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Caledonia Mine

Past Producer in Shoshone county in Idaho, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, 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. 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. Production statistics
  20. Workings at the site
  21. Links to other databases
  22. Bibliographic references
  23. General comments
  24. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10073353
MRDS ID W019397
Record type Site
Current site name Caledonia Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -116.16683, 47.52457 (WGS84)
Elevation 1019
Relative position In Deadman Gulch 2 MI SW OF KELLOGG

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Shoshone(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Kellogg West(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Coeur D'Alene(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Spokane(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

South Fork Coeur d'Alene(hydrologic unit)

Spokane(hydrologic accounting unit)

Kootenai-Pend Oreille-Spokane(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Idaho Shoshone

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Boise 048N 002E 11 Idaho

Comments on the location information

  • 2000 FT E OF SENATOR STEWART; 2500 FT W OF SIERRA NEVADA.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Copper Secondary
Gold Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Tetrahedrite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Covellite Ore
Malachite Ore
Silver Ore
Massicot Ore
Cerussite Ore
Quartz Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Siderite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Azurite Trace
Linarite Trace
Leadhillite Trace
Caledonite Trace
Copper Trace
Cuprite Trace
Pyromorphite Trace

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation is significant and complete down to the 200 foot level. Vein outcrop consists of quartz and limonite. Massicot, cerussite, silver chlorides, and native silver were found in the oxide zone.

Mineral occurrence model information

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

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Rock unit name St. Regis Formation
    Rock description St. Regis Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -116.16683, 47.52457
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Vein in hangingwall of Osburn Fault, and bounded by the Osburn and New Era Faults within the overturned north limb of a WNW-trending anticline.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Combination Fault (N67E 35-45SE) offsets the Caledonia vein 183 meters to the north onto the Omaha claim. Vein was followed 300 feet on the eastern side of the fault. West of the fault are two high-grade shoots of direct shipping ore, 46 and 91 meters long, separated by 38 meters of lower grade milling ore.

Ore body information

  • Name Caledonia Vein
    General form PINCH AND SWELL
    Strike NE
    Dip SE
    Thickness 182
    Length 121.92M

Comments on the ore body information

  • Carbonate ore was mined above the 200 level, sulfide ore below the 500 level, and mixed carbonate-sulfide ore between the 200 and 500 levels. The Caledonia vein is either an extension of or a "twin" to the Sierra Nevada vein.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fracture filling along a NE-trending fault that connects the WNW trending Osburn and New Era Faults.
  • Orebodies hosted by St. Regis Formation quartzite.

Comments on the geologic information

  • Host rock frequently misidentified as Burke Formation in the literature. Many workers have not recognized that bedding is overturned.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1895
Discoverer John Keating and others
Year of first production 1909
Year of last production 1942
Milling method Gravity
Production years 1909-1932, 1934-1942

Mining district

District name Yreka

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Caledonia Mining Co.
    Interest 100
    Home office Hayden, Idaho
    First year 1907

Comments on the ownership information

  • In 1914, Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co. acquired ownership control of the Caledonia Mining Co. Mine worked by lessees from 1927 to 1942. Ore was treated on a custom basis by the Bunker Hill Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1942
    Period 1909-1942
    Material Ore Treated
    Ore mined 238755mt
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Silver Silver 252mt 956g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • Production data from Mitchell and Bennett (1983) derived from production reported to the US Bureau of Mines.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 944.88M
    Overall depth 167.64M

Comments on the workings information

  • PRINCIPAL TUNNEL IS 3100 FT LONG. 4 TUNNELS.

Comments on development

  • CALEDONIA AGPB HAS 25 UNPATENTED CLAIMS IN THE SLATE CREEK AREA AND 12 CLAIMS IN THE YREKA DISTRICT, THE LATTER ACQUIRED FROM NORDIC SILVER
  • Ore was initially shipped directly to smelters, and later treated on a custom basis by the Bunker Hill Co. in a gravity concentation plant.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    UMPLEBY, J. B., AND JONES, E. L., JR., 1923 , GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF SHOSHONE CO., IDAHO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 732 , 156 P.

  • Production

    Mitchell, V.E., and Bennett, E.H., 1983, Production statistics for the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Shoshone County, Idaho, 1884-1980: Idaho Geological Society 83-3, 33 p.

  • Deposit

    Hershey, O.H., 1911, The geology and ore deposits of the Wardner district, Idaho: Kellogg, Idaho, Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co., 777 p. [University of Idaho, Special Collections, Bunker Hill Collection, Box 99]

  • Deposit

    Fryklund, V.C., Jr., 1964, Ore deposits of the Coeur d'Alene district, Shoshone County, Idaho: US Geological Survey Professional Paper 445, 103 p.

  • Deposit

    Ransome, F.L., and Calkins, F.C., 1908, The geology and ore deposits of the Coeur d'Alene district, Idaho: US Geological Survey Professional Paper 62, 203 p.

  • Production

    Long, K.R., 1998, Grade and tonnage models for Coeur d'Alene-type polymetallic veins: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-583, 28 p.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS RECORD MAY HAVE MIXED INFORMATION BELONGING TO CALEDONIA SILVER LEAD MIN. CO. AND CALEDONIA MIN. CO. (NOW IN ASARCO ?) IF THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE COMPANIES

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1974 Miller, Pat J. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 21-OCT-1990 Western Field Operations Center U.S. Bureau of Mines
Updater 11-MAR-2005 Long, Keith R. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site