Potosi Mine

Past Producer in Owyhee county in Idaho, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper
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. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10105558
MRDS ID W007679
Record type Site
Current site name Potosi Mine
Related records 10120753

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.73317, 43.01518 (WGS84)
Elevation 1890
Relative position JUST SOUTH OF SILVER CITY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Owyhee(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Silver City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Murphy(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Boise(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Jordan(hydrologic unit)

Middle Snake-Boise(hydrologic accounting unit)

Middle Snake(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management ID)

Bureau of Land Management ID BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Idaho Owyhee

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Boise 005S 003W 07 Idaho

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Secondary
Copper Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Copper Ore
Gold Ore
Quartz Gangue

Analytical data

Result AVG VALUES IN 1907 OF $20-50/TON
Result ORE WORTH $38/TON IN 1870

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Silver City Rhyolite;Basalt And Latite Unit-Basalt;Silver City Granite-Granodiorite
    Rock description Silver City Rhyolite;Basalt And Latite Unit-Basalt;Silver City Granite-Granodiorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite

Nearby scientific data

(1) Granodiorite and two-mica granite.

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Strike N - S
    Dip 70 DEG W

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Faults, Fractures

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1875

Mining district

District name French District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner W. Stoddard, W. Kehaly ( 1955 )

Comments on the production information

  • $6,000 WORTH OF AU & AG MINED IN 1869

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1828.8M
    Overall depth 304.8M

Comments on the workings information

  • 7 TUNNELS ( 1955 )

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    LINDGREN, W., 1898, THE GOLD AND SILVER VEINS OF SILVER CITY, DELAMAR, AND OTHER MINING DISTRICTS OF IDAHO: 20TH ANN. REPORT, U.S.G.S., P. 75 -205 (PT. 3).

  • Deposit

    MC DOWELL, G. A., 1955 , 57TH ANN. REPT. OF THE MINING INDUSTRY OF IDAHO FOR 1955 .

  • Deposit

    PANSZE, A. J., JR., 1975 , GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE SILVER CITY-DELAMAR-FLINT REGION, OWYHEE COUNTY, IDAHO: IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY PAMPHLET 161 , 79 P.

  • Deposit

    1898 COMPILE W. LINDGREN, 20TH ANN. REPT.

  • Deposit

    1968 GEOLMAP IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY PAMPHLET 161

  • Deposit

    1974 GEOLMAP IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY PAMPHLET 162

  • Production

    LINDGREN, W., 1898, USGS 20TH ANN. REPT., PT. 3, P. 75-205. BELL, R. N., 1907 , 9TH ANN REPT OF THE MINING INDUSTRY OF IDAHO FOR 1907.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1975 Benjamin, David A.; Miller, Pat U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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