Crystal Butte Mine

The Crystal Butte Mine is a gold and silver mine located in Okanogan county, Washington at an elevation of 4,800 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: Crystal Butte Mine
Secondary: Crystal Butte Camp
Secondary: Mother Lode

Commodity

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

Location

State: Washington
County: Okanogan
District: Myers Creek District; Buckhorn Mtn Area

Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
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: R. I. Hirst
Home Office: Colville, Wa.
Years: 1937 - 1941

Production

Year: 1941
Time Period: 1937 To 1941
Material type: ORE AU AG
Description: Cp_Grade: ^About $40 Au And Ag/Ton, And 28 % Pb/Ton.

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1937
Year Last Production: 1941
Discovery Year: 1899
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Structure

Type: L
Description: Faulting Normal To The Vein, At The Main Adit, Has Produced Minor Offsets.

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Argillite
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Argillite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Permian

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

Name: Argillite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Permian

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: $40/TON AU, AG 1937

Materials

Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Workings): THE MAIN ADIT, 700 FT NW OF THE CAMPSITE, WAS DRIVEN N45W FOR 65 FT, WHERE IT INTERSECTED THE VEIN. AT THIS POINT THE VEIN HAS BEEN DRIFTED UPON FOR ABOUT 230 FT IN A GENERALLY NE DIRECTION. THE VEIN IN THE FIRST 150 FT OF THE DRIFT HAS BEN STOPED ABOVE THE DRIFT LEVEL; FROM 150 TO 230 FT IN THE DRIFT THE VEIN HAS BEEN STOPED ABOVE AND BELOW THE DRIFT LEVEL. AT 222 FT FROM THE PORTAL, AN INCLINE WINZE WAS SUNK AT 16 DEGREES ON THE DIP OF THE VEIN FOR 80 FT, AT WHICH POINT AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WAS ESTABLISHED. FROM THIS LEVEL THE SHAFT EXTENDS 90 FT TO THE LOWEST LEVEL. THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL CONTAINS 210 FT OF DRIFTS ON THE VEIN; IN THE LOWEST LEVEL THE VEIN HAS BEEN DRIFTED UPON FOR ONLY 20 FT; THESE DRIFTS MEANDER, WHICH SUGGESTS VARYING STRIKE. EAST OF THE MAIN ADIT PORTAL THE OUTCROP OF THE VEIN APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN MINED FROM SEVERAL SHALLOW SURFACE PITS. SEVERAL OTHER ADITS WERE DRIVEN INTO THE HILLSIDE AT LOWER ELEVATIONS THAN THE MAIN ADIT IN ATTEMPTS TO INTERSECT THE VEIN

Comment (Deposit): ORE MINERALS OCCUR SPARSELY DISSEMINATED IN QUARTZ VEINS AND AS THIN DISCONTINUOUS BANDS THAT ROUGHLY PARALLEL THE WALLS OF THE VEINS, AT THE MAIN WORKINGS.ABOUT 800 FT NORTH OF THE MAIN ADIT ANOTHER MINERALIZED QUARTZ VEIN IS EXPOSED. THIS VEIN IS SEVERAL INCHES WIDE AND CONTAINS MINOR ORE MINERALS.

Comment (Location): SOUTHERN SLOPE OF BUCKHORN MTN.

Comment (Production): THE NUMBER OF CARLOADS OF ORE SHIPPED IS UNKNOWN; THE REFERENCE SUGGESTS SEVERAL. A FEW SHIPMENTS RAN AS HIGH AS 1 OZ AU/TON, 33 OZS AG PER TON, AND 28 % PB PER TON.

Comment (Workings): AT DEPTH; DUE TO THE NW DIP OF THE VEIN THESE ATTEMPTS WERE PROBABLY NOT SUCCESSFUL. SEVERAL HUNDRED FT EAST OF THE CAMP AN ADIT HEADS N40E FOR 470 FT; ABOUT 500 FT WEST OF THE CAMP ANOTHER ADIT HEADS N45W FOR 900 FT. METALLIZED VEIN MATERIAL IS NOT PRESENT ON THE DUMP OF EITHER ADIT.

Comment (Development): ORIGINAL DEVELOPMENT WORK, CONSISTING OF TWO LONG CROSSCUT ADITS AND SEVERAL SHALLOW PROSPECT SHAFTS, WAS DONE BY INTERSTATE MINING CO. BETWEEN 1902 AND 1906. IN 1908, CRYSTAL BUTTE MINING CO. ACQUIRED THE PROPERTY AND BUILT A SMALL CONCENTRATING MILL ON THE EAST BANK OF MYERS CREEK, ABOUT 0.75 MILES SOUTH OF ETHEL CREEK. NO RECORDS SHOW THAT THE MILL PRODUCED CONCENTRATES. IN 1937, R.I. HIRST OF COLVILLE ACQUIRED THE MINE AND CARRIED OUT SMALL-SCALE MINING OPERATIONS UNTIL 1941. SINCE 1941, THE MINE HAS BEEN IDLE, BUT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS IT HAS BEEN EXAMINED BY INTERESTED PARTIES.

Comment (Deposit): 5 PATENTED CLAIMS: RECKLESS, BATTLESHIP, EUROPIA, KEYSTONE FRACTION, AND KEYSTONE FRACTION NO. 2 (OF MINERAL SURVEYS 557 AND 775A, WHICH WERE SURVEYED IN 1899 AND 1904).

Comment (Reserve-Resource): BEST ESTIMATE USING DATA FROM REFS., AND TRIG.

Comment (Commodity): FROM 1937 TO 1941, SEVERAL CARLOADS OF ORE PER YEAR WERE SHIPPED TO THE TRAIL SMELTER IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND TO THE BUNKER HILL SMELTER IN IDAHO.

References

Reference (Deposit): WASH. DMG BULL 37, P. 138

Reference (Deposit): WASH. GEOL. SUR. BULL. 5, P. 48-49

Reference (Production): WASH. DGER BULL 73, P. 43

Washington Gold

"Where to Find Gold in Washington" 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 Arizona. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Washington.