Ima Mine

The Ima Mine is a tungsten, zinc, and silver mine located in Lemhi county, Idaho at an elevation of 6,801 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

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Site Name

Primary: Ima Mine
Secondary: Blue Wing-Ima Mine
Secondary: Idaho Tungsten
Secondary: Tungsten Gate
Secondary: Idaho Tungsten Nos. 1-4 and 6-11

Commodity

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

Location

State: Idaho
County: Lemhi
District: Blue Wing District

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

Type: Patented

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Inspiration Development Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: 2310 North Pines Rd SPOKANE WA 99206
Info Year: 1982

Owner Name: Bradley Mining Co.
Home Office: California
Info Year: 1972

Owner Name: Bradley Mining Co.

Owner Name: Jeffs And Johnson Leasing Co.
Years: 1916 -

Production

Year: 1947
Time Period: 1911-1947
Year: 1940
Time Period: 1937-1940
Material type: CON
Description: Cp_Grade: ^Ave 42 Oz Ag, 0.01 Oz Au/Ton, 3.75% Cu, 7% Pb, 5% Zn, 0.5% Wo3
Year: 1940
Time Period: 1937-1940
Material type: CON
Description: Cp_Grade: ^Ave 67 % Wo3
Year: 1934
Material type: CON W
Description: Ap_Grade: ^Ave 56 % Wo3
Year: 1916
Material type: ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^60 % Wo3

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1900
Discovery Year: 1881
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Form: LINEAR, IRREGULAR, LENTICULAR, PINCH & SWELL

Structure

Type: R
Structure: Anticline

Type: L
Structure: Slickensides

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: Pyritization

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: Sericitization

Rocks

Name: Quartzite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: MO MAKES UP 0.08% OF ORE MINED BUT IS NOT SAVED
Analytical Data: ORE MILLED AVG. 0.72% HUEBNERITE, 4% SULFIDES, 1.75 OZ AG/TON

Materials

Ore: Covellite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Anglesite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Pyromorphite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Cerargyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Huebnerite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Bornite
Gangue: Microcline
Gangue: Fluorite
Gangue: Mica
Gangue: Orthoclase
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Muscovite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Rhodochrosite
Gangue: Siderite
Gangue: Limonite

Comments

Comment (Production): Item 17 was 2 shipments; Item 8 was huebnerite concentrate, Item 9 was sulfide concentrate; Item 10 production intermittent; Total production more than 300,000 units, second most important W producer in Idaho (Hobbs, 1964)

Comment (Development): 21 patented claims and 15 unpatented claims ; Econ.Com: 5 samples (1918) ranged from 0.33-0.78% Wo3 and 2.0-3.2 oz Ag/ton

Comment (Workings): 4 or 5 tunnels; Assessment work

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1881 (W IN 1903)

Comment (Location): On N side Patterson Creek, on E side Pahsimeroi Valley

Comment (Geology): Original Structures entry: Local - Slickensides Regional - Anticline Trends N 30-40 Deg W

Comment (Geology): Original ore control entry: Fractures, Fissures Along Crest Of Anticlinal Fold

Comment (Geology): Original alteration entry: Local - Sericitization, Pyritization

Comment (Geology): Original data from duplicate record D001143: Geologic Structure - Regional - Belt Series Folded Into A Broad Arch That Trends Northwest Parallel To The Range Front. Local - The Intrusive Seems To Be Elongated Beneath The Ima Vein Zone. Concentration Process: Veins Re-Opened Repeatedly With Later Additions Of Metallic Minerals Alteration: Local - Some Of The Country Rock Incorporated Into The Quartz Has Been Altered To Sericite Ore Control: Quartz Veins That Traverse Quartzite And Argillite Of The Precambrian Belt Series

Comment (Production): About one ton of sulfide concentrate was recovered for every 25 tons of ore treated. In 1940, 1,472 tons of sulfide concentrate averaged 44.6 oz. of silver, 3.5 percent copper, 6.9 percent lead, 4.8 percent zinc, and 0.01 oz of gold.

Comment (Geology): The veins in the Ima Vein Zone end upward against a pre-mineral breccia zone which is about 10 ft. thick. The Ima veins cannot be correlated with any veins above the breccia. The principal mineralization is in persistent veins found in the same zone as the earlier mineralized veins which were widespread, irregular, small, pegmatitic quartz veins.

Comment (Workings): In 1945 the mine was opened on 7 levels with total workings amounting to 15,500 ft. in a vertical distance of 410 ft. and a length of 2,000 ft.

References

Reference (Production): Callaghan, E., And Lemmon, D. M., 1941, USGS Bulletin 931-A

Reference (Deposit): Livingston, D. C., 1919, Tungsten, Cinnabar, Manganese, Molybdenum, And Tin Deposits Of Idaho: Univ. Of Idaho Bulletin No. 2, V. 14, 72 P.

Reference (Deposit): Idaho Department Of Labor And Industrial Services, 1975, First Annual Report Addendum, 1974-1975, 95 P.

Reference (Deposit): Bell, R. N., 1917, Eighteenth Annual Report Of The Mining Industry Of Idaho For The Year 1916

Reference (Deposit): Umpleby, J. B., 1913, Geology And Ore Deposits Of Lemhi County, Idaho: USGS Bulletin 528, 182 P.

Reference (Deposit): Cook, E. F., 1956, Tungsten Deposits Of Southcentral Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Pamphlet 108, 40 P.

Reference (Deposit): Hobbs, S. W., 1964, Mineral Resources-Tungsten, In Mineral And Water Resources Of Idaho: Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Spec. Rept. No. 1, P. 223-233.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, A. L., 1948, Tungsten Mineralization At The Imamine, Blue Wing District, Lemhi County, Idaho: Econ. Geol., V43, No. 3, P. 181-206.

Reference (Deposit): Barton, W. P., And Arentz, S. S., 1939, Mining And Milling Tungsten At The Ima Mine: Mining Cong. Jour., V. 25, No. 3, P. 16-19.

Reference (Deposit): Callaghan, Eugene, And Lemmon, S.W., 1941, Tungsten Resources Of The Blue Wing District, Lemhi County, Idaho: USGS Bulletin 931-A, P. 1-21.

Reference (Production): Hobbs, S. W., 1964, Idaho Bureau Of Mines And Geology Spec. Rept. No. 1

Reference (Production): Bell, R. N., 1917, Mining Industry Report For 1916

Reference (Deposit): Lemmon, D.M., Unpublished Data.

Reference (Deposit): Lemmon, D.M. And Tweto, O.L., 1962, Tungsten In The U.S., USGS Map, Mr-25.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, A.L., 1948, Econ. Geol., Vol. 43, No. 3, P. 181.

Reference (Deposit): V.E. Mitchell, Et. Al; Mines And Prospects Map Series, 1981, Dubois Quad, Location No. 323 and 331

Reference (Deposit): Geological Society Of America Bulletin V 58, No 12, P 1085-1160

Reference (Deposit): U.S. Bureau Of Mines Open-File Report MLA 6-91, 1991, Table A-2, 14 No. 268, P. 170.

Reference (Deposit): Bradshaw, Expl Ima Northwest Mine Association

Reference (Deposit): DMEA Report Contract Idm E-41

Reference (Deposit): DMEA Report Contract Idm E-427

Idaho Gold

"Where to Find Gold in Idaho" 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 Idaho. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Idaho.