Mineral resources of the Sheldon Contiguous Wilderness Study Area, Washoe County, Nevada

Abstract

The part of the Sheldon Contiguous Wilderness Study Area (CA-020-1012) requested for mineral surveys encompasses 780 acres in the high desert of northwestern Nevada. Geological, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral surveys were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1985 to assess the mineral resources (known) and mineral resource potential (undiscovered) of the study area. There are no identified resources within the study area. There is low potential for undiscovered gas resources and low potential for mercury, gold, and silver resources beneath the basalt. Basalt overlies the entire study area and has a number of commercial uses, but it is not classified as a resource because basalt is abundant in the region and other sources are closer to existing markets. In this report, references to the "Sheldon Contiguous Wilderness Study Area" or the "study area" refer only to lands for which mineral surveys were requested by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.