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CORNELL UNIVESfflff 
 
 LIBRARIES 
 
 ITHACA, N. Y. 14853 
 
 Engineering Library 
 Carpenter Hall 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 TN 24.I2L78 
 
 Tungsten, cinnabar, manganese, molybdenu 
 
 3 1924 004 873 356 
 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO 
 
 SCHOOL OF MINES 
 
 'E3 
 S33, 
 
 == Vol. XIV 
 
 Bulletin No. 2 == 
 
 Tungsten, Cinnabar, Manganese, 
 Mol ybdenum , and Tin Deposits 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 alllllllllll 
 
 i^T" 1 
 
 . s 
 
 IK 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924004873356 
 
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO 
 
 SCHOOL OF MINES 
 
 Vol. XIV Bulletin No. 2 
 
 Tungsten, Cinnabar, Manganese, 
 
 Molybdenum, and Tin Deposits 
 
 of Idaho 
 
 By D. C. LIVINGSTON 
 
 With Notes on the Antimony Deposits 
 By Francis A. Thomson 
 
 MOSCOW, IDAHO 
 Jan. 1919 
 
£AAS£ 
 
 TN 
 
 xz 
 
 17® 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Tungsten 
 
 Uses of Tungsten _ 6 
 
 Tungsten Minerals ..._ _ 7 
 
 Tungsten resources in foreign countries 9 
 
 Tungsten resources in United States 9 
 
 Tungsten in Idaho _... 11 
 
 (a) Boundary County 11 
 
 (b) Shoshone County _ IS 
 
 (c) Lemhi County _ _ 21 and 29 
 
 (d) Camas County 25 
 
 (e) Idaho County _ 26 
 
 (f) Butte County _ 27 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Manganese, Molybdenum, Tin and Antimony 
 
 Ttlanganese Minerals . _ 30 
 
 "Uses of Manganese 31 
 
 Consumption and production in United States _ 31 
 
 Production in foreign countries _ 32 
 
 Manganese on Snake River, Idaho - 32 
 
 Manganese in Shoshone County 37 
 
 Molybdenum _ _ 40 
 
 Tin _ _ 43 
 
 Antimony ; minerals of, _ 45 
 
 Production of Antimony in United States _ _ _ 46 
 
 Foreign production of Antimony 47 
 
 Metallurgy of Antimony _ „ 48 
 
 Antimony in Idaho ; Valley County _ 49 
 
 Shoshone County _ _ 52 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Quicksilver 
 
 Quicksilver minerals _ 54 
 
 Production of Quicksilver ..... 54 
 
 Fern Creek Cinnabar District _ _ 55 
 
 Black Pine, Idaho 65 
 
MAP 
 
 IDAHO 
 
 Scale 
 
 Miles 
 
 Showing geogr-Apfiicai distribution 
 of the known depos/fs of tungsten, 
 cinnab<*r, m4n^n e »«, molybdenui 
 «ind Tin. 
 
 ^ LEGEND- 
 
 O Tunqsten. 
 
 Cinnabar. 
 
 @ Manganese. 
 
 © Mo/ytJenum. 
 ® Tin. 
 
 f ®\ 
 
 il 
 
INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF WORK 
 
 The examination of the tungsten, manganese, quicksilver, tin 
 and antimony deposits of Idaho was undertaken in the summer 
 of 1918. 
 
 Considerable demand had arisen for these metals due to the war 
 and consequent lack of ships, and, in fact, in some cases there ap- 
 peared to be a serious shortage threatened. It was therefore evident 
 that an investigation of Idaho's resources of these metals was a na- 
 tional duty of considerable importance and the work was undertaken 
 on this account, although other work of importance to the State had 
 to be postponed in consequence. 
 
 A publicity campaign was started in June by sending out printed 
 posters to all the postof fices in the State, in which the need for these 
 metals was explained. Notices were also sent to practically all the 
 newspapers of the State. These posters and notices requested pros- 
 pectors and owners of mining properties to send in samples, that they 
 suspected of containing any of these metals, to the School of Mines 
 at the University of Idaho, for examination. 
 
 Arrangements were made with the local station of the U. S. 
 Bureau of Mines at the University whereby Mr. J. H. Jonte 
 could take charge of this work; and also analyze all samples sent 
 in by the examining geologist. Under Mr. Jonte's direction nearly 
 a thousand individual samples were examined and reports made to 
 the owners and also a number of analyses were made on samples 
 taken by the men in the field. The U. S. Geological Survey also 
 furnished a list of owners and localities in the State where these 
 metals were reported to occur. 
 
 Field work was started by the writer on June 11th and con- 
 tinued to September 14th, commencing in Boundary county and fin- 
 ishing in Bannock county. The quicksilver deposit near Black Pine 
 postoffice in Cassia County was visited by Mr. E. S. Larsen, of the 
 U. S. Geological Survey, so was not visited by the writer in order 
 to avoid duplication of work. Professor Francis A. Thomson vis- 
 ited certain manganese properties in the Coeur dAlene region and 
 also the antimony deposits near Yellowpine Basin in Valley County, 
 for the Bureau of Mines, and his report on this district is included 
 by permission of the Director of the Bureau. 
 
 Acknowledgements are due to the U. S. Geological Survey for 
 information furnished and for helpful co-operation in the work. 
 Acknowledgements are also due to Mr. C. A. Wlright, Metallurgist 
 of the Bureau of Mines, for use of the laboratories and loan 
 of the local station's chemist, and for kindly assistance in 
 the office work. Professor Francis A. Thomson rendered invalu- 
 able assistance in editing this publication and in many helpful sug- 
 gestions. Thanks are also due for the kind assistance and hospitality 
 rendered by the owners of the various properties visited, whose 
 names are tn n numerou s to mention individually. . 
 
6 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 TUNGSTEN 
 
 Tungsten 1 is one of the ten heaviest metallic elements. It has 
 an atomic weight (chemical weight of combination) of 183.4, and 
 is exceeded in this respect by bismuth, gold, lead, mercury, osmium, 
 platinum, thallium, thorium, and uranium only. It does not occur 
 in nature in the metallic form as do gold, platinum, silver, copper, 
 etc., but it has to be reduced from its ores and when thus obtained is 
 in the form of a gray powdery or granular mass. It has high specific 
 gravity, i. e., is very heavy, ranging from 19.3 to 21.4, or slightly 
 heavier than gold and nearly as heavy as platinum. Its melting 
 temperature is 5913° F., which is higher than any commercial fur- 
 nace can stand and is also higher than the melting point of any other 
 known metal. Its general appearance in the wrought or ductile form 
 is much like that of iron or steel, but unlike those substances it does 
 not rust or tarnish, and has been proposed as a substitute for plati- 
 num on this account, it is however, more brittle than platinum and 
 therefore harder to manufacture into jewelry or chemical vessels. 
 
 When worked, it becomes less brittle, due to a change in struc- 
 ture and can then be drawn into wires less than four ten-thousandths 
 (0.0004) of an inch in diameter, and has high tensile strength. It 
 forms alloys with other metals such as iron, chromium, cobalt, etc.,. 
 and in this form has its greatest commercial use. 
 
 Uses of Tungsten 
 
 Tungsten is used chiefly as an alloy with iron and carbon, in 
 the production of the so-called "high-speed" steels. These steels con- 
 tain from about 13 to 20 per cent of tungsten and usually a certain 
 amount of chromium and due to the fact that such steels do not lose 
 their temper at a dull-red heat as do ordinary steels, it is possible 
 to run lathes when using tungsten-steel cutting tools, five times as 
 fast as with ordinary steel tools. 
 
 This property of tungsten-steels has had a revolutionary effect 
 in machine shop work, increasing the output and consequently cheap- 
 ening production of all kinds of machined parts in automobiles trac- 
 tors, locomotives, shells, and the like. 
 
 Tungsten is also used alloyed with steel in permanent mag-nets 
 as it causes the magnets to retain their strength much longer than 
 they otherwise would. Another use is in the filaments of incandes- 
 cent electric lamps, in the form of very fine wire. When used in 
 this way it is usually alloyed with the element thorium which pre- 
 vents the filament from crystallizing and breaking as it otherwise 
 tends to do. A tungsten filament lamp uses far less electricity for 
 
 1. Hess, F. h; Tungsten Minerals and Deposits: U. S. Geol. Surve-r "t^ii 
 . 11-18, 1917. ' uml -' "2, 
 
 PP 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 7 
 
 the same amount of light than a carbon filament lamp and by the 
 use of these lamps millions of dollars are saved annually. 
 
 Tungsten has been used to a slight extent in the manufacture 
 of crucibles for use in vacuum furnaces. By far the larger part of 
 all tungsten mined, however, is utilized in the manufacture of the 
 "high speed" steels. 
 
 Tungsten Minerals 
 
 Tungsten is by no means a common element in the earth's crust, 
 it being usually classed among the rarer metals. It occurs in na- 
 ture in the following minerals : 
 
 Scheelite. CaW0 4 (CaO 19.4 W0 3 80.6 per cent.) Calcium 
 tungstate. The color of the mineral usually varies from a brownish 
 or yellowish white, through brownish yellow to brown. Its color is 
 one of the most variable characteristics of the mineral, green being 
 a color reported in some text-books. Its hardness is from 4.5 to 5, 
 so that it can be scratched by a steel knife quite readily. Scheelite 
 is brittle, and gives a white streak, that is, the fine powder is always 
 white. It has a distinct cleavage in one direction and a second rather 
 indistinct cleavage making an acute angle with the first. With salt 
 of phosphorus it gives a blue bead in the reducing flame, and if this 
 bead is dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid, with the addition of 
 a little metallic tin, it will yield a deep blue color, and if boiled for 
 any length of time this blue color may change to amethyst or brown. 
 It. is soluble in hydrochloric or nitric acid, leaving a yellow residue. 
 One of the strongest characteristics in distinguishing scheelite from 
 other light-colored minerals is its weight (this is true of all tungsten 
 minerals), as it has a specific gravity of from 5.4 to 6.1, that is, it 
 is more than twice as heavy as quartz and most of the other common 
 gangue minerals. 
 
 Scheelite occurs in quartz veins, associated often with gold and 
 with pyrite, in contact metamorphic deposits, in crystalline rocks and 
 occasionally in placers derived from one of the above. It is typical 
 of the deep zones of mineral deposition requiring high temperature 
 and pressure for its formation as a primary constituent of the rock. 
 It sometimes changes to wolframite by the replacement of the CaO 
 by FeO and MnO, and when this takes place the wolframite usually 
 has the crystal form of the scheelite. Occasionally scheelite is derived 
 from wolframite by a similar but reverse process. 
 
 Wolframite. Iron manganese tungstate. (FeMn)W0 4 con- 
 tains about 76.5 per cent W0 3 (tungsten trioxide). 
 
 The color is dark gray to black, with a metallic or sub-metallic 
 luster. It often occurs in crystal form but is sometimes massive. It 
 has a hardness of from 5 to 5.5 and a specific gravity of from 7.1 
 to 7.55, gives a dark brown to black streak and is slightly magnetic; 
 is readily fusible with the blowpipe to a magnetic globule. It will 
 
8 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 give the same solution reaction as scheelite with hydrochloric acid 
 and tin, after fusing in a salt of phosphorus bead. 
 
 Its occurrence is similar to that of scheelite, and it is typical of 
 the deep or high temperature zone of vein or mineral formation. 
 
 Ferberite and Hubnerite. These are less common tungsten 
 minerals than the two preceding, and either of them grades into wol- 
 framite. Ferberite is iron tungstate, FeW0 4 , and hubnerite is 
 manganese tungstate MnW0 4 . It s sometimes difficult to deter- 
 mine the dividing line between ferberite and wolframite, and the 
 same is true for hubnerite and wolframite. They do in fact repre- 
 sent the extreme chemical conditions in which wolframite may occur. 
 They differ from one another somewhat in appearance and also 
 from wolframite. Hubnerite has a dark reddish brown color and 
 nearly always shows good cleavage in one direction, while ferberite 
 is more nearly black, is often crystalline, and is far more difficult 
 to distinguish from wolframite than is hubnerite. According to 
 Hess : hubnerite should be considered as a manganese tungstate 
 MnW0 4 , containing not more than 20 per cent FeW0 4 , and fer- 
 berite an iron tungstate FeW0 4 containing not more than 20 per 
 cent MnW0 4 . 
 
 Tungstite or Tungstic Ocher. A yellow powder having the 
 chemical formula of WO g , 2H 2 0. There is no record of this min- 
 eral being mined as an ore of tungsten to any extent. 
 
 Stolzite. PbW0 4 and Cuprotungstite iCuW0 4 or (Ca. Cu) 
 W0 4 are rare minerals, not known to occur in commercial amounts. 
 
 Consumption of Tungsten 
 in the United States 
 
 In 1912 the total consumption of tungsten in the United States 
 on the basis of ore containing 60 per cent W0 3 (tungstic oxide) 
 was estimated at 3000 short tons. 2 During this same year the 
 equivalent of 1330 tons of ore containing 60 per cent W0 3 was pro- 
 duced in this country, or roughly, about one-third the amount con- 
 sumed. This is not necessarily accurate, however, as a large part 
 of the consumption was from stocks previously accumulated the 
 sources of which are not clear. 
 
 In 1915, 1534 tons was imported into the United States and 
 2332 tons produced, making a total consumption of 3866 tons of 
 which nearly two-thirds was produced at home, an exactly opposite 
 condition to that which prevailed in 1912. This increase in produc- 
 tion was due to the rise in price consequent upon the increased de- 
 mand for tungsten in the manufacture of high-speed steel for lathe 
 work to fill munition contracts for the Allied governments in Europe 
 
 No reliable figures for production and consumption in 1916 and 
 1917 were available at time of going to press. 
 
 1. Hess. F. I.., Op.-Cit., p 22. 
 
 2. U. S. G-eol. Survey. Mineral Resources, 1912, pt. 1, p. 996, 1913. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 9 
 
 Principal Tungsten Resources in Foreign Countries 
 
 The two most important sources of the world's supply of tung- 
 sten are Burma, India, and the Shan states of Siam. In these re- 
 gions, both of which are in the Malay Peninsula, wolframite is 
 mined from placer deposits, where it occurs associated with cassi- 
 terite, the oxide of tin. These placers have been formed from the 
 breaking down of the granite mountains, which form the backbone 
 of the Malay Peninsula, and cover a considerable area. The wolfra- 
 mite occurs in lodes in these granite mountains, which have as yet 
 been very little worked, and the tungsten resources of this region 
 are very great. It must be remembered that tungsten produced in 
 the United States will have to compete with tungsten produced from 
 these cheaply worked placers with native labor, as soon as ships are 
 more readily available, and that the price of tungsten will be largely 
 controlled by the price of producing it in this particular region, as at 
 the present time there is no duty on tungsten ores coming into the 
 United States. 
 
 Other important sources of tungsten are Queensland 1 and New 
 South Wales, Australia, where wolframite occurs in quartz veins, 
 lodes and placers; in Portugal wolframite and scheelite are found 
 in veins and stockworks. 
 
 In 1915 the United States was the second largest producer of 
 tungsten, being exceeded only by the countries of the Malay Penin- 
 sula. 
 
 A notable difference between the United States and other coun- 
 tries is that in the former the greater part of the tungsten comes from 
 the mineral scheelite while in the latter it comes chiefly from wol- 
 framite. 
 
 Principal Resources in the United States 
 
 Practically all the tungsten produced in the United States comes 
 from the Rocky Mountain States. Of these California and Colorado 
 have been the principal producers up to the present time. 
 
 Boulder County, Colorado, is probably the most important 
 tungsten district -in the United States. 2 In 1910 the production 
 from this district was 1221 tons of tungsten ore when the world's 
 proi luction was about 7500 tons. 
 
 The tungsten bearing mineral in this district is ferberite the 
 iron tungstate of the wolframite series, which occurs in a remarkably 
 clean and well crystallized form, and is very resistant to weathering. 
 
 The district is about 25 miles northwest of Denver on a high 
 plateau 8200 ft. above sea level. The country rock consists of gran- 
 ite, gneiss and schist cut by dikes of varying composition. Fer- 
 berite occurs in a series of narrow northeast-southwest veins, some of 
 
 I'. Hes 5 s,'^. ir , a C n^^'r, P Waldem a r T., U. S. Geol. Survey Bull., 583, p. 7, 1914. 
 
10 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 them containing gold in the form of tellurides. A good deal of the 
 ferberite was obtained from eluvial placers as well as from the veins, 
 and the total production of the district cannot be much less than 
 12,000 tons of ore containing 60 per cent of W0 3 . 
 
 California has also been a fairly large producer of tungsten 
 ore for several years past and the indications are that it will be a 
 still larger producer in the future, as several mills with capacities 
 up to 300 tons per day have been installed within the last year or so. 
 
 The oldest tungsten producing district is in the country adja- 
 cent to Johannesburg and Atolia, near the Kern-San Bernardino 
 county line, on the edge of the desert southeast of Owen's Peak near 
 the southern end of the Sierra Nevada range. 
 
 Scheelite occurs here in gold-bearing quartz veins, 1 and also in 
 quartz veins unaccompanied by gold. In the Stringer district, south- 
 west of Randsburg, it occurs in narrow veins about 4 in. wide, to a 
 depth of 400 ft. The most important deposits appear to be at the 
 Papoose property near Atolia, and most of the production would 
 seem to be from this mine. 
 
 One of the most interesting and valuable deposits in California 
 is of the contact-metamorphic type and occurs in the eastern foothills 
 of the Sierras near Bishop, in Owens Valley, Inyo County, about 
 ISO miles north of the Atolia district. 2 
 
 This deposit was only discovered in 1913, but since that time 
 there has been a great deal of activity in the district and several well 
 equipped mills have been built. 
 
 The country rock is principally granite, which was forced up 
 under a roof of steeply tilted sediments, originally composed of sand- 
 stones and limestones, but which are now highly metamorphosed, 
 contact equivalents of these rocks. Most of these contact metamor- 
 phics have been removed by erosion, but the most deep-seated por- 
 tions still remain and wherever the original rock was limestone, work- 
 able bodies of scheelite occur in a gangue of garnet, epidote and 
 some quartz. 
 
 The ore bodies carry from 1.5 to 2.0 per cent of W0 3 and 
 range from 20 to 60 ft. in width and from 150 to 260 ft. in length 
 It is believed from evidence offered by erosion that these deposits' 
 may be persistent to at least 700 ft. in depth, and when fully devel- 
 oped this camp will undoubtedly be a heavy producer of tungsten 
 ore. 
 
 Similar, but if anything larger deposits of contact metamor- 
 phic scheelite have been reported by E. S. Larsen from the high 
 Sierras of California, situated at an altitude of about 12,000 ft 3 
 which are now being actively exploited. This being the case,' it would 
 
 1. U. S. Geol. Survey Mineral Resources, 1906, p. 525. 
 
 2. Knopf, Adolph, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull., 640, pp. 229 and following 1917 
 
 3. I^arsen, E. S., verbal communication. 
 
n. i e, 
 
 T.64 N, 
 
 M/A P 
 
 Showing Location of 
 
 Tungsten Hjll Mine 
 
 Scale J Inch = 1 Jfile 
 Contour fnlerral zoo Jueet 
 Thfcen -fi-om JForesf SerrJce JfyZze 
 
 %fca/e /i Sft/es 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 11 
 
 appear that California should be a powerful factor in the tungsten 
 market within the next two or three years. 
 
 Nevada is apparently developing some important deposits near 
 Lovelocks, Humboldt County, and will probably become a much 
 heavier producer in the next few years than in the past. 
 
 Although there will probably be a considerable demand for 
 tungsten after the war there would seem to be a good supply in 
 sight in the western United States and there need be no fear of 
 shortage. 
 
 Tungsten in Idaho 
 
 (a) Boundary County. 
 
 The Tungsten Hill Mining Company, Formerly Known as the 
 
 Bull Moose Group. 
 
 This property is situated in Boundary County in Sec. 13, T. 
 24 N., R. 1 E., Boise Meridian, and is reached by a wagon-road 
 from Copeland, on the Porthill branch of the Great Northern Rail- 
 way, a distance of approximately 8 miles. This wagon-road is in 
 rather poor condition at the present time, as it follows the old Forest 
 Service trail from Copeland ranger station. The grade is fairly 
 good over the greater part of the distance and a good road can be 
 made at a moderate expense, entailing little change in the present 
 location. The lower end of the road has been surveyed and was being 
 built in the summer of 1918, as far as the Dora Mine. When this 
 is completed an automobile can be brought to within less than 2 
 miles of the property, which can be reached from this point by 
 trail. It is about 4 miles from the Dora to the Tungsten Hill by a 
 wagon-road, which is not very good from this point. See Map No. 1 
 for location and accessibility of property. 
 
 The mine is well situated as regards timber, there being plenty 
 of fir, cedar and tamarack in the immediate vicinity. Plenty of 
 water for milling purposes can be obtained at Rock Creek, at a dis- 
 tance of probably less than a quarter of a mile from the mine. This 
 camp is new, as the presence of mineral-bearing veins has only been 
 known within the last four or five years in this immediate vicinity, 
 although lead-silver and copper deposits have been known for some 
 years, but these lie considerably further to the east. 
 
 Topography 
 The mine is in a mountainous area, the elevation at the cabin 
 of the Tungsten Hill being about 4900 ft. and the mountain rising 
 rather steeply from this up to 5600 or 5800 ft. The country was 
 at one time covered by the Cordilleran ice sheet, which formed 
 morainal deposits along the foot of the mountains, and several 
 small lakes such, for example, as Brush Lake, owe their origin to 
 glacial activity. Rock surfaces showing glacial strias can be seen 
 on the ridge above the mine. As a comparatively short time has 
 
32 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 elapsed since the retreat of the ice in this region, float from veins 
 is rather scarce, which adds to the difficulty of prospecting. 
 
 Geology 
 
 The oldest rocks in the district are metamorphosed sedi- 
 ments consisting of schist, slate, and quartzite and these are 
 considerably contorted in the neighborhood of the Tungsten 
 Hill. They are probably a part of the Belt series of pre-Cambrian 
 sediments of Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. They have 
 been intruded by a coarse gray granite, containing large crystals of 
 pink feldspar (orthoclase). The granite does not outcrop on the 
 Tungsten Hill group but occurs on the Dora property about one 
 mile to the west. This granite is undoubtedly a part of the Idaho 
 batholith though it contains more orthoclase than the normal type 
 of the Clearwater Mountains but as a very similar granite has been 
 noted on Johnson Creek in Valley County, in the center of the 
 granite area, it may be considered a local variation of the normal 
 batholith type. 
 
 •At the Tungsten Hill, the old metamorphics have been intruded 
 by a large dike or stock of hornblende diorite. The exact extent and 
 boundaries of this were not located but it probably covers several 
 square miles of an irregular area. It is probably younger than the 
 granite but, as no contact between them was observed by the writer, 
 this cannot be definitely stated as a fact. Such a contact must exist 
 somewhere oh the hillside above the old workings of the Dora group. 
 This diorite, which is made up almost entirely of green hornblende 
 (amphibole) and plagioclase feldspar, varies considerably in texture 
 from place to place. 
 
 Veins 
 
 The principal vein on the Tungsten Hill is a persistent quartz- 
 filled fissure, outcropping for about 500 ft. and showing an average 
 width of 7 to 8 ft. where exposed by open cuts. It strikes about N. 
 82° E. and dips 75° to 80° to the northwest. Some wall-rock occurs 
 in places in the quartz of the vein. The latter is crystalline in appear- 
 ance, somewhat drusy in places and evidences a filled fissure with 
 some alteration of the wall rock. The quartz contains many limonite- 
 filled cavities and some scheelite, which occurs usually associated 
 with the limonite. Sometimes the scheelite is in coarse crystals or 
 masses but most of it is finely divided in the vein as can be shown 
 either by panning or by analysis of apparently barren material. The 
 vein where exposed lies entirely within the diorite and does not ap- 
 pear to extend into the metamorphics that lie to the east. 
 
 A smaller vein occurs 200 ft. to the south of the main vein and 
 has approximately the same strike and dip. Another vein which has 
 a north-south strike and an easterly dip occurs further up the moun- 
 tain and to the northwest of the open cut on the main vein. This 
 
TL//V6ST£N H / LL M/ME 
 
 C/a//n Zirtes, fatrrs jl^tc, 
 fen/our J/ifeS-tn'Z &> Jie?; 
 
 
 
 %. a s/a/> /vex. 
 
 JO. C. //MysAf 
 
 f9/e 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 13 
 
 vein should intersect the main vein several hundred feet to the south 
 of the open cut, if it is continuous along the strike. Neither of these 
 veins showed any scheelite, which seems to be concentrated entirely 
 in the main vein. The vein running north and south was assayed for 
 gold but contained none. 
 
 Workings 
 The workings are very meager at the present time and consist 
 of an open-cut following the main vein for a distance of 60 ft., sev- 
 eral smaller cuts to the east of this, a 20-ft. shaft in the west end of 
 the large open-cut and a cross-cut tunnel which has been started 
 southwest of the large open-cut and is in about 130 ft. This tunnel 
 should cut the vein in about another 100 ft. and will give a depth of 
 ISO ft. below the outcrop. Most of the open cuts are badly caved, 
 due to the heavy winter snowfall and spring frosts. 
 
 Value of the Ore 
 
 The open-cut to the east of the shaft was sampled by the stand- 
 ard method of cutting channels across the vein at regular distances 
 apart, which in this case was approximately 10 ft. Owing to the fact 
 that the footwall had caved into the cut, covering the vein with from 
 2 to 4 ft. of soil and country rock, it was not possible to cut a sample 
 across the full width of the vein in every case. 
 
 The bottom of the shaft was not sampled as the timbering was 
 so unsafe that the whole was in imminent danger of caving at the 
 slightest jar. 
 
 The following is a list of samples taken: 
 
 REMARKS 
 
 East face of cut. Vein report- 
 ed 8 ft wide. 
 10 ft. west of No. 1 vein re- 
 ported 8 ft wide, contained 
 
 some waste. 
 20 ft. west of No. 1 vein, over 
 
 7 ft. wide. 
 
 30 ft west of No. 1, full width 
 
 of vein. 
 
 40 ft. west of No. 1. 
 
 Total 27.5 29.97 
 
 Average S.S 1.09 
 
 * No. 5 was the only one showing some visible scheelite. 
 
 The above samples show an average assay of 1.09 per cent W0 3 
 and an average width of S.S ft. 
 
 This sampling was checked by taking a sample of half a ton, 
 representative of the entire dump, screening it through a quarter-inch 
 screen and quartering down the undersize and oversize separately 
 after measuring the two piles. 
 
 0. 
 
 Width 
 sample in 
 
 of 
 ft. 
 
 %W03 
 
 Per cent 
 x width. 
 
 1 
 
 S.O 
 
 
 0.S9 
 
 2.95 
 
 2 
 
 4.0 
 
 
 0.68 
 
 2.72 
 
 3 
 
 6.0 
 
 
 1.05 
 
 6.30 
 
 4 
 
 6.S 
 
 
 0.61 
 
 3.96 
 
 S* 
 
 6.0 
 
 
 2.34 
 
 14.04 
 
14 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 The coarse material gave 0.60 per cent WO s , the fine, through 
 quarter-inch, gave 1.37 per cent W0 3 . 
 
 As the weight of these two samples was nearly the same, the 
 mean of the assays 0.98 gives the approximate percentage of W0 3 
 in the waste dump. 
 
 As near as can be gathered from the owners, from 1000 to 1500 
 pounds of scheelite was shipped from the cut, which was reported to 
 contain 68 per cent W0 3 . Taking 1200 pounds as the amount 
 shipped this would give 816 pounds of W0 3 . About 100 tons of 
 rock was taken from the cut and the shaft, or 8.16 pounds of W0 3 
 per ton or about 0.40 per cent. This added to 0.98 gives 1.38 per 
 cent W0 3 against 1.09 per cent obtained by the other method, which 
 is sufficiently close for ordinary purposes of valuation, and checks the 
 samples from the cut as in only one of these could scheelite be seen. 
 
 The amount of ore available in the property is hard to estimate 
 as there is nothing that a mining engineer would consider as ore 
 blocked out, i. e., exposed on four, three, or even two sides. When 
 the cross-cut tunnel is completed the downward extension of the vein 
 can be better determined. 
 
 The present ore-shoot is in the neighborhood of 100 ft. long as 
 a minimum and may be considerably longer than this. If only 100 
 ft. is allowed as its vertical extension, with the vein holding its pres- 
 ent width of 7 ft., there would be about 6000 tons of ore available 
 which would be worth at the present price of tungsten at least $25 
 per ton. This would seem to justify the erection of a small mill and 
 the continued development of the property. It is regrettable that the 
 mine is not being worked. 
 
 There is no reason to doubt the downward extension of the vein. 
 It appears to be a well defined fissure-vein in diorite and not a re- 
 placement of granite by quartz as is so common in many parts of the 
 granite area. Scheelite is a mineral formed under conditions of high 
 temperature and pressure and it has been recognized as a contact 
 metamorphic mineral in California, Oregon and other places. 1 There- 
 fore, providing the vein continues downward there is no reason why 
 the scheelite should not do the same. It will undoubtedly occur in the 
 vein in irregular shoots or bunches, as this is its habit wherever 
 worked, but provided development work is kept well ahead there 
 should be no trouble on this score. 
 
 Summary 
 
 Considering the small amount of work done the showing on the 
 property is remarkably good, and if further development is carried on 
 intelligently, and a small well-designed mill installed, which can be 
 added to as the necessity arises, the property should be able to produce 
 tungsten at a profit. There is no reason why the vein should not be 
 
 1. Larsen, E. S., U. S. Geol. Survey, personal communication. 
 
Jca/e /» /f//es 
 
 J 
 
 MAP N?3 
 
 <Sbo u>inj> Juvfster? />ro/>er£l'es veas- Af Ur ray / /JaAo. 
 <Sca/e / /*c6 - / ' tf/U . Contour //?te/-ya£ ZSoFt. 
 7a for? fro/r? l/.S, (reaA <Susrey. /?/? a/2 SZ 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 15 
 
 continuous in depth nor why other ore-shoots should not be discov- 
 ered in following the strike, particularly towards the west. The pro- 
 perty is worthy of far more attention than it has had in the past. 
 
 (&) Shoshone County. 
 Tungsten Deposits Near Murray. 
 
 The tungsten-bearing belt of Shoshone County lies adjacent to 
 the old gold-camp of Murray. The placer deposits of Prichard 
 Creek, which eventually led to the discovery of the rich lead-silver 
 mines of the Coeur d'Alene region in the early eighties, were doubt- 
 less derived from the gold-bearing quartz veins of this same belt. 
 
 The occurrence of tungsten in the form of scheelite in the Golden 
 Chest and other veins which were mined for their gold content, has 
 been known for many years. In the Golden Chest, masses of schee- 
 lite weighing several hundred pounds are reported to have been found. 
 The scheelite was, however, more of a liability at that time than 
 an asset as there was practically no market for it at any price and 
 'undoubtedly many tons of it were wasted. 
 
 In the spring of 1916 the price of tungsten rose to an unprece- 
 dented figure, due, undoubtedly, to heavy buying by the German gov- 
 ernment. This resulted in the re-opening of both the Golden Chest 
 and the Golden Winnie properties and to the mining and shipping 
 of several tons of scheelite, obtained almost entirely by hand-sorting. 
 
 This activity, however, was short lived, for when the price 
 dropped the properties shut down, and although an attempt was made < 
 to mill the lower grade material at the Golden Chest, this apparently 
 was not commercially feasible as the mill only ran a short while. 
 
 The area in which tungsten occurs is approximately five miles 
 square, with Eagle or Prichard Creek in the northwest corner of the 
 square, the southern boundary lying about half a mile south of Pony 
 Gulch on Beaver Creek. See map No. 3. Almost the whole area is 
 underlain bv the Prichard slate, the geology being well described by 
 F. L. Ransome. 1 Although this area embraces the tungsten deposits 
 known at the present time, it does not follow that no tungsten will be 
 found outside of it. 
 
 The Golden Chest 
 
 The Golden Chest mine contains several bed or blanket quartz 
 veins in the Prichard slate and as it has been described in detail else- 
 where 2 this description will not be repeated. The mine is situated 
 about one and one-half miles east of the town of Murray in Sec. 9, 
 T. 49 N., R. 5 E., Boise Meridian, and is easily reached from Wal- 
 lace by an excellent automobile road. The nearest railroad point at 
 the present time is Delta on the Beaver Creek branch of the O.-W. R. 
 &. N., about eight miles distant. Formerly the railroad, which passes 
 
 1. U. S. Geol. Survey, Prof. Paper, 62, 1908, pp. 141-149. 
 
 2. Ransome op. cit, pp. 144-146. 
 
l& TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 within a few hundred feet of the mine, along Prichard Creek was in 
 operation, but due to the heavy floods in the winter of 1917-1918, 
 this railroad was so badly washed out that it had not been repaired 
 at the time the property was visited. 
 
 The mine is opened by several adit-tunnels and contains several 
 thousand feet of workings, with many large stopes, most of which 
 are still open and in fairly good condition. 
 
 The scheelite occurs in a very irregular manner in the largest of 
 the blanket veins. In 1916, when the price of tungsten was much 
 higher than it is now, the old stopes were worked for scheelite wher- 
 ever they showd any indication of its presence. The search was so 
 thorough that there is not much to be seen at the present time. A 
 careful examination made in company with a man well acquainted 
 with the property, showed scheelite in only two places in the old 
 stopes, and in very small amounts. 
 
 The future of the property as a producer of tungsten is some- 
 what dubious as the cost of finding a new pocket of scheelite would 
 probably exceed the amount to be obtained from mining it. The 
 best chance of producing tungsten from this property would seem to 
 be by the operation of small leases in those stopes which show any in- 
 dication of tungsten, but as previously stated the outlook is not par- 
 ticularly encouraging, unless the vein carries sufficient gold to pay 
 at least a portion of the expenses when working in ground barren 
 of tungsten. 
 
 The Friday Group Known Formerly as The Golden Winnie. 
 
 This property is situated in Sec. 2, T. 21 N., R. 4 E., on the 
 south side of Prichard Creek at the point where the creek bends to 
 the northeast and at an elevation of about 2500 ft. It is between 
 one and one-half and two miles from Murray on an excellent road. 
 The Murray branch of the O.-W. R. & N. passes through the claims 
 or very close to them, but this branch, as previously noted, is not 
 operating at present so the nearest railroad point is now Delta, on 
 Beaver Creek, about eight miles distant. 
 
 The scheelite occurs in a quartz vein, which lies between the 
 bedding planes of the Prichard slate and which is of the same gen- 
 eral type as the other gold-bearing quartz veins of the Murray dis- 
 trict. The footwall is somewhat more quartzose than the hanging 
 and may perhaps be Burke quartzite. The vein has been opened 
 by a tunnel a few feet above the level of Prichard Creek. This tun- 
 nel follows the vein as shown on Map No. 4. 
 
 Several stopes have been started from this tunnel, both over- 
 hand and underhand, the former extend 30 to 40 ft. in height and 
 the latter not over 12 or 15 ft. in depth. The vein has a general 
 strike of almost due east and west, with an average dip of about 65° 
 north. It usually consists of two quartz seams separated by about a 
 foot of country rock, and has an average width of 3 ft. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 17 
 
 The vein is badly faulted in the vicinity of the creek, being 
 heaved in every case further to the south in going west. At least 
 five faults have been exposed in the tunnel in a distance of about 
 600 ft. along the strike of the vein. Apparently, there are two sets 
 of faults; one set running northwest and the other northeast. The 
 greatest distance the vein has been heaved is approximately 80 ft. 
 this being the movement of the fault nearest the creek. As the 
 tunnel advances the heave of the faults seems to decrease, the last 
 movement near the present face, being practically nothing more than 
 a flexure. 
 
 The quartz of the vein contains pyrite and scheelite and a small 
 but insignificant amount of other sulphides. It also carries some 
 gold, evidently associated with the pyrite. The scheelite seems to 
 be fairly evenly distributed throughout the vein, and its presence in 
 small amounts can generally be detected by panning. In places it 
 occurs in more concentrated form in masses sufficiently large to be 
 hand-sorted. This is true particularly in the western part of the 
 tunnel. 
 
 Very much the same condition prevails in regard to the work- 
 ings as at the Golden Chest. That is to say, all the most easily 
 available bunches of scheelite were mined in 1916, during the high 
 prices, and good exposures of scheelite ore are difficult to find. 
 From 10 to 15 tons of scheelite were shipped during this time and 
 this amount is reported by the owner, Mr. E. M. Smith, of Murray, 
 as having been obtained from about 500 tons of ore. If the smaller 
 figure is taken this would make the scheelite contents of the vein 
 about 2 per cent, which is probably about right, as only the best ma- 
 terial, where visible scheelite could be found, was mined. 
 
 Two samples were taken from the vein, both of which showed 
 a small amount of scheelite. These could hardly be considered rep- 
 resentative of the whole vein, but simply of those portions of the 
 vein where scheelite could be seen. One was taken in the face of the 
 tunnel from the hanging wall seam, which was 12 in. wide, and 
 this gave a return of 1.06 per cent W0 3 . Another sample was taken 
 from a stope about 150 ft. east of the present face. This sample 
 was 2y 2 ft. wide and gave a return of 1.46 per cent WO,. 
 
 The underhand stopes in the floor were reported to contain the 
 best ore but these could not be sampled as they were filled with 
 water. 
 
 It is difficult to estimate either the grade of the ore or the 
 tonnage that could be mined. There are evidently considerable por- 
 tions of the vein that will run over 1 per cent of WO, and from 
 that up to 2 and 3 per cent, or possibly better, and these undoubtedly 
 could be mined and treated at a profit. The walls are good and very 
 little timber is needed in the stopes. 
 
18 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 The tunnel which follows the vein is on about as low a level as 
 can be obtained. There is a cross-cut tunnel No. 3 (see map No. 4) 
 which has been driven 160 ft. This will have to be advanced nearly 
 400 ft. further, and according to a rough survey, it is not more, than 
 20 ft. lower than the adit-tunnel No. 2, which follows the vein. 
 Whether the expense of driving this tunnel to the vein is justified 
 is questionable as the depth it gains is so insignificant. The amount 
 of scheelite ore occuring between the present tunnel and the surface 
 is probably not great and the future of the property depends upon 
 the ore occurring below the present workings. This can only be de- 
 veloped by sinking a winze or shaft, and it would be far cheaper 
 to straighten out the adit-tunnel and sink from there than to run the 
 new cross-cut and then sink. A shaft would undoubtedly be wet due 
 to the faulted condition of the ground and the vicinity of Prichard 
 Creek, but it is the only method of developing the property below 
 the present level. There are strong possibilities of finding more 
 scheelite by extending the present tunnel along the vein as the face 
 contains ore at the present time. 
 
 There is a small concentrating mill on the property equipped 
 to handle 20 to 30 tons of ore daily, which could be put into run- 
 ning shape at a comparatively small expense. 
 
 Summary 
 There is no reason, except lack of proper financing, why this 
 property should be idle, as with proper development and milling fa- 
 cilities it could undoubtedly be made a steady producer of tungsten 
 on a small scale. 
 
 Mother Lode 
 
 This property, which is owned by Mike Melly and John F. 
 Murphy, of Murray, Idaho, is situated on the south side of Ophir 
 Gulch about 2000 ft. from its mouth on Prichard Creek, and just 
 below the forks of the gulch. It comprises the Mother Lode group 
 of claims, in which are included several blanket quartz veins that 
 outcrop on the top of the ridge west of Ophir Gulch. 
 
 These quartz veins were mined for gold several years ago and 
 have been described by Ransome. 1 
 
 Ophir Gulch is a small ravine which debouches into Prichard 
 Creek almost opposite the Golden Chest mine, and the quartz veins 
 mentioned above evidently belong to the same system of mineraliza- 
 tion as those in the Golden Chest. They may be a continuation of 
 the same veins or beds. No tungsten was observed in the quartz 
 veins, and so far as the writer is aware none has been reported from 
 this property. A very good showing of scheelite ore, however, oc- 
 curs about half way between the gulch and the ridge. A diabase dike 
 which contains narrow seams of quartz and bunches of scheelite has 
 
 1. Op. cit., p. 146. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 19 
 
 been exposed by open cuts for a distance of nearly a hundred feet. 
 The open-cuts have stripped the dike in a northeast and southwest 
 direction, but its strike and dip could not be determined from the 
 present amount of development. The surrounding country rock is 
 Prichard slate. Scheelite occurs distributed more or less all through 
 the dike, but appears to be concentrated in a shoot or chimney on 
 the north end of the open-cut. A sample taken across 15 ft. of the 
 dike gave a return of 2.84 per cent W0 3 . Many specimens on the 
 dump show pieces of scheelite 2 or 3 in. across, but none of these 
 were encountered in sampling. 
 
 The dike is a rather fine-grained greenish rock, consisting prin- 
 cipally of hornblende and pyroxene and containing considerable fine 
 pyrite and probably some pyrrhotite. This dike evidently does not 
 extend very far to the north, as the slate outcrops on the ridge and 
 no diabase can be seen in that direction beyond the open-cut. To 
 the south the mountain side does not show many rock exposures and 
 the slide-rock is fairly deep, so nothing definite can be said as to its 
 extension in that direction. The general appearance leads to the be- 
 lief, or supposition, that this exposure constitutes the apex of a 
 rather extensive stock of this intrusive, rather than a dike. The 
 word dike being taken to mean a more tabular form' of intrusive, or 
 one in which length greatly exceeds the width. The quartz and 
 scheelite are evidently replacements of the dike, derived undoubtedly 
 from the same mineralizing solutions as deposited scheelite in the 
 Golden Chest and Golden Winnie veins. 
 
 The small amount of development gives but little clue to the 
 mode of occurrence and origin of the tungsten mineralization. It is 
 highly probable that it will prove to be a contact metamorphic de- 
 posit, in which the mineralizing solutions attacked the cooling in- 
 trusive near its contact with the slate, rather than the slate itself, 
 but this, of course, is merely a supposition. Whatever its origin the 
 showing is remarkably good, considering the small amount of work 
 that has been done. An open-cut driven straight into the hill from 
 the lowest exposure of the dike would give some clue as to its ex- 
 tent in that direction and should also open up some good scheelite ore. 
 A considerable amount of scheelite can be obtained by hand-sorting 
 and the waste from the hand-sorted material would undoubtedly 
 pay to mill. There is plenty of water in Prichard Creek less than 
 half a mile from the outcrop and possibly enough water in Ophir 
 Gulch to run a small mill for several months in the year. 
 
 This seems to be an exceptionally good surface showing and 
 one that certainly should not be idle when tungsten is in demand. 
 
 Kennan Property on Pony Gulch 
 
 This property is situated on Pony Gulch, a tributary of Beaver 
 Creek, about two miles above the mouth of the gulch. The Beaver 
 
20 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 Creek branch of the O.-W. R. & N. railroad runs along the creek 
 at the mouth of Pony Gulch, so the property is well situated as re- 
 gards transportation. It is reached by a rather poor wagon road, 
 but one which can be very easily repaired, and which has no bad 
 grades. The elevation at the camp is about 2800 ft. This property, 
 like the Mother Lode, contains blanket-veins of gold-bearing quartz, 
 which were mined quite extensively in the early days. The country 
 rock is Prichard slate, containing some quartzite beds. 
 
 A tungsten-bearing vein was reported to have been found in 
 the bed of Pony Gulch many years ago. The prospector who found 
 it, however, did nothing with it and it became covered with gravel 
 wash and was practically forgotten. In the spring of 1918, A. B. 
 Ward was operating the property for Chester T. Kennan of Spokane, 
 and having heard of this deposit of tungsten, made an attempt to re- 
 discover it by panning the gravel-wash in the creek. He discovered 
 it without very much difficulty and uncovered the vein or lode where 
 it crosses the creek. 
 
 The deposit, which is exposed in but one place, consists of a 
 mineralized zone or lode in the Prichard slate with an approximate 
 width of 60 ft. This zone follows the strike of the bedding planes 
 of the slate which is somewhat quartzose at this point. It consists 
 principally of seams of quartz in the shattered quartzitic slate. For 
 i.bout 15 ft. in width this shattered zone contains scheelite. Many 
 individual pieces of scheelite exposed in the creek bed are over 3 in. 
 across and though on the request of the operator no sample was 
 taken, it would be safe to say that the 15 ft. of the lode containing 
 scheelite would assay from 3 to 5 per cent in tungsten oxide. 
 
 The strike of the lode was roughly determined at S. 40° E., and 
 the dip is probably to the west, but this is uncertain as the length 
 of the exposure was less than 50 ft. at the time it was visited. 
 
 From information furnished recently by Mr. Chester T. Ken- 
 nan, the writer understands that the lode has been uncovered on 
 the hillside 100 ft. to the south and that active development of the 
 property is in progress. 
 
 This also is a remarkably good showing and one from which a 
 considerable amount of tungsten could be mined very cheaply if the 
 deposit holds its width and values for any distance. Interesting de- 
 velopments are to be expected in the next year. 
 
 Summary of the Murray Tungsten Beet 
 
 Until the last year this district had never been systematically 
 prospected for tungsten. Of the four tungsten deposits visited the 
 best and most important showings have only recently been discov- 
 ered, and no work has been done upon them beyond removing the 
 surface soil. 
 
View up Patterson Creek, Lemhi County. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 21 
 
 In both the Mother Lode and Kennan claims the tungsten oc- 
 curs in separate and distinct deposits from the gold-bearing quartz 
 veins. The tungsten-bearing lodes, however, in both cases occur 
 within a few hundred feet of these gold quartz veins and so far as 
 can be learned no tungsten has been found in the latter. This fact 
 should encourage prospecting in other places in the district where 
 the gold-bearing quartz veins occur. The tungsten-bearing lodes 
 do not make conspicuous outcrops as do the quartz veins. One of 
 those recently discovered occurs in a diabase dike and the other 
 in a shattered zone of quartzitic slate, and both contain but little 
 quartz and that only in narrow stringers. In a heavily forested and 
 soil-covered area, such as the Coeur d' Alene, the discovery of such 
 deposit by chance or accident is unlikely, and systematic panning of 
 the gravel in the gulches and of the soil on the hillsides is the only 
 sure Way of locating deposits of this kind. If such prospecting is 
 carefully done, particularly in the neighborhood of the quartz 
 blanket-veins it is highly probable that other deposits of tungsten 
 will be found. 
 
 Although at present there is virtually no output of tungsten 
 from this district, the writer firmly believes that the district has a 
 future, that with systematic prospecting other deposits will be dis- 
 covered, and that if prospecting is supplemented by intelligent devel- 
 opment and carefully designed mills, the district should add mate- 
 rially to the tungsten production of the country within the next five 
 or six years. 
 
 (c) Lemhi County. 
 Ima Mine, Patterson Creek. 
 
 This mine is situated about a mile and a half east of Patterson, 
 a small settlement on Patterson Creek, one of the tributaries of the 
 Pahsimeroi River and about 60 miles from Mackay, the nearest 
 railroad point. There are eighteen patented claims which are in Sec. 
 13, 14, 23, and 24, T. 14 N., R. 23 E. The elevation of Patterson 
 Creek at the mill is about 6300 ft. 
 
 This mine was visited in 1910 by Mr. J. B. Umpleby, of the 
 U. S. Geological Survey 1 
 
 History 
 
 The Ima mine was discovered twenty-five or thirty years ago 
 and was worked by the Ima Mining Company, of Salt Lake, chiefly 
 for silver, which is evidently contained in the mineral tetrahedrite. 
 This company ceased operating about 1902 and since that time the 
 mine has been worked in a desultory manner by leasers for tung- 
 sten, which, according to Umpleby, was first recognized here in 1903. 
 
 Five years ago the mine was leased to J. Nolan, of Salt Lake, 
 who sold his interest to Callahan & Duffield. These men worked 
 
 U. S. Geol. Survey Bull., 528, pp. 109-112, 1910. 
 
22 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 on the surface for tungsten, and also in a lower tunnel driven from 
 the creek level, but did not meet with much success and they in turn 
 sold to Jeffs and Johnson, also of Salt Lake. The latter sank a 
 70-ft. incline-shaft at the mouth of the lower tunnel, and are re- 
 ported to have taken out eight tons of tungsten concentrate in one 
 month during the time of high prices in 1916. The lease was again 
 taken over by J. Nolan, in partnership with D. R. Wheelwright, 
 of Ogden, in May, 1917. They operated from that time until Jan- 
 uary, 1918, when the mine was shut down. 
 
 There is a concentrating mill on the property equipped with 
 crusher, rolls, jigs and five Wilfley tables. The mill is operated 
 by water-power obtained from Patterson Creek. A gravity incline 
 tram brings ore from the upper tunnel to the mill. The whole plant 
 is in fairly good condition and could be put into running order with- 
 out any heavy outlay. No figures on the saving effected in this 
 mill were obtainable, but the probabilities are that the extraction 
 was low. 
 
 Geology and Vein Formation 
 
 There are several quartz veins, some of which are of the fissure 
 type and some of the blanket type, occurring in a gray quartzite. The 
 quartzite beds vary from a few inches to 2 ft. thick, being almost 
 slaty in texture in some places. They are slightly tilted, forming 
 the limbs of a somewhat flat anticline, the axis of which appeared 
 ro be occupied by Patterson Creek, the veins cutting across the axis. 
 According to Umpleby the axis of the anticline is in the same direc- 
 tion as the strike of the veins and as he probably covered more ter- 
 ritory than the writer his statement should be correct, but the dip 
 of the quartzite beds along the canyon walls of Patterson Creek be- 
 low the mine, leads strongly to the belief that Patterson Creek has 
 been excavated along the axis of an anticlinal fold in a slowly ris- 
 ing fault-block. 
 
 That the eastern side of the Lemhi range is a slowly rising fault- 
 Wock seems to be proved by the abrupt entrance of the creeks on 
 to the Pahsimeroi Valley, the absence of long ridges separating the 
 creeks and the straight, steep-sided canyon of Patterson Creek with 
 its narrow V-shaped notch opening suddenly onto the plains, like 
 a gash in the mountain wall. 
 
 There are no igneous rocks in the vicinity of the mine which is 
 an exceptional condition in western mining distrcts. 
 
 The principal vein occurs on the Ima company's ground and con- 
 sists of a quartz-filled fissure in the quartzite rock, with an average 
 strike of about N. 40° W. and a dip of 45° to 60° S. W. The vein is 
 traceable on the surface for over a thousand feet, up the steep moun- 
 tain side which forms the canyon wall of Patterson Creek. The out- 
 crop is covered in many places by slide rock, but wherever the vein 
 has been exposed it shows the same general characteristics. It has 
 
-r~ 
 
 till' 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 23 
 
 been followed underground for over 800 ft. though the longest tun- 
 nel is now caved at the entrance and inaccessible. The width of the 
 vein varies from about a foot up to 20 ft., with an average of from 
 8 to 10 ft. It is badly faulted, more particularly in the vicinity of 
 the creek, the fault movements becoming less as distance from the 
 creek is gained. The vein-filling is a drusy white quartz with many 
 small unfilled spaces between the quartz grains and crystals. The 
 minerals in the quartz are hubnerite, tetrahedrite, galena, sphalerite, 
 pyrite, molybdenite and probably others, but these are the most im- 
 portant. The tetrahedrite gives rise to a green copper-carbonate 
 staining at the surface, and the molybdenite to the yellowish moly- 
 bdenum oxide, molybdite, the color being also partly due to the 
 weathering of the hubnerite. 
 
 One of the best exposures of the vein is at the mouth of a tun- 
 nel about 250 ft. above the creek level. The vein at this point ij 
 over 15 ft. wide and shows hubnernite over a considerable portion 
 from the hanging-wall side. The vein has been stoped below the 
 tunnel level for about 5 or 6 ft. About 20 ft. from the tunnel mouth 
 it has been cut off by a fault with a strike about S. 75° W. and a 
 northwesterly dip of 40°, this fault is exposed on the surface and has 
 thrown the vein about 100 ft. to the west on the north side of the 
 fault. This faulting might easily give rise to the supposition that 
 there were two veins outcropping on the mountain side instead of 
 one, and it probably did so in the earlier days of the mine's history. 
 Another wide exposure of the vein occurs about 800 or 900 ft. from 
 the creek on the north side and about 400 to 500 ft. above it. Here 
 the vein, which is chiefly quartz, is over 20 ft. wide and is well 
 mineralized with hubnerite, some of which is in fairly coarse crystals. 
 There are other veins besides this one but they are smaller, less per- 
 sistent and show less mineralization. One of these is exposed sev- 
 eral hundred feet to the east of the big vein and contains 3 to 4 ft. 
 of quartz with tetrahedrite and a little hubnerite, it has a strike of 
 N. 40° W. and a vertical dip. Another still further to the east consists 
 of a small stringer of quartz with a north-south strike and dip of 70° 
 E. This has been followed in a tunnel a distance of' about 40 ft. and 
 shows a little tetrahedrite in the face. 
 
 A small bed-vein in the quartzite outcrops on the mountain side 
 west of the main vein and about 100 ft. above the bin at the head of 
 the incline tramway. It is about 3 ft. wide, has a strike of S. 57° W. 
 and dips 20° N. W. It showed no mineralization as exposed in a 
 short tunnel. 
 
 Workings 
 
 The workings, most of which have been mentioned, consist of 
 two tunnels on the north side of Patterson Creek, one of which 
 starts from the creek-level and the other about 250 ft. above it. Both 
 of these follow the vein, though the lower one is now caved and in- 
 
24 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 accessible. The upper tunnel has two entrances, due to the faulted 
 condition of the vein mentioned above, and connects with a gravity 
 tram to the mill. An incline-shaft starts from the mouth of the 
 lower tunnel and is reported to follow the vein to a depth of 70 
 ft. ?.nd to have encountered some very good ore. At the present 
 time this shaft is full of water and inaccessible. 
 
 There are a few short tunnels following quartz outcrops on the 
 south side of the canyon, but these were not visited. 
 
 Tungsten Contents oe Vein 
 
 Careful samples were taken from different places in the vein in 
 older to get a general idea of the tungsten contents. To sample 
 the property thoroughly, would require the services of several men 
 for a week or more and this was beyond the scope of. the work. 
 The locations of the samples can be seen by referring to the map of 
 the upper tunnel. See Map No. 6. 
 
 Sample No. 1 was from the face of the upper tunnel. At this 
 point the vein is 10 ft. wide but contains 3 ft. of waste. The sample 
 was taken from the ore only and represented 7 ft. in width. It 
 contained silver 3.2 oz. per ton; tungsten oxide (W0 3 ) 0.78 per 
 cent. 
 
 Sample No. 2 was taken from 6 ft. of vein on the hanging-wall 
 side of the N. end of the underhand stope near the upper tunnel 
 month. It contained silver 3.2 oz. per ton, W0 3 0.43 per cent. 
 
 Sample No. 3 was from the same stope 20 ft. to the south of 
 sample No. 2, and represents 5 ft. of ore from the hanging-wall side 
 of the vein which has a total width of 15 ft. It contained silver 3 oz. 
 per ton, W0 3 0.6 per cent. 
 
 Sample No. 4 was taken from the floor of the big underhand 
 stope on the north side of the fault in the upper tunnel. The sam- 
 ple was from 5 ft. of the hanging-wall side of the vein, which was 
 10 ft. wide. It contained silver 2.0 oz. per ton, W0 3 0.50 per cent. 
 
 Sample No. 5 was taken from a number of places on the tailing 
 dump, which contains 500 to 600 tons, and may be considered a fair 
 average of the entire dump. Its contents were : silver, 2.9 oz. per ton, 
 W0 3 0.33 per cent. 
 
 These samples give a very fair idea of the tenor of the ore 
 which is from about 0.5 to 1.0 per cent tungstic oxide and 3 oz. sil- 
 ver to the ton. There are places in the vein that will undoubtedly 
 run much higher than this and also places that will run lower, and 
 the writer is of the opinion that the above is a very fair average 
 of the ore as it would be mined. This would mean a very high ra- 
 tion of concentration, between 75 and 100 into 1, in order to get a 
 50 per cent W0 3 product, with a correspondingly low percentage 
 of recovery. The sample taken from the waste dump confirms the 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 25 
 
 suggestion that the extraction was very low in the present mill, as 
 in round numbers it is apparently not much more than 50 per cent. 
 
 Whether the silver, which undoubtedly occurs in the tetrahed- 
 rite, could be separated from the hubnerite is an ore-dressing prob- 
 lem that would have to be carefully worked out in an experimental 
 way. This would seem to the writer to be an almost vital question, 
 as with the low tungsten contents of the vein the difference between 
 working at a profit or a loss would depend upon this additional $2 
 or $3 per ton which the silver represents at the present price. 
 
 Even with this addition it would necessitate a very carefully de- 
 signed mill and an extremely cheap method of mining to pay a profit 
 with tungsten at $20 per unit. 
 
 (d) Camas County. 
 Tungsten on Corral Creek 
 
 Tungsten was reported, by the Director of the U. S. Geologi- 
 cal Survey, to occur near Corral, in Camas County. 
 
 Mr. E. S. Larsen of the Survey visited this district in 1916, 
 but as it was only a short distance from the road between Boise 
 and Lava Creek, it was decided to spend a day in visiting the prop- 
 erty. 
 
 The claims on which the tungsten occurs are situated on the 
 east fork of Corral Creek, which heads on Soldier Mountain, a 
 fairly high peak lying between the Malad River and the South Fork 
 of the Boise River. Corral Creek flows into the Malad River, which 
 in turn flows into WJood River through what is known as the Camas 
 Prairie country. This prairie is a flat stretch of country with an 
 average elevation of about 5000 ft. and it is evidently the floor of 
 an old tertiary lake formed by the damming of the lower part of 
 Malad River by the lava flows of the Snake River plains. 
 
 The tungsten property is 9 miles northeast of Corral, a sta- 
 tion on the Camas Prairie branch of the Oregon Short Line and is 
 reached from that point by a fairly good wagon road with no ex- 
 cessive grade, and which can be traveled by automobile all the way 
 to the claims. The claims lie on the lower slopes of this mountain 
 at an elevation of 6400 ft. the mountain rising nearly 3000 ft. higher. 
 They are in Sees. 5 and 8, T. 1 N., R. 13 E., of Boise Meridian. 
 
 The property was located several years ago by W. S. Roberts, 
 of Boise, who is still part-owner of the property. A few tons of 
 wolframite or ferberite ore were shipped in 1916, but the property 
 is now idle and has been for some time. 
 
 The country rock is a trachyte or syenite porphyry, somewhat 
 light colored, with prominent white feldspar phenocrysts which are 
 completely kaolinized in the vicinity of the mine. 
 
 Three narrow, parallel quartz veins each from z / 2 in. to 3 or 4 
 in. wide, and about 18 in. apart, strike N. 35° E. (magnetic) and dip 
 
26 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 northwest 60°. These veins carry a little wolframite or ferberite 
 in the quartz. 
 
 Outcrops are scanty as there is a heavy covering of soil where 
 this vein occurs, and the veins are exposed on the surface in one 
 small open-cut only. 
 
 Several hundred feet of development has been done in the form 
 of an incline shaft 85 ft. deep, and a connecting adit-tunnel along 
 the supposed course of the vein, with several cross-cuts and stopes 
 and some winzes below the tunnel level. Considerable stoping was 
 done on both sides of the shaft, from the level of the tunnel to 
 within about 20 ft. of the surface. The extraction of the tungsten 
 ore was very thorough and complete, as a careful search of the 
 workings failed to discover even a specimen of wolframite, and 
 the shoot of ore in which the shaft was sunk is evidently completely 
 worked out. 
 
 A tunnel has been started from the creek level about 200 ft. 
 below the collar of the incline shaft and near where the vein should 
 be if it holds its course in that direction. The face of this tunnel 
 was in hard unaltered trachyte or syenite porphyry showing no 
 sign of mineralization. Unless this tunnel encounters ore, the out- 
 look for the property is not particularly bright as the vein does not 
 seem to extend any distance in the other direction, and the width 
 and length of the quartz stringers precludes the probability of their 
 having any considerable extension downwards. This conclusion is 
 confirmed by the showing in the present workings. 
 
 (e) Idaho County. 
 Warren District. 
 
 Tungsten occurs at Warren on a property formerly known 
 as the Little Giant, which is now being operated by J. A. Czizek for 
 the Unity Gold Mines. 
 
 Warren is one of the pioneer gold-camps of Central Idaho and 
 was at one time a heavy producer of placer-gold. This camp pro- 
 duced vein-gold for many years, and is still doing so in a limited 
 way. The geology and vein occurrences have been well described 
 by Waldemar Lindgren 1 and this description will not be repeated 
 here at any length. The camp is situated near the head of Meadow 
 Creek at an elevation of 5800 ft. and is reached by a fairly good 
 wagon road from McCall or Lakeport (as it is called by the railroad 
 company), the nearest railroad point, a distance of 50 miles. This 
 road crosses two summits, Secesh summit with an elevation of 6800 
 ft and Steamboat summit with about the same elevation. The snow- 
 fall is heavy, reaching a depth of over 20 ft. on parts of the road, 
 making winter travel somewhat difficult and expensive. At the 
 present time mail and passengers are carried by automobile stage 
 during the summer months. A considerable part of the road be- 
 
 1. Twentieth Annual Report, U. S. Geol. Survey, part 3, pp. 246-249. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 2T 
 
 tween Payette Lake and Resort (Burgdorf's) is over glacial mo- 
 raines with many large granite boulders, which continually keep- 
 working to the surface, making the road extremely rough, and dif- 
 ficult to improve. 
 
 The Unity Gold Mines Company owns a group of claims, 
 known as the Little Giant, Charity, etc., containing a series of par- 
 allel gold-bearing quartz veins, occuring in granite. The company- 
 is driving a cross-cut tunnel from a point a few feet above the 
 level of Meadow Creek to intersect these veins at depths ranging from 
 500 to 1000 ft. below their outcrops. This tunnel starts from the 
 south bank of the creek immediately opposite the town of Warren. 
 
 At a distance of 1700 ft. from the portal, and 500 ft. below the 
 surface, the tunnel had intersected a quartz vein 8 in. wide con- 
 taining scheelite. This is apparently a blind vein, at least its posi- 
 tion at the surface is not known. The vein has the same general 
 strike as the Little Giant and Charity and evidently belongs to the 
 same vein system. A sample taken from this vein was reported 
 by the owners of the property to have given a return of 18 per 
 cent W0 3 but this must have been a picked sample. No sample for 
 assay was taken by the writer but the general appearance of the vein 
 would indicate an average tungsten content of about 4 to 5 per cent 
 \V0 3 across the 8 in. 
 
 No development work has been done upon this vein, aside from- 
 its exposure by the cross-cut tunnel, and its continuity or character- 
 istics along the strike could not be determined. 
 
 Tungsten is reported by Mr. Lindgren 1 in the Charity vein, 
 which this same cross-cut tunnel should intersect further on, and 
 undoubtedly other quartz veins in the district will also be found to' 
 contain scheelite. It is difficult to give any estimate as to the fu- 
 ture of this district as a tungsten producer for little has been done 
 to open up the tungsten-bearing veins. 
 
 A vein 8 in. wide containing 4 to 5 per cent W0 3 would pay 
 to mine at the present price of tungsten ($20 to $25 per unit.) and 
 the district could no doubt produce a small amount of tungsten 
 when some of these veins have been opened. 
 
 (/) Butte County. 
 Lava Creek District. 
 
 The Independence group of claims belonging to S. O. Nel-^ 
 son of Boise, situated at the head of Lava Creek, in Sec. 13, T. 
 2 N., R. 23 E., Boise Meridian, contains a deposit of tungsten-bear- 
 ing material. 
 
 This group is on Granite Mountain at an elevation of 8700 
 ft. It is reached by a trail about 6 miles long from Martin, which 
 is on the main road between Hailey and Arco and about 20 miles 
 from the latter, the nearest railroad point. 
 
 1. Op. cit., p. 245. 
 
28 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 Granite Mountain is one of the highest mountains bordering the 
 Lava plains of that part of Southern Idaho, and has a somewhat 
 complex geological structure. Metamorphic sediments in the form of 
 ■quartzites and limestones have been intruded by a variety of igneous 
 rocks, with porphyrytic flows covering considerable areas. 
 
 A vein containing wolframite outcrops on the ridge which runs 
 east from the highest point of the mountain and about 100 ft. below 
 the summit, which is 8800 ft. high, according to barometric read- 
 ings. This vein lies in a contact between diorite and a peculiar rock 
 which is either a quartzite or a highly silicified trachyte, the identity 
 of which could not be determined in a hand specimen. The strike 
 of the vein at this point is N. 30° E., and the dip from 60° to 70° 
 S. E. The vein has an average width of 6 ft. and is made up of a 
 •crystalline drusy quartz heavily stained with manganese. It con- 
 tains considerable oxide of iron, and of manganese, with an 
 ■occasional crystal of wolframite. * 
 
 Several open-cuts expose the vein on the ridge from which, 
 according to the owner's report, 20 sacks of ore containing between 
 30 and 40 per cent W0 3 were shipped in 1916 or 1917. 
 
 A tunnel about 60 ft. long has been driven into the mountain 
 about 100 ft. below the ridge on the south side, but this appar- 
 ently has not reached the ledge, as none of the vein material was 
 -encountered. Further down the mountain on the strike of the 
 vein, the igneous rocks are in contact with limestone but the exact 
 -nature of the contact could not be determined owing to the 
 slide-rock on the hill-side and to the fact that the only open-cut 
 exposing it was filled with hard ice, the remains of the previous win- 
 ter's snow. A small vein had apparently been exposed by this cut, 
 -containing, among other minerals, scales of gypsum or selenite. The 
 time spent upon the property was short, the weather conditions un- 
 pleasant and the geology so complex that definite conclusions as to 
 the form and origin of the tungsten-bearing vein cannot be given. 
 It would seem, however, that the vein is a mineralized fault-fissure, 
 the wall rock of the fissure varying considerably from place to place, 
 according to the rocks cut and displaced by the fault. The diorite 
 on the summit of the ridge seems to have lent itself more readily 
 to replacement by mineralizing solutions than the other rocks as the 
 best exposure occurs at this point. More extensive prospecting along 
 the limestone contact should be done, however, as there may be 
 other places where wolframite occurs. 
 
 Another vein occurs on the west side of the highest point of 
 the mountain. This vein has about the same strike and dip as the 
 one previously described and is in a syenite or syenite porphyry, 
 very similar in general characteristics to the unaltered rock on 
 
 1. Field classification only; may be ferberite. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 29' 
 
 Corral Creek at the W. O.. Roberts property. This vein shows quartz, 
 and manganese and is about 2 ft. wide. 
 
 The property is somewhat remote and difficult of access, and 
 these conditions combined with the elevation and exposed situation 
 would make mining costs high. Nothing but a high-grade tung- 
 sten ore could be mined at a profit under the present conditions and 
 there is no ore of high grade exposed at this time on the prop- 
 erty. The showing, however, warrants more extensive prospecting 
 than has been carried on up to date. 
 
 Tungsten Near Gibeonsviele 
 
 Some material containing manganese and giving a strong qual- 
 itative test for tungsten was sent to the University of Idaho early in 
 the summer of 1918, by Mr. George R. Hughes of Gibbonsville. 
 
 The Gibbonsville district was visited on August 28th, 1918,. 
 one day being spent in examination of the property reported to con- 
 tain tungsten. The property, known as the Roland and Taylor 
 Group, is owned by Mr. George R. Hughes and is situated on An- 
 derson Creek, about a mile north of Gibbonsville. This group of 
 claims, together with the topography and general geology of the 
 district, has been described by Jos. B. Umpleby. 1 The district is- 
 reached from Salmon, a distance of 35 miles over an excellent road, 
 the cost of freight from Salmon by trucks being between $5 and 
 $10 per ton. 
 
 A mineralized zone or lode about 100 ft. wide with a strike of 
 N. 20° E. and a clip of 70° to the S. E., lies between a diorite hang- 
 ing-wall and a talcose-schist or slate foot-wall. This lode is re- 
 ported to outcrop for about 2 miles and shows considerable iron- 
 staining on the surface, forming a prominent geological feature. 
 
 The lode consists chiefly of creamy white quartz, rather rotten 
 and crumbling with bands of dark manganese-stained material run- 
 ning through it. The first 60 ft. from the footwall shows seams of 
 iron-stained quartz, interbanded with schist. The remaining 40 ft. 
 shows a granular, sugary quartz stained with bands of manganese. 
 As mentioned by Umpleby 2 occasional pieces of unoxidized copper 
 .ore are found in this lode; the writer identified tetrahedrite in addi- 
 tion to chalcopyrite and pyrite as described by Mr. Umpleby. 
 
 Mr. Hughes reports this lode to average about $3.50 to the ton 
 in gold. The workings consist of two cross-cut tunnels driven in 
 from Anderson Creek to intercept the lode and situated about 500 
 ft. apart. The most southerly of these is caved near the mouth but 
 shows a considerable amount of copper on the dump in the form of 
 carbonate and a little tetrahedrite. The other tunnel about 400 ft. 
 long has completely cross-cut the lode, and has also followed it for 
 
 1. Geology and Ore Deposits of Lemhi County, Idaho, U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 
 528, pp. 127-132, 1913. 
 
 2. Op. cit., p. 134. 
 
JO TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 some distance. An 80 ft. vertical shaft has been sunk close to 
 the creek on the west side and has partly cut the lode on the dip, 
 Taut this is now filled with water and inaccessible. 
 
 A sample of the manganese stained material sent to the Uni- 
 versity by Mr. Hughes gave a strong qualitative test for tungsten. 
 Two samples taken by the writer in the cross-cut, which aggregated 
 •92 ft. of vein material gave only a trace of tungsten. The proba- 
 bilities are that careful sampling and panning of the different man- 
 ganese seams might discover the one that carries tungsten. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MANGANESE 
 
 Manganese is a whitish metal very like cast-iron in appearance 
 but with a peculiar reddish luster, an atomic weight of 54.9 and a 
 -specific gravity of 7.1 to 8. 1 
 
 It oxidizes very readily in the air and is never found in the free, 
 metallic state in nature. It can be prepared from its ores by sev- 
 eral chemical processes and by electrolysis, but a discussion of these 
 is beyond the scope of this publication. 
 
 The following are the more important manganese minerals: 
 
 Psilomelane (Mno 2 (MnKBaO)nH 2 0. A complex oxide 
 •of manganese, potassium and barium with considerable water. The 
 manganese content varies between 45 and 60 per cent. It is a gray- 
 ish black mineral usually occurring in massive or amorphous form 
 with a sub-metallic luster, a hardness of 5 to 6, and a specific gravity 
 of 3.7 to 4.7. 
 
 Pyrolusite (Mn0 2 ) manganese oxide often containing a little 
 water. When pure it contains 63.2 per cent manganese. It is a 
 grayish black to black mineral with crystalline or granular structure, 
 and has a hardness of 2 to 2.5 and a specific gravity of 4.8. It usu- 
 ally occurs associated with psilomelane. 
 
 Braunite (3Mn 2 0, MnSi0 3 ). A combination of manganese 
 oxide and manganese silicate. When pure, it contains 69 per cent of 
 manganese. It usually occurs in fine crystalline form and is brown 
 or black in color. It has a hardness of 6 to 6.5 and a specific gravity 
 of 4.8. 
 
 Manganite (Mn 2 3 H 2 0). A black mineral, containing 62.4 
 per cent manganese when pure, with a hardness of 4 and a specific 
 gravity of 4.3. 
 
 Wad is a soft impure mixture of manganese oxides usually 
 earthy in texture. It often occurs in the cracks and joints of veins 
 and the adjoining rock, in the form of dark branching fern-like 
 growths known as dendrite. 
 
 1. Harder, E. S., U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 427, p. 224, 1910. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 31 
 
 The most important carbonate is Rhodochrosite (MnC0 3 ), a 
 pink mineral which effervesces in warm hydrochloric acid and con- 
 tains, when pure, 47.6 per cent manganese. It has a hardness of from 
 3.5 to 4.5 and a specific gravity of 3.5. It often occurs in associa- 
 tion with ores of silver, lead, copper and zinc. 
 
 Rhodonite (MnSi0 3 ) Manganese Silicate. A pink mineral 
 often occurring in ores or pegmatite veins. When pure it contains 
 41.9 per cent manganese. It has a hardness of 5.5 to 6.5 and a speci- 
 fic gravity of 3.4 to 3.7. 
 
 There are other and rarer manganese minerals but these are the 
 only ones of any economic importance. 
 
 Uses of Manganese 
 
 Manganese is used chiefly as an alloy with iron. It is always 
 found in iron and steel to some extent but it was not until about 30 
 years ago that R. A. Hadfield, an English metallurgist, discovered its 
 true effects and properties. 
 
 When more than 2 per cent and less than 6 per cent of man- 
 ganese is added to steel it makes it very brittle, so that it can be pow- 
 dered under a hammer. When over 6 per cent is added this brittle- 
 ness gradually decreases until when 12 per cent is reached the former 
 strength returns and reaches its maximum at about 14 per cent. By 
 adding from 10 to 15 per cent of manganese a steel is formed so hard 
 that it cannot be machined or drilled in the ordinary way, and so 
 tough that it can be bent and twisted into peculiar shapes without 
 breaking. It has to be cast in practically the form or shape in which 
 it is to be used. 
 
 It is used wherever extreme hardness is required, 2 in cases where 
 there is heavy wear and tear as in dredging machinery ; dipper-teeth 
 of steam shovels ; for crushing and grinding machinery ; for agricul- 
 tural implements ; for wheels, tires and axles on railway cars, etc. ; 
 for railroad rails at curves, for burglar-proof safes and many other 
 purposes. 
 
 Consumption and Production of Manganese in the 
 United States 
 
 The Geological Survey classifies manganese ores into four main 
 divisions, (a) Manganese ores; (b) Manganiferous iron ores; (c) 
 Manganiferous silver ores, and (d) Manganiferous zinc residuum. 
 Materials containing more than 40 per cent of manganese are 
 grouped as manganese ores with the exception of ores carrying more 
 than 20 per cent of silica, 3 when they are rarely accepted for any pur- 
 pose. Material containing from 15 to 40 per cent manganese, in 
 
 1. Lake, M. F., Composition and Heat Treatment of Steel, p. 71, 1910. 
 
 2. Harder, E. C, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 427, p. 255, 1910. 
 
 3. Hewitt, D. F., Manganese and Manganiferous Ores in 1916. Mineral Resources of 
 (he U. S. Geo!. Survey, p. 733, 1918. 
 
32 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 which practically all the remaining material is iron oxide, is classed 
 as ferruginous manganese ore. 
 
 In 1916, 576,321 tons of manganese ore were shipped into the 
 United States and only 26,997 tons were produced, or in other words 
 only 4.7 per cent of the manganese ore, containing 40 per cent of 
 manganese or better, used in the United States in 1916 was produced 
 here. Of the total amount imported 471,837 tons or nearly 82 per 
 cent came from Brazil, which was 95 per cent of the total produc- 
 tion of that country. 
 
 There was a marked increase in 1916 in the amount of man- 
 ganese iron ores produced in this country. In 1910, 61,101 tons 
 were produced, most of which was used as flux in lead smelting, 
 while in 1916, 176,130 tons were produced, nearly all of which was 
 used in the iron industry. A very large percentage of this increase 
 came from the western states. 
 
 Production in Foreign Countries 
 Previous to the war Russia was the largest producer of man- 
 ganese ores, being credited with 1,289,370 tons in 1913. Next came 
 India with a production of 815,047 tons in 1913 and then Brazil with 
 120,368. In 1915 figures regarding Russia's production were hard 
 to obtain, India had dropped to 450,436 tons and Brazil had risen to 
 284,111 tons. Prior to the war the United States was almost entirely 
 dependent upon other countries for her manganese supplies, and is so 
 yet to a very large extent. 
 
 The position of the United States in regard to manganese is 
 somewhat peculiar; it is at present the greatest iron and steel pro- 
 ducer in the world and consequently needs a large supply of man- 
 ganse, nearly all of which has to be imported from foreign coun- 
 tries. The advantages that would accrue to the country in the dis- 
 covery of large bodies of manganese ore does not, therefore, need to 
 be enlarged upon. 
 
 Production in the United States 
 Most of the manganese ore produced in 1915 came from Nev- 
 ada and Colorado. This should be classed as manganiferous iron 
 ore and was smelted at Pueblo, Colorado, and comprised nearly 90 
 per cent of the total production of the country. Other states pro- 
 ducing manganese ores are Montana,, Arkansas, California, New 
 Mexico, Utah, Virginia and Washington. 
 
 Manganese Deposits oe Idaho 
 Snake River 
 Manganese ores were reported to occur on the Snake River near 
 Sturgill Creek about 20 miles below Huntington, both by the U. S. 
 Geological Survey and by local people. The district was visited in 
 the middle of July, four days being spent in the examination of the 
 different properties. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 33 
 
 .The particular belt in which these deposits occur lies along the 
 Snake River between Huntington and Homestead on the Homestead 
 branch of the Oregon Short Line and about three or four miles 
 above Robinette, a small town near the mouth of the Powder River, 
 Oiegon. The district is easily accessible as none of the properties 
 are more than three miles from the railroad, although on the oppo- 
 site side of the river. 
 
 The country is arid with little rainfall in the summer and very 
 little snow in the winter and is utilized chiefly for cattle and sheep 
 grazing. There is no timber along the river, but plenty is available fur- 
 ther back in the mountains as soon as an elevation of about 5000 ft. is 
 reached. There are several hay ranches along the river, on the bars 
 or benches wherever water is available for irrigation. 
 
 Topography. The country has been deeply eroded by the Snake 
 River and its tributaries. The latter flow from the Hitt Mountains, 
 which may be considered a southern extension of the Seven Devils 
 range. This range of mountains lies between the valley of the 
 Weiser, which is a structural valley, and the valley of the Snake, 
 which is an erosional valley of comparatively recent date. Weiser 
 River on the east side of the Hitt Mountains, flows almost due south 
 and Snake River on the west side flows almost due north. 
 
 Snake River at this point flows in a deep canyon, the elevation at 
 the mouth of Sturgill creek being about 1900 ft., while the eleva- 
 tion on the summit of the Hitt Mountains is about 7500 ft., giving 
 a relief of 5400 ft. This is not quite so deep or rugged a canyon 
 as that lower down the river opposite the Seven Devils. At that 
 point the depth of the canyon is nearer 7000 ft. than 5000 ft. and is 
 infinitely more rugged. 
 
 The canyon now occupied by the Snake River has been cut since 
 the Miocene lava flows of the Columbia basin were outpoured, prior 
 to which event it undoubtedly occupied an entirely different channel. 
 
 All the tributary streams flow in deep canyons but have in places 
 a small strip of bottom land along the creek which is utilized in many 
 instances by ranchers for hay growing. 
 
 Geology. The rocks of the district consist chiefly of quartzite, 
 schist and slate, with occasional small areas of crystalline limestone. 
 One of these limestone areas is on Sheep creek, where it shows as a 
 gray crystalline rock containing many seams of calcite, and evidently 
 very highly metamorphosed. The general strike of the schists and 
 quartzites is N. 75° E., but the dip is very variable. They are usu- 
 ally very steeply tilted and have evidently been subjected to pro- 
 found movement. Dark basic dikes, that might be classified as dia- 
 base, in the field, intrude these metamorphosed sediments. These 
 dikes are similar in characteristics wherever they were noted by the 
 writer, and consist of a heavily-jointed, dark-gray rock of fine crys- 
 talline texture, weathering to a dark reddish brown. They are some- 
 
34 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 what harder than the surrounding country rock and usually form 
 prominent outcrops. A good exposure of one of these dikes can be 
 seen on Reservoir gulch about a quarter of a mile above its junction 
 with Sturgill Creek. 
 
 The manganese occurs in veins which are interbedded with 
 slate, although there are a few fissure veins containing manganese 
 but these are not so large or continuous as the former type of deposit. 
 
 Placer gold is being mined by hydraulicing from a high bar be- 
 low the mouth of Sturgill creek. This high bar evidently repre- 
 sents the bed of the river which was wide enough at that time to be 
 considered as a lake at this particular point. This lake was formed 
 either by a landslide or a lava flow further down the river, and after 
 the obstruction had been cut through by the river, these river or lake 
 deposits were left nearly 200 ft. above the present water level. The 
 gold occurs in a bed of gravel, made up entirely of fragments of mica 
 schist which lie upon a bed rock of hard clay containing many large 
 boulders which have rolled in from the mountain side. This bed of 
 schist does not usually exceed 3 or 4 ft. in thickness and is very ir- 
 regular and patchy in its occurrence. This deposit was visited late 
 one evening and only a short time was spent on the ground so no 
 theory can be advanced for the occurrence of the gold in this par- 
 ticular bed of schist gravel. These old river or lake beds offer an 
 interesting study and afford considerable evidence as to the history 
 of the Snake River and the various changes through which it has 
 passed. 
 
 T. F Adams' Sturgill Creek Property. This property is situ- 
 ated on the north side of Sturgill creek about 2 miles above its 
 mouth and about 800 ft. higher than the creek, at an elevation of 
 3500 ft., in Sec. 34, T. 16 N., R. 6 W., Boise Meridian. There is a 
 good wagon road up the creek which is passable for automobiles to 
 within less than half a mile of the outcrop. From there it is a steep 
 climb with no trail. A vein containing black manganese oxide out- 
 crops along the mountain side for a distance of 400 or 500 ft. This 
 vein follows the lamination planes in quartzite schist and like most 
 veins of this kind is more or less lenticular in character. The strike 
 of the vein is N. 75° E., with a dip of 60° to the southeast and a 
 width varying between 4 and 15 ft. It has been exposed by several 
 open-cuts, one over 40 ft. long following the strike, and a small tun- 
 nel about 15 ft. in length. The vein filling consists chiefly of oxides 
 of iron and manganese in a gangue of quartz and jasper. In some 
 places the jasper and quartz predominate in the vein, in others the 
 black oxides. About 2000 ft. to the southwest of these exposures 
 and about 200 ft. vertically above Sturgill creek is another open- 
 cut exposing a similar type of mineralization. The vein here is only 
 2 ft. wide, however, and though it has the same strike as the one 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 35 
 
 higher up the mountain it dips in the opposite direction. It may be a 
 continuation of the same vein, but this is not definitely clear. 
 
 About 200 tons of material have been extracted from the large 
 open-cut and are piled up in the cut. A sample was taken across 
 6]/ 2 ft., in the northeastern face of the large open-cut, and included 
 only that portion of the vein containing the black oxides. It was 
 fairly representative of the material in the pile and gave the follow- 
 ing analysis : 
 
 Mn Ft S SiO, P 
 
 18.57% 1.50% 0.025% 55.23% 0.045% 
 
 Another sample taken across A l / 2 ft. in the face of the small tun- 
 nel gave the following analysis : 
 Mn Fe S Si0 2 P 
 
 15.30% 2.00% 0.022% 45.28% 0.10% 
 
 An open-cut below the tunnel showed mostly jasper rock with 
 very little manganese and was not sampled. 
 
 An attempt was made on a small scale at the University to see 
 if this material could be concentrated into a richer product, that 
 could be shipped, but the results obtained were discouraging as the 
 richest looking pieces that could be picked out only contained 16 per 
 cent of manganese. 
 
 The amount of work done upon the property is insufficient to 
 definitely prove it one way or another, but the indications are that 
 this deposit is not of sufficiently high grade to be classed as man- 
 ganese ore. If near to an iron blast-furnace it might be possible to 
 utilize it but even that is doubtful on account of its high silica con- 
 tents. Higher grade bodies of manganese might be found along the 
 strike of this vein and this would seem to offer the best chance as 
 there is not very much probability of enrichment of this particular 
 shoot with depth. The manganese oxides have apparently been de- 
 rived from rhodonite or rhodochrosite, or both. • 
 
 T. F. Adams' Sheep Creek Property. This property consists of 
 two claims in Sec. 8, T. 15 N., R. 6 W., Boise Meridian. These 
 claims are located about two miles above the mouth of Sturgill creek 
 and extend from the water's edge at the Snake River over to Sheep 
 creek. 
 
 The country rock is schist and the vein which is from 7 to 15 
 ft. wide lies in between the planes of schistosity. The vein is chief- 
 ly quartz stained black by oxides of manganese. The general strike 
 is N. 75° E. with a dip to the northwest of from 60° to 70°. A 
 sample taken across iy 2 ft., from the vein exposed on a bluff about 
 150 ft. above the river, gave the following results: Manganese, 
 2.4 per cent; iron, 8.7 per cent. 
 
 The vein can be followed up the mountain from the river for 
 several hundred ft. and evidently extends to the top of the ridge be- 
 
36 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 tween the Snake river and Sheep creek. What is apparently the same 
 vein occurs on the north side of Sheep creek about 1500 to 2000 ft. 
 above its mouth. A small open-cut on this vein is 18 in. wide, and 
 a sample taken across this width gave the following- returns : Man- 
 ganese, 5.1 per cent; iron, 15.5 per cent; silica, not determined. 
 
 The vein was not fully exposed by this open-cut and is probably 
 wider than the exposure in the cut. The only workings on the prop- 
 erty are the open-cut just mentioned and another small cut on the 
 bluff above the Snake River. 
 
 There may be places on this vein where a better grade of man- 
 ganese ore occurs, otherwise the vein is altogther too low grade to 
 be of any value as a source of this element. 
 
 The J. T. Reilly Property consists of several claims situated near 
 the head of Reservoir gulch, the first large gulch that comes into 
 Sturgill creek from the north. The claims lie on the ridge between 
 Reservoir gulch and Lone Pine gulch, which empties into Snake 
 River, and are in Sec. 29, T. 16 N., R. 6 W., Boise Meridian, at an 
 elevation of about 3500 ft. 
 
 A somewhat dim cattle trail follows Reservoir gulch from Stur- 
 gill creek to the claims. Two veins have been exposed ; one a fissure 
 vein in slate containing a little manganese and about 2 ft. wide, 
 has a strike of N. 30° W. and the other a bed or blanket vein in 
 slate with a strike of N. 75° E. and a dip of about 40° to the north- 
 west. This vein is about 8 ft. wide, is heavily iron stained and con- 
 tains a little manganese oxide in a quartz and jasper gangue. A sam- 
 ple taken across 6 ft. of this vein gave the following results : Man- 
 ganese, 11.2 per cent; iron, 3.2 per cent. 
 
 /. G. Hill's Property is situated about three-quarters of a mile 
 from the Snake River on a ridge north of Wayle creek, close to the 
 line between Sees. 18, and 30, T. 15 N., R. 6 W., at an elevation of 
 3000 ft., or approximately 1000 ft. above the river. The workings 
 consist of a small open-cut which has exposed a fissure vein about 
 2 ft. wide in slate, with a strike of N. 60° W.and a clip to the north 
 east of 60°. The length of outcrop is not known as the vein was ex- 
 posed in this one place only. The gangue is quartz containing a con- 
 siderable amount of black manganese oxides. Some very good looking 
 ore has been piled up on the dump. 
 
 A sample taken from this cut with a width of 2 ft. gave the 
 following returns: Manganese, 20.6; iron, 5.2; silica, 46.6; sulphur, 
 0.04; phosphorus, 0.04 per cent, respectively. 
 
 This is the best grade of manganese ore seen in the district, and 
 the vein should be worth prospecting along the strike to see if any 
 wider places containing ore could not be found. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 37 
 
 Summary and Conclusion 
 
 The district was somewhat disappointing as a possible source of 
 manganese. Several good sized veins exist but most of them are too 
 low grade and too silicious to be considered as available resources of 
 manganese ore. The highest grade ore in the district comes from 
 quite a small vein. 
 
 It may be that more extensive and careful prospecting might un- 
 cover other veins, or that richer places might be found in prospect- 
 ing the present discoveries along their strike. The fact that the coun- 
 try is free of timber and underbrush makes prospecting easier than 
 in many places in Idaho and the likelihood of any new discoveries 
 being made is consequently greatly lessened. 
 
 Manganese in Shoshone County 
 
 Cumming's Property. A deposit containing manganese occurs 
 about one mile east of Prichard, which is at present the terminus of 
 the Murray branch of the Oregon Short Line. 
 
 The property is owned by Mrs. E. V. Cummings of Wallace, 
 Idaho, and was operated at one time by Mr. L. J. Tefft, of Wallace. 
 The outcrop is about 1500 ft. northeast of the wagon-road between 
 Murray and Prichard and about 850 ft. higher than Prichard creek. 
 It is in Sec. 21, T. 22 N., R. 4 E., Boise Meridian. 
 
 The country rock is Revert quartzite, in which a crushed and 
 brecciated zone over 50 ft. wide has been cemented, by manganese- 
 bearing material consisting partly of psilomelane. This zone has a 
 strike of S. 80° E. and is reported to have one well-defined wall, but 
 this was not seen by the writer and its dip is not known. It is re- 
 ported to outcrop for a distance of over 4000 ft. Some of the quartz- 
 ite beds have been more replaced and mineralized with manganese 
 than others. There has been considerable movement along this zone 
 . and it is probable that the zone itself is a fault. This zone has been 
 exposed in one place by a short and branching cross-cut tunnel con- 
 taining 70 or 80 ft. of workings in all. 
 
 This tunnel shows about 50 ft. of this black oxide material in 
 the quartzite. Some of it is soft and rotten but most of it is badly 
 mixed with quartzite. 
 
 Two samples were taken; one from the best looking material 
 in the cross-cut, represented a width of 20 ft. This sample con- 
 tained: Manganese, 11.02; iron, 1.8; silica, 74.6; sulphur, 0.016. 
 and phosphorous 0.08 per cent, respectively. The other was a sam- 
 ple of the highest grade material that could be obtained by hand sort- 
 ing the rock from the vein, and contained: Manganese, 19.5; iron, 
 3.7; silica, 55.1; sulphur, 0.045, and phosphorous 0.08 per cent, re- 
 spectively. 
 
 Experiments made in the metallurgical laboratory at the Uni- 
 versity of Idaho showed that it was not possible to concentrate this 
 
38 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 material to a shipping grade of manganese ore. Evidently the high 
 silica content of this material precludes it as a possible source of man- 
 ganese, unless some method could be devised for raising the man- 
 ganese content and at the same time reducing the silica below 20 per 
 cent. There is evidently a large tonnage of this kind of material 
 available on the property that could be mined and handled very cheap- 
 ly if such a method of treatment could be worked out. 
 
 As the tunnel cut the deposit only a few feet below the surface 
 the workings are entirely in the oxidized zone, and hence it was not 
 possible to arrive at any definite conclusion in regard to the origin 
 of the manganese, but the probabilities are that it was derived by 
 means of surface waters from manganiferous siderite in the sur- 
 rounding rocks. 
 
 The Butte-Detroit Property owned by Charles T. Anderson is 
 situated about two miles below Delta and about 200 or 300 yards to 
 the east of Beaver creek, in approximately Sec. 4, T. 21 N., R. 4 E., 
 Boise Meridian. 
 
 The outcrop was not visited but samples seen in Mr. Anderson's 
 cabin showed a very similar type of manganese occurrence to that 
 which occurs on the property just described, and which is between 
 two and three miles to the north. 
 
 The country rock is also Revett quartzite and the manganese 
 mineralization is practically identical. The outcrop was reported by 
 Mr. Anderson to be a crushed zone over 65 ft. in width with an 
 east-west strike. The manganese bearing material is a recent dis- 
 covery and there has been very little work done upon the property. 
 
 The lone Group is owned by Mr. Dan Sieger of Murray and is 
 situated near the top of the ridge between Bear Gulch and Paragon 
 Gulch and about a quarter of a mile east of the Bear Top mine. It is 
 eight miles from Murray, by wagon-road as far as the Bear Top 
 buildings on Bear Gulch, and then by trail. The outcrop is at an 
 elevation oi 4700 ft. and 1500 ft. above Bear Gulch. 
 
 A fissure vein in Prichard slate with an east-west strike and a 
 dip of 60° to the south outcrops for 600 or 700 ft. along the side of 
 the ridge. Mr. Sieger has shipped about a carload of lead ore from 
 an open cut on this vein. An adit tunnel follows the vein for 300 
 or 400 ft. 
 
 About 40 ft. vertically above the mouth of this tunnel the out- 
 crop of the vein is heavily stained with manganese and has been 
 opened up by a tunnel about 10 ft. long. A sample 5 ft. wide from 
 the vein in this tunnel contained 4.54 per cent of manganese and 
 11.6 per cent of iron. This is entirely too low grade to" be consid- 
 ered as manganese ore. 
 
 Waring's Property. A mining claim owned by D. E Waring 
 of Wallace, was reported to contain manganese ore. This property, 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 39 
 
 which is situated about three miles from Wallace on Ninemile Creek, 
 and a quarter of a mile down the creek from the Black Cloud mill, 
 is developed by a cross-cut adit-tunnel driven in the west side of the 
 gulch above the main road, the tunnel having been run with the ob- 
 ject of intersecting a deposit showing an iron-capping on the hill 
 above. About 380 ft. from its portal, this tunnel intersects a fissure 
 or water-course from 6 to 12 in. wide with a strike of S. 45° W., 
 and a dip of 45° N. E., containing considerable black manganese- 
 bearing mineral, forming a sort of breccia of country rock (Revett 
 quartzite) held together with a manganiferous cement. The deposit 
 is similar in many respects to the limonite (hydrous iron oxide) fill- 
 ing characteristic of the more or less open fissures common in nearly 
 all metal mines close to the surface. Such limonite deposits are uni- 
 versally recognized as the result of the oxidation and leaching of sur- 
 rounding iron-bearing rocks by descending surface-waters. The 
 metamorphic rocks of the Coeur d'Alene region contain much sider- 
 ite, most of which is slightly manganiferous. It seems logical, 
 therefore, to conclude that manganese deposits of the kind just de- 
 scribed are entirely secondary in character and not likely to be ex- 
 tensive. 
 
 A further difficulty in the way of utilization of such material, 
 even should the deposits prove to be more extensive than is here sug- 
 gested, lies in the extremely low tenor of the black mineral, clean 
 segregated specimens of which show only 16 per cent manganese. 
 Concentration of such material up to marketable grade is obviously 
 impossible. 
 
 A deposit, similar in all respects to the foregoing was examined 
 in the Vienna-International Mine, which is situated on Placer Creek 
 about seven miles by wagon-road from Wallace. What has been said 
 concerning the Waring property applies equally to the manganese 
 vein inspected in the Vienna-International. 
 
 MOLYBDENUM 
 
 In addition to tungsten, quicksilver and manganese deposits, 
 molybdenum and tin were included in the list of minerals necessary 
 for carrying on the war, and wherever these minerals had been re- 
 ported that district was visited. 
 
 Molybdenum is used as an alloy of iron and carbon in 
 the manufacture of certain high-speed steels, in much the same way 
 as tungsten, though not so extensively. 
 
 Its principal economic mineral is molybdenite the sulphide of 
 molybdenum though it is extracted also from wulfenite the molyb- 
 date of lead. Molybdenite occurs rather commonly in many quartz 
 veins, in association with other sulphides but rarely in workable 
 amounts. It is a soft, black, mineral with a highly metallic luster, 
 usually in flaky scales and easily scratched with the finger nail. It 
 
40 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 may be mistaken for graphite, but can be distinguished from it by the 
 streak that it gives when scratched upon a smooth porcelain plate, 
 molybdenum giving a greenish streak while the streak of graphite is 
 black. 
 
 Molybdenum may be recognized by heating a small piece of the 
 mineral, supposed to contain it, in a porcelain crucible with a few 
 drops of sulphuric acid. After the fumes have ceased and the cruci- 
 ble is cool, a deep blue color will form if molybdenum be present. The 
 mineral molybdenite must be first oxidized by heating with nitric 
 acid or by roasting in the air before adding sulphuric acid, but with 
 other molybdenum minerals this is not necessary. 
 
 Like the other so-called war minerals the production and con- 
 sumption of molybdenum in the United States for the last two or 
 three years is not available. 
 
 Previous to 1914 the price was from 20 to 40 cents per pound 
 for nearly pure molybdenite, but in that year the demand for this 
 metal in the steel industry caused it to advance to about $2 per 
 pound. Practically no molybdenum was mined in this country prior 
 to 1914, the small amount used for chemicals, coloring matter, etc., 
 being imported. 
 
 Boundary County 
 
 A. J. Kent of Bonner's Ferry owns a property situated in Sec. 
 9, T. 64 N., R. 1. E., Boise Meridian, which contains molybdenum. 
 
 It is close to the road that runs to the Dora and Tungsten Hill 
 mines described in (Chapter 1 and about one and a half miles from 
 the Copeland Ranger Station, on the bench near the top of the first 
 grade on the wagon road. (See Map. No. 1.) 
 
 The country rock is granite, and molybdenite occurs in a peg- 
 matite phase of the granite which consists chiefly of irregular 
 bunches of quartz and light colored mica (muscovite). The molyb- 
 denite crystals are in some cases over an inch across and have a ra- 
 diating structure as have also the mica crystals with which it oc- 
 curs. I 
 
 The deposit, which is very irregular and bunchy, has been 
 opened up by a few shallow open-cuts only and the development is 
 not sufficient to allow any intelligent estimate of the amount of 
 molybdenite available. 
 
 Lemhi County 
 
 A similar type of molybdenite deposit occurs in Lemhi County 
 on west Eightmile Creek in the Lemhi range, 12 miles west of Lead- 
 ore on the Gilmore & Pittsburg Railway. It is owned by A. R. 
 Mulkey, of Leadore. The property is on the east side of the Lemhi 
 range at an elevation of 8500 ft. It is about three miles from the 
 Bohannon ranch and a mile from West Eightmile creek on the south 
 side of the creek. There is a wagon-road to within about a mile of 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 41 
 
 the property, which passes up the creek 1000 ft. below the outcrop. 
 This wagon-road crosses the divide between West Eightmile creek 
 and Patterson creek, where the Ima mine is situated, but is washed 
 out and in bad repair at the present time. 
 
 The country rock is granite or monzonite and the molybdenite 
 occurs in a very irregular and bunchy pegmatite vein. The workings 
 consist of a short tunnel and a winze about 20 ft. deep, which fol- 
 lowed down a narrow chimney of molybdenite ore from which sev- 
 eral hundred pounds were shipped. 
 
 The shoot of ore that outcropped on the surface and which was 
 followed down in the winze mentioned has been mined out, and 
 there was little to be seen at the time of writing. A little scheelite 
 occurs associated with the molybdenite. 
 
 Adjoining this property is a deposit of oxidized copper ore 
 containing chrysocolla and azurite. This has been exposed by sev- 
 eral shallow tunnels and open-cuts and by a shaft about 60 ft. deep. 
 These openings, which are several hundred feet apart, along the 
 strike of the deposit, show a crushed and brecciated zone of granite, 
 the exact width of which has not been clearly demonstrated in the 
 workings, but which is evidently in excess of 50 ft. Chrysocolla and 
 azurite occur all through this crushed zone in sufficient amounts to 
 made the whole width carry probably over 2 per cent of copper in 
 places. Some very beautiful specimens of chrysocolla can be seen 
 on the dump at the lowest of the tunnels. 
 
 The horizontal extent of this deposit is not definitely known 
 but from observations made during a hasty examination and reports 
 from local people it would appear to outcrop for at least a half a 
 mile. Copper ore is also reported to occur near the head of Pat- 
 terson creek and this district would seem to be more valuable for 
 copper than for molybdenum, and is worthy of more attention than 
 is being given to it at the present time. 
 
 Idaho County 
 
 Molybdenum occurs on a group of claims owned by W. G. 
 Cadby of Warren, situated about half a mile west of the South Fork 
 of Salmon River and about four miles north of the wagon-road be- 
 tween Warren and Dustin's ranch on the South Pork. The work- 
 ings are almost opposite the mouth of Grouse creek on the east 
 side of the river and about 1000 ft. above it, at an elevation of 3900 
 ft. The property may be reached from Warren, which is about 12 
 miles from the claims. There is a fairly good wagon-road from 
 Warren to the Hayes Ranger Station and from this place to the 
 property the distance is only about two miles by trail. The distances 
 and elevations are about as follows : Warren, 5900 ft. ; Warren to 
 Warren Summit, 4 miles, elevation at summit, 6800 ft. ; Summit to 
 Hayes Ranger Station, 6 miles, elevation at Ranger Station, 4200 
 
42 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 ft.; Hayes Ranger Station to Cadby's cabin, 2 miles, elevation at 
 Cadby's cabin on Big Flat creek, 3900 ft. 
 
 Topography. The topography is the steeply eroded mountain 
 type of Central Idaho, the South Fork of the Salmon River having 
 cut a canyon to a depth of from 3000 to 6000 ft. The slopes of 
 he canyon-side vary from almost perpendicular bluffs to about 25°. 
 There are benches or flats at different levels which evidently show 
 stages in the erosion when the stream was comparatively inactive, due 
 to a cessation in the elevation of the country, and which resulted in 
 lateral cutting of the river in place of vertical cutting. One of these 
 benches is about 1000 ft. above the river and is well exemplified 
 on Big Flat creek, where Mr. Cadby's cabin is located. 
 
 Geology. The oldest rocks are schist or gneiss containing consid- 
 erable amounts of garnet and mica. Beds or sills containing dark 
 green hornblende occur in the schist. Whether these are intrusive 
 into the schist Or whether they represent portions of the schist that 
 have been entirely recrystallized due to contact metamorphism is 
 not entirely clear, but the former supposition appears the most likely. 
 Granite underlies these old metamorphics and has been intruded into 
 them in an extremely irregular manner. This is the normal light 
 colored biotite granite or monzonite of Central Idaho. The schist 
 and hornblende sills have a general strike of N. 75° E., and are 
 very variable in dip. They evidently represent an uneroded remnant 
 of these rocks the greater part of which have been removed by ero- 
 sion, exposing the underlying granite batholith. They are strikingly 
 similar in appearance to a series of rocks that occur in the northern 
 part of Latah County. In some places these rocks in Latah County 
 contain very similar hornblende sills and where they contain these 
 sills they are usually mineralized with pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. 
 In Mr. Cadby's property the hornblende sills and adjacent parts of 
 the schist are mineralized with pyrrhotite and molybdenite. The 
 schist of Latah County is a part of the Belt series of pre-Cambrian 
 or Algonkian sediments and for lack of better evidence the schist 
 at Mr. Cadby's property may be considered as belonging to the same 
 age and series. 
 
 As previously stated molybdenite occurs with pyrrhotite in the 
 garnetized schist and hornblende sills. It is usually in very fine 
 grains although crystals over a quarter inch across occur locally. 
 The zone in which the molybdenite occurs is about 150 ft. wide and 
 is reported by Mr. Cadby to be traceable on the surface for over 2300 
 ft., showing molybdenite all the way. It is locally intruded by the 
 granite with irregular tongues of granite running through it in all 
 directions. 
 
 As the workings consist of but one short tunnel, not over 30 ft. 
 long, and a few open cuts it was impossible to form any estimate of 
 the amount of molybdenum available or to obtain any representative 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 43 
 
 samples. There is undoubtedly a large tonnage of material that can 
 be easily mined, which will average about 1 per cent of molybden- 
 ite, and there are certain to be places of local enrichment where the 
 percentage of molybdenite will exceed this figure many times. 
 
 If development progresses to a point where concentrates are be- 
 ing produced it would be possible to ship these to Lewiston by scow 
 down the Salmon River, although the risk of loss by capsizing would 
 be very great. 
 
 TIN 
 
 The principal mineral of tin is cassiterite, the natural oxide of 
 the metal. 
 
 This is a brown to black mineral with an adamantine, or semi- 
 metallic luster, a hardness of 6 to 7 and a specific gravity of from 
 6.8 to 7.1, which places it among the heaviest minerals. 
 
 It occurs in veins and stockworks, in granite, gneiss and schist 
 often associated with wolframite and scheelite. It is but little affected 
 by the atmosphere and occurs in placer deposits, derived from the 
 veins or lodes, one of the most celebrated of these being the placers 
 of the Shan States and Burmah, in the Malay Peninsula, which have 
 been previously mentioned as producers of tungsten. 
 
 The easiest test for tin is to boil the mineral in dilute hydro- 
 chloric or sulphuric acid with metallic zinc, when a metallic coating- 
 will be formed on the mineral, which can be polished bright with the 
 hand and will yield the peculiar and characteristic odor of tin. 
 
 The Malay Peninsula is the most important producer of cas- 
 siterite in the world, the production of the United States being insig- 
 nificant in comparison. 
 
 In normal times the United States uses between 50,000 and 60,- 
 000 tons of tin a year and its production of cassiterite does nor 
 usually exceed 200 to 300 tons. 
 
 Tin in Idaho 
 
 Tin was reported to occur in Lemhi County by Jos. B. Umpleby 
 of the U. S. Geological Survey and the occurrence is described 1 
 by him. 
 
 The district in which the cassiterite was reported to occur was 
 visited by the writer on Aug. 26th, 1918, a day being spent on the 
 ground. 
 
 Unfortunately the property was not operating at the time of the 
 visit and had the appearance of having been idle for some time, as 
 the workings were badly caved and washed down, which made proper 
 sampling almost impossible. 
 
 Location. The deposit is situated at the junction of Panther 
 Creek, Musgrove Creek and Moyer Creek, which unite to form the 
 
 1. U. S. Geol. Survey Bull., 528, p. 74, 1913. 
 
44 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 upper part of Big Creek, an important tributary of the Salmon River. 
 The distance from Salmon, the nearest railroad point, is 35 miles 
 over a very mountainous and rough road. The following tabulation 
 of distances and elevations will give some idea of the grades. 
 
 Reading 
 
 Barometer 
 
 Place Distance Feet 
 
 Salmon 4000 
 
 Leesburg Summit 9 8400 
 
 Leesburg 14 6300 
 
 Leacock's 23 5200 
 
 Musgrove Creek 35 5700 
 
 Topography. The property is situated at a point where there is 
 a decided change in the topographic features of the country- Above 
 the junction of the three creeks previously named, Panther Creek, 
 which occupies the main valley, flows in a broad, flat, wash-filled 
 depression very similar to the valleys of Lemhi Creek and the Pah- 
 simeroi River, which lie on the south side of the Salmon River. 
 Umpleby 1 explains this topography as being due to glacial wash from 
 the mountains having filled the valley, and this is no doubt an im- 
 portant factor. The striking similarity between this valley and the 
 broad washed filled valleys south of the Salmon River lead to the 
 supposition that this may possibly be an elevated portion of a north- 
 ward continuation of the Pahsimeroi valley, with the Salmon River 
 occupying the fault that caused the separation, and that the effect 
 of glaciation in the structure of the valley of Panther Creek is en- 
 tirely secondary. Below the junction of Panther Creek with Mus- 
 grove Creek the valley is of the typical narrow erosion type of Cen- 
 tral Idaho. 
 
 Napias Creek also shows a sudden change in slope due to ele- 
 vation of the country and rejuvenation of the stream, the upper part 
 shows rounded and mature topography with the stream occupying a 
 comparatively broad depression filled with gravel, most of which 
 has been placer mined for gold. A mile or two below Leesburg, 
 Napias creek plunges into a steep walled canyon and has a fall of be- 
 tween 200 and 300 ft. to the mile, forming a succession of falls and 
 rapids to its junction with Big Creek. 
 
 Tin Deposits. The gravel deposit in which tin was reported to 
 occur occupies a flat of about 20 acres, at the junction of the th;ee 
 creeks just mentioned. This flat extends up Musgrove creek a 
 short distance and there are undoubtedly many similar gravel bars 
 on Panther Creek above, this point. 
 
 About 3 to 6 ft. of gravel containing medium sized boulders 
 lies on top of a slate bed-rock which is very similar in appearance 
 to the Prichard slate of the Coeur d'Alene region. 
 
 1. Op. Cit., p. 40. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 45 
 
 Considerable work was done several years ago, consisting of a 
 bed-rock flume or drain built from the junction of Meyer Creek 
 with a length of about 200 yards, a ditch from Panther Creek 
 giving a head of about 50 ft. and a flood-gate on Musgrove Creek. 
 Several hundred cubic yards of gravel were washed. 
 
 A considerable amount of gravel was panned by the writer but 
 did not show the presence of cassiterite and only a small amount of 
 gold. As tin has been reported both by Mr. Umpleby 1 and Mr. 
 R. N. Bell, State Mine Inspector, to occur here, the writer evidently 
 failed to locate the channel containing it due to lack of a guide famil- 
 iar with the property. To prospect the ground properly would necessi- 
 tate either the digging of pits in a systematic manner across the 
 gravel bar or the employment of churn drills in a similar way. 
 
 ANTIMONY 
 
 By Francis A. Thomson. 
 
 Antimony is a silver-white, shining, brittle metal. It has a 
 specific gravity of 6.8 and its atomic weight is 120. Its most no- 
 table characteristics are its fusibility, (melting point 630° C.) and 
 the volatility of its oxide and sulphide. 
 
 Antimony is occasionally found native. Various oxides and 
 oxysulphides of yellow to reddish color are frequently found in the 
 outcrops of antimony deposits. 
 
 Stibnite, the sulphide (Antimony 71 per cent, Sulphur, 29 per 
 cent) is practically the only mineral which is mined for its antimony. 
 It is a soft, brittle, shining, lead-gray mineral which readily tarnishes 
 to a bluish-black. It occurs frequently in long-bladed crystals or ag- 
 gregates which are usually deeply grooved or striated lengthwise. 
 Stibnite is easily fusible, thin splinters melting in an ordinary can- 
 dle flame. Heated on charcoal with the blowpipe, stibnite gives a 
 dense white coating on the coal and yields fumes of sulphur dioxide. 
 
 There are many ores, particularly those of copper, lead and 
 silver, which carry appreciable amounts of antimony, but none of 
 them -are regarded as antimony ores, although small quantities of 
 antimony are recovered from them as a by-product of lead and cop- 
 per smelting. 
 
 Antimonides or sulph-antimonides of nearly all the metals occur 
 in nature, none except those of copper, lead and silver are of any 
 economic significance. 
 
 The following statement of uses and production of antimony 
 is taken from "Antimony in 1916" by Edson S. Baston. 2 
 
 Uses op Antimony 
 Metallic antimony unalloyed has few industrial uses. In the 
 form of fine powder, known as "iron black," it is used for produc- 
 
 1. Op. Cit., p. 74. 
 2. U. S. Geol. Survey, Mineral Resources 1917, part 1, pp. 725-729, 1918. 
 
46 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 ing the appearance of polished steel on articles made of papiermache 
 or pottery. For these purposes it is precipitated by the action of metal- 
 lic zinc on an acid solution of antimony salts. Antimony alloys read- 
 ily with most heavy metals, the alloy being- harder than the two pure 
 metals and also in most cases, possessing the property of slight ex- 
 pansion on solidifying. Type metal is an alloy of antimony, lead, 
 and tin; babbitt, antifriction, or bearing metal is usually an alloy 
 of antimony, tin and copper. Britannia metal, also known as "white 
 metal," is an alloy of antimony, tin and copper, with some zinc and, 
 rarely, small quantities of other metals. It is used in making cheap 
 domestic tableware, teapots, spoons, etc. Antimony alloys find 
 minor utilization in battery plates, toys, cable coverings, etc. Lead- 
 antimony alloy or hard lead is used in making "acid resisting valves. . 
 
 White antimony oxide, mainly the tetraoxide (Sb 2 4 ) is used 
 for making opaque white enamel and other sanitary ware. In this 
 use antimony oxides compete with tin oxide. Antimony oxi: 1 :, 
 mainly trioxide, is used as a coloring agent in manufacture of glass, 
 as it is more readily fusible than tetraoxide and does not impart opac- 
 ity to the glass. Antimony oxides are further used as paint pigments. 
 
 The red sulphides of antimony are used in vulcanizing and color- 
 ing red rubber, and also as paint pigments. The natural antimony 
 trisulphide, stibnite, enters into the composition of safety matches 
 or the compound is put on the match box. 
 
 Antimonate of lead containing an excess of lead oxide, known 
 as "Naples yellow," is used in oil paints and in the glass and cera- 
 mic industries. The antimony salt, tartar emetic (double tartrate of 
 antimony and potassium) and antimony fluoride are employed as 
 mordants in dyeing. Tartar emetic and antimony trioxide are em- 
 ployed medicinally. 
 
 Antimonial lead carrying 12 to 13 per cent of antimony is em- 
 ployed in the manufacture of shrapnel bullets. Smaller quantities 
 of liquated antimony sulphide are used in the primers of shells. For 
 this last purpose it is claimed the material must carry less than 2 
 per cent of impurities insoluble in hydrochloric acid. Antimony 
 sulphide as a powder is used in the charge of some shells to pro- 
 duce on explosion a dense white smoke which is of service in range 
 finding. 
 
 U. S. Production 
 
 The production of antimony ores in the United States in 1916 
 according to the best information available, was about 4500 short 
 tons, valued at $40,580. The metallic antimony content of this ma- 
 terial was about 1770 short tons'. The average tenor of the ore 
 in metallic antimony was therefore about 40 per cent. 
 
 The principal producing states in order of importance were 
 Nevada, California, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Ark- 
 ansas. Utah and Arizona produced insigficant amounts. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 47 
 
 In Nevada the principal producing districts were in Humboldt, 
 Lander, and Elko counties, although minor amounts were produced 
 in Churchill and Nye counties. The Sutherland mine, near Love- 
 lock, Humboldt County, was the principal producer. Development 
 work was in progress at the Star Antimony mine, operated by J. M. 
 Pine, near Battle Mountain, Lander County. Development work was 
 in progress also at the Antimony King mine, near Austin, Lander 
 County, operated by the Nichols-Layng Chemical Co., of San Fran- 
 cisco. 
 
 In California the production came mainly from Kern and Inyo 
 counties, minor amounts being produced in San Bernardino and 
 San Benito counties. The greater part of the output was from two 
 mines in Inyo and Kern counties, operated by the Western Metals 
 Co., of Los Angeles, the ore being shipped to San Pedro, near Los 
 Angeles, for smelting. 
 
 In Washington the antimony was produced at the property of 
 the Gold Creek Antimony Mining & Smelting Co., near Methow, 
 in Okanogan County. This property was until recently involved in 
 litigation, and the production in 1916 was made by the unsuccessful 
 claimants. A small production was also reported from the Wienat- 
 chee district, Chelan County. 
 
 In Oregon the production came largely from Baker County, the 
 Jim Dandy mine, near Baker City, being the principal producer. The 
 product from this mine is understood to be mainly oxide ore. A 
 small production of mixed stibnite and oxide ore was reported from 
 the Palmer Creek district in Jackson County. 
 
 In Idaho the production was all from Shoshone County, al- 
 though prospects are known in Blaine, Custer and Idaho counties. 
 The production in Shoshone County was mainly from Pine Creek, 
 in the Yreka district. 
 
 In Arkansas one property at Gillham, Sevier County, produced 
 a noteworthy output of ore in 1916 and also produced a small quan- 
 tity of metallic antimony at a local reduction plant. 
 
 In Utah the antimony ore mined came from Box Elder County. 
 
 In Alaska the production was mainly from the Fairbanks dis- 
 trict, with small quantities from the Nome district, the ore being 
 shipped to Los Angeles and Seattle for smelting. 
 
 In contrast to the small domestic production of antimony ore — 
 about 4500 short tons — the total imports in 1916 amounted to 7764 
 short tons of antimony ore and 9876 short tons of metallic anti- 
 mony. 
 
 Foreign Production 
 
 Bolivia.— Antimony mining in Bolivia has undergone rapid ex- 
 pansion since the beginning of the war. Prior to 1915 production 
 appears not to have exceeded about 300 tons in any one year; in 
 1915 it rose to 17,923 tons, and in 1916. according to the American 
 
48 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 legation at La Paz, it reached 27,414 tons. Great Britain is known 
 to have purchased large quantities of Bolivian ore, and only a small 
 percentage of the production has come to the United States. Ac- 
 cording to the Western Metals Co., of Los Angeles, an analysis of 
 high-grade ore from one of the principal Bolivia producers showed 
 antimony (Sb) 66 per cent; silica (Si0 2 ) 7.25 per cent; iron oxi ie 
 (FeO) 1.32 per cent; lime (CaO), 2.6 per cent, and sulphur (S), 
 14.04 per cent. 
 
 China. Southern China has long been the principal producing 
 district in the world for antimony ores, and at present is the main 
 source of supply for this country. The most important deposits are 
 in the Province of Hunan, where the largest smelting center is 
 Changsha. 
 
 According to the United States consul general at Shanghai, the 
 exports of antimony ore from China in 1916 were 81,964 tons, as 
 against 1,843 tons in 1915, and of liquated antimony sulphide and 
 metallic antimony (crude and regulus) 24,740 tons, as against 23,931 
 tons in 1915. Of the exports lumped in one classification as crude 
 and regulus the larger part was probably crude. In 1915, for exam- 
 ple, the exports were 10,664 short tons of crude and 2,115 short 
 tons of regulus. The crude or liquated sulphide carries from 68 
 to as high as 76 per cent antimony. 
 
 Portugal. Imports credited to Portugal in 1916 probably came 
 from the Oporto and Braganza districts, where are located the prin- 
 cipal antimony deposits of that country. The total exports of anti- 
 mony ore from Portugal in 1916 were 4,330 tons. 
 
 In 1914 normal prices were maintained until the outbreak of 
 the war, when the price rose from an average of 7.2 cents in July 
 to 17.2 in August. 
 
 The price at the beginning of 1916 was about 42 cents a pound, 
 from which it rose to 46 cents in March and then declined steadily 
 to about 1 1 cents early in October. Later there was a slight recovery 
 to about 15 cents at the close of the year. The decline was the re- 
 sult of overproduction in China, which flooded the American mar- 
 ket with the Chinese products. With these the American antimony 
 miners soon found themselves unable to compete, and the latter 
 part of the year witnessed a great decline in antimony mining in 
 this country. 
 
 Metallurgy 
 
 Owing to the extreme fusibility of stibnite the metallurgy of 
 antimony is in most respects decidedly simple. Antimony matte or 
 liquated antimony is produced by the simple process of subjecting 
 the ore to a dull-red heat in a reducing atmosphere, when the anti- 
 mony sulphide is melted or "liquated" away from the gangue. 
 This "crude" or "needle antimony" is run into molds, cooled and 
 shipped to the refinery. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 49 
 
 To produce antimony metal, or "regulus" direct from the ore 
 it must first be roasted under conditions of careful temperature reg- 
 ulation for the production of antimony oxide, and the roasted prod- 
 uct is then smelted in a reducing atmosphere to slag and metal. An- 
 timony matte is sometimes refined by wet processes, also by resmelt- 
 ing in crucibles with metallic iron resulting in the production of 
 metallic antimony and iron matte. 
 
 Antimony in Idaho 
 (1) Valley County. 
 Deposits of antimony have been known for several years on 
 the southern rim of Yellowpine Basin near the center of Valley 
 County. 
 
 The basin itself is formed by the confluence of Profile Creek 
 flowing in from the north, the East Fork of the South Fork of 
 Salmon River flowing from the eastward, and Johnson Creek flow- 
 ing in from the south. The antimony ore is found about four miles 
 from the mouth of the last named stream and the same distance 
 south of Yellowpine postoffice. 
 
 The district lies about 15 miles west of Cinnabar (see p. 55), 
 and the antimony and mercury ores are probably related genetically. 
 
 The properties are reached by wagon-road, some 60 miles in 
 length from Cascade, a station on the Long Valley branch of the 
 Oregon Short Line. This road leaves the road to Cinnabar camp at 
 the crossing of Johnson Creek. For about half the distance the road 
 is fair and for the other half decidedly bad, furthermore, several 
 summits are crossed which are deeply covered with snow six months 
 in the year. At the present time the district has neither telephone, 
 telegraph nor mail service; there is a weekly stage and the stage 
 driver carries mail if so disposed. 
 
 Freighting costs 3c per pound from the nearest railroad point, 
 and winter transportation is precarious and subject to much interrup- 
 tion. A more feasible road-route could doubtless be found if road 
 construction were justified. 
 
 Geology. The general geology is simple, the country rock being 
 the biotite granite characteristic of the Central Idaho region. 
 Dikes of pegmatite, aplite and complimentary basic dykes are in evi- 
 dence, and there are the usual magmatic quartz veins usually gold- 
 bearing, in connection with which and with the pegmatite the anti- 
 mony ore occurs, the whole occurrence being entirely regular and 
 normal. There are places, however, in which the stibnite appears 
 as patches or islands in the granite in a manner which suggests a 
 direct replacement, such an occurrence is unique as far as the writer 
 is aware and deserves further study as a problem in ore-genesis. 
 
 The antimony mineral is of course stibnite as has been stated, it 
 is very clean and free from admixture of other sulphides. The sul- 
 
50 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 phide ore reaches practically to the surface, there being- nothing 
 more than a mere skin of the oxides of antimony. 
 
 The Ore Deposits. It is convenient for purposes of discussion 
 to divide the district into the east side and the west side respectively of 
 Johnson Creek. 
 
 The east side deposits on which development work has been 
 done, appear to consist essentially of two or perhaps three distinct 
 quartz-stibnite veins. One of these striking north, is traceable for 
 4000 ft. in the course of which, as exposed in frequent cross-trenches, 
 it shows from 6 to 18 in. of clean stibnite. The lowest exposure on 
 this vein is 1700 ft. above Johnson Creek. Just beyond the point 
 where this vein should cross over the ridge parallel to Johnson Creek 
 and 2300 ft. above it, and on the eastern slope of the ridge is the most 
 important exposure on the east side. Here, due possibly to the inter- 
 section of a system of linkage veins are several lenses of practically 
 clean stibnite, the largest one of which has a maximum width of 
 5 ft., a length of 30 to 40 ft., and an undetermined depth, possibly 
 15 or 20 ft. The ore here shows both the quartz-stibnite vein type 
 of deposition and an irregular replacement or segregation occur- 
 rence in the surrounding pegmatite-granite formation. This rather 
 remarkable ore-shoot or concentration has been poorly developed and 
 badly gutted by underhand stoping from a grass-root tunnel by pre- 
 vious operators, who are said to have shipped several cars of ore to 
 Chicago from this point. The logical method of development here 
 would be by an adit-tunnel further down the eastern slope. 
 
 As to the croppings of the continuous exposure on the western 
 slope these can bo tapped by an adit-tunnei on the vein and fair 
 depth will be gained. A short adit which, however, missed the 
 vein at the portal and diverged from it as it progressed, has been 
 started, but common sense development here would give valuable in- 
 formation and a depth of perhaps 20 to 25 ft. per 100 ft. driven 
 would be gained. 
 
 Altogether the showing on this side of the creek is favorable and 
 abundantly justifies vigorous development. 
 
 While on the east side the valley is quite flat and then 
 rises by gentle slopes to the summit, on the west side the cliffs 
 rise abruptly from a steep talus slope which reaches practically 
 into the creek bed. Whether this cliff represents a fault- 
 scarp or merely defines a zone or rib of weather-resistant material, 
 I am unable to say. The material composing this cliff has been 
 designated quartzite, pending the examination of a thin section, the 
 writer is inclined to classify it as aplite or alaskite, or possibly a 
 silicified phase of the granite formation. In any event, the signifi- 
 cant thing is, that distributed apparently sporadically both vertically 
 and horizontally over the face of this cliff which is a mile long and 
 500 ft, high, there are patches and bunches of stibnite, and in the 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 51 
 
 talus slope at the foot are great boulders of three or four tons, some 
 of which contain at least 25 per cent of the same mineral. 
 
 No work has been done, and one of three explanations is pos- 
 sible, (a) that the face of the cliff represents one wall of a vein 
 or dike in which the stibnite occurs in small, irregular shoots; (b) 
 that there is a series of veins or dikes intersecting the face of the 
 cliff and that the stibnite lies in these, and (c) that the stibnite lies in 
 ■segregated bunches throughout the general rock-mass of the cliff. 
 Subject, of course, to further data to be furnished by development, 
 I am inclined to the last hypothesis, some confirmation of which is 
 furnished by the fact that country-rock samples on the east side show 
 over one-half per cent antimony due to small specks of stibnite visi- 
 ble under the microscope. It is conceivable that the entire mass of 
 this great cliff may prove to be of sufficient grade to justify large 
 scale mining followed by water concentration for which all natural 
 facilities are at hand. 
 
 Sampling Results. The following assays and analyses on sam- 
 ples taken, are included rather as qualitative than as quantitative 
 data. Some rather extravagant claims were made as to gold values 
 in the stibnite; these are not substantiated by the results obtained. 1 
 Sample 
 No. Description Gold Silver Antimony 
 
 1 Average across 1 ft. in tunnel- 
 stope on Idaho claim (Nowak 
 
 property.) None 0.1 oz. 40.4% 
 
 2 Average across 2 ft. in best lens 
 
 in same working Trace 4.7 oz. 43.5% 
 
 3 Granite country rock between 
 
 quartz veins in above workings None None oz. 0.54% 
 
 4 . Representative samples of bluff 
 
 deposit taken by chipping typi- 
 cal exposures None Trace oz. 4.20% 
 
 Selected particles of high-grade were segregated from No. 1 to 
 give an indication of what might be expected by concentration or 
 segregation. 
 
 Results were as follows : 
 
 Antimony, 63.10 per cent; Arsenic, none; Lead, none; Sulphur, 
 25.50 per cent; Iron, 0.56 per cent; Insoluble, 2.7 per cent. 
 
 (Doubtless the balance of the sample consists mainly of the 
 more soluble felspathic portion of the gangue.) 
 
 Present Operations. The east side deposits are held under 
 lease from the Idaho Antimony Mining Co., by Frank Nowak, Inc., 
 a concern which it is understood is controlled in Chicago. The pres- 
 ent operators, for whom Mr. Frank Nowak is in charge on the 
 
 1. Analyses made by the Seattle Station of the U. S. Bureau of Mines. 
 
52 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 ground have done a small amount of development work and have 
 completed a "go-devil" road some three miles long to their ore- 
 treatment plant. This plant is situated near the river and in an air- 
 line perhaps a mile from the east side workings. It consists of a 
 Stroud disintegrator for crushing the ore, a small mechanically- 
 rabbled flat-hearth dryer operated by a one horse-power engine, and 
 a small liquation furnace. In addition the plant is equipped with a 
 standard Wilfley table, the place of which in the flow-sheet was not 
 clear to the writer. The plant is expected to have a capacity of one 
 ton per day. 
 
 The west side deposits are owned by Mr. Albert Hennessy of 
 Yellowpine, who is holding them in the hope of their being devel- 
 oped by outside parties. 
 
 In conclusion, it is evident from the foregoing that the Yel- 
 lowpine antimony deposits are of exceptional purity and offer con- 
 siderable promise if ever transportation becomes available. To mar- 
 ket a metal worth only 5 to 10 cents a pound, however, under pres- 
 ent conditions appears to the writer practically out of the question. 
 
 There is some disposition locally to regard the antimony de- 
 posits as necessarily superficial in nature and unlikely to extend 
 more than a few hundred feet in depth. There seems no justification 
 from any point of view for such a conclusion. 
 
 It is easily conceivable that the west side deposits may prove in 
 time to be the more important, meanwhile the east side offers the 
 greater promise to small operators, but of course far more devel- 
 opment even on these is necessary, before definite conclusions as to the 
 extent of these deposits can be drawn. Such development is in the 
 writer's opinion abundantly justified provided the product could be 
 profitably marketed. 
 
 Antimony ore of similar character to the foregoing is reported 
 at Cinnabar, also near Edwardsburg in the same county. 
 
 (2) Shoshone County. 
 The occurrence of antimony ore on Pine Creek, a tributary of 
 the South Fork of Coeur d'Alene River, has been known for many 
 years. 
 
 The Coeur d'Alene Antimony Co. is operating a property which 
 has been worked intermittently for 20 years and in that time has 
 produced approximately 2000 tons of ore containing 500,000 pounds 
 of antimony metal. 
 
 The property is at present being operated by a company of 
 which Mr. M. E. Jolly, of Davenport, Wash., is president and man- 
 ager. For convenience of access, no mine could be better situated, 
 as it lies on the western edge of the wide valley at the mouth of Pine 
 Creek and within a few hundred yards of the main line of the O.-W. 
 R. & N. Railway, between Harrison and Wallace, and about a quarter 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 53 
 
 •of a mile from Kingston Station on this line, Kingston being about 
 five miles west of Wardner-Kellogg. 
 
 The vein is apparently a fissure striking N. 45° W, and dipping 
 45° to the southeast. The country rock is Prichard slate. Ade- 
 quate inspection of the property was rendered almost impossible by 
 the condition of the underground workings, the mine having been 
 largely in the hand of leasers with the inevitable result that timber- 
 ing was neglected and practically all the workings were caved. 
 Enough was seen, however, to show that south of the incline shaft, 
 ■on the 75 and 150-ft. levels, a shoot of stibnite ore from 6 in. to 2 ft. 
 in width had been developed for a length of perhaps 100 ft. It 
 was also stated that 200 or 300 ft. north of the shaft an ore-shoot 
 had been found near the surface which had not been developed be- 
 low. 
 
 At the time the property was visited a drift to the south on the 
 vein at the 250 ft. level was being run to tap the south ore-shoot, 
 but at last accounts the ore had not been reached. While the vein 
 •on this property is not large and the ore-shoot is decidedly "lensy" 
 and likely to be somewhat erratic in its variations, due largely to 
 the formation in which it occurs, there seems no reason why a vig- 
 orous policy of development should not result in opening up a good 
 tonnage of medium-grade ore. The property is so favorably located 
 that transportation and mining costs should be a minimum and if a 
 reasonable price for the product could be assured it should be possi- 
 ble to operate at a profit. 
 
 Of course, in common with other American properties, it may 
 be impossible without a protective tariff to compete with Bolivian 
 :and Chinese antimony when shipping becomes available. 
 
 The property is equipped with a concentrating plant, consisting 
 largely of jigs, with one Wilfley table and two K. & K. flotation 
 machines. From the 500-ton pile of ore outside the mill, coarse con- 
 centration would hardly seem to be indicated as the proper treat- 
 ment. 
 
 The Star Antimony Property is situated on the ridge above 
 Masonia some five miles up Pine Creek. This property was not vis- 
 ited but from descriptions received it would appear to be similar to 
 the one just described, except that it lacks the favorable situation. 
 
 In Idaho County, just off the wagon road between Orogrande 
 and Elk City a property in Deadwood Gulch was visited. From a 
 hasty inspection in a 10 ft. prospect hole it appeared to be quite simi- 
 lar to some of the Yellowpine deposits, being a replacement of the 
 granite adjacent to a quartz vein. The remoteness of the deposit 
 from transportation excludes it from consideration at present. 
 
 Stibnite is reported in considerable quantities in Blaine County 
 in the Sawtooth Range, also in Custer County. 
 
54 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 QUCKSILVER 
 
 Quicksilver or mercury, the physical properties of which are too- 
 well known to need description here, is used chiefly in the manufac- 
 ture of fulminate for explosive caps or detonators used in blasting,, 
 shells, etc. Consequently the war has caused a heavy demand for 
 this metal. It is also used for making vermilion paints, in drugs, 
 for electric lighting apparatus, scientific apparatus and in the bene- 
 ficiation of gold and silver ores. 1 
 
 There are a number of minerals which contain mercury, most 
 of them rare, and of little economic importance. The most impor- 
 tant economical mineral of quicksilver is cinnabar (HgS) mercuric 
 sulphide. It is a brilliant cochineal-red mineral with a scarlet streak,, 
 a hardness of 2 to 2.5 and a specific gravity of 8.0 to 8.2 and con- 
 tains when pure 86.2 per cent of mercury. It occurs associated most 
 commonly, in veins or replacements, with pyrite and marcasite and 
 the sulphides of antimony and arsenic. When quicksilver occurs in 
 the form of cinnabar it is probably the easiest of all sulphides to re- 
 duce to the metallic condition. All that is required is heat pro- 
 duced by some reducing agent as charcoal or coke and the mercury 
 can thus be distilled off in retorts. Quicksilver furnaces, therefore, 
 -ire cheaply erected, being usually in small units of simple construc- 
 tion. As it becomes necessary to work lower and lower grade ores- 
 there will undoubtedly be a change in the present metallurgical prac- 
 tice which has advanced but little, compared with the metallurgy of 
 lead and copper for example. 
 
 Quicksilver is like gold and silver in the fact that the finished 
 product is highly valuable per unit of weight and can accordingly be 
 worked in remote regions where less valuable metals, such as lead 
 and copper, could not be profitably extracted. 
 
 Production of Quicksilver 
 
 Spain, with an annual production of over 40,000 flasks of 75- 
 lbs., is the greatest producer of quicksilver. The last year in which 
 complete statistics are available is 19 13 2 and this year shows a total' 
 world production of 124,654 flasks, Spain producing 43,799; Italy, 
 29,513; Austria-Hungary, 26,720; United States, 20,213, and Mex- 
 ico and other countries, 4,140. Of the 20,213 flasks produced in the 
 United States in 1913, California produced 15,591, or over 77 per 
 cent; Arizona, Oregon and Texas, 2,977, and Nevada, 1,645. In 
 1915 California produced a little less and the others somewhat more 
 than in 1913, giving California 68 per cent of the country's produc- 
 tion. 
 
 \- U. S. Geol Survey Mineral Resources of the United States, part 1, p. 889, 1911. 
 2. U. S. Geol. Survey Mineral Resources of the United States, p. 274, 1915. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 55 
 
 Summing up the quicksilver situation; the United States is an 
 important world producer of this metal and in the United States, 
 California produces about 70 per cent of the total output. 
 
 New discoveries of quicksilver are rare, and the demand for it, 
 even after the war, is not likely to fall off to any great extent, and 
 it would seem unlikely that the price will drop below $100 per flask 
 for some time to come. 
 
 Tenor of Quicksilver Ores 
 In 1915 there were treated in California 129,521 tons of ore 
 from which 14,283 flasks of quicksilver were obtained. This gives 
 an ore content of 0.4 per cent or 8 lbs, of quicksilver per ton, ex- 
 tracted. No figures are available as to the percentage of quicksilver 
 extracted from the ore, in other words, of the saving effected. The 
 value of the ore mined and treated in California during 1915 was 
 $1,174,881.00, almost exactly $9.00 per ton, with the average price 
 about $80.00 per flask. The yield per ton of the ore mined in Nev- 
 ada during the same year was also 0.4 per cent of quicksilver. 
 
 Fern Creek Cinnabar District 
 Field Work and Acknowledgments, Etc. The Fern Creek dis- 
 trict was visited by the writer early in August, 1918. It was under- 
 stood in the spring that Mr. F. L. Ransome, of the U. S. Geological 
 Survey, would visit this district and it was the intention to endeavor 
 to make the examination jointly with him if this could be arranged. 
 Mr. Ransome did not come west and the director of the Survey was 
 unable to give any definite information as to when a representative 
 would visit the district, so the writer decided that as the district 
 ought to be examined and reported upon, the trip was made inde- 
 pendently of the Geological Survey. Mr. E. S. Larsen, of the Sur- 
 vey, visited the district several weeks after the writer which unfor- 
 tunately caused duplication that might have been avoided. 
 
 Ten days were spent altogether on the trip after leaving Cas- 
 cade, five of which were spent in traveling and five in the district. Of 
 these five days, two were spent in examining the different prospects 
 and workings and the other three in the construction of a geological 
 map in the vicinity of the Fern mine. 
 
 Acknowledgments are due to Mr. Walter Hovey Hill for the 
 claim map of the district and also for the excellent detailed map of 
 the workings and geology of the Fern mine. Acknowledgments 
 are also due to the various operators of the district for their assist- 
 ance, and particularly to Mr. E. H. VanMeter for personal courte- 
 sies and invaluable assistance to the writer during his stay in the 
 
 Location and Roads. This district is situated in Valley County 
 in unsurveyed territory in what is almost the geographical center of 
 Idaho It is in the Yellowpine mining district and about seven miles 
 
56 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 from the once prosperous but now water-covered town of Roosevelt, 
 the former metropolis of the once celebrated Thunder Mountain gold 
 camp. 
 
 It is reached from Cascade, the county seat of Valley County, 
 which is on the Long Valley branch of the Oregon Short Line. A 
 wagon-road extends from Cascade to the district, a distance of about 
 70 miles. This road was built during the Thunder Mountain boom, 
 some 15 or 16 years ago, and since that time has had little work 
 done on it, so on the whole it is in a bad condition. An automobile 
 in good running order can go as far as Knox, which is about 26 
 miles, but beyond that point it is not practicable for cars on ac- 
 count of high centers, sharp rocks and excessive grades. Between 
 the railroad and the mines in the Cinnabar district four summits 
 have to be crossed; the following figures give the elevations along 
 the road at different places, taken with a barometer going in and 
 checked coming out. The distances are only approximate. 
 
 Place Distance Barometer 
 
 in mi. ; approximate. readings. 
 
 In Out Av'ge. 
 
 Cascade 4750 4800 4775 
 
 Summit b'tw'n Knox and Cascade 18 6500 6400 6450 
 
 Knox, near S. Fork of Salmon R. 26 5100 5200 5150 
 
 Cabin Creek Summit 31 6800 6900 6850 
 
 Half-way House 38 5800 5700 5750 
 
 Johnson Creek Bridge 42 5100 5300 5200 
 
 Trapper Creek Summit 54 7650 7850 7750 
 
 Reardon Creek Crossing 56 6750 6850 6800 
 
 Reardon Creek Summit 60 8100 8300 8200 
 
 Fern Creek Camp 70 7900 8100 8000 
 
 J. P. Smith's Cabin on Cinnabar 
 
 Creek 72 7200 7200 
 
 After Reardon Creek summit is reached the road follows the 
 high ridge forming the divide between the South Fork and Mid- 
 dle Fork of the Salmon River, which is evidently a remnant of the 
 original plateau from which, according to Umpleby 1 the central 
 mountain region of Idaho was carved. 
 
 The road is rough but interesting, both from a scenic and geolo- 
 gical pgint of view. Soon after leaving Cascade glacial morainal 
 deposits are encountered containing many large granite boulders. 
 The country lying between the North Fork of the Payette River and 
 Johnson Creek was evidently ice-covered in the glacial period, with 
 ice tongues extending well down into the valleys, and is part of a re- 
 gion which was evidently covered by a local glacier of considerable 
 area. The center of this glacier appears to have been somewhere in 
 
 1. U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 528, pp. 23-30, 1913. 
 
:•'■■ 
 
 HL 
 
 ^^p^^ 
 
 
 
 ifo'A^i^ 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ■pp 
 
 
 jirtS 
 
 
 ggsp^^Jjg 
 
 1m 
 
 
 ^$^ , «^^^ 
 
 
 ■ -• r; 
 
 Hanging Valley, on Johnson Creek. 
 
 v ■-^^-■^i^.l 
 
 Buildings at Fern Aiine, Valley County. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 57 
 
 the rugged granite mountains that form the divide between the North 
 Fork of the Payette River and the South Fork of Salmon River. 
 Morainal deposits extend down to Long Valley from this glacier, 
 as well defined drumlins (gravel ridges deposited by glaciers) ex- 
 tend some distance into the east side of the valley a few miles south 
 of Payette Lake, and this lake itself has been formed by the blocking 
 of the valley with morainal material. Upper Payette Lake has also 
 been formed by the damming of the North Fork of the Payette 
 River by a moraine from the mountains to the east. This glacier 
 evidently also covered the rugged mountain area lying between Pay- 
 ette Lake and the Little Salmon. It did not extend as far north as 
 the Salmon River as there is no evidence of glaciation in the Warren 
 district. Small local glaciers of the alpine type existed in all the 
 higher mountains of Central Idaho, the Fern Creek camp itself be- 
 ing located in an old glacial cirque, but this particular area seems to 
 have been covered by ice of considerable extent and thickness. It 
 is interesting to note that this is a region of heavy snowfall at the 
 present time, which might be a possible clue to the glacial conditions 
 in the past. This region offers an interesting field for study in 
 local glaciation and it is hoped that at some future time it may be 
 more thoroughly investigated. 
 
 It is difficult to see how the grades on the present road could 
 be much improved without spending nearly as much money as a new 
 road would cost. The grade over Cabin Creek summit could be 
 lessened by some more switch-backs on the Cabin Creek side, there- 
 by lengthening the distance to the summit, and the same is true on 
 the other side though the grade here is not excessive. The grade 
 from Johnson Creek to Trapper Flats could have been lessened by 
 striking Trapper Creek lower down, as considerable grade is lost by 
 rising too high and then coming down hill to the crossing of Trapper 
 Creek. This would be very expensive and would entail rebuilding 
 several miles of road. The worst grade on the road is from Trapper 
 Creek summit down to the crossing of Reardon Creek and except 
 for the avoidance of rock-work seems to be entirely unnecessary. 
 Parts of this grade are in excess of 20 per cent, and it is a physical 
 impossibility for a team to haul much more than an empty wagon up 
 this hill. The grade from Reardon Creek to the Reardon Creek 
 summit is bad but not so steep as on the other side of Reardon Creek 
 and as mentioned above, both these could have been practically elim- 
 inated by crossing Reardon Creek a mile or so further up. 
 
 It is unfortunate that this new cinnabar camp is handicapped 
 with such a road, for though the country is mountainous and rugged, 
 it would have cost but little more in the first place to have built a 
 road with no grade exceeding 10 to 12 per cent if it had been put 
 in the right place to begin with, whereas now, there, are many 
 
58 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM 
 
 places on the road where the grade exceeds 20 per cent and some 
 probably as high as 25 per cent. 
 
 Most of the freighting is done by the day and there were no 
 teams hauling by contract, but the cost of freight to the camps, fig- 
 ured from the time necessary to make a round trip, is in the neigh- 
 borhood of $100 per ton, or 5 cents per pound. 
 
 History. Cinnabar float was discovered in Cinnabar Creek, a 
 tributary of the East Fork of the South Fork of Salmon River, dur- 
 ing the Thunder Mountain boom in 1902 by Pringle Smith. 
 
 Mr. Smith discovered the vein from which this float came and 
 located three claims known as the Hermes group, upon which he 
 has faithfully performed his annual assessment work ever since. 
 After the Thunder Mountain excitement died down the district was 
 deserted and until 1917 Mr. Smith was for. many years the only 
 prospector or resident in this inaccessible and lonely region, except 
 for an occasional sheep-herder. 
 
 In 1917 Mr. E. H. Van Meter, a well-known mining man of 
 Central Idaho, and a former partner of Mr. Smith, located the Fern 
 group of claims on the other side of the ridge from the Hermes 
 group and adjoining these claims. He erected a small retorting 
 furnace and began extracting quicksilver. His success resulted in a 
 number of men coming into the district and locating ground, par- 
 ticularly in the spring of 1918. Although there are many legitimate 
 locations among the more recently staked claims, the majority 
 are entirely worthless- and were staked with the sole intention 
 of holding ground which somebody else's work might make valu- 
 able, a mineral discovery being entirely a secondary matter. The 
 result has been detrimental to the district, as several experiencd 
 prospctors who came in during the summer of 1918 turned back in 
 disgust when they found the whole country covered with locations, 
 many of which were made in the snow. 
 
 In the summer of 1918 the following claims were being oper- 
 ated: The Fern group, by Mr. Van Meter; The Hermes group, 
 bonded from Mr. Pringle Smith, was being worked by Mr. Ober- 
 billig, of Boise; The Buckbed group, owned by the Marks Bros, 
 and associates of Boise, was being worked by Mr. Ray Call, and 
 the White Metal group adjoining the Buckbed, was being worked 
 by Mr. George C. Brewer. 
 
 With the exception of the Hermes group all of these proper- 
 ties are located on the east side of a high ridge separating the heads 
 of Fern and Cinnabar Creeks, both of which are tributaries of the 
 East Fork of South Fork of Salmon River. The buildings of the 
 Fern property occupy a glacial cirque, or basin, at the head of Fern 
 Creek. 
 
 Topography. The Fern Creek camp is situated close to the 
 divide between the South Fork and the Middle Fork of the Salmon 
 

AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 59» 
 
 River. This divide has an average elevation of between 8000 and 
 8500 ft. with occasional points or mountains upon it with elevations 
 up to 9000 ft. or more. Nearly all the claims in the district lie 
 upon the South Fork side of the divide. The topography is very sim- 
 ilar to that which prevails all over Central Idaho and consists of 
 steep sided canyons separated by high ridges, some of which are flat 
 topped, showing the present shape of the country to have been de- 
 rived from the elevation and subsequent erosion of a rolling plateau. 
 
 This high region was occupied by local glaciers during the Pleis- 
 tocene or Glacial period. These glaciers did not apparently cover 
 the whole of the region, as they must have done further to the west, 
 but consisted of small disconnected alpine glaciers along the high 
 ridges. These glaciers have formed many cirques or circular amphi- 
 theater-like depressions at the heads of the creeks. 
 
 The creek valleys below these cirques are U-shaped and the 
 floors of the valleys are covered with glacial wash. 
 
 Geology. Rocks of the District. The district is underlain by 
 a series of steeply tilted and highly metamorphosed sediments con- 
 sisting of quartzites, limestones and schists, intruded locally by quartz 
 porphyry dikes and also by outliers of the great granite batholith of 
 Central Idaho. 
 
 The age of these metamorphics is uncertain as no definite fos- 
 sils were noted. Certain crushed and deformed white objects in the 
 crystalline limestone may possibly be crinoid stems, but this is- 
 extremely doubtful. The metamorphics are older than the Cretaceous 
 period, as they are intruded by granite of that age, and are probably 
 of the same age i. e. (Lower Paleozoic) as the sediments at Gil- 
 more and other parts of Lemhi and Custer counties, but this is 
 merely a supposition. 
 
 The outcrops are best seen on the ridges along the heads of 
 the old glacial cirques. The depressions occupied by the streams are 
 filled in many cases with glacial debris and the outcrops are some- 
 what meager. Map No. 5 gives, in a general way, the topography 
 and geology covering about four square miles and shows the main 
 geologic relations. It makes no pretense of extreme accuracy, as it 
 was made in less than three days by means of a pacing and com- 
 pass survey with a traverse board, using a barometric base for the 
 elevations. 
 
 The claim maps and map of the Fern Creek workings were 
 made by Mr. Walter Hovey Hill, of Boise, a Mineral Surveyor and 
 mining engineer, who spent several weeks in the district surveying 
 claims for patent, and are consequently accurate maps. 
 
 In mapping the geology the ridge between Sugar Creek and 
 Fern Creek was followed and also the ridge between Sugar Creek 
 and the East Fork of the South Fork of Salmon River. On both 
 these ridges the same sequence of formations was found, and the 
 
60 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 same sequence has been mapped as occurring in the intervening- lower 
 ground, though this is largely covered with morainal material. 
 
 Taking these formations in order from the north to south, they 
 consist first of a purplish to gray shaly limestone, which outcrops 
 on the ridge northwest of the Hermes group and is also found in 
 the workings of those claims. It occurs in narrow bands or beds 
 with well marked bedding-planes and its .thickness is not known. 
 
 Next to this is a massive crystalline quartzite, sugary in appear- 
 ance and varying in color from white to almost black in places. It 
 is heavily iron stained and being very hard and less easily weath- 
 ered than the other rocks of the district, has remained in the form 
 of steep bluffs along the cirque walls. It contains small gash veins 
 of quartz in places, many of which were staked in the Thunder 
 Mountain boom. It has a thickness of about 2000 ft. 
 
 South of this is a micaceous schist containing bands of green 
 hornblende, which gradually grades, in going south, into a limey 
 slate of purplish color with hard cherty bands. This slate is con- 
 siderably contorted, the bands being crumpled into a complexity of 
 folds. Its thickness is from 700 to 800 ft. 
 
 Next to this comes a yellowish and highly crystalline soft lime- 
 stone, which weathers and disintegrates into a yellowish sandy soil, 
 giving more easy slopes to the mountain side. This contains in places 
 some crushed and flattened white objects that may be crinoid stems. 
 The cinnabar ore of the Fern and adjacent properties occurs in this 
 limestone. Between this and the slates lies a bed or sill of almost 
 pure tremolite, or white fibrous hornblende, with an average width 
 of 10 ft., and apparently very persistent, as it outcrops on both 
 ridges and also between the ridges at the head of Cinnabar Creek. 
 The thickness of the yellow limestone is about 500 ft. 
 
 South of the limestone is a massive quartzite conglomerate with 
 quartz pebbles up to 2 or 3 in. long. This grades into a massive gray 
 crystalline quartzite and further to the south the conglomerate again 
 shows with a total thickness or outcrop width of from 2500 to 
 3000 ft. 
 
 South of this the same soft yellowish limestone as appears at 
 the Fern property comes to the surface. It is somewhat shaley in 
 places, but is undoubtedly the same rock. Time did not permit fur- 
 ther exploration to the south to see if any of the other formations 
 were repeated, but the indications point to an eroded fold with the 
 quartzite and conglomerate probably the lowest members of the 
 series. 
 
 The igneous rocks in the area embraced by the map are not 
 quantitatively important and occur in only a few places. Further to 
 the east the country rock is made up largely of certain effusives of 
 different kinds, many of them in layers, or flows, one of the best 
 examples of which is Rainbow Peak, which derives its name from 
 
MAP 3 
 
 CINNABAR 
 
 YELLOW PINE MINING DIST. 
 
 VALLEY COUNTY 
 
 IDAHO 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 6L 
 
 the red and yellowish bands of igneous rock of which the moun- 
 tain is made up. To the west the big granite batholith comes to 
 the surface, and the particular area in which the cinnabar occurs lies 
 between these two, and is either an uneroded remnant of metamor- 
 phosed sediments or else a part of the sediments that escaped the 
 lava flows of the Tertiary period. It is undoubtedly underlain by 
 the granite at no very great depth. In the southwestern part of the 
 area a tongue of granite intrudes the yellow limestone. It is identi- 
 cal with the granite found elsewhere in Idaho and described in other 
 publications and is a high point or outlier of the big mass of this rock 
 to the west. 
 
 In the neighborhood of the Fern mine several dikes of quartz 
 porphyry occur. A similar rock is seen in the Hermes group to the 
 north, one of these dikes being cut by the middle tunnel on this 
 property. This tunnel passes through 16 ft. of porphyry which is 
 very much decomposed and appears to be in the form of a sill with 
 blue lime on the footwall and yellow crystalline lime on the hang- 
 ingwall side. 
 
 A dark, fine-grained basic dike rock is seen on the trail between 
 the Hermes group and the Fern mine. This same rock can also 
 be seen on the ridge west of this trail and is probably continuous for 
 some distance below the morainal material piled up at the mouths of 
 the cirques. 
 
 The most important of these igneous rocks would seem to be 
 the quartz porphyry, as it is an accompaniment, wherever it occurs, 
 of the cinnabar mineralization. This, of course, may be merely a co- 
 incidence, but it is difficult to recognize it as such, and indications 
 point to the suggestion that the solution that brought in the cinnabar 
 had their origin in the same volcanic source as that which formed 
 these dikes. 
 
 Ore Deposits 
 
 Fern Mine. This is situated at the head of Fern Creek in a 
 glacial amphitheater. Cinnabar occurs in chalcedonic quartz seams 
 in the soft, yellowish limestone already described. These seams 
 vary in width from a few inches up to 3 or 4 ft. Several of these 
 seams outcrop over a width of about 50 ft., most of them containing 
 cinnabar ore of good grade. These cinnabar seams or veins are ir- 
 regular in their occurrence and are evidently replacements of the 
 limestone by mineral-bearing solutions. Although irregular in size, 
 they seem to be fairly persistent where followed along their strike, 
 as one of them has been followed for a distance of about 80 ft. by 
 a tunnel and showed 2 ft. of ore in the face that contained 3.8 per 
 cent of mercury. 
 
 The general strike of these seams on the Fern property is about 
 N. 35° E. with a dip to the northwest. This strike is almost at right 
 angles to the general strike of the metamorphic beds. The mineral- 
 
•62 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 ization of these deposits is very simple as cinnabar is the only sul- 
 phide mineral present and the gangue is a chalcedonic quartz full of 
 vugholes and containing in some cases a reddish chert or jasper. 
 "The limestone in the neighborhood of the cinnabar veins is full of 
 solution cavities and these deposits probably occupy what were for- 
 merly solution cavities in this easily replaceable rock. 
 
 At the present time there is no great quantity of cinnabar ore in 
 ■sight as the workings consist only of two tunnels about 80 ft. apart 
 .and not over 100 ft. long and some open cuts and quarry holes that 
 follow the cinnabar bearing seams into the hillside. 
 
 Considering the small amount of work that has been done 
 the showing is good, as there are at least five of these irregular 
 seams occurring over a width of 50 ft. and most of these show ore 
 running from 3 to 8 per cent in mercury. 
 
 About five tons of ore that would average 5 to 6 per cent of 
 mercury, was being extracted daily to supply the small retorting fur- 
 nace. This ore was being obtained from development work and not 
 from stoping. 
 
 These deposits occur only a short distance (not more than 
 .200 ft.) from the contact with the quartzite conglomerate and it is 
 possible that underground exploration towards this contact might 
 discover other replacement-seams as the impervious nature of the 
 •quartzite would undoubtedly cause a damming back of solutions thus 
 making a likely place to find ore. 
 
 Hermes Group. This group is situated about a mile north of 
 the Fern mine and has several hundred feet of workings in the form 
 ■of tunnels on the property. 
 
 A heavily iron-stained zone outcrops on the hill north of Cinna- 
 bar Creek, in the bluish lime previously mentioned. This iron-stained 
 outcrop consists of shattered lime and some bluish quartz and con- 
 tains disseminated cinnabar all through it. It is 50 to 60 ft. wide 
 and in one place is harder than the surrounding country rock and 
 makes a bold and prominent exposure. Some large boulders of float 
 have rolled down the mountain from this outcrop. One of them larger 
 than a railroad box car contains a considerable amount of finely 
 disseminated cinnabar. This mineralized zone occurs in the lime 
 a short distance from the dense, iron-stained quartzite previously 
 mentioned. 
 
 This hard mineralized zone does not seem to extend far down 
 the mountain, but the cinnabar mineralization is found almost as far 
 down as Cinnabar Creek, and has been opened up by three tunnels. 
 
 The lowest of the tunnels follows a shattered mineralized zone, 
 which appears to be along a contact between the quartzite and the 
 lime. At the mouth of this tunnel there is exposed in an open-cut 
 about four feet of cinnabar ore which gave an assay of 3.22 per cent 
 ■of mercury. The tunnel is about 135 ft. long and runs N. 35° W. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 63 
 
 (magnetic) which is the general direction or strike of the meta- 
 morphosed sediments. The shattered limestone in this tunnel shows 
 a little cinnabar, a sample giving a return of 0.20 per cent of mercury. 
 The middle tunnel is 80 ft. long and has a course of N. 10° E., 
 so it partly crosses the mineral formation. The first 50 ft. is in 
 blue lime carrying a little cinnabar. It then passes through a rot- 
 ten porphyry dike or sill 16 ft. wide and the face is in hard, yellow 
 crystalline limestone with a strike of N. 60° W. and a southwest dip 
 of 80°. 
 
 The upper tunnel is mostly in unmineralized limestone, it ap- 
 pears to have reached the mineralized zone in the face, but no very- 
 definite information can be obtained from this tunnel. 
 
 A somewhat hasty examination of the property seems to estab- 
 lish the occurrence of a wide belt of shattered mineralized limestone, 
 somewhat hardened by silicification in places and also heavily iron- 
 stained, running in a northwest direction close to a contact with a 
 hard, dense iron-stained quartzite. Cinnabar occurs all along and 
 through this zone for a distance of at least 600 ft., and possibly fur- 
 ther. 
 
 Most of the cinnabar is too finely disseminated to be classed as 
 ore, but there are local concentrations of higher grade material which 
 can undoubtedly be worked at a profit, and there seems no reason 
 why development along this zone should not open up considerable 
 cinnabar ore of workable grade. 
 
 The deposits of the Fern and Hermes groups are similar in the 
 fact that both occur in limestone close to a contact with a more im- 
 pervious rock which is quartzite, and are both associated with the 
 same kind of porphyry dikes. 
 
 Their origin is undoubtedly similar and is probably to be ex- 
 plained by heated waters, similar to certain kinds of hot springs now 
 in existence, which deposited the mercury minerals and cherty quartz 
 either by replacement of the limestone or by filling of solution cavi- 
 ties along fracture planes. 
 
 The porphyry dikes are probably connected with a deeper seated 
 mass which supplied the heat to the waters forming the veins and 
 possibly furnished the minerals. The explanation for the cinnabar 
 mineralization close to the quartzite contact is possibly that this rock 
 being more impervious to water than the adjoining limestones would 
 interfere with the underground flow of water in the latter, damming 
 back the solutions and thereby giving more chance for chemical in- 
 teraction and precipitation. It is a well known fact that ore shoots 
 or bonanzas in gold and other mineral veins often occur near faults 
 and this is explained by the gouge of the fault plane acting as a bar- 
 rier to the water in the manner just described, and thereby causing 
 enrichment of the vein at that point. Cinnabar is widely distributed 
 
64 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 in this district, but other workable deposits of it will most likely be 
 found in the limestone near some such impervious barrier as a con- 
 tact, a dike or a fault. 
 
 The Buckbed Property is situated about 1000 ft. to the east of 
 the Fern mine and in the same belt of lime. 
 
 There are several open cuts which show the same character of 
 chalcedonic quartz replacements in the lime as at the Fern, running 
 about north and south. One of these shows some fairly good cinna- 
 bar ore, but not enough work has been done upon it to prove the 
 value of the property, though its general appearance is encouraging. 
 A good camp has been built with substantial houses designed to 
 withstand the deep snows of this region in winter time. A tunnel 
 has been started near the lowest end of the claim and within a short 
 distance of the camp. This tunnel will tap the cinnabar bearing vein 
 about 150 ft. below the surface and should show some interesting 
 developments. The camp has been built close enough to the mouth 
 of this tunnel so that the latter can be reached by a covered path 
 from the cabin. 
 
 The White Metal Group is owned by the Idaho Quicksilver 
 Mines Co., of Boise, Idaho, and operated by George C. Brewer. 
 
 They join the Buckbed claims and the same geological condi- 
 tions prevail as on that property. A gray chalcedonic quartz re- 
 placement-vein 4 or 5 ft. wide containing jasper and cinnabar and 
 with a strike of N. 30° W. has been traced for several hundred feet 
 and exposed by open cuts. The lowest of these open cuts show a 
 little copper carbonate as well as a little cinnabar, and some cinnabar 
 is also to be seen in the open cuts higher up the mountain. 
 
 The same company owns a claim about half a mile further 
 down Fern Creek, where some ore containing galena, stained with 
 copper carbonate and containing a little cinnabar, has been exposed 
 by a small open cut in limestone, on the west bank of Fern Creek. 
 The extent of this exposure is not known as the open cut was partly 
 caved, but the prospect would seem to be worthy of further devel- 
 opment. 
 
 H. T. Abstein' s Property lies to the east of the White Metal 
 group and not far from the divide between Fern Creek and Monu- 
 mental Creek. The country rock is the same yellowish lime and ex- 
 posed a similar type of deposit to those which occur on the prop- 
 erties just described. Some excellent cinnabar float has been found 
 by Mr. Abstein on this ground, though the vein from which it came 
 had not been uncovered at the time of the writer's visit to the prop- 
 erty, though Mr. Abstein reported later that he had found this vein 
 and that it contained good ore. 
 
 The Hennessy Property is situated in one of the cirque walls 
 at the head of Cinnabar Creek and about half a mile south of the 
 
Missing Page 
 
East Fork of South Fork of Salmon River. Trail to Yellowpine. 
 
 Canyon of South Fork of Salmon River. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 65 
 
 Hermes group. The country rock is the yellowish limestone, of 
 the same belt as that in which the Fern and other properties occur, 
 but further to the northwest. A vein occurs in the lime with a strike 
 of N. 45 to 50° W. and a dip of 50° to the northeast. This vein 
 consists of a shattered quartz and lime gangue and contains a little 
 cinnabar. It is probably a bed or blanket vein as it had the same 
 general course as the stratified rocks of the district. A small quartz 
 vein from 1 to 6 in. wide and running due north and south (mag- 
 netic) intersects the larger vein and an incline shaft has been sunk 
 at the junction of these two veins. The dump shows considerable 
 stibnite with small specks of cinnabar. This stibnite streak must 
 have come from the small vein and does not appear to be more than 
 3 or 4 in. wide at the most. 
 
 \ Summary and Conclusion 
 
 No very definite statement as to the probable future of the camp 
 can be made in the present state of its development. The total 
 amount of development work at the time of writing does not aggre- 
 gate much over 1000 ft. The general indications from the work that 
 has been done, however, are very encouraging and there seems no 
 reason why this district should not be a producer of quicksilver to no 
 small amount when more fully developed. The nature of the ore oc- 
 currences at the Fern and adjoining properties i. e. replacement veins 
 in limestone, is such that the continuity of any one of these for any 
 distance is extremely doubtful, but providing there are enough of 
 them, as there seem to be, this fact should be no great detriment. 
 
 At the Hermes group, on the other hand, there seems to be a 
 larger and more continuous body of disseminated cinnabar which re- 
 quires considerable development to prbperly exploit, but this may 
 prove of greater value than the richer but more uncertain deposits 
 on the other side of the ridge. The remoteness of the region and 
 its high altitude are its greatest drawbacks, and gold, silver and mer- 
 cury are about the only metals that could possibly be mined at a profit 
 under such adverse conditions. The greatest need at this time is a 
 better road as the present one is a disgrace and only fit to drive sheep 
 over, and if the transportation was improved there is little doubt that 
 the district would go ahead and prove a valuable asset to the mining 
 resources of the state. 
 
 The Occurrence oE Cinnabar Near Beack Pine, Idaho 
 Esper S. Larsen. 1 U. S. Geological Survey. 
 
 Introduction. — This report is based on a three-day trip to the 
 Black Pine district, most of the time being spent on the journey to 
 and from the deposit. The work was done for the United States 
 
66 TUNGSTEN, CINNABAR, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, 
 
 Geological Survey as a part of its investigation of the quicksilver de- 
 posits of the United States. 
 
 Location and Topography. The claims of the Valentine 
 Cinnabar Mining Company, which are the only known quick- 
 silver prospects in the Black Pine district, are located in the ex- 
 treme eastern part of Cassia County about 4j4 miles west of Black 
 Pine postof fice, Idaho, on the eastern slope of the Black Pine Moun- 
 tains. Black Pine is connected with Malad City and Tremont, Idaho, 
 both on the Malad Valley railroad, and respectively 55 to 60 miles 
 distant to the east, by fair auto roads, although two considerable 
 mountain ranges intervene; it is only 30 miles from Kelton, Utah, 
 with a gentle and uniform grade up the valley but the railroad serv- 
 ice to Kelton is only weekly. The cinnabar prospect is reached by 
 a fair wagon road — nearly impassable for an automobile — from 
 Black Pine. 
 
 The Black Pine Mountains are a high range rising to an eleva- 
 tion of several thousand feet above the valley, while the broad, 
 nearly flat valley to the east is several miles across and gives place 
 on the flanks of the mountains to a succession of terraces and to 
 steeper slopes. The cinnabar prospect is below the steeper -mountain 
 slopes and near the prospect the gulches are not deeply incised so that 
 the relief is not great. The elevation at Black Pine is about 4700 ft. 
 and at the mine about 6000 ft. 
 
 The climate of this region is arid and the gulches near the cinna- 
 bar prospects are dry during most of the year, but springs are com- 
 mon around the border of the valley at about the elevation of Black 
 Pine postof fice, and numerous .wells, have been put down in the val- 
 ley. All water used at the prospects must be hauled from the valley, 
 about four miles away. On the slopes about the prospect is a scat- 
 tered growth of juniper and mountain mahogany timber, suitable 
 for firewood and some types of mine timber. In the valley beans, 
 grain and corn are raised by dry farming, but the aridity of the. cli- 
 mate and the abundance of rabbits make the crops uncertain. 
 
 Geology. The Black Pine Mountains are elongated in a gen- 
 eral north-south direction and are made up of a great thickness of . 
 sedimentary rocks, mostly limestones and no doubt of Paleozoic age, 
 that strike with the range and dip at moderate angles to the west.. 
 No igneous rocks are known nearer than the basaltic lavas that make 
 up the range to the east, across Black Pine Valley. The Black Pine 
 Valley is an arm of old Lake Bonneville and a succession of gravel 
 terraces extend to a considerable elevation above the valley on the 
 flanks of the mountains. 
 
 Mineralization. The cinnabar deposit is at the top of a lime- 
 stone bed beneath a shale horizon and has been formed through a 
 replacement of the limestone. It has the form of a chimney and 
 dips with the bedding of the sediments at about 30° to the west. 
 
AND TIN DEPOSITS OF IDAHO 67 
 
 In horizontal section it is elliptical or lenslike, and about 10 ft. long 
 by 5 ft. wide with some stringers of mineralization extending along 
 the bedding for 10 ft. or more in both directions beyond the main 
 chimney ; it has been opened up for a depth, measured alone: the din 
 of about 40 ft. 
 
 The material of the mineralized chimney is porous and friable, 
 breaking up into a coarse sand, and is made up in large part of barite 
 and quartz; tabular crystals of barite commonly project into the cavi- 
 ties, which are of small size. The cinnabar is unevenly distributed 
 and forms a very thin, sooty or dust-like coating on the quartz and 
 barite crystals of the cavities ; in places it is abundant enough to im- 
 part a decided red color to the rock, but was nowhere seen to form 
 more than a very small part of the material. This red coating carries 
 a little arsenic as well as mercury and is probably a mixture of cin- 
 nabar and realgar. Near the surface there is much scorodite 
 (a hydrous arsenate of ferric iron) in leek-green, botryoidal, fibrous 
 crusts coating the quartz and barite crystals. 
 
 Some gold is reported to be present in the deposit, notably in 
 some of the narrow seams that extend along the bedding, from the 
 main chimney. A prospect hole about 50 ft. to the east of the chim- 
 ney has been sunk about 12 ft. and exposes some crushed, iron- 
 stained material that is said to carry gold with some silver and lead. 
 
 No sulphides other than cinnabar were recognized in the cinna- 
 bar ore, but a little antimony is reported to occur about a mile to the 
 west and prospects within a mile or so to the north are reported to 
 carry zinc, silver, and copper, or silver, lead and zinc. 
 
 Conclusion. Clearly the mineralization is a replacement of the 
 limestone; the barite and quartz were deposited first, the cinnabar 
 later, and the scorodite was probably last. The character of the min- 
 eralization — abundant barite, considerable porosity, and the sooty 
 character of the cinnabar — indicate a mineralization at no great 
 depth, and it seems probable that the deposit is the result of hot 
 spring action of comparatively recent geologic age — probably since 
 the development of the main features of the present topography. 
 
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Map of Idaho 
 
 Hanging Valley on Johnson Creek ™ A 
 
 Buildings at Fern Mine, Valley County ...ZZZ 57 
 
 View up Patterson Creek, Lemhi County ZZ. 21 
 
 East Fork of South Fork of Salmon River .' 6 r 
 
 Canyon of South Fork of Salmon River _ '~ "" Z- 
 
 Map showing Tungsten Properties near Murray, Idaho ZZ. IS 
 
 Tungsten Hill Mine, showing Claim Lines, Veins, etc "'. 11 
 
 Map showing Workings of "Friday" Group of Claims ZZZZ 17 
 
 Map of Ima Mine, Lemhi County ,3 
 
 Map of Cinnabar District, Valley County eg 
 
 Claim Map of Cinnabar Camp _ fi , 
 
 Plat of Part of Cinnabar _ " ,. 
 
 Map showing Location of Tungsten Hill Mine 11 
 
 INDEX TO CONTENTS. 
 
 Abstein, H. T, property in Fern Creek District 54 
 
 Acknowledgments c -c 
 
 Adams, T. F., property on Sturgill Creek _ ' 34 
 
 Adams, T. F, Sheep Creek property 35 
 
 Analyses, manganese near Sturgill Creek 35 
 
 Anderson, Chas. T 3g 
 
 Antimony 67 
 
 Antimony, minerals of 45 
 
 Antimony, uses of _ 45 
 
 Antimony, production in U. S 46 
 
 Antimony, foreign production 47 
 
 Antimony, metallurgy 48 
 
 Barite 67 
 
 Bell, R. N """ 45 
 
 Black Pine, cinnabar near 65 
 
 Black Pine, geology 66 
 
 Black Pine, mineralization _ 66 
 
 Boundary County, tungsten in 11 
 
 Boundary County, molybdenum in 40 
 
 Braunite _ 30 
 
 Buckbed group, Fern Creek District 58, 64 
 
 Butte County, tungsten in 27 
 
 Butte-Detroit manganese property _ 38 
 
 Cadby, W. G., molybdenum property _ 41 
 
 California, tungsten in 9, 10 
 
 Camas County, tungsten in 25 
 
 Charity vein Warren's 27 
 
 Cinnabar _ - 54, 65 
 
 Coeur d'Alene Antimony Co 52 
 
 Colorado Antimony 9 
 
 Copper in Lemhi County 41 
 
70 INDEX. 
 
 Copeland, Boundary Co _ _ 11 
 
 Corral Creek, Camas County 25, 29 
 
 Cummins, Mrs. E. V., manganese property of 37 
 
 Czizek, J. A. ..._ 26 
 
 Diabase _ 18 
 
 Dora Mine, Boundary County 11 
 
 Elevations on road to Fern Creek Cinnabar District 56 
 
 Ferberite 8, 26, 28 
 
 Fern Creek Cinnabar District _ 55 
 
 Fern Creek Cinnabar District, History of 58 
 
 Fern Creek Cinnabar District, Geology of 59 
 
 Fern Creek Cinnabar District, Topography of 58 
 
 Fern Creek Cinnabar District, Ore deposits 61 
 
 Friday Group, near Murray 16 
 
 Gibbonsville, tungsten near _... 29 
 
 Glaciation 11, 56, 59 
 
 Golden Chest Mine _ 15 
 
 Golden Winnie Mine 15, 17 
 
 Granite :. ~~ 12, 61 
 
 Hennessy, Frank, antimony property of 52, 64 
 
 Hermes Group, Fern Creek District 58, 62 
 
 Hill, J. C, Manganese property on Snake River..._ 36 
 
 Hill, Walter Hovey 55, 59 
 
 Hubnerite _ 8, 23 
 
 Hughes, Geo. R 29 
 
 Idaho County, tungsten in 26 
 
 Idaho County, molybdenum in 41 
 
 Idaho Antimony Mining Co 51 
 
 Idaho County, Antimony in 53 
 
 Ima Mine, history of 21 
 
 Ima Mine, geology and vein formation at 22, 23 
 
 Ima Mine, workings _ 23 
 
 Ima Mine, tungsten contents, samples from 24 
 
 Independence group of claims, Butte Co _ _ 27 
 
 lone, group near Murray 38 
 
 Kennan property on Pony Gulch 19 
 
 Kennan, Chester T 20 
 
 Kent, A. J., molybdenum property of 40 
 
 Larsen, E. S 5, 10, 25, 55, 65 
 
 Lava Creek, Butte Co - 27 
 
 Lemhi County, tungsten in 21, 29 
 
 Lemhi range 22 
 
 Lemhi County, molybdenum in 40 
 
 Lemhi County, tin deposits in _ 43 
 
 Lindgren, Waldemar 26 
 
 Little Giant Mine, Warren's 26, 27 
 
INDEX. 71 
 
 Manganite 
 
 Manganese, properties and minerals of _ 3q o. 
 
 Manganese, uses of ' 
 
 Manganese, consumption and production of in U. S 31 
 
 Manganese, Snake River „ 
 
 Manganese, deposits in Idaho _ """" 32 
 
 Manganese, production in foreign countries 32 
 
 Martin, P. O "" 2 i 
 
 Mercury, see quicksilver 
 
 Melly, Mike ,g 
 
 Molybdenite 3 9, 40, 41, 42 
 
 Molybdenum, uses of, tests for, etc ' 39 
 
 Mother Lode _ io 
 
 Mulkey, A. R., Molybdenum property of 40 
 
 Murray, tungsten deposits near 15 
 
 Murray tungsten belt, summary of 20 
 
 Murphy, John F lg 
 
 Nelson, S. O _ 27 
 
 Nevada, tungsten in 1 \ 
 
 Nowak, Frank 51 
 
 Pahsimeroi valley 22 
 
 Panther Creek, Lemhi County 44 
 
 Patterson Creek, Lemhi Co 21 
 
 Placer gold on Snake River 34 
 
 Prichard Slate „ IS, 16 
 
 Psilomelane 30 
 
 Pyrolusite _ 30 
 
 Pyrrhotite _ 42 
 
 Quicksilver, production of 54 
 
 Quicksilver, properties of, uses of, minerals of _ 54 
 
 Quicksilver, value of ores of 55 
 
 Ransome, F. L 15 
 
 Realgar _ 67 
 
 Reilly, J. T., Manganese property on Sturgill Creek _ 36 
 
 Rhodonite •. 31 
 
 Rhodochrosite 31 
 
 Roads, condition of road to Fern Creek 57 
 
 Roberts, W. S - 25 
 
 Scheelite - 7, 9, 10, 17, 18, 27 
 
 Scorodite 67 
 
 Shoshone County, tungsten in 15 
 
 Shoshone County, antimony in _ 52 
 
 Sieger, Dan, manganese near Murray 38 
 
 Smith, E. M 1 7 
 
 Smith, J. P 58 
 
 Star Antimony, property S3 
 
 Stibnite _ 45, 50, 51 
 
 Stolzite 8 
 
72 INDEX. 
 
 Sturgill Creek, manganese on 32 
 
 Sturgill Creek, topography, geology, etc 33 
 
 Thomson, Francis A 45 
 
 Thunder Mountain 58 
 
 Tin, in Idaho _ 43 
 
 Tin, minerals of, tests for, etc 43 
 
 Tungsten, consumption of in U. S 8 
 
 Tungsten, Uses and properties of _ 6 
 
 Tungsten Minerals 7, 8 
 
 Tungsten, foreign countries _ 9 
 
 Tungsten, contact-mctamorphic 10 
 
 Tungsten Hill Mine, topography, geology, veins 11, 12 
 
 Tungsten Hill Mine, value of ore of 13, 14 
 
 Tungstite _ 8 
 
 Tungstic Ocher _ 8 
 
 Umpleby, J. B '. 21, 29, 43, 45 
 
 Unity Gold Mines Co 27 
 
 Valley County, Antimony in 49 
 
 Valley County, quicksilver in 55 
 
 Van Meter, E. H - 55 
 
 Vienna, International Mine, manganese in 39 
 
 Wad - 30 
 
 Ward, A. B 20 
 
 Waring, D. E., manganese near Wallace 39 
 
 Warren district, Idaho County _ 26 
 
 White Metal Group 58, 64 
 
 Wolframite 7, 26, 28 
 
 Yellowpine Basin, Antimony deposits of 49 
 
 Yellowpine Basin, sampling results of antimony 51 
 
 Yellowpine Basin, Geology and ore deposits of 49, SO 
 
 Yellowpine mining district, quicksilver in 55 
 
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