The Azurite Mine is a gold and silver mine located in Whatcom county, Washington at an elevation of 5,899 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: 5,899 Feet (1,798 Meters)
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Lat, Long: 48.68278, -120.78111
Map: View on Google Maps
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Mine Description
Location: Secs. 30 and 31, (37-17E) and secs. 25 and 36, (37-16E), on Mill Cr., Slate Cr. dist.
Access: Truck road over Harts Pass from Methow Valley.
Property: 42 unpatented claims including Azurite, Copper Dike, Seattle (1949). 11 unpatented claims (1952).
Owner: Azurite Gold Co., Winthrop, Wash. (1925 --). Leased by American Smelting & Refining Co. (1934-1943).
Ore: Gold, copper, zinc, silver, lead.
Ore. minerals: Chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena.
Deposit: A 2- to 7-ft. quartz vein cutting through argillite is mineralized in places. Other undeveloped veins are also reported. Ore-producing body has been depleted.
Development: About 3,000 ft. of adit work, chiefly on 2 levels. Since 1941 a 125-ft. winze was sunk and crosscuts were driven both ways from the winze.
Assays: 58,358 tons shipped avrage 0.473 oz. Au.
Production: 1920, 1930, 1934, 3,000 tons in 1936, 27,530 tons in 1937, 36,515 tons in 1938, 5,375 tons in 1939. Produced 1941. Gross value of production reported $972,000.
Source: Gold in Washington, Bulletin No. 42, 1955. State of Washington Division of Mines and Geology.
Azurite Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Azurite Mine
Secondary: Claims: Azurite
Secondary: South Azurite
Secondary: Ibex
Secondary: Chalcopyrite
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Lead
Location
State: Washington
County: Whatcom
District: Slate Creek 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: In Mount Baker National Forest
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Type: Underground
Ownership
Owner Name: Azurite Gold Co. Auburn, Wash
Owner Name: Double Dragon Exploration, Inc.
Years: 1992 -
Production
Year: 1938
Time Period: 1936-1938
Material type: ORE AU AG
Description: Cp_Grade: ^13 Ppm Au, 1.23 Ppm Ag + Cu, Zn, Pb
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1918
Year Last Production: 1939
Discovery Year: 1915
Discovery Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Pacific Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Cascade-Sierra Mountains
Physiographic Section: Northern Cascade Mountains
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Polymetallic veins
Orebody
Form: VEINS
Structure
Type: R
Description: Deposit Is On Northeast Limb Of Northwest Trending Anticline.
Type: L
Description: Shear Zones Trending N10w-S50w, Dipping 45-60n And W.
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Wall Rock Has Been Silicified, Chloritized, Sericitized, Kaolinized, And Pyritized.
Rocks
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: ORE SHIPPED AVERAGED 0.385 OZ/TON AU, 0.036 OZ/TON AG
Materials
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Deposit): AT ONE TIME, PROPERTY CONSISTED OF 40 CONTIGUOUS CLAIMS BUT NOW CONSISTS OF 4 CLAIMS; OTHER 36 ARE INVALID FROM LACK OF ANNUAL ASSESSMENT WORK. MINE IS ONE OF MAIN GOLD PRODUCERS OF COUNTY. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Comment (Development): DOUBLE DRAGON WAS DOING ROAD REPAIRS, SAMPLING OLD TAILINGS, AND CLEANING UP THE MILL SITE IN 1992
Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED. EASTERN SLOPE OF MAJESTIC MOUNTAN AND 4.5 MI UP MILL CREEK FROM CONFLUENCE WITH CANYON CREEK. MILLSITE IN NE/4 NE/4, SEC. 30
Comment (Production): GROSS VALUE OF PRODUCTION REPORTED $972,000.
Comment (Deposit): LARGEST VEINS OF DEPOSIT ARE AZURITE, DEVIL'S HOLE, MONSTER, AND LUCK DOG. AZURITE IS THE PRINCIPAL VEIN OF GROUP. VEINS ARE TRACEABLE FOR SEVERAL THOUSAND FEET. SOME MASSIVE CHALCOPYRITE LENSES ARE REPORTED
Comment (Workings): LENGTH OF WORKINGS MEASURED FROM MAP (MOEN, 1969).
Comment (Geology): ROCKS OF VIRGINIA RIDGE FORMATION ARE INTRUDED BY CIRCULAR AND ELLIPTICAL BODIES OF DIORITE.
References
Reference (Deposit): HUNTTING, M.T., 1956, INVENTORY OF WASHINGTON MINERALS - PART II, METALLIC MINERALS: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 37, P. 175.
Reference (Deposit): MOEN, W.S., 1969, MINES AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 57, P. 102-105.
Reference (Deposit): DERKEY, R.E., JOSEPH, N.L., AND LASMANIS, RAYMOND, 1990, METAL MINES OF WASHINGTON - PRELIMINARY REPORT: WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES OPEN-FILE REPORT 90-18, P. 542.
Reference (Deposit): GRANT, A.R., 1976, REPORT OF EVALUATION, MINERAL RESOURCE ANALYSIS STUDY ON UNITED STATES FOREST SERIVCE LAND, STATE OF WASHINGTON: PREPARED FOR U.S. FOREST SERVICE - REGION 6, CONTRACT NO. 004724N, P. 29.
Reference (Deposit): DERKEY, R.E., GULICK, C.W., AND LINGLEY, W.S., JR., 1993, WASHINGTON'S MINERAL INDUSTRY - 1992: WASHINGTON GEOLOGY, V. 21, NO. 1, P. 3-25.
Reference (Production): HUNTTING (1956)
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.
