POLE MINE
The Pole Mine claim consist of one (1) unpatented lode claim covering 20.66 acres on federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The claims cover the historical Pole Mine, a small operation with an open stoped vein and shaft.
The Pole Mine is located in the same ash flow tuffs as the Kramer Hill Gold Mine 2.5 miles to the east. The Kramer Hill deposit was located on a fault contact and the ore ran 0.25 ounces per ton gold with thicknesses of 10-35 feet. Kramer Hill produced on and off for over 50 years – with part of the production coming from an open pit.
This area of Nevada has some of the largest gold mines in the United States, such as the Twin Creeks Mine / Turquoise Ridge / Getchell Mine complex (18 mill ounces of gold in reserves) – 29 miles NE of the Pole Mine.
Nearby districts have extensive exploration and mining activity by both majors and junior mining companies.
Location and Access: Starting at the town of Winnemucca, Nevada take I-80 East for 15 miles to Golconda, Nevada. Take Exit 194, Morrison Avenue and take a right. Take another right on the Frontage Road (.3 miles) then take a left on Wrangler Way, drive for 1.4 miles then take a right on Wallace Road (200 feet) then a left on Huelson Way. Follow Huelson Way to the mine site (2.1 miles).
GPS Coordinates: Lat: 40.907898° Long: -117.553235° (location of Miner’s Cabin near main vein).
Mining and Exploration Potential: The Pole Mine is between the Harmony District and the Golconda District to the West. There are similarities between the nearby Kramer Hill Mine and the Pole Mine.
The Kramer Hill Mine is along a fault in the same Tertiary rhyolites and ash flow tuffs present at the Pole Mine.
The most dramatic mine feature at the Pole Mine is the large open cut vein. This vein is probably also accessed by a shaft and small adit (see pictures).
There is a mine cabin at the site and these are usually good indicators that a 1-2 man team was mining a very rich vein over a period of time. Almost every time I find one of these cabins – I find a good vein nearby.
The deposits in the area are associated with Tertiary intrusives and dikes in Paleozoic sediments. The best gold values are in local faults and shear zones near these intrusive / sedimentary contacts.
There is a detailed geological report on the Kramer Hill mine describing how fault intersections played a role in creating higher grade ore.
Modern geophysical methods and geological mapping could identify likely gold-bearing structures that were left unexplored by the old-timers.
I feel the prospects for additional discoveries are quite high here. You are in one of the best gold areas in Nevada (and the World), the host rocks are right (limestones, black shales), and there is historical workings to explore.
The Kramer Hill Mine reports mention that half the gold in the veins was ‘coarse’. This might mean that the nearby washes and hillsides have nugget and placer potential. The tailings and dumps should be metal detected.
The nearby washes should be metal detected as well. There is a road from the claim to the wash below.
The Pole Mine sits between two districts: Golconda and Harmony. It seems more similar to the mines of the western Golconda District. Golconda is mainly a gold and tungsten district and Harmony is mostly a base metals district.
The Golconda District was discovered shortly after a railroad station at Greggsville was established in 1866. Gold was first discovered on Kramer Hill in that same year.
Tungsten-manganese deposits were first discovered at the same time as the gold. The area became a top tungsten producer during World War II.
A disseminated (open pit) gold deposit, the Preble Deposit, was first discovered in 1972 in the southern Osgood Mountains. This Osgood Mountains have been a spectacular source of gold since with several large gold mines.
The importance of the Preble Deposit was the identification of black shales as an important host rock throughout Nevada. These same Paleozoic shales – the Preble Formation – are present on the eastern side of the Sonoma Mountains where the Pole Mine is located.
The Harmony District is located in Humboldt County, Nevada approximately 4 miles SE of Winnemucca in the northwest end of the Sonoma Range. The Harmony District is on the west side of the Sonoma Range and the Pole Mine is on the east side of the range – about 4 miles from the nearest mine in the Harmony District.
The first locations were made in this area in 1863 by M. Milleson and party, but there is no record of any production.
The Wolverine-Red Rose group of claims in this area was owned by Nevada Harmony Mines Co. This company did considerable development work, but no mining.
The Wolverine-Red Rose group comprises six adits totaling about 2,000 feet of workings. The main shaft is 245 feet deep. The development work and mining were hindered by water flows at the time.
The main shaft workings are in limestone / shale. Adits to the south are in rhyolite. Veins were 4-7 feet wide.
The Wolverine Copper Company produced 3.5 carloads of ore that averaged $23 per ton (copper ore with gold and silver). This equates to roughly 1 oz per ton gold in current values ($1800/ton).
Regional Geology: The Pole Mine claim 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 Pole Mine is located in the Sonoma Range which located mostly in Humboldt County but partially in Pershing County. The range is about 23 miles long in the north-south direction and 5 miles wide in the east-west direction.
The Sonoma Range has five main minining districts: Harmony (NW), Goldconda (NE), Gold Run (East Central), Washiki (SW), and Black Diablo (SE). The wealth of mining districts makes the Sonoma Range one of the most geologically interesting in all of Nevada. It is mostly gold and silver, but also copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten.
The country rocks of the Sonoma Range are Cambrian and Ordovician (shales, cherts, limestones) which have been intruded by quartz monzonite and granidiorite of Tertiary and Cretaceous age. All the pre-intrusive rocks have been involved in thrust faulting.
The Pole Mine is probably at the contact between younger Tertiary (20-40 mya) ash flow tuff and rhyolite and older Ordovician Preble Formation shales, quartzites, and limestones (450 mya).
The Pole Mine rocks are heavily altered and silicified with quartz veins. The deposit looks similar to what is described at the Kramer Hill deposit – which was free gold veins in shear zones and faults and a surrounding area of disseminated gold.
One of the potentials here is that the surface veins might be the result of a deeper and larger deposit in Preble Formation rocks underneath.
Available Reports:
Bonham, H.F., Jr.; Garside, L.J.; Jones, R.B.; Papke, K.G.; Quade, J.; Tingley, J.V., Harmony District Summary; Nevada Bureau of Mines, OFR 85-3, 1985.
Garside, L.J., Kramer Hill Mine Examination Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1985.
Garside, L.J., Harmony Mine Examination Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1984.
Pierce, C.A., Mining Report on the Kramer Hill Mine, Golconda Gold Ledge Mining Company, 1925.
Tingley, J.V., Golconda District Summary Report, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1985.
Willden, R., Geology and Mineral Deposits of Humboldt County, Nevada, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1964.
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 20 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 Humboldt County. The BLM takes about 2-3 weeks to process the claim transfer (Quit Claim) and register the claim in your name. The Humboldt 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. Humboldt 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 2023-24 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. Foreign persons are allowed to own mining claims as long as they establish a US entity.