New Almaden District

Past Producer in Santa Clara county in California, United States with commodities Mercury, Chromium, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Dimension, Copper, Manganese
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Alteration
  7. Nearby scientific data
  8. Geologic structures
  9. Controls for ore emplacement
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Mining district
  12. Land status
  13. Ownership information
  14. Production statistics
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 60000981
MRDS ID M055599
Record type District
Current site name New Almaden District

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Approximate
Geographic coordinates: -121.84559, 37.1767 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 1000(meters)
Relative position Moved former erroneous (about 9 miles too far NW) location, to the top of Mine Hill, near the middle of the main cluster of New Almaden-associated mines. Should be depicted as a polygon, not as a point.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Santa Clara(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Santa Teresa Hills(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

San Jose(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

San Jose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Coyote(hydrologic unit)

San Francisco Bay(hydrologic accounting unit)

San Francisco Bay(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

LG(Federal land areas administered by LG)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Santa Clara

Comments on the location information

  • Existing record put the location about 9 miles too far NW at 37.29992, -121.90103. ABWilson moved location to the New Almaden district. To be correct, this should be designated with a polygon, not a point.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary
Chromium Critical Secondary
Sand and Gravel, Construction Secondary
Stone, Dimension Secondary
Copper Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary

Alteration

  • (Local) SILICA CARBONATE

Nearby scientific data

Approximate (1) -121.84559, 37.1767

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description TENSION FRACTURES, SEDIMENT - SERPENTINE CONTACT
Type of structure Regional
Structure description DOMINANTLY NW TREND, DIPPING N

Controls for ore emplacement

  • SILICA - CARBONATION OF SERPENTINE AND LOCAL TENSION FRACTURES

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Discovery year 1824
Discoverer Luis Chaboya Who Mistook Native Hg For Silver Ore.

Mining district

District name NEW ALMADEN DISTRICT

Land status

Ownership category County

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner MRS. MARY LORD SEXTON
    Year 1948
  • Type Operator
    Owner NEW ALMADEN CORP.
    Year 1945
  • Type Owner
    Owner Santa Clara County
    Year 2010
    First year 1976

Production statistics

  • Year 1964
    Period 1845-1945
    Material 1,137,727 flasks of quicksilver produced
    Accuracy Accurate

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E.H. AND EVERHART, D.L., 1964, GEOLOGY AND QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF THE NEW ALMADEN DISTRICT, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 360, 206 P.

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E. H., U.S.G.S., PERSONAL FILES

  • Deposit

    HOLMES, G. W., JR., 1965, MERCURY IN CALIFORNIA: IN USBM IC 8252

  • Deposit

    RANSOME, A. L., AND KELLOGG, J. L., 1939, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CALIF. JOUR. OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 35, P. 353 - 486.

  • General

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaden_Quicksilver_County_Park [accessed 09-nov-2010, contains interesting historical background and links to more recent information on the current status of the area]

General comments

Subject category Comment text
General District record includes the mines discussed in Bailey and Everhart's PP-360: New Almaden, America, Providencia, Enriquita, San Antoniao, San Mateo. The "district" would also include the Guadalupe, Senator, Santa Teresa, and Bernal Mines, however these are likely not of the same deposit.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Editor 09-NOV-10 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey Corrected and edited existing skeletal district record. No original reporter was listed.

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.