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Escalante Silver Mine

Producer in Iron county in Utah, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Gold
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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. 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 10042299
MRDS ID M058828
Record type Site
Current site name Escalante Silver Mine
Alternate or previous names Holt

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -113.71998, 37.68164 (WGS84)
Elevation 1611
Relative position 20,700 FEET SOUTHWEST OF BERYL JUNCTION

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Iron(county)

Utah(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Beryl Junction(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Cedar City(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Cedar City(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Escalante Desert(hydrologic unit)

Escalante Desert-Sevier Lake(hydrologic accounting unit)

Escalante Desert-Sevier Lake(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Utah Iron

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Salt Lake 036S 017W 02 SE Utah

Comments on the location information

  • AREA OF MINING AND MINING CLAIMS COVERS MUCH OF THE SOUTHEAST QUARTER OF SECTION 2 ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1975)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary
Copper Tertiary
Gold Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Descloizite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Malachite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Willemite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification Envelope Which Is 50 To 100 Feet Wide, In Turn Enveloped By A Calcite-Altered Zone

Analytical data

Result GENERAL GRADES OF 11 OZ/TON AG, LESS THAN 2% PB, LESS THAN 2% ZN, LESS THAN 500 PPM CU, AND TRACE GOLD

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -113.71998, 37.68164
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description East-Northeast Striking Graben
Type of structure Local
Structure description N 22 E Striking Fissure

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N 22 E
    Dip 70W
    Thickness 152.4M
    Length 1036.32M
    Width 13.72M
    Depth to top 45.72M
    Depth to bottom 182.88M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • N 22 E Striking Fissure

Comments on the geologic information

  • VOLCANICLASTIC HOST ROCK IS POST-MIDDLE MIOCENE IN AGE AND FILLS EAST-NORTH EAST TRENDING GRABEN STRUCTURE

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1896
Discoverer Heber Holt, Enterprise, Utah
Year of first production 1934

Mining district

District name Escalante District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Redco Silver, Inc.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Hecla Mining Co.
    Home office Wallace Idaho

Production statistics

  • Year 1981
    Material ?
    Description Ap_Grade: ^11 Oz/Ton Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Silver Silver 311g/mt
  • Year 1982
    Material ?
    Description Ap_Grade: ^11 Oz/Ton Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Silver Silver 311g/mt
  • Year 1983
    Material ?
    Description Ap_Grade: ^11 Oz/Ton Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Silver Silver 311g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • ESTIMATES BASED ON PROJECTED FIGURES IN 1982. MINING AND PRODUCTION IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Length 1554.48M
    Overall depth 243.84M

Comments on the workings information

  • MAIN ACCESS IS VIA A FIGURE-EIGHT SPIRAL DECLINE WITH CROSSCUTS AT PERIODIC INTERVALS DRIVEN TO THE VEIN. DECLINE IS USED FOR REMOVAL OF ORE VIA DUMP TRUCKS. DECLINE WILL ULTIMATELY BE AT LEAST 5100 FOOT LONG. MINING METHOD IS END-SLICING, A VARIATION OF VERTICAL CRATER RETREAT MINING.

Comments on development

  • ORIGINAL CLAIMS STAKED IN 1896 BY HEBER HOLT OF ENTERPRISE UTAH. CLAIMS WERE PATENTED IN 1910. LIMITED EXPLORATION AND MINING WAS CONDUCTED ON THE PROPERTY UNTIL 1957. SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION BEGUN IN 1958 BY SAMUEL S. ARENTZ, BUT PROPERTY STILL UNECONOMIC. RANCHERS EXPLORATION TOOK CONTROL OF THE PROPERTY IN 1975. DRILLING AND TEST MINING BEGAN IN 1979. FULL MINE DEVELOPMENT BEGAN IN 1980. ORE FIRST FED TO THE MILL ON AUGUST 29, 1981. MINING ACTIVE TO PRESENT - MAY 1985 - AND IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. HECLA MINING COMPANY BOUGHT RANCHERS EXPLORATION IN LATE 1984 AND NOW OWN AND OPERATE MINE

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    FITCH, D.C., AND BRADY, M.W., 1982, GEOLOGY OF THE ESCALANTE SILVER MINE, UTAH: NORTHWEST MINING ASSOCIATION 88TH ANNUAL CONVENTION, DECEMBER 9, 1982.

  • Deposit

    HOGAN, D.K., AND OTHERS, 1982, ESCALANTE: MAJOR SILVER MINE NEARS FIRST YEAR OF FALL OPERATION: MINING ENGINEER VOL 34, NO. 9, PP. 1323-1328.

  • Deposit

    ALLEN, D.R., 1979, GEOLOGY, AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE ESCALANTE SILVER VEINS, IRON COUNTY, UTAH: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH, UNPUBLISHED MS THESIS, 72 P.

  • Deposit

    SIDERS, M.A., 1985, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE BERYL JUNCTION QUADRANGLE, IRON COUNTY, UTAH: UTAH GEOLOGICAL AND MINERAL SURVEY, GEOLOGIC QUADRANGLE MAP. IN PRESS.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE DEPOSIT OCCUPIES A CONTINOUS ZONE WITHIN THE ESCALANTE VEIN. THE VEIN AVERAGES 19 FEET WIDE AND MINERALIZATION OCCURS OVER THE ENTIRE WIDTH. VEIN IS MARKED BY CRUSTIFORM BANDING WITH BANDS OF FINE-GRAINED CRYSTALLINE QUARTZ AND QUARTZ WITH HEMATITE, CALCITE, OR FLUORITE, INCLUSIONS. SILVER IS ASSOCIATED WITH QUARTZ - HEMATITE BANDS. BRECCIATION AND REPEATED VEINING IS COMMON - TENTATIVE PARAGENESIS IS (1) EARLY BARREN-CALCITE PHASE, (2) LATER QUARTZ-FLUORITE PHASE, (3) EPISODIC DEPOSITION OF QUARTZ-SULFIDE, SILVER AND HEMATITE MINERALS, AND (4) A LATE QUARTZ-CALCITE PERIOD.
Deposit MINING CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1984 Shubat, Michael A. Utah Geological and Mineral Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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