The Golden Ray Mine claims consist of two (2) unpatented lode claims covering 41.32 acres on federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The two claims are adjoining and cover the May Bell, and Golden Ray historical mines located in the Loray District in Elko County, Nevada.
The Golden Ray 1 claim (north) has three (3) shafts and multiple prospect pits. The Golden Ray 2 (south) claim has three (3) adits (horizontal tunnel) and several prospect pits, tailings, and ore piles.
We took 2 samples from the vein material and got 42.3 ounces per ton silver and 33.6 ounces per ton silver. The vein material was quartz with blue copper oxide staining, black argentite, and other ex-sulphide minerals (see pics).
The Golden Ray Mine is located in Elko County, Nevada home to some famous large (+1 mill ounce) gold mines including Rain, Leeville, Marlboro Canyon, Generator Hill, Kinsley Mountain and Long Canyon.
Location and Access: Starting at Elko, Nevada take I-East for 74.8 miles. Take Exit 378 for Highway 233 and drive for 14 miles. Exit on dirt road about 1,000 feet northeast of a gravel pit and proceed 2.6 miles to and intersection with another graded county road. Turn south and drive another 2.6 miles directly to the mine. The main adit will be on the right 30 feet from the road. A large tailings pile is also on the right.
GPS Coordinates: Lat: 41.098731° Long: -114.288375° (Golden Ray 1 Mine South Shaft)
Lat: 41.097310° Long: -114.287538° (Golden Ray 2 Mine South Adit)
Mining and Exploration Potential: The veins at the Golden Ray 1 & 2 are quartz in limestones. The veins are traceable for several hundred feet and up to 25 feet wide.
There is potential to further develop the high grade veins and also find a large, bulk tonnage target at depth.
The vein system runs for at least 2-3 miles and nearby claims could be staked to expand the property.
Nevada gold and silver mines are often located near two or more intrusives (body of magma upwelling from the mantle) of different geological ages. The Golden Ray claim has both a Tertiary intrusive (37 mya) and a Cretaceous intrusive (77 mya) nearby.
The two identified intrusive are the most likely source of the mineralization, the faults and shear zones are the ‘plumbing’ carrying the metal bearing fluids, and the limestones are a perfect end point where metals will precipitate out and accumulate.
Geophysical exploration (mag and IP) along with soil sampling could pinpoint additional mineralized structures as well as deeper feeder zones. The high metal grades are conducive to electromagnetic exploration methods.
Also, the existing workings could be reopened and worked and could lead to additional high-grade veins.
Elko County, Nevada is one of the premier mining jurisdictions in the world and any discovery made here will generate significant interest among the dozens of mining companies active in the county.
Loray District: The Golden Ray Mine is located in the Loray Mining District which covers the northern part of the Toana Mountain Range.
The Loray District was discovered in 1883 as the result of some promising samples that were found south of the railroad tracks. The main mines were the Shively, Wilson, Stokes, the Queen, and the Golden Ray.
A rich copper-silver strike occurred in 1907 and new effort was put into the local mines. The mines remained active until 1958. This is a long period of time for active mining by Nevada standards. Most of the miners and their family lived at the Loral railway siding. There are several relics of past activities including frames, shaft timbering, processing equipment, and a Model-T used as a hoist engine.
The Loray District is near two other more famous district – the Pequop Mountains and Spruce Mountain district.
The Long Canyon Mine, discovered by AuEx Ventures, is located in the nearby Pequops. Long Canyon was purchased by Newmont for $1.2 billion in 2011. The importance of Long Canyon was that it was a traditional Carlin style deposit – found far outside the Carlin trend. This potentially opened up whole new areas in Nevada that might host these desirable deposits which have produced 200 million ounces of gold.
The Loray District, where the Golden Ray claims are located, is 8 miles to the west of the Pequops.
Many large gold mines in Nevada have high-grade silver veins on the surface and larger gold deposits at depth. Spruce Mountain follows this pattern and there is the potential for this at Golden Ray.
Regional Geology: The Golden Ray Mine is located 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.
Local Geology: The north end of the Toana Range is composed of complexly faulted Paleozoic limestones. These are intruded in the western part of the district by the Cretaceous Toana Springs pluton and in the eastern part by the Tertiary Age Castle Park pluton.
The host rocks are ideal for deposit formation (fractured limestones). Limestones are chemically reactive, porous, and permeable.
Early production was reported from extremely high-grade pods and lenses containing malachite, azurite, chrysocolla, as well as rich carbonates and sulphides.
Grades were as high as 9% copper, 90 ounces per ton silver. Gold-silver ratio is probably 100-1 in this district.
The veins at the Golden Ray are in shear zones in Paleozoic limestones. Kaolinized and sericitized dikes were also present.
We got two bonanza grade silver assays from the vein material: 42.3 and 33.6 ounces per ton silver. The veins were in milky quartz with copper, zinc and other oxides present.
Available Reports:
Hall, Shawn, ‘Old Heart of Nevada, Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Elko County’, University of Nevada Press, 1998.
Lapointe, D, Tingley, J.V., Jones, R.B., ‘Mineral Resources of Elko County, Nevada’, Bulletin 106, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1991.
Tingley, J.V., Golden Ray Memo Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1980.
Tingley, J.V., Loray District Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1984.
Tingley, J.V., May Bell Memo Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1980.
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 hard rock 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 Elko County. The BLM takes about 2-3 weeks to process the claim transfer (Quit Claim) and register the claim in your name. The Elko 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 1st each year. The BLM fees can be paid online through their claim management portal. Elko 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.