American Tunnel

The American Tunnel is a copper, silver, and gold mine located in Salt Lake county, Utah at an elevation of 8,881 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: American Tunnel
Secondary: American Mine
Secondary: Silver King Coalition Mines Company
Secondary: Silver King Western

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Lead
Tertiary: Manganese

Location

State: Utah
County: Salt Lake
District: Big Cottonwood District

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.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Silver King Western Manufacturing Co.
Home Office: Salt Lake City, UT

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1875
Year Last Production: 1918
Discovery Year: 1875
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Middle Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Wasatch Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: TABULAR, POD

Structure

Type: R
Description: Uinta-Cottonwood Arch, Sevier Overthrust Belt, Cordilleran Hingeline

Type: L
Description: American Zone Of Northeast Striking Fissures, Diorite Dikes, And Mineralization

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification, Bleaching, And Calc-Silicate Formation Adjacent To Dikes, Oxidation

Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Oligocene

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Permian

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Permian

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: 16.5% CU 7.5 OZ/TON AG, $4.80/TON AU REPORTED FROM 2 FOOT ZONE. ANOTHER ASSAY COLLECTED FROM MINERALIZATION UNDERGROUND CONTAINED 8.8% CU, 2.5 OZ/TON AG, AND 0.015 OZ/TON AU.

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Argentite
Ore: Wad
Ore: Galena
Ore: Gold
Ore: Malachite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1870'S

Comment (Commodity): SOME LEAD-SILVER ORE PRODUCED LATER

Comment (Location): TUNNEL IS MISLOCATED ON 7.5 MINUTE TOPOGRAPHIC MAP ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1983

Comment (Production): TWO LOTS OF PB-AG ORE SHIPPED BETWEEN 1916 AND 1918, NO RECORD OF EARLIER CU-AU PRODUCTION

Comment (Development): THE LONG SPIRO TUNNEL EXTENDED INTO THIS AREA FROM PARK CITY IN THE 1930'S

Comment (Deposit): MINERALIZATION OCCURS AS REPLACEMENT BODIES OF CALCAREOUS BEDS AND ALSO WITHIN NORTHEAST STRIKING FISSURES. MINERALIZATION OF THE REPLACEMENT TYPE RESTRICTED TO TWO LIMESTONE BEDS WITHIN THE PARK CITY FORMATION. MINERALIZATION APPEARS TO BE CLOSELY RELATED TO DIORITE PORPHYRY DIKES.

Comment (Workings): 450 FT OF TUNNEL, AND 500 FT LONG INCLINED WINZE WITH 200 FT OF DEPTH

Comment (Geology): DIKES AND FISSURES STRIKE NORTHEAST, MINERALIZATION RELATED TO DIKES

References

Reference (Deposit): JAMES, L.P., 1979, GEOLOGY, ORE DEPOSITS, AND HISTORY OF THE BIG COTTONWOOD MINING DISTRICT, SALT LAKE COUNTY, UTAH: U.G.M.S. BULL. NO. 114.

Reference (Deposit): CALKINS, F.C., AND BUTLER, B.S., 1943, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE COTTONWOOD-AMERICAN FORK AREA, UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER, NO. 201.

Reference (Deposit): BUTLER, B.S., LOUGHLIN, G.F., HEIKES, V.C., AND OTHERS, 1920, THE ORE DEPOSITS OF UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER, NO. 111.

Reference (Deposit): BAKER, A.A., CALKINS, F.C., CRITTENDEN, M.D., JR., AND BROMFIELD, C.S., 1966, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE BRIGHTON QUADRANGLE, UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOL. QUAD. MAP GQ-534

Reference (Production): JAMES, L.P., 1979

The Top Ten Gold Producing States

These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.