Twin Creeks gold mine

Twin Creeks gold mine, also known as Twin Creeks Mine, is an active open pit mine near Winnemucca, Nevada.^[1]

Rock blasting at the mine. Note the size of the excavators for scale (foreground, left), and that the bottom of the mine is not visible.

It is a gold and silver mine operated by Newmont.^[2][3] The Chimney Creek gold deposit, now part of Twin Creek, was first identified in the 1980s.^[4] A rare specimen of orpiment discovered in the mine was donated to the Smithsonian.^[5]

In 1911, the Battle of Kelley Creek occurred in the area. Eventually, a marker was placed just to the west of where the mine was later located. The 1996 environmental impact statement mentions a reconfiguration of an overburden and interburden site so as to avoid the location of the marker for the battle.^[6]

In 1993, the Twin Creeks mine was created as a combination of the Chimney Creek and Rabbit Creek mines during a coal-for-gold swap between Santa Fe Pacific and Hansen Natural Resources.^[7]