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El Portal Barite Mine

Producer in Mariposa county in California, United States with commodity Barium-Barite
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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. Nearby scientific data
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Land status
  11. Ownership information
  12. Links to other databases
  13. Bibliographic references
  14. General comments
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10109245
MRDS ID M009951
Record type Site
Current site name El Portal Barite Mine
Related records 10139865

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -119.80292, 37.67132 (WGS84)
Relative position ASTRIDE HIGHWAY 140 AND MERCED RIVER 1 1/2 MI. W. OF EL PORTAL.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Mariposa(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

El Portal(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Yosemite Valley(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Mariposa(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Merced(hydrologic unit)

San Joaquin(hydrologic accounting unit)

San Joaquin(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Mariposa

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 003S 020E 18,19 California

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore

Nearby scientific data

(1) -119.80292, 37.67132
ListMap

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner El Portal Mining Co.

Comments on the production information

  • DISCOVERED AND FIRST WORKED IN 1880'S; FIRST PRODUCTION RECORDED IN 1910 AND OPERATIONS CONTINUED INTERMITTENTLY UNTIL 1914, 1914-15. MINE OPERATED MORE OR LESS CONTINUOUSLY FROM 1929 OR 1930 UNTIL 1948. IDLE SINCE 1948. MOST OF PRODUCTION WAS BETWEEN 1910-1948 WITHIN WHICH PERIOD 398,613 TONS OF BARITE WAS MARKETED AT VALUE OF $2,760,493.

Comments on the workings information

  • ADITS, CROSSCUT ADITS, STOPES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CALIF. JOUR. MINES & GEOLOGY, V. 53, NOS. 1 & 2, JAN.-APRIL, 1957, P. 205- 208, 335

  • Deposit

    DOM MIN. INF. SVCE, V. 16, NO. 10, 1963, P. 4; V. 15, NO. 3, 1962, P. 4

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit A PATENTED PROPERTY OF 81.42 ACRES INCLUDING THE BARIUM 1 AND 2, NORTH AND SOUTH BARIUM CLAIMS. WITHIN THE BARITE ZONE OF THE NORTH MINE THE ROCK IS PRINCIPALLY A LIGHT-GRAY TO WHITE GRANULAR, CRYSTALLINE ROCK, IN MOST PLACES ABOUT 85-90 PERCENT BARITE; ORE IN THE SOUTH MINE COMMONLY CONTAINS 85 PERCENT BARITE BUT CONSIDERABLE BARITE ROCK FALLS BELOW THIS PERCENT AND HAS NOT BEEN CONSIDERED GOOD ENOUGH TO PROCESS. A NEW BARITE ORE-BODY DISCOVERED DURING DIAMOND DRILLING OPERATIONS DURING WINTER OF 1949-50. DEVELOPMENT WORK INCLUDED DRIVING OF A CROSSCUT AND RAISE ON THE LENS-SHAPED ORE-BODY. -MIN. INF. SERVICE, V. 3, NO.9, SEPT. 1950, P. 5. THE ONLY COMMERCIAL WITHERITE MINED ON US OCCURS IN THIS BEDDED DEPOSIT - USGS BULL. 1072-B, P.93, 97. ; CALIF. JOUR. MINES & GEOLOGY, V. 53,, NOS. 1 & 2, JAN.-APRIL, 1957, PP. 205-208, 335 (LOCATION OF THE WORKINGS IS SHOWN IN THE S1/2 SEC. 18, N1/2 SEC. 19, ON U.S. GEOL. SURVEY QUAD. EL PORTAL, CALIF., 1949)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1973 Gere, W. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative California resources

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