Ward Mine

MineClosedDraft data

39.0792° N, 114.8819° W · ± 1 km

Pyrrhotite from Nevada, United States, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

Pyrrhotite

Pyrrhotite at Ward Mine

Pyrrhotite-sphalerite skarn ore from the Ward Mine, Nevada (view 2).
Photo: James St. John · CC BY 2.0 · Source

Pyrrhotite-sphalerite skarn ore from the Ward Mine, Nevada (view 3).
Photo: James St. John · CC BY 2.0 · Source

Formula: Fe₁₋ₓS (x = 0-0.17)
Morphology: Massive, intergrown with sphalerite in skarn ore
Color / luster: Very pale brassy; almost silvery on fresh surfaces
Associated minerals: Sphalerite galena chalcopyrite pyrite marcasitegarnetpyroxene
Availability: Unknown
History: Ore specimens collected in the 1990s, after the last production period.

Sources: SRC-629 SRC-636

About Pyrrhotite →

Geology of the locality

Setting: Polymetallic zinc-lead-copper-silver skarn and carbonate-replacement deposit around a concealed quartz monzonite stock (about 34 Ma).
Type: Skarn, Hydrothermal
Host rock: Metamorphosed Paleozoic limestone; skarn (tactite)
Region: Nevada
Country: United States

Production 1989-1991 by Alta Gold after a 19th-century silver boom (1876-1882). Coordinates from the USGS MRDS record (unverified by MRDS).

Sources: SRC-629

Sources

SRC-629 · Database
Ward Mine, White Pine County, NevadaU.S. Geological Survey (MRDS), via Western Mining History · westernmininghistory.com
SRC-636 · Website
File:Pyrrhotite-sphalerite (Tertiary, ~34 Ma; Ward Mine, White Pine County, Nevada, USA) 1.jpgJames St. John · Wikimedia Commons

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.