Caledonia Mine

The Caledonia Mine is a lead and silver mine located in Shoshone county, Idaho at an elevation of 3,343 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: Caledonia Mine

Commodity

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

Location

State: Idaho
County: Shoshone
District: Yreka

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

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Caledonia Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Hayden, Idaho
Years: 1907 -

Production

Year: 1942
Time Period: 1909-1942
Mined: 238755.000 mt
Material type: Ore Treated

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: HYDROTHERMAL VEIN AND REPLACEMENT
Operation Type: Underground
Milling Method: Gravity
Year First Production: 1909
Year Last Production: 1942
Discovery Year: 1895
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Coeur D'Alene Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Name: Caledonia Vein
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Structure

Type: L
Description: Combination Fault (N67E 35-45SE) offsets the Caledonia vein 183 meters to the north onto the Omaha claim. Vein was followed 300 feet on the eastern side of the fault. West of the fault are two high-grade shoots of direct shipping ore, 46 and 91 meters long, separated by 38 meters of lower grade milling ore.

Type: L
Description: Vein in hangingwall of Osburn Fault, and bounded by the Osburn and New Era Faults within the overturned north limb of a WNW-trending anticline.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation is significant and complete down to the 200 foot level. Vein outcrop consists of quartz and limonite. Massicot, cerussite, silver chlorides, and native silver were found in the oxide zone.

Rocks

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Massicot
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Cerussite
Ore: Silver
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Siderite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite
Trace: Copper
Trace: Cuprite
Trace: Caledonite
Trace: Leadhillite
Trace: Linarite
Trace: Azurite
Trace: Pyromorphite

Comments

Comment (Ownership): In 1914, Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co. acquired ownership control of the Caledonia Mining Co. Mine worked by lessees from 1927 to 1942. Ore was treated on a custom basis by the Bunker Hill Co.

Comment (Orebody): Carbonate ore was mined above the 200 level, sulfide ore below the 500 level, and mixed carbonate-sulfide ore between the 200 and 500 levels. The Caledonia vein is either an extension of or a "twin" to the Sierra Nevada vein.

Comment (Geology): Host rock frequently misidentified as Burke Formation in the literature. Many workers have not recognized that bedding is overturned.

Comment (Development): Ore was initially shipped directly to smelters, and later treated on a custom basis by the Bunker Hill Co. in a gravity concentation plant.

Comment (Development): CALEDONIA AGPB HAS 25 UNPATENTED CLAIMS IN THE SLATE CREEK AREA AND 12 CLAIMS IN THE YREKA DISTRICT, THE LATTER ACQUIRED FROM NORDIC SILVER

Comment (Workings): PRINCIPAL TUNNEL IS 3100 FT LONG. 4 TUNNELS.

Comment (Deposit): THIS RECORD MAY HAVE MIXED INFORMATION BELONGING TO CALEDONIA SILVER LEAD MIN. CO. AND CALEDONIA MIN. CO. (NOW IN ASARCO ?) IF THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE COMPANIES

Comment (Location): 2000 FT E OF SENATOR STEWART; 2500 FT W OF SIERRA NEVADA.

Comment (Production): Production data from Mitchell and Bennett (1983) derived from production reported to the US Bureau of Mines.

References

Reference (Deposit): UMPLEBY, J. B., AND JONES, E. L., JR., 1923 , GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF SHOSHONE CO., IDAHO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 732 , 156 P.

Reference (Production): Mitchell, V.E., and Bennett, E.H., 1983, Production statistics for the Coeur d'Alene mining district, Shoshone County, Idaho, 1884-1980: Idaho Geological Society 83-3, 33 p.

Reference (Deposit): Hershey, O.H., 1911, The geology and ore deposits of the Wardner district, Idaho: Kellogg, Idaho, Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co., 777 p. [University of Idaho, Special Collections, Bunker Hill Collection, Box 99]

Reference (Production): Long, K.R., 1998, Grade and tonnage models for Coeur d'Alene-type polymetallic veins: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-583, 28 p.

Reference (Deposit): Fryklund, V.C., Jr., 1964, Ore deposits of the Coeur d'Alene district, Shoshone County, Idaho: US Geological Survey Professional Paper 445, 103 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ransome, F.L., and Calkins, F.C., 1908, The geology and ore deposits of the Coeur d'Alene district, Idaho: US Geological Survey Professional Paper 62, 203 p.

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.