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Virtue Mine

Past Producer in Baker county in Oregon, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Tungsten, Copper
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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. Ownership information
  17. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10105517
MRDS ID W002484
Record type Site
Current site name Virtue Mine
Alternate or previous names Rucker, Union, Collateral, Chicago

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -117.69797, 44.79264 (WGS84)
Elevation 1189
Relative position 7.5 MILES N 98 DEG E OF BAKER, OREGON

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Baker(county)

Oregon(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Virtue Flat(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Baker City(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Baker City(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Powder(hydrologic unit)

Middle Snake-Powder(hydrologic accounting unit)

Middle Snake(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Oregon Baker

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
009S 041E 21 Oregon

Comments on the location information

  • AREA IS MOUNTAINOUS AND RUGGED ELEVATION RANGES FROM 4500 TO 6500 FT. LAT LONG ARE ON AUSTIN. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1950, 1959)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Tungsten Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Cataclastic Metamorphism

Analytical data

Result AU IS 940 FINE

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock
    Rock unit name Clover Creek Greenstone
    Rock description Clover Creek Greenstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Triassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Argillite
    Rock unit name Elkhorn Ridge Argillite
    Rock description Elkhorn Ridge Argillite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -117.69797, 44.79264
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne Trending Blue Mountains Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Fractures And Shear Zones Cutting Diorite And Argillite

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N 35 DEG W
    Dip 90 DEG
    Length 365.76M
    Width 3.66M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures And Shear Zones Cutting Argillite And Diorite

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1862
Year of first production 1862

Mining district

District name Virtue Area

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Consolidated Virtue Mine Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner James Rex

Comments on the production information

  • ITEM 8 ESTIMATED FROM TOTAL REPORTED PRODUCTION OF $2,189,000.
  • PLACER PRODUCTION IS ESTIMATED AT $1200000. LODE MINES PRODUCED APPROXIMATELY $ 300000.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 3048M
    Overall depth 304.8M

Comments on the workings information

  • PLACER, ADITS, SHAFTS, TUNNELS
  • WORKINGS DEVELOP EIGHT SUBPARALLEL VEINS STRIKING N 20 TO 45 DEG W, DIPPING NE AT HIGHER LEVELS AND NW AT LOWER LEVELS. VEINS AVERAGE 14 INCHES WIDE. AU OUTPUT ESTIMATED FROM TOTAL REPORTED PRODUCTION OF $2,189,000.

Comments on development

  • MINES: WAR EAGLE, BLUE JAY, COPPER HILL, OSAGE CHIEF, KING TUT, BALDY SMITH

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    LINDGREN, W, 1901, THE GOLD BELT OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS: USGS 22ND ANNUAL REPORT, PART 2, P. 551-776

  • Deposit

    GILLULLY, J., REED, J. C., AND PARK, C. F., 1933, SOME MINING DISTRICTS OF EASTERN OREGON: USGS BULL. 846-A, P. 72-74

  • Deposit

    GILLULLY, J., 1937, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE BAKER QUADRANGLE, OREGON: USGS BULL. 879, P. 94

  • Deposit

    BROOKS, H. C., AND RAMP, L., 1968, GOLD AND SILVER IN OREGON: ORE. DEPT. GEOL. BULL. 61, P. 138-143

  • Deposit

    1901 RECON W. LINDGREN: REF. 1

  • Deposit

    1929 GEOLMAP J. GILLULLY: REF. 3

  • Deposit

    1929 RECON J. GILLULY ETAL: REF. 2

  • Deposit

    1968 COMPILE ORE. DEPT. GEOL. MIN. IND.: BULL. 61

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit CONSV. RECORD ( M014278 ) MERGED WITH THIS RECORD, AND DELETED FROM OREGON FILE.
Deposit LARGE PARTS OF THE LODES CONSIST OF LOW GRADE ORE VALUABLE CHIEFLY FOR AU, AG, AND FE. COMPARATIVELY SMALL CHAMBERS CONTAIN RICH AG-PB ORE SOME BODIES ARE VALUABLE FOR CU.
Deposit ALL SEDIMENTARY ROCKS ARE INTRUDED AND METAMORPHOSED BY THE BOULDER BATHOLITH. IN SOME PLACES THEY ARE ALSO INTRUDED BY ANDESITE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1974 Reeves, James R. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-AUG-1978 Bradley, Robin (Walker, George W.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-AUG-1993 Gray, Jerry J. Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site