Silver Reef-Harrisburg District

The Silver Reef-Harrisburg District is a silver mine located in Washington county, Utah.

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: Silver Reef-Harrisburg District
Secondary: Silver Reef District
Secondary: Harrisburg District
Secondary: Leeds District

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Uranium

Location

State: Utah
County: Washington

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Not available

Production

Year: 1875
Time Period: 1875-1880
Mined: 103234133.02 g
Material type: Silver
Year: 1891
Time Period: 1891-1900
Mined: 6409463.220 g
Material type: Silver
Year: 1881
Time Period: 1881-1890
Mined: 111680096.67 g
Material type: Silver
Year: 1901
Time Period: 1901-1909
Mined: 2977909.470 g
Material type: Silver
Year: 2003
Time Period: 1949-1968
Material type: Biek, 2003, M-187, p. 33.

Deposit

Record Type: District
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1869
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: L
Structure: Virgin Anticline

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Sandstone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Jurassic
Age Old: Jurassic

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Cerargyrite

Comments

Comment (Reference): ABW filled out complete reference and correct page numbers.

Comment (Deposit): For the copper in this area, see 10088794 (old MRDS M058729).

Comment (Reference): Keith Long's (USGS) list of Significant sed-hosted Cu deposits lists Stowe, 1975 as the only referenence. There is no description of this district in that volume (Bull. 106). (Circular 57 by the same author, same year, had no mention whatsoever of production or reserves in Harrisburg/Silver Reef/Washington Co.

Comment (Production): Stowe (UGS Bull. 106, p. 45): 1875-1961 Silver reef district produced 5,337 short tons Copper, 22 short tons lead, 664 fine ounces gold, 7,499,153 fine ounces silver. (Source of Stowe's data is Butler's USGS PP-111)

Comment (Production): Production 1963: 3,900 lbs Cu, 200 lbs Pb, 300 lbs. Zn, 5,889 troy oz Ag. (Stowe, p. 52) 1964: 18,100 lbs Cu, 2,200 lbs Zn, 3,750 troy oz Ag (p. 53) 1967: 1,600 lbs Cu, 3,680 troy oz Ag (p. 54) 1968: 3,700 lbs Cu, 1 troy oz Au, 9,351 troy oz Ag (p. 55)

Comment (Production): SILVER Production reported in ounces: 1875-1880 3,319,054 1881-1890 3,590,598 1891-1900 206,069 1901-1909 95,742 7,211,463 oz Silver recovered

Comment (Geology): From Biek, 2003, M-187, p. 33: The Silver Reef mining district consists of four "reefs" alon ght e NE-plunging nose of the Virgin Anticline. White, Buckeye, and Butte Reefs are on the NW flank. East Reef is on the east flank.

Comment (Geology): From Biek, 2003, M-187, p. 33: The ore horizons are in the Springdale Sandstone Member of the Moenave Formation, known locally as the Leeds and Tecumseh Sandstones, which is repeated by thrust faults on the anticline's northwest flank to form the three reefs.

Comment (Workings): Most of the shafts and adits in the district have been reclaimed (Biek, 2003, M-187, p. 38). More than 500 adits and shafts were sealed in the western part of the district and 184 in the East Reef area.

Comment (Production): From Biek, 2003, M-187, p. 33: "The principal mining activity in the district lasted only through 1888, with lessee operations thorugh 1909, after wihc operations essentially ceased. Prior to 1910 the district produced aobut 8 million ounces (226,800 kg) of silver, nearly 70 percent of which came from the prolific Buckeye Reef. Sporadic production between 1949 and 1968 amounted to about 30 ounces (0.85 kg) of gold, 166,000 ounces (4,706 kg) of silver, 60 short tons (54,000 kg) of copper, and at least 2,500 pounds (1,125 kg) of uranium oxide. The mines were shallow, less than 350 ft deep, and most ore bodies were lens shaped, averaging 200 to 300 ft long by about half as wide. The ore averaged 20 to 50 ounces (0.6-1.4 kg) silver per ton, but varied from only a few ounces to about 500 ounces (14 kg) per ton.

Comment (Exploration): From Biek, 2003, M-187, p. 33: "A leach-pad operation established between White and Buckeye Reefs to process tailings opened in 1979, but this venture closed with the collapse of silver prices. In 1998, a Canadian mining company revaluated a portion of the Silver Reef mining district."

Comment (Exploration): From Biek, 2003, M-187, p. 33: In the 1950s the US Atomic Energy Commission drilled more than 350 holes at Buckeye Reef to evaluate uranium mineralization in the district. The district produced several hundred tons of uranium ore, with carnotite the predominant mineral.

References

Reference (Geology): Biek, R.F., 2003, Geologic map of the Harrisburg Junction 7.5' quadrangle, Washington County, Utah: Utah Geological Survey Map 191, 42 p. pamphlet, 2 pls., scale 1:24:000. [http://geology.utah.gov/maps/geomap/7_5/pdf/m-191.pdf, accessed 4/27/2010]
URL: http://geology.utah.gov/maps/geomap/7_5/pdf/m-191.pdf

Reference (Geology): Hurlow, H.A., and Biek, R.F., 2003, Geologic map of the Pintura 7.5' quadrangle, Washington County, Utah: Utah Geological Survey Map 196, 20 p. pamphlet, scale 1:24:000. [http://geology.utah.gov/maps/geomap/7_5/pdf/m-196.pdf, accessed 4/27/2010]
URL: http://geology.utah.gov/maps/geomap/7_5/pdf/m-196.pdf

Reference (Geology): Biek, R.F., 2003, Geologic map of the Hurricane 7.5' quadrangle, Washington County, Utah: Utah Geological Survey Map 187, 61 p. pamphlet, 2 pls., scale 1:24:000. [http://geology.utah.gov/maps/geomap/7_5/pdf/m-187.pdf, accessed 4/27/2010]
URL: http://geology.utah.gov/maps/geomap/7_5/pdf/m-187.pdf

Reference (Deposit): Stugard, Frederick, Jr., 1951, Uranium Resources in the Silver Reef (Harrisburg) District, Washington County, Utah: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 51-41.

Reference (Production): Stowe, C.H., 1975, Utah mineral industry statistics through 1973: Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Bulletin 106, 121 p.
Pages: p. 45.

Reference (Deposit): Butler, B.S., 1920, Silver Reef (Harrisburg, Leeds) District, in Butler, B.S., Laughlin, G.F., Heikes, V.C., and others, The ore deposits of Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 111, p. 582-594.

Reference (Deposit): Proctor, P.D., 1953, Geology of the Silver Reef (Harrisburg) Mining District, Wahsington County, Utah: Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey Bulletin 44, 169 p.

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