Groom Mine

The Groom Mine is located near Rachel, Nevada and has historically been a part of the Groom Mining District. It was first discovered in 1864 and operated until 1956. Currently, the mine is closed with no plans for reopening. The mining operations primarily consisted of underground workings, with one known shaft. The maximum depth reached underground was 64 meters (210 feet). The ore extracted from the Groom Mine consisted primarily of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and barite. The waste material found in the mine mainly consisted of quartz, pyrite, and calcite. In 1983, two tabular-shaped ore bodies were identified in the mine, one of which extended 76 meters (249 feet) in length and 9 meters (29 feet) in thickness. The host rock in the area surrounding the mine is quartzite. The geographic region surrounding the Groom Mine is characterized by the Great Basin of the Intermontane Plateaus. This type of geomorphology is prevalent in the area.