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Klau Mine

Past Producer in San Luis Obispo 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. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10040886
MRDS ID M055765
MAS/MILS ID 60790076
Record type Site
Current site name Klau Mine
Alternate or previous names Sunderland, Santa Cruz, Karl, Sierra Morena, Carson, Capitola, Klau

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Main Entrance
Geographic coordinates: -120.89944, 35.62056 (WGS84)
Elevation 351
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position 17 MI W OF PASO ROBLES. Workings visible on Google Earth.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

San Luis Obispo(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cypress Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Paso Robles(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

San Luis Obispo(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Salinas(hydrologic unit)

Central California Coastal(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central California Coastal(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California San Luis Obispo

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 026S 010E 33 NE4SE4SW4 California

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

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

Alteration

  • (Local) Kaolinization Of Sediments

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic

Nearby scientific data

Main Entrance (1) -120.89944, 35.62056
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Local Nw Trending Fractures

Ore body information

  • Strike E
    Dip S
    Width 304.8M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Brecciation Of Sediments

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1868
Year of first production 1874
Production years 1875 - 1878, 1895 - 1899, 1901 - 1905, 1907 - 1909, 1911 - 1912, 1914 - 1917, 1920, 1924, 1927 - 1947, 1949

Mining district

District name Adelaide

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner H. W. Gould Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1960
    Period To 1960
    Material HG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^4-5 Lb/Ton
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Mercury Mercury 2033g/mt

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 3931.92M
    Overall depth 121.92M

Comments on the workings information

  • UNDERGROUND WORKINGS ARE INACCESSIBLE

Comments on the environmental information

  • THE LAS TABLAS CREEK MINES, PARTICULARLY THE BUENA VISTA AND KLAU MINES, ARE ACID MINE DRAINAGE PRODUCERS. WATER AND SEDIMENT AT THE DISCHARGE FROM THE CARSON DRIFT, PART OF THE KLAU MINE, WERE SAMPLED IN MAY 1986 & FEBRUARY 1992. IN FEBRURARY 1992, IRON, ZINC, MAGNESIUM, NICKEL, AND SULFATE EXCEEDED WATERSHED MEANS IN SEDIMENT. THOSE ELEMENTS APPEAR MINE RELATED. ALSO, ALL OR NEARLY ALL OF THE IRON, NICKEL, AND ZINC IN WATER WRE DISSOLVED, AT LEAST PARTLY BECAUSE THE PH WAS LOW. THE MAY 1986 WATER DATA ALSO INDICATED BERYLLIUM, CADMIUM, AND MANGANESE EXCEEDED WATERSHED MEANS IN THE CARSON DRIFT DISCHARGE. CONTAMINANT DISCHARGE FROM MINES IN THE LAS TABLAS CREEK WATERSHED IS NOT UNIFORM THROUGH TIME AND IS RELATED TO SEASONAL CYCLES, ACTIVITY AT THE MINES, AND OTHER FACTORS. THE LOCATION OF CONTAMINANT PLUMES MIGRATING DOWNSTREAM, PARTICULARLY WITH SEDIMENT, CAN THEREFORE BE HIGHLY TIME DEPENDENT. MEAN AND MAXIMUM CONCENTRATIONS DETECTED IN WATER FROM THE ENTIRE LAS TABLAS CREEK WATERSHED DURING SAMPLING IN 1992 WERE COMPARED TO 1993 STANDARDS. MAXIMUM CONCENTRATIONS OF TOTAL COPPER, TOTAL CHROMIUM, TOTAL IRON, TOTAL LEAD, TOTAL MERCURY, TOTAL NICKEL, TOTAL ZINC, TURBIDITY, ALKALINITY, SODIUM, CHLORIDES, AND BORON EXCEEDED A VARIETY OF HUMAN HEALTH, FISH AND WILDLIFE, AGRICULTURAL, PLANT AND NUISANCE STANDARDS. [copied from deleted record 10116973]

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    ECKEL, E. B., YATES, R. G., AND GRANGER, A. E., 1940, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS IN SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND SOUTHWESTERN MONTEREY COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: USGS BULL. 922-R, P. 575 - 580

  • Deposit

    FRANKE, H. A. 1935, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIF. JOUR. OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 51, P. 434 - 455

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E.H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES

  • Deposit

    BRADLEY, W.W., 1918, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CJMG BULL. 78, 389 P.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD, CENTRAL COAST REGION. SURFACE WATER DEGRADATION BY INACTIVE METAL MINES IN NORTHWEST SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, CA, DECEMBER 1993 (P. 8-10).

  • Production

    USBM DATA

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MINING AND MILLING EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN REMOVED

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1976-07-01 Peterson, Jocelyn A. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 1994-11-23 Ridenour, James U.S. Geological Survey MAS 0060790076 = newMRDS 10226973.
Updater 2010-11-08 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey MAS 0060790076 = newMRDS 10226973., merged and deleted.

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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.