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Knoxville Mine

Past Producer in Napa county in California, United States with commodity Mercury
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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. Mineral rights holdings
  17. Land status
  18. Ownership information
  19. Production statistics
  20. Workings at the site
  21. Links to other databases
  22. Bibliographic references
  23. General comments
  24. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10261979
MRDS ID M008882
MAS/MILS ID 60550059
Record type Site
Current site name Knoxville Mine
Alternate or previous names Knoxville, Redington, Excellsior, Boston
Related records 10092295, 10212521

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Main Entrance
Geographic coordinates: -122.3389, 38.8253 (WGS84)
Elevation 415
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position Adit and shaft shown on topo at Knoxville site, north of the Berryessa Knoxville Road.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Napa(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Healdsburg(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Santa Rosa(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Sacramento(hydrologic accounting unit)

Sacramento(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Napa

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 011 N 004 W 6 SESE California
Mount Diablo 011 N 004 W 7 NENE California

Comments on the location information

  • Adit and shaft shown on Knoxville topo. Adit is in extreme SE corner of sec. 6, shaft in extreme NE of sec. 7. North of the Berryessa Knoxville Road. Coordinates are for the shaft.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Metacinnabar Ore
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silica Carbonate Alteration of Serpentine

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Serpentinite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous

Nearby scientific data

Main Entrance (1) -122.3389, 38.8253
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure name Serpentine-Sediment Contact
Type of structure Local
Structure name Knoxville Thrust

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Strike N
    Dip E

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Knoxvillel Fault and Two Cross Faults
  • Knoxville Fault and Two Cross Faults
  • Knoxville Fault and Two Cross Faults

Comments on the geologic information

  • GEOL.DESC: MINERALIZED ZONE NARROWS AT DEPTH

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1860
Year of first production 1862
Production years 1862 - 1917, 1922, 1927 - 1936, 1940 - 1948

Mining district

District name Knoxville District

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Patented
Type of mineral rights Fee Ownership

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner George F. And Launce E. Gamble
    Interest 100
    Home office California
    Year 1982

Comments on the ownership information

  • Alternate ownership info in M055646 (=10040776) gvien as G.E. & L.J. Gamble instead of George F. and Launce E. Gamble.

Production statistics

  • Year 1862
    Description 95962 Flasks Of Mercury
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Mercury Mercury 95962FLASKS
  • Year 1883
    Description Flasks Of Mercury
  • Year 1884
    Description 19863 Flasks Of Mercury
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Mercury Mercury 19863FLASKS
  • Year 1905
    Description Flasks Of Mercury
  • Year 1907
    Description 1201 Flasks Of Mercury
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Mercury Mercury 1201FLASKS
  • Year 1917
    Description Flasks Of Mercury
  • Year 1922
    Description 68
  • Year 1927
    Description 3098
  • Year 1940
    Description 3321
  • Year 1949
    Description 53
  • Year 1966
    Description 4491
  • Year 1975
    Description 528
  • Year 1977
    Description 1311

Comments on the production information

  • STATE'S 5TH LARGEST PRODUCER

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • UNDERGROUND OPERATIONS WERE ABANDONED IN 1941 AFTER EXTENSIVE EXPLORATION ON THE 90, 150,AND 210 LEVELS WAS UNPROFITABLE. COMPREHENSIVE MINE MAPS WERE NOT KEPT AS WORKINGS USUALLY CAVED A SHORT TIME AFTER MINING. UNDERGROUND LOW GRADE ORE MAY REMAIN IN PLACE OR AS STOPE FILL, BUT NO INFORMATION EXISTS FROM WHICH RESOURCE ESTIMATES CAN BE MADE. THE PRESENT OWNERS HAVE NO INFORMATION NOR ARE AWARE OF OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO AID RESOURCE ESTIMATION THE AVERAGE ORE GRADE DECLINED STEADILY THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THE MINE. IN 1943 THE GRADE AVERAGED 5-10 LBS./TON. HOMESTAKE MINING COMPANYS MC LAUGHLIN GOLD MINE AT THE SITE OF THE OLD MANHATTAN MINE 2.4 KM NORTHWEST OF THE KNOXVILLE WILL PRODUCE FROM 260 TO 350 FLASKS PER YEAR BEGINNING IN 1985 AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN COMPUTING THE DOMESTIC SUPPLY CURVE. OPEN PIT MINING AT THE KNOXVILLE CEASED IN 1976 DUE TO DECLINING MERCURY PRICES, THE NEED TO REFURBISH THE MILL AND THE LARGE QUANTITY OF WASTE REMOVAL REQUIRED TO EXPOSE ADDITIONAL ORE. THE GAMBLE FAMILY ANTICIPATES THERE WILL BE NO FUTURE PRIMARY MERCURY PRODUCTION FROM THE KNOXVILLE UNLESS UNDER EXTREMELY HIGH PRICE LEVELS. FUTURE PRODUCTION WILL PROBABLY BE AS BI-PRODUCT MERCURY FROM GOLD MINING. NORTHWEST TRENDING HIGH ANGLE THRUST FAULTS WHICH PROBABLY PROVIDED CHANNELWAYS FOR GOLD MINERALIZATION EXTEND DIRECTLY THROUGH THE KNOXVILLE MINE AREA. IN ADDITION, GOLD IS KNOWN TO OCCUR WITH PYRITE AT THE KNOXVILLE MINE (BECKER, 1988).
  • Deleted record 10040776 (old MRDS M055646) gave estimated grade of Hg prior to 1960 as 4292 g/mt.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 6656.83M
    Overall depth 182.88M

Comments on the workings information

  • MOST WORKINGS ARE CAVED

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    AVERITT, P. 1945, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF THE KNOXVILLE DISTRICT, NAPA, YOLO, AND LAKE COUNTIES: CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 41, NO. 2, PP. 78-81.

  • Deposit

    BECKER, G. F., 1888, GEOLOGY OF THE QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, MONOGRAPH 13, P. 285-289.

  • Deposit

    GAMBLE, G. F., 1982, PRESENT OWNER OF THE KNOXVILLE MINE, ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.

  • Deposit

    GUINIVERE, R., 1982, VICE-PRESIDENT, ENGINEERING, HOMESTAKE MINING COMPANY, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.

  • Deposit

    HOMESTAKE MINING COMPANY AND D'APPOLORIA, 1982, MCLAUGHLIN PROJECT - PROPOSED GOLD MINE AND MINERAL EXTRACTION FACILITY: PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, P. 3-19.

  • Deposit

    VREDENBURGH, L. M., 1982, TERTIARY GOLD-BEARING MERCURY DEPOSITS OF THE COAST RANGES OF CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY, V. 35, NO. 2, P. 23.

  • Deposit

    CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD, CENTRAL VALLEY REGION. INATCIVE MINE DRAINAGE IN THE SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA, STAFF REPORT, JULY 92, P. 73.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE KNOXVILLE MERCURY PROPERTY WAS RESEARCHED, AND IN THE COURSE OF EVALUATION, FOUND TO HAVE NO DEFINABLE RESOURCES. THEREFORE, THE PROPERTY COULD NOT BE COSTED.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1996-06-04 Jayne - WFOC U.S. Bureau of Mines
Editor 2010-11-08 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted multiple records (W017625 = 10110470 and M055646 = 10040776).
Editor 1976-01-01 Weeks, Robert U.S. Geological Survey old MRDS W017625 = new MRDS 10110470
Reporter 1976-07-01 Peterson, Jocelyn A. U.S. Geological Survey M055646 = 10040776

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.