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Sulphur Bank Mine

Past Producer in Lake county in California, United States with commodities Mercury, Sulfur
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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. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10040771
MRDS ID M055641
MAS/MILS ID 60330078
Record type Site
Current site name Sulphur Bank Mine
Alternate or previous names Sulphur Bank, Clear Lake-Sulphur Bank

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Pit
Geographic coordinates: -122.66472, 39.00389 (WGS84)
Elevation 411
Location accuracy 10(meters)
Relative position 13 MI NW OF LOWER LAKE, 2 MI S OF STATE ROUTE 20, ON SE SHORE OF CLEAR LAKE. Labeled on the Clearlake Oaks 24k topo. Covers 800+ acres.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lake(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Clearlake Oaks(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Lakeport(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ukiah(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Cache(hydrologic unit)

Lower Sacramento(hydrologic accounting unit)

Sacramento(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Lake

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 013N 007W 05, 06 California

Comments on the location information

  • ALSO IN SEC. 6

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary
Sulfur Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Opal Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Sulfur Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Hydrothermal Bleaching - Solfataric Action

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Conglomerate
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Franciscan Complex;Cache Lake
    Rock description Franciscan Complex;Cache Lake

Nearby scientific data

Pit (1) Franciscan Complex, unit 1 (Coast Ranges)
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Fault Control
Type of structure Regional
Structure description Faults Trending E, Dip S, And Trend Nw, Dip Steeply

Ore body information

  • General form PIPES
    Depth to top 9.14M
    Depth to bottom 45.72M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Intersections Of Faults

Comments on the geologic information

  • SULFUR, STIBNITE, SULFATES (GYPSUM), COPIAPITE, PYRITE AND MARCASITE, CINNABAR. HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITY IS PRIMARILY FAULT CONTROLLED. THE MAJOR ORE BODIES ARE AT THE INTERSECTION OF FAULT ZONES BUT SHAPE AND SIZE OF BODIES DEPENDS ON HOST ROCK.
  • FRANCISCAN ROCKS HERE CONSIST OF SANDSTONES AND SHALES WITH OCCASIONAL GREENSTONE AND CHERT LENSES. MOST HAS BEEN HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED. THESE SEDIMENTS CONTAIN LATE SULFIDES AND MAGNETITE. THE CGL AND SANDSTONE BRECCIA PROBABLY RESULTED FROM A LANDSLIDE IN FRANCISCAN MATERIAL. RECENT LAKE SEDIMENTS WERE PROBABLY DERIVED FROM A HIGHER LEVEL OF CLEAR LAKE. THE SEDIMENTS HAVE BEEN KAOLINIZED. THE LAVA FLOW IS 100 FT THICK. IT IS VESICULAR WITH THE VESICLES FILLED BY OPAL, CHALCEDONY, CARBONATES, AND GYPSUM. THE ROCK HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS AUGITE ANDESITE, BUT IS MORE COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS BASALT. THE LAVA WAS PROBABLY EXTRUDED FROM 2 CINDER CONES 1 TO 1.5 MI E OF SULPHUR BANK ALTHOUGH THE SOURCE MAY HAVE BEEN TO THE NORTH. TWO FAULT ZONES ARE APPARENT, ONE TRENDING N 70 E AND DIPPING 50 - 90 SE AND A SECOND TRENDING N 65 W AND DIPPING NEARLY VERTICAL. ABUNDANT HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITY IN THE AREA INCLUDES HOT SPRINGS AND FUMAROLES, SOLFATARIC ACTIVITY. HYDROTHERMAL MINERALS INCLUDE

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1865
Year of first production 1873
Production years 1874-1896, 1899, 1902, 1915-1919, 1927-1948

Mining district

District name Clear Lake

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Bradley Mining Co.
    First year 1965

Production statistics

  • Year 1962
    Period To 1962
    Material HG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^5-15 Lb/Ton
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Mercury Mercury 4518g/mt

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 13.756HA
    Overall depth 127.1M

Comments on the workings information

  • UNDERGROUND MINING ABANDONED IN 1906 DUE TO HEAT AND GASES

Comments on development

  • FIRST MINED FOR SULFUR UNTIL IT BECAME UNECONOMICAL. MERCURY FIRST EXTRACTED IN 1873. Sulphur was produced from 1865 to 1868.

Comments on the environmental information

  • CERCLA (SUPERFUND) SITE LISTED ON NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL), OCT. 14, 1992. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS INCLUDE ACID MINE WATER FROM OPEN PIT MINE LEACHING MERCURY INTO CLEAR LAKE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HOLMES, G. W., JR., 1965, MERCURY IN CALIFORNIA: IN USBM IC 8252.

  • Deposit

    EVERHART, D. L., 1946, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS AT THE SULPHUR BANK MINE, LAKE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIF. JOUR. OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 42, P. 125-153.

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E. H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES

  • Deposit

    AVERILL, C. V., 1947, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF LAKE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIF. JOUR. OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 43, , no. 1, P. 25-38.

  • Deposit

    BRADLEY, W.W., 1918, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CJMG BULL. 78, 389 P.

  • Deposit

    RANSOME, A.L. AND KELLOGG, J.L., 1939, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CJMG, V. 35, P. 353-558.

  • Production

    USBM DATA

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1976-07-01 Peterson, Jocelyn A. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 1994-11-23 Western Field Operations Center (WFOC) U.S. Bureau of Mines MAS 0060330078 = newMRDS 10236139
Editor 2010-11-10 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey MAS 0060330078 = newMRDS 10236139, merged and deleted.
Reporter 1974-01-01 Weeks, Robert U.S. Geological Survey incomplete (invalid) W017593 = newMRDS 10110467

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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.