Cinnabar City Mine (King George Mine), Spring Valley Mining District, Humboldt Range, Pershing County, Nevada, USAi

Regional Level Types
Cinnabar City Mine (King George Mine)	Mine
Spring Valley Mining District	Mining District
Humboldt Range	Mountain Range
Pershing County	County
Nevada	State
USA	Country

Sec 1 T28N R34E

The Cinnabar City mine was a relatively small producer but is noted for very coarse cinnabar. To refer to this place as a "City", in any sense of the word, suggests delusions of grandeur. The mine is located near the head, the southern end, of a small, north-south oriented canyon. It is approximately 3 miles northeast of the large open pit silver - gold mine centered on Nenzel Hill that was begun by Coeur Rochester in 1986. It is one of a number of mercury mines that dot the periphery of the Rochester District.

At Cinnabar City the bedrock is folded Triassic age limestone that dips east. The ridge on the east side of the canyon is capped by Pliocene age basaltic tuff and basalt flows. The limestone immediately underlying the tuff is a rubbly breccia with tuff in the interstices.

The limestone country rock is transected by high angle calcite veins. The small orebody worked by the Cinnabar City mine is located where one of these calcite veins is truncated by the contact with the overlying tuff. Although the calcite vein does not extend into then tuff and basalt, sparse cinnabar does occur in the tuff above the ore shoot. This suggests that deposition occurred in a very shallow hot spring environment. For the most part deposition immediately preceded the eruption of the basaltic tuff and flows but the waning stages continued after deposition of the tuff. Therefore, mineralization is no older than Pliocene.

Ore came from a single stope and seems to have been very high grade containing very coarse masses of cinnabar in calcite. Production totaled less than 350 flasks.

In October, 1975, when this author visited the locality there were a number of small buildings still standing (site photo) and the mill, up on the hillside, was mostly intact. In some recent photographs seen on the internet the buildings are now gone and the mill is a badly shattered ruin. The red Federal Motor Company truck is still visible in the recent photo's. It appears more faded than 40 years ago and I suspect there are more bullet holes than there were then.
Structure: Louderbacks

Alteration: Replacement

Tectonics: Basin And Range

Deposit: Some rich pods of ore occur. Coarse cinnabar replaces vein calcite at fault intersection. The vein is terminated by the fault, which coincides with the tuff contact, which has localized the ore. Cinnabar occurs As flecks, stringers, and small aggregates in calcite with veinlets of cinnabar extending into limestone wallrock. The only really productive ore body was localized in the calcite vein where it intersects the overlying volcanic rock. Cinnabar occurred in rich pods or bunches forming ore of exceptionally high grade, but limited extent. Some was very coarsely crystalline, and if mined in 1980 would be sold at premium prices to the oriental market for medicinal use. Away from the vein, a little ore was mined where scattered cinnabar occurred disseminated in limestone beneath the volcanic rock. Sparse cinnabar also was scattered thru the tuff, and while not of economic value, it indicates the mineralization is of pliocene or later age. On gq 820, shown As hillside mine, see hillside mine crib record no. M055269 ; info.src : 1 pub lit; 2 unpub rept discovery year: ca. 1916; 1926

Deposit type: Hot-spring Hg

Development: It was first developed by w. H. Harris in 1924-1926 and sold to george s. Clack in 1927. In 1928 mr. Clack organized the cinnabar king mining co which operated the property until 1931, producing about 250 flasks of mercury in retorts and a 15-ton rotary furnace. In 1940 the ground was relocated by the american almaden mining co, although apparently not abandoned by mr. Clack, and title was also claimed by the cinnabar city mining co from 1944-49. In 1953, earl simpson obtained a clear title, and, As he also held the nearby hillside mine, both properties were subsequently operated together. The rotary furnace and retorts were on the cinnabar city property, but apparently after 1953, most of the ore came from the hillside mine and is credited in the records to that property. In 1973-1975, tancor international is recorded As doing assessment work on the cinnabar city claims.

Geology: Geol.desc: folded and faulted triassic limestone overlain by pleistocene (?) basalt

Rock formation(s): Natchez Pass

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Link to USGS MRDS:	10040318

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References