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Study Butte Mine

Past Producer in Brewster county in Texas, 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. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Mineral rights holdings
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  19. Workings at the site
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10040389
MRDS ID M055143
MAS/MILS ID 480430041
Record type Site
Mineralized Area Terlingua
Current site name Study Butte Mine
Alternate or previous names Texas-Almaden
Related records 10276209

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Main Entrance
Geographic coordinates: -103.52722, 29.32067 (WGS84)
Elevation 823
Location accuracy 25(meters)
Relative position 5 MI E OF TERLINGUA, IN THE TOWN OF STUDY BUTTE. Coordinates are for the eastern of the two shafts shown on topo at head of Aerial Tramway.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Brewster(county)

Texas(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Terlingua(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Chisos Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Emory Peak(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Terlingua(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande-Amistad(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande-Amistad(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Texas Brewster

Comments on the location information

  • MINE CONSISTS OF TWO ADJACENT PROPERTIES IN SEC 216, BLK G-4: THE BIG BEND AND THE TEXAS ALMADEN WHICH HAVE BEEN WORKED BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A UNIT.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Alunite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Marcasite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Shale Baked Along Contact With Intrusive Syenite

Analytical data

Result IN 1908 ORES GRADED 0.75 TO 2.0% HG.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Pen
    Rock description Pen
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous

Nearby scientific data

Main Entrance (1) -103.52722, 29.32067
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Asymmetric Terlingua Anticline

Ore body information

  • Strike N60E
    Dip 80S
    Thickness 1M
    Length 150M
    Width 100M
    Area 3HA
    Depth to top 70M

Comments on the ore body information

  • Description of Orebody from original MAS record: Type of Orebody #1 : SHEAR ZONE Shape of Orebody #1 : IRREGULAR Type of Orebody #2 : FISSURE VEIN Primary mode of Origin : HYDROTHERMAL Primary Ore Control : FRACTURING Secondary Ore Control : CONTACT ZONE Degree of Wallrock Alter. : NONE Strike And Dip : N60E:80S Minimum Depth to Top : 10 Avg. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. : 1 Min. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. : 1 Total Surface Area (HA) : 3 Date of Last Modification : 820824
  • THE CINNABAR OCCURS IN FRACTURES IN A FINE-GRAINED QUARTZ SANIDINE SYENITE THAT IS A DIKE AND SILL WHICH INTRUDES THE CLAY (PEN FORMATION - OLDER NAME - TERLINGUA CLAY). THE FRACTURES AND MINERALIZATION ALSO OCCUR IN THE CLAY. THE MAIN ORE-BEARING STRUCTURES ARE GROUPS OF CLOSELY SPACED PARALLEL FRACTURES THAT ARE CONTINUOUS BOTH VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED METERS. THEY RANGE IN DIP FROM 60 DEGREES TO VERTICAL, WITH DIPS OF 80 DEGREES THE MOST COMMON. THE INDIVIDUAL WIDTH OF FRACTURES BEFORE MINERALIZATION RANGED FROM A KNIFE-EDGE OPENING TO 0.5 CM. THE WIDTH OF A MINERALIZED ZONE, OR VEIN, (THAT MAY CONSIST OF A FEW TO NUMEROUS MINERALIZED FRACTURES) RANGES UP TO A FRACTION OF A CENTIMETER TO A FEW METERS.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures In Syenite And Shale

Comments on the geologic information

  • CRET LIMESTONE AND SHALE IS OUT BY N-W TRENDING NORMAL FAULTS
  • IN ADDITION TO THE MINERALS LISTED IN THE M DATA SET, A HYDROCARBON MINERAL IS PRESENT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1902
Mining method Open Stope - Overhand
Year of first production 1903
Year of last production 1972
Milling method Distillation
Production years 1903-1905, 1915-20, 1928-34, 1936, 1944, EARLY 1970'S

Mining district

District name Terlingua

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Private Lease

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Sanger Investment
    Interest 100
    Home office 4400 Republic Nat'l Bank, Dallas, TX
    Year 1982
  • Type Operator
    Owner Big Bend Cinnabar Mining Co., Texas Almaden Mining Co. , Study Butte Mining
    First year 1903
    Last year 1905
  • Type Owner
    Owner Southern Geophysical Co.
  • Type Operator
    Owner Texas Mercury Co.
    Home office San Antonio, TX
    Year 1959

Comments on the ownership information

  • Texas Mercury Co. worked the two properties (Big Bend and Texas Almaden) during WWI under a lease.

Production statistics

  • Year 1960
    Period To 1960
    Material HG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^5-10 Lb/Ton
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Trace Mercury Mercury 3388g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • PP-312, p. 107 staes that 1944 was last year of production. This disagrees with the 1972 that someone has already entered for date of last production of this property. It is entirely possible that the property was worked after publication of PP-312 in 1959.
  • RECOVERY USED FOR MASS BALANCE IS 99.92%.
  • PRODUCTION: 1915-20 = 4500 FL; 1920-40 CLOSED. 1940-44 = 9500 FL; 1944-69 CLOSED. 1969-70 = 1011 FL; 1970-89 CLOSED.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • MUCH LOW GRADE ORE BELOW THE 300 LEVEL POORLY EXPLORED AS OF 1959.
  • DATE OF RESERVES: 1/81. CLOSED 1970. AT 75% PROB. = 57, OOO MT @ 0.36% HG; 50% PROB. = 320,000 MT @ 0.015% HG.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 4827.9M
    Overall depth 134.11M
  • Type of workings Underground
    Name of workings PROPOSED in MAS record
    Length 5000M
    Overall depth 110M
    Field Value
    MAS Development Schedule # 1
    Mining Record # 1
    Status of Mining Method PROPOSED
    Mining Method OVERHAND 10-38
    Percent Waste Rock 30
    Percent Recovery 100
    Hardness of Rock HARDROCK FISSURED WITH MODERATE WATER
    Rock Characteristics NO PLANES OF WEAKNESS
    Rock Support Chars. SUPPORTING MAY BACK SLAB
    Mine Support Chars. POST, HEADBOARD, CAPS, ROOF BOLTS
    Number of Shafts 3
    Length of Inclines (m) 77
    Slope of Inclines 80
    Number of Inclines 1
    1st Condition of Workings PART ACCESSIBLE
    2nd Condition of Workings FLOODED
    Capacity 90.7Capacity Units : MT ORE/DAY
    Unit Production Cost 53.63
    Units of Production $/MT ORE
    Operating Days per Year 250
    Operating Shifts per Day 2
    Year of Information 1982
  • Type of workings Underground
    Name of workings several shafts, interconnecting drifts

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKED VIA 4 PRINCIPAL SHAFTS, MANY MINOR SHAFTS, AND MORE THAN 3 MILES OF HORIZONTAL WORKINGS ON 4 MAIN AND NUMEROUS SUBLEVELS.

Comments on other economic factors

  • MINE TRANS COST INCLUDED IN MINE OPERATING COSTS.
  • WASTE ROCK PERCENT BASED ON AMOUNT OF WASTE ROCK MINED IN 1969. THE MOST RECENT WORKINGS (MINE WORKINGS DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR II) CONSIST OF 4 PRINCIPAL SHAFTS (MAX DEPTH 168 METERS). ONE OF THESE IS AN 80 DEG DECLINE. HORIZONTAL WORKINGS ON 4 MAIN LEVELS - 150-FT, 200-FT, 250-FT, AND 300-FT LEVELS (BASED ON DEPTH (FEET) BELOW BIG BEND SHAFT). BIG BEND SHAFT FLOODED TO 100 M OF COLLAR. ORE GRADE BASED ON WIDTH ACROSS VEIN. ONLY THOSE VEINS WIDE ENOUGH TO BE MINED ARE CONSIDERED PART OF THE RESERVE, THEREFORE THE DILUTION IS CONSIDERED TO BE 0%. ALSO, AMOUNT OF RECOVERY RATE IS ASSUMED TO BE 100%.

Comments on development

  • EXPLORED 1970'S BY DIAMOND SHAMROCK CORP. ; ECON.COM: IN 1903 A 50 TPD AND A 20 TPD SCOTT FURNACES WERE INSTALLED. IN 1930 A 30 TPD ROTARY FURNACE, FORMERLY AT THE MARIPOSA MINE, WAS INSTALLED. IN 1944 ORE WAS TREATED IN 2 MEDIUM-SIZED FURNACES. MINE HAD TO BE CONTINUOUSLY PUMPED TO AVOID FLOODING.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E.H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES.

  • Deposit

    CHESTER, J.W., 1965, MERCURY IN TEXAS: USBM IC 8252

  • Deposit

    Yates and Thompson, 1959, USGS PP 312.

  • Deposit

    TX BEG MRC-73, P. 20.

  • Deposit

    1958 DIREXPL DMEA

  • Deposit

    FIELD INVESTIGATIONS BY C.P. ROSS AND OTHERS 1934.

  • Deposit

    FIELD INVESTIGATIONS BY R.G. YATES, J.F. MCALLISTER, AND G.A. THOMPSON 1942-1945.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Deposit

    SHARPE, R.D., 1980, DEVELOPMENT OF THE MERCURY MINING INDUSTRY: TRANS-PECOS, TEXAS, TEXAS MINERAL RESOURCE CIRCULAR NO. 64, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN, TEXAS, 32 p.

  • Deposit

    PICKANDS-MATHER & COMPANY, 1969, ANNUAL REPORT STUDY BUTTE MINE, MARCH 10, 1970, 3 p.

  • Production

    USBM DATA

  • Deposit

    Bailey, E.H., 1962, Mercury in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Investigations Resource Map MR-30, 8 p. pamphlet, scale 1:3,168,000.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit CINNABAR-PYRITE-CALCITE-HYDROCARBONS FILL FRACTURES IN SYENITE INTRUSIVE AND SHALE. MINERALIZED FRACTURES GENERALLY TREND NE, LOCALLY E-W, AND RARELY NW, DIP 60 DEG TO VERTICAL, AND ARE UP TO 1 IN WIDE. ORE BODIES EXTEND UP TO 10 TO 40 FT ABOVE THE SHALE/SYENITE CONTACT AND ARE HIGHEST IN GRADE IN THE BAKED SHALE IN THE CONTACT ZONE.
Environmental Factors THE ONLY ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM LIKELY TO OCCUR IN THE MINING AND RETORTING OF CINNABAR IS THE STRICT CONTROLS ON MERCURY POLLUTION (FEDERAL REGULATIONS) IN WATER AND AIR. NO MERCURY POLLUTION OF THE AIR AND WATER WILL BE ALLOWED.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1973-10-01 Bergquist, Joel R. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 1992-09-01 Long, Keith R. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 2012-11-01 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted duplicate record 10276209
Reporter 1996-10-10 Hite, Alan G. U.S. Bureau of Mines MAS 0480430041 = 10276209

Beyond USGS

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

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