Snowbird Mine

Past Producer in Valley county in Idaho, United States with commodities Tungsten, Silver, Gold, Copper
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. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10071479
MRDS ID W014895
Record type Site
Current site name Snowbird Mine
Related records 10145076

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -115.41037, 45.15798 (WGS84)
Elevation 2530
Relative position 4.75 MI NW OF BIG CREEK; 12 MI NE ELK SUMMIT

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Valley(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Wolf Fang Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Warren(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Elk City(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

Payette 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 Valley

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Boise 021N 009E 18 Idaho

Comments on the location information

  • SHORT DISTANCE W OF MCREA MINE BETWEEN MIDDLE AND SOUTH FORKS OF SMITH CREEK

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Tungsten Critical Primary
Silver Tertiary
Gold Tertiary
Copper Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Acanthite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Digenite Ore
Electrum Ore
Galena Ore
Huebnerite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Stolzite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Apatite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification, Oxidation

Analytical data

Result SURFACE ASSAYS AVG. 1.75% WO3
Result OTHER SAMPLES: 100 - 300 OZ AG/TON, 2 - 4 OZ. AU/TON, FEW % OF CU, PB, ZN

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Dacite
    Rock unit name Profile Gap-Smith Creek Dike Swarm-Dacite Dikes;Idaho Batholith-Quartz Monzonite
    Rock description Profile Gap-Smith Creek Dike Swarm-Dacite Dikes;Idaho Batholith-Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Quartz-Feldspar Gneiss
    Rock description Quartz-Feldspar Gneiss

Nearby scientific data

(1) -115.41037, 45.15798

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Minor Faults With N-Ne Strike

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR, IRREGULAR
    Strike N 25 DEG E
    Dip 70 DEG W
    Length 51.82M
    Width 2.74M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shear Zone

Comments on the geologic information

  • LEONARD (1968) SAYS HOST ROCK IS GRANITIC ROCK OF IDAHO BATHOLITH. KIRKPATRICK BELIEVES IT IS QUARTZ - FELDSPAR GNEISS, DATED ANYTIME BETWEEN PRECAMBRIAN AND CRETACEOUS

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1942
Year of first production 1944

Mining district

District name Edwardsburg District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name Payette National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Mc Rae Tungsten Corp.

Comments on the production information

  • MORE THAN $90,000 PRODUCTION. ORE PRODUCED IN 1956 AVERAGED 0.65% WO3.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 6.1M

Comments on development

  • 7 UNPATENTED CLAIMS

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    KIRKPATRICK, G. E., 1974, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE BIG CREEK AREA, VALLEY AND IDAHO COUNTIES, IDAHO: MOSCOW, IDAHO, UNIV. OF IDAHO, M.S. THESIS, P. 46 - 47

  • Deposit

    COOK, E. F., 1956, TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL IDAHO: IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY PAMPHLET 108, 40 P.

  • Deposit

    HOBBS, S. W., 1964, MINERAL RESOURCE-TUNGSTEN, IN MINERAL AND WATER RESOURCES OF IDAHO: IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY SPEC. REPT. NO. 1, P. 223 - 233.

  • Deposit

    LEONARD, B. F., AND OTHERS, 1968 , SILVER - RICH DISSEMINATED SULFIDES FROM A TUNGSTEN - BEARING QUARTZ LODE, BIG CREEK DISTRICT, CENTRAL IDAHO: USGS PROF. PAPER 594 - C.

  • Deposit

    1956 RECON IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY PAMPHLET 108

  • Deposit

    1964 COMPILE IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY SPEC. REPT. NO. 1

  • Deposit

    1968 GEOCHEM B. F. LEONARD AND OTHERS, PROF. PAPER 594-C

  • Production

    KIRKPATRICK, G. E., 1974, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO M.S. THESIS, P 46

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1976 Duncan, Daniel G. (Miller, Pat) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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