Airborne and ground reconnaissance project, Austin--Belmont--Tonopah area, Nevada

An airborne radiometric survey covering approximately 4,900 square miles from Nye, Lander, and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada, was conducted from May 1 to November 1, 1955. Topography of the area is typical of the Basin and Range province where northward-trending mountain ranges are separated by broad alluvial-filled valleys. The geology of the surveyed mountain ranges consists mainly of volcanic rocks and complexly folded and faulted sedimentary rocks which have been intruded by several stocks and numerous plugs and dikes. Six anomalies were detected during the project, four of which were released to the public. Two were withheld as they were on previously claimed ground. Production from two of the anomalous areas is likely, but ore reserve estimates will necessarily depend upon future exploration and development. Prospecting contact zones of all major intrusives in central Nevada is recommended on the basis of this study, and particular attention should be given the entire intrusive contact near Austin. Tertiary lake sediments which crop out near the flanks of the mountain ranges are also considered favorable for the deposition of uranium.