Kramer Borate Deposit

The Kramer Borate Deposit is a boron-borates mine located in Kern county, California at an elevation of 2,349 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

Name: Kramer Borate Deposit

State: California

County: Kern

Elevation: 2,349 Feet (716 Meters)

Commodity: Boron-Borates

Lat, Long: 35.04111, -117.68722

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Satelite image of the Kramer Borate Deposit

Kramer Borate Deposit MRDS details

Commodity

Primary: Boron-Borates
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Bentonite

Location

State: California
County: Kern
District: Kramer Borate District

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.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: U.S. Borax (Subsidiary Of Rtz Borax Ltd. Of Rtz Corp. Plc (London)
Home Office: Los Angeles, CA

Production

Year: 1976
Material type: ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^With 10,704,000 Tons Waste.
Year: 1975
Material type: ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^With 12,000,000 Tons Waste.
Year: 1974
Material type: ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^With 6,870,000 Tons Waste.

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1927
Discovery Year: 1913
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Sonoran Desert

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Lacustrine borates

Orebody

Form: OTHER: LENTICULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Downwarped Ancient Lakebed, Folded And Faulted, Structural Basin

Type: L
Description: Portal Fault (Strikes West)

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Fresh Borax Is Altered To Tincalonite By Exposure To Air.

Rocks

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Pliocene

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Miocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AVERAGE 25% B2O3

Materials

Ore: Kernite
Ore: Colemanite
Ore: Tincalconite
Ore: Borax
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Clay
Gangue: Mica
Gangue: Stibnite
Gangue: Sulfur
Gangue: Arsenic
Gangue: Bentonite
Gangue: Realgar
Gangue: Feldspar

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1913 (COLEMANITE), 1925 (NA BORATES)

Comment (Development): DR. SUCKOW DISCOVERED COLEMANITE WHEN DRILLING A WATER WELL. IN 1925, A SECOND WATER WELL DISCOVERED A HUGE DEPOSIT OF BORAX. UNDERGROUND MINING BEGAN IN 1927. OPEN PIT MINING BEGAN IN 1957 AND DESTROYED EARLIER UNDERGROUND OPERATIONS. ; ECON.COM: U.S. BORAX OPERATES AN OPEN PIT, REFINERY, AND BORIC ACID PLANT AT THE SITE. THE WASTE TO ORE RATIO IS AOBUT 7:1 WITH ALMOST 100% ORE RECOVERY. THE WASTE TO ORE RATIO IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE AS THE PIT EXPANDS TO THE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST. ON AVERAGE, ONE TRAIN OF 30-35 100-TON CARS SERVES THE U.S. BORAX MINE. THE MINE OPERATIONS ARE ENERGY INTENSIVE.

Comment (Deposit): ORE LAYER EXTENDS OVER 500 ACRES. THE DEPOSIT IS A ROUGHLY LENTICULAR CRYSTALLINE MASS OF BORAX AND KERNITE CONTAINING INTERBEDDED CLAYSTONE. THE DEPOSIT IS COMPLETELY ENVELOPED BY ULEXITE-BEARING SHALES. STUDIES HAVE INDICATED THAT THE BORATES WERE DEPOSITED IN A SMALL STRUCTURAL, NONMARINE BASIN ASSOCIATED WITH THERMAL SPRING ACTIVITY. THE DEPOSIT CONSISTENTLY GRADES 10-30% B2O3 AND VERY FEW OTHER SALTS OCCUR WITH THE BORATES. ONLY BORAX, KERNITE, AND MINOR TINCALCONITE ARE EXPLOITED. OVERBURDEN THICKNESS RANGES FROM 60 TO 150 M (1992).

Comment (Workings): THE DEPOSIT WAS EXPLOITED WITH UNDERGROUND MINING FROM 1927 TO 1957 WHEN OPEN PIT MINING BECAME MORE PROFITABLE. THE DIMENSIONS LISTED ABOVE ARE FOR THE BORON OPEN PIT.

Comment (Geology): DEPOSIT WAS BURIED BY 1000-2000 M OF CONTINENTAL SEDIMENTS, ALTHOUGH MUCH OF THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN REMOVED BY EROSION AND SUBSEQUENT UPLIFT. SHALE IS GREENISH IN COLOR.

Comment (Deposit): APPROXIMATELY 50% OF THE KERNITE IS STACKED IN THE PIT, WETTED WITH WATER, AND LEFT TO HYDRATE TO BORAX (USUALLY TAKES A FEW WEEKS). PROCESSING IS DESCRIBED BY O'DRISCOLL (1990). ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Reserve-Resource): AT 1990 MINING RATES, RESERVES ARE ADEQUATE FOR 30-40 YEARS (O'DRISCOLL, 1990).

Comment (Production): IN 1989, PRODUCTION AVERAGED 3000 TO 3500 ST PER DAY (O'DRISCOLL, 1990).

References

Reference (Deposit): KISTLER, R.B., AND SMITH, W.C., 1975, BORON AND BORATES, IN LEFOND, S.J., ED., INDUSTRIAL MINERALS AND ROCKS (NONMETALLICS OTHER THAN FUELS): NEW YORK, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGICAL, AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS, INC., P. 473-496.

Reference (Deposit): ROSKILL INFORMATION SERVICES LTD., 1993, THE ECONOMICS OF BORON 1993, 7TH ED.: LONDON, ROSKILL INFORMATION SERVICES LTD., 156 P.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, G.I., 1985, BORATE DEPOSITS IN THE UNITED STATES - DISSIMILAR IN FORM, SIMILAR IN GEOLOGIC SETTING, IN BARKER, J.M., AND LEFOND, S.J., EDS., BORATES: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND PRODUCTION: NEW YORK, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGICAL AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS, INC., P. 37-51.

Reference (Other Database): CIMRI

Reference (Production): WORLD MINING DEVELOPMENTS 1979-80, P. 419.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): KISTLER AND SMITH, 1985; ROSKILL, 1993.

Reference (Deposit): U.S. BUREAU OF MINES' MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1978-1979, VOL. 1, P 120.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, W.C., 1968, BORAX SOLUTION AT KRAMER, CALIFORNIA, ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, VOL. 63, NO. 2, P. 877 - 883.

Reference (Deposit): NOBLE, L.F., 1926, BORATE DEPOSITS IN THE KRAMER DISTRICT KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, USGS BULLETIN 785-C, P. 45 - 61.

Reference (Deposit): SCHALLER, W.T., 1929, BORATE MINERALS FROM THE KRAMER DISTRICT, MOJAVE DESERT, CALIFORNIA, USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 158, P. 137 - 170.

Reference (Deposit): OBERT, L., AND LONG, A.E., 1962, UNDERGROUND BORATE MINING, KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, USBM REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 6110, P. 1 - 12.

Reference (Deposit): VER PLANK, W.E., 1962, KRAMER BORATE DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY COUNTY REPORT 1, P. 39 - 40.

Reference (Deposit): O'DRISCOLL, MIKE, 1990, MINERALS IN THE US SOUTH-WEST--BREAKING ROCKS IN THE HOT SUN: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, NO. 272, P. 56, 59.

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