MICKSPOT MINE CLAIM

The Mickspot mine claim consists of one (1) unpatented lode claim covering 20.66 acres on federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.  The Mickspot claim is located in the Crow Springs District in Esmeralda County, Nevada.  Crow Springs is best known as a turquoise district but has also been explored for silver-gold veins and copper porphyry deposits.

The Mickspot Mine is on a heavily altered sandstones and limestones.  There is one shaft one the claim with several prospect pits and ore piles.  The vein material is easy to locate.

A previous report from a well-respected mining company, Wescord noted veins had grades of 0.131 ounces per ton gold and 32.8 ounces per ton silver.

Location and Access: Starting at the Tonopah, Nevada take US Highway 6 west about 4 miles out of town and take Highway 89 north.  Drive 15 miles on Highway 89 until you get to a dirt road turnoff (38.292232°, -117.416090°).  There is a main road heading west and then it turns to the south along the mountain range.  Follow the main road approximately 15 miles.  There is a network of roads criss-crossing the Crow Springs District and there are multiple ways to access the mine.

GPS Coordinates:  Lat:  38.367900° Long: -117.662735° (Main Shaft)

Mining and Exploration Potential: The Mickspot Mine is an epithermal gold and silver target in heavilty altered sandstones and limestones.

The rocks are calcified / silicified and show strong evidence of hydrothermal alteration.

The entire carbonate / sandstone outcrop is mineralized and could be explored for gold and silver.  There is the potential for a large tonnage, open pit discovery here – perhaps along the thrust fault contact.

The old timers definitely found a good vein, but given the other spectacular discoveries during the time this project was explored (Goldfield, Tonopah) – it may not have been worth pursuing.

Sampling, trenching, and inexpensive geophysics (mag, resistivity) could all generate additional discoveries here.

This is a strong property with the potential to be sold or leased to a junior mining company.  If you end up winning this auction I would be happy to help you develop it.

The geology is very attractive and additional claims should be staked over the altered sandstones.

There is a known copper porphyry deposit to the south of this claim which is probably the source of the mineralization.  Exploring for gold / silver around the margins of a giant buried copper deposit has often proved successful.

A small high grade silver-gold operation is a possibility for this claim.  Also, this could be part of large exploration project.

Turquoise and variscite are also found in this district and given the proximity of the copper – could easily be found here.

The Crow Spring District is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada approximately 20 miles NW of Tonopah on the south end of Royston Hills where they intersect the Cedar Mountains.

The Crow Springs District has been explored since about 1900-1905 when the Tonopah and Goldfield Districts were initially discovered.  Tonopah produced about 180 million ounces of silver and 1.8 million ounces of gold.  Goldfield produced 5 million ounces of high-grade gold.  These discoveries generated lots of excitement in the area and there is continuing interest from mining companies.  New mines near Tonopah and Goldfield are currently being developed.

The Crow Springs District has high grade silver-gold veins as well as turquoise and copper.

There are several shafts and adits from the 1900-1930 timeframe as well as some old reports showing silver ore values as high as 144 oz/ton and gold values of .15 oz/ton.

The Crow Springs District is best known for turquoise and variscite which was mined actively in the 1920’s then revived in the 1950’s.  There are still some turquoise claims in the district.  The Royston District is to the east about 6 miles (one mountain range over) which is one of the premier turquoise districts in the US.  It has also attracted interest as a potential copper porphyry target.

In the 1960’s Homestake conducted an exploration program that included mapping, geophysics (airborne mag), and a shallow drill program.    Their geologist produced a report recommending the area as a potentially large copper porphyry.

The Homestake drilling program consisted of five holes and was probably too shallow to be successful.  There has been renewed interest in underground mining and deeper drilling has generated discoveries in both copper and gold.

Recently, Esmeralda County has attracted the attention of numerous junior mining companies with drilling and mining programs.  Any discovery made here would definitely attract a buyer.

Regional Geology: The Mickspot claim is located in the Walker Lane mineral belt within the Basin and Range physiographic province.  The Basin and Range province covers most of Nevada and consists of narrow NE trending mountain ranges between flat, arid valleys and basins.   The Walker Lane mineral belt is an area with a high density of parallel strike-slip faults extending from Reno to Las Vegas roughly along the California- Nevada border.  Faulting and volcanic activity make the Walker Lane favorable for hosting gold and silver deposits including some of the most famous precious metal mining districts in the US including the Comstock, Goldfield, Tonopah, Bullfrog, Mineral Ridge, and Round Mountain.

Local Geology:  The Mickspot Mine is on the southern end of the Cedar Mountains in the northern part of Esmeralda County7.  The Cedar Mountains run in an NNW-SSE direction over about 28 miles.

There is a main thrust fault which put the Jurassic Dunlap Formation (sandstones, limestones, shales) over the Triassic Excelsior formation.  The faults run N-S roughly inline with the direction of the Cedar Mountains.

The Mickspot Mine is in altered sandstones and limestones.  The rocks are heavilty silicified and calcified.  There are also quartz veins, sulphides and ex-sulphides, and copper mineralization.

Grades have been reported of 0.131 opt gold and 32.8 opt silver.  Several other samples have been in this range.

Turquoise has also been found in this area in argillic alteration and clay seams.

Available Reports:

Albers, J.P., Stewart, J.H., “Geology and Mineral Deposits of Esmeralda County, Nevada”, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1972. Pages 64-65.

Archibold N.L., “Geology of the Huntley-Daniel Property, Crow Spring Area, Esmeralda County, Nevada”, Private Report to Homestake Mining. 1963.  20 pages.

Lincoln, Francis Church, ‘Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada’, Nevada Publications. 1923. Pages 62-64.

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 5^th 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 16 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.  We also have current assays from ALS Minerals on most of our claims.

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 Esmeralda County.  The BLM takes about 2-3 weeks to process the claim transfer (Quit Claim) and register the claim in your name.  The Esmeralda County Recorder usually take 1-2 weeks to return the recorded Quit Claim Deed.  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 1^st each year.  The BLM fees can be paid online through their claim management portal.  Esmeralda County requires that a Notice of Intent to Hold form is filed the first year by Nov 1^st 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.

International Buyers

International buyers must either have dual US citizenship and US address or have a US entity or company to own the claim.