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Ima Mine

Past Producer in Lemhi county in Idaho, United States with commodities Tungsten, Zinc, Silver, Lead, Copper, Gold, Molybdenum
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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. Mineral rights holdings
  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 10071993
MRDS ID W015795
MAS/MILS ID 0160590002
Record type Site
Current site name Ima Mine
Alternate or previous names Blue Wing-Ima Mine, Idaho Tungsten, Tungsten Gate, Idaho Tungsten Nos. 1-4 and 6-11

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -113.6911, 44.5328 (WGS84)
Elevation 2073
Relative position ON NORTH SIDE OF PATTERSON CREEK, UPSTREAM 1.25 MI NE OF PATTERSON

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lemhi(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Patterson(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Leadore(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Dubois(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Pahsimeroi(hydrologic unit)

Salmon(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Snake(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Idaho Lemhi

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Boise 014N 023E 13,14,23,24 NWSENE (23), NESE (24) Idaho

Comments on the location information

  • On N side Patterson Creek, on E side Pahsimeroi Valley

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Tungsten Critical Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Silver Primary
Lead Secondary
Copper Secondary
Gold Secondary
Molybdenum Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Anglesite Ore
Bornite Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Cuprite Ore
Galena Ore
Huebnerite Ore
Malachite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Pyromorphite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Microcline Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rhodochrosite Gangue
Siderite Gangue
Mica Gangue
Orthoclase Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Sericitization
  • (Local) Pyritization

Analytical data

Result ORE MILLED AVG. 0.72% HUEBNERITE, 4% SULFIDES, 1.75 OZ AG/TON
Result MO MAKES UP 0.08% OF ORE MINED BUT IS NOT SAVED

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Granite
    Rock description Granite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Slate
    Rock unit name Belt Supergroup
    Rock description Belt Supergroup;Belt Supergroup
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -113.6911, 44.5328
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure name Slickensides
Type of structure Regional
Structure name Anticline

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR, IRREGULAR, LENTICULAR, PINCH & SWELL
    Strike N 35 DEG W
    Dip 60 DEG SW
    Thickness 10.67M
    Length 518.16M
    Width 6.1M
  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N45W
    Dip 80W
    Thickness 300M
    Length 25M
    Width 300M
    Area 25HA
    Depth to top 2M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures
  • Fissures
  • Folding
  • Igneous

Comments on the geologic information

  • Original Structures entry:
    Local - Slickensides
    Regional - Anticline Trends N 30-40 Deg W
  • Original ore control entry:
    Fractures, Fissures Along Crest Of Anticlinal Fold
  • Original alteration entry:
    Local - Sericitization, Pyritization
  • Original data from duplicate record D001143:
    Geologic Structure -
    Regional - Belt Series Folded Into A Broad Arch That Trends Northwest Parallel To The Range Front.
    Local - The Intrusive Seems To Be Elongated Beneath The Ima Vein Zone.

    Concentration Process:
    Veins Re-Opened Repeatedly With Later Additions Of Metallic Minerals

    Alteration:
    Local - Some Of The Country Rock Incorporated Into The Quartz Has Been Altered To Sericite

    Ore Control:
    Quartz Veins That Traverse Quartzite And Argillite Of The Precambrian Belt Series
  • The veins in the Ima Vein Zone end upward against a pre-mineral breccia zone which is about 10 ft. thick. The Ima veins cannot be correlated with any veins above the breccia. The principal mineralization is in persistent veins found in the same zone as the earlier mineralized veins which were widespread, irregular, small, pegmatitic quartz veins.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1881
Discoverer Ima Consolidated Mining And Milling
Year of first production 1900

Mining district

District name Blue Wing District

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Patented

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Inspiration Development Co.
    Interest 100
    Home office 2310 North Pines Rd\nSPOKANE\nWA 99206
    Year 1982
  • Type Operator
    Owner Jeffs And Johnson Leasing Co.
    First year 1916
  • Type Owner
    Owner Bradley Mining Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Bradley Mining Co.
    Home office California
    Year 1972

Production statistics

  • Year 1916
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^60 % Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Ore Tungsten Tungsten 60wt-pct
  • Year 1934
    Material CON W
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Ave 56 % Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Conc. Tungsten Tungsten 56wt-pct
  • Year 1940
    Period 1937-1940
    Material CON
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^Ave 42 Oz Ag, 0.01 Oz Au/Ton, 3.75% Cu, 7% Pb, 5% Zn, 0.5% Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Conc. Copper Copper 4wt-pct
    Gold Gold 0g/mt
    Conc. Silver Silver 1186g/mt
    Wo3 Conc. Tungsten Tungsten 1wt-pct
    Conc. Zinc Zinc 5wt-pct
    Conc. Lead Lead 7wt-pct
  • Year 1940
    Period 1937-1940
    Material CON
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^Ave 67 % Wo3
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Wo3 Conc. Tungsten Tungsten 67wt-pct
  • Year 1947
    Period 1911-1947
    Accuracy Estimate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Primary Wo3 Tungsten Tungsten 1wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • Item 17 was 2 shipments; Item 8 was huebnerite concentrate, Item 9 was sulfide concentrate; Item 10 production intermittent; Total production more than 300,000 units, second most important W producer in Idaho (Hobbs, 1964)
  • About one ton of sulfide concentrate was recovered for every 25 tons of ore treated. In 1940, 1,472 tons of sulfide concentrate averaged 44.6 oz. of silver, 3.5 percent copper, 6.9 percent lead, 4.8 percent zinc, and 0.01 oz of gold.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 3052.88M
    Overall depth 22.86M

Comments on the workings information

  • 4 or 5 tunnels; Assessment work
  • In 1945 the mine was opened on 7 levels with total workings amounting to 15,500 ft. in a vertical distance of 410 ft. and a length of 2,000 ft.

Comments on development

  • 21 patented claims and 15 unpatented claims ; Econ.Com: 5 samples (1918) ranged from 0.33-0.78% Wo3 and 2.0-3.2 oz Ag/ton

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Umpleby, J. B., 1913, Geology And Ore Deposits Of Lemhi County, Idaho: USGS Bulletin 528, 182 P.

  • Production

    Callaghan, E., And Lemmon, D. M., 1941, USGS Bulletin 931-A

  • Deposit

    Cook, E. F., 1956, Tungsten Deposits Of Southcentral Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 108, 40 P.

  • Production

    Hobbs, S. W., 1964, Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Spec. Rept. No. 1

  • Deposit

    Hobbs, S. W., 1964, Mineral Resources-Tungsten, In Mineral And Water Resources Of Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Spec. Rept. No. 1, P. 223-233.

  • Production

    Bell, R. N., 1917, Mining Industry Report For 1916

  • Deposit

    Anderson, A. L., 1948, Tungsten Mineralization At The Imamine, Blue Wing District, Lemhi County, Idaho: Econ. Geol., V43, No. 3, P. 181-206.

  • Deposit

    Barton, W. P., And Arentz, S. S., 1939, Mining And Milling Tungsten At The Ima Mine: Mining Cong. Jour., V. 25, No. 3, P. 16-19.

  • Deposit

    Callaghan, Eugene, And Lemmon, S.W., 1941, Tungsten Resources Of The Blue Wing District, Lemhi County, Idaho: USGS Bulletin 931-A, P. 1-21.

  • Deposit

    Livingston, D. C., 1919, Tungsten, Cinnabar, Manganese, Molybdenum, And Tin Deposits Of Idaho: Univ. Of Idaho Bulletin No. 2, V. 14, 72 P.

  • Deposit

    Idaho Department Of Labor And Industrial Services, 1975, First Annual Report Addendum, 1974-1975, 95 P.

  • Deposit

    Bell, R. N., 1917, Eighteenth Annual Report Of The Mining Industry Of Idaho For The Year 1916

  • Deposit

    V.E. Mitchell, Et. Al; Mines And Prospects Map Series, 1981, Dubois Quad, Location No. 323 and 331

  • Deposit

    Geological Society Of America Bulletin V 58, No 12, P 1085-1160

  • Deposit

    U.S. Bureau Of Mines Open-File Report MLA 6-91, 1991, Table A-2, 14 No. 268, P. 170.

  • Deposit

    Bradshaw, Expl Ima Northwest Mine Association

  • Deposit

    DMEA Report Contract Idm E-41

  • Deposit

    DMEA Report Contract Idm E-427

  • Deposit

    Lemmon, D.M., Unpublished Data.

  • Deposit

    Lemmon, D.M. And Tweto, O.L., 1962, Tungsten In The U.S., USGS Map, Mr-25.

  • Deposit

    Anderson, A.L., 1948, Econ. Geol., Vol. 43, No. 3, P. 181.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1881 (W IN 1903)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1973 Elliott, James E. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 01-AUG-1974 King, Robert U. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 01-JUN-1976 Siefken, Robert R. (Miller, Pat) U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 01-OCT-1976 Meier, M. Lorrie U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-NOV-1976 Elliott, James E. U.S. Geological Survey PARSED HOST ROCK AND ASSOCIATED ROCK INFORMATION FROM OLD SINGLE VALUED FIELD TO NEW MULTIVALUED FIELD
Reporter 14-NOV-1983 Western Field Operations Center (WFOC) U.S. Bureau of Mines
Reporter 12-APR-1995 Sokaski U.S. Bureau of Mines
Reporter 09-JUN-1995 Mosier, Dan U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusNonProducing since 08/22/2025
MSHA mine ID1000224
Mine name (MSHA)Ima Mine
Current operatorAmerican Tungsten Ltd
Current controller (parent)American Tungsten Corp
Mine typeUnderground (Metal / non-metal)

MSHA cross-reference per the original MRDS record. Mine status and operator reflect MSHA's last published Mines export (February 2025); MSHA's public bulk feed has been unavailable since, so this may be out of date. See the Mine Data Retrieval System for current status.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

External references

Maps centered on this site