Cherry Creek Mining District, White Pine County, Nevada, USAi

Regional Level Types
Cherry Creek Mining District	Mining District
White Pine County	County
Nevada	State
USA	Country

The Cherry Creek District is well known classic locality for fossil wood. It is renowned for it's colorful specimens that are easily recognized due to their unique characteristics.
Structure: Host rocks in the mine area are cut by at least two sets of faults, the dominant one NE-trending with lesserr NW trending faults.

Alteration: There is some sericitization of host rocks adjacent to some of the veins.

Commodity: Ore Materials: argentite, scheelite, copper carbonate, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, cerargyrite, native gold, bornite, tetrahedrite Gangue Materials: quartz, pyrite

Deposit: The orebodies occur predominantly as veins and lenses of white quartz up to eight feet wide. Veins are locally speckled with minute particles of a soft black metallic-appearing material with silver and a little copper and sulfur. Ore occurs also as a fracture filling in a breccia zone. Copper and lead carbonates coated fractures in the richer ore. Ore veins are vertical, some places dip steeply south, finger out in the shale. Vein ranges from 2-8 feet thick. Hanging wall well defined. Cerargyrite was the most valuable mineral with galena most abundant now. Gold- bearing quartz veins were characterized by small amounts of limonite after pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite and native gold, ranging from 2 inches to 2 feet wide

Deposit type: Polymetallic veins

Development: A company of volunteer soldiers discovered gold-bearing quartz veins near the Overland Stage route in Egan Canyon, possibly as early as 1861. Early records indicate that discoveries made before 1863. Egan Canyon came to be known as Gold Canyon, and the Gold Canyon Mining District was formed. The Gilligan and other mines, were developed in 1863 on the Gilligan Ledge in Gold (Egan) Canyon, the principal early producer in the district. The first mill built in eastern Nevada was constructed in 1874 to treat ore from the Gilligan. By 1866, both a 5-stamp mill and a 10-stamp mill were operating. A small amount of gold from the Gold Canyon Ledge, north of the mouth of the canyon, was milled in an arrastra in 1868. A 20-stamp mill was built in 1869, at the head of the canyon near the old Egan Canyon Pony Express station, to treat the silver ores. The first mine on Cherry Creek was the Ticup Mine, in 1872 which brought a rush of prospectors to the area. The Cherry Creek District was organized and in 1873, the town of Cherry Creek was platted at the mouth of the Canyon. It became the largest mining camp in the county with a post office, Wells Fargo agency, and several newspapers. The mines flourished but began to decline after 1877. More rich veins were located in the older workings in the spring of 1880 and another boom began. On July 24, 1884, the hoisting works at the district's biggest producer, the Star Mine, burned and the district declined until the 1900s when there was a revival of mining in the district. Scheelite was discovered at the Chance mine in 1918 and more than 100 short tons of tungsten ore were produced during World War I. A small to moderate production of either silver or tungsten ore was reported every year from 1902 through 1958. In 1931, some low-grade silver ore and tailings were shipped by small miners at irregular intervals to Kennecott Copper Company's McGill smelter for the recovery of gold and silver, but Kennecott did not charge for smelting these ores because the silica they contained was valuable as a flux. The principal period of tungsten production was from 1940 through 1950, chiefly from the Ticup Mine. This ore was concentrated in a 50-ton gravity-flotation plant a mile west of Egan, the Cherry Creek Tungsten Mill, commonly known as the Kleghorn-Boundy Mill. It is estimated that more than 30,000 short tons of tungsten were produced through 1958. Some recent development work has been done at the Exchequer Mine, northwest of the Star. A head frame was erected in 1982 and a decline was finished in 1990.

Geology: A small quartz monzonite pluton intrudes the Paleozoic shales in the mine area.

Fossils

There are 1 fossil locality from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.

These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases. Mindat.org has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.

Occurrences	74
Youngest Fossil Listed	485 Ma (Cambrian)
Oldest Fossil Listed	501 Ma (Cambrian)
Stratigraphic Units	Unit No. Occurrences Age Dunderberg Shale 74 501 - 485.4 Ma (Cambrian)
Fossils from Region	Click here to show the list.
Accepted Name Hierarchy Age Cheilocephalus genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Corynexochida : Cheilocephalidae : Cheilocephalus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Bynumina genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Kingstoniidae : Bynumina 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Dunderbergia genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Elviniidae : Dunderbergia 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Elvinia genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Elviniidae : Elvinia 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Erixanium genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Aphelaspididae : Erixanium 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Irvingella genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Elviniidae : Irvingella 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Kindbladia genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Dokimocephalidae : Kindbladia 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Morosa genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Morosa 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Sigmocheilus genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Sigmocheilus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Elburgia genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Elviniidae : Elburgia 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Cheilocephalus granulosus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Corynexochida : Cheilocephalidae : Cheilocephalus : Cheilocephalus granulosus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Pseudokingstonia exotica species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Corynexochida : Cheilocephalidae : Pseudokingstonia : Pseudokingstonia exotica 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Dunderbergia bigranulosa species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Elviniidae : Dunderbergia : Dunderbergia bigranulosa 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Elviniella laevis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Elviniidae : Elviniella : Elviniella laevis 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Housia ovata species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Housia : Housia ovata 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Parahousia constricta species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Parahousia : Parahousia constricta 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Litocephalus verruculapeza species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Aphelaspididae : Litocephalus : Litocephalus verruculapeza 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Cernuolimbus depressus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Cernuolimbus : Cernuolimbus depressus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Pterocephalia concava species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Pterocephalia : Pterocephalia concava 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Pterocephalia elongata species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Pterocephalia : Pterocephalia elongata 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Sigmocheilus grata species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Olenida : Pterocephaliidae : Sigmocheilus : Sigmocheilus grata 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Sigmocheilus pogonipensis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Olenida : Pterocephaliidae : Sigmocheilus : Sigmocheilus pogonipensis 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Strigambitus utahensis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Olenida : Pterocephaliidae : Strigambitus : Strigambitus utahensis 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Anechocephalus trigranulatus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Anechocephalus : Anechocephalus trigranulatus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Aphelotoxon acuminata species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Phylacteridae : Aphelotoxon : Aphelotoxon acuminata 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Aciculolenus peculiaris species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Olenidae : Aciculolenus : Aciculolenus peculiaris 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Simulolenus quadrisulcatus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Olenidae : Olenus : Simulolenus quadrisulcatus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Aphelaspis subditus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Aphelaspididae : Aphelaspis : Aphelaspis subditus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Olenaspella regularis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Aphelaspididae : Olenaspella : Olenaspella regularis 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Listroa toxoura species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Aphelaspididae : Listroa : Listroa toxoura 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Dicanthopyge convergens species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Aphelaspididae : Dicanthopyge : Dicanthopyge convergens 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Dicanthopyge quadrata species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Aphelaspididae : Dicanthopyge : Dicanthopyge quadrata 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Prehousia impolita species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Prehousia : Prehousia impolita 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Prehousia indenta species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Prehousia : Prehousia indenta 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Cernuolimbus laevifrons species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Cernuolimbus : Cernuolimbus laevifrons 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Sigmocheilus flabellifer species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Olenida : Pterocephaliidae : Sigmocheilus : Sigmocheilus flabellifer 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Comanchia minus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Idahoiidae : Comanchia : Comanchia minus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Dellea punctata species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Dokimocephalidae : Dellea : Dellea punctata 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Dytremacephalus asperaxis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Ptychopariida : Elviniidae : Dytremacephalus : Dytremacephalus asperaxis 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Stenambon genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Stenambon 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian Tumicephalus depressus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Pterocephaliidae : Tumicephalus : Tumicephalus depressus 501 - 485.4 Ma Cambrian
Fossil Localities	Click to show 1 fossil locality

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Link to USGS MRDS:	10310454

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References