Tamarack and Custer Mine

Site Name

Primary: Tamarack and Custer Mine
Secondary: Custer Mine
Secondary: Tamarack and Chesapeak Mine

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Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Silver
Primary: Zinc
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Gold

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Location

State: Idaho
County: Shoshone
District: Placer Center

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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: Custer Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 2005
Years: 1888 - 1895

Owner Name: Coeur d'Alene Mining and Concentrating Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Spokane, Washington
Info Year: 2005
Years: 1895 - 1899

Owner Name: Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 2005
Years: 1897 - 1912

Owner Name: Custer Consolidated Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Info Year: 2005
Years: 1910 - 1912

Owner Name: Day Mines Inc.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Info Year: 2005
Years: 1947 - 1981

Owner Name: Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Info Year: 2005
Years: 1912 - 1947

Owner Name: Hecla Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Info Year: 2005
Years: 1981 -

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Production

Year: 1967
Time Period: 1913-1958
Mined: 2601371.000 mt
Material type: Ore
Description: Cp_Grade: ^3.6 Oz Ag/Ton, 6.9 % Pb, 5.0 % Zn
Year: 1983
Time Period: 1905-1977
Mined: 2557783.000 mt
Material type: Production reported to US Bureau of Mines

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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 - Timber With Subsequent Fill
Milling Method: Flotation
Year First Production: 1888
Year Last Production: 1978
Discovery Year: 1885
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
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: Coeur D'Alene Mountains

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

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Orebody

Name: Chesapeak No. 2 Split Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: A-X (A-Cross) Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Wet Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Thomas Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Nelson Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Chesapeak Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Watson Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Falvey Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Snowy Peak Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Phoenix Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Tamarack Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: North (East) Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Standard Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Murphy Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Monroe Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Custer Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Main (South) Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

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Structure

Type: R
Description: Broad Anticlinal Arch Trending N Broken By Many Cross Faults

Type: R
Description: Phoenix, Puritan-Standard and Nilus Faults

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Supergene alteration (oxidation) extends to no more than 30 meters depth. Minerals found in the oxide zone include limonite, cerussite, and smithsonite.

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Bleaching; Sericite-Chlorite; Clay; Carbonates; Good ore is found outside of bleached zones, however.

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Rocks

Name: Meta-Argillite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

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

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Smithsonite
Ore: Cerussite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Boulangerite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Siderite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Pyrrhotite
Gangue: Quartz
Trace: Ferro-Anthophyllite

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Comments

Comment (Orebody): Watson Vein mined from 1800 to 2700 level; little ore found below 3000 level.

Comment (Orebody): Phoenix Vein last vein found and mined (1978).

Comment (Orebody): Chesapeak Vein mine from 600 to 1800 level; vein turned to gouge on 1800 level, flattened and cut off Thomas Vein below that level.

Comment (Orebody): Nelson Vein is a split from the Chesapeak vein; mined from 1000 to 1650 level.

Comment (Orebody): Thomas Vein is a split from the Chesapeak vein; mined from 1000 to 1650 level.

Comment (Orebody): Falvey Vein a narrow high-Zn content vein mined above and below the No. 4 adit level.

Comment (Production): Tonnage and recovered metals from Mitchell and Bennett (1983); ore grades from Long (1998).

Comment (Deposit): This record includes data from duplicate records 10120788 and 10192633 which have been deleted.

Comment (Orebody): Monroe Vein mined from surface down to 16th floor above No. 5 adit level.

Comment (Development): Frisco gravity concentration mill purchased 1917, remodeled as a gravity-flotation mill, and used until ? Then used Hercules mill until?

Comment (Orebody): Murphy Vein mined from No.4 adit level to 800 level; galena ore 8 to 10 feet wide on 400 level.

Comment (Development): Dorn flotation mill built 1940 near Tamarack No. 7 adit.

Comment (Orebody): North (East) Vein mined from No.3 to No. 7 adit levels. Zinc and magnetite content of vein increased with depth.

Comment (Orebody): Snowy Peak vein mined from 600 to 1200 level; Zn rich ore.

Comment (Orebody): Standard Vein

Comment (Orebody): Tamarack Vein

Comment (Orebody): Wet Vein mined by leasers above and below the No. 5 adit level.

Comment (Orebody): A-X Vein is a split from the Chesapeak Vein

Comment (Development): Custer gravity concentration mill built 1890 and used until 1916.

Comment (Development): 178 PATENTED CLAIMS, 3 PATENTED MILLSITES, 8 UNPATENTED CLAIMS. TAMARACK NO. 7 TUNNEL AND SURFACE FACILITIES REHABILITATED IN 1974 . TAMARACK CONNECTION WITH HUMMINGBIRD (HERCULES 5 LEVEL) COMPLETED IN 1976 . WORK IN 1976 INCLUDED 4700 FT DDH

Comment (Deposit): 10 DIFFERENT ORE SHOOTS. TAMARACK - MARSH MINERAL SUBBELT ABOUT 12000 FT LONG. TAMARACK ORE SHOOTS STRIKE W TO N 73 DEG W, DIP 50 - 70 DEG E, 65 - 80 DEG N, 70 DEG W, 70 DEG S, AND VERTICALLY. DEPTHS TO TOP AND BOTTOM EXPRESSED IN ELEVATION

Comment (Production): Mine production reported by Crosby (1967).

Comment (Names): A consolidation of the Tamarack and Chesapeak and Custer mines effected in 1912. This record includes the history of the Tamarack and Chesapeak and Custer mines prior to consolidation incuded in this record. Chesapeak is frequently mispelled as Chesapeake.

Comment (Orebody): Custer vein narrow and barren below No. 3 adit level; mined out by 1893.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reported by Day Mines Inc in their Annual Report for the year 1978.

Comment (Orebody): No. 2 Split Vein is a split from the Chesapeak Vein.

Comment (Orebody): Main (South) Vein contained clean galena ore down to 400 level, Zn and Fe rich ore below; vein fans out between No. 3 and No. 4 adit levels.

Comment (Workings): At the end of 1961 the mine had 39,265 meters of level workings to a depth of 1,463 meters.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reported by Day Mines Inc in their Annual Report for the year 1978.

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References

Reference (Geology): Griggs, A.B., 1952, Geology and notes on ore deposits of Canyon-Nine Mile creek area, Shoshone County, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 52-55, 108 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bulla, Edward W., 1951, A mineragraphic study of ore from the Tamarack mine, Burke, Idaho: Moscow, Idaho, University of Idaho, M.S. thesis, 58 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): Umpleby, J.B., and Jones, E.L., Jr., 1923, Geology and ore deposits of Shoshone County, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 732, 156 p.

Reference (Deposit): Shenon, P.J., and others, 1954, Geological study of the Custer Peak area, Beaver, Placer Center, Lelande, Hunter, and Summit mining districts, Shoshone County, Idaho, 138 p.

Reference (Deposit): Hollister, V.F., 1950, File memorandum, Tamarack mine, Placer Center Dist., Shoshone Co., Idaho, 2 p.

Reference (Deposit): Gidel, M.H., 1929, Report on properties adjoining the Sunset GroupL Butte, Mont., Anaconda Copper Mining Co., Geological Dept., 23 p. [Anaconda Archive 21621.09]

Reference (Deposit): Stephens, E.C., 1946, Memorandum on the Day properties (Tamarack, Hercules, Amazon-Manhattan, Dayrock), Coeur d'Alene district, Shoshone County, Idaho: Butte, Montana, Anaconda Copper Mining Co., Geological Dept., 5 p. [Anaconda Archive #22019.01]

Reference (Production): Mitchell, V.E., and Bennett, E.H., 1983, Production statistics for the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Shoshone County, Idaho; 1884-1980: Idaho Geological Survey Technical Report 83-3, 33 p.

Reference (Production): Long, K.R., 1998, Grade and tonnage models for Coeur d'Alene-type polymetallic veins: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-583, 28 p.

Reference (Production): CROSBY, G. M., 1969 , A preliminary examination of trace mercury in rocks, Coeur d'Alene district, Idaho: Colorado School of Mines Quarterly, v. 64, no. 1, p. 169-194.

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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.