Surcease Mine

Past Producer in Butte county in California, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Antimony, Iron
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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10035946
MRDS ID M023899
Record type Site
Current site name Surcease Mine
Alternate or previous names Surcease, Bunker Hill, Treasure Hill

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -121.46633, 39.69099 (WGS84)
Elevation 564
Relative position 0.5 MI. SSW BIG BEND

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Butte(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Berry Creek(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Chico(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Chico(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

North Fork Feather(hydrologic unit)

Lower Sacramento(hydrologic accounting unit)

Sacramento(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Plumas National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Butte

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 021N 005E 07,05,06 California

Comments on the location information

  • UTM ACC. W 1/2

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Copper Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Iron Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Antimony Ore
Bornite Ore
Bournonite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Limonite Ore
Marcasite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Analytical data

Result ASSAYED 0.2-0.06 OZ. AU/TON

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -121.46633, 39.69099

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Trondjemite Intrusion Exposed 2 Mi. To Se.

Ore body information

  • General form RIBBON
    Strike NW NW
    Dip 20-40 NE, 55-70 NE
    Thickness 6.1M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fault Zone, Strike N70e, Dips 65-70n

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Hoefling Brothers
    Home office Sacramento, Ca.

Comments on the production information

  • ABOUT 27,000 TONS OF ORE WAS TREATED IN MILL. NO SPECIFIC DATES AVAILABLE.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • A FEW THOUSAND TONS OF ORE REMAINED IN SIGHT IN MAY, 1928.

Comments on the workings information

  • INCLINE OF 24 DEG. TO DEPTH OF 450 FT., STEEPENS TO 40 DEG. 610 FT. TOTAL DEPTH. PRINCIPAL ADIT ON 210 FT. LEVEL, ENTERING FROM SHIELDS GULCH NEAR MILL, AND RUNNING NW ON VEIN 1000 FT. OR MORE, CROSSING SHAFT AND EXTENDING TO NORTH FAULT. LEVEL ABOVE IT RUN 420 FT. SE AND 560 FT. NW. BELOW ADIT, LEVEL RUN BOTH WAYS WITH RAISES TO PROSPECT DOWNWARDS EXT. OF ORE SHOOTS. 600 FT. LEVEL WAS ALSO RUN 450 FT. SE AND 600 FT. NW WITHOUT FINDING ANY ORE BODY. MILLSITE. MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS IN OBRIEN (1949)

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: OPERATING COST FOR MINING, MILLING, TREATMENT AND MARKETING BULLION WAS $5.03/TON

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    LOGAN, C.A., 1930, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF BUTTE COUNTY, CALIF. CALIF. JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 26, NO. 4, P. 381-382

  • Deposit

    OBRIEN, J.C., 1949, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF TRINITY COUNTY, CALIF.: CALIF. JOUR. MINES AND GEOLOGY, V-45, NO. 3, P. 431-432

  • Deposit

    GOODWIN, J. G., 1957, LEAD AND ZINC IN CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 53, NOS. 3 & 4, P. 421-422

  • Deposit

    SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY, 1964, MINERALS FOR INDUSTRY, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, V. 2, P. 54-55

  • Production

    LOGAN (1930) OBRIEN (1949) GOODWIN (1957)

  • Reserve-Resource

    LOGAN (1930)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 2 VEIN SYSTEMS. PRINCIPAL ORE SHOOT PITCHES N18E, BEING BOUNDED BY FAULT. NORTH ORE SHOOT YIELDED MOST GOLD, EXTENDED FROM NEAR SURFACE TO 210 FT. LEVEL OF WORKINGS. IT WAS 132 FT. IN AVG. STOPE LENGTH, AVG. 6 FT. THICK. COARSE PYRITE APPEARED IN PATCHES; CARRIED SMALL AMOUNT OF COPPER SULFIDES. NEARLY ALL GOLD WAS IN SULFIDES, WHILE QUARTZ WITH LITTLE OR NO SULFIDE WAS LOW-GRADE. SOUTH ORE SHOOT APEXED ABOUT 210 FT. ADIT LEVEL AND HAD PITCH LENGTH OF 140 FT., STOPE LENGTH AVG. 110 FT. BETTER ORE OCCURED IN FLATTER-DIPPING VEINS. MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS IN OBRIEN (1940).
Deposit OPERATED INTERMITTENTLY BY VARIOUS LESSESS AND OWNERS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1980 Nelson, Scott C. (Albers, John, P.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Authoritative California resources

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