Age, Distribution, and Composition of Igneous Rocks of the

Pequop Mountains, Northeast Nevada: Association with

Carlin-type Gold Deposits
Ajeet K. Milliard*, Michael W. Ressel, and Christopher D. Henry
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, University of Nevada, Reno, MS 178, Reno, NV 89557

Christina Ricks and Gregg Loptien

Agnico-Eagle (USA), Ltd., 1675 East Prater Way, Suite 102, Sparks, NV 89434

ABSTRACT

Carlin-type gold deposits at Long Canyon and West Pequop in the Pequop Moun-
tains are two of Nevada’s newest and most signiicant exploration discoveries. These
discoveries have generated great interest, because they lie far east of the known gold
trends in the Paleozoic carbonate platform previously considered less prospective for
large gold deposits. Host rocks were deformed and variably metamorphosed, proba-
bly during the Late Cretaceous Sevier Orogeny. Recent work demonstrates the pres-
ence of abundant, previously unrecognized and still poorly documented intrusions,
mostly of Jurassic (~159 to 165 Ma) and Eocene (~39 to 41 Ma) age, with fewer late
Cretaceous dikes (Bedell et al., 2010). The range in age and composition of igneous
rocks of the Pequops is consistent with that observed regionally. The primary goals
of this study are to establish the character, absolute and relative timing, and spatial
relationships between tectonism, magmatism, and hydrothermal activity that led to
signiicant gold deposition in this geologic setting.
Abundant dikes, sills, and small, irregular, maic to silicic intrusions are recog-
nized in four areas of the Pequop Mountains. In addition, the Nanny Creek area ~5
km north of Long Canyon contains locally sourced Eocene volcanics. Jurassic intru-
sions are widespread and compositionally diverse, ranging from lamprophyre and
monzodiorite through granodiorite and granite. The Long Canyon gold deposit con-
tains a swarm of Jurassic lamprophyre and monzodiorite dikes and sills, and iden-
tical dikes are present at West Pequop. Our preliminary 40Ar/39Ar dating of horn-
blende and biotite phenocrysts from chloritized lamprophyre dikes at Long Canyon
provide imprecise Jurassic ages, which are consistent with previous U/Pb ages from
other Pequop Mountains locations. Distinctive textures, mineralogy, and geochemis-
try of Long Canyon lamprophyres are indistinguishable from those of Jurassic lam-
prophyres of the Carlin trend and Cortez area. Small, irregular lenses of Late Creta-
ceous(?) garnet-muscovite leucogranite occur in areas of highest metamorphic grades
along the west lank of the Pequops Mountains. Leucogranite is peraluminous, which,
together with its close spatial association with high-temperature metamorphic rocks,
suggests a crustal melt origin.
Eocene igneous rocks occur in at least three, possibly four, areas of the Pequop
Mountains. Intrusions in two areas in and near West Pequop are high-silica, spher-
ulitic rhyolite (41–39 Ma), whereas an undated but probably Eocene dike at Long
Canyon is basaltic. High-silica rhyolite dikes differ compositionally from andesite
through low-silica rhyolite lavas of the ~39 Ma Nanny Creek volcanic center suggest-
ing two loci for Eocene activity. Spherulitic textures in the Eocene rhyolites where
they intrude high-grade metamorphic rocks suggest: 1) very shallow level of emplace-
ment ~40 Ma, and 2) signiicant exhumation pre-40 Ma. In seeming conlict with this

*E-mail: akmilliard@nevada.unr.edu

895
896 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien

interpretation, Eocene volcanic rocks at Nanny Creek and regionally everywhere rest
on uppermost Paleozoic rocks, indicating little exhumation by that time.
Source plutons for widespread Jurassic and Eocene igneous rocks remain un-
certain. A large (265 km2) magnetic anomaly centered in Goshute Valley and extend-
ing west into the southern Pequop Mountains may represent source plutons for both
Jurassic and Eocene dikes and sills. A small part of this anomaly overlaps with the
Jurassic Silver Zone Pass pluton in the neighboring Toano Range. Other sources,
especially for silicic compositions, may not be resolvable because of their inherently
weak magnetism.
Gold mineralization at Long Canyon postdates the swarm of Jurassic maic dikes
and sills, which host ore and provide some structural controls to mineralization. Min-
eralization at West Pequop is likely more tightly constrained, because spherulitic rhy-
olite dikes dated at ~40 Ma nearby are hydrothermally altered and host gold.

Key Words: Carlin-type, gold, Nevada, Jurassic, Eocene, magmatism

INTRODUCTION on gold mineralization and how do they relate to magmatism

Discovery of Carlin-type gold deposits in the Pequop
Mountains in the early 2000’s spurred new exploration interest
in a region long considered less prospective for this type of gold
deposit for a number of reasons including: 1) the massive, less
reactive nature of Paleozoic platform carbonate host strata, 2)
distance (~150 km) from the major gold trends at Carlin, Cor-
tez, and Getchell as well as the Roberts Mountains thrust, 3) a
perception that regional metamorphic overprinting made rocks
less permeable and/or reactive to ore luids, and 4) perception
that Cenozoic high-magnitude extension may have attenuated
deposits or made them rootless. The complex geology of this
region coupled with incomplete timing constraints on deforma-
tion have fueled controversy, particularly with regard to the age
of Sevier deformation and metamorphism, the timing and style
of exhumation of deeply buried metamorphic rocks, and the
timing and style of extension. Recently, there has been a surge
in exploration and research in this region including from the
gold and petroleum sectors. New research has examined causes
and hazards related to the 2008 Wells earthquake and better-
constrained Mesozoic contractional deformation and Cenozoic
extension and magmatism in the hinterland of the Sevier Orog-
eny.
This preliminary study examines newly recognized igneous
rocks of the Pequop Mountains, which occur widely through
the range including within Carlin-type gold deposits. The pur-
pose of this on-going study is to better document the timing,
character, and extent of magmatism in the range, particularly as
it relates to Carlin-type gold mineralization. Speciic questions
to be addressed in this study are: What is the timing of magma-
tism and gold mineralization in the Pequop Mountains? What
is the timing of uplift or exhumation, and what constraints does
uplift history place on the depth of formation of Carlin-type de-
posits? Finally, what are the deposit- and district-scale controls
and/or extension/uplift?
REGIONAL SETTING
The Pequop Mountains are located approximately 50 km
east of the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range core com-
plex (RMEH; Figure 1). Variably metamorphosed rocks of the
Pequop Mountains lie in the footwall of the Ruby fault, which
has been interpreted to be a major W-dipping detachment fault
that accommodated as much as 30 km of Cenozoic vertical
slip. Metamorphosed strata of Paleozoic and older age in the
footwall of the Ruby fault are estimated to have been buried to
as deep as 30 km during culmination of Sevier contraction in
the late Cretaceous (McGrew and Snee, 1994; Camilleri and
Chamberlain, 1997; Snoke et al., 1997; McGrew et al., 2000;
Howard, 2003; 2011). Rocks in the Pequop Mountains range
from non-metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies through
amphibolite facies, with increasing metamorphic grade from
east to west (Thorman, 1970; Camilleri and Chamberlain,
1997; Camilleri, 2010). Based on metamorphic assemblages,
the most highly metamorphosed rocks in the Pequop Mountains
were buried to depths of ~8 to 16 km.
The uplift and exhumation history and mechanisms of the
RMEH are controversial. All early work interpreted that ma-
jor extension and exhumation began in the early Tertiary, or
possibly as early as Late Cretaceous, and culminated by early
Miocene (e.g., Snoke and Miller, 1988; McGrew and Snee,
1994; Camilleri and Chamberlain, 1997; Snoke et al., 1997;
McGrew et al., 2000; Henry et al., 2011). Speciically for the
Pequop Mountains part of the RMEH, Camilleri and Chamber-
lain (1997) infer that ~10 km of crustal thinning was accom-
modated between 84 and 41 Ma by a single low-angle fault,
the Pequop fault, exposed in the middle of the range. However,
other mappers (CDH, Jim Leavitt, and Jim Trexler, personal
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains 897

Figure 1. Regional map of northeast Nevada showing locations of major gold trends, larger Eocene plutons, and isochrons of the inception of Eocene magmatism.
The Pequop Mountains study area is shown in the red box. Dashed orange lines approximate high-grade metamorphic isograds from Camilleri and Chamberlain
(1997).

communications) suggest that the contact is an unconformity
because it is locally nearly horizontal and does not cut down-
section as it must if it were a normal fault. The Pequop fault
would have dipped ~40°W before 41 Ma if the current 40°E tilt
on early Cenozoic volcanic rocks is removed. Still, resolution
of the problems with a fault interpretation will require more
mapping and no doubt engender further debate.
In contrast, recent studies interpret only minor Eocene ex-
tension throughout northeastern Nevada, with possibly only 1
km of slip on the Ruby detachment fault (Henry, 2008). The
greatest extension, with ~5 km of displacement on the Ruby
detachment, occurred during the middle Miocene, ~17–10 Ma
(Colgan et al., 2010; Henry et al., 2011). How rocks once at 30
km depth rose to the surface remains unresolved.
The magmatic history of the region east of the Ruby Moun-
tains is more readily resolved than its tectonic history. Magma-
tism of four episodes is present, which include: 1) Jurassic, oc-
curring primarily from ~162 to 158 Ma (e.g., Wyld and Wright,
2014; Elison, 1995), 2) Cretaceous, from ~92 to 70 Ma (Barton,
1990; Howard, 2011), 3) Eocene, from 42 to 38 Ma (Brooks et
al., 1995a, b; Henry et al., 2011), and 4) Miocene, from 16.1 to
13.6 Ma (Brueseke et al., 2014). Jurassic magmatism was the
irst to occur in the Phanerozoic and is preserved only as plutons
and as swarms of dikes and sills generally associated with plu-
tons. Jurassic plutons in northeast Nevada range in composition
from diorite to granite and are calc-alkaline and metaluminous.
Most larger plutons are granite and granodiorite. Lamprophyre
dikes are common in well-studied areas, particularly in and near
many Carlin-type deposits including in the Pequop Mountains.
Compositions of these maic intrusions are unusual, with high
concentrations of both compatible and incompatible trace ele-
ments the norm. In many areas of northeastern Nevada, Juras-
sic igneous rocks have been variably deformed, and penetrative
fabrics are common, especially within smaller intrusions. Juras-
sic stocks are associated with copper mineralization at Contact,
Spruce Mountain, and Delcer Buttes (Figure 1). Bald Mountain
898 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien
represents the only major Jurassic intrusion-related gold system
in the region, and its deposits have many similarities to Carlin-
type deposits (Hitchborn et al., 1996; Nutt and Hofstra, 2007).
Cretaceous intrusions occur as small bodies of muscovite-
and garnet-bearing leucogranite and pegmatite in the RMEH
and surrounding areas and have ages that range from about 84
Ma to 70 Ma (Howard, 2011), overlapping with the time of
peak metamorphism during the Sevier Orogeny. Leucogranites
are intimately associated with deformation in metamorphosed
rocks (e.g., Howard, 2011) and likely represent small volume
crustal melts derived during high-grade metamorphism in core
complexes. Larger ~80–92 Ma, granodioritic Cretaceous plu-
tons, common elsewhere in eastern Nevada, are absent from the
area of the RMEH and Pequop Mountains.
Eocene magmatism occupied roughly the same geographic
area as Jurassic magmatism. Like Jurassic magmatism, Eocene
magmatism was intense and short-lived. Eocene magmatism
was the irst to follow a long hiatus in arc-related activity oc-
curring from ~85 to ~42 Ma. Notable for Eocene magmatism
is the large volume of intermediate lavas (i.e., “eastern andesite
assemblage”; Brooks et al., 1995a, b; Henry and Ressel, 2000)
that was erupted from numerous centers over a broad region
of north-central and northeast Nevada and western Utah. This
magmatism shifted rapidly southwestward between 42 and
36 Ma (Figure 1). Coeval with andesite-dacite effusive activ-
ity was the emplacement of many, generally small, plutons of
similar intermediate composition, most notably to the west
in the major Carlin-type gold belts where they are associated
with gold skarns and distal-disseminated gold deposits (John-
ston and Ressel, 2004; Henry et al., 2015). In and east of the
Ruby Mountains, the Harrison Pass and McGinty (also Patter-
son Pass) plutons were emplaced between ~39 and 36 Ma as
were smaller stocks at Kinsley and Ferguson, Nevada, and Gold
Hill, Utah (Moore and McKee, 1983; Wright and Snoke, 1993;
Brooks et al., 1995a, b; Barnes et al., 2001; Colgan et al., 2010).
Notably, Carlin-type, or sedimentary rock-hosted gold de-
posits, although coinciding with Eocene magmatism, are con-
centrated in a few belts and clusters along the western edge
of the magmatic province (Figure 1). World-class Carlin-type
deposits are demonstrably Eocene in age (42-36 Ma), coeval
with Eocene magmatism (Henry and Ressel, 2000; Cline et al.,
2005; Ressel and Henry, 2006 and references therein), whereas
large-magnitude extension, cited by some as fundamentally im-
portant for Carlin-type deposits (Seedorff, 1991), did not occur
until the mid-Miocene (Henry and Ressel, 2000; Colgan and
Henry, 2009; Colgan et al., 2010; Henry et al., 2011). The pres-
ence of a larger Carlin-type deposit well east of these trends at
Long Canyon indicates that the major processes driving their
formation were active over a broad area, and not only limited
to the trends.
IGNEOUS ROCKS OF THE PEQUOP MOUNTAINS
The Pequop Mountains record at least three episodes of
magmatism, in the late Jurassic, the late Cretaceous, and the
Eocene (Table 1; Brooks et al., 1995a; Camilleri, 2010; Bedell
et al., 2010). Miocene tephra crop out along the northwest lank
of the range, but these do not indicate local igneous activity.
The three documented stages of magmatism are spatially and
temporally consistent with magmatism that affected much of
the northern Great Basin (Elison, 1995; Barton, 1990; Chris-
tiansen and Yeats, 1992; Brooks et al., 1995a, b; Ressel and
Henry, 2006). Jurassic and Eocene magmatism are volumetri-
cally the most important in the Pequop Mountains, both result-
ing in a wide distribution and range of compositions (Tables
2 and 3). Jurassic and Cretaceous igneous rocks occur solely
as intrusions, whereas Eocene igneous rocks comprise both in-
trusions and volcanic rocks. Jurassic compositions range from
granite through gabbro, including abundant lamprophyre dikes
and sills. Cretaceous intrusions are sparse and localized occur-
rences of muscovite-albite granite associated with areas ex-
hibiting higher metamorphic grades. Eocene lavas range from
andesite through rhyolite for the volcanic rocks (Brooks et al.,
1995a, b; our data), although most compositions are moder-
ately to abundantly porphyritic dacite to low-Si (≤ 73% SiO2)
rhyolite. In contrast, Eocene dikes are predominantly aphyric to
sparsely quartz-phyric, high-Si rhyolite (≥ 75% SiO2).
As currently understood, igneous rocks occur in ive ar-
eas of the Pequop Mountains. These include from north to
south: 1) the Eocene Nanny Creek volcanic center (Brooks
et al., 1995a,b; Henry, 2008; Henry et al., 2011), 2) the Long
Canyon area including in the Long Canyon Carlin-type gold
deposit, 3) the West Pequop Carlin-type gold deposits and sur-
rounding area, 4) the southwest lank of the Pequop Mountains
south of the West Pequop gold deposits, and 5) the southern-
most end of the Pequop Mountains (Figure 2). Recognition of
igneous rocks in the Pequop Mountains is mostly very recent.
The Nanny Creek volcanic rocks, which have the largest out-
crop area, were identiied irst (Thorman, 1970; Brooks et al.,
1995a, b). The discovery of the West Pequop and Long Canyon
Carlin-type gold deposits in 1995 and 2000, respectively, and
subsequent exploration and development since 2005 resulted
in the recognition of abundant dikes and sills in and near these
deposits (Jarvie, 2009; Bedell et al., 2010; Felder et al., 2011;
Smith et al., 2013).
Nanny Creek Volcanic Rocks
The Eocene section at Nanny Creek consists of a basal
gravel overlain by ~41 and 40 Ma ash-low tuffs erupted from
sources near Tuscarora ~150 km to the northwest, overlain by
locally derived andesitic through rhyolitic lavas and breccias
(Brooks et al., 1995a, b; Henry, 2008; this work). The Nanny
Creek rocks form a poorly to locally well exposed, ~40° east-
dipping section that crops out over 30 km2 in the northeast part
of the Pequop Mountains (Figure 2). Based on outcrop width
and the 40° dip, the cumulative thickness of locally sourced
Eocene volcanic rocks is estimated to be more than 1,200 m
Table 1. 40AR/39AR AND U-PB AGES, INTRUSIONS AND LOCALLY DERIVED VOLCANIC ROCKS, PEQUOP MOUNTAINS, NEVADA.
Latitude Longitude
Map
Sample Unit Rock Type Location Material Ages (Ma) NAD27 Source

iso- 40Ar/
40Ar/39Ar Analyses plateau ±2σ %39Ar1 steps2 chron ±2σ MSWD 36Ari ±2σ total gas ±2σ
H09-93B Jl Hornblende Long hornblende ~173 4 61.4 3/10 165 3 1.5 1040 120 209 1.00 40.97163 –114.52669 1
lamprophyre Canyon
CLC-207 Jl Biotite lampro- Long biotite NM 127 1 1059 6413 670 147 0.06 40.98360 –114.52340 1
phyre Canyon
MRLC-1 Jl Monzodiorite Long biotite NM 132 1 10500 650 5 138 0.08 40.96640 –114.53500 1
Canyon
91T10 Ted Dacite lava Nanny hornblende 39.7 0.5 87.0 5/10 NR 39.9 0.3 41.02444 –114.541667 2
Creek

Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains

Lower 206Pb/ Upper
U-Pb Zircon Analyses Intercept ±1σ n 238U3 ± 2σ Intercept
151P Jg Granite; foliated, Meyers TIMS 154 5 ~2400 40.9942 –114.6125 3
metamorphosed Canyon,
west Pe-
quops
PQSG Jgb Gabbro, Central LA-ICP/MS 2 159.0 6.0 40.9417 –114.5789 4
medium-grained, high part
equigranular of range
34FGG Ja Aplite; v. ine- West LA-ICP/MS 14 159.5 1.9 40.9635 –114.6048 4
grained, holo- Pequop
crystalline
SWPQR1 Ter Rhyolite; spher- Southwest LA-ICP/MS 6 41.0 0.8 40.9299 –114.6427 4
lutitic, devitriied Pequops
SWPQR2 Ter Rhyolite; spher- Southwest LA-ICP/MS 12 39.1 0.7 40.9433 –114.6296 4
lutitic, devitriied Pequops
SWCGG Kg Leucogranite; Southwest LA-ICP/MS 2 71.0 5.0 40.9396 –114.6324 4
garnetbearing, Pequops
pegmatitic
Rockland Jgd Granodiorite; South LA-ICP/MS 161.4 1.9 40.7914 –114.6194 4
porphyritic Pequops
40Ar/39Aranalyses were at the New Mexico Geochronological Research Laboratory (methodology in McIntosh et al., 2003). Neutron lux monitor Fish Canyon Tuff sanidine (FC-1) with assigned age = 28.201 Ma
(Kuiper et al., 2008). Published age of Brooks et al. (1995a) was recalculated to the same monitor age.
Decay constants after Min et al. (2000); λtotal = 5.463 x 10–10 yr–1. Isotopic abundances after Steiger and Jäger (1977); 40K/K = 1.167 x 10–4
NM = not meaningful; no plateau. NR = not reported. Ages in italics are maximum or minimum ages from highly disturbed spectra.
1%39Ar = percentage of 39Ar used to deine plateau age.
2Steps = number of steps used in age calculation/total number of analytical steps.
3Weighted mean 206Pb/238U age

Source: 1 This study; 2 Brooks et al., 1995a; 3 Camilleri and Chamberlain, 1997; 4 Bedell et al., 2010

899
900 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien

Figure 2. Geologic map of the Pequop Mountains region. Five areas of igneous rocks discussed in text are shown with solid yellow outlines. Other igneous centers
and associated magnetic anomalies in neighboring ranges also are shown. High-grade metamorphic isograds are from Camilleri and Chamberlain (1997). Red
isograds = garnet ield; white isograds = biotite-tremolite. Geologic units from Crafford (2007); magnetic anomalies from Hildenbrand and Kucks (1988).

(Brooks et al., 1995a, b), although some repetition of the upper
part of the section by normal faults is possible.
As shown by stratigraphic relationships in both underly-
ing Paleozoic rocks and the Eocene section, the Nanny Creek
volcanic rocks accumulated in a paleovalley at least 6 km wide
(Brooks et al., 1995a, b; Henry, 2008). The bottom, deepest part
of the paleovalley is in Mississippian Chainman Formation,
whereas the upper paleovalley walls reach up to Permian Pe-
quop Formation. The basal gravel and overlying ash-low tuffs
pinch out against paleovalley walls; this relationship is best ob-
served on the north side of the paleovalley.
The locally derived rocks consist mostly of lava-low and
proximal pyroclastic breccias and lesser lavas. Lava-low brec-
cias are clast-supported with clasts up to ~1 m in diameter.
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains
Pyroclastic breccias have matrix-supported clasts up to 3 m in
diameter in a soft, tuffaceous matrix; a few clasts have radial
cooling joints that show that they were deposited while hot.
Sources for these rocks have not been found but are likely dikes
or other feeders that are covered by the volcanic rocks. Brooks
et al. (1995a, b) report a hornblende 40Ar/39Ar date of 39.7±0.5
Ma on a dacite lava, and more 40Ar/39Ar dating is underway
(Table 1).
The rocks are mostly andesite to dacite, ~62 to 69% SiO2,
but one low-SiO2 rhyolite contains ~73% SiO2 (Table 3). They
have calc-alkaline, arc-like major- and trace element composi-
tions similar to, but with slightly less alkali elements than, other
Eocene volcanic rocks of northeastern Nevada (Henry and Res-
sel, 2000).
Long Canyon Deposit Area
The Long Canyon Carlin-type gold deposit is located about
5 km south of the Nanny Creek volcanics, 1 to 3 km east of
the physiographic Long Canyon, and trends northeast (Figure
3). Long Canyon is underlain by a sequence of weakly or non-
metamorphosed, gently to moderately east-dipping, limestone
and dolomite of the Cambrian Notch Peak and Ordovician Pog-
onip Formations. Small-scale folding and local areas of strong
deformation are present, but the irst-order control of the depos-
it, which is the upper and lower contacts with a massive unit of
dolomite in the Notch Peak Formation, is remarkably consistent
over its known 5-km-long down-plunge extent. At its northeast
extent, the deposit is cut and down-dropped to the east by a se-
ries of range-bounding normal faults. Minor quartzite and shale
occur in the Pogonip Formation. The Dunderberg Shale, which
underlies the Notch Peak Formation, is only rarely exposed at
the south end of Long Canyon and at depth in drill holes.
General features of the Long Canyon Carlin-Type Deposit
As currently deined, the Long Canyon deposit is about
4.9 km long and elongate on a ~N35–40°E azimuth. Similar
to many other relatively high-grade Carlin-type deposits, Long
Canyon is structurally controlled. Ore-grade mineralization oc-
curs in a series of northeast-trending, gently northeast-plung-
ing, closely spaced ore shoots, which combined deine a struc-
tural corridor that averages about 0.6 km width. The longest ore
shoot persists for at least 3 km (Figure 3). The deposit crops out
in its southern third, and it plunges northeastward about ~12°
(Figure 4) under cover by the pre-mineral Pogonip Forma-
tion as well as post-mineral Quaternary and probable Tertiary
fanglomerate and volcaniclastic rocks. Ore is restricted to two
main stratigraphic horizons, one at the base of the Pogonip in
or near its contact with underlying dolomite of the Notch Peak,
the other, at the base of the dolomite in contact with limestone
also of the Notch Peak Formation. As described by Smith et al.
(2013), ore shoots occur in persistent NE-trending gaps in the
dolomite layer, however, there is commonly minor or no offset
of the dolomite across ore-controlling gaps. Smith et al. (2011;
901
2013) hypothesized that dolomite gaps, therefore, represent
boudinage developed during contractional deformation from
rheologic contrast between massive dolomite and bounding
thin-bedded limestones. They argue that post-deformation ore
luids migrated along these permeable gaps or discontinuities
of the dolomite unit and reacted with thin-bedded to laminated
limestone. Decarbonatization of dolomite-bounded limestones
resulted in formation of discrete, ore-hosting breccia bodies
that form strongly NE-elongate ore shoots. Evidence for ductile
shearing, including development of pre-mineral bedding-par-
allel penetrative fabrics, is widespread in the Pogonip Forma-
tion at Long Canyon. In general, the retention of stratigraphic
order and the continuity of individual carbonate units, despite
variation in thickness of some thin-bedded units such as in the
Pogonip, implies the overall degree of shearing was moderate
to low.
Long Canyon Intrusions
Intrusions are abundant at Long Canyon and vary in com-
position from silicic through maic. Maic intrusions are, by
far, the most abundant. Lamprophyre, diorite, granite, and an
unusual alkali basalt are present in outcrop or intersected in
drill core at Long Canyon. The intrusions generally are poorly
exposed in natural outcrops but many excellent exposures oc-
cur in drill road cuts, particularly in the southern half of the de-
posit area. Hydrothermal alteration of the intrusions is variable.
Intrusions within a few meters of mineralization are intensely
altered to a combination of clay and iron oxides, especially he-
matite. However, alteration gradients are steep, and dikes and
sills that are only a few meters outside mineralized zones gen-
erally have only weak or moderate alteration, which typically
consists of a propylitic assemblage of chlorite, ankerite, and
calcite. Maic intrusions at Long Canyon, including relatively
fresh samples, are only weakly or non-magnetic to a hand-held
magnet. Similarly, airborne magnetic surveys fail to distinguish
dikes at Long Canyon despite a very low magnetic background
of platform carbonate rocks.
A striking feature of the Long Canyon deposit is its spatial
association with a swarm of pre-mineral lamprophyric and dio-
ritic dikes and sills (Figure 4; Smith et al., 2011; 2013). These
intrusions are intimately associated with the orebody. In the
immediate area of ore shoots, the intrusions are highly altered
and commonly host ore. Some of the highest gold grades at
Long Canyon are contained in dikes and sills. The iron-rich
compositions of intrusions together with high intrinsic carbon-
ate contents of lamprophyres made them very reactive to acidic
Carlin-type ore luids and consequently, ideal hosts. Similar re-
lationships are common on the Carlin trend (Emsbo, 1999; Res-
sel et al., 2000), where Jurassic lamprophyre and diorite dikes
commonly control and/or host high-grade ore. Dikes and sills at
Long Canyon have two principal orientations: N10°–20°E and
~N35°E, the latter being subparallel to the trend of mineraliza-
tion and intruded into dolomite gaps. Dikes are generally sub-
vertical or dip steeply to the west. Sills are subparallel to bed-
902 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien

Figure 3. Geologic map of the Long Canyon Carlin-type gold deposit showing deposit gold footprint (0.17 g/t Au) projected to surface and samples collected
for this study. The deposit is continuous along the upper Notch Peak dolomite subunit contact for at least 4 km length. The lower zone at the base of the do-
lomite is less continuous but is equally extensive. Faults are shown with thin black lines, dashed where inferred. Geology is modiied from Camilleri (2010)
and Newmont Mining Corp. unpublished mapping (2011–2014).
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains 903

Figure 4. (a) Plan view of the Long Canyon deposit displaying locations of drill holes in which igneous rocks of varying composition were logged, and their
relationship with the gold deposit footprint (Au > 0.17 g/t). Most intrusions are Jurassic lamprophyres and monzodiorite. (b) 3-dimensional cross-sectional view
looking north from the south end of the Long Canyon deposit showing igneous intercepts and modeled dolomite of the Notch Peak Formation. Note the subparallel
strike of individual intrusions to the trend of ore shoots. Also note how the form of intrusions changes from high angle below and in the dolomite to shallow, west
dipping in overlying thin-bedded limestone of the Pogonip Limestone. Grid is UTM (NAD83) meters. Elevation ticks are meters above MSL.

ding and dip gently west-northwest 10°–30° on the west limb of
a gentle NE-trending anticline at Long Canyon.
Lamprophyres
Three distinct petrographic types of lamprophyre dikes
and sills are spatially associated with the Long Canyon deposit.
These are biotite lamprophyre, hornblende lamprophyre, and
biotite-hornblende lamprophyre or monzodiorite. All are abun-
dant in the Long Canyon deposit. Long Canyon lamprophyres
are petrographically and chemically nearly identical to late
Jurassic lamprophyres of the Carlin trend and Cortez district
(Ressel and Henry, 2006), both major Carlin-type districts.
Long Canyon lamprophyres are typically narrow, tabular dikes
and sills that vary in thickness from only a few centimeters to
as much as 2 meters. Most intrusions are commonly straight-
walled, although many have highly irregular contacts with wall
rocks. Lamprophyres commonly change modes from dikes to
sills over vertical and lateral distances of only a few meters due,
in large part, to the nature and density of joints in carbonate
wall rocks. In many cases, lamprophyre intrusions are observed
intruding narrow (i.e., centimeter scale) joints in carbonates in-
dicative of the low viscosities of lamprophyre magmas due to
high volatile contents (e.g., CO2, H2O) and fairly high tempera-
tures. The Carlin lamprophyres and similar dikes in the Cortez
district were intruded over a short period in the late Jurassic
from about 162 to 158 Ma, similar in age to Jurassic magma-
tism over a broad area of north-central and northeast Nevada
(Wyld and Wright, 2014).
Biotite lamprophyres or minettes range (Figure 5) from
inely to coarsely porphyritic types but invariably have biotite
or phlogopite as the principal maic phenocryst, which ranges
from 1–2 mm to as much as 6–7 mm. Biotite is commonly low
aligned yielding a platy appearance in some samples. How-
ever, some lamprophyres are affected by deformation as well
and have a well-developed tectonic foliation imparted on them.
Other maic phenocrysts in biotite lamprophyres include prob-
able olivine and/or pyroxene, although these are invariably
altered to carbonate, quartz, chlorite, and other ine-grained
phyllosilicates. The groundmass of lamprophyres consists of
a mixture of intergrown, often micrographic, potassium feld-
spar and quartz, with lesser amounts of biotite, carbonate, and
acicular to prismatic apatite. Apatite may comprise as much
as 1–2 percent of biotite lamprophyres and locally is coarse
enough to be considered a phenocryst mineral. The presence of
groundmass quartz and feldspar in Long Canyon lamprophyres
indicates magmas were silica saturated. Where hydrothermally
altered, biotite and groundmass feldspars are altered to sericite,
carbonate, and ine-grained blebs of iron oxide.
Hornblende lamprophyres are similar to biotite lampro-
phyres but have abundant and conspicuous hornblende pheno-
crysts instead of biotite. Hornblende phenocrysts vary in size
usually from 3 to 6 mm. Like biotite lamprophyres, hornblende
lamprophyres have other maic phenocrysts that are usually al-
tered to secondary minerals replacing primary pyroxene and/
or olivine. The groundmass of hornblende lamprophyres is a
ine-grained, intergranular mixture of feldspar and lesser quartz
904 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien

with abundant apatite, carbonate, and ine-grained amphibole.
Hornblende lamprophyres are also silica saturated, consistent
with calc-alkaline or arc-related intrusions.
A third lamprophyre type is probably more aptly termed
monzodiorite and gabbro because it is equigranular to only
weakly porphyritic and has a medium grained groundmass.
This variety contains both hornblende and biotite with inter-
granular plagioclase, and clinopyroxene. Accessory minerals
include abundant apatite and carbonate. Monzodiorite dikes are
commonly thicker than lamprophyre dikes and sills and tend to
have more regular forms, possibly a result of their derivation
from relatively viscous magmas.
Granite
Two samples from drill holes at Long Canyon are com-
posed of medium grained, foliated granite. The drill holes are
from the central part of Long Canyon yet no surface exposures
of granite are thus far documented. Granite is porphyritic and
texturally unusual, being mostly composed of subhedral albitic
plagioclase, abundant circular- to fan-shaped myrmekitic in-
tergrowths, as well as discrete ine, anhedral grains of quartz,
K-feldspar, and muscovite. Zircon is a rare accessory mineral.
Fan-shaped muscovite deines a weak shear fabric consisting
of anastomosing, discontinuous layers. Myrmekite and weakly
layered muscovite likely are the result of recrystallization dur-
ing metamorphism of granite dikes at Long Canyon. The rela-
tionship of gold mineralization at Long Canyon to these seem-
ingly rare granitic intrusions is uncertain. On-going work will
attempt to derive an age for granitic intrusions at Long Canyon
as well as establish their relationships to shearing, metamor-
phism, and gold deposition.
The granites from Long Canyon are petrographically and
geochemically similar to a dated granite in Meyers Canyon
about 7 km west of Long Canyon and just 2 km north of the
West Pequop area. We tentatively correlate undated granitic
dikes from Long Canyon drill core with the granite sill/dike
in Meyers Canyon. The granite in Meyers Canyon was dated
using TIMS U/Pb techniques on zircon and gave a concordia
lower intercept isochron age of 154 Ma±5 Ma (Camilleri and
Chamberlain, 1997). This age is interpreted to be the age of
crystallization of the Meyers Canyon granite. Signiicantly,
the granitic intrusions from Long Canyon and Meyers Canyon
have a penetrative foliation, which indicates the dikes preceded
regional deformation (Camilleri and Chamberlain, 1997; Ca-
milleri, 1994).
Alkali Basalt
One sample of very ine-grained, sparsely porphyritic ba-
salt was collected from drill core at Long Canyon. The sample
has not been affected by shearing like many lamprophyre and
granite intrusions at Long Canyon. However, this basalt has a
trachytic texture of plagioclase laths now pervasively altered to
secondary carbonate and sericite. Sparse “ghost” phenocrysts
apparent in thin section are sericitized and carbonated plagio-
clase to 3–4 mm diameter (2–3 percent); rare pyroxene or ol-
ivine phenocrysts are similarly altered. The age of this basalt
is uncertain, but it differs signiicantly from Jurassic lampro-
phyres and granites in terms of its subvolcanic texture, miner-
alogy, and immobile trace-element geochemistry. The lack of
deformation in this basalt coupled with unusual high potassium
and low incompatible trace-element contents suggest a possible
Tertiary age. The sample of alkali basalt from Long Canyon
is hydrothermally altered to a sericite-carbonate-pyrite assem-
blage; pyrite comprises a few percent of the rock, although Au,

Figure 5. (a) Photograph is coarse-grained biotite lamprophyre core sample CLC-5-207′. (b) Photomicrograph of CLC-5-207′ biotite lamprophyre (crossed polars,
transmitted light; from Mark McComb, Newmont unpublished petrographic report, 2012). Shown is abundant phenocrystic biotite set in a ine-grained groundmass
of feldspar, quartz, apatite, and carbonate. Clot of chorite, carbonate and quartz in the center of the image is an entirely replaced olivine phenocryst now rimmed
by biotite.
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains
As, Sb, Hg, and Tl are not anomalous. Sodium has been re-
moved through partial alteration of plagioclase.
Age of Long Canyon lamprophyres
Biotite from a biotite lamprophyre and from a biotite-
hornblende lamprophyre or monzodiorite and hornblende from
one hornblende lamprophyre were dated using 40Ar/39Ar step
heating (Figure 6; Table 1). Biotite and hornblende were cho-
sen for analysis because they have blocking temperatures, the
temperature at which radiogenic Ar is retained in a crystal lat-
tice, of ~300°C and ~500–550°C for biotite and hornblende,
respectively (MacDougall and Harrison, 1999). Thus, biotite
could have lost radiogenic Ar during the variable greenschist
to amphibolite grade metamorphism of the Pequop Mountains,
whereas hornblende probably would not have. As discussed be-
low, both minerals are partly chloritized in the Long Canyon
lamprophyres. Chlorite is a problem for 40Ar/39Ar dating both
because it indicates some of the preferred mineral has been al-
tered and therefore lost Ar and because of potential recoil loss
of 39Ar during irradiation (McDougall and Harrison, 1999).
The hornblende lamprophyre sample (H09-93B) was col-
lected from a small outcrop in the central part of the Long Can-
yon deposit, one of several such outcrops and road cuts expos-
ing hornblende lamprophyre, which occurs as both dike and sill.
The dated rock is medium greenish gray, dense, hornblende-
phyric lamprophyre with abundant (~25–30%) acicular horn-
blende phenocrysts to 2–3 mm long. The rock appears mostly
fresh, but the rock and hornblende are partly chloritized. Car-
bonate is common, true of all Nevada lamprophyres, and may,
in part, be of primary origin or resulting from alteration related
to the surrounding carbonate wall rocks. Hornblende lampro-
phyre also contains abundant (~2–3%) phenocrysts of olivine,
which are mostly altered to quartz, carbonate, and magnesian
phyllosilicates. A few xenocrysts of quartz with altered reaction
rims are present. The groundmass of the sample contains inter-
growths of feldspar and quartz, with abundant acicular apatite
and carbonate. The feldspar has been partly altered to sericite
and carbonate.
The biotite sample (CLC-5–207′) was collected from core
in hole CLC-5 located in the south end of the Long Canyon
deposit (Figure 5). This biotite lamprophyre appears fresh in
hand sample. In thin section, however, biotite is partly altered
to chlorite. Biotite phenocrysts vary from 1–3 mm. Altered
olivine phenocrysts (2–4 mm) comprise 2–3% but are almost
entirely altered to mixtures of quartz, carbonate, chlorite and
other magnesian phyllosilicates. The groundmass of this biotite
lamprophyre is ine-grained and composed of an intergrown
mixture of quartz, potassium feldspar, biotite, and carbonate,
with abundant accessory apatite.
Biotite from sample MRLC-1 is from an exposure of a
biotite-hornblende monzodiorite dike exposed in a drill pad on
the south end of Long Canyon deposit. The monzodiorite was
moderately propylitized with secondary chlorite and carbon-
ate. Biotite phenocrysts appeared dark brown to black in hand
905
sample but petrographic examination showed biotite contained
interlayered chlorite.
Biotite and hornblende separates were extracted from
crushed, sieved samples by a combination of magnetic and den-
sity separation and hand picking. Analyses were made at the
New Mexico Geochronology Research Laboratory. Methods
and data are summarized in Table 1.
Step heating of the biotite and hornblende separates provid-
ed complex spectra that did not plateau or provide simple ages,
but the data are consistent with a Jurassic age (Figure 6; Table
1). For both biotites, individual age steps are irregularly older
and younger and vary from ~141 to 153 Ma in CLC-207′ and
from 128 to 160 Ma in MRLC-1. Total gas ages are ~147 Ma
for CLC-207′ and ~138 Ma for MRLC-1. These “crankshaft”
spectra are common in chloritized biotites from areas that have
undergone complex metamorphism and/or hydrothermal altera-
tion (Lo and Onstott, 1989, 1995). Lo and Onstott (1995) sug-
gest that such patterns relect a combination of Ar loss related
to alteration-chloritization and possible excess Ar and that total
gas ages are probably intermediate between times of emplace-
ment and metamorphism. The total gas ages for the Long Can-
yon biotites thus could be intermediate between the 84 Ma peak
of metamorphism (Camilleri and Chamberlain, 1997) and an
older time of intrusion. Hydrothermal alteration that generated
the Long Canyon deposit was probably not a signiicant factor
in the biotite ages because the probable hydrothermal tempera-
ture was well below the blocking temperature of biotite, and
chlorite probably did not form from hydrothermal alteration.
Hornblende from sample H09-93b gave a steeply declin-
ing age spectrum, from as old as ~1410 Ma on low-temperature
steps from small amounts of released 39Ar, to ~170–180 Ma
on higher temperature steps that account for ~64% of released
39Ar. Along with a total gas age of 209 Ma, this pattern con-
clusively demonstrates a large amount of excess 40Ar. An iso-
chron age calculated from the ive highest temperature steps is
164.8±1.3 Ma with an apparent initial 40Ar/36Ar of 1040±120.
This could still be a maximum age that incompletely allows for
excess Ar. Excess Ar could have been incorporated during ini-
tial crystallization or during metamorphism when less retentive
phases, e.g., biotite, partly degassed.
Together, the biotite and hornblende determinations indi-
cate a probable intrusion age between ~147 and 165 Ma for
Long Canyon lamprophyres. In comparison, well-determined
ages for Jurassic intrusions in northeastern Nevada, including
lamprophyres from the Carlin trend and Cortez area, cluster
tightly between 158–166 Ma (Mortensen et al., 2000; Ressel
and Henry, 2006; Wyld and Wright, 2014; our unpublished
data). Additional 40Ar/39Ar dating on less altered samples and
U-Pb zircon dating are needed to more tightly constrain the
time of Jurassic intrusion.
West Pequop Mountains Intrusive Belt
Numerous sills and dikes intruded Lower Paleozoic rocks
906 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien

in a belt along the west side of the Pequop Mountains from
Meyers Canyon on the north to the mouth of an unnamed creek
8 km to the south (Figure 7). A few intrusions at the north and
south ends had been recognized previously (Camilleri, 2010),
but most were discovered recently through mineral exploration
in and near the West Pequop area of Carlin-type gold depos-
its (Bedell et al., 2013; Agnico-Eagle mapping). Published age
information and our new work indicate Jurassic, Cretaceous,
and Eocene intrusions are present (Camilleri and Chamberlain,
1997; Bedell et al., 2013), and some individual rock types can
reasonably be assigned ages, but many are undated and are not
suficiently distinctive to be assigned ages.
A foliated granitic sill, dated at 154±5 Ma (Table 1; Camil-
leri and Chamberlain, 1997), extends discontinuously for about
100 m northward from Meyers Creek. Any southward continu-
ation is covered by colluvium or displaced by younger fault-
ing. The sill is as much as 4 m thick and consists of a series of
boudins surrounded by deformed marble (Figure 8). As many
as four lamprophyre sills, each 1–2 m thick, parallel the granitic
sill slightly up section to the east. The lamprophyre sills are
currently undated but almost certainly Jurassic based on their
correlation with the imprecisely dated intrusions at Long Can-
yon and better dated Jurassic intrusions elsewhere. Both gran-
ite and lamprophyre are foliated, and Camilleri (2010) inter-

Figure 6. 40Ar/39Ar spectra for lamprophyre samples from Long Canyon. (a) step-heating plot for H09-93b hornblende; (b) isochron plot for sample H09-93b; (c)
step-heating plot for sample CLC-5-207′ biotite; (d) step-heating plot for sample MRLC-1 biotite.
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains 907

Figure 7. Geologic map of the West Pequop area. Footprints of Carlin-type gold deposits are shown in solid yellow lines (using a cutoff of 0.17 g/t Au). Note
that gold deposits cut up-section to the southeast. Indeed, Carlin-type gold mineralization occurs from Middle Cambrian through Silurian strata in the northern
Pequop Mountains (e.g., Hellbusch et al., 2011). Geology is from Camilleri (1994) and unpublished data from Agnico-Eagle (U.S.) Mines, Ltd.
908 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien
preted the granitic sill to have intruded before metamorphism
and deformation.
Intrusions of the West Pequop Gold Deposits Area
At least ive Carlin-type gold deposits (Figure 7) occur at
West Pequop on the west lank of the northern Pequop Moun-
tains approximately 6 km due west of the Long Canyon deposit
(Hellbusch et al., 2011; Felder et al., 2011; Bedell et al., 2010).
Gold deposits occur over a wide stratigraphic range from Low-
er Cambrian through Silurian rocks. Sedimentary rock-hosted
gold deposits are similar to Long Canyon and occur in associa-
tion with strong hematite and clays in thin-bedded calcareous
units commonly at or near contacts with more massive carbon-
ate units. Styles of Carlin-type gold mineralization include
bedding replacement as well as breccia–hosted mineralization.
Gold mineralization postdates development of a tectonic folia-
tion as is most evident in breccia-hosted ores, which lack a pen-
etrative fabric. Abundant maic and felsic dikes are exposed in
exploration road cuts and outcrops at West Pequop in addition
to being intersected in many drill holes. These tabular intru-
sions are similar in composition to those of Long Canyon. Like
Long Canyon, maic intrusions comprise both biotite and horn-
blende lamprophyre as well as more equigranular hornblende-
biotite monzodiorite, none of which are dated but all of prob-
able late Jurassic age. Two types of felsic dikes are recognized
at West Pequop: weakly foliated quartz-albite-oligoclase aplite
of probable late Jurassic age (Bedell et al., 2010) and spheru-
litic, sparsely porphyritic rhyolite of Eocene age. The Eocene
Figure 8. Photographs of a foliated granitic sill of Meyers Canyon located about 2 km north of Acrobat deposit, West Pequop area. (a) Outcrop lens or boudin of
foliated granite pinching out against Cambrian limestone as indicated by dashed lines. (b) Non-foliated core of granite sill. Sill is traceable for approximately 100
m along which it pinches and swells against recrystallized limestone and phyllite.
spherulitic rhyolite dikes at West Pequop may be continuous
with dated rhyolite dikes present along the southwest lank of
the Pequop Mountains (Bedell et al., 2010; this study).
Jurassic lamprophyres
Maic dikes and sills at West Pequop are mineralogically,
texturally, and geochemically indistinguishable from those of
Long Canyon. As at Long Canyon, lamprophyres are wide-
spread and occur as generally N-striking, narrow, commonly
high-angle, biotite- or hornblende-phyric dikes (Bedell et al.,
2010). Feldspars occur only in the groundmass with smaller
amounts of quartz and carbonate along with accessory apatite,
rutile, and zircon. Also present at West Pequop are dioritic to
gabbroic dikes having an equigranular texture and containing
hornblende and biotite.
Lamprophyre dikes from West Pequop are variably altered.
Quartz-sericite-pyrite is a common alteration type, which re-
sults in bleaching and loss of sodium in many rocks. Pyrite was
commonly deposited along subparallel, anastomosing shear
planes. Where strongly altered, lamprophyre dikes at West
Pequop contain highly anomalous concentrations of gold and
typical Carlin-type pathinder elements including arsenic, anti-
mony, mercury, and thallium.
Jurassic Aplite Dikes
Several felsic dikes intrude carbonate rocks in the West
Pequop cluster of Carlin-type deposits. These dikes are gen-
erally bleached white to tan, with a ine-grained and uniform
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains
groundmass with only sparse phenocrysts of altered feldspar.
As pointed out by Bedell et al. (2010), these dikes appear super-
icially like Eocene spherulitic rhyolite dikes, which also crop
out in the southern part of the West Pequop area in the vicin-
ity of the Mountain Top and Trapeze gold deposits. Aphanitic,
intergranular textures of Jurassic aplites differ from the devitri-
ied groundmass texture of Eocene rhyolites, and aplites gener-
ally have a weak to moderate penetrative fabric whereas the
Eocene dikes are non-foliated. Jurassic dikes also lack pheno-
crysts, whereas Eocene dikes have very sparse sericitized pla-
gioclase and quartz phenocrysts. Zircons from one of the aplite
dikes from Mountain Top gave a 206Pb/238U age of 159.0±1.9
Ma (Bedell et al., 2010; Table 1).
Eocene Rhyolite Dikes
Dikes of ine-grained, white to tan weathering, sparsely
porphyritic, plagioclase-quartz rhyolite typically with spheru-
litic texture are present in the Mountain Top, Trapeze, and
Section 34 areas of West Pequop (Bedell et al., 2010). These
dikes are not dated but petrographically are nearly identical to
spherulitic rhyolite dikes exposed 3 to 6 km to the southwest
(southwest lank of Pequops Mountains), which are 41 to 39 Ma
(Bedell et al., 2010). If West Pequop dikes are continuous with
the rhyolite dikes in the southwest lank area, the dikes have a
N40°E strike length of about 7 km. These Eocene rhyolite dikes
project northeast toward the Eocene Nanny Creek volcanic cen-
ter, although no connection between the two is recognized other
than their similar ages. Also, the Eocene rhyolite dikes parallel
the trend of the Long Canyon deposit. Bedell et al. (2010) indi-
cate a spatial association between Eocene rhyolite dikes and a
weak magnetic anomaly. This magnetic anomaly is not a result
of the high-silica rhyolite dikes but could represent more mag-
netic rocks associated with rhyolites at depth.
The spherulitic rhyolite dikes at West Pequop are sericitized
and contain disseminated limonite after pyrite. A few assays of
rhyolite yield low but anomalous gold and arsenic. Bedell et al.
(2010) report that northeast striking, non-foliated rhyolite dikes
at West Pequop are a control for and locally host gold.
Southwest Pequop Mountains Intrusions
A diverse set of dikes and sills cut Cambrian rocks at the
south end of the West Pequop belt. The most common rock type
is non-foliated, locally spherulitic, very sparsely quartz-phyric
rhyolite. One, and locally at least two, dikes up to 20 m thick
crop out continuously for at least 1.5 km along strike. Coarse
quartz-albite-muscovite leucogranite is less common and forms
~1 m thick lenses and discontinuous pods (probably boudins) a
few meters long in an at least 400 m long zone. Finally, a foliated
lamprophyre sill crops out in one drainage where it is ~3 m thick.
Although Camilleri (2010) interpreted all these southern
bodies to be Cretaceous and probably younger than the ~84
Ma metamorphism, newer dating shows that both Eocene and
probable Cretaceous intrusions are present (Bedell et al., 2010),
and the lamprophyre is probably Jurassic. Bedell et al. (2010)
909
obtained U-Pb zircon ages of 41.0±0.8 and 39.1±0.7 Ma on two
aphyric rhyolites (Table 1). A sample of the muscovite-garnet-
bearing leucogranite contained very sparse and mostly xeno-
crystic zircons as old as ~1675 Ma. The two youngest zircons
suggested an age possibly as young as 71.0±5.0 Ma; many zir-
cons are Jurassic (Bedell et al., 2010). We favor the interpreta-
tion that these muscovite leucogranites formed during Creta-
ceous crustal melting, similar to peraluminous granitic rocks
in the Ruby Mountains metamorphic core complex (Howard,
2011), but additional dating and other work is needed.
South Pequop Mountains Intrusions
Several sills and dikes are known in the southern Pequop
Mountains, and the lack of detailed mapping there allows the
possibility of more. A complex hornblende lamprophyre sill
cuts gently east-dipping, upper Chainman Formation or lower
Diamond Peak Formation on the west lank of the mountains
~2.5 km north of Little Lake Pass Road and ~14 km south of
the West Pequop deposits. The sill was discovered by Fred
Zoerner in regional mapping and subsequently examined by
us. Where well exposed at its north end, the sill is as much as
5 m thick, and it can be traced for at least 300 m along strike to
the south. The sill is a highly altered, variably weathered horn-
blende lamprophyre with hornblende up to 1.5 cm long in a ine
to medium, equigranular matrix. Quartzite and shale xenoliths
up to 3 cm are common. At its poorly exposed south end, the sill
appears to split into two bodies based on distribution of loat.
The south area also has two petrographic variants. A porphy-
ritic, probably border phase contains large hornblende pheno-
crysts in a ine matrix that also contains quartz xenocrysts(?)
and/or amygdules and coarse hornblende cumulate inclusions.
The cumulate phase also occurs as blocks up to ~1 m in diam-
eter whose original setting, as inclusions or separate intrusions,
cannot be distinguished.
The main hornblende lamprophyre is compositionally sim-
ilar to the trace-element enriched lamprophyres of the Pequop
Mountains, whereas the hornblende cumulate is similar to the
less enriched. With 63% SiO2, the porphyritic phase is the most
silicic of the lamprophyric rocks in the Pequop Mountains.
Two intrusive rocks are reported from near Rockland at the
south end of the Pequop Mountains (R. Bedell, written com-
mun., 2014). The Rockland porphyry is deinitely Jurassic,
~161 Ma (Table 1), and a more maic body is possibly Jurassic.
The porphyry is compositionally most like, but slightly more
silicic than, the porphyritic phase located about 3 km northwest
of Little Lake Pass. The more maic body is compositionally
similar to the less enriched lamprophyres.
Igneous Geochemistry
Whole-rock and trace element analyses were completed for
53 samples of igneous rocks from the Pequop Mountains for
this study. In addition, geochemical data for another 8 samples
were obtained from Richard Bedell (Renaissance Gold, Inc.,
910 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien
unpublished data, 2010) for rocks that were dated using U/Pb
methods (Bedell et al., 2010). Representative samples for most
recognized igneous units were also examined petrographically.
Major elements were determined using XRF or ICP-AES on
lithium metaborate fused samples. Trace elements were deter-
mined using a combination of ICP-AES and ICP-MS on fully di-
gested fused disks. All analyses were performed at ALS Global
Minerals Laboratories in Vancouver, British Columbia. Major
oxides were normalized to a 100% volatile-free basis with total
iron reported as FeO. Many rocks, particularly those in or near
gold deposits exhibit varying degrees of hydrothermal altera-
tion. Some foliated rocks were also affected by metamorphism.
Both alteration and metamorphism affected the composition of
some rocks through the formation of new minerals, particularly
carbonates, phyllosilicates, and sulides. Sodium loss is most
apparent in quartz-sericite-pyrite altered rocks.
Igneous rocks of the Pequop Mountains are readily dis-
criminated based on their petrography and chemical compo-
sitions (Tables 2 and 3, Figures 9, 10, and 11). The range of
compositions and age of Pequop igneous rocks are similar to
those of the Carlin and Cortez districts, which also contain in-
trusive rocks of all three (i.e., Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene)
age suites (Ressel and Henry, 2006; John et al., 2008; Colgan
et al., 2011; our unpublished data), although Cretaceous intru-
sions are signiicantly older in the Carlin trend and at Cortez.
Other notable Carlin-type districts (Getchell-Twin Creeks, Eu-
reka, Jerritt Canyon, and Bald Mountain-Alligator Ridge) lack
one or more of the suites (Figure 1). Like in the Carlin trend,
Jurassic and Eocene intrusive rocks are most abundant in the
Pequop Mountains.
Compositions of igneous rocks from the Pequop Moun-
tains range widely from maic through silicic. Jurassic and Eo-
cene maic and intermediate rocks are subalkaline, metalumi-
nous, and calc-alkaline (Tables 2 and 3; Figure 9) consistent
with a derivation from continental arc-related magmatism (e.g.,
Christiansen and Yeats, 1992; Elison, 1995). However, more
evolved granites and high-silica rhyolites of all age suites are
moderately peraluminous (Figure 9), which is supported by the
presence of primary muscovite in Jurassic and Cretaceous gran-
ites. Garnet occurs in Cretaceous leucogranites.
Jurassic Rocks
A curious feature of Jurassic rocks is the tendency for the
least-evolved or most maic compositions to be most enriched
in both compatible and incompatible trace elements (Table 2,
Figures 9, 10, and 11). This is most true of Jurassic lampro-
phyres, which have high concentrations of compatible elements
Cr, Ni, and Co as well as incompatibles rare-earth elements
(REE), K, Rb, Nb, Y, and Zr. Concentrations of light REE (left
half of REE plots) are proportionately greater than the heavy
REE in lamprophyres, forming steep light REE patterns that are
commonly several hundred times chondrite values, but latten
for the heavy REE. High concentrations of compatible and in-
compatible elements for relatively primitive or low-Si compo-
sitions are suggestive of an enriched mantle source and/or low
degrees of partial melting. Jurassic magmas may have been de-
rived from a relatively enriched or fertile mantle source because
this was the oldest Phanerozoic magmatism in the Great Basin.
Of Jurassic maic to intermediate rocks, biotite lampro-
phyres have the highest contents of incompatible trace ele-
ments, followed by hornblende lamprophyres (Figures 10
and 11). In turn, equigranular monzodiorites, which have
both biotite and hornblende, have the lowest concentrations
of incompatibles. The similarity in overall patterns as well
as spatial association and sparse age data between lampro-
phyres and monzodiorite suggest they are genetically related,
but more work is needed. We hypothesize that biotite lampro-
phyre magmas, essentially hydrous basaltic magma, is parental
to hornblende lamprophyre and monzodiorite, possibly through
fractionation of apatite, which is very abundant in biotite lam-
prophyre and less so in other rocks. Crystallization of apatite
has the effect of reducing the light REE and phosphorus content
in the melt, but would not affect SiO2. Fractionation of oliv-
ine and phlogopite would reduce the MgO/FeO ratio consistent
with observed geochemical variation between biotite lampro-
phyre and monzodiorite.
More sampling and isotopic dating is necessary to evaluate
the connection between Jurassic maic and intermediate rocks
and granites and granodiorites. REE patterns of granite and
granodiorite are similar to monzodiorite suggesting they may
be genetically related. The presence of felsic dikes and sills
suggests larger source bodies in and near West Pequop, Long
Canyon, and at the south end of the range, although none is
indicated in regional mapping or magnetic surveys.
Late Cretaceous Leucogranite
Leucogranites occur as irregular, sill-like lenses of pegma-
titic rock in high-grade metamorphic rocks of the southwest-
ern lank of the Pequop Mountains. The rocks are composed
of coarse-grained quartz, albite, microcline, and muscovite,
with accessory garnet, zircon, and carbonate. Leucogranites are
moderately peraluminous and have somewhat variable major
and trace element compositions. Some compositional variation
likely relects contamination with wall rocks. They have mod-
erately high concentrations of Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Ta and low
concentrations of Fe, Mg, Ti, and REE (Table 3; Figures 9, 10,
and 11). Similar muscovite granites are widespread in the Ruby
Mountains core complex and interpreted to be rocks derived
from small-volume crustal melts formed during metamorphism
(Howard, 2011).
Eocene Igneous Rocks
Locally sourced, Nanny Creek porphyryitic andesite
through low-silica rhyolite lavas are typical of Eocene volcanic
rocks over broad areas of north-central and northeast Nevada.
Lavas from Nanny Creek range from plagioclase-hornblende
andesite through plagioclase-biotite-quartz rhyolite (~63 to
73% SiO2). Samples show fairly linear patterns on the total al-
Table 2. REPRESENTATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF JURASSIC INTRUSIVE ROCKS OF THE PEQUOP MOUNTAINS, NEVADA.
Rockland
Sample CLC-99-393 CLC5-207 CLC268-933.5 H14-125 PQ South GD CLC176-350 H14-64 RB2maic porphyry CLC358-887 H14-82 Sec 34 AP

Boitite Boitite Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende

Rock Type Lamprophyre Lamprophyre Lamprophyre Lamprophyre Gabbro Monzodiorite Monzodiorite Monzodiorite Granodiorite Granite Granite Aplite

Age Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic

Age Date1 >147 Ma 159±6 161.4±1.9 159.5±1.9

South Meyers West

Location Long Cyn Long Cyn Long Cyn Pequop S. Pequop Pk Long Cyn Long Cyn Rockland Rockland Long Cyn Cyn Pequop

UTME-83 708311 708183 708593 701209 703948 708008 708025 700983 701248 706298 700796 701722

UMTN-83 4539984 4539748 4539882 4524831 4534882 4538637 4538647 4517705 4518174 4536238 4540868 4537253
SiO2 46.77 53.16 54.42 52.28 50.38 55.88 55.36 54.14 66.71 73.62 73.73 75.01

Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains

Al2O3 15.54 10.88 15.19 11.06 16.89 16.15 15.58 15.29 17.39 15.12 14.76 16.09
FeO* 11.56 9.08 7.98 8.37 9.29 7.74 7.75 7.92 4.3 1.54 1.61 1.34
CaO 1.92 8.3 7.85 8.86 6.32 8.31 6.4 6.66 1.6 0.73 1.97 0.15
MgO 18.52 12.64 8.89 14.57 10.05 5.02 8.16 10.05 2.49 0.63 0.39 0.47
Na2O 0.01 0.1 1.45 2.51 3.44 2.63 3.27 2.94 3.5 4.06 4.48 4.08
K2O 1.7 2.96 2.42 0.54 1.30 2.39 1.68 1.41 2.6 3.89 2.21 2.47
Cr2O3 0.2 0.14 0.07 0.12 0.06 0.05 0.06 0.08 0.01 0.01 0 0.01
TiO2 2.41 1.66 1.35 1.1 1.74 1.37 1.24 1.00 0.87 0.17 0.18 0.17
MnO 0.02 0.07 0.05 0.15 0.16 0.09 0.12 0.15 0.06 0.01 0.05 0.02
P2O5 1.28 0.91 0.29 0.31 0.31 0.24 0.2 0.21 0.24 0.09 0.08 0.09
SrO 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.03 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.1 0.01 0.04 0.01
BaO 0.07 0.08 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.12 0.12 0.1 0.10
LOI** 8.03 8.58 9.82 2.64 3.99 6.54 2.58 3.64 3.1 1.61 2.53 1.66
S 0.6 0.82 0.04 0.01 0.05 0.02 0.38
C 1.41 1.48 0.01 0.88 0.01 0.16 0.01
Total 99.97 99.59 101.55 100.32 99.75 99.4 98.36 99.63 99.73 99.35 98.89 99.93
Ba 560 703 335 262 433 444 1140 934
Ce 340 225 97.1 95.6 46.7 60.6 60.2 58.5 91.8 78.7 75.5 80.3
Co 34 42 40 38 28 32 2 2
Cr 1360 980 450 1160 390 410 10 5
Cs 8.21 6.16 2.1 0.18 10.25 1.15 4.85 4.24
Dy 7.13 6.18 4.1 3.75 4.6 3.81 3.92 3.6 3.9 2.07 2.18 2.2
Er 3.08 2.49 1.93 1.88 2.7 1.89 2.04 2 2.2 0.98 1.24 1.2
Eu 3.9 3.61 0.73 1.97 1.7 1.64 1.51 1.4 1.7 0.77 0.88 0.9
Ga 25.6 18 15.6 13.5 16.5 17.2 15.8 15.8
(continued)

911
 912
Table 2 (continued). REPRESENTATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF JURASSIC INTRUSIVE ROCKS OF THE PEQUOP MOUNTAINS, NEVADA.
Rockland
Sample CLC-99-393 CLC5-207 CLC268-933.5 H14-125 PQ South GD CLC176-350 H14-64 RB2maic porphyry CLC358-887 H14-82 Sec 34 AP

Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien
Boitite Boitite Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende Hornblende
Rock Type Lamprophyre Lamprophyre Lamprophyre Lamprophyre Gabbro Monzodiorite Monzodiorite Monzodiorite Granodiorite Granite Granite Aplite

Age Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic Jurassic

South Meyers West

Location Long Cyn Long Cyn Long Cyn Pequop S. Pequop Pk Long Cyn Long Cyn Rockland Rockland Long Cyn Cyn Pequop
Gd 13.6 11.75 5.41 5.44 5.2 4.75 4.46 5 6 2.74 2.68 3.9
Hf 13.7 9.9 4.3 3.9 4.2 4 4.2 4.5
Ho 1.21 0.98 0.76 0.72 0.9 0.76 0.71 0.7 0.8 0.36 0.41 0.4
La 173 113.5 52.6 48.8 22.3 32.8 29.7 29.5 52.3 45.5 43.6 46.3
Lu 0.34 0.26 0.31 0.25 0.4 0.28 0.27 0.3 0.3 0.17 0.2 0.2
Mo 1 3 1 0.05 0.5 0.05 0.5 0.05
Nb 50.7 34.2 13.6 12.5 11.6 12.3 17.8 17.7
Nd 159 102 40.6 42.2 24.4 27.7 27.5 27.3 38.6 26 24.6 27.2
Pr 40.5 25.9 11.3 11.2 6 7.42 6.94 7.1 11.2 8.15 7.6 8.4
Rb 61.2 82.6 44.3 7.7 96.4 36.7 103.5 88.7
Sm 26.2 18.2 7.28 7.73 5 5.58 5.59 5.2 6.6 4.38 4.06 4.1
Sn 4 3 1 1 1 1 2 2
Sr 125.5 239 139.5 502 562 540 109.5 350
Ta 2.6 1.5 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.7 13 1.5 1.4
Th 31.4 21.3 11.7 8.34 4 5.61 5.66 6 14.95 14.2 15
Ti 0.25 0.38 14.5 0.01 0.25 0.03 0.3 0.56 0.11
Tm 0.37 0.31 0.29 0.26 0.4 0.31 0.28 0.3 3.5 0.17 0.18 0.2
U 6.61 5.35 2.76 1.63 1 1.52 1.58 1.7 2.98 3.68 4.2
V 245 187 192 155 192 170 8 6
W 4 3 7 0.5 2 0.5 2 1
Y 34 26.6 19.8 18.2 23.3 19.5 19.3 17.8 19.7 10.8 11.8 11.6
Yb 2.34 1.75 1.83 1.63 2.3 1.74 1.85 1.7 2 1.06 1.36 1.1
Zr 547 417 176 160 166 164 148 165
Ni 260 125 308 101 152 1 3
Sc 26 22 26 24 21 2 2
Cu 92 50 7 47 58 3 3
Zn 124 70 93 64 72 26 46
Pb 5 1 8 7 2 4 16
All major oxides recalculated to 100% volatile-free; *total iron reported as FeO; ** LOI = lost on ignition; 1Refer to Table 1 for summary of age determinations.
All whole-rock analyses by lithium metaborate fusion followed by XRF or ICP-AES for major oxides, ICP-AES and ICP-MS for trace elements.
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains 913

Figure 9. Chemical classiication plots of igneous rocks of the Pequop Mountains, Nevada. (a) K2O vs. SiO2 (Peccerillo and Taylor, 1976); (b) Alumina saturation
index (Maniar and Piccoli, 1989); (c) Total alkalis-silica plot (LeMaitre et al., 2002); (d) AFM diagram (Irvine and Barager, 1971); (e) Modiied alkali-lime index
(Frost et al., 2001); (f) SiO2 vs. Zr/TiO2 volcanic rock type classiication (Winchester and Floyd, 1977). Intermediate to maic rocks of all ages are metaluminous,
calc-alkaline, and potassic. Silicic rocks (SiO2 > 74 wt. %) are peraluminous, suggesting a higher degree of crustal input.
914 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien

Figure 10. Elemental X-Y plots of Pequop igneous rocks. (a) (FeO*+MgO)/SiO2; (b) Log Zr vs. SiO2; (c) P2O5 vs. SiO2; (d) TiO2 vs. SiO2; (e) Log Cu vs. log Cr;
(f) Log Nb vs. log Zr. Strong enrichment in Jurassic maic rocks in most compatible and incompatible trace elements is a distinctive and regional feature of Juras-
sic igneous rocks. The separation between all high-silica rocks (Eocene rhyolite dikes, Cretaceous leucogranites, and to a lesser degree, Jurassic granites) from
intermediate and maic rocks of the same age suite on the Nb vs. Zr plot (plot f.) imply different sources from lower-Si rocks.
Table 3. REPRESENTATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF CRETACEOUS AND EOCENE IGNEOUS ROCKS, PEQUOP MOUNTAINS, NEVADA
Sample H14-87 140814I SWPPQ CLC16-801.2 H14-89 140819I SWPQAP1 SWPQAP2 H14-73 H14-68 H14-127 H14-71 H14-72 H14-70

Leuco- Rhyolite Rhyolite Rhyolite Andesite Dacite Dacite Dacite Rhyolite Rhyolite
Rock Type Leuco-granite Leuco-granite granite Alkali basalt dike dike dike Rhyolite dike lava lava lava lava lava lava

Age Cret. Cret. Cret. Tertiary? Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene

Age Date1 ~71±5 41.0±0.8 39.1±0.7

(U/Pb)

SW SW SW SW Nanny Nanny Nanny Nanny Nanny Nanny

Location SW Pequop SW Pequop Pequop Long Cyn Pequop Pequop Pequop SW Pequop Creek Creek Creek Creek Creek Creek

UTME-83 699472 698331 698451 708387 699508 698518 698389 698575 708038 709352 709926 708511 708164 708569

Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains

UMTN-83 4534753 4533665 4533540 4539594 4535173 4533788 4533407 4533556 4545636 4546705 4547231 4545664 4545671 4545619
SiO2 75.95 76.26 74.25 53.49 76.05 75.96 75.80 75.57 62.67 64.21 64.67 67.07 69.14 72.73
Al2O3 15.41 13.59 14.90 15.7 13.72 13.81 14.43 14.80 16.51 16.81 16.63 16.67 16.47 13.96
FeO* 0.41 0.52 0.49 4.6 0.82 0.86 0.90 0.86 5.16 3.98 4.12 3.25 2.42 2.39
CaO 0.53 0.67 0.70 12.33 1.64 1.36 1.12 0.94 5.88 4.82 4.72 4.49 4.55 2.88
MgO 0.17 0.1 0.09 8.05 0.11 0.14 0.15 0.15 3.3 2.5 2.45 1.27 0.24 0.9
Na2O 5.34 4.41 3.76 0.16 3.34 3.64 3.42 3.52 3.35 3.64 3.45 4.42 3.76 3.44
K2O 1.98 4.08 5.55 4.22 3.71 3.64 3.90 3.88 1.98 2.87 2.89 2 2.35 2.98
Cr2O3 0 0 0.01 0.03 0 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0 0 0 0
TiO2 0.01 0.02 0.01 1.14 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.68 0.5 0.55 0.48 0.6 0.31
MnO 0.01 0.03 0.03 0.01 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.09 0.07 0.07 0.05 0.02 0.03
P2O5 0.04 0.23 0.17 0.2 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.16 0.18 0.23 0.11 0.17 0.12
SrO 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.04
BaO 0 0.03 0.03 0.06 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.11 0.28 0.13 0.11 0.17 0.15
LOI** 1.4 0.46 0.44 11.54 2.66 2.13 1.88 1.7 1.46 2.7 2.33 0.87 1.19 1.24
S 0.12 0.01 1.5 0.37 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.06
C 0.01 0.03 2.26 0.01 0.32 0.01 0.04 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Total - 99.93 100.52 99.73 102 99.29 100.36 99.5 99.64 100.12 99.15 100.8 98.4 98.88 98.51
Original
Ba 41 304 666 1160 1220 1005 2600 1235 965 1570 1390
Ce 1.5 6.1 3.8 10.5 22.9 23.2 23.4 23 47 49.4 59.2 32.3 55.5 52.4
Co 0.5 2 14 0.05 0.5 18 13 13 10 6 6
(continued)

915
 916
Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien
Table 3. REPRESENTATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF CRETACEOUS AND EOCENE IGNEOUS ROCKS, PEQUOP MOUNTAINS, NEVADA
Sample H14-87 140814I SWPPQ CLC16-801.2 H14-89 140819I SWPQAP1 SWPQAP2 H14-73 H14-68 H14-127 H14-71 H14-72 H14-70

Leuco- Rhyolite Rhyolite Rhyolite Andesite Dacite Dacite Dacite Rhyolite Rhyolite
Rock Type Leuco-granite Leuco-granite granite Alkali basalt dike dike dike Rhyolite dike lava lava lava lava lava lava

Age Cret. Cret. Cret. Tertiary? Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene
Cr 10 10 270 10 10 40 50 40 30 10 10
Cs 8.16 5.05 3.75 1.67 1.92 1.53 3.13 3.09 0.61 1.15 2.94
Dy 0.24 1.31 1.1 1.1 2.2 2.26 2.2 2.2 2.95 2.22 2.73 1.71 2.49 1.98
Er 0.11 0.63 0.6 0.94 1.14 1.21 1.1 1.2 1.64 1.23 1.49 0.94 1.3 1.13
Eu 0.04 0.06 < 0.1 0.2 0.56 0.48 0.5 0.5 0.96 0.91 1.08 0.67 0.99 0.84
Ga 25.1 20.7 18.5 17.8 17.3 19.4 17.9 18.3 18.7 18.6 15.9
Gd 0.17 0.88 0.7 0.93 2.17 2.31 2.4 2.4 3.27 2.89 3.47 2.02 3.07 2.64
Hf 2.3 2.8 3.7 2.1 2 3.5 3.4 3.8 2.6 3.9 3.3
Ho 0.04 0.21 0.2 0.29 0.4 0.44 0.4 0.4 0.63 0.45 0.56 0.35 0.48 0.4
La 0.8 3.2 2 5.3 12.8 12.8 12.9 13 25 26.7 32.1 19 30.6 29.4
Lu 0.02 0.11 0.1 0.17 0.17 0.16 0.2 0.2 0.26 0.2 0.22 0.13 0.17 0.17
Mo 0.05 0.5 1 0.05 0.5 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
Nb 65.2 13.8 11.6 13.1 13 6.5 7 8.2 4.3 7.7 8
Nd 0.6 2.3 1.4 4.8 8.7 9.4 9.6 9.4 19.4 20.6 24.8 13.2 21.7 18.9
Pr 0.16 0.69 0.5 1.21 2.48 2.54 2.6 2.6 5.21 5.53 6.83 3.65 5.89 5.52
Rb 207 260 99.6 123.5 117.5 57.1 69 71.4 36 61 88.2
Sm 0.15 0.86 0.6 0.97 2.33 2.43 2.3 2.3 3.72 4.08 4.7 2.65 3.94 3.32
Sn 2 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Sr 78.2 78.7 114.5 66.7 93.2 459 502 530 467 477 359
Ta 51.1 4.8 0.7 1.6 1.5 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.5 0.7
Tb 0.03 0.2 0.2 0.16 0.37 0.36 0.4 0.5 0.39 0.5 0.31 0.46 0.37
Th 19.5 2.24 2 4.77 7.05 7.16 7 0.47 7.61 9.29 10.05 4.3 10.55 11.05
Tl 0.1 0.07 0.39 0.1 0.06 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.03 0.12
(continued)
Table 3. REPRESENTATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF CRETACEOUS AND EOCENE IGNEOUS ROCKS, PEQUOP MOUNTAINS, NEVADA
Sample H14-87 140814I SWPPQ CLC16-801.2 H14-89 140819I SWPQAP1 SWPQAP2 H14-73 H14-68 H14-127 H14-71 H14-72 H14-70

Leuco- Rhyolite Rhyolite Rhyolite Andesite Dacite Dacite Dacite Rhyolite Rhyolite
Rock Type Leuco-granite Leuco-granite granite Alkali basalt dike dike dike Rhyolite dike lava lava lava lava lava lava

Age Cret. Cret. Cret. Tertiary? Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene Eocene
Tm 0.01 0.11 0.1 0.15 0.18 0.18 0.2 0.2 0.25 0.19 0.2 0.13 0.19 0.15
U 4.27 4.73 3.9 2.73 3.94 3.81 3.5 3.7 1.87 3.32 3.23 1.54 2.66 4.31
V 2.5 2.5 159 2.5 2.5 136 74 84 102 90 37

Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains

W 3 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1
Y 1.3 7.5 6.4 7.5 12.1 12.7 11.8 12.5 15.7 13 14.4 9.4 13.2 10.5
Yb 0.14 0.86 0.6 1.03 1.17 1.19 1.1 1.2 1.7 1.29 1.37 1.03 1.38 1.09
Zr 18 39 147 38 37 129 127 139 99 144 118
Ni 2 9 68 1 2 21 29 21 18 4 7
Sc 0.05 0.5 18 1 1 16 8 8 8 8 4
Cu 1 9 4 1 1 27 23 16 21 10 8
Zn 9 25 50 33 39 71 70 64 60 61 40
Pb 5 39 2 26 34 19 23 18 12 15 23
Au 0.0017
Ag 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Cd 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Li 40 20 60 30 40 10 10 10 10 10 30
As 0.8 1.5 8.6 5.5 1.5 1.6 0.5 0.1 0.8 1.4 0.5
Bi 0.16 0.52 0.37 0.18 0.11 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.04
Hg 0.0025 0.022 0.015 0.006 0.021 0.005 0.0025 0.066 0.005 0.018 0.006
Sb 0.1 0.78 0.12 0.08 0.17 0.2 0.12 0.08 0.12 0.4 0.21
Se 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1
Te 0.005 0.01 0.01 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.005
All major oxides recalculated to 100% volatile-free; *total iron reported as FeO; ** LOI = lost on ignition; 1Refer to Table 1 for summary of age determinations.
All whole-rock analyses by lithium metaborate fusion followed by wave-dispersive XRF or ICP-AES for major oxides, ICP-AES and ICP-MS for trace elements.

917
918 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien
kalis versus silica plot, the FeO+MgO versus silica plot, and
most other major and trace element plots (Figures 9, 10, and
11). The Nanny Creek rocks are similar to, but slightly less
alkalic than, other Eocene volcanic rocks of Nevada (Figure
9; Henry and Ressel, 2000). REE patterns are similar between
samples, but the andesite samples (SiO2 < 63 wt. %) have
the lowest light REE and highest heavy REE concentrations,
whereas highest silica dacites and a rhyolite have the highest
light REE and lowest heavy REE. If magmas were cogenetic,
then this pattern could be explained by a modest degree of frac-
tionation of hornblende in the more maic magmas. Hornblende
is a common phenocryst in both andesites and dacites at Nan-
ny Creek and strongly fractionates heavy REE, thus lowering
heavy REE contents in the melt fraction. These patterns may
relect a discrete pulse of magmatism that progressed to more
silicic compositions. However, only one isotopic age on locally
sourced lava is reported (39.7±0.5 Ma; Table 1; Brooks et al.,
1995a, b), and more work to better deine Nanny Creek mag-
matism is underway.
Spherulitic rhyolite dikes at West Pequop and the south-
west lank of the Pequop Mountains have U/Pb zircon ages
of 39.1±0.7 Ma and 41.0±0.8 Ma (Bedell et al., 2010), which
broadly overlap the 39.7±0.5 Ma age of a dacite lava from
Nanny Creek (Table 1; Brooks et al., 1995a, b). In spite of age
similarities, the spherulitic dikes on the west side of the Pe-
quop Mountains differ substantially from Nanny Creek lavas
high-silica rhyolite (SiO2 ≈ 76 wt. %), much more evolved than
in composition. Dikes from the west side of the Pequops are
those from Nanny Creek (Figure 9; Table 3). These devitri-
ied, high-silica rhyolite dikes are aphyric or contain small and
sparse quartz phenocrysts. High-silica rhyolites have very low
concentrations of TiO2 (0.02–0.04 wt. %) and P2O5 (0.02–0.04
wt. %), very low Zr (36–42 ppm), Nb (~13 ppm), and REE
(all of which are incompatible in maic magmas but compat-
ible in more silicic magmas), and moderate to high concentra-
tions of K, Rb, and Ba (Figures 10 and 11), all of which are
consistent with high degrees of differentiation. However, small
Eu anomalies on REE plots indicate only modest fractionation
of plagioclase. Similar aphyric, high-silica rhyolite dikes occur
in the Carlin trend (Ressel and Henry, 2006) as well as in the
Eocene intrusion-related Au-Ag-Cu districts at Railroad (Hen-
ry et al., this volume), Hilltop-Shoshone (Kelson, 2006), and
Battle Mountain (Theodore et al., 1992). High-silica rhyolites
fall well within the peraluminous ield using the alumina satu-
ration diagram (Figure 9b; Maniar and Piccoli, 1989), similar
to Cretaceous leucogranites. In contrast to low-silica rhyolite,
high-silica rhyolite is thought to form only at shallow crustal
levels (Gualda and Ghiorso, 2013).
A single sample of altered, very ine-grained alkali basalt
occurs in a core hole from Long Canyon (sample CLC-16-801).
This basalt’s composition is dissimilar to any of the Jurassic in-
termediate to maic intrusions, which are characterized by con-
sistently high Ti, Cr, Ni, Co, Nb, Zr, and light REE. Instead, this
basalt has high potassium and rubidium but fairly low contents
of Ti, Cr, Ni, and Co for such a maic rock. Concentrations of
the light REE (Figure 11) are also very low (~10× chondrite)
yielding a relatively lat REE pattern with a slight negative Eu
anomaly. The low Fe/Mg ratio (Figure 9) of the basalt coupled
with its low contents of Nb, Zr and light REE are inconsistent
with Miocene basaltic rocks and most similar to Eocene rocks.
If this basalt proves to be Eocene, its maic composition could
provide important information on the parental magmas for Eo-
cene magmatism. The Long Canyon basalt sample is similar
in some respects to an Eocene basaltic andesite dike from the
northern Carlin trend (Ressel and Henry, 2006), which also has
high K and Rb, and low Ti, Cr, Co, and Ni, but differs in having
slightly more elevated light REEs.
DISCUSSION
Sources of Jurassic Dikes and Sills
In several districts that host sedimentary rock-hosted gold
deposits, swarms of Jurassic lamprophyre and diorite dikes are
spatially associated with larger granodiorite to diorite intru-
sions. Examples of larger Jurassic intrusions associated with
dike swarms include the Goldstrike laccolith in the northern
Carlin trend, the Mill Canyon laccolith at Cortez (Ressel and
Henry, 2006; John et al., 2008; Colgan et al., 2011), and the
McCoy pluton at Cove-McCoy (Emmons and Eng, 1995). At
the Goldstrike mine, the ~300-m thick Goldstrike laccolith is
mostly quartz diorite but zoned from uppermost granodiorite
through basal gabbro (Ressel and Henry, 2006). Although Juras-
sic intrusions predate Carlin-type gold mineralization in all three
areas, they served as important controls for gold mineralization
in providing avenues for luid migration and sources of abundant
iron for sulidation (Emsbo, 1999; Ressel and Henry, 2006).
No large Jurassic intrusion is known in the Pequop Moun-
tains. However, Jurassic dikes and sills ranging from granite
to gabbro and including lamprophyres, are widespread in the
Pequop Mountains. Source plutons for these abundant intru-
sions may lie buried under areas of dike swarms, although
published aeromagnetic data show no indication of a larger
intrusion in the immediate vicinity of dikes and sills (Hilden-
brand and Kucks, 1988). A Jurassic granitic intrusion at Silver
Zone Pass is associated with a small part of a much larger
(265 km2) positive aeromagnetic anomaly that underlies part
of Goshute Valley between the Toano Range and Pequop
Mountains (Figure 2). The center of the anomaly is about 16
km southeast of the Long Canyon deposit, but the anomaly’s
northwest edge extends to Long Canyon and covers a large
area in the southern half of the Pequop Mountains, although
signiicantly weaker than the highest part of the anomaly in
Goshute Valley. Higher resolution magnetic data would be
useful to better discern these anomalies. A large buried intru-
sion southwest of Silver Zone Pass indicated by the magnetic
data is a possible source for Jurassic diorite and granite dikes
of the Pequop Mountains.
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains 919

Figure 11. Chondrite-normalized rare-earth element (REE) plots of igneous rocks from the Pequop Mountains (Nakamura, 1974). (a) Jurassic rocks
show a progressive decrease in light REE from biotite lamprophyre through hornblende lamprophyre, and monzodiorite suggestive of a fraction-
ation of apatite. (b) Cretaceous leucogranite have highly fractionated (0.1 to 10× chondrite), lat REE patterns with low to moderate negative Eu
anomalies. (c) Eocene rocks show higher concentrations of light REEs similar to but lower than Jurassic rocks; Eocene high-silica (spherulitic)
rhyolite have distinctly lower light REE and larger Eu anomalies than Nanny Creek volcanics.

Sources of Eocene Volcanic Rocks and Dikes
Nanny Creek lavas and low breccias are locally sourced
although no vent areas for lavas are identiied. The lavas along
with distal ash-low tuffs and conglomerates ill a paleovalley
that was cut into Paleozoic rocks (Brooks et al., 1995a, b; Hen-
ry, 2008; Henry et al., 2011). The volcanic rocks are as much
as 1,200 m thick. However, no other Eocene volcanic rocks are
exposed in the Pequop Mountains. A westerly source area for
ash-low tuff and presumably underlying gravels requires east-
ward drainage. Therefore, it is possible or probable that Nanny
Creek lavas lowed down gradient from nearby westerly vent
areas since eroded. Other than broadly coeval rhyolite dikes ex-
posed along the west side of the Pequops, southwest of Nanny
Creek, no areas of Eocene intrusions that may have sourced the
local Nanny Creek volcanics is known. The rhyolite dikes occur
in the West Pequop area of Carlin-type gold deposits approxi-
mately 6 km from Nanny Creek as well as in the area south of
West Pequop (SW Pequop on Figure 2), which is 10 to 13 km
from the Nanny Creek volcanics. Bedell et al. (2010) show a
northeast-elongate magnetic high that spatially corresponds to
the Eocene rhyolite dikes and extends from the Southwest Pe-
quop area to West Pequop. Possibly, this magnetic high repre-
sents more magnetic rock types currently not exposed. Alterna-
tively, the moderate magnetic high under parts of Long Canyon
and extending westward to near the West Pequop area (Figure
2) may represent a source pluton for the Eocene rhyolite dikes
and possibly, the Nanny Creek volcanics. This anomaly appears
continuous with the larger anomaly underlying Goshute Valley,
and it is uncertain if this represents two composite plutons or
just one.
Spatially Overlapping Regional Jurassic and Eocene
Magmatism
A common theme among several districts that host impor-
920 Ajeet K. Milliard, Michael W. Ressel, Christopher D. Henry, Christina Ricks, and Gregg Loptien
tant sedimentary rock-hosted gold deposits, including those in
the Pequop district, is a spatial association with Jurassic and
Eocene intrusions. This association, in part, relects the wide-
spread distribution of Jurassic and Eocene magmatic events in
the northern Great Basin (e.g., Elison, 1995; Wyld and Wright,
2014; Christiansen and Yeats, 1992; Henry and Ressel, 2000).
Unlike Cretaceous magmatism, which occurred over a broad
age and geographic range, Jurassic and Eocene magmatism
were relatively short but intense. Using more precise modern
ages, Jurassic magmatism occurred in a back-arc setting in
northern Nevada from about 166 to 158 Ma (Wyld and Wright,
2014), with peak activity in the eastern Great Basin from ~162–
158 Ma. Jurassic magmatism was largely restricted to latitudes
38.5°–42°N. Eocene magmatism, while essentially continuous
with Oligocene and Miocene magmatism, is spatially and com-
positionally discrete from younger magmatism. Eocene mag-
matism in the northern Great Basin occurred mainly from about
42 to 36 Ma (Henry and Ressel, 2000), over latitudes similar
to Jurassic magmatism: from about 39°–42°N. Both Jurassic
and Eocene magmatism occurred in E-W elongate belts that
were nearly orthogonal to the plate margin. Wyld and Wright
(2014) suggest Jurassic magmatism in Nevada resulted from
an eastward-propagating slab tear in the back-arc that caused
asthenospheric upwelling. In contrast, Eocene magmatism is
widely thought to have resulted from the start of slab rollback in
post-Laramide time, following a ~40 Ma hiatus in subduction-
related magmatism (Christiansen and Yeats, 1992; Humphreys,
1995; Henry and John, 2013).
Although many major Carlin-type deposits have been
shown to be of Eocene age and coeval with Eocene magma-
tism, many of the largest deposits occur near Jurassic intrusive
centers. Also, the Bald Mountain “Carlin-like” gold deposits
are Jurassic and related to the Jurassic Bald Mountain stock
(Figure 1; Hitchborn et al., 1996; Nutt and Hofstra, 2007; Pace,
2009). This raises the possibility that other Jurassic Carlin-like
deposits exist in the region in association with Jurassic granitic
intrusions.
Implications of Eocene Spherulitic Rhyolite Dikes
The uplift history of the RMEH and surrounding areas, in-
cluding the Pequop Mountains, is controversial. Debate centers
on the timing and magnitude of uplift with earlier research sug-
gesting large-magnitude exhumation began in the late Creta-
ceous and early Tertiary (Snoke and Miller, 1988; Camilleri and
Chamberlain, 1997; Howard, 2003). More recent work (e.g.,
Colgan and Henry, 2009; Colgan et al., 2010; Henry, 2008;
Henry et al., 2011) suggests all or most uplift occurred in the
mid-Miocene.
On the west lank of the Pequop Mountains, Eocene spher-
ulitic rhyolite dikes intrude amphibolite facies metamorphic
rocks developed in Lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Ca-
milleri and Chamberlain (1997) suggest Paleozoic rocks were
at depths of 8-to16 km in the late Cretaceous to produce the
observed garnet-bearing metamorphic assemblages. The co-
alesced spherulites that characterize these rhyolites are a re-
sult of devitriication shortly after dike magmas had entirely
quenched to glass, indicating extremely rapid undercooling.
Such undercooling is possible only at shallow crustal levels.
For example, in a detailed study of rapid undercooling of rhyo-
lite lavas and intrusions at Obsidian Dome and Inyo dike, Cali-
to glass occurred at depths ≤ 400 m due to abrupt degassing and
fornia, Westrich et al. (1988) found that quenching of magmas
increase in melt viscosity due to vesiculation, whereas rhyolitic
magmas emplaced at depths >400 m were entirely crystalline
despite being undercooled because volatiles had not completely
degassed, which promoted rapid crystallization.
An implication of the spherulitic dikes on the west lank
of the Pequop Mountains is that the high-grade metamorphic
rocks they intruded were cold and shallow, possibly 0.5 to 1.0
km depth based on the data of Westrich et al. (1988), by the
41–39 Ma time of their intrusion. If true, much of the exhuma-
tion of the deeply buried Paleozoic strata in the Pequop Moun-
tains occurred prior to the late Eocene. This, in turn, would be
consistent with the Long Canyon and West Pequop deposits,
assuming they are of Eocene age, forming at relatively shal-
low depths, which is now also interpreted for Carlin-type de-
posits (Ressel and Henry, 2006; John et al., 2008; Muntean et
al., 2011). In contrast, Eocene volcanic rocks at Nanny Creek
(Figure 2) and regionally in northeast Nevada, rest on upper-
most Paleozoic, even Mesozoic strata. This relationship indi-
cates that the Lower Paleozoic rocks were still deeply buried in
the Eocene. These seemingly contradictory pieces of evidence
have signiicant implications for the formation of Carlin-type
deposits and the evolution of the RMEH.
Signiicance of Pre-Mineral Dikes and Sills for
Mineralization
As discussed, a swarm of maic dikes and sills cuts Pa-
leozoic strata of the Long Canyon deposit. More than 10,000
drill hole intercepts of intrusions at Long Canyon (Figure 4)
indicate that intrusions are persistent and abundant features of
the deposit. Dikes and sills are spatially discrete, apparently
because marked rheologic contrast between massive dolomite
and thin-bedded limestone inluenced how intrusions were em-
placed. Discordant, near-vertical dikes crosscut bedding in and
below the massive dolomite unit of the Notch Peak Formation.
However, the same dikes latten to roughly bedding conform-
able sills in the overlying Pogonip Limestone. Most dikes and
sills at Long Canyon are oriented N10°–20°E, and thus have
a ~15–20° angular discordance with the ~N35–40°E deposit
trend (Figure 4). Gold mineralization is closely associated with
dikes and sills and with breaks in the dolomite, i.e., boudins.
A fourth control apparent in the 3D model of the dolomite is
a low-amplitude, ~N40°E anticline along which gold mineral-
ization and some intrusions are centered. The anticline served
as a culmination or structural high to focus ore luids already
 Igneous Rocks of Pequop Mountains
channeled along subparallel dikes. These relationships suggest
that the Long Canyon Carlin-type deposit formed from a com-
bination of trapping mechanisms that included: 1) strong rheo-
logic and compositional contrast between massive dolomite
and laminated limestone host rocks, 2) structural preparation
through boudinage or separation of the dolomite presumably
during early contractional deformation and small-scale folding,
and 3) pre-mineral intrusion of reactive, Fe-rich dikes and sills
of lamprophyric and dioritic composition, which not only sup-
plied some iron for sulidation, but the margins of which likely
served as conduits for ore luids. Once luids reacted with wall
rock limestone and intrusions, dissolution of carbonate in both
limestone and lamprophyre resulted in roof collapse and the
formation of ore breccia.
CONCLUSIONS
Similar to the Carlin trend and Cortez district, both of
which contain major Carlin-type gold deposits, Carlin-type de-
posits of the Pequop Mountains are spatially associated with Ju-
rassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene intrusions (Bedell et al., 2010).
Unlike Carlin and Cortez, the occurrence of Carlin-type gold
deposits in the Pequop Mountains is unusual, because deposits
are located far to the east of the major gold trends and the Ant-
ler orogenic belt as well as being hosted in Paleozoic platform
carbonates instead of slope-facies carbonates. Despite these
major differences, the Pequop deposits occur well within the
Eocene or “Tuscarora” magmatic province (Figure 1; Christian-
sen and Yeats, 1992; Ressel and Henry, 2006), which was co-
eval with deposition of gold in many Carlin-type deposits and
is implicated as the likely source of heat (Henry and Boden,
1998; Henry and Ressel, 2000; Cline et al., 2005; Ressel and
Henry, 2006) and gold (Johnston and Ressel, 2004; Muntean et
al., 2011). If Carlin-type deposits are indeed genetically related
to Eocene magmatism as close spatial and temporal ties would
suggest, then Carlin-type deposits together with other Eocene
“intrusion-related” gold deposits should be present over the
broad region affected by this magmatism. Thus, the presence
of Eocene igneous rocks, especially silicic intrusions, is consid-
ered important for the occurrence of Carlin-type gold deposits.
Dikes and sills are abundant in and near Carlin-type depos-
its at West Pequop and Long Canyon. Only a few isotopic ages
have been determined on intrusions, but they demonstrate that
Jurassic (161–159 Ma) and Eocene (41–39 Ma) magmatism
was dominant as they are regionally. Compositions of known
and suspected Jurassic rocks in the Pequop Mountains, ranging
from gabbro through monzodiorite and lamprophyre to granite,
are similar to those of regional Jurassic rocks. Eocene rocks
range from probable basalt through high-silica rhyolite. Broad-
ly, Jurassic and Eocene suites have characteristic calc-alkalic
arc signatures, although more evolved high-silica granites and
rhyolites of both age suites are peraluminous and likely relect
moderate crustal input. Cretaceous granites are small volume and
peraluminous, likely relecting their origin from crustal anatexis.
921
Eocene devitriied rhyolite dikes cut amphibolite grade
metamorphic rocks on the west side of the Pequop Mountains.
Textures indicate dikes were emplaced at shallow crustal depths
implying signiicant pre-40 Ma exhumation of metamorphic
rocks, which is in contrast to deposition of Eocene volcanic
rocks only on the stratigraphically highest, non-metamorphosed
Paleozoic rocks. This contradiction bears on the Cenozoic up-
lift history of the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt metamor-
phic core complex as well as the depth that Carlin-type deposits
of the Pequop Mountains formed.
Abundant Jurassic lamprophyres are present at Long Can-
yon, West Pequop, and in the northern Carlin trend. Lampro-
phyre dikes and sills clearly contributed to deposits by provid-
ing conduits for hydrothermal luid low in some cases, and
barriers to luid low in others. Equally important, lampro-
phyres are ideal hosts for Carlin-type mineralization because
they provided much needed iron in an otherwise iron-starved
platform carbonate environment. Lamprophyres, because of a
high primary carbonate content, were also highly reactive to
acidic Carlin-type luids. Eocene high-silica rhyolite is altered
and mineralized at West Pequop gold deposits, suggesting Car-
lin-type gold mineralization there is ~40 Ma or younger.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Agnico-Eagle (US) Mines, Ltd. and Newmont Mining Cor-
poration provided us with logistical support and access to de-
posits, drill core, and data without which this study would not
be possible. We greatly beneitted from discussions with many
geologists from both companies; Jeff Blackmon, Dan Norleet,
Jon Powell, and Jason Rampe were especially helpful at Long
Canyon. John Muntean provided much-needed support early in
this project. Chuck Thorman and Connie Nutt provided us with a
geologic framework. We thank Richard Bedell, Eric Struhsacker,
and Mark Coolbaugh for use of unpublished age and geochemi-
cal data and for helpful geological discussions and Fred Zo-
erner for discovering and informing us about the lamprophyre
sill in the southern part of the Pequop Mountains. This study is
supported by funding to A. Johnson from the Ralph J. Roberts
Center for Research in Economic Geology at the University of
Nevada, Reno with additional funding from Agnico-Eagle and
Newmont and award G14AC00237 of the U.S. Geological Sur-
vey Statemap program. 40Ar/39Ar dating was done at the New
Mexico Geochronology Research Laboratory (New Mexico In-
stitute of Mining and Technology) under the patient guidance
of Bill McIntosh, Matt Heizler, and Lisa Peters. We thank Odin
Christensen and GSN editors for reviewing a draft manuscript.
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