Shorty Group

The Shorty Group is a graphite mine located in Custer county, Idaho at an elevation of 7,598 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: Shorty Group
Secondary: Gem State
Secondary: Gem State Nos. 1 and 2
Secondary: Shorty Graphite Deposit

Commodity

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

Location

State: Idaho
County: Custer
District: Valley 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: Challis National Forest

Holdings

Type: Located Claim

Workings

Type: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Niece, Jack R.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Idaho
Info Year: 1983

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Surface
Discovery Year: 1968
Discovery Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Salmon River Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: TABULAR, SEDIMENTARY, DISSEMINATED

Form: FLAKES

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicified, Leached

Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: SAMPLES RANGED FROM 3.3% TO 4.7% GRAPHITE
Analytical Data: SAMPLES OF CONTACT ZONE UP TO 0.27 OZ AU/TON, 3.7 OZ AG/TON
Analytical Data: AVG. CARBON CONTENT OF 5 SAMPLES 2.54%

Materials

Ore: Graphite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Zoisite
Gangue: Muscovite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Tremolite
Gangue: Rutile

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1968 FOR SHORTY GROUP, WHICH INCLUDES GEM STATE DISC. 1929

Comment (Geology): Graphitic Schist 25 Ft. Thick, Trends N 70 Deg E, Dips 51 Deg NW

Comment (Development): 9 Unpatented Claims

Comment (Deposit): Graphite Occurs As Flat Flakes Ranging In Size From Minus 35 To Plus 200 Mesh.

Comment (Workings): All Adits Caved and Inaccessible

Comment (Ownership): Jack Niece Holds the Shorty Claims (15 Claims). Joel Olsen Holds the Stanley Ace Claims (3 Claims). Jeff Jones States the Shorty Claims Have Been Declared Invalid and the Stanley Ace Claims Will Be Declared Invalid By the National Rec Area the Owners Are Contesting This Action By the Rec Area.

Comment (Production): Mill Produces 22.70 Mt of Graphite Each Day 17.35 Mt of Packing Grade: 88.5 % Graphite Carbon, 95 % Retained On A 325 Mesh Screen. 5.35 Mt of Powder Grade: 95 % Graphite Carbon 5 % Max On A 325 Mesh Screen.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Very Little Data Is Available On the Shorty Claims. The Area Has Extensive Soil Cover With Very Few Outcrops. Graphite Schist Is Present In Isolated Outcrops Along the East Flank of Elk Mt (4km Strike Distance). It Is Not Possible (Based On the Little Info Available) To Make An Estimate of the Total Graphite Schist In the Area, Except To Note It Must Be Many Tens of Millions of Tons. Benjamin Feels A Resource Estimate For A Small Portion of the North End of Elk Mt Can Be Made (The Area Most Highly Trenched and Sampled). This Is the Estimate In the Q Matrix For A Detailed Picture of How the Resource Was Calculated See Appendix B-2 of the 1983 Mas Report.

Comment (Geology): The Graphite Schist Is Probably A Tabular Shaped Deposit, But So Little Info Is Available On the Deposit That Benjamin Was Unable To Make An Accurate Estimate of the Strike, Dip, Or Dimensions of the Graphite Zone. It Is Most Likely Folded Faulted and Intruded, Making the Deposit Shape Even More Complicated. The Dimensions Given In the Data Set Are Those of the Ore Zone Postulated By Benjamin, See Appendix B-2 of the Report For A More Detailed Description.

Comment (Workings): The Proposed Mine-Mill Site Is In the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, An Area of Great Natural Beauty. The Mine Operators Would Be Under Continual Pressure To Run A Very Clean Operation. No Waste Products Would Be Allowed To Enter Elk Creek. Elk Creek Is A Tributary of the Salmon River (One of the Premier White Water Recreation Rivers In the USA)

Comment (Location): Deposit Runs Along East Flank of Elk Mt. It Is Also In Secs 17, 21, 28. The Shorty Claims Also Contan A Silicified Zone Which Has Been Prospected For Au and Ag. The Stanley Ace Claim Contains Pegmatites Which Have Been Prospected For Beryllium.

Comment (Names): Shorty Claims Are Located On North End of Elk Mt. Stanley Ace Claims Are Located On the South End. Graphite Has Been Found At Both Locations. Au-Ag Workings On N.W. Side of Elk Mt Are Called Gem State Workings, They Are Part of Shorty Claim Block.

References

Reference (Deposit): Bhappu Roshan, 1972, Preliminary Metallurgical Studies On Graphite Ore Samples, New Mexico Tech Research Foundation, Socorro, New Mexico.

Reference (Deposit): Tschanz, C. M., And Others, 1974, Mineral Resources Of The Eastern Part Of The Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Custer And Blaine Counties, Idaho: USGS Open - File Rept., 648 P

Reference (Deposit): Jones, Guy, 1981, Mineral Examination Report, Shorty Lode Claims, Sawtooth N.R.A. Report.

Reference (Deposit): Jones, Guy, 1983, Personal Communication, Sawtooth N.R.A. Geologist

Reference (Deposit): B.L.M., 1979, Surface Management Status Map, Surface Mineral Management Status Map, Deadwood River.

Reference (Deposit): Niece, Jack, 1983, Personal Communication.

Reference (Deposit): Needham, A.B., 1946, Mining And Milling Operations Of The S.W. Graphite Co, Burnett Co, Texas USBM Ic 7339

Reference (Deposit): Pollack, Martin, 1983, Personal Communication, Ophir Exploration Co.

Reference (Deposit): U.S.B.M., 1976 Preliminary Feasibility Estimates Of Proposed Alabama And Canadian Crystalline Graphite Projects Related To The U.S. Market, Mas Report.

Reference (Deposit): USBM, 1976, Summary Report Of Cursory Feasibility Estimates Of Hypothetical Graphite Mine And Mill Operations In Alabama, Texas, Canada, And Alaska, Mas Report.

Reference (Deposit): U.S. Bureau Of Mines Open-File Report MLA 9-92, 1992, P. 30-39.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1545-E, 1986, P. 383.

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.