Balmount Shaft

The Balmount Shaft is a lead, silver, and zinc mine located in Summit county, Utah at an elevation of 9,150 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: Balmount Shaft
Secondary: Silver Hill Shaft
Secondary: Silver King Coalition Group
Secondary: United Park City Mines

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Silver
Primary: Zinc
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Copper

Location

State: Utah
County: Summit
District: Park City 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

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: United Park City Mines Co.

Production

Year: 1952
Time Period: 1907-1952
Description: Cp_Grade: ^.019 Oz/Ton Au, 7.50 Oz/Ton Ag, 11.33% Pb, 6.01% Zn, .19% Cu

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1907
Year Last Production: 1952
Discovery Year: 1925
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, TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Uinta-Cottonwood Arch, Sevier Overthrust Belt, Iron Hollow Syncline

Type: L
Description: Northeast Striking Crescent Fault Zone

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation, Silicification

Rocks

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

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

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

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AVERAGE GRADE WAS .019 OZ/TON AU, 7.5 OZ/TON AG, 11.33% PB, 6.01% ZN, AND .19% CU

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite
Unknown: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): ORE OCCURS BOTH AS VEIN AND REPLACEMENT DEPOSITS. REPLACEMENT DEPOSITS ARE MORE VOLUMINOUS THAN VEIN ORE. REPLACEMENT TOOK PLACE ALONG 12 DIFFERENT HORIZONS OF THE THAYNES FORMATION, THE MOST ZONES PRESENT IN THE ENTIRE DISTRICT. REPLACED ZONES WERE PURE LIMESTONE SANDWICHED BETWEEN SANDSTONE OR IMPURE LIMESTONE LAYERS. REPLACEMENT OCCURED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE CRESCENT FAULT ZONE. THIS MINE PRODUCED THREE QUARTERS OF ALL THE ORE MINED FROM THE CRESCENT FAULT ZONE. POSSIBLE PRODUCTION FROM THE UNDERLYING PARK CITY FORMATION ALSO.

Comment (Workings): SHAFT WAS 100 FT DEEP IN 1903 AND ABANDONED. BY 1907, HOWEVER, THE MINE WAS PRODUCING AND PRODUCED OVER 800,000 TONS BY 1952. THUS, UNDERGROUND WORKING MUST BE EXTENSIVE, PROBABLY TOTALLING WELL OVER 10,000 FT

Comment (Geology): WORKINGS MAY HAVE PENETRATED INTO THE PARK CITY FORMATION. CRESCENT DIKE IS PARALLEL TO AND LIES ALONG THE HANGING WALL OF THE CRESCENT FAULT ZONE.

Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :1983

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION FIGURES ORIGINALLY OBTAINED FROM THE SILVER KING COALITION MINES CO.

Comment (Development): IN 1903 WORKINGS CONSISTED OF A SHAFT 100 FT DEEP AND NO ORE HAD BEEN DISCOVERED. FIRST YEAR OF PRODUCTION WAS 1907 AND PRODUCTION WAS INTERMITTENT UNTIL 1952. PROPERTY IS CURRENTLY CONTROLLED BY UNITED PARK CITY MINES. PROPERTY WAS APPARENTLY RENAMED THE SILVER HILL SHAFT AFTER 1903 AND BEFORE 1907.

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: EARLY 1900'S

References

Reference (Deposit): BOUTWELL, J.M., 1912, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE PARK CITY DISTRICT, UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER, NO. 77, 231 PP.

Reference (Deposit): ERIKSON, A.J., (EDITOR), 1968, PARK CITY DISTRICT, UTAH: GUIDEBOOK TO THE GEOLOGY OF UTAH, NO. 22, UTAH GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

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, 672 PP.

Reference (Deposit): BARNES, M.P., AND SIMOS, J.S., 1968, ORE DEPOSITS OF THE PARK CITY DISTRICT WITH A CONTRIBUTION ON THE MAYFLOWER LODE, IN ORE DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES: AM. INST. METALL. ENG., V. II, P. 1102

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): BARNES AND SIMOS, 1968

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.