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El Aguilar Mine

Producer in Jujuy, Argentina with commodities Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Arsenic, Molybdenum
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  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. Production statistics
  18. Reserves and resources
  19. Workings at the site
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10068815
MRDS ID W002073
Record type Site
Current site name El Aguilar Mine
Alternate or previous names Aguilar, Hamahuaca Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -65.7161, -23.19752 (WGS84)
Elevation 4750
Location accuracy 2000(meters)
Relative position 50 KM TO SSW OF TRES CRUCES, Acc Within 1 Minute

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jujuy(province)

Argentina(country)

South America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Argentina Jujuy

Comments on the location information

  • CONSISTS OF SEVEN PERTENENCIAS (42 HA TOTAL) ON THE EAST FLANK OF SIERRA DE AGUILAR

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Secondary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Molybdenum Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • MOST AG IN SULFOSALTS, NOT IN GALENA

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Alabandite Ore
Antimony Ore
Argentite Ore
Boulangerite Ore
Bournonite Ore
Breithauptite Ore
Cubanite Ore
Gold Ore
Hematite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Marcasite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Polybasite Ore
Pyrargyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Silver Ore
Actinolite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Diopside Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Pyroxene Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rhodonite Gangue
Scapolite Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue
Vesuvianite Gangue
Wollastonite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Primary Alteration Is Obscured By Post-Ore Pyroxene-Hornblende Facies Contact Metamorphism Caused By Intrusion Of Ecret Aguilar Granite

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 208
USGS model code 31a
Deposit model name Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb
Mark3 model number 13

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Aguilar Granite
    Rock description Aguilar Granite;
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous
    Chronological age 118
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Padrioc Formation;;;
    Rock description Padrioc Formation;;;
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Chert

Nearby scientific data

(1) -65.7161, -23.19752
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description During Mineralization: Growth Faults And Slumping In A Shallow Marine Basin. Post-Ore: Two Phases Of Gentle, Open Folding (Lord?, Mpal-Lpal?), E-W Compression And Extension (Ljur-Ecret), Intrusion With Local Doming And Fracturing (Ecret), Thrust-Faulting (Ltert)
Type of structure Local
Structure description On East Limb Of A Post-Ore N-S Trending Syncline, Bounded, Deformed, And Disrupted By Post-Ore Folding, Faulting, And Intrusion

Ore body information

  • General form LENSE
    Strike N5E
    Dip STEEP TO WEST
    Thickness 200M
    Length 2000M
    Width 1000M
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ores Occur Exclusively In Fine- To Medium-Grained Siliciclastic Rocks Within A Fault-Controlled, Second-Order Basin

Comments on the geologic information

  • DEPOSIT IS A SEDIMENTARY EXHALATIVE DEPOSIT THAT HAS BEEN CONTACT METAMORPHOSED BY THE INTRUSION OF THE AGUILAR GRANITE. A MINOR, MINERALIZING OVERPRINT RELATED TO THE AGUILAR GRANITE CONSISTS OF QUARTZ-WOLFRAMITE VEINS AND SPHALERITE, GALENA, CHALCOPYRITE, MOLYBDENITE, AND FLUORITE IN GRANITIC DIKES.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1650
Discoverer Known To Incas And Spanish Colonists
Year of first production 1936
Production years 1936-

Mining district

District name Sierra De Aguilar District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Cia Minera Aguilar Sa
  • Type Owner
    Owner Cia Minera Aguilar S. A. (Subsidiary St. Joe Lead Co.)

Production statistics

  • Year 1981
    Period 1936-1981
    Material CONS (2)
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^52-56% Zn, 2.5-3% Pb, 170-260 G/T Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Minor Conc. Silver Silver 215g/mt
    Minor Conc. Lead Lead 3wt-pct
    Trace Conc. Zinc Zinc 54wt-pct
  • Year 1981
    Period 1936-1981
    Material CONS (1)
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^75-777% Pb, 2.5-3,7% Zn, 1350-1420 G/T Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Minor Conc. Silver Silver 1385g/mt
    Minor Conc. Lead Lead 76wt-pct
    Trace Conc. Zinc Zinc 3wt-pct

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1936
    Total resources 3585500000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Silver Ag 134 g/mt Silver Major 1936
    Lead Pb 5.62 wt-pct Lead Major 1936
    Zinc Zn 14.88 wt-pct Zinc Major 1936

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ITEM (1) IS ORIGINAL RESERVE ESTIMATE. ITEM (2) IS A REVISED ESTIMATE MADE IN THE EARLY 1950'S. ITEM (3) PROBABLY DATES FROM THE LATE 1950'S.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 65000M
    Overall depth 750M

Comments on the workings information

  • SURFACE CUTS. UNDERGROUND WORKINGS ON 18 LEVELS, 40 M APART.

Comments on development

  • ACTIVELY EXPLORED AND DEVELOPED BY CIA MINERA AGUILAR SA (ESTABLISHED 1929) FROM 1928-1936 ; ECON.COM: CURRENTLY (1986) TREATS ORES AVERAGING 5% PB, 6% ZN, AND 100 G/T AG YIELDING PB CONCENTRATES (76% PB, 3.2% ZN, 1400 G/T AG) AND ZN CONCENTRATES (49% ZN, 2.5% PB, 9.5% FE, 200 G/T AG) WITH RECOVERIES OF 85% PB, 90% ZN, AND 70% AG (IN PB CONS. ONLY) ; MILL.CAP : 600,000 MT/YR ORE

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit STRATABOUND ORE ZONE BOUNDED BY AGUILAR WEST AND CANEDO FAULTS AND AGUILA GRANITE EXTENDS 2 KM ALONG STRIKE, AT LEAST 1 KM DOWN DIP AND IS UP TO 200 M THICK. DEPOSIT HAS BEEN EXPLORED TO 750 M DEPTH AND IS OPEN AT THAT DEPTH. A WELL-DEVELOPED SULFIDE STRATIGRAPHY CONSISTS OF BASAL QUARTZITE WITH FINELY DISSEMINATED SULFIDES. OVERLYING STOCKWORK SULFIDES IN QUARTZITE. SULFIDE FILLING OPEN SPACE IS SEDIMENTARY (QUARTZITE) SLUMP BRECCIA, AND CAPPING MASSIVE STRATIFORM SULFIDES. ALL BEDS ARE CUT BY SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF MINERALIZED FRACTURES. PART OF THE DEPOSIT, INCLUDING ANY OXIDIZED ZONE, MAY HAVE BEEN REMOVED BY GLACIAL EROSION.
Deposit THIS UPDATE (1/93) IS A SUBSTANTIAL REVISION OF THIS RECORD BASED ON RECENT RESEARCH BY GEMMELL AND OTHERS (1992) AND SUREDA AND MARTIN (1990). THE DEPOSIT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN INTERPRETED AS A ZN-PB SKARN.
Deposit Discovery Year: 1600'S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-73 Davidson, Claire B. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JAN-93 Long, Keith R. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUL-93 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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