By A. H. KOSCHMANN and M. H. BERGENDAHL - USGS 1968
Click here for the Principle Gold Producing Districts of the United States Index
Black Hornet District
In Ada County, in the southwest part of the State, the only important gold production came from the Black Hornet district in the northeast corner of the county about 10 miles east of Boise. Lode mines in this district probably were developed in 1862, at the time discoveries were being made in the Boise Basin, but the earliest record of production was in 1895-96, when gold ore valued at $24,000 was shipped from the district (Lindgren, 1898, p. 704).
Small amounts of gold were produced annually through 1955, but during 1942-59 the output was only 119 ounces. Total recorded production from 1880 through 1959 was 21,431 ounces.
The geology of the district, according to Lindgren (1898, p. 704), is fairly simple. The country rock consists of granite of the Idaho batholith, which is cut locally by granite porphyry dikes. The ore deposits are gold-bearing quartz veins that contain variable amounts of pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, and galena (Ross, 1941, p. 5). The granite adjacent to the veins has been sericitized.
