North Unity 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. Ore body information
  14. Controls for ore emplacement
  15. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  16. Mining district
  17. Ownership information
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10106499
MRDS ID W800092
Record type Site
Current site name North Unity Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -90.40567, 42.50279 (WGS84)
Relative position JUST S OF THE WISCONSIN-ILLINOIS STATE LINE.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jo Daviess(county)

Illinois(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cuba City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dubuque North(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
29N 1E 16 E2 Illinois

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
    Rock unit name Decorah Formation;Galena Dolomite
    Rock description Decorah Formation;Galena Dolomite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -90.40567, 42.50279

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.
Type of structure Local
Structure description On The Same Syncline That Contains The Northwestern, Vinegar Hill, South Unity, Hughlett And Gray, And North Unity Mines.

Ore body information

  • General form ARCUATE
    Thickness 21.34M
    Length 548.64M
    Width 228.6M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • A 200 FT SHAFT WAS SUNK TO THE BASE OF TEH GUTTENBERG MEMBER. THE ORE BODY OCCURS IN THE DECORAH FM AND IN THE LOWER BEDS OF THE GALENA DOLOMITE AND FORMS A NEARLY COMPLETE ECLIPSE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1913
Year of first production 1914
Year of last production 1948
Production years OPEND IN 1914 AND MINED AT INTERVALS TO 1948. THE MINE WAS OPENED FROM MAY 1942 TO MAY 1943 FOR ROBBING BY GILL BROTHERS. REOPENED FOR ROBBING AND STOPING APR 1945 TO SEP 1947.

Mining district

District name Upper Mississippi Valley

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Vinegar Hill Mining Co.; Gill Brothers

Comments on the production information

  • OPERATION WAS INTERMITTENT FROM 1914-1947.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Name of workings SHAFT
    Overall depth 60.96M

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: A 100-TON JIG MILL WAS INSTALLED.

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

    WILLMAN, H.B., REYNOLDS, R.R., AND HERBERT, PAUL, JR., 1946, GEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PROSPECTING AND AREAS FOR PROSPECTING IN THE ZINC-LEAD DISTRICT OF NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS: ILLINOIS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS, NO. 116, 48 P.

  • Production

    HEYL AND OTHERS, 1959, P. 183.

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.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1994 Hedgman, Cheryl (Cannon, W.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAY-1996 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.