Trail Creek Proposed Mine

The Trail Creek Proposed Mine is a phosphorus-phosphates mine located in Caribou county, Idaho at an elevation of 6,801 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

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Site Name

Primary: Trail Creek Proposed Mine
Secondary: Trail Creek Lease
Secondary: Aspen Range Property
Secondary: Johnson Creek
Secondary: Johnson Creek, Area B, 33-35
Secondary: Johnson Creek, Area D, 36-51
Secondary: Slug Creek Syncline

Commodity

Primary: Phosphorus-Phosphates
Tertiary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Tertiary: REE
Tertiary: Uranium
Tertiary: Vanadium

Location

State: Idaho
County: Caribou
District: Slug Creek

Land Status

Land ownership: State
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

Type: Patented
Type: State Lease
Type: Federal Lease

Workings

Type: Surface

Ownership

Owner Name: U.S. Forest Service
Info Year: 1978

Owner Name: Monsanto Co.
Home Office: Missouri
Info Year: 1980

Owner Name: State Of Idaho
Home Office: Idaho
Info Year: 1978

Owner Name: U.S. Bureau Of Land Management
Info Year: 1978

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Surface
Mining Method: Open Pit
Milling Method: Washing
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Great Basin

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Phosphate, upwelling type

Orebody

Form: TABULAR, SEDIMENTARY

Form: TABULAR, SEDIMENTARY

Form: TABULAR

Structure

Type: L
Structure: Small Folds And Faults

Type: R
Structure: Johnson Fault

Type: R
Structure: Aspen Range Anticline

Type: R
Structure: Aspen Range Anticline

Type: R
Structure: Slug Creek Syncline

Type: R
Structure: Schmid Syncline

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Permian

Name: Chert
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Permian

Name: Shale
Role: Host
Description: Phosphatic Shale
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Permian

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: 119 SAMPLES OF STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCE GAVE 36.9 % P2O5 MAX ( SECTION 23)

Materials

Unknown: Calcite
Unknown: Quartz
Unknown: Pyrite
Unknown: Orthoclase
Unknown: Montmorillonite
Unknown: Limonite
Unknown: Kaolinite
Unknown: Dolomite
Unknown: Collophane
Unknown: Chalcedony
Unknown: Sericite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Average Width Of Mineralization (G-Awm) For Matrix 1 Col 1 & Matrix 2 Col 1 Is That Measured Downdip 25 Degrees Average Thickness Of Mineralized Zone (G-Awm) Is A Cumula- Tive Figure Representing Minable Phosphate Strata And Does Not Include Intervening Strata Of Waste. In Matrix 3, Columns 1,2,&3 G-Awm Was Left Blank. Awm Is Variable In These Columns As One Goes From P-50 To P-10 Percent Quantity Levels. P-50 Represents The Situation Of The Mineralized Strata Continuing To A Depth Of 250 At The Same Constant Angle As It Dips At The Surface. P-25 De- Picts The Resource Possibility In The Situation Where The Strata Changes Inclination To Horizontal At Depth To Lease Boundary. P-10 Percent Shows What Resource May Be Present If The Strata Increased Its Dip To An Average Of 45 Degree At Depth To The Lease Boundary. Basic Thicknesses Of Phosphate Zones From Established Nearby U.S. Geologic Survey Measured Stratigraphic Section And Not From Company Sources. P205 Enrichment Near Surface Due To Leaching Results In Highest Grades This Enrichment Regionally Averages 250 M.

Comment (Workings): The 4 Pits Will Range From 2600-10000 Ft Long, 500-900 Ft Wide And 200-300 Ft Deep(Eis). 1335 Acres Will Be Disturbed 405 For Pits. 730 For Dumps, 100 For Roads, 100 For Safety And Water Control Meausres

Comment (Production): Total Annual Calcine Phosphate Product Equals 648,550 Tonnes

Comment (Ownership): Deposit Consists Of Fed Leased I-013719, I-013720, I-014081, State Lease And Patented Land Owner: Monsanto Chemical Intermediates Co. In Addition To Above

Comment (Location): Deposit Also In Secs 3,4,9,15,14,22,23,26

Comment (Geology): Meade Peak Is 147 Ft Thick, Upper And Lower Are Zones Total 37 Ft Thick. Complex Structures And Many Smatll Fault Blocks Porphyritic Andesite Destroying Part Of The Ore Body.

Comment (Deposit): Leaching Of Calcium Results In Greater P2o5 Percentage. This Evaluated Area Also Involes Trail Creek District. Average Length Of Mineralized Zone Is Actually Outcrop Lengt Areas, B,D, Etc. Refer To Phosphate Study By Garrand Corp. Most Of These Deposits Are Leased. The Rest Is Not Leased.

References

Reference (Deposit): Mansfield, G. R., 1927 , Geography, Geology, And Mineral Resources Of Part Of Southeastern Idaho: USGS Prof. Paper 152 , 453 P.

Reference (Deposit): Long, A.E., 1949, U.S. Bureau Of Mines Rept. Of Inv. 4597.

Reference (Deposit): Mc Kelvey, V.E. And Others, 1953, U.S.G.S. Circular 301.

Reference (Geology): Gulbrandsen, R. A., Mc Laughlin, K. P., Hunkala, F. S., And Clabaugh, S. E., 1956, Geology Of The Johnson Creek Quadrangle, Caribou County Idaho: U. S. Geologic Survey Bulletin 1042-A, 23 P.

Reference (Geology): Mc Kelvey, V. E., Davidson, D. F., O'Malley, F. W., Smith, L. E., Armstrong, F. C., And Sheldon, R. P., 1952, Stratigraphic Sections Of The Phosphoria Formation In Idaho, 1947-48, Pt. 1: U.S. Geological Survey Trace Elements Investigations Report 183, P. 18-28.

Reference (Geology): Mc Kelvey, V. E., Davidson, D. F., O'Malley, F. W., And Smith, L. E., 1953, Stratigraphic Sections Of The Phosphoria Formation In Idaho 1947-48, Pt. 1: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 208, P. 14-24.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Garrand, L. J., 1975, Phosphate Study Southeastern Idaho, For U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Caribou National Forest, U.S. Department Of Agriculture Contract No. 50-820: Garrand Corp.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): U.S Geological Survey, Bureau Of Land Management, And Forest Service, 1978, Final Environmental Impact Statement/ Development Of Phosphate Resources In Southeastern Idaho, Four Volumes.

Reference (Deposit): Day, R. L., 1973, Trends In The Phosphate Industry Of Idaho And The Western Phosphate Field: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology, Pamphlet 155, 63 P.

Reference (Geology): O'Malley, F. W., Davidson, D. F., Hoppin, R. A., Sheldon, R. P., 1953, Stratigraphic Sections Of The Phosphoria Formation In Idaho, 1947-48, Pt. Iii: U. S. Geological Survey Trace Elements Investigations Report 188, P. 20-22.

Reference (Deposit): Li, Ta M., 1978, Southeastern Idaho Phosphate Mining: How An Environmental Impact Statement Distorts Growth Plans: Mining Engineering, V. 30, No. 1, P. 25-28.

Reference (Deposit): Mc Divitt, J. F., 1956, Economic Evaluation Of Phosphate And Other Minerals In Southern Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology, Pamphlet No. 111, 48 P.

Reference (Deposit): Powell, J. D., 1974, Evaluation Of Phosphate Resources In Southeastern Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology, Information Circular No. 25, 33 P.

Reference (Deposit): Rule, A. R., D. E. Kirby, And D. C. Dahlin, 1978, Recent Advances In Beneficiation Of Western Phosphates: Mining Engineering, V. 30, No. 1, P. 37-40.

Reference (Deposit): Service, A. L., 1966, An Evaluation Of The Western Phosphate Industry And Its Resources (In Five Parts), 3. Idaho: U.S. Bureau Of Mines, Report Of Investigations 6801, 201 P.

Reference (Deposit): Service, A. L., And Petersen, N. S., 1967, An Evaluation Of The Western Phosphate Industry And Its Resources (In Five Parts) Trends And Outlook: U.S. Bureau Of Mines, Report Of Investigations 6935, 131 P.

Reference (Deposit): Service, A. L. And Popoff, C. C., 1964, An Evaluation Of The Western Phosphate Industry And Its Resources (In Five Parts), 1. Introduction Review: U.S. Bureau Of Mines, Report Of Investigations 6485, 86 P.

Reference (Deposit): Thompson, M. E., 1953, Distribution Of Uranium In Rich Phosphate Beds Of The Phosphoria Formation: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 988-D, P. 45-65

Reference (Geology): Emigh, G. D., 1958, Petrography, Mineralogy And Origin Of Phosphate Pellets In The Phosphoria Formation: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology, Pamphlet No. 114, 60 P.

Reference (Deposit): Thompson, M.E ., 1954, Further Studies Of The Distribution Of Uranium In Rich Phosphate Beds Of The Phosphoria Formation: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1009-D, P. 107-122

Reference (Geology): Martin, G. W., 1958, Mineralogy Of Phosphate Oolites: Economic Geology, V. 53, No. 8, December, P. 1046-1048.

Reference (Deposit): Carter, Russell A., 1978, An Integrated Industry - Phosphate Mining And Milling In Idaho: Mining Engineering, V. 30, No. 1, P. 29-36.

Reference (Deposit): Garrand, Leonard, 1975, Phosphate Study Southeastern Idaho

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"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.