Gambonini

The Gambonini is a mercury mine located in Marin county, California at an elevation of 722 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

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.

Site Name

Primary: Gambonini
Secondary: Buena Suerte
Secondary: Turner and Mcfarland

Commodity

Primary: Mercury

Location

State: California
County: Marin

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: Fee Ownership

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Gambonini, Alvin
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: California
Info Year: 1981

Production

Year: 1969
Description: Mercury In 76 Pounds Per Flask 541
Year: 1968
Description: Mercury In 76 Pounds Per Flask 2608
Year: 1967
Description: Mercury In 76 Pounds Per Flask 142
Year: 1966
Description: Mercury In 76 Pounds Per Flask 84
Year: 1965
Description: Mercury In 76 Pounds Per Flask 163
Year: 1958
Description: Mercury In 76 Pounds Per Flask 80 Flasks Of Mercury

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Mining Method: Unknown
Year First Production: 1958
Discovery Year: 1945
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Pacific Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Pacific Border Province
Physiographic Section: California Coast Ranges

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Not available

Comments

Comment (Deposit): THE GAMBONINI PROPERTY WAS RESEARCHED,VISITED, AND IN THE COURSE OF EVALUATION FOUND TO HAVE NO DEFINABLE RESOURCES, AND COULD THEREFORE NOT BE COSTED. ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES BY THE U.S.BUREAU OF MINES TO DEFINE A RESOURCE SEVERAL ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE LESS THAN WHAT HAS BEEN MINED TO DATE,BUT AT A LOWER GRADE WOULD PRODUCE AN INSIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO OUR DOMESTIC MERCURY RESOURCES AND ARE SIMPLY NOT JUSTIFIED.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): NO DEFINED RESOURCES OR RESERVES EXIST. A CONSIDERABLE EFFORT WAS MADE TO LOCATE RESOURCE INFORMATION BUT ONLY ONE PERSON WAS FOUND WHO HAD KNOWLEDGE OF THE RESOURCE POTENTIAL. THE LOW GRADE DEPOSIT WAS ESSENTIALLY MINED OUT IN 1969 AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT MERCURY PRICES FELL DRAMATICALLY. THE MINE HAS NOT OPERATED SINCE. BEFORE OPERATIONS CEASED, A SERIES OF RELATIVELY DEEP +60 METER ROTARY HOLES WERE DRILLED IN THE BOTTOM OF THE EXISTING PIT AND TO THE SOUTH TO CHECK FOR POSSIBLE ORE EXTENSIONS. ONLY SMALL SCATTERED BLEBS WERE REPORTEDLY FOUND.

References

Reference (Deposit): CAMPBELL, I., 1963, GEOLOGIC MAP OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA ROSA

Reference (Deposit): SHEET, 1:250,000: CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF MINES AND

Reference (Deposit): GEOLOGY.

Reference (Deposit): STATES, PP. 124-125.

Reference (Deposit): WEST, J.M., 1969, MEMORANDUM U.S. BUREAU OF MINES SAN

Reference (Deposit): FRANCISCO OFFICE OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Reference (Deposit): BOUDREAU, G., 1970, QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF THE PETALUMA

Reference (Deposit): DISTRICT: PRIVATE COMPANY REPORT.

Reference (Deposit): -----1981, PERSONAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION.

Reference (Deposit): BECKER, G.F., 1888, GEOLOGY OF THE QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF

Reference (Deposit): THE PACIFIC SLOPE: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MONOGRAPH 13,

Reference (Deposit): P. 379.

Reference (Deposit): GAMBONINI, A., 1981, OWNER OF GAMBONINI'S MERCURY DEPOSIT,

Reference (Deposit): PERSONAL COMMUNICATION.

Reference (Deposit): KARDAS, A., 1981, FORMER EMPLOYEE OF BUTTE OIL AND GAS

Reference (Deposit): COMPANY, PERSONAL COMMUNICATION.

Reference (Deposit): MINERAL AND SCIENCE PRESS, 1875, FEBRUARY, P. 130.

Reference (Deposit): U.S. BUREAU OF MINES, 1965, MERCURY POTENTIAL OF THE UNITED

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.