Iron Mountain Mine

Past Producer in Shasta county in California, United States with commodities Copper, Zinc, Iron, Gold, Silver, Platinum
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. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10077593
MRDS ID W025295
Record type Site
Current site name Iron Mountain Mine
Related records 10189961

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -122.52777, 40.67541 (WGS84)
Elevation 945
Relative position 17 MI NORTHWEST OF REDDING

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Shasta(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Whiskeytown(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Redding(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Redding(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Sacramento(hydrologic accounting unit)

Sacramento(hydrologic subregion)

California(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California Shasta

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 033N 006W 34,35 California

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION GIVEN IS MINE SYMBOL NEAR CENTER SEC. 34 SURROUNDED BY DUMPS

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Iron Secondary
Gold Secondary
Silver Secondary
Platinum Critical Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PYRITE AND CHALCOPYRITE FOUND IN APPROXIMATELY EQUAL AMOUNTS. PLATINUM REPORTED IN SMELTER RETURNS FROM IRON MOUNTAIN (EILERS, 1913)

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Antlerite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Galena Ore
Greenockite Ore
Hematite Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Sulfur Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Hydrothermal Pyritization, Silicification

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 184
USGS model code 28a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, kuroko
Mark3 model number 93

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Balaklala Rhyolite
    Rock description Balaklala Rhyolite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -122.52777, 40.67541

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Folds
Type of structure Local
Structure description Major Post-Mineral Faults Are Scott, Camden, And J Faults; The Camden Also Had Premineral Movement. Scott Fault Zone Is 3-5 Ft Wide With Many Anastomosing Slickensides And Dark-Gray To White Gouge. Scott Is A Normal Fault, Dipping 50ne, With 250 Ft Dip-Slip Displacement. Camden Fault Zone Is 50 Ft Wide At 2,600 Ft Level.

Ore body information

  • Name HORNET
    General form LENTICULAR
    Dip }}}
    Thickness 60.96M
    Length 381M
    Width 60.96M
  • Name MATTIE
    General form LENTICULAR
    Dip }}}
    Thickness 53.34M
    Length 114.3M
    Width 45.72M
  • Name RICHMOND
    General form LENTICULAR
    Dip }}}
    Thickness 60.96M
    Length 411.48M
    Width 121.92M
  • Name BRICK FLAT
    General form LENTICULAR
    Dip }}}
    Thickness 30.48M
    Length 335.28M
    Width 121.92M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Folds, Thick Cover Of Shale, Premineral Faulting May Have Provided Channelways For Mineralizing Fluids

Comments on the geologic information

  • THICK COVER OF SHALE LIES STRATIGRAPHICALLY ABOVE DEPOSIT

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1865
Year of first production 1897
Year of last production 1962
Production years 1897-1919, 1925, 1928-1930, 1943-1947

Mining district

District name West Shasta Copper-Zinc District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Iron Mountain Mines, Inc.
    First year 1985

Production statistics

  • Year 1947
    Period 1897-1947
    Material CU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^2-5% Zn, 7.5% Cu, 1 Oz/Ton Ag, 0.04 Oz/Ton Au
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Copper Copper 8wt-pct
    Major Gold Gold 1g/mt
    Silver Silver 28g/mt
    Zinc Zinc 4wt-pct
  • Year 1947
    Period 1897-1947
    Material CU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^3.5% Zn, 2% Cu, 1 Oz/Ton Ag, 0.02 Oz/Ton Au
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Zinc Zinc 4wt-pct
    Major Gold Gold 1g/mt
    Silver Silver 28g/mt
    Copper Copper 2wt-pct
  • Year 1947
    Period 1897-1947
    Material CU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^3.5% Cu, 0.04 Oz/Ton Ag, 0.001 Oz/Ton Au
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Gold Gold 0g/mt
    Copper Copper 4wt-pct
    Silver Silver 1g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • CUMULATIVE COPPER PRODUCTION ENTRIES ARE FOR FLOTATION PLANT, COPPER ORE OF OLD MINE OREBODY, DISSEMINATED COPPER

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN PIT

Comments on development

  • SILVER DISCOVERED IN GOSSAN IN 1879. MINED FOR SULFUR DURING LATE 1950'S TO 1962. IN 1985 IRON MOUNTAINS MINES, INC. BEGAN ENGINEERING STUDIES FOR A $20 MILLION IN-SITU MINING OPERATION DESIGNED TO RECOVER CU, ZN, AND PRECIOUS METALS

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    KINKEL, A.R., HALL, W.E., AND ALBERS, J.P., 1956, GEOLOGY AND BASE-METAL DEPOSITS OF WEST SHASTA COPPER-ZINC DISTRICT, SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 285, P. 117-129.

  • Deposit

    EILERS, A., 1913, RARE METALS IN BLISTER COPPER: AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS TRANSACTIONS, V. 47, P. 217-218.

  • Deposit

    NOTES PROVIDED FOR SOCIETY OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGISTS KLAMATH MOUNTAINS FIELD TRIP, OCTOBER 7-13, 1984.

  • Deposit

    KINKEL, A.R., AND ALBERS, J.P., 1951, GEOLOGY OF THE MASSIVE SULFIDE DEPOSITS AT IRON MOUNTAIN, SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF MINES SPECIAL REPORT 14, 19 P.

  • Deposit

    CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY, 1986, MINERAL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA, 1985: CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY, V. 39, P. 93.

  • Production

    KINKEL AND OTHERS, 1956, P. 118; SEG FIELD TRIP NOTES

  • Reserve-Resource

    SEG FIELD TRIP NOTES

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MASSIVE SULFIDE IS MOST ABUNDANT, DISSEMINATED CHALCOPYRITE AND QUARTZ-CHALCOPYRITE VEINS IN SCHCISTOSE ROCKS ARE LESS ABUNDANT. THERE ARE 8 MASSIVE SULFIDE BODIES IN MINE AREA; DIMENSIONS ARE FOR THE BRICK FLAT, RICHMOND, HORNET, AND MATTIE ORE BODIES ONLY. OVERALL DEPOSIT LENGTH FOR THESE ORE BODIES IS 3500 FT.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1978 Fraticelli, L. A. (Albers, J.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1993 Peterson, Jocelyn A. (Mosier, Dan) U.S. Geological Survey ADDED SUBSTANTIAL DEPOSIT DESCRIPTION INFORMATION

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Authoritative California resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.