Castle Mountain Mine

The Castle Mountain Mine is a gold mine located in San Bernardino county, California at an elevation of 5,000 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

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.

Site Name

Primary: Castle Mountain Mine
Secondary: Castle Mountain Project
Secondary: Jumbo South
Secondary: Lesley Ann
Secondary: Oro Belle

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Clay

Location

State: California
County: San Bernardino
District: Hart

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Mk Gold
Percent: 25.00
Home Office: Boise, Id

Owner Name: Viceroy Resources Corp.
Percent: 75.00
Home Office: 880-999 West Hastings St., Vancouver, Bc V6c 2w2

Owner Name: Viceroy Gold Corp.

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1907
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Strong Silicification, Argillization, Adularia

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AU:AG = 1:2 OVERALL BUT 2:1 IN CORE OF DEPOSIT

Materials

Ore: Clay
Ore: Gold
Ore: Electrum
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1907; 1980'S FOR LATEST ACTIVITY

Comment (Commodity): GOLD AVERAGES 10 MICRONS IN SIZE BUT RANGES FROM 1 TO 2000 MICRONS.

Comment (Deposit): INFORMATION FROM THE ORO BELLE RECORD #M023611 HAS BEEN INCORPORATED (NOT MERGED) INTO THE CASTLE MOUNTAIN PROJECT. IT IS ONE OF THE SIX DEPOSITS OF MRDS #W700451.

Comment (Workings): LARGE SCALE OPEN PIT, HEAP LEACH OPERATION. AVERAGE STRIP RATIO 2.14:1. PRODUCTION 8,000 TONS PER DAY OR 2.8 MILLION TONS PER YEAR. GOLD MINING IN 1915-1920 WAS DONE VIA A 700' DEEP SHAFT WITH A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 700' OF CROSSCUTS AND STOPES.

Comment (Geology): SILICIFIED AND MINERALIZED ARCUATE FRACTURES SUGGEST THAT THE DEPOSITS LIE NEAR THE CENTER OF A SMALL CALDERA, OR COLLAPSED VOLCANO. ONE DEPOSIT, BURIED BY AS MUCH AS 300 FEET OF GRAVEL, WAS DISCOVERED BY GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION. (LINDER, 1989)

Comment (Deposit): EARLY DEVELOPMENT WORK DONE ABOUT 1915-20. MILLED AT NEARBY VALLEY VIEW MINE. DURING THE 1920S AND 1930S THERE WAS MAJOR PRODUCTION OF HIGH GRADE CLAY FROM HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION ZONES IN AND AROUND THE GOLD DEPOSITS. THE CLAY WAS USED TO PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY CLAY PRODUCTS SUCH AS TOILETS, SINKS, AND FLOOR TILE.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): ESTIMATED RESERVES OF 1,150,000 OUNCES GOLD PROVEN AND PROBABLE AND 620,000 OUNCES OF GOLD POSSIBLE, FOR A TOTAL OF 1,770,000 OUNCES OF GOLD. THE INTEREST INCLUDES THE ORO BELLE (MRDS #M023611), JUMBO SOUTH, AND LESLEY ANN DEPOSITS AND THEIR EXTENSIONS.

Comment (Location): UTM EST. SW 1/4 SW 1/4 SECT.18, NW 1/4 NW 1/4 SECT. 19

Comment (Deposit): ZONES ALONG FRACTURES. SIX INDIVIDUAL DEPOSITS ASSOCIATED WITH RHYOLITE DOME, DOME COMPLEXES, AND SILIFICIED FRACTURE ZONES. CUT BY ZONES OF BROKEN CLAY-RICH ROCK. MINERALIZATION RELATED TO PERMEABILITY OF HOST ROCKS. WATER TABLE AT DEPTH OF 550 FEET, ALL RESERVES IN OXIDIZED ZONE ABOVE THAT DEPTH.

Comment (Development): DISCOVERED IN 1907; WENT BUST IN 1910 WHEN HIGH-GRADE ORE RAN OUT. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO REACTIVATE GOLD PRODUCTION. PROSPECTED AGAIN IN THE 1980'S FOR LOW GRADE GOLD. RESERVES WERE PROVEN AT 3 OF THE 6 OREBODIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED DURING THE 1980'S EXPLORATION. ; ECON.COM: VICEROY POURED FIRST GOLD ON FEB 17,1992. EXPECTED PRODUCTION 100,000 OUNCES THE FIRST YEAR INCREASING TO 160,000 OUNCES IN THE FOURTH YEAR. THE PROPERTY HAS POTENTIAL TO OPERATE AT THIS LEVEL UNTIL THE YEAR 2004. (VICEROY GOLD CORPORATION HAS BEEN A LEADER IN ESTABLISHING GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES FOR DEVELOPING, OPERATING, AND PREPARING FOR FUTURE CLOSING OF THE MINE).

Comment (Production): ORE SHIPPED (3000-4000 TONS, AVG $1 2/TON IN GOLD) ONLY IN THE EARLY 1940'S. NO PRODUCTION RECORD FOUND. INITIAL PRODUCTION ANTICIPATED BY EARLY 1989 AT 108,000 OZ/YR AU.

References

Reference (Deposit): WRIGHT, L.A., AND OTHERS, 1953, MINES AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF SAN BERNARDINO CO., CA., TABULATED LIST: CALIF. JOUR. MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 49. NOS. 1&2, P. 51-52.

Reference (Deposit): CAPPS, R.C., AND MOORE, J.A., 1990, GEOLOGIC SETTING OF MID MIOCENE GOLD DEPOSITS IN THE CASTLE MOUNTIANS, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AND CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA: IN RAINES, G. L., LISLE, R.E. ET AL. EDS, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT BASIN SYMPOSIUM, RENO, NV, 1990 PROCEEDINGS; P. 1195-1219.

Reference (Deposit): LINDER, HAROLD, 1989, HART MINING DISTRICT, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY V.42, NO.6, P. 134-140, 143.

Reference (Deposit): ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, JUNE, 1988, P. 44.

Reference (Production): WRIGHT (1953) ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, JUNE, 1988, P. 44.

Reference (Deposit): MINING RECORD, APRIL 24, 1991.

Reference (Deposit): BURNETT, JOHN, 1993, THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA - 1992: CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY V.46, NO. 3 P. 74-75.

California Gold

"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.