Polar Star Mine

Prospect in Skamania county in Washington, United States with commodities Copper, Gold, Silver, Molybdenum, Arsenic
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. 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. 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 10100755
MRDS ID M700187
MAS/MILS ID 0530590037
Record type Site
Current site name Polar Star Mine
Included sites Claims: Phil Sheridan Nos. 1 and 2, Polar Star Jr. Nos. 1-3, Polar Star Nos. 1-3, Black Falls Nos. 1 and 2, Blackhawk

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -122.1073, 46.35231 (WGS84)
Elevation 1036
Relative position ABOUT 4 MI NORTH OF SPIRIT LAKE, ABOUT 1.75 MI WEST OF RYAN LAKE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Skamania(county)

Washington(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Spirit Lake East(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Mount Saint Helens and Vicinity(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Hoquiam(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Cowlitz(hydrologic unit)

Lower Columbia(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Columbia(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Gifford Pinchot National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Washington Skamania

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Willamette 010N 006E 07,18 SW4 (07); NW4 (18) Washington

Comments on the location information

  • NEAR BLACK FALLS, LOW ON SOUTHERN SLOPE OF GOAT MOUNTAIN NORTH OF GREEN RIVER NEAR NORTH EDGE OF BLAST ZONE FROM 1980 ERUPTION OF MOUNT ST. HELENS. PROPERTY CONSISTS OF 11 PATENTED CLAIMS, 19 UNPATENTED CLAIMS.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Gold Secondary
Silver Secondary
Molybdenum Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Bornite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue
Talc Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation, Sericitized

Analytical data

Result 3 SAMPLES (1909): 4.2-15.4% CU, 0.09-0.7 OZ/TON AU, 3.59-14.56 OZ/TON AG
Result 10 SAMPLES (1908): 4.9-30.8% CU, 0.02-0.08 OZ/TON AU, 0.80-10.8 OZ/TON AG
Result 0.05-5.13% CU, TR-0.08 OZ/TON AU, 0-2.88 OZ/TON AG. ASSAY OF MATERIAL STOCKPILED AT PORTAL (1958): 3.45% CU, 2.6 OZ/TON AG, 0.08/TON AU. ASSAY OF LENS SEVERAL IN.-36 IN. THICK, TRACED FOR 6 FT IN A DRIFT: 0.1% CU, TR AU, 0.5 OZ/TON AG. 5 SAMPLES TAKEN ALONG ORE BODY AVERAGE $89/TON IN CU+AU+AG (AT 1905 VALUES). A SMELTING TEST FROM AVERAGE ORE TAKEN FROM DEPTH OF 10 FT IN WINZE AND FROM ADIT AVERAGED 17.9% CU+AU+AG

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Rock unit name Spirit Lake Pluton, Main Phase
    Rock description Spirit Lake Pluton, Main Phase
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -122.1073, 46.35231

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form BRECCIA MATRIX

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Brecciation Of Stock

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name St. Helens District - Ryan Lake Area

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Patented

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name In Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Ownership category National Monument
Area name Mt St. Helens National Monument

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Champion International Corp.
    First year 1992

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1918
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Copper Cu 7 wt-pct Copper Major 1918

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • IN 1958 AN ESTIMATED 350 TONS OF ORE WAS STOCKPILED AT THE PORTAL. IN 1960 STOCKPILE AND OTHER DUMP MEATERIAL WAS USED TO SURFACE LOGGING ROADS IN THE AREA.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 324.31M

Comments on the workings information

  • 775 FT ADIT, FIRST 450 FT OF ADIT BEARS N40E, REMAINING 325 FT BEARS N85-90E. RAISE, 2 WINZES, SEVERAL SHAFTS
  • 11 MINES, 0 PROSPECTS.

Comments on development

  • MAIN DEVELOPMENT WORK UNDERTAKEN BY CASCADIA MINING & DEVELOPEMTN CO FROM 1901 THROUGH 1905. DRILLING IN SUMMER OF 1991 BEING UNDERTAKEN BY CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL CORP. AND CONTINUED IN 1992

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HUNTTING, M.T., 1956, INVENTORY OF WASHINGTON MINERALS - PART II, METALLIC MINERALS: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 37, V. 1, P. 78. (also includes Black Falls property on p. 76)

  • Deposit

    LANDES, HENRY, THYNG, W.S., LYON, D.A., AND ROBERTS, MILNOR, 1902, THE METALLIFEROUS RESOURCES OF WASHINGTON, EXCEPT IRON: WASHINGTON GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1901, V. 1, PT. 2, P. 134.

  • Deposit

    MOEN, W.S., 1977, ST. HELENS AND WASHOUGAL MINING DISTRICTS OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES INFORMATION CIRCULAR 60, P. 17-24.

  • Deposit

    ASHLEY, R.P., AND PETERSON, J.A., 1991, FILED EXAM WITH CONSULTANT RON PARKER WORKING FOR CHAMPION LUMBER

  • Deposit

    DERKEY, R.E., GULICK, C.W., AND LINGLEY, W.S., JR., 1993, WASHINGTON'S MINERAL INDUSTRY - 1992: WASHINGTON GEOLOGY, V. 21, NO. 1, P. 3-25.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DEPOSIT HAS BEEN GIVEN THE INFORMAL NAME OF A BRECCIA PIPE CU DEPOSIT, FOR WHICH THERE IS NO PUBLISHED MODEL. ADIT WAS DRIVEN ALONG A PERSISTANT FRACTURE ZONE IN QUARTZ MONZONITE - FRACTURES RANGE FROM SEVERAL IN.-2 FT THICK. MATERIAL IN FRACTURE ZONE CONSISTS OF QUARTZ, GOUGE, TALC, AND WALL-ROCK FRAGMENTS CEMENTED BY QUARTZ. PYRITE AND MINOR CHALCOPYRITE ARE PRESENT IN QUARTZ AND IN SILICIFIED AND SERICITIZED WALL ROCK. CHALCOCITE CONTAINING 80 OZ/TON AG IS REPORTED TO BE EXPOSED AT THE BOTTOM OF A 100 FT WINZE. ABOUT 10 FT BELOW DRIFT IN NO. 2 WINZE IS SPECTACULAR EXPOSURE OF NEARLY MASSIVE BORNITE AND CHALCOPYRITE.
Deposit MAPS OF CLAIMS AND MINE WORKINGS AVAILABLE and property description, MOEN (1977, p. 18-24)
Deposit MRDS RECORD M700155 HAS BEEN MERGED WITH THIS RECORD AND DELETED

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-81 Caress, Mary E. (Evarts, Russ) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-91 Peterson, Jocelyn A. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 24-JUN-44 Ridenour, James U.S. Bureau of Mines
Editor 08-JUN-09 Causey, J. Douglas U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references