Pope-Shenon Mine

The Pope-Shenon Mine is a copper mine located in Lemhi county, Idaho at an elevation of 6,001 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

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Site Name

Primary: Pope-Shenon Mine
Secondary: Grandview Mine
Secondary: Eureka

Commodity

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

Location

State: Idaho
County: Lemhi
District: Eureka District

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.
Administrative Organization: Salmon National Forest

Holdings

Type: Located Claim

Workings

Type: Unknown

Ownership

Owner Name: Brough, Fred
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Idaho
Info Year: 1977

Owner Name: Mineral Ventures, Ltd.
Years: 1971 -

Owner Name: Lyon, C. Walker

Owner Name: Ledbetter, Laura

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1908
Discovery Year: 1890
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Lemhi Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: PINCH AND SWELL, TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Structure: Lemhi Range Syncline

Type: L
Structure: Shear Zones

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: Oxidation

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: Silicification

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: Shearing

Rocks

Name: Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Pliocene

Name: Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic)
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: RECENT SHIPMENTS OF CRUDE ORE CONTAIN 2.7% CU, 0.005 AU, 0.3 AG, 75% SIO2 . TWO TO 20 % CU OVER SAMPLE WIDTHS OF 2.5 TO 6 FT, WITH AVERAGE OF 5.5 % CU. SAMPLES SHOWED .3 TO 1.2 OZ AU/TON.

Materials

Ore: Copper
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Delafossite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Cuprite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Specularite

Comments

Comment (Production): Intermittent Production And Sales Of Crude Ore And Concentrates, Total Tonnage Of Mined Ore Is Unknown But Probably The Total Copper Produced Exceeds 3 Million Pounds. Items 10 , 11 , 12 Above From 1424 Tons Crude Ore And 15 Tons Concentrates. Production Years 1908 , 1922 - 1930 , 1937 - 1942 , 1953 -.

Comment (Development): Chloridizing Plant Built 1919, Used 1920-1921. Adapted To Gravity Concentrator 1922. ; Econ.Com: Silica Content High Enough So That Crude Ore Is Acceptable At Copper Smelter

Comment (Location): Northern Tip Of Lemhi Rg

Comment (Deposit): Shear Zone May Persist Some Thousands Of Feet; Individual Shears Likely To Die After Few Hundred Feet. Zone Trends N 70 Deg E To S 70 Deg E Alternately, Dips 80 Deg S Or 70 Deg N; Barite Vein Trends N 55 Deg E, Dips 45 Deg Nw

Comment (Workings): Developed By 7 Adits, Some Production From All Adits. Sporadic Production In 1973 By Leasers.

Comment (Geology): Quartzite Is Gray Green, Indistinctly Bedded And Contains Sericite, Muscovite, Chlorite And Green Biotite

Comment (Deposit): Several Parallel Mineralized Shear Zones In Mine, Only Two Of Which Have Been Explored To Any Extent. ; Info.Src : 1 Pub Lit

Comment (Geology): Original Structures entry: Local - Shear Zones Trend Ene Dip Steeply N. Recurrent Changes In Shear Direction From Ene To Ese; Cleavage Strikes Nnw, Dips 55 - 70 Deg W. Regional - Lemhi Rg Syncline, W Flank. Bedding- N20e, 35se

Comment (Geology): Original concentration process entry: Mod. High Temp And Pressure In Hydrothermal Activity

Comment (Geology): Original alteration entry: Local - Shearing And Silicification ; Sericite, Muscovite, Green Biotite, Chlorite, Actinolite, Epidote; Oxidation

Comment (Production): 6-77 Production From 1908-1956 Totaled 1578.4 Tons Of Crude Averaging 8% Copper, And 4789.4 Tons Of Concentrates Averaging Copper. Minor Amounts Of Silver And Gold Were Also Recovered. 7-77 Production Since 1956 Has Not Been Published.

References

Reference (Deposit): Umpleby, E.L., 1913, Geology And Ore Deposits Of Lemhi County, Idaho: USGS Bulletin 528

Reference (Deposit): Office Of Minerals Exploration 6651 (Cu).

Reference (Deposit): Defense Mineral Administration 3112.

Reference (Deposit): Office Of Minerals Exploration 6190.

Reference (Production): Anderson, A. L., 1956 , Idaho Bur Mines And Geology Pamph 106 , 102 P.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, A. L., 1956 , Geology And Mineral Resources Of The Salmon Quadrangle, Lemhi County, Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 106 , 102 P.

Reference (Deposit): Bell, R. N., 1920 , Twenty-First Annual Report For The Mining Industry Of Idaho For 1919 , P. 97 - 100

Reference (Deposit): Eng And Min J. V118, N6, P. 205-8

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, A. L. 1943, Copper Mineralization Near Salmon, Lemhi County, Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 60

Reference (Deposit): Ross, C. P. 1925, The Copper Deposits Near Salmon, Idaho: USGS Bulletin 774, P. 34-37

Idaho Gold

"Where to Find Gold in Idaho" 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 Idaho. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Idaho.