1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Meyers Cove Fluorspar Deposits

Past Producer in Lemhi county in Idaho, United States with commodities Fluorine-Fluorite, Barium-Barite, Quartz, Calcium
Map
XML
JSON
KML
A
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. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10069418
MRDS ID W006945
MAS/MILS ID 0160590391
Record type Site
Current site name Meyers Cove Fluorspar Deposits
Alternate or previous names Crystle Area Chamac Camp Lode, Crystle No. 1 Lode, Anderson Lead, South Lead, Bear Trap Lead, Powder House Lead, Big Lead, North Lead, And M. and M. Purcell Area Morning Sun Lode, Red Spar Lode, Red Spar Extension Lode, Red Spar No. 2 Lodes, Purple Spar Lode, Purple Spar Extension Lode, Purple Spar No. 2 Lode, Purple Spar No. 4 Lodes, Fluorspar Lode, And East Fluorspar Lode.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -114.50063, 44.85318 (WGS84)
Elevation 1880
Relative position 3 KM NORTH OF MEYERS COVE ON BOTH SIDES OF CAMAS CREEK.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lemhi(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Meyers Cove(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Challis(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Challis(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Middle Fork Salmon(hydrologic unit)

Salmon(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Snake(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Salmon-Challis 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 Idaho Lemhi

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Boise 018 N 017 E 16,29 Idaho

Comments on the location information

  • El Tule Fluorite Area Covers A Part Of The Sierra El Infante And The Extreme SE Of Serrania Del Burro-- An Area Of Approximately 1000 Sq Km.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Primary
Barium-Barite Critical Primary
Quartz Tertiary
Calcium Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Fluorite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification

Analytical data

Result ORE WAS GENERALLY ABOVE 50% CAF2 BUT OCCASIONALLY ORE DOWN TO 40% CAF2 WAS UTILIZED.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
    Rock unit name Oligo Challis Tuffs With Intercalated Flows And Interbedded Sedimentary Materials
    Rock description Oligo Challis Tuffs With Intercalated Flows And Interbedded Sedimentary Materials
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -114.50063, 44.85318
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure name Fold
Type of structure Regional
Structure name Idaho Batholith

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR - NORTHEAST AND OCCASIONALLY NORTHWEST - TRENDING FAULTS AND FRACTURES FORM THE SITES OF MINERALIZATION. CHIEFLY FISSURE FILLING BUT LOCALLY MUCH REPLACEMENT OF WALL ROCK AND INCLUDED BRECCIA

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Faults
  • Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • Early Reports Used The Unit Names Georgetown Limestone, Del Rio Shale, Buda Limestone. The Georgetown Limestone Was Reported To Be Dark Gray And Massive; The Del Rio Shale Well-Bedded, Plack, And Pyritiferous. Rholite Intrusions Crop Out Just Outside Of The El Tule District.
  • Original Structures entry:
    Local - "Younger" Fold Whose Axis Trends N 40 Deg E And Crosses Camas Creek About 11 Km. West Of The District (Anderson 1954 P. 8).
    Regional - Idaho Batholith
  • Original alteration entry:
    Local - Silicification Of Wall Rock
  • Original ore control entry:
    Northeast Or Occasionally Northwest Trending Faults; Fractures

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1942
Discoverer R. Miles, R. Johnson (Crystle); H. V. St. Clair, D. Shulenberger, E. Purcell (Purcell).
Year of first production 1951

Mining district

District name Meyers Cove Area

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Fluorspar Mines Inc.; Seaforth Minerals And Ore Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Chamac Mines Co.; Seaforth Minerals And Ore Co.

Comments on the production information

  • Big Lead Accounted For Over 75% Of The Production With 26579 Met. Tons. Other Production Is As Follows: North Lead (North Pit) - 3235, Anderson - 1529, Beartrap - 1183, M. And M. 1059, And Chamac - 366 Met Tons Crude Ore. After Milling The Tonnage Totalled 9,958.6 Met Tons Acid Grade, 905 Ceramic Grade, And 90 Metallurgical Grade. Productive Period Was 1951 Until The Mill Burned In April 1953 And A Small Production In 1971 (U. S. Bu Mines Minerals Yearbook).

Comments on the workings information

  • The Big Lead Mine Has An Outcrop 100 M. Long And Up To 6 M. Wide Comprising Its Main Ore Body. The No. 2 Level Is Over 60 M. Below The Highest Stope. Other Mines In The Area Are Smaller.

Comments on development

  • Deposits Discovered By Sampling And Shallow Prospect Pits. ; Econ.Com: Lack Of Water In The Area Has Prompted Construction Of A Pilot Plant Which Uses Compressed Air To Separate Out The Celestite.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Anderson, A. L., 1954, Fluorspar Deposits Near Meyers Cove, Lemhi County, Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology, Pamphlet No. 98.

  • Production

    Anderson, A. L., 1954, Fluorspar Dep. Near Meyers Cove, Lemhi Co., Idaho

  • Deposit

    Cox, D. C., 1954, Fluorspar Deposits Near Meyers Cove, Lemhi County Idaho: USGS Bulletin 1015a.

  • Deposit

    Ross, C.P., 1934, Geology And Ore Deposits Of The Casto Quadrangle, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 854, 135 P.

  • Deposit

    Anderson, A.L., 1943, Antimony And Fluorspar Deposits Near Meyers Cove, Lemhi County, Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 62.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1942 (CRYSTLE), 1943 (PURCELL)
Deposit Deposits Occur As Discontinuous Mantos 0.5 To 2 M Thick And Averaging 0.6 M Thick. The Ore Zone Is In The Top Few Meters Of The (Georgetown) Limestone And In Places Partially Or Completely Replaces The Thin (Del Rio) Shale. The Beds Are Flat And The Fluorspar Occurs As Discontinuous Mantos Of 50-80 Percent Fluorspar. Celestite Is A Common Gangue Mineral And Some Deposits Contain A High Percentage Of Silica. The Orebodies Are Commonly Small And Not Suitable For Large-Scale Mining. The More Heavily Jointed (Georgetown Lst.) Is Favored As Host Rock. The Relatively Unjointed (Del Rio Shale) Was Less Permeable And The Mineralizing Agents Were At First Ponded Against It. Mineralization Extends Into The (Buda) Lst (Which Overlies The (Del Rio)) In Limited Areas. Mineralization Is Occassionally Associated With Highly Altered Rhyolite Dikes.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1975 Schruben, Paul G. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 11-JUN-1984 Western Field Operations Center (WFOC) U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site