1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Spenceville

Past Producer in Nevada county in California, United States with commodities Copper, Gold, Silver
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Ownership information
  16. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10031668
MRDS ID M010821
Record type Site
Current site name Spenceville
Alternate or previous names Copper Claim, Spense Mineral San Francisco Copper Co., Imperial Paint and Copper.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -121.2716, 39.11545 (WGS84)
Elevation 152
Relative position AT SPENCEVILLE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nevada(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Camp Far West(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Yuba City(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Chico(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Bear(hydrologic unit)

Lower Sacramento(hydrologic accounting unit)

Sacramento(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

ST(Federal land areas administered by ST)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Nevada

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 015N 006E 25,26,27,35 California

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Gold Secondary
Silver Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 184
USGS model code 28a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, kuroko
Mark3 model number 93

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase

Nearby scientific data

(1) -121.2716, 39.11545
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Thickness 16.76M
    Length 91.44M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fissures

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1875

Mining district

District name Spenceville

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner J. G. Berryhill

Comments on the production information

  • HAS PRODUCED MORE THAN A MILLION POUNDS OF COPPER. WORKED FROM 1875 TO 1887 PRODUCING ABT 150,000 TONS OF ORE CONTAINING 5% COPPER. WORKED BY IMPERIAL PAINT CO. 1890 WHO DID NO MINING BUT PRODUCED PAINT FROM ROASTED ORE ON DUMPS; WORKED FROM 1897 TO ABOUT 1918,PRODUCING SULPHURIC ACID, COPPER, GOLD, SILVER. 1900 ; 15 TONS OF PYRITE PER DAY WAS BEING SHIPPED TO SAN FRANCISCO BY THE SPENCE MINERAL COMPANY TO PRODUCE SULFURIC ACID.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 45.72M

Comments on the workings information

  • 180 FT. SHAFT WITH LEVELS AT 60 , 100 , AND 150 FT., WORKED ALSO AS OPEN CUT.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: SULFURIC ACID

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    AUBURY, L. E., 1908 , COPPER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA BULL. 50 ; CALIF. MIN. BUR., P. 191 - 194

  • Deposit

    MACBOYLE, E., 1918 , MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEVADA COUNTY; 16TH REPT. STATE MINERALOGIST; CALIF. MIN. BUR., P. 90 .

  • Deposit

    CALIF. JOUR. MINES & GEOLOGY, V. 37, NO. 3, JULY 1941, P. 464; ADD. REF.: REPORT OF STATE MINERALOGIST XXVI; INDUSTRIAL SERVICE-METALLIFEROUS II-C, P. 48; FOLIO 18

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DEPOSIT OCCURS ALONG FISSURE AND ALTERED ZONE NEAR DIABASE - GRANODIORITE CONTACT. MINERALIZED ZONE IS 100 FT. WIDE IN PLACES. CAPPED BY IRON GOSSAN. BELOW GOSSAN IS ENRICHMENT (SECONDARY) ZONE, WITH BORNITE ORE CARRYING AS HIGH AS 20 % CU.
Deposit THE SPENCE MINERAL CO., WHO OPERATED MINE FROM 1897 ON, INTRODUCE THE METHOD OF OBTAINING SULPHURIC ACID FROM PYRITES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1973 Gere, W. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-NOV-1978 Fraticelli, L. A. (Albers, J.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative California resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.