San Sebastian Mine

Past Producer in La Union, El Salvador with commodities Gold, Silver
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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Ownership information
  12. Workings at the site
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10085943
MRDS ID W701819
Record type Site
Current site name San Sebastian Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -87.93002, 13.6509 (WGS84)
Elevation 213
Relative position 3 MILES W OF SANTA ROSA, 30 MI N OF LA UNION.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

La Union(province)

El Salvador(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
El Salvador La Union

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Calaverite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Marcasite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrolusite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Gypsum Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification, Propylization

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Trachyte
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt

Nearby scientific data

(1) -87.93002, 13.6509

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1673

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner American Co. , Butters Salvador Mines, Ltd.
    First year 1890
    Last year 1900

Comments on the production information

  • $23,000,000 UP TO 1945, RECORDED PRODUCTION 1890-1845; $15,000,000 UP TO 1917; IN 1941 PRODUCED ABOUT 40-45 TONS OF ORE PER DAY, PREVIOUS TO THIS ABOUT 100 TONS PER DAY.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall length 32186M

Comments on the workings information

  • EXTEND 1800 FT ALONG STRIKE AND 800 FT DOWN DIP, CONSIST OF ADITS, DRIFTS AND WINZES.

Comments on development

  • CLOSED BECAUSE OF DECREASE IN GRADE, REOPENED IN 1934-1945 ; MILL.CAP: 40 TON/DAY, 1945 ; ECON.COM: MILL CAPACITY WAS 1200 TONS/MONTH IN THE 1920'S, BY 1935 IT WAS 3000 TONS/MONTH.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    INSTITUTO CENTROAMERICANO DE INVESTIGACION Y TECNOLOGIA INDUSTRIAL (ICAITI), 1970, MAPA METRALOGENETIO DE AMERICA CENTRAL; 1:2000000 & ESTUDIOS METALOGENETICOS DE AMERICA CENTRAL: PUBLICIONES GEOLOGICAS DEL ICAITI NUMERO III, 76 P.

  • Deposit

    ROBERTS, R.J., AND IRVING, E.M., 1957, MINERAL DEPOSITS OF CENTRAL AMERICA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1034, P. 191.

  • Deposit

    WUENSCH, C.E., 1917, GEOLOGY OF THE SAN SEBASTIAN MINE, SALVADOR: MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS, SEPT. 8, 1917, P. 345-350.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Production

    ROBERTS AND IRVING (1957); WUENSCH (1917).

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit SERIES OF BRANCHING QUARTZ VEINS IN ZONE 50 - 200 FT WIDE; ORE SHOOTS CONTAIN A FEW TONS TO SEVERAL THOUSAND TONS OF ORE AND WERE ERRATICALLY DISTRIBUTED IN VEINS; SOME SHOOTS CONTAINED ORE WITH 3 - 50 OZ/TON AU, BUT AVERAGE ONLY 1.5 OZ/T. VEINS OCCUR AT CONTACT WITH QUARTZ MONZONITE PORPHYRY DIKE AND ADJACENT VOLCANICS. RICHER ORE IN UPPER PORTIONS OF VEINS WITH SECONDARY SULFIDES. AU:AG = 10:1.
Deposit Discovery Year: SPANISH COLONIAL TIMES

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1990 Bliss, James D. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAR-1992 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-FEB-1993 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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