Sultana Project

The Sultana Project is a silver, gold, and copper mine located in Custer county, Idaho at an elevation of 7,546 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: Sultana Project
Secondary: Empire Mine (Dep_id 10089294)

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Molybdenum

Location

State: Idaho
County: Custer
District: Alder Creek District

Land Status

Land ownership: Unknown
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

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Cambiex Exploration
Home Office: Canada
Info Year: 1996
Years: 1996 -

Owner Name: Cambior Inc.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Canada
Info Year: 1996
Years: 1996 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Surface
Mining Method: Unknown
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Columbia Plateau
Physiographic Section: Snake River Plain

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Porphyry Cu
Model Name: Skarn Au

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: L
Structure: joints, faults

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: oxidation

Rocks

Name: Granite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Paleocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Bornite
Ore: Tenorite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Powellite
Gangue: Specularite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrrhotite
Gangue: Pyroxene
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Gypsum
Gangue: Fluorite
Gangue: Epidote
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Wollastonite

Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): CAMBIEX HAS CALCULATED A GEOLOGICAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE OF 15 MILLION TONNES AT 0.42% CU AND AN ADDITIONAL 8 MILLION TONNES AT 0.45% CU AND 0.5G AU/T. THE ESTIMATE IS BASED ON RESULTS OBTAINED FROM EXPLORATION. ABOUT 90% OF THE AU RESOURCE AND 70% OF THE CU RESOURCE STATED ABOVE ARE POTENTIALLY MINEABLE BY OPEN PIT METHOD WITH A STRIP RATIO OF LESS THAN 1:1 (4-97).

Comment (Ownership): OWNER ALSO KNOWN AS EXPLORATION CAMBIEX.

Comment (Production): SOME PRODUCTION FOR PIT IN 1968.

Comment (Location): MILS LAT/LONG FOR TOWN OF MACKAY, IDAHO. PROJECT AREA POSSIBLY LOCATED 3.5 MILES SW OF TOWN, UP RIO GRANDE CANYON TOWARDS THE EMPIRE MINE. SITE ALSO ON USGS MACKAY 15 MIN TOPO SHEET, 1960.

Comment (Location): The Sultana property covers an area of 600 hectares comprising by 100 mining claims, 24 of which are patented. The property lies about six km west of the town of Mackay, itself located 100 km northwest of Idaho Falls.

Comment (General): Copied from thefreelibrary website: A highly oxidized, vertically-dipping skarn zone mineralized with copper and gold occurs within the patented claim block. In the southern part of this zone, previous small-scale mining and drilling (77 vertical holes) have outlined a resource of 16 million tonnes averaging 0.48 percent leachable copper. Gold grades in the 0.5 to 1.0 g Au/t range are indicated from nine assayed drill holes. This represents potential reserves equivalent to 150 million pounds of copper and between 250,000 and 500,000 ounces of gold. This mineral resource lies within only a portion of the skarn zone, which has an average width of 300 meters and has been traced in the past by surface stripping, drilling and underground workings over a distance of 2.0 km. The resource has been identified from surface to a maximum depth of 200 meters and is open in all directions. The deposit could be mined by open pit at a low stripping ratio and the ore could be leached on site. The property lies at the site of the former Empire mine, where 700,000 tonnes grading 3.6 percent Cu, 1.6 g Au/t and 54 g Ag/t were selectively mined over a distance of 1.8 km from 1912 to 1928. The potential to increase the mineral resource to more than 90 million tonnes is excellent. Surface exploration work, to begin in the second quarter of 1996, will consist of drilling along sections. This work is intended to establish grade and tonnage figures for the deposit. Cambiex has undertaken to finance this work through staged investments of up to US $5 million over a maximum period of 2.5 years in order to acquire up to 50 percent in the property, which will be managed by Cambior out of its Reno office. Should Cambiex decide not to participate further after it has invested US $5 million in the property, its interest will revert to a 30 percent net proceeds royalty.

References

Reference (Deposit): THE MINING RECORD, VOL., 107, #47, NOV., 20, 1996, P. 1.

Reference (Deposit): THE MINING RECORD, VOL., 107, #43, OCT., 23, 1996, P. 5.

Reference (Deposit): INFO-MINE-DAILY PROSPECTOR, APRIL 26-28/97.

Reference (Deposit): THE MINING RECORD, VOL., 107, #36, SEPT., 4, 1996, P. 16.

Reference (Deposit): Cambiex Acquires an Option on a 50 Percent Interest in the Sultana Copper-Gold Property. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Cambiex+Acquires+an+Option+on+a+50+Percent+Interest+in+the+Sultana...-a018087336, accessed 07/23/2009.
URL: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Cambiex+Acquires+an+Option+on+a+50+Percent+Interest+in+the+Sultana...-a018087336

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.