1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Leviathan

Past Producer in Alpine county in California, United States with commodities Sulfur, Copper, Gold, Silver, Iron, Mercury
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Production statistics
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10101063
MRDS ID C004744
Record type Site
Current site name Leviathan

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -119.65738, 38.70769 (WGS84)
Relative position 6 1/2 MI WNW FROM TOPAZ LAKE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Alpine(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Heenan Lake(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Smith Valley(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Walker Lake(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Carson(hydrologic unit)

Carson(hydrologic accounting unit)

Central Lahontan(hydrologic subregion)

Great Basin(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Humboldt-Toiyabe 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 California Alpine

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Mount Diablo 010N 021E 14,15,22 California

Comments on the location information

  • UTM.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Sulfur Primary
Copper Secondary
Gold Secondary
Silver Secondary
Iron Tertiary
Mercury Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SULFUR 1ST DISCOVERED WHILE PROSPECTING FOR CHALCANTHITE. SULFUR COARSELY CRYSTALLINE AND GLOSSY IN POROUS TUFF & EVENLY DISTRIBUTED. SULFUR IN ANDESITE (?) OR OPALIZED TUFF LESS EVENLY DESTRIBUTED, AND FILLS FRACTURE PLANES RATHER THAN PORES. MINERALIZED TUFF CONTAINS UP TO 70 PERCENT SULFUR BUT AVERAGES 35 PER CENT. RARE MASSES OR VEINS OCCUR IN BOTH ROCK TYPES. MINERALIZED ANDESITE AVERAGES 25 PER CENT BUT VARIES WIDELY. ANACONDA SUPPLIED DATA FROM TYPICAL SAMPLE FROM TRUCKLOAD OF MINERALIZED TUFF. IT WAS: INSOLUBLE (MOSTLY SI02), 49 PERCENT; IRON, 6 PER CENT; SULFUR, 33 PER CENT; SOLUBLE SALTS, 12 PERCENT; AND TRACES OF AL2O3 , MGO, AND CAO. SULFATES SUCH AS ROMERITE MAY BE FORMING ON THE PIT FLOOR TODAY.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcanthite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Cuprite Ore
Gold Ore
Marcasite Ore
Melanterite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sulfur Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form ELLIPTICAL LENS
    Thickness 27.43M
    Depth to top 60.96M

Comments on the geologic information

  • SULFUR ORE BODY OCCURS AS FLAT FAULTED ELLIPTICAL LENS AT LEAST 2400 FT LONG. S HAS IMPREGNATED THE LOWER PART OF A LAKE-DEPOSITED (?) TUFF BED AND PART OF THE UNDERLYING ANDESITE (?). TUFF WHITE TO YELLOWISH, CONTACTS BETWEEN NONMINERALIZED AND MINERALIZED TUFF ARE SHARP, BUT IN ANDESITE ARE GRADATIONAL OVER 10 - 15 FT. LOCALLY TUFF IS REPLACED BY HIGHLY IRREGULAR AREAS OF GRAY OPALINE MATERIAL SEVERAL FT IN LENGTH. PART OF THE TUFF CONTAINS FINE GRAINED XTLS OF KAOLINIZED FSPAR. ANDESITE (?) IS REMARKABLY SIMILAR TO THESE REPLACEMENT AREAS. AN AGGLOMERATE UNIT ABOUT 120 FT IN MAXIMUM THICKNESS OVERLIES TUFF. ROUNDED TO ANGULAR BROWN TO BLACK PORPHYRITIC VOLCANIC CLASTS FROM 1 FT TO FRACTION OF AN IN ARE SET IN A GRAY TUFFACEOUS SANDSTONE MATRIX. OVERLYING THE AGGLOMERATE IS AN UNMINERALIZED WHITE TUFF OF ABOUT 100 FT MAX THICKNESS, WHICH THINS RAPIDLY AND PINCHES OUT. PRIOR TO PIT DEVELOPMENT, A SILICIFIED "CAD ROCK" RESTED ON THE TUFF, WHICH WAS AS MUCH AS 160 FT THICK, THINNING
  • AWAY FROM THE ORE BODY.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Monitor-Mogul

Production statistics

  • Year 1953
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^25.00 Percent S
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Sulfur Sulfur 25wt-pct
  • Year 1956
    Period 1954 - 1956
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^29.58 Percent S
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Sulfur Sulfur 30wt-pct
  • Year 1957
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^28.50 Percent S
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Sulfur Sulfur 29wt-pct
  • Year 1959
    Period 1958 - 1959
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^30.65 Percent S
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Sulfur Sulfur 31wt-pct
  • Year 1961
    Period 1960 - 1961
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^24.30 Percent S
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Sulfur Sulfur 24wt-pct
  • Year 1962
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^26.90 Percent S
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Sulfur Sulfur 27wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • TOTAL ANNUAL VALUES OF PRODUCTION FROM 1953 THRU 62 WERE: $757,740 ( 1953 ), $1507429 , $1671573 , $1561595 , $1492464 , $1428852 , $1365600 , $1670647 , $1673609 , $1413,223 . TOTAL LONG TONS ORE FOR THE PERIOD WERE 1668,349 , TOTAL LONG TONS SULFUR WERE 465,616 , AND ESTIMATED TOTAL VALUE PRODUCED WAS $14542732 ONCE A HIGH GRADE COPPER ORE MINE WHICH BECAME GENERALLY UNPRODUCTIVE AFTER THE 1860S.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 121.92M
    Overall length 609.6M
    Overall width 304.8M

Comments on the workings information

  • PIT MINE. 35 FT BENCHES FOR STRIPPING, AND 15 FT BENCHES FOR MINING ORE BODY. WASTE TO ORE RATIO WAS GENERALLY 11:1 .

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CLARK, W. B., 1977 , MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALPINE COUNTY, CALIF: CDMG COUNTY REPT NO 8 , P 35 - 39 , 45 , 32 & STRUCTURE SECTION P 38 .

  • Deposit

    LOGAN, C. A., 1931 , ALPINE CO: CALIF DIV MINES AND GEOL, 27TH REPORT STATE MINERALOGIST, OCT, P 491 .

  • Production

    CLARK, 1977 LOGAN, 1931

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit VEINS (?) OF NATIVE SULFUR. ALSO, REPLACEMENT ELLIPSES.
Deposit INCLUDES DOT NO.S 1 - 44 CLAIMS ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1979 Hayden, F. (Albers, J.) U.S. Geological Survey ADDED TUFF TO HOST ROCK TYPE.
Updater 17-OCT-1991 Mosier, Dan U.S. Geological Survey PARSED HOST ROCK AND ASSOCIATED ROCK INFORMATION FROM OLD SINGLE VALUED FIELD TO NEW MULTIVALUED FIELD
Editor 27-APR-1995 Mosier, Dan U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative California resources

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