Sediment-Hosted Gold Deposits of the Independence Range, Nevada

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Geological Society of Nevada’s 2005 Symposium Field Trip which will visit the
following mining districts: Jerritt Canyon and Big Springs Districts. We will feature the
“Carlin-type” sediment-hosted gold deposits at Starvation Basin and at Dorsey Creek, both of
which are being drilled after renewed interest in their geology and geochemistry. We look at
them in the context of the mining districts in which they are contained. Because of the time of
year, mid-May, and the elevation, about 8,000 feet, our ability to access some areas may be
limited by snow or mud. In that case, we will be prepared to go to alternate sites that are more
accessible. We will also visit an area of “Hot Spring-type” mineralization at the Taylor Canyon
Hot Springs. We will discuss the stratigraphy of the host rocks of the deposits at the Jerritt
Canyon and Big Springs districts, both in the districts and at Carlin Tunnels. Finally, we will
briefly visit a geologic oddity at the Elko Crater Field.
The field trip will begin in Reno on Thursday morning, May 19. We will drive to Carlin Tunnels
where Stan Keith will discuss the upper Paleozoic sedimentary section and its relationship to
the geologic history of the Independence Range. We will then travel to Elko and check into our
motel. Shortly afterward, we will travel a short distance to the Elko Crater Field where Mike
Jones will briefly describe the phenomenon. We will return to our motel and will have an
evening cocktail hour and dinner. It is our plan to convene with Field Trip #6 while Tim Master,
Exploration/Development Manager with Royal Standard Minerals and Stan Keith, will give us
an overview of Royal Standard’s Bullion Project especially focused on the geologic implications
of their recent drilling. We will also hear from Mike Jones and the Starvation Basin geologic
staff from Queenstake Resources USA, Inc. They will discuss the new discovery under
development.
On Friday, May 20, we will be led by Mike Jones and the Queenstake staff to the Taylor
Canyon Hot Springs System and the Starvation Basin Resource Area. We will return to Elko in
the evening for a cocktail hour and dinner featuring a talk by Stan Keith describing recent work
by him and others in the Dorsey Creek area of the Big Springs mining district being explored by
Gateway Gold Corporation.
On Saturday, May 21, we will be led by Stan Keith and the Gateway Gold geologic staff for a
tour the Big Springs mining district, featuring a geologic discussion of the recent work on the
Dorsey Creek deposit. We will leave early in the afternoon and travel back to Elko and then to
Reno, arriving at the Nugget by early evening.