Gold Trail West Mine

The Gold Trail West Mine consists of one (1) unpatented lode claim covering 20.66 acres on federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  The claim covers the former producing Gold Trail West Mine which was mined for gold and silver and is located in the Aspen Mining District in Lander County, Nevada.

The Gold Trail West Mine has two (2) adits (horizontal openings), one shaft, a tailings pile, and various prospect pits.

Historical grades as high as 18 gold ounces per ton have been reported in the Aspen District.  Recent surface samples from a nearby project were as high as 0.64 gold ounces per ton.

I took one sample and got 0.73 ppm gold and 0.8 ppm silver.  The sample was ash flow tuff that looked like a piece of sidewalk.  There is lots of this moderately altered ash flow tuff and it may have open pit potential.  I almost didn’t take the sample because the rocks looked so boring.  Finding higher grades should be no problem.

Location and Access:  From Austin, Nevada take Highway 50 West out of town, after 3 miles take a left on NV 722.  Continue on 722 W (going SW) for 34 miles.  Take a left on a graded county road heading south for 6.8 miles to the claim access road.  The claim is 2 miles north on the claim access road.

GPS Coordinates: Lat: 39.193341°, Long: -117.739146° (Mine Shaft)

Mining and Exploration Potential:  The Gold Trail West Mine has potential for a small production operation or to be part of a larger exploration play.

There is an excellent recent geological report on the District with results of a drilling program.

The primary vein was mined by a shaft on the top of the hill and an adit at the bottom of the hill.  The vein may be exposed for 500 feet.

There seems to be a fault / contact running through the claim that intersects with the workings.  Erosion exposed the veins which probably accounts for its discovery, but additional veins seem likely under thin soil cover.

The host rock is ash flow tuff.  This is often overlooked as a host rock – but there are several good mines in Nevada in ash flow tuffs.  It is porous and can absorb mineralized fluids pretty well.

I suspect that there is a large quantity of gold-silver bearing ore that was just not high enough grade for the old-timers, but might be profitable with modern mining and processing methods.

The Gold Trail West Mine is near the Carlin Trend, one of the most famous gold producing regions in the world with over 200 million ounces of gold discovered.

The Carlin Trend deposits were in older Paleozoic rocks which are underneath the more recent – Tertiary and younger rocks.  The fissure veins may be a surface expression of a larger feeder structures which would interest a mining company.

Both geochemical and geophysical exploration could be done with minimal expense to further develop both the large and small targets.

There has been interest in the district from both small and large mining companies (see below).

Placer gold and nuggets may be possible in the washes.  There are two main washes on the claim – one on the east side and one on the west side.

The Aspen District: the Aspen District is at the south end of the Desatoya Mountain Range about 45 miles southwest of Austin, Nevada.

The Aspen District adjoins the Eastgate District and the Gold Basin District and was probably discovered at the same time those districts were first opening in the early 1900’s.  The Gold Basin District just to the north had a rich strike in 1911 and a promotional campaign which caused prospectors to flock to the area.

There was some recorded activity in the 1930’s and again in the mid-1950’s but the district was mostly un-explored until recently.

In 2003, Fortune River Resources Corp. acquired the Baxter property which is 2 miles south of the Gold Trail West claim and prepared a detailed geologic report (which I have a copy of).   The company conducted a drilling program in 2004 and discovered some narrow intercepts of medium grades (3.5 ppm – 9.12 ppm).

In 2010, Fortune River merged with Bravada Gold, which continues to hold the Baxter project.  Kinross optioned the property from 2015 to 2017 and drilled 54 holes before returning the project to Bravada.

The involvement of one of Nevada’s top mining companies in this district is a good sign and indicates that the Gold Trail West Mine could get some professional interest if explored and promoted properly.

Geology:  the Desatoya Mountains consist of volcanic rocks of Tertiary Age (20-40 mya).  Rocks include ash flow tuffs, dacite and basalt flows, tuffaceous sediments, rhyolitic intrusives.

The Desatoya Mountains is at the intersection of several known mineral trends including the Walker Lane, Rabbit Creek Trend, Northumberland Trend, and the Austin Lovelock Trend.  They all seem to intersect at the southwestern edge of Lander County.

The ore deposits are mostly quartz veins in dacite that are anywhere from a few inches thick to several feet thick.  The average was probably 1-3 feet thick.  Surface samples in the District on nearby projects can run up to 1 opt gold.

There are also occurrences of fossilized, carbonized wood that has been replaced with quartz, chalcedony and calcite.  The logs can be 4-15 feet thick and contain crystalized gold in cubes.  Samples of the gold bearing material assayed as high as 18.26 ounces gold per ton.

The Gold Trail West claim itself sits in mostly ash flow tuffs with a rhyolitic intrusive that outcrops 500 feet east of the claim boundary.  The intrusive and related dikes are probably responsible for the mineralization.

The ore material at the Gold Trail West seems to be iron-stained, quartz in ash flow and breccias.  The one sample I took only had a little iron-staining and some small (~1mm) quartz inclusions.  The entire hillside was composed of this material.  If is all mineralized this could be a big project.

The favorable area of ash flow tuffs cut by faults and within close proximity to the Tertiary intrusives covers about 15-20 square miles.

Available Reports:

Garside, L.J., Aspen District Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1981.

Garside, L.J., Highland Mine Memo Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1981.

Garside, L.J., Unnamed Shaft Memo Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1981.

Kizis, J.A., ‘Geologic Report for the Baxter Project, Churchill & Nye Counties, Nevada’, Fortune River Resources Corp., 2006.

Stager, H.K., 1977, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Lander County, Nevada, Part II – Mineral Deposits: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bul. 88, 106 p.

Stewart J.H. and McKee, E.H., 1977, Geology and Mineral Deposits of Lander County, Nevada, Part I – Geology: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bul. 88, 106 p

FAQ

Why Nevada?

Nevada is consistently ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world for being mining-friendly and continuing to produce major discoveries.  If Nevada was a country it would be the 5th largest gold producer in the world (after Australia, Canada, China, and Russia).  Nevada is home to the Carlin Trend, the Cortez Trend, the Walker Lane Trend, the Getchell Trend and many other prolific gold producing regions.  In addition to gold Nevada also has major mines producing silver, copper, lithium, iron ore, magnesium, gems and many other minerals.   Nevada is 85% owned by the federal government and most of this land is available for claim staking.  This means some of the best mining ground in the world is open to small prospectors – a very unique situation.   There are many mining companies active in Nevada and therefore, multiple potential buyers for any discovery you make.  Canadian based junior exploration companies are particularly active in Nevada.

 Why Buy a Claim?

Buying a claim is a great way to get started in mining and prospecting.  Buying a claim that is professionally staked reduces your upfront work and the risk of making a mistake on your paperwork or in the field.  Our claims are in areas with historical mining activity and most have numerous pits, shafts, and adits to explore.  Finding these claims takes lots of research that is already done for you.  The best place to find gold is where people have already found it!

Why Us?

I have been working in mineral exploration in the southwestern United States and Alaska for 18 years.  I have co-founded four junior mining companies and managed numerous drilling and exploration projects.  I have worked with large and small mining companies and know what types of projects they are looking for that can be advanced by small prospectors.  I have also worked on small hardrock production projects.  I usually try to find claims that have known high grade veins that can be produced and that also have some exploration upside.  We stand by our claims and fix any problems that come up.  We can also help you with your annual filings.  All our claims have a BLM serial number and can be found on the U.S. BLM MLRS website database.   We hire the same professional claim staking companies that the large mining companies hire and all the claims have professionally drafted and accurate maps.

How is ownership of the claim transferred?

Ownership of mining claims is transferred with a Quit Claim Deed which we prepare.  We pay all claim transfer fees and file the claim transfer paperwork with the BLM and Lander County.  The BLM takes about 2-3 weeks to process the claim transfer (Quit Claim) and register the claim in your name.  Once the transfer is complete we will send you all the original documents including the file stamped Quit Claim Deed, the original location notices and claim maps.

How Much are the Annual Claim Fees?

The BLM charges a $165 per claim annual maintenance fee which is due on September 1st each year.  The BLM fees can be paid online through their claim management portal.  Lander County requires that a Notice of Intent to Hold form is filed the first year by Nov 1st along with payment of the recording fee of $12 plus $12 per claim.

If you own less than 10 mining claims you can qualify for a waiver of the annual maintenance fee by filing a Small Miner’s Waiver.  However, the Small Miner’s Waiver requires that you perform $100 in labor or improvements on the claim each year.

Claim fees for the 2022-23 assessment year have been paid.

International Buyers

International buyers must either have dual US citizenship and US address or have a US entity or company to own the claim.  If needed, we can hold your claim in trust until you get the appropriate entity established.