Forbestown Consolidated Gold Mines

The Forbestown Consolidated Gold Mines is a gold mine located in Butte county, California at an elevation of 1,801 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

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Site Name

Primary: Forbestown Consolidated Gold Mines
Secondary: Gold Bank Consolidated Quartz

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper

Location

State: California
County: Butte

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Pacific Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Cascade-Sierra Mountains
Physiographic Section: Sierra Nevada

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: LENSES

Structure

Type: L
Description: A Large Stock Of Granite Lies One 1 Mile North, And Gabbrodiorite 1 Mi. South

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: FREE GOLD SAID TO BE $1.50/TON, SULFIDES FORMED 2-7% OF ORE CARRIED BALANCE. IN 1890, CON. WAS 7% OF ORE, AND CARRIED $85 IN GOLD, 9.5 OZ. AG/TON. IN 1894, IT WAS 2-3% OF ORE, YIELDING $40/TON IN AG, $20/TON IN GOLD. ELSEWHERE, IT WAS SAID TO BE $150/TON.

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Workings): GOLD BANK MINE WORKED PREVIOUS TO 1887. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY 1888-1904. EARLIER OPERATIONS THROUGH ADITS AND INCLINE. ADIT AT ELE. OF 1800 FT. RUNS SW, CUTTING FISSURE 1275 FT. FROM PORTAL. AT THIS PT., RAISE TO BOTTOM OF SHAFT, INCLINED DEPTH BEING 1600 FT. ON DIP AT ADIT. ADIT CONTINUED FOR 2500 FT. 9 LEVELS RUN BETWEEN SHAFT COLLAR AND DRAIN ADIT. 5 EARLIER ADITS RUN ON E. SLOPE HILL. VEIN STOPED FOR INCLINED DEPTH OF 1850 FT. ON DIP. THIRD AND SEVENTH LEVELS 1100 FT. LONG. TOTAL OF 2300 FT. EXPLORED ON STRIKE OF VEIN. LARGEST STOPE ON GOLD BANK (E. SIDE OF SHAFT) 450 FT. ON STRIKE BY 600 FT. ON DIP. STOPED WIDTH WHERE SEEN, BETWEEN LEVELS 8 AND 9 VARIED FROM 3-11 FT. GOLDEN QUEEN CLAIMS WORKED FROM 300 FT. LEVEL TO SURFACE. STOPING ON HANGING WALL SIDE. WAS THOUGHT THAT LARGE BLOCKS OF ORE COULD HAVE BEEN FOUND ON FOOTWALL SIDE.

Comment (Geology): ROCK FORMING HANGING WALL OF GOLD BANK VEIN IS HARD, DENSE, FINE-GRAINED, DARK GREEN DIORITE, AND BLOCKY RATHER THAN SCHISTOSE. FOOTWALL IS SYENITIC.

Comment (Deposit): INCLUDED 4 CLAIMS OF GOLD BANK MINE AND MILLSITE (NW 1/4 11 AND SW 1/4 2), GOLDEN QUEEN, 2 CLAIMS ADJOINING GOLD BANK ON WEST, GOLDEN KING (SEC. 1 AND N 1/2 OF NW 1/4 12), OROVILLE NO. 1 AND NO. 2 PLACERS, SHAKESPEARE MINE, MOSTLY IN YUBA COUNTY, E 1/2 10 AND MILLER MINE IN SEC. 15 (YUBA COUNTY). 1035 ACRES TOTAL. PATENTED CLAIMS WITH OTHER UNPATENTED CLAIMS. VARIOUS OLD STATISTICS ON DEPOSIT, WORKINGS AND COSTS IN MINER (1890) ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Production): TOTAL OUTPUT OF GOLD BANK PLACED AT $2,000,000 OF WHICH $500,000 WAS PROFIT. FIGURES FOR GOLD BANK (FIRST TWO) AND GOLDEN QUEEN. PERCENTAGE OF RECOVERY SAID TO BE LOW IN EARLY OPERATIONS, BUT LATER CLAIMED TO BE 92%-95% AU, AND UP TO 83% AG. OUTPUT OF 40 STAMPS IN 1896 WAS 4300 TONS A MONTH. NO OTHER PRODUCTION RECORDS FOUND.

Comment (Deposit): VEIN. ORE FORMS OVERLAPPING LENSES ON BOTH WALLS IN PLACES; UP TO 40 FT. THICK. ORE ON GOLDEN QUEEN CLAIMS FORMED SUBORDINATE RIBBON STRUCTURE, MOST WAS SOLID, WHITE QUARTZ

References

Reference (Deposit): LOGAN, C.A., 1930, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF BUTTE COUNTY, CALIF: CALIF. JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 26, NO. 4, P. 373-375

Reference (Deposit): WARING, C.A., 1915, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF BUTTE COUNTY: CALIF. JOUR. MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 15, P. 216-217

Reference (Deposit): MINER, J.A., 1890, BUTTE COUNTY; CALIF. JOUR. MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 10, P. 126-127

Reference (Production): LOGAN (1930)

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.