Waterloo Mine

Past Producer in Bear Lake county in Idaho, United States with commodities Phosphorus-Phosphates, Oil Shale, Fluorine-Fluorite, REE, Uranium, Vanadium
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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Mineral rights holdings
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10078037
MRDS ID W026156
MAS/MILS ID 0160070002
Record type Site
Current site name Waterloo Mine
Alternate or previous names Montpelier Canyon, Montpelier Canyon, Area A, Waterloo Hill Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -111.23829, 42.32163 (WGS84)
Elevation 2012
Relative position 3 MI E OF MONTPELIER

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Bear Lake(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Montpelier Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Preston(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Preston(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Bear Lake(hydrologic unit)

Lower Bear(hydrologic accounting unit)

Bear(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Idaho Bear Lake

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Boise 013S 045E 06,07,05,08 Idaho

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Phosphorus-Phosphates Primary
Oil Shale Tertiary
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Tertiary
REE Critical Tertiary
Uranium Tertiary
Vanadium Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Oil Shale Ore
Calcite Unknown
Collophane Unknown
Dolomite Unknown
Feldspar Unknown
Limonite Unknown
Muscovite Unknown
Quartz Unknown
Sericite Unknown

Analytical data

Result RANDOM SAMPLES AVG. 30.91 % P2O5
Result OTHER SAMPLES AVG. 30.68 % P2O5
Result DISTILLATION TESTS FOUND TRACE OIL IN 1 PHOSPHATE SAMPLE

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Wells Formation-Sandstone;Wells Formation-Limestone
    Rock description Wells Formation-Sandstone;Wells Formation-Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Phosphoria Formation-Phosphatic Shale, Chert, Sandstone;
    Rock description Phosphoria Formation-Phosphatic Shale, Chert, Sandstone;

Nearby scientific data

(1) -111.23829, 42.32163

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Montpelier Anticline
Type of structure Local
Structure description Minor Faults

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR, SEDIMENTARY
    Strike N00S
    Dip 32W
    Thickness 53M
    Length 4828M
    Width 141M
    Area 136HA
    Depth to top 12M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Structure
  • BEDDING
  • FAULTING

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1907
Year of first production 1907

Mining district

District name Montpelier District

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Patented

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Stauffer Chemical Co.
    Year 1975
  • Type Operator
    Owner San Francisco Chemical Co.

Comments on the production information

  • Waterloo Mine Open 1907 - 1920 , 1921 - 1928 , 1945 - 1947 , 1952 - 1959 For Production; Was Only Phosphate Producer In State Until 1917 ; 1907 - 1929 Underground, 1945 - 1960 Open - Pit
  • Waterloo Hill Mine San Francisco Chemical Co. Was First Large Scale Producer Of Phosphate Rock In Western Field. Waterloo Hill Was Underground, Developed By Adits And Crosscuts, And Stopes Were Driven Above Entry Level In The 4-5 Foot Thick High-Grade Beds. Mine Operated From 1907-1920 1921-1929. Form 1945-1960 Mine Was First Open-Pit Mine In The Western Field. In 1920 American Phosphate Co.Started Development Of The Deposits On The North Side Of Monpelier Canyon. From There Total Production Was 20,000 St Or Ore.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Both Est. For T 13 S, R 45 E

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 457.2M
    Overall depth 152.4M

Comments on development

  • Econ.Com: Beds Conveniently Situated For Ready Accessibility And Economical Mining ( 1910 )

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Mansfield, G. R., 1927 , Geography, Geology, And Mineral Resources Of Part Of Southeastern Idaho: USGS Prof. Paper 152 , 453 P.

  • Deposit

    Service, A. L., 1966 , An Evaluation Of The Western Phosphate Industry And Its Resources, Part 3 , Idaho: USBM Rept. Inv. 6801 , 201 P.

  • Deposit

    USGS, 1975 , Development Of Phosphate Resources In Southeastern Idaho: Draft Environmental Impact Statement, V. 1 , Pt. 1 , P. 22

  • Deposit

    Winchester, D. E., 1923 , Oil Shale Of The Rocky Mountain Region: USGS Bulletin 729 , 204 P.

  • Deposit

    5) Gale, H. S., And Richards, R. W., 1910 , Preliminary Report On The Phosphate Deposits In Southeastern Idaho And Adjacent Parts Of Wyoming And Utah: USGS Bulletin 430 , P. 457 - 535

  • Deposit

    1910 Recon H. S. Gale And R. W. Richards, Bulletin 430

  • Deposit

    1923 Recon D. E. Winchester, Bulletin 729

  • Deposit

    1927 Recon G. R. Mansfield, Prof. Paper 152 { 1975 Recon Draft Environmental Impact Statement, V. 1

  • Deposit

    1966 Recon USBM Rept. Inv. 6801

  • Production

    Item 8 , USGS, 1975 , Draft Environmental Impact, Statement, V. 1 ; Items 1 , 2 , 9 , Mansfield, G. K., 1927 , USGS Prof. Paper 152

  • Deposit

    Garrand, Leonard. 1975. Phosphate Study Of Se Idaho

  • Deposit

    Day, R.L., 1973, Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology, Pamphlet

  • Deposit

    Kirkham, V.R.O., 1924, Am. Inst. Mining And Met. Engin.Paper

  • Deposit

    Mcdivitt, J.F., 1956, Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology, Pamphlet

  • Deposit

    King, D.L., Mining Engineering, Vol. 1, #8, 1949, Pg. 284-28.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 1400 Acre Area Held As Phosphate Land ( 1927 )
Deposit Leaching Of Calcium Results In Greater P205 Percentage. Area A, Etc. Refers To Phosphate Study By Garrand Corp. The North Section And The Southeast Section Still Contain Re Deposit Also In T12s T45e Sec 30 And T13s R45e Sec 5,6,7 Bannock Overthrust Has Carried The Phosphoria Formation Into The Area. Average Mining Depth Will Be 463 Ft Mine Not Included In Eis For S.E. Idaho Phosphate

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1976 Siefken, Robert R. (Miller, Pat) U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 30-JAN-1995 Crockett U.S. Bureau of Mines

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:

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.