Palo Alto Sewage Sludge

The Palo Alto Sewage Sludge is a gold, silver, and phosphorus-phosphates mine located in Santa Clara county, California at an elevation of 7 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: Palo Alto Sewage Sludge

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Primary: Phosphorus-Phosphates
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Tin
Secondary: Palladium

Location

State: California
County: Santa Clara

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

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
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

Form: ASH

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AL=5.1% IN ASH MFROM SEWAGE TREATMENT (SEMI-QUANTITATIVE SPECTROGRAPHY)
Analytical Data: PD=4 PPM
Analytical Data: P=6.6%
Analytical Data: SN=1,000 PPM
Analytical Data: CU=8,000 PPM
Analytical Data: AG=660 PPM
Analytical Data: AU=30 PPM

Materials

Ore: Ash

Comments

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT COMPOSED OF INCINERATED SEWAGE SLUDGE.; UNPUBLISHED MODEL NAME: SEWAGE SLUDGE.

Comment (Commodity): PRINCIPAL SOURCE OF METALS ARE LOCAL ELECTRONICS AND PHOTOGRAPHIC INDUSTRIES. FOR COMPLETE LIST OF COMMODITIES PRESENT, SEE GULBRANDSEN AND OTHERS, 1978

Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED. WITHIN THE PALO ALTO CITY DUMP. LOCATION GIVEN IS SEWAGE TREATMENT SITE

Comment (Reserve-Resource): ASH PRODUCTION IS VALUED AT $.5 MILLION ANNUALLY; HOWEVER, NO RESOURCES ARE BEING RECOVERED PRESENTLY.

Comment (Development): NO RESOURCES ARE BEING RECOVERED PRESENTLY ; ECON.COM: AS MUCH AS 9,000 TONNES OF ASH AT THE DUMP COMPRISES A GOLD AND SILVER DEPOSIT VALUED AT $2.5 MILLION (BASED ON AU AT $175/TOZ AND AG AT $5/TOZ).

Comment (Geology): BECAUSE SEWAGE SLUDGE IS MAN MADE, GEOLOGIC INFORMATION ABOUT AREA IS IRRELEVANT

Comment (Deposit): THE PALO ALTO ASH IS ESPECIALLY RICH IN RESOURCES, PARTICULARLY AU, AG, P, SN, AND CU. SOME RESEARCH INTO RECOVERY PROCESSES HAS BEEN DONE AND ADDITIONAL WORK IS UNDERWAY. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

References

Reference (Deposit): GULBRANDSEN, R., RAIT, NORMA, KRIER, D.J., BAEDECKER, P.A., AND CHILDRESS, ANNE, 1978, GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER RESOURCES IN INCINERATED SEWAGE SLUDGE AT PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA - A PRELIMINARY REPORT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 784, 7 P

Reference (Deposit): 1977 GEOCHEM GABLER AND NEYLAN; SEE REFERENCE

Reference (Deposit): 1977 GEOCHEM R. GULBRANDSEN AND OTHERS; SEE PG. 3

Reference (Deposit): GABLER, R., AND NEYLAN, D., 1977, INCINERATED SEWAGE SLUDGE AS RESOURCE FOR MINERALS. NATIONAL CONFERENCE SLUDGE MANAGEMENT, 3RD, MIAMI BEACH, 1976; PROCEEDINGS: ROCKVILLE, MD., INFO. TRANSFER, P. 197-200.

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.