Golden Dome
California Gold Project with Bulk-Mineable Historical Resource
| Location | Historic Resources | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Sierra County, California |
1.5 million tons graded 0.067 oz/ton gold |
Under Contract |
Summary and Location
Historical resource of 1.5 million tons graded 0.067 oz/ton gold (~100,000 ounces) defined by Hecla Mining in the early 1990s. Previous drilling was reportedly low-angle, suggesting potential to expand the resource at depth. Project was advanced by Tenneco Minerals with plans for 30,000-40,000 oz/year production before being divested.
The Golden Dome project is located in Sierra County, California, within the Antelope Valley.
Geology
The project targets a high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposit hosted within a northwest-trending, vuggy silica-alunite-pyrite vein system in the Antelope Valley Volcanic Center. This geologic setting is associated with the Southern Ancestral Cascade arc.
Gold mineralization is associated with the vuggy silica alteration zone. Ore minerals identified include pyrite and enargite (a copper-arsenic sulfide), with secondary copper oxides also present. The system is known to contain gold and silver.
Exploration and Resources
The Golden Dome prospect was explored extensively by Hecla Mining, Amselco Minerals, and subsequently Tenneco Minerals during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Drilling by Hecla successfully defined a historical resource of 1.5 million tons graded 0.067 oz/ton gold. A higher-grade core of 1.3 million tons at 0.074 oz/ton gold was also calculated.
Tenneco Minerals later acquired the project and planned an open-pit operation targeting 30,000-40,000 ounces of gold per year, though the project did not advance to production. The project was reportedly sold by Hecla for $2 million.