Yellow Jacket Mine

Producer in Lemhi county in Idaho, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead
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. Nearby scientific data
  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. Reserves and resources
  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 10070808
MRDS ID W013905
MAS/MILS ID 0160590343
Record type Site
Current site name Yellow Jacket Mine
Alternate or previous names Yellowjacket Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -114.52033, 44.98738 (WGS84)
Elevation 1951
Relative position ABOUT .75 MI NNE OF OLD TOWN OF YELLOWJACKET

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lemhi(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Yellowjacket(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 019N 016E 13 Idaho

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Tertiary
Lead Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Specularite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation

Analytical data

Result ASSAYS SHOWED 0.15 TO 1.9 OZ AU/TON, UP TO 0.6 OZ AG/TON, UP TO 0.82% CU. ONE BODY AVERAGED 0.2 OZ AU/TON, 5 TO 10% PB, ABOUT 3% CU.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Nearby scientific data

(1) -114.52033, 44.98738

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form STRINGERS
    Strike N 70 DEG E
    Dip STEEP NW
    Length 365.76M
    Width 12.19M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Faulting

Comments on the geologic information

  • Free-Milling Gold In Quartz-Calcite Cemented Breccias. Gold Is Found Exclusively In Irregularly Distributed Quartz- Chalcopyrite Veins That Cross-Cut The Breccia Bodies.
  • Original alteration entry:

    Local - Oxidation Occasionally To 260 Ft - Depth

  • Original ore control entry:

    Faulting

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1868
Mining method Open Pit
Year of first production 1987
Milling method Gravity
Production years 1893 - 1897 , 1902 - 1949

Mining district

District name Yellow Jacket District

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Located Claim
Type of mineral rights Patented

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name Salmon National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Cyprus Mines Corp.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Steen, William

Comments on the production information

  • 1893 - 1897 $ 121,762; By 1913, $450,000; Mine Has Produced About $2.5 Million From Time Of Discovery To Present At Today's Prices ( Wallace Miner, 1976 ).

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1997
    Total resources 2823410mt ore
    Remarks USGS OFR 2004-1038.
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Copper 0.06 wt-pct Copper Tertiary 1997
    Silver 1.75 g/mt Silver Primary 1997
    Gold 2.9 g/mt Gold Primary 1997

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 14HA
    Length 1524M
    Overall depth 140.21M
    Field Value
    MAS Development Schedule # 1
    Mining Record # 1
    Status of Mining Method ACTUAL
    Mining Method OPEN PIT
    Swell Factor .77
    Avg. Overburden Thickness 20
    Primary Material Cover SAND, SILT
    Hardness of Ore M-HARD ROCKS
    Avg. Bench Height (meters) 9
    Max. Pit Slope (degrees) 45
    Capacity 272
    Capacity Units MT ORE/DAY
    Preprod. Stripping Vol. 5
    Unit Production Cost 21.16
    Units of Production $/MT ORE
    Operating Days per Year 260
    Operating Shifts per Day 2
    Year of Information 1991

Comments on development

  • 60 - Stamp Mill, Grinding And Concentrating Plant, Aerial Tram, Cyanidation Process, Ball Mill; 7 Patented, 43 Unpatented Claims, Several Mill Sites ; Econ.Com: Eluvial Placer Cap On Lode And Slope Below.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Anderson, Alfred L., 1953, Gold - Copper - Lead Deposits Of The Yellowjacket District, Lemhi County, Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 94, 41 P.

  • Deposit

    Griner, W. C., 1974, Seventy - First Annual Report Of The Mining Industry Of Idaho For 1973 - 1974, 98 P.

  • Deposit

    The Wallace Miner, Aug. 26 , 1976 , P. 2

  • Deposit

    1953 Recon Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 94

  • Deposit

    1974 Compile State Mine Inspector'S Ann. Rept.

  • Deposit

    1976 Direxpl Cyprus Mines Corp., Wallace Miner, Aug. 26 , 1976

  • Deposit

    American Mines Handbook, 1996, P234.

  • Production

    Anderson, A. L., 1953, Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 94, 41 P.

  • Deposit

    Randol Mining Directory, 1996/97, U.S. Mines and Mining Companies, P. 203.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Largest Ore Bodies Strike NW Across Trend Of Main Ene Fracture Zone. Veins And Stringers Separated By Altered Rock Strike N 65 To 75 Deg E, And N 30 Deg W.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-74 Miller, Pat J. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 29-JUL-97 Buckingham, David A. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Operator history (post-MRDS)

MRDS records operators as of each record's last update (≤ 2019). Some of the operators listed here have since changed hands or dissolved:

Curated by qvyshift.com from publicly-reported M&A activity (SEC filings, press releases, USGS Mineral Yearbooks). Not authoritative — verify against primary sources before relying on it. The MSHA panel above is the current authoritative source for actively-permitted mines.

External references