Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and named after Canadian miner Henry Comstock.
After the discovery was made public in 1859, it sparked a silver rush of prospectors to the area, scrambling to stake their claims. The discovery caused considerable excitement in California and throughout the United States, the greatest since the California Gold Rush in 1849. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity, which became bustling commercial centers, including Virginia City and Gold Hill.
The Comstock Lode is notable not just for the immense fortunes it generated and the large role those fortunes had in the growth of Nevada and San Francisco, but also for the advances in mining technology that it spurred, such as square set timbering and the Washoe process for extracting silver from ore. The mines declined after 1874, although underground mining continued sporadically into the 1920s.
Volcanic vents to the east covered the area during the Tertiary, and a fault fissure opened the east slope of the Virginia Range. The east slope of the range forms the footwall of the Lode, and is composed of diorite, while the hanging wall is composed of andesite, which the miners called "porphyry". The fault fissures filled these fissures with "mineral-bearing quartz".[citation needed]
The miners stated "porphyry makes ore". The ore bodies were thinly scattered through the wide Lode "like plums in a charity pudding", and nearly all of them were found in the wide upper section and along or near the east wall. Although the miners extended their work in all directions, only "sixteen large and rich ore bodies" were found, most less than 600 feet (180 m) in depth.
Six major bonanzas marked the first five years of the Comstock Lode. The Ophir bonanza was prosperous until 1864, producing 70,000 tons. Though rich, and having a length of 500 feet (150 m) at the surface, the ore body wedged out[discuss] at a depth of 500 feet (150 m). The Gould & Curry bonanza included 500 feet (150 m) of the El Dorado outcrop, but dipped southward into the Savage at 500 feet (150 m); the ore gave out by 1866. The Savage bonanza included this ore body and a second bonanza, an ore body shared with Hale & Norcross to the south, at the 600 foot level; this ore body was played out by 1869. The Chollar-Potosi bonanza was consolidated in 1865. The 1875 Combination Shaft was a joint effort by Chollar-Potosi and Hale & Norcross.[citation needed]
The Original Gold Hill bonanza consisted of the Old Red Ledge, 1,000 feet (300 m) long, 500 feet (150 m) wide, and 500 feet (150 m) deep. The associated Gold Hill mines were merged into the Consolidated Imperial by 1876. The Yellow Jacket shared the Gold Hill bonanza on its north, and shared a second bonanza with Crown Point and Kentucky to the south, discovered in 1864.
The Crown Point-Belcher bonanza was discovered in 1870. The ore body extended from the 900 to the 1,500-foot level (275 to 460 m), having a length of 775 feet (236 m) and a width of 120 feet (37 m). The ore, the precious metal value of which was 54 percent from gold and 46 percent from silver, lasted only four years.
Hub AI
Comstock Lode AI simulator
(@Comstock Lode_simulator)
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and named after Canadian miner Henry Comstock.
After the discovery was made public in 1859, it sparked a silver rush of prospectors to the area, scrambling to stake their claims. The discovery caused considerable excitement in California and throughout the United States, the greatest since the California Gold Rush in 1849. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity, which became bustling commercial centers, including Virginia City and Gold Hill.
The Comstock Lode is notable not just for the immense fortunes it generated and the large role those fortunes had in the growth of Nevada and San Francisco, but also for the advances in mining technology that it spurred, such as square set timbering and the Washoe process for extracting silver from ore. The mines declined after 1874, although underground mining continued sporadically into the 1920s.
Volcanic vents to the east covered the area during the Tertiary, and a fault fissure opened the east slope of the Virginia Range. The east slope of the range forms the footwall of the Lode, and is composed of diorite, while the hanging wall is composed of andesite, which the miners called "porphyry". The fault fissures filled these fissures with "mineral-bearing quartz".[citation needed]
The miners stated "porphyry makes ore". The ore bodies were thinly scattered through the wide Lode "like plums in a charity pudding", and nearly all of them were found in the wide upper section and along or near the east wall. Although the miners extended their work in all directions, only "sixteen large and rich ore bodies" were found, most less than 600 feet (180 m) in depth.
Six major bonanzas marked the first five years of the Comstock Lode. The Ophir bonanza was prosperous until 1864, producing 70,000 tons. Though rich, and having a length of 500 feet (150 m) at the surface, the ore body wedged out[discuss] at a depth of 500 feet (150 m). The Gould & Curry bonanza included 500 feet (150 m) of the El Dorado outcrop, but dipped southward into the Savage at 500 feet (150 m); the ore gave out by 1866. The Savage bonanza included this ore body and a second bonanza, an ore body shared with Hale & Norcross to the south, at the 600 foot level; this ore body was played out by 1869. The Chollar-Potosi bonanza was consolidated in 1865. The 1875 Combination Shaft was a joint effort by Chollar-Potosi and Hale & Norcross.[citation needed]
The Original Gold Hill bonanza consisted of the Old Red Ledge, 1,000 feet (300 m) long, 500 feet (150 m) wide, and 500 feet (150 m) deep. The associated Gold Hill mines were merged into the Consolidated Imperial by 1876. The Yellow Jacket shared the Gold Hill bonanza on its north, and shared a second bonanza with Crown Point and Kentucky to the south, discovered in 1864.
The Crown Point-Belcher bonanza was discovered in 1870. The ore body extended from the 900 to the 1,500-foot level (275 to 460 m), having a length of 775 feet (236 m) and a width of 120 feet (37 m). The ore, the precious metal value of which was 54 percent from gold and 46 percent from silver, lasted only four years.