The Mesquite Mine is a gold mine located in Imperial county, California.
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.
Mesquite Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Mesquite Mine
Secondary: Big Chief
Secondary: Vista
Secondary: Cherokee
Secondary: Rainbow
Secondary: Lena Gold Bug Pits
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Location
State: California
County: Imperial
District: Mesquite
Land Status
Not available
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Owner Name: Gold Fields Mining Corp.
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: L
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Salton Trough
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Form: VEIN, BRECCIA
Structure
Type: R
Description: Part Of The Eastern Margin Of The Salton Trough.
Type: L
Description: Fractures And Breccia.
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation Zone Extends Several Hundred Feet Below Ground; Clayey Gouge; Dilute Hydrothermal.
Rocks
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Oligocene
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite
Comments
Comment (Deposit): THE DISTRICT IS COMPRISED OF 2 SUBPARALLEL ORE BODIES UNCONFORMABLY BENEATH A THIN VENEER OF LATE TERTIARY SEDIMENTARY ROCKS AND QUATERNARY ALLUVIUM ON THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT SLOPE OF THE CHOCOLATE MOUNTAINS. GOLD MINERALIZATION OCCURS IN ROCKS OF THE UPPER PLATE OF THE CHOCOLATE MOUNTAINS THRUST. MOST ORE HAS BEEN MINED IN THE OXIDIZED ZONE THAT EXTENDS DOWNWARD SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET BELOW THE GROUND. BELOW THIS ZONE ARE THE UNOXIDIZED, SULFIDE-BEARING PORTIONS OF THE ORE BODIES, WHICH TYPICALLY CONTAIN UP TO A FEW PERCENT PYRITE. HIGHEST GRADES OCCUR WHERE THE SYSTEM IS NARROWEST, DYING OUT TO THE NW & SE.
Comment (Workings): THE MINE WILL ULTIMATELY CONSIST OF 5 OPEN PITS: BIG CHIEF, VISTA, CHEROKEE, RAINBOW & LENA GOLD BUG. EXTENSIVE HEAP LEACH PADS.
Comment (Development): PROSPECTED PRIOR TO 1900'S, EXPLORATION BEGAN IN 1980, DRILLING IN 1981, FIRST POUR 1986. ; TOTAL$: 70 ; ECON.COM: NEARLY 300 PEOPLE WORK AT THE MINE; OPERATION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE UNTIL AT LEAST 2008. 2 10-HOUR SHIFTS ARE MAINTAINED 6 DAYS A WEEK. THE PROCESSING FACILITIES OPERATE 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK. ORE PRODUCTION CAPACITY BETWEEN 1,000,000 AND 3,000,000 TONNES/YEAR. (MINING MAGAZINE, JAN. 1989).
Comment (Geology): THE TWO GOLD OREBODIES CONSISTS OF THE LARGE HIGH GRADE PITS; BIG CHIEF & VISTA, AND TWO SMALL LOW GRADE PITS; CHEROKEE & RAINBOW. THE FUTURE PIT IS LENA GOLD BUG. EACH OREBODY IS FORMED BY UPWARD-DIVERGING, MODERATELY TO STEEPLY DIPPING MINERALIZED FAULTS, BRECCIAS & VEINS IN AREAS OF RELATIVE EXTENSION BETWEEN SUBPARALLEL DEXTRAL STRIKE-SLIP FAULTS. FAULTS CONTRIBUTED TO A COMPLEX STEPPED PATTERN OF MINERALIZATION CONVERTING GOLD BEARING QUARTZ AND CARBONATE VEINS TO BRECCIA. GOLD IS FOUND IN VEINS, SILICA-MATRIX VEIN BRECCIAS AND FRACTURES.
Comment (Deposit): THIS RECORD IS AN UPDATED VERSION INCLUDING DUPLICATE INFORMATION FROM RECORD # W700589 WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Comment (Reserve-Resource): CUT-OFF GRADES: 0.025 OZ/TON AND ABOVE, HIGH-GRADE ORE; 0.015-0.024 OZ/TON, LOW-GRADE ORE; 0.010-0.014 OZ/TON, PROTORE; BELOW 0.010 OZ/TON, WASTE
Comment (Location): SW FLANK OF THE CHOLOLATE MTS. OF SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA.
Comment (Production): APPROX. 4.5 MILLION TONS OF ORE ARE PROCESSED ANNUALLY & OPERATION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE UNTIL 2008.
References
Reference (Deposit): SOUTHWESTERN PAY DIRT, JANUARY, 1988, P. 4A-6A.
Reference (Deposit): CLARK, W.B., 1970, GOLD DISTRICTS OF CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 193, 186 P.
Reference (Deposit): HIGGINS, C.T., 1990, MESQUITE MINE, A MODERN EXAMPLE OF THE QUEST FOR GOLD, IMPERIAL COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY, V. 43, NO. 3, P. 51-56.
Reference (Deposit): MINING MAGAZINE, JAN. 1989, P.44.
Reference (Deposit): PAY DIRT, APRIL 1986, P. 4A-7A.
Reference (Deposit): WILLIS, GERALD F., 1987, GEOLOGY & MINERALIZATION OF THE MESQUITE OPEN PIT GOLD MINE, ABSTRACT IN GSA SYMPOSIUM, SPARKS, NEVADA, BULK MINEABLE PRECIOUS METAL DEPOSITS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, P. 52-53.
Reference (Production): SOUTHWESTERN PAY DIRT, JANUARY, 1988, P. 11A.; HIGGINS, 1990, P. 55.
Reference (Reserve-Resource): HIGGINS, 1990, P. 55.
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.
