Descriptions of W.M. Keck Museum Catalog Headings

The W.M. Keck Museum Catalog of Specimens is a consolidation of several Mackay School of Mines Museum original catalogs and the Nolan Collection from the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. The several museum collections combined in this catalog are: 1) a general collection (general numbers with no prefixes), 2) a mineral collection (numbers with an “M” or “K” prefix) and 3) a Dana collection (numbers with a “D” prefix). These numbers are the INDEX number in the catalog.

The Keck Museum Catalog of Specimens is maintained by Rachel Dolbier, Administrator of the W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum, located in the Mackay School of Mines building on the University of Nevada, Reno Campus.

Description of Field Headings for the Keck Museum Catalog of Specimens:

SAMPLE is a term used in the original mines museum catalog and refers to a name given to the specimen, such a calcite, gold ore, pegmatite, etc., or is a description of the material

INDEX is the unique number used to identify the sample

TYPE is a term used in the original mines museum catalog to define the specimen as mineral, rock, ore, or item. Item is usually an artifact of some kind such as a mineral pick or lamp.

LOCATION is used to provide a specific as possible a location as to where the sample was found.

DISTRICT refers to mining district if known. Nevada references are those found in NBMG Report 47, Mining Districts of Nevada by Joseph V. Tingley, 1998.

COUNTY refers to the county the specimen is from.

STATE refers to the state the specimen is from.

COUNTRY refers to the country of origin of the specimen.

DONOR refers to the original donor of the specimen to the museum.

NR in any category means “not recorded.”