Galena Mine

Site Name

Primary: Galena Mine
Secondary: Vulcan Mine

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Commodity

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

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Location

State: Idaho
County: Shoshone
District: Placer Center, Evolution

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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.

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Type: Underground

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Ownership

Owner Name: Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Years: 2000 -

Owner Name: Silver Valley Resources Corp
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wilmington, Delaware
Years: 1995 - 2000

Owner Name: Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Years: 1991 - 1995

Owner Name: Asarco, Inc
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1976 - 1995

Owner Name: American Smelting and Refining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1946 - 1976

Owner Name: Vulcan Silver-Lead Corp
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Years: 1946 - 1958

Owner Name: Callahan Mining Corp
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1958 - 1991

Owner Name: Callahan Zinc-Lead Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1921 - 1958

Owner Name: Argentine Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1923 - 1927

Owner Name: Wallace Mining, Milling & Realty Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Years: 1905 - 1925

Owner Name: Silver Range Mining and Milling Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Spokane, Washington
Years: 1918 - 1925

Owner Name: Galena Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Years: 1921 - 1922

Owner Name: Chicago-Boston Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Years: 1906 - 1921

Owner Name: Kill Buck Mining Co., Ltd.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Butte, Montana
Years: 1900 - 1921

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Production

Year: 2005
Time Period: 1922-1950
Mined: 158385.000 mt
Material type: Ore Treated
Year: 2005
Time Period: 1950-1958
Mined: 399148.000 mt
Material type: Galena Ore Milled
Year: 2005
Time Period: 1959-2003
Mined: 6170339.000 mt
Material type: Ore Milled

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: HYDROTHERMAL VEIN AND REPLACEMENT
Plant Type: Beneficiation (Mill)
Plant Subtype: Flotation
Operation Type: Underground
Mining Method: Filled Stopes - Inclined Cut and Fill
Milling Method: Flotation
Year First Production: 1922
Discovery Year: 1885
Discovery Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L

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Physiography

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

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

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Orebody

Name: North Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Silver Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL, STRINGERS

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Structure

Type: L
Description: Wire Silver Fault, bounds the Silver Zone to the west

Type: L
Description: Killbuck Fault, N53W 65NE, shows normal displacement.

Type: L
Description: Vulcan Fault, N68W 95SW

Type: R
Description: Polaris Fault, N60W 50-65SW, splays into several branches in eastern part of mine.

Type: L
Description: Argentine Fault, N60W 60-70SW, shows normal movement.

Type: R
Description: Osburn Fault, WNW, is 1.5 Mi N.

Type: R
Description: Big Creek Anticline (WNW-trending), deposit within overturned north limb

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Halos of disseminated arsenopyrite extend 6 meters into the wall rock from the veins, probably associated with much more extensive zones of disseminated carbonate.

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Bleaching of hematite-bearing sediments, Sericitization, Chloritization

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Rocks

Name: Quartzite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Arsenopyrite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Siderite
Trace: Gersdorffite
Trace: Pitchblende
Trace: Jamesonite
Trace: Boulangerite
Trace: Meneghinite
Trace: Bornite
Trace: Bournonite

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Comments

Comment (Ownership): In 1946, Callahan Zinc-Lead Co. transferred the Galena mine to a newly created subsidiary, Vulcan Silver-Lead Corp. The property was then leased to American Smelting & Refining Co. Callahan Zinc-Lead Co. absorbed its Vulcan Silver-Lead Corp. subsidiary in 1958 and changed its name to Callahan Mining Corp. Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. purchased Callahan Mining Corp. in 1991.

Comment (Orebody): Galena is more abundant than tetrahedrite above the 2000 foot (610 meter) mine level and tetrahedrite is more abuGalena is more abundant than tetrahedrite above the 2000 foot (610 meter) mine level and tetrahedrite is more abundant below. Quartz-uraninite veinlets appear to be an earlier stage of mineralization.

Comment (Development): The modern Galena mine is based on silver-rich veins, the first of which was discovered by American Smelting and Refining Co. in 1951. Lead rich ores had been found earlier, certainly by 1946.

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1880'S

Comment (Production): Production from tetrahedrite veins from 1959 to 2003. Records of production of lead, zinc, and gold are incomplete.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reported by Asarco, Inc. in its 1998 annual report.

Comment (Ownership): The modern Galena mine is an amalgamation of several properties. The Chicago-Boston Mining Co. in 1921 absorbed the Kill Buck Mining Co., Ltd., and changed its name to Galena Mining Co. which was purchased by Callahan Zinc-Lead Co. in 1922. Callahan subsequently purchased the Argentine Mining Co. and Silver Range Mining and Milling Co. in 1925 and the Wallace Mining, Milling & Realty Co. in 1927.

Comment (Orebody): The principal silver-bearing vein zones, Argentine (North), West Argentine, Southeastern, and Silver generally strike N70W to N80W and average 2 meters thick. The Lead Zone, between the Polaris Fault Branches B and E, west of Wire Silver Fault, is 300 meters long in an E-W direction, 61 meters N-S, and 300 meters vertical, consisting of 8 principal veins, many veinlets and stringers, striking N70W with steet SW dipt, up to 8 meters wide.

Comment (Deposit): THE WINZE AND 600 E NO. 2 ORE SHOOTS LIE N. OF THE POLARIS FAULT; THE LEAD VEIN LIES JUST S OF THE POLARIS FAULT BUT AT A MUCH GREATER DEPTH.

Comment (Production): Production of Pb-Zn bearing ores in the upper part of the veins from 1950-1958.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): From Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. Annual Report for 2003.

Comment (Ownership): In 1995, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. and Asarco, Inc. pooled their interests in the Galena and Coeur mines into the Silver Valley Resources Corp., on a 50/50 basis. Coeur d'Alene Mines acquired Asarco's share in 2000 to become the sole owner of the Galena mine.

Comment (Commodity): RADIOACTIVITY FROM 2800 FT LEVEL. PB ISOTOPE COMPOSITION: PB206/PB204 = 16.304 ; PB207/PB204 = 15.394 ; PB208/PB204 = 35.968

Comment (Development): 1039 ACRES IN 53 PATENTED AND 19 UNPATENTED CLAIMS. 13338 FT OF UNDERGROUND DIAMOND DRILLING BY 1966 ; ECON.COM: $3.6 MILLION SPENT IN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT WORK IN RECENT YEARS ( 1976 REF)

Comment (Deposit): PAGE-GALENA MINERAL BELT IS ABOUT 67000 FT. LONG. STRIKE AND DIP ABOVE REFER TO WINZE AND 600 E. NO. 2 ORE SHOOTS, THE LATTER OF WHICH IS 50 FT. LONG. THE LEAD ORE SHOOT STRIKES N 70 DEG W, DIPS STEEPLY S, IS PLUS OR MINUS 1800 FT LONG. THE SILVER ORE SHOOT STRIKES S 70 DEG W, DIPS 70 DEG S, IS 800 FT LONG. ALTITUDE OF THE VEINS RANGES FROM 3100 FT TO -300 FT (BELOW SEA LEVEL)

Comment (Workings): TOTAL DEVELOPMENT BY 1966 GIVEN IN LENGTH OF WORKINGS ABOVE

Comment (Production): Production by Callahan Zinc-Lead Co. from Vulcan mine exploration, 1922 to 1950.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Clark, Allen Leroy, 1968, Wall rock alteration and trace element distribution in the Galena mine, Shoshone County, Idaho: Moscow, University of Idaho, PhD dissertation, 140 p.

Reference (Deposit): Dahl, Mary Katherine, 1981, Structural and stratigraphic control of ore through the Crescent, Sunshine, Silver Summit, Coeur and Galena mines, Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho: Moscow, University of Idaho, MS thesis, 97 p.

Reference (Deposit): Fryklund, V.C., Jr., 1964, Ore deposits of the Coeur d'Alene district, Shoshone County, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 445, 103 p.

Reference (Deposit): Kesten, S.N., 1963, Geology of the Page and Galena mines, in The Coeur d'Alene mining district in 1963: Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology Pamphlet 133, p. 95-98.

Reference (Deposit): Chan, Samuel Shu Mou, 1966, Mineralogical and geochemical studies of the vein materials from the Galena mine, Shoshone County, Idaho: Moscow, University of Idaho, PhD dissertation, 251 p.

Reference (Deposit): Yates, Martin G., 1987, Geology and geochemistry of the Ag-Cu-Pb deposits in the Galena mine, Coeur d'Alene district, Idaho: Bloomington, Indiana University, PhD dissertation, 220 p.

Reference (Deposit): Gordon, Robert E., 1973, Relationship of ore-bearing veins to the geology at the Galena mine, Silver Belt portion of the Coeur d'Alene district, Shoshone County, Idaho: Paper presented at Pacific Northwest Metals Conference, Spokane, Washington, 19 p.

Reference (Deposit): CAMPBELL, A. B., AND OTHERS, 1961 , GUIDEBOOK TO THE GEOLOGY OF THE COEUR D'ALENE MINING DISTRICT: IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES & GEOLOGY BULL. 16

Reference (Deposit): COOK, E. F., 1955 , PROSPECTING FOR URANIUM, THORIUM, AND TUNGSTEN IN IDAHO: IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY PAMPHLET 102 , 53 P.

Reference (Deposit): WEIS, P. L., AND OTHERS, 1958 , RECONNAISSANCE FOR RADIOACTIVE MINERALS IN WASHINGTON, IDAHO, AND WESTERN MONTANA, 1952 - 1955 : USGS BULL. 1074 - B, P. 7 - 48

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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.