Black Bess Mine

The Black Bess Mine is a silver and lead mine located in Salt Lake county, Utah at an elevation of 1,010 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

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Black Bess Mine
Secondary: Michigan-Utah Mine
Secondary: Oregon Mine
Secondary: Oregon-Black Bess Mine
Secondary: Black Bess Shaft

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Lead
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Gold
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Manganese
Tertiary: Molybdenum

Location

State: Utah
County: Salt Lake
District: Big Cottonwood District

Land Status

Land ownership: Private
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

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1870
Year Last Production: 1903
Discovery Year: 1869
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Middle Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Wasatch Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Uinta-Cottonwood Arch, Cordilleran Hinge Line, Sevier Overthrust Belt

Type: L
Description: Grizzly Thrust Fault, Northeast Striking Fissures

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Bleaching, Calc-Silicates, Minor Silicification, Oxidation

Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Oligocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: EARLY ORE CONTAINED 50 OZ/TON AG, 30% TON. LATER WORK PRODUCED ORE WITH 100 OZ/TON AG, 9% CU, AND ANOTHER SHIPMENT WITH 25% PB AND 35 OZ/TON AG.

Materials

Ore: Smithsonite
Ore: Anglesite
Ore: Argentite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Wad
Ore: Wulfenite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): MINE LOCATED ON A FISSURE DEPOSIT PARALLEL TO AND NEARLY CONTINUOUS WITH THE CITY ROCKS FISSURE. EARLY MINING APPARENTLY MINED OUT THE FISSURE DEPOSIT. FISSURE IS EXTENSION OF BUTTE MINE

Comment (Workings): EARLY WORKINGS WERE CONNECTED WITH THE BUTTE MINE AND THEN LATER CONNECTED WITH THE CITY ROCKS TUNNEL AND TOPEKA TUNNEL

Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :1983

Comment (Commodity): ONLY AG, PB, AND MINOR CU KNOWN TO BE PRODUCED

Comment (Production): ORE PRODUCED THROUGH 1880 WAS VALUED AT $10,000 AND ASSAYED AT 50 OZ/TON AG, AND 30% PB. LATER PRODUCTION TOTALED TWO RAILROAD CARS OF ORE. ONE CAR CONTAINED 9% CU AND 100 OZ/TON AG AND THE OTHER CAR ASSAYED 25% PB AND 35 OZ/TON AG.

Comment (Development): EARLY WORK DONE BETWEEN 1870 AND 1880 PRODUCED MOST OF THE ORE MINED FROM FISSURE. SECOND PHASE OF MINING FROM 1901 TO 1903 PRODUCED TWO RAILROAD CARS OF ORE

Comment (Geology): MINE LOCATED CLOSE TO ALTA STOCK, WITHIN 200 FT, AND HOSTING LIMESTONES SHOW BLEACHING AND CONTACT METAMORPHIC EFFECTS. PRODUCTION FROM FISSURES CUTTING THESE ROCKS.

References

Reference (Deposit): JAMES, L.P., 1979, GEOLOGY, ORE DEPOSITS, AND HISTORY OF THE BIG COTTONWOOD MINING DISTRICT, SALT LAKE COUNTY, UTAH: U.G.M.S. BULL. NO. 114.

Reference (Deposit): CALKINS, F.C., AND BUTLER, B.S., 1943, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE COTTONWOOD-AMERICAN FORK AREA, UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER, NO. 201.

Reference (Deposit): BUTLER, B.S., LOUGHLIN, G.F., HEIKES, V.C., AND OTHERS, 1920, THE ORE DEPOSITS OF UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER, NO. 111.

Reference (Deposit): BAKER, A.A., CALKINS, F.C., CRITTENDEN, M.D., JR., AND BROMFIELD, C.S., 1966, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE BRIGHTON QUADRANGLE, UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOL. QUAD. MAP GQ-534

Reference (Production): JAMES, L.P., 1979

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