Buck Lead Mine

Past Producer in Jo Daviess county in Illinois, United States with commodities Zinc, 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. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10086337
MRDS ID W800233
Record type Site
Current site name Buck Lead Mine
Alternate or previous names Buck Lead Range

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -90.42567, 42.43529 (WGS84)
Relative position THE BUCK LEAD RANGE IS ON BUCK HILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUCK HILL DIGGINGS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jo Daviess(county)

Illinois(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Galena(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dubuque South(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Dubuque(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Apple-Plum(hydrologic unit)

Upper Mississippi-Maquoketa-Plum(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Mississippi-Maquoketa-Plum(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Mississippi(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Illinois Jo Daviess

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
28N 1E 8 NE OF SE Illinois

Comments on the location information

  • THIS IS A VERY OLD AND IMPORTANT LEAD MINE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Sphalerite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Leaching, Silicification, Dolomitization

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 224
USGS model code 32a
Deposit model name Mississippi Valley, S.E. Missouri Pb-Zn
Mark3 model number 42

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Middle Ordovician
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -90.42567, 42.43529

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Southeast Of Wisconsin Dome And On The Gentle West Limb Of Wisconsin Arch. To The South Is Illinois Basin And To The West And Southwest Is Forest City Basin. A Few Minles South O Fthe Zinc-Lead District Is Westward-Trending Savanna-Sabula Anticline. Regional Strike Is N 85 W And The Dip Is South.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Jointing

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE MAIN MINERALIZED JOINTS STRIKE N 88 W AND DIP VERY STEEPLY TO THE SOUTH. THE ORE BODY IS A GASH-VEIN 1,300 FT LONG AND 20 TO 30 FT WIDE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1820
Discoverer Old Buck, A Fox And Sac Indian
Year of first production 1824
Production years WORK BY INDIANS BEFORE 1823; WHEN THE FIRST WHITE SETTLERS ARRIVED, THEY TOOK OVER AND MINED IT FOR MANY YEARS.

Mining district

District name Upper Mississippi Valley

Comments on the production information

  • THIS MINE PRODUCED A VERY LARGE TONNAGE OF LEAD ORE.

Comments on the workings information

  • MINING PROBABLY DID NOT GO BELOW THE GROUND-WATER LEVEL.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HEYL, A.V., AGNEW, A.F., LYONS, E.J., AND BEHRE, C.H., JR., 1959, THE GEOLOGY OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ZINC-LEAD DISTRICT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 309, 310 P.

  • Deposit

    WHITNEY, J.D., 1866, GEOLOGY OF THE LEAD REGION: ILLINOIS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. 1, P. 153-207.

  • Production

    WHITNEY, 1866, P. 203.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ZINC-LEAD DISTRICT LIES WITHIN THE SO-CALLED DRIFTLESS AREA WHERE NO MANTLE OF GLACIAL DRIFT IS PRESENT TO OBSCURE THE ROCK EXPOSURES. NATURAL CAVES ARE COMMON IN THE DISTRICT.
Deposit PROBABLY THE BEST KNOWN AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LEAD MINES IN THE GALENA AREA.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1994 Hedgman, Cheryl (Cannon, W.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAR-1997 Sutphin, David M. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 01-MAY-1997 Mason Jr., G.T. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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