The Sumas Mountain Iron Deposit is a iron mine located in Whatcom county, Washington.
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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Sumas Mountain Iron Deposit MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Sumas Mountain Iron Deposit
Secondary: Ochre Point Placer 1915
Secondary: Hematite Group 1919
Commodity
Primary: Iron
Tertiary: Chromium
Tertiary: Nickel
Location
State: Washington
County: Whatcom
District: Mount Baker District
Land Status
Not available
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Owner Name: Northern Pacific Railroad
Owner Name: Waddington Mining Corp., Ltd.
Home Office: Vancouver, B. C., Canada
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1915
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Pacific Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Pacific Border Province
Physiographic Section: Puget Trough
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Not available
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: MATERIAL SAMPLED CONTAINS 16.2-48.1% FE. A PICKED SAMPLE GAVE AN ANALYSIS OF 37.21% FE, 20.83% S1O2, 0.20% P, 0.008% S. IRON DEPOSIT IS CONSIDERED TO BE LOW GRADE.
Materials
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Limonite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Chromite
Comments
Comment (Deposit): LOCATION AND GEOLOGIC MAP OF DEPOSIT, AND RESULTS OF CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF DEPOSIT ARE AVAILABLE, MOEN, 1969. MAP OF CLAIMS AVAILABLE, SHEDD, JENKINS, AND COOPER, 1922. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Comment (Reserve-Resource): RESERVES ESTIMATED AT 375,000 TONS OF INDICATED ORE, AND 375,000 TONS OF INFERRED ORE.
Comment (Location): W SLOPE OF SUMAS MTN.
Comment (Development): MANY SAMPLES HAVE BEEN TAKEN, SOME TRENCHES DUG, AND ONE ADIT DRIVEN, BUT NO MINING HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN
Comment (Deposit): ABSENCE OF SULFIDES SUGGESTS THAT THE NICKEL MAY BE A HYDROUS NICKEL SILICATE. CLAYSTONE UNDERLIES A BASAL CONGLOMERATE OF THE CHUCKANUT FORMATION. EXPOSURES OF THE CLAYSTONE AS MUCH AS 20-FT THICK EXTEND ABOUT 1,500 FT UP SIDE OF SUMAS MOUNTAIN.
Comment (Workings): 60 FT ADIT, OPEN CUTS
Comment (Deposit): MRDS RECORD W017830 HAS BEEN MERGED WITH THIS RECORD AND DELETED
Comment (Deposit): LATERITE DEVELOPED ON PERIDOTITE (ALMOST COMPLETELY SERPENTINIZED). RESIDUAL OLIVINE, CHROMITE, AND MAGNETITE ARE PLAINLY VISIBLE MICROSCOPICALLY. DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF BLANKET OF FERRUGINOUS CLAYSTONE ON ALTERED PERIDOTITE. CLAYSTONE HAS MAXIMUM THICKNESS OF 35 FT, BUT IRON-RICH PART GENERALLY AVERAGES ONLY 5 FT. CLAYSTONE CONSISTS OF EXTREMELY FINE GRAINED (CLAY SIZE) HYDROUS ALUMINUM SILICATES, LIMONITE, HEMATITE, MAGNETITE, AND MINOR QUARTZ AND CHROMITE. COLOR VARIES FROM GRAYISH BROWN TO GRAYISH RED; SPECIFIC GRAVITY RANGES FROM 2.67 TO 3.09. BEDDING, VISIBLE IN UPPER PARTS OFUNIT, MARKS ALTERNATING LAYERS OF CLAYSTONE AND SILTSTONE AND SEVERAL SANDY BEDS. BEDS STRIKE N 2 E TO N 20 W, AND DIP 25 TO 40 W. IRON-RICH PART OF CLAYSTONE IS MAGNETIC AND CONTAINS MAGNETITE OOLITES AND PISOLITES, WHICH ALSO FILL SMALL FRACTURES IN THE IRON BEDS. SMALL CHROMITE GRAINS, PROBABLY WEATHERED FROM THE SERPENTINITE ARE PRESENT. NICKEL IS PRESENT IN THE CLAYSTONE, BUT ITS FORM IS UNKNOWN.
References
Reference (Deposit): MOEN, W.S., 1969, MINES AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULL. 57, P. 71-73
Reference (Deposit): HUNTTING, M.T., 1956, INVENTORY OF WASHINGTON MINERALS - PART II, METALLIC MINERALS: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULL. 37, P. 205
Reference (Deposit): SHEDD, SOLON, JENKINS, O.P., AND COOPER, H.H., 1922, IRON ORES, FUELS AND FLUXES OF WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY BUL. NO. 27, P. 105-107.
Reference (Reserve-Resource): MOEN, 1969, P. 74
Washington Gold
"Where to Find Gold in Washington" 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 Arizona. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Washington.
