Buffalo Mine

The Buffalo Mine is a lead and silver mine located in Tooele county, Utah at an elevation of 7,949 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: Buffalo Mine
Secondary: Tintic Ophir Mines Co.

Commodity

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

Location

State: Utah
County: Tooele
District: Ophir District; Lion Hill Area

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: George St. Clair

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1916
Year Last Production: 1936
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR

Form: IRREGULAR

Form: IRREGULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Basin And Range

Type: L
Description: Fissures, Fractures And Folds

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Dolomitization And Silicification

Rocks

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

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

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Mississippian

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: 40-50 % PB; ABOUT 1 OZ. OF SILVER TO 1 %, PB.

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Limonite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Cerargyrite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Fluorite
Gangue: Sericite
Gangue: Gypsum
Gangue: Dolomite
Gangue: Talc
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): THE MINE IS SITUATED IN THE LOWER PART OF THE 'GREAT BLUE' LIMESTONE, BELOW THE LONG TRAIL SHALE MEMBER. TWO SILLS OF 'BIRDSEYE' PORPHYRY ARE CUT BY THE LOWER ADIT, BUT THE ORE SEEMS TO BEAR NO RELATION WITH THEM. THE MINE IS DEVELOPED BY TWO ADITS ABOUT 280 FEET VERTICALLY APART, CONNECTED BY MEANS OF AN INCLINED RAISE AND DRIFTS. IN THE UPPER WORKINGS THE ORE SHOOTS CONNECTED WITH THOSE OF THE CHLORIDE POINT MINE, AND LARGE STOPES ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH JASPEROID WALLROCK. THE PRINCIPAL FISSURES IN THE LOWER WORKINGS OF THE MINE ARE THOSE FOLLOWED BY THE MCCLELLAN AND ST. CLAIR INCLINES. THE MCCLLELLAN INCLINE TRENDS N70E, THE ST. CLAIR S65E. THE CLARK INCLINE, JUST WEST OF THE MCCLELLAN, EXTENDS UP FROM THE LOWER OR BUFFALO TUNNEL LEVEL AS A CONTINUATION OF THE DRIFT FROM THE ST. CLAIR INCLINE AND CONNECTS, ON A LEVEL 200 FT HIGHER, WITH THE EAST SIDE TUNNEL. THE MINERALIZATION IS CONTROLLED BY FISSURES. SHOOT ON THE ST. CLAIR FISSURE WAS 2 FT. WIDE AND 12 FT. HIGH OF SOLID GALENA,

Comment (Deposit): BUT PINCHED OUT WHEN FOLLOWED. ON THE UPPER LEVELS THE ORE WAS ALL OXIDIZED, BUT IN THE LOWER PART OF THE MINE IT IS CHIEFLY SULFIDE ORE, ALTHOUGH SOME OXIDIZED MATERIAL IS ALSO FOUND EVER ON THE LOWEST LEVEL. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION DURING 1916-1923: 1925-30; 1934; 1936; PRIOR TO 1932 OUTPUT ESTIMATED AT $150,000; $3.50 A TON IN GOLD; PRODUCTION FIGURES ARE NOT AVAILABLE

Comment (Deposit): ORE ZONES ARE LOCALIZED ALONG FISSURES AND FRACTURES IN DEFORMED AND ALTERED WALLROCKS; ORE ZONES EXTEND 6 TO 8 FT. INTO THE BEDDING FROM THE FISSURES.

Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1977)

Comment (Workings): TWO ADITS; MANY INCLINES AND RAISES; A TOTAL OF ABOUT 6000 FT. OF WORKINGS; INCLUDES THE MCCLELLAN INCLINE, ST. CLAIR INCLINE, CLARK INCLINE, BUFFALO TUNNEL, EAST SIDE TUNNEL; WORKINGS ARE GENERALLY CAVED AND INACCESSIBLE; UPPER WORKINGS CONNECT WITH THE CHLORIDE POINT MINE

Comment (Geology): LIMESTONES ARE DARK GRAY, BRECCIATED, DOLOMITIZED AND SILICIFIED. SHALES ARE GREENISH GRAY, PULVERIZED, SERICITIC, PILICEOUS, CARBONACEOUS, AND KAOLINITIC. EFFECTS OF LIMONITIZATION ARE FOUND ON HOSTROCKS. VEINS OF JASPEROID, QUARTZ AND SILICA HAVE IMPREGNATED THE WALLROCKS. ORE MINERALS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SILICIFIED ZONES

References

Reference (Production): GILLULY, J., 1932, P. 139-140

Reference (Deposit): BISSELL, H.J., ET. AL., 1959, GUIDEBOOK TO THE GEOLOGY OF UTAH, NO. 14, UT. GEOL. SOC.: U.G.M.S. BULL. 14, 262P.

Reference (Deposit): GILLULY, J., 1932, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE STOCKTON AND FAIRFIELD QUADRANGLES: U.S.G.S. PROF. PA. 173, 167P.

Reference (Deposit): BUTLER, B.S., ET. AL., 1920, THE ORE DEPOSITS OF UTAH: U.S.G.S. PROF. PA. 111, 672P.

Reference (Deposit): SPURR, J.E., 1895, ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF THE MERCUR MINING DISTRICT, UTAH: U.S.G.S. 16TH. ANN. REPT., PT. 2, 454P.

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.