The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1910-01-04
NOTES ON mining
in HUMBOLDT co.


has recently had printed pamphlet
entitled "Notes on Some Mining Dis
tricts in Humboldt County, Nevada, ;"
by Frederick Leslie Ransome. The
work, which consists of II pages, in
addition to several valuable and COM
prehensive maps, may be obtained upon
request to Senator Nixon. The intro
duction and intinerary follow:
Introduction.
In the appointment of my field sea-
son in 1908, period of six weeks was
allotted to a reconnaissance examina-
tion of that part of Humboldt county,
Nevada, lying between the forthieth
and forty-frst parallels and the one
hundred and seventeenth and one hun
dred and nineteenth meridians. With
1 in this area of about 1000 square
miles are the Seven Troughs, Rosebud,
Star, Unionville (Buena Vista), Hum
boldt, Fitting, Chafey (Dun Glen,
Sierra), Kennedy and Adelaide (Gold
Run) districts, with many others of
| less note. In General the names of dis
tricts as here used are those of the
principal settlements. Some of the
mining districts, as originally organic
ed for purposes of record and regula-
tion, embrace large tracts of which the
names and boundaries have little sig
nifcance except to local surveyors and
official recorders. North of the region
particularly investigated is the Red
Butte district and south of it is Cop
pereid white Cloud district). Both
of these were visited
Some of the districts examined, such
as Seven Troughs. Rosebud and Red
Butte, have been prospected only with
in the last two or three years; others,
like Star City and Unionyillc, reached
their acme of productiveness in the de-
cade beginning with the year 1860 and
have not yet participated in the recent
general revival of mining activity in
Nevada; one or two, like Chafey, have
received new names and are being ex-
plotted in various ways that modern
Experience and ingenuity have devised
for this purpose; still others, like Ade-
laide, have been intrmittently active
for over thirty years, oscillating be-
tween prosperity and decay.
All of the country traversed, with
the exception of that adjacent to Red
Butte, was mapped geologically by the
fortieth parallel survey, and that map,
on a scale of four miles to the inch
with a contour interval of 300 feet, is
still the best one, although there have
been many changs in place names in
the thirty-three years that have elaps
ed since it's publication. In general, the
"granites' of this region. described as
archean in the fortieth parallel survey
reports, are intrusive in Mesozoie
rocks; much of the material described
as uuartzite in the triassic is rhyolite
and thorough study would change
many of the names applied to the
igneous rocks. During the last thirty
years the mining districts of Humboldt
county have received little attention
from geologists, and the present recon
naissance was undertaken in the belief
that even a hasty review of the re
gion. while not likely to yield results
of much scientific Importance, might
serve as the basis for preliminary
report that should be of some value
to those interested in the mining de
velopment of north central Nevada.
1t is a pleasure to acknowledge my
Indebtedness to the mining men of the
region for courtesies too numerous to
mention, and especially to Mr. John I
Reid, of Lovelock, and Mr.. w. G.
Adamson, of Winnemucca, who gave
generously of their time and informa-
tion.
Itinerary.
From Lovelock, on the Southern Pa.
cific railroad, trip of five days du-
ration was made to the Seven Troughs
district, 80 miles northwest Of that
town. and return. Two days were
next spent in visiting Coppereid, in the
White Cloud district, Churchill county,
about % miles southeast of Lovelock.
A wagon and team were then hired at
Lovelock, and the Humboldt range was
crossed by way of the Humboldt Queen
mine and Limerick and American can
yons to Fitting, or Spring Valley, as it
is sometimes called. Thence / drove
north to Unionville, and from that
place turned southeast across the East
range to Kennedy, on the west side of
Pleasant Valley From Kennedy the
route was south. past Sou Springs to
Boyer's ranch, on the northwest side
OF Dixie Valley, which was convent
ent plpace from which to examine the
nickel and cobalt mines of Cottonwood
canyon, in the saltwater range. From