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Alpine

Past Producer in San Benito county in California, United States with commodity Mercury
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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. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Ownership information
  14. Production statistics
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10040919
MRDS ID M055806
Record type Site
Current site name Alpine
Alternate or previous names Esmeralda, Black Hawk
Related records 10139855

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -120.72349, 36.3655 (WGS84)
Elevation 1097
Relative position 5 MI SW OF NEW IDRIA MINE, 40 MILES NW OF COALINGA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

San Benito(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

San Benito Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Coalinga(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Monterey(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Pajaro(hydrologic unit)

Central California Coastal(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central California Coastal(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management CA)

Bureau of Land Management CA BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California San Benito

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 018S 011E 13 California

Comments on the location information

  • THE DISTRICT LIES AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE DIABLO RANGE OF THE CALIFORNIA COAST RANGES

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Mercury Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Silica Carbonate Alteration Of Serpentine

Nearby scientific data

(1) -120.72349, 36.3655
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form LENS

Comments on the geologic information

  • SIZE; NEW IDRIA AND SAN CARLOS BODIES ARE MEASURED IN HUNDREDS OF FEET BUT MOST ARE LESS THAN 50 FT IN LARGEST DIMENSION. VERY LITTLE NON - METALLIC GANGUE ACCOMPANIES THE ORE MINERALS BUT CALCITE OR QUARTZ SOMETIMES OCCURS WITH THE CINNABAR. ALL OF THE ORES LIE WITHIN HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED ROCK: INDURATED SEDIMENTS OF THE PANOCHE FORMATION AND SILICA - CARBONATE ROCK.
  • AREA IS A LARGE OVAL OF STRONGLY SHEARED SERPENTINE, RIMMED BY FRANCISCAN AND PANOCHE SANDSTONE. THE STRUCTURE IS AN ASSYMMETRIC ANTICLINE WITH OVERTURNED BEDS AND AN IRREGULAR THRUST FAULT (THE NEW IDRIA THRUST) ON THE NE FLANK NEAR THE FRANCISCAN - PANOCHE CONTACT. CONTACTS AROUND DOME ALMOST ALWAYS MARKED BY HIGH ANGLE FAULTS. FRANCISCAN ROCKS CONTAIN 3 DEPOSITS AND IS MOSTLY ARKOSIC SANDSTONE, WITH A LITTLE SHALE AND CGL INTERLAYERED WITH BASALTIC LAVAS AND CHERT LENSES. SERPENTINE FORMS THE CORE OF THE ANTICLINE AND OCCURS AS SLIVERS ALONG THE NEW IDRIA THRUST, WHERE IT HOSTS SEVERAL MERCURY DEPOSITS. THE PANOCHE FORMATION IS DOMINANTLY SHALES AND SANDSTONES. IT FORMS THE COUNTRY ROCK OF THE MAJOR MERCURY DEPOSITS IN THE DISTRICT. THE SYENITE INTRUDES SERPENTINE AND PANOCHE AND HAS NO BEARING ON THE ORES. THE NEW IDRIA THRUST IS CUT BY MANY TEAR FAULTS AND OTHER FAULTS WHICH PROVIDED DEPOSITIONAL SITES AND FLUID PATHWAYS FOR THE MERCURY ORES. THE ORE BODIES VARY GREATLY IN

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1910
Production years 1911 - 1914, 1916 - 1917, 1928, 1932 - 1936, 1938 - 1939

Mining district

District name New Idria

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Leonard W. Knepper

Production statistics

  • Year 1960
    Period Thru 1960
    Material HG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^5-100 Lb/Ton
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Mercury Mercury 23720g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • DISTRICT RANKS THIRD IN ALL TIME U.S. PRODUCTION AND OVER 20 MINES HAVE PRODUCED.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • THIS INFORMATION IS A 1946 ESTIMATE

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 426.72M

Comments on the workings information

  • DISTRICT ENCOMPASSES A 15 BY 9 MI RECTANGLE INCLUDING MINES WITH BOTH SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.

Comments on development

  • ORIGINAL PROSPECTORS MISTOOK ORE MINERALS FOR SILVER ORE. AFTER THE ORIGINAL DISCOVERY OTHERS WERE SOON MADE BUT ONLY THE NEW IDRIA AND SAN CARLOS BECAME LARGE PRODUCERS. THE HIGH GRADE ORE WAS EXHAUSTED SHORTLY AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY EXCEPT FOR A FEW NEW DISCOVERIES AND IT BECAME NECESSARY TO MINE LOW GRADE ORE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ECKEL, E. B. AND MYERS, W. B., 1946, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF THE NEW IDRIA DISTRICT, SAN BENITO AND FRESNO COUNTIES, CALIFORNIA: CALIF. JOUR. OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 42, P. 81 - 124

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E. H., U.S.G.S., PERSONAL FILES

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    AVERILL, C.V., 1947, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF SAN BENITO COUNTY, CALIF.: CJMG, V. 43, P. 41-60

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    6) RANSOME, A.L. AND KELLOGG, J.L., 1939, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CJMG, V. 35, P. 353-486

  • Production

    USBM DATA

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit SMALL DISCONNECTED LENSES AND ISOLATED BODIES

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1976 Peterson, Jocelyn A. U.S. Geological Survey

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.