks (Cans, 1987). Miller and Cans (1989b) 

put age constraints on the relative uplift of the range and 

downdropping of the adjacent basins from about 17 to 15 Ma; 

their data showed that cooling of deeper rocks to below 120 

°C occurred from 14 to 11 Ma.

Geochemistry

A reconnaissance geochemical survey of the Marble 

Canyon Wilderness Study Area was conducted in May 1987. 

Stream-sediment samples that were collected from all major 

streams and tributaries represent eroded bedrock that underlies the drainage basin whence the sediment came. Panned 

concentrates of the sediment were prepared and analyzed 

separately. The panned-concentrate fraction may contain 

minerals related to mineralization processes.

Methods and Background

Samples of sediment were collected at 47 sites on 

streams draining the wilderness study area and vicinity (fig. 

3). Stream-sediment samples represent a composite of material eroded from the drainage basin of the stream sampled. 

Panned-concentrate samples derived from stream sediment 

contain selectively concentrated minerals that may be ore related and may include elements not easily detected in streamsediment samples.

A stream-sediment sample and a panned-concentrate 

sample were collected at each site. The stream-sediment 

sample was air dried and then sieved through an 80-mesh 

stainless-steel sieve. The portion that passed through the screen 

was later pulverized to minus-100-mesh size prior to analysis. 

For the panned-concentrate sample at each site, enough stream 

sediment was screened through a 10-mesh sieve to obtain 

about 20 Ib. The minus-10-mesh sample was panned to remove most of the quartz, feldspar, carbonate-rock material, 

clay-sized material, and organic matter. Most of the pannedconcentrate samples were further concentrated by a series of 

steps that used bromoform (specific gravity 2.8) and magnetic separations to produce nonmagnetic heavy-mineralconcentrate samples that include most nonmagnetic ore 

minerals and accessory minerals such as sphene, zircon, apatite, 

and rutile. Prior to analysis, the 44 nonmagnetic heavymineral-concentrate samples were pulverized to minus-100- 

mesh size.

The stream-sediment and nonmagnetic heavy-mineralconcentrate samples were analyzed by emission spectrography for antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, boron, 

cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, iron, lanthanum, lead, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, 

niobium, scandium, silver, strontium, thorium, tin, titanium, 

tungsten, vanadium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium. In addition, the nonmagnetic heavy-mineral-concentrate samples were 

analyzed for gallium, germanium, palladium, phosphorus, 

platinum, and sodium by emission spectrography. The 

stream-sediment samples were also analyzed for gold by 

graphite-furnace atomic absorption, for uranium by ultraviolet 

fluorimetry, and for antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, 

and zinc by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP). 

Analytical data, sampling sites, and references to analytical 

methods are presented by Bullock and others (1989).

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G7
114°10'

EXPLANATION

Area having high mineral resource potential (H) for limestone 

and marble

Area having moderate mineral resource potential (M) for oil 

and gas, limestone, and marble and low mineral resource 

potential (L) for geothermal energy

Area having moderate mineral resource potential (M) for barite 

and for other commodities as listed

Area having low mineral resource potential (L), certainty level 

C, for commodities as indicated

Area having low mineral resource potential (L), certainty level 

B, for commodities as indicated

J Area having low mineral resource potential (L) for barite and 

other commodities as indicated

Levels of certainty of assessment

Data only suggest level of potential

Data give good indication of level of potential

Data clearly define level of potential

 Contact Dashed where inferred

 Fault Dashed where approximately located, dotted 

where concealed; bar and ball on downthrown side

^ Detachment fault Dashed where approximately 

located. Sawteeth on upper plate

Description of map units

Qa I Alluvium (Quaternary) Alluvial fan deposits, stream deposits of gravel, sand, and silt, and landslide materials

TV Volcanic rocks (Tertiary) Gray to dark-gray plagioclase-phyric alkaline olivine basalt

PMre Riepe Spring Limestone of Steele (1960) (Permian) and Ely Limestone (Permian to Mississippian), undivided Medium-gray limestone of organic detrital material that forms alternating 

ledges and gentle slopes

Dgs Guilmette Formation, Simonson Dolomite, and Sevy Dolomite, undivided (Devonian) Mediumgray to dark-gray, microcrystalline to coarsely crystalline well-bedded dolomite and interbedded limestone

SO If Laketown Dolomite (Silurian) and Fish Haven Dolomite (Ordovician), undivided Light-gray to 

dark-gray dolomite

Oe p Eureka Quartzite and Pogonip Group, undivided (Ordovician) The Eureka Quartzite consists of 

white, fine-grained equigranular quartzite with minor dolomitic quartzite. The Pogonip Group 

consists of platy to thin-bedded, fine- to coarse-textured, gray detrital limestone

 Cnd Notch Peak Limestone and Dunderberg Shale, undivided (Upper Cambrian) The Notch Peak 

Limestone consists of medium-gray massive limestone, locally dolomitized; contains chert 

lenses. The Dunderberg Shale consists of light-olive-gray to medium-olive-gray silty shale 

intercalated with thin beds of limestone

 Cr m Raiff Limestone of Young (1960) and Monte Neva Formation of Young (1960), undivided (Middle Cambrian) Light-gray to dark-gray limestone

 Csq Shale and quartzite (Lower Cambrian) Unit includes the.Pioche Shale. Dark-greenish-gray to 

olive-gray silty shale and clay shale intercalated with siltstone. Local beds of medium-grained 

quartzite

Figure 2. Mineral resource potential and generalized geology of Marble Canyon 

Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah.
114°07'30 114°05' 114° 02'30"

Geology by Michael F. Diggles and Susan M. Marcus, 

1987,1990: most of it generalized from Jeffrey Lee

MARBLE CANYON

WILDERNESS STUDY AREA

(NV-04Q-086)

M/Bt|)/G (entire 

L/B Geo (entire istud

n

Unpatented mining 

claims
Results and Interpretation

Table 1 lists selected elements determined in each sample type and, for each of them the lower and upper limits of 

determination, the range of concentrations, the 50th and 90th 

percentile concentrations, and the threshold (highest background) concentrations. Threshold concentrations were established by statistical and subjective examination of the data. 

The number of samples that have anomalous concentrations 

of each selected element is also given.

Elements in table 1 that are present in anomalous concentrations in samples from various sampling sites are shown 

on figure 3. The elements selected for inclusion in table 1 

and on figure 3 are those that may reflect the presence of 

mineral deposits. The anomalous concentrations of beryllium 

and lanthanum are unusual in the absence of igneous rocks 

and the predominance of carbonate rocks in the sampled area;

these two elements are usually associated with granitic rocks 

or pegmatites. The average concentration of beryllium in 

limestone is less than 1 part per million (ppm), and the average concentration of lanthanum in limestone is 4 ppm (Rose 

and others, 1979, p. 552, 567). Barium commonly accompanies base metals (copper, lead, zinc) in mineral deposits but 

also commonly forms bedded barite deposits in sedimentary 

rocks that have no significant amounts of base metals. Therefore, it is not unusual that anomalous concentrations of barium 

in samples sometimes accompany anomalous concentrations 

of other elements and sometimes do not.

Many samples from throughout the study area contain 

anomalous concentrations of only a single element or none. 

Samples from a few drainage basins contain anomalous concentrations of two to eight elements. Several geochemically 

anomalous areas, delineated A-D on figure 3, have similar

114° 12-30" 1140101 \-\4°Q7'30" 114°05'

39' 

271 

30"

39° 

25'

39

22* H 30"

072

1 EXPLANATION 

Outline of drainage basin 

Outline of anomalous area noted in text 

Sample-collection site and number 

Elements

Silver

Arsenic

Gold

Boron

Barium

Beryllium

Bismuth

Cobalt

Copper

La 

Mo 

Pb 

Sb 

Sn 

Sr 

W 

Zn

Lanthanum

Molybdenum

Lead

Antimony

Tin

Strontium

Tungsten

Zinc

Ag 

087 La

Mo

APPROXIMATE BOUNDARY

OF

MARBLE CANYON

WILDERNESS STUDY AREA

(NV-040-086)

1 MILE

J No concentrate 

samples

Figure 3. Geochemical anomaly map of Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Nevada and Utah. Concentrations of commodities determined by emission spectrography, by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, and by atomic absorption. Underlined elements anomalous in nonmagnetic heavy-mineral-concentrate sample; other elements anomalous in minus-80-mesh 

stream-sediment sample. ^

G10 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
Table 1. Statistics for selected elements in drainage samples collected in and near the Marble Canyon Wilderness 

Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah

[Results based on analyses of 47 stream-sediment samples and 44 nonmagnetic heavy-mineral-concentrate samples. Determined by 

emission spectrography, by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (suffix -i), and by atomic absorption (suffix -a). N, not 

detected at lower limit of determination; L, detected below lower limit of determination; G, greater than upper limit of determination; 

<, less than lower limit of determination; , upper limit is open ended]

Element

Limits of determination, ppm Range, ppm

Lower Upper Minimum Maximum

Percentiles, ppm 

50th 90th

Threshold Number of samples

concentration, having anomalous

ppm concentrations

Minus-80-mesh stream-sediment samples

Ag

As-i

Au-a

Ba

Be

La

Mo

Sb-i

Zn

Zn-i

0.5

5

0.001

20

1

20

5

2

200

2

5,000

20,000

5,000

1,000

1,000

2,000

20,000

10,000

18,000

N

<

<

150

N

N

N

<

N

11

L

36

0.007

1,500

5

100

L

2

L

60

N

8

0.001

300

2

20

N

<

N

39

N

16

0.001

700

3

50

N

<

N

53

N

14

0.001

700

3

50

N

<

N

49

3

6

1

1

4

3

2

1

4

10

Nonmagnetic heavy-mineral-concentrate samples

B

Ba

Be

Bi

Co

Cu

La

Pb

Sn

Sr

W

Zn

20

50

2

20

20

10

100

20

20

200

50

500

5,000

10,000

2,000

2,000

5,000

50,000

2,000

50,000

2,000

10,000

20,000

20,000

N

L

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

300

G

15

70

50

30

300

G

100

2,000

50

10,000

N

600

N

N

N

N

L

70

N

N

N

N

100

G

4

N

L

13

100

1,000

L

200

N

N

100

3,000

7

N

L

10

150

700

N

300

N

N

3

8

3

2

3

5

3

7

6

1

4

4

geochemical signatures that are centered on anomalous concentrations of lead and zinc. The anomalous concentrations 

of lead and zinc are accompanied by anomalous concentrations of silver, gold, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, boron, 

cobalt, copper, lanthanum, tin, strontium, or tungsten; silver 

and gold are considered the most important after lead and 

zinc. The intensity of the geochemical anomaly of area A is 

the greatest, and that of area D is the least.

Anomalous areas A-D include a few adjoining drainage basins that have single-element anomalies. Beryllium 

and lanthanum are not included as contributors to multipleelement anomalies. When they are omitted, a few basins 

having them become single-element basins and are not included in the anomalous areas. However, an anomalous concentration of any element may be significant, and figure 3 

only portrays relative significance.

Samples from some drainage basins contain anomalous 

concentrations of from one to many elements (fig. 3). Except 

for beryllium and lanthanum, the elements present in anomalous concentrations are compatible with the possible existence of at least two models of mineral deposition. The first 

model is the polymetallic replacement deposit (Morris, 1986; 

Mosier and others, 1986), and the second is deposits associated with detachment faults (Bouley, 1986; Spencer and Welty, 

1986).

A carbonate replacement deposit, the Silver Peak mine, 

is about 5 mi southwest of the wilderness study area. Recorded production from the mine is 275 oz silver, 0.06 oz 

gold, and about 38,000 Ib of lead (Smith, 1976). Polymetallic 

replacement deposits characteristically occur in limestone, 

dolomite, and shale that have been intruded by plutons (Morris, 

1986). Igneous bedrock is not present in the sampled area, 

but intrusions are less than 2 mi from the southwest side of 

the wilderness study area, and volcanic rocks are less than 1 

mi from the east side (Hose and Blake, 1976). Igneous rocks 

that were not detected in the geophysics study may be present 

beneath the upper-plate terrain that covers extensive areas of 

the wilderness study area. The presence of concealed granitic 

rocks could explain the anomalous concentrations of beryllium and lanthanum as well as the elements that are included

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G11
in the geochemical signature interpreted here as possibly representing carbonate replacement deposits related to igneous 

intrusions. Barton (1987) observed that two-mica granites 

that intrude carbonate host rocks can give rise to a characteristic lithophile-element suite including beryllium, fluorine, 

tungsten, molybdenum, and zinc.

The detachment-fault model of mineral deposition (Spencer and Welty, 1986) does not require the presence of igneous 

rocks. The most intense geochemical anomalies in the sampled 

area are spatially associated with detachment faults. Alteration 

associated with detachment faults is probably the most reasonable 

explanation for the geochemical anomalies in the sampled area.

Geophysics

Regional aeromagnetic and gravity maps for the Marble 

Canyon Wilderness Study Area and vicinity have been examined for indications of mineral resources. Two sources of 

aeromagnetic data have been utilized: surveys of the Ely, 

Nev., and Delta, Utah, 1° by 2° quadrangles flown for the 

National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program, and 

a survey of east-central Nevada flown for the U.S. Geological 

Survey (U.S. Geological Survey, 1978). The NURE traverses

were flown east-west at a nominal 400 ft above ground and 3- 

mi spacings, and the U.S. Geological Survey traverses were 

flown on east-west headings at 12,000 ft barometric elevation 

and 4-mi spacings. The main source of gravity data was the 

National Solar-Terrestrial and Geophysical Data Center in 

Boulder, Colo., which supplied principal facts for about 295 

stations distributed mainly in low-lying sections of the area of 

interest These data were supplemented by 13 additional stations 

established during July 1988 specifically to improve coverage 

in remote portions. It should be noted that the area considered 

in the geophysics interpretation is necessarily much larger 

than the area encompassed by the wilderness study area, which 

includes only seven gravity stations.

Aeromagnetic Data

The anomalous aeromagnetic field after removal of the 

International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) was computed from data of the NURE surveys (fig. 4). Because the 

traverse spacing is wide compared to the flight elevation, the 

shapes of short-wavelength features of the field are not accurately depicted. Sources of most of the anomalies are unknown. Volcanic rocks, which crop out in the northern part 

of the map area, have aeromagnetic signatures ranging from

114°00'

Figure 4. Aeromagnetic anomaly map of region including Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, 

Nevada and Utah (shaded area). Contour interval 20 nanoteslas, hachures indicate closed areas of 

lower values.

G12 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
negligible to very intense and of relatively short wavelength. 

Outcrops of intrusive rock south of the study area have no 

detectable aeromagnetic expression. Long-wavelength positive anomalies of unknown origin north and southwest of the 

wilderness study area cover areas underlain by mostly Paleozoic rock or unconsolidated alluvium. The wilderness study 

area is within a broad, west-northwest-trending anomalous 

trough between relatively positive areas where the magnetic 

field is more disturbed The origin of this trough is speculative, but it may reflect a structural depression in the crystalline 

basement No aeromagnetic evidence suggests that the wilderness study area is underlain by intrusive rocks or contains 

concealed structural discontinuities. However, the Jurassic 

and Cretaceous two-mica granites of the region are notable 

for their absence of a strong aeromagnetic signature (Grauch 

and others, 1988).

Gravity Data

The complete Bouguer anomaly field, terrain-corrected 

to a distance of 42 mi (Hayford-Bowie zones A-O), is shown

in figure 5. All data reduction and terrain corrections employed 

a standard density of 2.67 g/cm3 and followed conventional 

U.S. Geological Survey procedures (see, for example, Cordell 

and others, 1982). The anomalous gravity field bears little 

resemblance to the aeromagnetic field. The anomalies have 

no direct correlation of anomalies with outcrops of volcanic 

or intrusive rocks; the only apparent consistency is that the 

most positive areas are largely associated with exposed bedrock. The main sources of positive anomalies are expected to 

be thick sections of Paleozoic miogeoclinal carbonate rocks 

or possibly carbonate rocks that have a core of elevated Proterozoic crystalline basement A significant maximum, possibly reflecting a basement rise (Hose, 1981), occurs 5 to 6 mi 

southeast of Mount Moriah. Minima are produced mostly by 

thick accumulations of unconsolidated material and occur in 

the Snake Valley to the east or in Spring Valley and its adjuncts to the west of the wilderness study area. A major 

structural discontinuity on the east side of the Snake Range is 

indicated by the steep anomaly gradient east-southeast of the 

wilderness study area, several miles east of the nearest outcrops; terrain between this feature and the range front is

Figure 5. Bouguer gravity anomaly map of region including Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, 

Nevada and Utah (shaded area). Contour interval, 2 milligals; hachures indicate closed areas of lower 

gravity. Open circles represent gravity stations.

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G13
probably an extensive pediment No structural discontinuities 

can be identified from the gravity field within the boundaries 

of the wilderness study area. Absence of geophysical evidence of buried plutons reduces the likelihood that there may 

be pluton-related resources at depth. Such a pluton could be 

present, but only if it lacked a notable aeromagnetic signature; the data are permissive for the presence of a buried twomica granite such as those described by Grauch and others 

(1988).

The gravity field southwest of figure 5 is not well constrained, but anomaly values that appear to fall off steadily to 

the southwest toward Sacramento Pass suggest an increase in 

thickness of the relatively low density Proterozoic and Lower 

Cambrian quartzite section in that direction.

Mineral Resource Potential

Limestone and Marble

The lower parts of Bars Canyon and Marble Wash have 

high mineral resource potential, certainty level D, for mediumpurity limestone and marble for use as aggregate. The rest of 

the wilderness study area may have pockets of medium-purity 

limestone and marble, although we saw none that have the 

purity of that observed in the canyons. The rest of the wilderness study area, therefore, has moderate mineral resource potential, certainty level C, for limestone and marble for use as 

aggregate.

Gold and Silver

Parts of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area 

underlain by rocks of the upper plate and the zone of the 

northern Snake Range decollement have low mineral resource 

potential for gold and silver associated with detachment faults. 

Bouley (1986) described detachment-fault-type deposits. As 

so few such deposits are being mined, a grade-tonnage model 

has yet to be developed (D.A. Singer, oral commun., 1989). 

Gans and others (1988) suggested that the northern Snake 

Range decollement may be a rotated normal fault If this is 

the case, the appropriate model would be carbonate-hosted 

gold-silver deposit described by Berger (1986) and Bagby 

and others (1986). With either model, the mineral resource 

potential for gold and silver is low, certainty level C, in the 

southeast side of lower Bars Canyon, where the geochemical 

data more strongly support this assessment Other areas near 

the decollement, including both the upper and lower plates, 

have low mineral resource potential, certainty level B, for 

gold and silver.

Copper, Lead, and Zinc

Geochemical evidence suggests that parts of the study 

area underlain by the upper-plate rocks and the zone of the

northern Snake Range de"collement or projections of that 

structure extending east and south to the Mount Moriah Division of Humboldt National Forest (Carlson and others, 1984) 

have low resource potential, certainty level B, for copper, 

lead, and zinc.

Tungsten and Molybdenum

The geophysical study does not suggest that plutons are 

concealed beneath the study area, but the two-mica granites 

of the region are notable for their lack of geophysical expression (Grauch and others, 1988). Anomalous concentrations 

of tungsten and (or) molybdenum in stream-sediment and 

fault-breccia samples collected from scattered parts of the 

study area could be explained if a buried pluton were present 

The detachment fault could also have provided a locus for 

concentration of the metals. Parts of the study area underlain 

by the upper-plate rocks and the zone of the northern Snake 

Range decollement have low mineral resource potential, certainty level B, for tungsten and molybdenum.

Beryllium and Fluorite

Although there are beryllium and fluorite deposits in 

the Pioche Shale about 30 mi to the south in the Wheeler 

Peak region in the southern Snake Range (Whitebread and 

Lee, 1961), those deposits are confined to an (informal) limestone unit locally known as the "Wheeler limestone" in the 

lower part of the Pioche. A possible source of the beryllium 

is a quartz monzonite stock that intrudes the Wheeler Peak 

area (Whitebread and Lee, 1961). The Pioche Shale (part of 

map unit -G sq) crops out in the southwestern part of the study 

area, but the so-called Wheeler limestone does not extend 

into the northern Snake Range; mineralization due to the intrusion of the stock is confined to the Wheeler Peak area. 

The geophysical study did not show evidence that plutons are 

buried beneath the study area; however, the Snake Range is 

known for the presence of two-mica plutons that have no 

geophysical signature (Grauch and others, 1988). Anomalous 

concentrations of beryllium in geochemical samples collected 

from the study area could be explained by a buried two-mica 

pluton (Barton, 1987). The detachment fault could also have 

provided a locus for concentration of the beryllium. Parts of 

the study area underlain by the upper-plate rocks and the zone 

of the northern Snake Range decollement have low mineral 

resource potential, certainty level B, for beryllium and fluorite.

Barite

Barite is present in the walls of two adits that are just 

inside the southeast boundary of the study area (Kness, 1989), 

and anomalous concentrations of barium (greater than 10,000 

ppm, Bullock and others, 1989) were measured in the panned 

concentrate from the basin west of the adits. Therefore, a

G14 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
zone around the adits has moderate mineral resource potential, certainty level C, for barite, and the surrounding area has 

low mineral resource potential, certainty level B, for barite. 

On the basis of geochemical data, the zone around the adits 

and the surrounding area also have low mineral resource potential, certainty level B, for silver, copper, lead, zinc, and 

tungsten.

Oil and Gas

Sandberg (1982, 1983) evaluated the petroleum potential of wilderness lands in Nevada by using the following 

four major parameters that govern oil and gas accumulation: presence of source rocks, hydrocarbon maturation, 

reservoir rocks, and traps. He rated the Marble Canyon 

Wilderness Study Area as having medium potential because 

of optimum maturity of source rocks in the Devonian and 

Mississippian Pilot Shale and the Mississippian Chainman 

Shale. However, the only Devonian through Permian rocks 

in the study area are east of the range-front fault, and the 

Pilot and Chainman are missing there. Metamorphosed 

lower-plate rocks, thin sequences of faulted upper-plate 

rocks, and extrusive volcanic rocks exposed in the study 

area may preclude the presence of hydrocarbons. Therefore, the oil and gas resource potential is moderate in the 

entire study area, but, on the basis of the degree of metamorphism of the possible lower-plate source rocks and the 

faulting and tilting of possible upper-plate trap rocks, this 

assessment could be too high. The certainty level of assessment, therefore, is B.

Geothermal Energy

Bliss (1983) lists geothermal springs and wells for the 

Ely 1° by 2° quadrangle. He shows two thermal springs in 

Spring Valley west of the study area. We observed thermal 

springs just east of the study area, 1 mi across the NevadaUtah State line on the road to Gandy. Range-front faulting 

may be providing a conduit for thermal water, and that system 

could extend into the study area. The entire Marble Canyon 

Wilderness Study Area has low geothermal energy potential, 

certainty level B, for low-temperature thermal springs.

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G18 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
APPENDIXES
DEFINITION OF LEVELS OF MINERAL RESOURCE POTENTIAL 

AND CERTAINTY OF ASSESSMENT

LEVELS OF RESOURCE POTENTIAL

H HIGH mineral resource potential is assigned to areas where geologic, geochemical, and geophysical characteristics indicate a geologic environment favorable for resource occurrence, where interpretations of data 

indicate a high degree of likelihood for resource accumulation, where data support mineral-deposit models 

indicating presence of resources, and where evidence indicates that mineral concentration has taken place. 

Assignment of high resource potential to an area requires some positive knowledge that mineral-forming processes 

have been active in at least part of the area.

M MODERATE mineral resource potential is assigned to areas where geologic, geochemical, and geophysical 

characteristics indicate a geologic environment favorable for resource occurrence, where interpretations of data 

indicate reasonable likelihood for resource accumulation, and (or) where an application of mineral-deposit models 

indicates favorable ground for the specified type(s) of deposits.

L LOW mineral resource potential is assigned to areas where geologic, geochemical, and geophysical characteristics 

define a geologic environment in which the existence of resources is permissive. This broad category embraces 

areas with dispersed but insignificantly mineralized rock, as well as areas with little or no indication of having 

been mineralized.

N NO mineral resource potential is a category reserved for a specific type of resource in a well-defined area.

U UNKNOWN mineral resource potential is assigned to areas where information is inadequate to assign a low, 

moderate, or high level of resource potential.

LEVELS OF CERTAINTY

A Available information is not adequate for determination of the level of mineral resource potential.

B Available information only suggests the level of mineral resource potential.

C Available information gives a good indication of the level of mineral resource potential.

D Available information clearly defines the level of mineral resource potential.

IZ

LU

2

LU

U

oCO

LU

o

_)

LU

A

U/A

UNKNOWN POTENTIAL

B

H/B

HIGH POTENTIAL

M/B

MODERATE POTENTIAL

L/B

LOW POTENTIAL

C

H/C

HIGH POTENTIAL

M/C

MODERATE POTENTIAL

L/C

LOW POTENTIAL

D

H/D

HIGH POTENTIAL

M/D

MODERATE POTENTIAL

L/D

LOW POTENTIAL

N/D

NO POTENTIAL

LEVEL OF CERTAINTY

Abstracted with minor modifications from:

Taylor, R.B., and Steven, T.A., 1983, Definition of mineral resource potential: Economic Geology, v. 78, no. 6, p. 1268-1270.

Taylor, R. B., Stoneman, R.J., and Marsh, S.P., 1984, An assessment of the mineral resource potential of the San Isabel National Forest, south-central Colorado: U.S.

Geological Survey Bulletin 1638, p. 40-42. 

Goudarzi, G.H., compiler, 1984, Guide to preparation of mineral survey reports on public lands: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 84-0787, p. 7, 8.

G20 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
RESOURCE/RESERVE CLASSIFICATION

ECONOMIC

MARGINALLY 

ECONOMIC

SUBECONOMIC

IDENTIFIED RESOURCES

Demonstrated

Measured

Rese

Indicated

srves

Marginal 

Reserves

Demonstrated 

Subeconomic

Resources

i

Inferred

Inferred 

Reserves

Inferred 

Marginal 

Reserves

Inferred 

Subeconomic 

Resources

UNDISCOVERED RESOURCES

Probability Range

Hypothetical Speculative

1

1

Major elements of mineral resource classification, excluding reserve base and inferred reserve base. Modified from McKelvey, V.E., 1972, Mineral 

resource estimates and public policy: American Scientist, v. 60, p. 32-40; and U.S. Bureau of Mines and U.S. Geological Survey, 1980, Principles 

of a resource/reserve classification for minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 831, p. 5.

Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah G21
GEOLOGIC TIME CHART

Terms and boundary ages used by the U.S. Geological Survey in this report

EON

Phanerozoic

Proterozoic

pre-Archean2

ERA

Cenozoic

Mesozoic

Paleozoic

Late Proterozoic

Middle Proterozoic

Early Proterozoic

Late Archean

Middle Archean

Early Archean

PERIOD

Neogene

Subperiod

Tertiary

Subperiod

Cretaceous

Jurassic

Triassic

Permian

Pennsylvanian 

Carboniferous

Periods

Mississippian

Devonian

Silurian

Ordovician

Cambrian

fiQf\f\J\

EPOCH

Holocene

Pleistocene

Pliocene

Miocene

Oligocene

Eocene

Pal eocene

Late

Early

Late 

Middle 

Early

Late 

Middle 

Early

Late 

Early

Late 

Middle 

Early

Late 

Early

Late 

Middle 

Early

Late 

Middle 

Early

Late 

Middle 

Early

Late 

Middle 

Early

*

ACE ESTIMATES OF 

BOUNDARIES IN 

MILLION YEARS (Ma)

 0.010

 1.7

5

 J Q

 55

66

96

1 1Q

 205

 -240

 290

Tin

 410

 '-570

J\J\J

 1600

 2500

 3000

'Rocks older than 570 Ma also called Precambrian, a time term without specific rank. 

Informal time term without specific rank.

G22 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas East-Central Nevada and Part of Adjacent Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah
Mineral Resources of 

Wilderness Study Areas 

East-Central Nevada and 

Part of Adjacent Beaver and 

Iron Counties, Utah

This volume was published as separate chapters A-G

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1728
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

MAN U EL LUJAN, JR., Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director
CONTENTS

[Letters designate the separately published chapters]

(A) Mineral Resources, Geology, and Geophysics of the Worthington Wilderness Study 

Area, Lincoln County, Nevada, by Edward A. du Bray, H.R. Blank, Jr., and Robert 

H. Wood II.

(B) Mineral Resources of the White Rock Range Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln 

County, Nevada, and Beaver and Iron Counties, Utah, by Margo I. Toth, Rebecca 

G. Stoneman, H. Richard Blank, Jr., and Diann D. Gese.

(C) Mineral Resources of the Far South Egans Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln and 

Nye Counties, Nevada, by D.C. Hedlund, R.C. Davies, D.S. Hovorka, H.R. Blank, 

Jr., and S.E. Tuftin.

(D) Mineral Resources of the Parsnip Peak Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln County,

Nevada, by Margo I. Toth, Rebecca G. Stoneman, H. Richard Blank, Jr., and Diann

D. Gese. 

(E) Mineral Resources of the Weepah Spring Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln and Nye

Counties, Nevada, by Edward A. du Bray, H.R. Blank, Jr., Robert L. Turner, Diann

D. Gese, and Albert D. Harris. 

(F) Mineral Resources of the Mount Grafton Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln and

White Pine Counties, Nevada, by R.E. Van Loenen, H.R. Blank, Jr., Harlan Barton,

and Mi. Chatman. 

(G) Mineral Resources of the Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine

County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah, by Michael F. Diggles, Gary A.

Nowlan, H. Richard Blank, Jr., Susan M. Marcus, and Richard F. Kness.

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