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French Hill Chrome Mine

Past Producer in Del Norte county in California, United States with commodities Chromium, Platinum, Palladium, Iridium, Ruthenium, Rhodium
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Ore body information
  14. Controls for ore emplacement
  15. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  16. Mining district
  17. Land status
  18. Ownership information
  19. Production statistics
  20. Workings at the site
  21. Links to other databases
  22. Bibliographic references
  23. General comments
  24. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10048022
MRDS ID M700422
Record type Site
Current site name French Hill Chrome Mine
Alternate or previous names Tyson, J. & W.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -123.98699, 41.80649 (WGS84)
Elevation 479
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position 18 MI EAST OF CRESCENT CITY, Accurate For Pge Sample Collection Site, Accurate For Pge Sample Collection Site

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Del Norte(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Gasquet(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Happy Camp(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Weed(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Smith(hydrologic unit)

Northern California Coastal(hydrologic accounting unit)

Klamath-Northern California Coastal(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Six Rivers 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 Del Norte

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Humboldt 016N 002E 06 E4 California

Comments on the location information

  • UNSURVEYED. IN SIX RIVERS NATIONAL FOREST. ON STEEP SOUTHERN SLOPE OF FRENCH HILL 300 FT BELOW SUMMIT AND ABOVE CRAIGS CREEK. UTM IS FOR PGE SAMPLE COLLECTION SITE. LAT/LONG GIVEN IS FOR MINE SYMBOL SHOWN ON TOPO MAP; UTM COORDINATE FOR THIS IS 4628580N, 418100E.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Chromium Critical Primary
Platinum Critical Tertiary
Palladium Critical Tertiary
Iridium Critical Tertiary
Ruthenium Critical Tertiary
Rhodium Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chromite Ore
Aragonite Gangue
Magnesite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Talc Gangue
Uvarovite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Serpentinized Dunite

Analytical data

Result 2 PGE ANALYSES: PT=10, 12 PPB
Result PD=TR, 18 PPB
Result IR=40, 52 PPB
Result RU=<100, 180 PPB
Result RH=TR, 18 PPB. CR:FE=2.5:1

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 15
USGS model code 8a
Deposit model name Podiform chromite (minor)
Mark3 model number none

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock > Peridotite
    Rock unit name Josephine Ophiolite
    Rock description Josephine Ophiolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock > Peridotite > Dunite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -123.98699, 41.80649
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Dunite Is Highly Sheared, Main Fault Strikes N20-70e And Dips 25-70se

Ore body information

  • General form PODS, LENSES OF MASSIVE ORE, SOME DISSEMINATED
    Strike N15E
    Dip 15W

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Magmatic Segregation

Comments on the geologic information

  • PERIDOTITE CONTAINS INCLUSIONS OF METAVOLCANIC ROCKS

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1886
Year of first production 1886
Year of last production 1958

Mining district

District name French Hill Area

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner J. And W. Mining Corp.
  • Type Owner
    Owner James F. Lemon, Monroe, Oreg.

Production statistics

  • Year 1918
    Period 1880-1918
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^40% Cr2o3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Cr2O3 Chromium Chromium 40wt-pct
  • Year 1946
    Period 1941-1946
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^44% Cr2o3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Cr2O3 Chromium Chromium 44wt-pct
  • Year 1958
    Period 1952-1958
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^44% Cr203
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Cr2O3 Chromium Chromium 44wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • POSSIBLY ANOTHER 2,000 TONS OF ORE WERE REMOVED IN LATE 1946 AND EARLY 1947.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVE ESTIMATE IS FOR WESTERN ORE BODY

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 35.05M

Comments on the workings information

  • INCLINED SHAFT ON 70 DEG SLOPE WITH 4 LEVELS OF DRIFTS AND CROSSCUTS. TWO LARGE PITS AND NUMEROUS BULLDOZER CUTS USED IN 1950'S

Comments on development

  • USBM DRILLED 17 DIAMOND DRILL HOLES IN 1944

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    WELLS, F.G., CATER, F.W., JR., AND RYNEARSON, G.A., 1946, GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF CHROMITE IN CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF MINES BULLETIN 134, PT. 1, CH. 1, P. 47-52.

  • Deposit

    CARLSON, C.A., AND OTHERS, 1985, ANALYSES FOR PLATINUM-GROUP ELEMENTS IN SAMPLES FROM PODIFORM CHROMITE DEPOSITS, CALIFORNIA AND OREGON: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 85-442, 14 P.

  • Deposit

    STINSON, M.C., 1975, CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY MINERAL PROPERTY REPORT, UNPUB.

  • Deposit

    SANBORN, W.C., AND RICKER, SPANGLER, 1948, INVESTIGATION OF FRENCH HILL CHROMITE MINE, DEL NORTE COUNTY, CALIF.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 4365, 9 P.

  • Deposit

    O'BRIEN, J.C., 1948, CURRENT AND RECENT MINING ACTIVITIES IN THE REDDING DISTRICT: CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY V. 44, NO. 4, P. 337.

  • Deposit

    O'BRIEN, J.C., 1952, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF DEL NORTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY V. 48, NO. 4, P. 271-272.

  • Deposit

    BRADLEY, W.W., HUGUENIN, EMILE, LOGAN, C.A., TUCKER, W.B., AND WARING, C.A., 1918, MANGANESE AND CHROMIUM IN CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA STATE MINING BUREAU BULLETIN 76, P. 127-128.

  • Production

    STINSON, 1975

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 2 MAIN ORE BODIES IN SHEARED SERPENTINITE ALONG CREST OF A NARROW ANTICLINE. EXTEND DOWN PLUNGE A MAXIMUM OF 260 FT. CHROMITE PODS VARY FROM 1-15 FT THICK AND 20-70 FT LONG.
Deposit RECORD M007487 AND W017820 HAVE BEEN MERGED AND DELETED.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-82 Oster, Karel L. (Albers, John P.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-FEB-90 Peterson, Jocelyn A. 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.