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

Melco Mine

Producer in Salt Lake county in Utah, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Arsenic, Antimony, Thallium, Barium-Barite, Uranium, Strontium, Selenium, Zinc, Nickel, Tellurium
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. 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. Reserves and resources
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10055197
MRDS ID RE00263
Record type Site
Current site name Melco Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -112.15636, 40.58383 (WGS84)
Elevation 2347
Relative position 1.5 MILES SW OF BARNEYS CANYON MINE; 4 MILES N OF BINGHAM CANYON OPEN PIT.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Salt Lake(county)

Utah(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bingham Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Tooele(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Tooele(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Jordan(hydrologic unit)

Jordan(hydrologic accounting unit)

Great Salt Lake(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Utah Salt Lake

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
003S 003W 2,3 Utah

Comments on the location information

  • PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = TOOELE (1970) 1:250000; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = BINGHAM CANYON (1975) 1:24000

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Thallium Tertiary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary
Uranium Tertiary
Strontium Tertiary
Selenium Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Nickel Critical Tertiary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • OXIDIZED PORTIONS OF THE OREBODY CONTAIN FREE AU GRAINS THAT RANGE IN SIZE FROM <1 MICRON TO 100 MICRONS.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 172
USGS model code 26a
Deposit model name Carbonate-hosted Au-Ag
Mark3 model number 15

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -112.15636, 40.58383
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description The Ne-Plunging, Nw-Dipping Overturned Melco Syncline Trends Through The Melco Deposit.

Ore body information

  • Strike N30E
    Dip 70N
    Plunge MODERATE
    Plunge direction NE
    Length 304.8M
    Width 60.96M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Au Mineralization Occurs Within A Discordant N30e-Striking/ 70 Nw-Dipping Zone Of Crackle And Matrix Supported Breccia That Is Extensively Bleached, Altered, And Contorted.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Year of first production 1989
Production years PHASE A: 1989-1990; PHASE B SCHEDULED TO BEGIN MINING IN JANUARY 1993.

Mining district

District name Bingham

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Kennecott Copper Corp.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1991
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.117 g/mt Gold Major 1991

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • THE MELCO DEPOSIT CONTAINS BOTH OXIDE AND SULFIDE RESERVES. 1991 RESERVES ARE CALCULATED USING A STRIP RATIO OF 4.89:1.

Comments on development

  • IN THE LATE 1960'S, A. J. SWENSEN SAMPLED A SMALL SULFIDE-BEARING DUMP IN A SIDE CANYON OF DRY FORK WHICH CONTAINED 0.100 OPT AU. DISCOVERY OF THE BARNEYS CANYON DEPOSIT IN 1985 PROMPTED ADDITIONAL GOLD EXPLORATION IN THE DISTRICT, LEADING TO RENEWED INTEREST IN THE AREA OF THIS GOLD-BEARING SAMPLE. IN OCTOBER, 1986, AN INITIAL THREE HOLE DRILLING PROGRAM WAS CONDUCTED IN THE MELCO AREA. ORE GRADE MINERALIZATION WAS INTERSECTED IN THE FIRST HOLE. MINING BEGAN AT MELCO IN NOVEMBER, 1989. ; ECON.COM: A TOTAL OF 56 PERSONS ARE EMPLOYED AT THE MELCO AND BARNEYS CANYON DEPOSITS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    KENNECOTT UTAH COPPER, 1991, BARNEYS CANYON MINE FACT SHEET - MINING

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1993 Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-DEC-1992 Phinisey, J. D. (Marcus, S.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Operator history (post-MRDS)

MRDS records operators as of each record's last update (≤ 2019). Some of the operators listed here have since changed hands or dissolved:

  • Kennecott Copper Corp. — acquired by Subsidiary of Rio Tinto (1989)
    Acquired by RTZ (now Rio Tinto) in 1989. Continues to operate the Bingham Canyon mine and other assets under the Kennecott name.

Curated by qvyshift.com from publicly-reported M&A activity (SEC filings, press releases, USGS Mineral Yearbooks). Not authoritative — verify against primary sources before relying on it. The MSHA panel above is the current authoritative source for actively-permitted mines.

Maps centered on this site