About the Black Butte Project
The Black Butte Project is approximately 30 miles east of Hawthorne on the east flank of Black Dyke Mountain at the eastern end of the Garfield Hills. The project can be reached by traveling 29.5 miles east on U.S. Highway 95 to a well-graded dirt road into the project area. Further access by vehicle is limited to several steep, primitive 4-wheel drive tracks.
The land position initially consisted of the Black Butte unpatented lode mining claims (Table 1 and Figure 2). Additional lode claims (BB-1 to 4) were staked on May 1, 2010 to cover the interpreted extensions of the mineralized zone. The new claims have been cornered and filed.
Black Butte Project Mineralization
We haven't discovered historical data for the Black Butte Project area. We know there are at least four adits that collar on the vein and drive along the strike. These adits appear to be interconnected by raises and winzes. The lowermost adit (near samples LBR-14 and 21) has power and lights behind a locked door which services the seismograph equipment located within.
The mineralization is a quartz vein zone trending northeast-southwest and exposed at the surface for approximately 800 feet in a series of adits and prospect pits. To the northeast the vein appears to go under alluvial cover. Going to the southwest along the strike of the vein the hill becomes higher and beyond the last exposed part of the vein strong, pervasive zones of iron oxidation are much more prominent as well as a zone of carbonate alteration (calcite veining). These alteration zones are typical of the uppermost extent of the alteration associated with an epithermal quartz vein system.
The vein zone is poly-phase, with multiple bands of silica that are sulfide bearing. The vein zone is from two to ten feet wide; within the wider parts of the zone there are distinct anastomosing quartz veins separated by orange and brown clay/gouge (frontispiece-note pencil for scale). Sulfides of iron, copper, lead, and silver were obvious on some of the dumps.
Gold values along the vein are anomalous (2.59, 3.4, and 6.22 ppm gold) to strongly anomalous (46.7 ppm gold). The 46.7 ppm gold (1.36 opt) sample was a 10 inch channel sample across the quartz vein. Most of the higher grade gold values appear to be in the quartz; however the clay/gouge within the vein zone between the quartz does also carry some lesser gold values.
Silver values along the vein are also highly anomalous (316, 403, 630, 684 ppm silver) (Error! Reference source not found.). The silver is highly correlative to the gold. Overall the system appears to be silver dominant with silver to gold ratio equal to 43:1.
Lead, copper, and zinc values are also anomalous; as might be expected in a silver dominated epithermal vein system.
| Black Butte Rock Geochemical Summary |
| |
Gold ppm |
Silver ppm |
Lead ppm |
Copper ppm |
Zinc ppm |
| High |
46.7 (1.36 opt) |
684 (19.94 opt) |
43,000 (4.3%) |
9,590 |
2,120 |
| Low |
0.098 |
3.3 |
31 |
177 |
170 |
| Average |
5.525 (0.161 opt) |
204.4 |
9,529 |
1,916 |
707 |
| No. Samples |
11 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
| Lucky Boy Rock Geochemical Summary |
| High |
0.663 |
630 (18.4 opt) |
19,150 (1.9%) |
2,550 |
412 |
| Low |
<0.005 |
<0.5 |
7 |
14 |
19 |
| Average |
0.061 |
87.7 |
3,531 |
354 |
125 |
| No. Samples |
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
Table 1: Black Butte and Lucky Boy Geochemical Summary Table
Bibliography
NBMG, 1941,
Lucky BoySilver Mine, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Mining District File Collection, Item 29300026.pdf
NBMG, 1953,
Babcock Lead Prospect, March 5, 1953, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Mining District File Collection, Item 29300004.pdf
Ross, D. C., 1961,
Geology and Mineral deposits of Mineral County Nevada. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 58.
