Solid Silver

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Property Information

Location

Humboldt County, Nevada

Size

20.66 acres

Type

Lode

Price

$8500
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Property Details

SOLID SILVER MINE

The Solid Silver mining claim consists of one (1) unpatented lode claim covering 20.66 acres on federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.  The claims cover the historical Solid Silver Mine which was originally mined for gold and silver.

The claim has three (3) shafts, one adit and several prospect pits and dumps / ore piles.  The main decline shaft has concrete footings and the remnants of the headframe.

Solid Silver is part of the Paradise Valley / Spring City Mining District which was active from the 1860’s until the 1930’s.  The ore in the Paradise Valley District had well documented historical grades of 100 ounces per ton silver and over 1 ounce per ton gold. 

The Nevada Bureau of Mines sampled veins in the district as part of a report in the 1980’s and got 1.57 ounces per ton gold and 48 ounces per ton silver.

I took one sample from the dump near the main headframe and got 21 ounces per ton silver and anomalous gold.

Location and Access: Starting at Winnemucca, Nevada take US-95 north for 22 miles to NV-290.  Take a right on NV-290 and drive north for 17.9 miles.  Take a left on Hinkey Summit Road and proceed north for 5.8 miles.  Take a left on an unnamed access road and follow 4.8 miles to the mine.  The turnoff to the access road is located at Lat: 41.574768° Long: -117.543943°,

GPS Coordinates:  Lat: 41.618783° Long: -117.603048° (Solid Silver main shaft).

Mining and Exploration Potential: Solid Silver has the potential for additional high grade silver-gold veins.  Zinc values increase with depth and there may also be potential for a zinc deposit at depth.

Also, high grade (>1,000 ounce per ton) hornsilver was found on the surface throughout the district.

W.O. Vanderburg, a famous Nevada geologist, said in his 1938 report on the Paradise Valley District that the mines were not exhausted and had remaining potential.

The Solid Silver Mine was exploiting a white quartz vein in a shear zone.  There are three shafts along the strike of the vein with prospect pits and tailings.

The veins in the Paradise Valley District are of two primary types: 1) those following the cleavage planes of the phyllite and slate host rocks; and 2) veins following rhyolite dikes that are perpendicular to the cleavage planes.

The Solid Silver vein follows the foliation planes of the host rocks.   There is the opportunity to find the second type of vein associated with volcanic dikes given the proximity of nearby intrusives.

Using a geophysical methods (mag and resistivity) to locate veins under soil cover and buried intrusives could generate a larger discovery.

Given the high grades of nearby ore – either the existing vein or new discoveries could potentially be shipped directly to a contract mill providing better and quicker returns.

Paradise Valley District:  The Paradise Valley District was first prospected in the 1860’s and formally organized in 1871.   A stamp mill was erected in 1874 and began treating the ores mined in the district.

The main producer was the Silver Butte Mine, which consisted of four veins:  the Wild Goose, the Paradise, White Swan, and Bullion.  Production was estimated at $1,500,000 to $3,000,000 (in 1900 dollars).  The main period of production was 1879 to 1891 with revivals in 1907-1915 and 1930-1935.

The Paradise Valley Mining Company produced an excellent report in 1879 and was listed on the San Francisco Mining Exchange.  The mine paid out over $150,000 in dividends in this time period.

The 1879 report had 40 assays from the veins with high values of 390 ounces per ton silver and 3.3 ounces per ton gold.   However, values of 100 ounce per ton silver and 1 ounce per ton gold were common.

Nearby Districts include the National District – which had the highest grade gold mine in Nevada (1,500 ounces per ton) and the Rebel Creek District which had high grade gold mines (>1 ounce per ton).

The eastern part of the Paradise Valley District is staked by Kinross Gold, the 8th largest producing gold mining company in the world.

There has been no modern exploration or mining efforts in the area of the Solid Silver since the 1930’s.

Regional Geology: The Solid Silver 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.   

The Paradise Valley District runs east to west.  On the east side are the Red Hills and Owynee Plateau and on the west side are the Santa Rosa Mountains.

Local Geology:  The Paradise Valley District is underlain by black phyllite and dark knotted schist (Jurassic / Triassic Age).  To the west is a large area of Tertiary volcanics probably related to the Santa Rosa pluton.  To the east there are the extensive volcanic flows of the Owyhee Plateau.

The veins were in sulphide bearing quartz which follow wallrock foliation and shear zones.  At depth the veins get higher in base metals and lower in precious metals. 

Two perpendicular vein types occur in the district:  NW-SE veins near rhyolite dikes and NE-SW trending veins on shear zones / foliation planes. 

There were four main parallel veins at the Silver Butte Mine about 600-900 feet apart.

The veins were brecciated and recemented suggesting either multiple periods of mineralization or a later event synchronous with the brecciation.

The veins at the Silver Butte (Paradise Valley) Mine were 3 to 8 feet thick.  In at least one spot this opened up into a large mass of ore material.   

The Solid Silver vein is at least 1 foot wide and contains vuggy quartz and sulphide mineralization.

Cerargyrite is the most common silver ore mineral near surface, with argentite deeper.  Sphalerite (zinc sulphide) becomes more prominent at depth.

Available Reports:

Carpenter, J.A., “Field Trip Log, Spring City Mine”, 1935.

Gilbert, D.C., “Paradise Mining District”, Silver Butte Mining Company, 1935.

Price, T., Report on the Paradise Valley Mine, Paradise Valley Mining Company, 1879.

Tingley, J.V., Spring City District, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1985.

Tingley, J.V., Solid Silver Mine Memo, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1984.

Vanderburg, W., Paradise Valley District, Nevada Bureau of Mines, 1938.

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 17 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 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 $200 per claim annual maintenance fee which is due on September 1st each year (they just raised it this 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.

International Buyers

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