Leona Heights

Past Producer in Alameda county in California, United States with commodities Copper, Gold, Zinc
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. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10102589
MRDS ID M004762
Record type Site
Current site name Leona Heights
Alternate or previous names Leona
Related records 10284682

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -122.17521, 37.79129 (WGS84)
Relative position 1 MILE SOUTH OF ALMA MINE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Alameda(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Oakland East(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

San Francisco(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

San Francisco(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

San Francisco Bay(hydrologic unit)

San Francisco Bay(hydrologic accounting unit)

San Francisco Bay(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Alameda

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 002 003W 03 California

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Gold Secondary
Zinc Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PYRITE IS THE MAJOR ORE COMPONENT

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Chalcanthite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Copper Ore
Epsomite Ore
Hematite Ore
Limonite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore

Analytical data

Result 47.8 % S, 40.9 % FE, 1.7 % CU, .80 DOLLARS/TON AU .53 OUNCES/TON AG

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Leona Rhyolite
    Rock description Leona Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -122.17521, 37.79129

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Hayward Fault: Two Parallel Smaller Faults With Horizontal Displacement.

Ore body information

  • General form LENTICULAR
    Strike NW
    Dip NE
    Thickness 12.19M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • GEOL.DESC: LEONA RHYOLITE OCCUPIES NARROW BELT ALONG FRONT OF BERKELEY HILLS FROM HAMILTON GULCH IN BERKELEY TO A POINT 5 MILES SE OF HAYWARD. RHYOLITE IS A LAVA FLOW ALONG CONTACT BETWEEN KNOXVILLE SHALE AND FRANCISCAN. ROCKS ARE FRACTURED AND ALTERED BY SURFACE AGENTS, FOUR DISTINCT FACIES, BASED ON TEXTURE, GLASSY-SPHERALITIC-PORPHYRITIC-FELSITIC.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1891
Production years 1925 - 1929

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Blowski Copper Co. (-; Bank Of America
    First year 1950
    Last year 1934

Comments on the production information

  • TOTAL VALUES ARE COMBINED FROM BOTH THE ALMA AND LEONA HEIGHTS MINE

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 914.4M

Comments on the workings information

  • IN 1929 THERE WAS ABOUT 3000 FT. OF DEVELOPMENT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CLARK, C.W., 1917 : GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF LEONA RHYOLITE: UNIV. CALIF. PUB., BULL. OF DEPT. GEOLOGY, VOL. 10 , NO. 20 , PP 361 - 382

  • Deposit

    DAVIS, F.F., 1950 ; MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES ALAMEDA COUNTY; CALIF. JOUR. MINES AND GEOLOGY, VOL. 46 , NO. 2 ; DIV. OF MINES, P. 305 - 307

  • Deposit

    LAIZURE, C.V., 1929 ; SAN FRANCISCO FIELD DIV.; 25TH REPT. STATE MIN.; CALIF. DIV. OF MINES, P. 440 - 441

  • Production

    ERIC, J.H., 1948

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit OVERLAIN BY GOSSAN
Deposit ADD. REF. NO.4. GQ768 SHOWS MINE DUMP IN SEC. 3; DOM MIN. INF. SVCE. V. 11, NO. 5, P.2; DOM BULL. 176, P.450, 451, 619; USGS FOLIO, SAN FRANCISCO, NO. 193, P.22; NOTES FROM MACE, C. H.,GEOLOGY AT LEONA PHYOLITE,MINING AND ENG. WORLD, V. 35, P. 1320, 1911. HE SAYS THERE WERE SEVERAL MINES ALONG FOOTHILLS FOR 2-3 MI. ALMA AND SYNDICATE MINES AT NORTH, LEONA HEIGHTS IN CENTER, HOTEL MINE AT SOUTH. HE BELIEVES ORE IS AT CONTACT OF RHYOLITE AND UNDERLYING FRANCISCAN.PYRITE IS DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT RHYOLITE (LAWSON SAYS THIS ALSO)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1972 Gere, W. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-FEB-1979 Fraticelli, L. A. (Albers, J.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Authoritative California resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.