Helena-Frisco Mine

The Helena-Frisco Mine is a lead and zinc mine located in Shoshone county, Idaho at an elevation of 3,986 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: Helena-Frisco Mine
Secondary: Badger Mine
Secondary: Black Bear Mine
Secondary: Frisco Mine
Secondary: Gem Mine
Secondary: Gem of the Mountains Mine
Secondary: Milwaukee Mine
Secondary: San Francisco Mine

Commodity

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

Location

State: Idaho
County: Shoshone
District: Lelande

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: Asarco, Inc.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1976 -

Owner Name: American Smelting and Refining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1953 - 1976

Owner Name: Hull Leasing Co.
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1929 - 1957

Owner Name: Federal Mining and Smelting Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1913 - 1953

Owner Name: Frisco Consolidated Mining Co. Ltd.
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1900 - 1913

Owner Name: Frisco Mining Co. Ltd.
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1896 - 1900

Owner Name: Helena and Frisco Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Helena, Montana
Years: 1890 - 1896

Owner Name: Black Bear Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1889 - 1900

Owner Name: Milwaukee Mining Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Wallace, Idaho
Years: 1888 - 1899

Production

Year: 1959
Time Period: 1897-1957
Mined: 1800000.000 mt
Material type: Ore Mined
Description: Cp_Grade: ^2.9 Oz/Ton Ag, 4.8% Pb, 2.4% Zn
Year: 1983
Time Period: 1897-1967
Mined: 2427971.000 mt
Material type: Ore Treated

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: HYDROTHERMAL REPLACEMENT VEIN
Plant Type: Beneficiation (Mill)
Plant Subtype: Gravity
Operation Type: Underground
Mining Method: Filled Stopes - Horiz Cut and Fill W/Waste Rock
Milling Method: Gravity
Year First Production: 1896
Year Last Production: 1967
Discovery Year: 1884
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L

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: Gem
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Black Bear
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Name: Frisco
Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Structure

Type: L
Description: Cross faults

Type: L
Description: Frisco Fault, a shear sypathetic to the Osburn Fault.

Type: R
Description: Osburn Fault (WNW) to the south.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Sericite; Chlorite; Garnet

Rocks

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

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Marcasite
Gangue: Ankerite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Siderite
Gangue: Biotite
Gangue: Pyrrhotite
Gangue: Pyrite
Trace: Pyrargyrite
Trace: Pyromorphite

Comments

Comment (Ownership): Frisco Mining Co. Ltd. purchased the Milwaukee Mining Co., owner of the Gem of the Mountains mine, in 1899. The Frisco Consolidated Mining Co. Ltd. purchased the Black Bear Mining Co., owner of the Black Bear mine, in 1900.

Comment (Orebody): The deposit consists of three fault segments, separated by left-lateral cross faults, forming three orebodies, the Black Bear, San Francisco (Frisco), and Gem of the Mountains (Gem). Each orebody or vein segment had a barren core, forming a north and south "vein" which were stoped separately. The Frisco orebody or segment, in the middle, was rotated by antithetic faulting, apparently creating better ground as this is the largest and richest orebody of the three. The vein was originally a sympathetic shear plane to the Osburn Fault to the south.

Comment (Production): Production reported by Crosby (1959).

Comment (Deposit): 3 LODES IN THIS MINE: BLACK BEAR, FRISCO, AND GEM VEINS. 3 MAIN VEINS IN THE FRISCO LODE: FRISCO VEIN STRIKES N 67 DEG W, DIPS 85 DEG S - 85 DEG N; NORTH VEIN STRIKES N 72 DEG E; MIDDLE VEIN STRIKES W; LATTER TWO DIP 80 DEG S. DEPTHS TO TOP, BOTTOM, ARE EXPRESSED IN ELEVATION ON THE FRISCO VEIN

Comment (Ownership): Hull Leasing Co. operated a lease on the upper levels of the Helena-Frisco mine. Federal Mining and Smelting Co. (after 1953, American Smelting and Refining Co.) operated the lower levels independently from 1943 to 1956. Other leasers operated other parts of the mine at various times.

Comment (Production): Production data from Mitchell and Bennett (1983) from production reported to the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Grade data from Long (1998)

Comment (Geology): The Gem orebody is hosted by Prichard Formation sediments, the Frisco is hosted by Burke and Prichard Formation, and Black Bear by Burke Formation.

Comment (Deposit): GEM - GOLD HUNTER MINERAL BELT IS ABOUT 30,000 FT. LONG. 4 MAIN ORE SHOOTS IN GEM MINE: LEAD AND ZINC SHOOTS STRIKE N 55 - 60 DEG E, DIP VERTICALLY; FRACTION VEINS STRIKE W, DIP 85 DEG S; HANGING VEINS STRIKE N 75 DEG W.

Comment (Commodity): IN THE GEM-GOLD HUNTER MINERAL BELT.

Comment (Location): ON S SIDE CANYON CREEK; LOCATION OF OLD FRISCO MINE IS GIVEN

Comment (Workings): LENGTH OF WORKINGS A 1965 FIGURE.

References

Reference (Production): Long, K.R., 1988, Grade and tonnage models for Coeur d'Alene-type polymetallic veins: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-583, 28 p.

Reference (Deposit): SHENON, P. J., 1938 , GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS NEAR MURRAY, IDAHO: IDAHO BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY PAMPHLET 47 , 44 P.

Reference (Deposit): FRYKLUND, V. C., JR., 1964 , ORE DEPOSITS OF THE COEUR D'ALENE DISTRICT, SHOSHONE COUNTY, IDAHO: USGS PROF. 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: USGS PROF. PAPER 62 , 203 P.

Reference (Deposit): RANSOME, F. L., 1905 , ORE DEPOSITS OF THE COEUR D'ALENE DISTRICT, IDAHO: USGS BULL. 260 , P. 274 - 303 .

Reference (Deposit): GRIGGS, A. B., 1952 , GEOLOGY AND NOTES ON ORE DEPOSITS IN THE CANYON-NINE MILE CREEKS AREA, SHOSHONE COUNTY, IDAHO: USGS OPEN FILE REPT., 108 P.

Reference (Production): CROSBY, G. M., 1959 , The mineral belts north of the Osburn Fault, Coeur d'Alene district, Shoshone County, Idaho: Minneapolis, Univeristy of Minnesota, G.E. Thesis, 39 p.

Reference (Deposit): UMPLEBY, J. R., AND JONES, E. L., JR., 1923 , GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF SHOSHONE COUNTY, IDAHO: USGS BULL. 732 , 156 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.