New Almaden Mine

The New Almaden Mine is a mercury mine located in Santa Clara county, California at an elevation of 1,001 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: New Almaden Mine
Secondary: New Almaden
Secondary: Cora Blanca
Secondary: Harry
Secondary: Velasco
Secondary: Central Stope
Secondary: Victoria
Secondary: North Randol
Secondary: South Randol
Secondary: San Francisco
Secondary: Santa Mariana
Secondary: San Pedro - Almaden.
Secondary: New Almaden District
Secondary: Santa Clara
Secondary: Chaboya

Commodity

Primary: Mercury

Location

State: California
County: Santa Clara
District: New Almaden District

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Type: Other

Workings

Type: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Santa Clara County
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Santa Clara County, CA
Info Year: 1981

Owner Name: New Almaden Property Holders, Inc.

Production

Year: 1962
Time Period: To 1962
Material type: HG
Description: Cp_Grade: ^2-20 Lb/Ton

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Year First Production: 1845
Discovery Year: 1824
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Pacific Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Pacific Border Province
Physiographic Section: California Coast Ranges

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Nw

Type: L
Description: Local Anticline, Tension Fractures

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silica Carbonate Alteration Of Serpentine

Rocks

Name: Serpentinite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Serpentinite
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Serpentinite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Cinnabar
Ore: Metacinnabar
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Dolomite
Unknown: Pyrite
Unknown: Sphalerite
Unknown: Galena
Unknown: Stibnite
Unknown: Chalcopyrite
Unknown: Bornite

Comments

Comment (Location): LOCATED ON VICTORIA SHAFT NEAR TOP OF MINE HILL

Comment (Geology): ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER CRETACEOUS ROCKS OF SANTA TERESA HILLS

Comment (Deposit): [From deleted record 10189541]: THE NEW ALMADEN MINES INDLUDE FROM EAST TO WEST, THE NEW ALMADEN, AMERICA, PROVIDENCIA, ENRIQUITA, SAN ANTONIO, SAN MATEO, AND SENATOR MINES. THE MINES ARE CONTAINED IN 1,456 HECTARES LYING ALONG LOS CAPITANCILLOS RIDGE. THE PROPERTY WAS SOLD BY NEW IDRIA MINING AND CHEMICAL CO. TO SATA CLARA COUNTY IN 1975. THE AREA IS NOW THE ALMADEN QUICKSILVER PARK. PRODUCTION TO THE END OF 1976 WAS 38.09 MILLION KILO- GRAMS (1,104,922 FLASKS) OF MERCURY FROM 1,722,900 TONNES OF ORE. THE AVERAGE FIVE YEAR ANNUAL GRADE WAS 5.40% AND THE CUMMULATIVE GRADE WAS 2.21%. THIS IS LESS THAN 57 T/D ASSUMING A 250 DAY OPERATING YEAR FOR THE 121 PRODUCING YEARS. THERE ARE NO RESERVES AND IDENTIFIED RESOURCES ARE INSIGNIFICANT. ESTIMATES OF HYPOTHETICAL RESOURCES RANGE FROM 100,000 TO 1,000,000 FLASKS OF MERCURY. WATER AND ELECTRICAL POWER ARE AVAILABLE AT THE SITE, OR WITHIN 5 KILOMETERS (KM). THE PRESENT ACCESS ROAD IS ADEQUATE.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): [From deleted record 10189541, MAS 0060850092]: MATRIX 1 COLUMN 1 EQUALS MATRIX 1 COLUMN 2 PLUS MATRIX 1 COLUMN 3, AND IS CUMMULATIVE. MATRIX 1 COLUMN 2 REPRESENTS IDENTIFIED RESOURCES IN THE SAN FRANCISCO AREA BELOW THE 400-LEVEL, AND IS NON- CUMMULATIVE. MATRIX 1 COLUMN 3 REPRESENTS IDENTIFIED RESOURCES IN THE MINE HILL AREA, AND IS NON-CUMMULATIVE. THE MATERIAL IS STOPE FILL.

Comment (Workings): Seems to be a USBM hypothetical model: length 56,000 m, depth 200 m MAS Development Schedule #: 1 Mining Record # : 1 Status of Mining Method : ESTIMATE Mining Method : OPEN STOPE Swell Factor : .6 Percent Waste Rock : 0 Percent Recovery : 100 Hardness of Rock : HARDROCK FISSURED WITH MODERATE WATER Rock Characteristics : ONE SYSTEM OF WEAKNESS PLANES Rock Support Chars. : SUPPORTING MAY BACK SLAB Mine Support Chars. : TIMBER Number of Shafts : 22 Length of Inclines (m) : 200 Slope of Inclines : 60 Number of Inclines : 2 Avg. Length of Adits (m) : 300 Number of Adits : 99 1st Condition of Workings : OPEN 2nd Condition of Workings : CAVED AT PORTAL 3rd Condition of Workings : FLOODED Capacity : 64Capacity Units : MT ORE/DAY Unit Production Cost : 68.64 Units of Production : $/MT ORE Operating Days per Year : 250 Operating Shifts per Day : 1 Year of Information : 1982

Comment (Orebody): Orebody info copied from deleted record 10189541 (MAS 0060850092) appears to have been a USBM Matrix model: Length 1000m, Width 100 m, depth to top 100 m, thickness 5 M, strike N55W, dip 45E. MAS Matrix # : 1 MAS Column # : 1 Type of Orebody #1 : REPLACEMENT Shape of Orebody #1 : IRREGULAR Type of Orebody #2 : FISSURE VEIN Shape of Orebody #2 : TABULAR Primary mode of Origin : HYDROTHERMAL Primary Ore Control : LITHOLOGY Secondary Ore Control : FRACTURING Degree of Wallrock Alter. : MODERATE Type of Wallrock Alter. #1 : CARBONITIZATION Strike And Dip : N55W:45E Minimum Depth to Top : 0 Avg. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. : 3 Min. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. : 0 Date of Last Modification : 820524 Orebody Name: Total Surface Area (HA) : 259 Date of Last Modification : 910418

Comment (Exploration): 1951 DIREXPL DMEA, FOUND MINOR MINERALIZATION BUT NOT OF ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCe.

Comment (Production): USBM UNPUB DATA

References

Reference (Reserve-Resource): BAILEY, EDGAR H., 1952, SUGGESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION AT NEW ALMADEN QUICKSILVER MINE, CALIFORNIA: CALIF. DIV. OF MINES SPECIAL REPORT 17, 4 P.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): BAILEY, EDGAR H., 1951, NEW ALMADEN QUICKSILVER MINES, IN GUIDEBOOK OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY COUNTIES: CALIF. DIV. OF MINES BULL. 154, P. 263-270.

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY, E. H. AND EVERHART, D. L., 1964, GEOLOGY AND QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS OF THE NEW ALMADEN DISTRICT, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: U.S.G.S. PROF. PAPER. 360, 206 P.

Reference (Deposit): FRANKE, H.A., 1930, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, MINING IN CALIFORNIA: REPT OF THE STATE MINERALOGIST, V. 26, P. 26-33

Reference (Deposit): FORSTNER, W., 1908, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CDMG BULL. 27, 270 P.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): CARGILL, S. M., ROOT, D. H. AND BAILEY, E. H., 1981, ESTIMATING USABLE RESOURCES FROM HISTORICAL INDUSTRY DATA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, VOL. 76, P. 1081-1095.

Reference (Deposit): DAVIS, F.F. AND JENNING, C.W., 1954, MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF.: Caliifornia Journal of Mines & Geology, V. 50, no. 2, P. 342-354.

Reference (Deposit): BRADLEY, W.W., 1918, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CJMG BULL. 78, 389 P.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): CARGILL, S. M., ROOT, D. H. AND BAILEY, E. H., 1980, RESOURCE ESTIMATION FROM HISTORICAL DATA - MERCURY, A TEST CASE: INTERNAT. ASSOC. MATH. GEO. JOURN., V. 12, NO. 5, P. 489-522.

Reference (Deposit): BEDFORD, R.H. AND RICKER, S., 1950, INVESTIGATION OF THE NEW ALMADEN MERCURY MINE, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF.: USBM RI 4697,, 29 p.

Reference (Deposit): RANSOME, A. L., AND KELLOGG, J. L., 1939, QUICKSILVER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA: CALIF. JOUR. OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 35, P. 353-486.

Reference (Deposit): HOLMES, G. W., JR., 1965, MERCURY IN CALIFORNIA: IN USBM IC 8252

Reference (Deposit): BAILEY, E. H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES

Reference (Reserve-Resource): STAFF, 1943, NEW ALMADEN MINE, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES WAR MINERALS REPORT 203, 11 P.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): DRAKE, HAROLD J., 1980, MERCURY; MINERAL FACTS AND PROBLEMS: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES BULL. 671, PP. 563-574.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): DE YOUNG, JOHN H., 1981, THE LASKY CUMMULATIVE TONNAGE-GRADE RELATIONSHIP - A REEXAMINATION: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, VOL. 76, P. 1067-1080.

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.