The Blue Bell Group is a gold mine located in Modoc county, California at an elevation of 7,201 feet.
About the MRDS Data:
All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.
Mine Info
Elevation: 7,201 Feet (2,195 Meters)
Commodity: Gold
Lat, Long: 41.97639, -120.19806
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Mine Description
Blue Bell Group is in Sec. 1, T. 47 N., R. 15 E., and is owned by William R. Larkin, of Alturas. The property consists of three claims lying in a steep, mountainous country at an elevation of 7500 ft.
The deposit consists of quartz veins in rhyolitic breccia. An upper tunnel runs due south for a distance of 100 ft., then turns to run a little south of east for a distance of 87 ft. This latter part is a drift on 2-ft. width of silicified breccia, which assays from $3 to $5 per ton in gold, according to Larkin. (Gold at $20.) The dip is 70° to the south. Another tunnel is 40 ft. lower and 100 ft. to the northwest. It runs south for 90 ft., then turns and runs southeast for 20 ft., following a stringer zone in a fine-grained cream-colored rock, probably rhyolitic. The rock contains a few dark-colored, rounded inclusions that give it the appearance of a breccia. The stringer-zone is 2.5 ft. in width, but the best ore is in a quartz stringer from 6 inches to 8 inches in width. The dip of this zone is also 70° south. The vein and the country rock near it contain numerous open cracks, as much as a foot in width. The quartz stringers also contain open seams and cavities into which pointed quartz crystals have grown in comb-structure.
Larkin works alone with hand-tools, sorting this ore and hauling a ton at a time of the sorted ore to the Selby smelter. He states that his shipments of this hand-picked ore have averaged $300 per ton in gold. On the dump are 20 to 30 tons of rejects from the sorting, which he estimates contains roughly $20 per ton in gold.
Source: Quarterly Chapter of State Mineralogist's Report XXXII, Volume 32, 1936. California Journal of Mines and Geology.
Blue Bell Group MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Blue Bell Group
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Location
State: California
County: Modoc
District: High Grade
Land Status
Land ownership: National Forest
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Type: Underground
Ownership
Owner Name: Larkin, William R.
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
Not available
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Epithermal vein, Sado
Orebody
Form: VEIN
Structure
Type: R
Description: Warner Mountains
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Rhyolite Is Silicified And Brecciated
Rocks
Name: Rhyolite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: 400 LB OF VUGGY QUARTZ FLOAT ASSAYED $9,000/TON AU, SILICIFIED BRECCIA IN UPPER ADIT ASSAYS $3-5/TON AU (AT $20/OZ)
Materials
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Deposit): STRINGER ZONE IN RHYOLITIC BRECCIA VEIN AND ADJACENT COUNTY ROCK CONTAIN NUMEROUS OPEN CRACKS UP TO 1 FT WIDE. BEST ORE FROM QUARTZ STRINERS 6-8 IN. THICK, VEIN AVERAGES 2-2.5 FT THICK.; USGS MODEL MAY ALSO BE 25A: HOT-SPRING AU-AG.
Comment (Production): NO OTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE. SHIPMENTS OF HAND-PICKED ORE AVG. $300/TON IN GOLD. SHIPMENTS OF HAND-PICKED ORE AVG. $300/TON IN GOLD.
Comment (Workings): DEVELOPED BY TWO ADITS, UPPER ADIT RUNS SOUTH FOR 100 FT THEN SOUTHEAST FOR 87 FT. OTHER ADIT RUNS 90 FT IN AND DRIFTS FOR 20 FT
Comment (Geology): GEOL.DESC: CAVITIES WITH COMB-STRUCTURE QTZ
Comment (Deposit): THREE CLAIMS ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
References
Reference (Deposit): AVERILL, C.V., 1936, MINERAL RESOURCES OF MODOC COUNTY: CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 32, NO. 4, P. 451.
Reference (Deposit): O'BRIEN, J.C., 1948, MODOC COUNTY: CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 44, NO. 4, P. 349.
Reference (Production): OBRIEN ( 1948 )
California Gold
"Where to Find Gold in California" looks at the density of modern placer mining claims along with historical gold mining locations and mining district descriptions to determine areas of high gold discovery potential in California. Read more: Where to Find Gold in California.
