The Virtue Mine is a gold and silver mine located in Baker county, Oregon at an elevation of 3,901 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
Elevation: 3,901 Feet (1,189 Meters)
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Lat, Long: 44.79278, -117.69694
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Mine Description
The Virtue was operated from 1862 to 1884 and from 1893 to 1898. A small output was made in 1906-1907. Since that time the mine has been closed. According to Lindgren, the production up to 1878 was $1,250,000. From 1878 to 1884, the estimated amount is $200,000. From 1893 to 1898 the production was $739,000, the maximum being reached in 1896 with $256,000, and the minimum in 1898 with $13,100. The total production is thus $2,189,000.
The mine is developed by at least 10,000 feet of workings from three adits and an 800-foot shaft. Eight veins, of which the Virtue has been most productive, have been cut in the mine workings. They are subparallel and strike N. 20° to 45° W. They dip northeast above the mill level, but steepen downward and dip southwest in the lower workings of the old mine (Gilluly, Reed, and Park, 1933, p. 72-74).
According to Lindgren (1901, p. 722-723), an ore shoot with a maximum strike length of 1200 feet was mined to a depth of about 1000 feet below the outcrop. A lean broken zone was then encountered and operations ceased. The ore was a quartz vein 6 inches to 12 feet wide. The quartz averaged about 14 inches wide and contained from 0.5 to 1.0 ounces of gold per ton. During short periods values were often considerably higher. The quartz was sparsely mineralized with pyrite and chalcopyrite. The gold was largely free and very high grade, the bullion averaging more than 925 fine. Operations at depth were handicapped by a heavy flow of warm water.
Source: Gold and Silver in Oregon, State of Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, 1968
Virtue Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Virtue Mine
Secondary: Rucker
Secondary: Union
Secondary: Collateral
Secondary: Chicago
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Tungsten
Location
State: Oregon
County: Baker
District: Virtue Area
Land Status
Not available
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Type: Underground
Ownership
Owner Name: James Rex
Owner Name: Consolidated Virtue Mine Co.
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1862
Discovery Year: 1862
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral Not In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Columbia Plateau
Physiographic Section: Payette Section
Physiographic Detail: Virtue Flat
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Form: TABULAR
Structure
Type: R
Description: Ne Trending Blue Mountains Uplift
Type: L
Description: Fractures And Shear Zones Cutting Diorite And Argillite
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Cataclastic Metamorphism
Rocks
Name: Plutonic Rock
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Early Triassic
Name: Plutonic Rock
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Triassic
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: AU IS 940 FINE
Materials
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Sericite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Deposit): CONSV. RECORD ( M014278 ) MERGED WITH THIS RECORD, AND DELETED FROM OREGON FILE.
Comment (Production): PLACER PRODUCTION IS ESTIMATED AT $1200000. LODE MINES PRODUCED APPROXIMATELY $ 300000.
Comment (Development): MINES: WAR EAGLE, BLUE JAY, COPPER HILL, OSAGE CHIEF, KING TUT, BALDY SMITH
Comment (Deposit): LARGE PARTS OF THE LODES CONSIST OF LOW GRADE ORE VALUABLE CHIEFLY FOR AU, AG, AND FE. COMPARATIVELY SMALL CHAMBERS CONTAIN RICH AG-PB ORE SOME BODIES ARE VALUABLE FOR CU.
Comment (Workings): PLACER, ADITS, SHAFTS, TUNNELS
Comment (Deposit): ALL SEDIMENTARY ROCKS ARE INTRUDED AND METAMORPHOSED BY THE BOULDER BATHOLITH. IN SOME PLACES THEY ARE ALSO INTRUDED BY ANDESITE.
Comment (Workings): WORKINGS DEVELOP EIGHT SUBPARALLEL VEINS STRIKING N 20 TO 45 DEG W, DIPPING NE AT HIGHER LEVELS AND NW AT LOWER LEVELS. VEINS AVERAGE 14 INCHES WIDE. AU OUTPUT ESTIMATED FROM TOTAL REPORTED PRODUCTION OF $2,189,000.
Comment (Location): AREA IS MOUNTAINOUS AND RUGGED ELEVATION RANGES FROM 4500 TO 6500 FT. LAT LONG ARE ON AUSTIN. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1950, 1959)
Comment (Production): ITEM 8 ESTIMATED FROM TOTAL REPORTED PRODUCTION OF $2,189,000.
References
Reference (Deposit): LINDGREN, W, 1901, THE GOLD BELT OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS: USGS 22ND ANNUAL REPORT, PART 2, P. 551-776
Reference (Deposit): GILLULLY, J., REED, J. C., AND PARK, C. F., 1933, SOME MINING DISTRICTS OF EASTERN OREGON: USGS BULL. 846-A, P. 72-74
Reference (Deposit): GILLULLY, J., 1937, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE BAKER QUADRANGLE, OREGON: USGS BULL. 879, P. 94
Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, H. C., AND RAMP, L., 1968, GOLD AND SILVER IN OREGON: ORE. DEPT. GEOL. BULL. 61, P. 138-143
Reference (Deposit): 1901 RECON W. LINDGREN: REF. 1
Reference (Deposit): 1929 GEOLMAP J. GILLULLY: REF. 3
Reference (Deposit): 1968 COMPILE ORE. DEPT. GEOL. MIN. IND.: BULL. 61
Reference (Deposit): 1929 RECON J. GILLULY ETAL: REF. 2
Oregon Gold
"Where to Find Gold in Oregon" 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 Oregon. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Oregon.
