Clipper

Occurrence in King county in Washington, United States with commodities Copper, Molybdenum, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Arsenic
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Ore body information
  14. Controls for ore emplacement
  15. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  16. Mining district
  17. Land status
  18. Ownership information
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10055922
MRDS ID SP00134
Record type Site
Current site name Clipper
Alternate or previous names Snoqualmie Copper, Katie Belle

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -121.34564, 47.51788 (WGS84)
Elevation 1280
Relative position ABOUT 1.2 MI SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF BIG SNOW MOUNTAIN

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

King(county)

Washington(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Snow Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Skykomish River(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Wenatchee(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Snoqualmie(hydrologic unit)

Puget Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Puget Sound(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Washington King

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Willamette 023N;023N;024N;024N 011E;012E;011E;012E 1;3;36;34 N2 (01); NW4 OF NW4 (03); S2 (36); SW4 (34) Washington

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Molybdenum Primary
Gold Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • AREA HAS PERIPHERAL PB AND ZN MINERALIZATION. INSIGNIFICANT AU AND W.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Chlorite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Pyrrhotite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Siderite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Potassic, phyllic, propylitic (mostly in barren rock), silicification

Analytical data

Result SURFACE SAMPLES RANGE FROM 0.52-1.2% CU, 0.2% MO. OTHER ASSAY DATA GIVEN IN DERKEY AND OTHERS (1990), GUALTIERI AND OTHERS (1973)

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 53
USGS model code 17
Deposit model name Porphyry Cu
Mark3 model number 4

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Tonalite
    Rock unit name Snoqualmie Batholith, Northern Phase
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Naches Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -121.34564, 47.51788

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure name NE trending belt of en echelon NW striking faults, fractures, breccia pipes
Type of structure Regional
Structure name Part of Ne-trending belt of en-echelon NW-striking faults, fractures, bx pi

Ore body information

  • General form DISSEMINATED, STOCKWORK VEINLETS

Controls for ore emplacement

  • See Comments

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE CLIPPER DEPOSIT IS IN THE SNOQUALMIE BATHOLITH, NORTHERN PHASE GRANODIORITE AND TONALITE WITH BIOTITE AND HORNBLENDE; LOCALLY IT CONTAINS CLINOPYROXENE. THE ROCKS ARE LIGHT COLORED, MEDIUM CRYSTALLINE, AND MOSTLY EQUIGRANULAR AND HAVE HYPIDIOMORPHIC TEXTURE, AND ARE COARSELY JOINTED. AGE OF THE NORTHERN PHASE IS ABOUT 25 M.Y. BASED ON INTERPRETATION OF NUMEROUS DISCORDANT K-AR AGES OF BOTH HORNBLENDE AND BIOTITE (TABOR AND OTHERS, 1982, P. 8).
  • GRANT (1969) INDICATES THERE WERE TWO STAGES OF MINERALIZATION
  • TOURMALINE BRECCIA PIPES ARE ALTERED AND MINERALIZED IN ADDITION TO THE DISSEMINATED AND STOCKWORK MINERALIZATION

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No

Mining district

District name Snoqualmie - Burns - Miller River

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name Adjacent To Alpine Lakes Wilderness In Snoqualmie National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner United Cascade Mining Co., Inc.
    First year 1990

Comments on the production information

  • SOME ORE STOCKPILED ON DUMP. PROBABLY MINOR PRODUCTION, ALTHOUGH NONE IS RECORDED

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVES ESTIMATED AT 100 MILLION TONS AT 0.4% CU, 0.02% MO (HOLLISTER, 1979). GRANT ESTIMATED 250,000 TONS AT 0.85% CU IN A SMALL AREA (GUALTIERI AND OTHERS, 1973)

Comments on the workings information

  • Adits

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: TEST STOPE 25 FT. BY 35 FT. LONG; ORE STOCKPILED ON DUMP.
  • OVER THE YEARS HAS BEEN EXPLORED BY MANY MINING COMPANIES

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    DERKEY, R.E., JOSEPH, N.L., AND LASMANIS, RAYMOND, 1990, METAL MINES OF WASHINGTON - PRELIMINARY REPORT: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES OPEN-FILE REPORT 90-18, P. 109-110.

  • Deposit

    FRIZZELL, V.A., JR.; TABOR, R.W.; BOOTH, D.B.; ORT, K.M.; WAITT, R.B., 1984, PRELIMINARY GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE SNOQUALMIE PASS 1:100,000 QUADRANGLE, WASHINGTON: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 84-693, 42 P., 1 PL.

  • Deposit

    GRANT, A.R., 1969, CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CONTROLS FOR BASE METAL DEPOSITION IN THE CASCADE RANGE OF WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 58, 107 P.

  • Deposit

    GUALTIERI, J.L.; THURBER, H.K.; MILLER, M.S.; MCMAHAN, A.B.; FEDERSPIEL, F.F.,1975, MINERAL RESOURCES OF ADDITIONS TO THE ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, CHELAN, KING, AND KITTITAS COUNTIES, WASHINGTON: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 75-3, 161 P., 2 PL., p. 54, 68-71.

  • Deposit

    HUNTTING, M. T., 1956, INVENTORY OF WASHINGTON MINERALS-PART II, METALLIC MINERALS: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 37, V. 1, 428 P.; V. 2, 67 P.

  • Deposit

    LIVINGSTON, V.E., JR., 1971, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 63, 200 P., 8 PL.

  • Deposit

    MC INTYRE, A.W., 1907, COPPER DEPOSITS OF WASHINGTON: AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS, 9TH ANNUAL SESSION, REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS, P. 238-250.

  • Deposit

    PURDY, C.P., JR., 1951, MOLYBDENUM OCCURRENCES OF WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 18, 118 P., 6 PL. (p. 28-29)

  • Deposit

    WESTERN MINER, 1967, WESTLAND MINES LTD.; P. 128

  • Deposit

    UNPUBLISHED INFORMATION: MELROSE, J.W., 1941, MINERALIZATION OF THE AREA TO BE SERVED BY THE MIDDLE FORK OF SNOQUALMIE RIVER ROAD. CARITHERS, WARD, 1942, MEMORANDUM TO SHELDON C. GLOVER. THESE REPORTS ARE IN Washington Divison of Geology and Earth Resources FILES.

  • Deposit

    HOLLISTER, V.F., 1979, PROPHYRY COPPER-TYPE DEPOSITS OF THE CASCADE VOLCANIC ARC, WASHINGTON: MINERALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, V. 11, P. 32.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ON THE LAST CHANCE CLAIM, A 390-FT. ADIT BEARING N40W INTERSECTS MINERALIZATION FROM 265 TO 310 FT.; THE AREA WAS STOPED. ON THE PEDRO CLAIM, A 10-FT. ADIT WAS DRIVEN IN A 50-FT.-WIDE MINERALIZED ZONE. ON THE KATIE BELLE AND TRACY CLAIMS, A 15-FT. ADIT AND A 100-PLUS-FT. ADIT WERE DRIVEN. BOTH THE PATENTED AND UNPATENTED CLAIMS ARE OWNED (1990) BY UNITED CASCADE MINING CO., INC. COMPANIES WHO HAVE EXPLORED THE DEPOSIT INCLUDE ANACONDA COPPER CO., HOWE SOUND CO., CLIMAX MOLYBDENUM CORP., ANACONDA CO., BEAR CORP., HOUSTON OIL AND MINERALS, AND ELECTRAS RESOURCES. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1991 Berger, Mary A. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-AUG-1992 Frank, Dave U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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