Wooley Valley Mine

The Wooley Valley Mine is a phosphorus-phosphates mine located in Caribou county, Idaho at an elevation of 7,005 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: Wooley Valley Mine
Secondary: Wooley Valley Units 1,3&4
Secondary: Blackfoot Nose Unit #4
Secondary: Little Long Valley Unit #3
Secondary: Blackfoot Narrows Unit #1
Secondary: Lower Valley, Area C, 7-11
Secondary: Lower Valley, Area D, 12-15
Secondary: Lower Valley, Area E, 16

Commodity

Primary: Phosphorus-Phosphates
Tertiary: Vanadium
Tertiary: Uranium
Tertiary: REE
Tertiary: Fluorine-Fluorite

Location

State: Idaho
County: Caribou
District: Blackfoot River District

Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
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.
Administrative Organization: Caribou National Forest

Holdings

Type: Federal Lease

Workings

Type: Surface

Ownership

Owner Name: Stauffer Chemical Co.
Company ID: 1000095
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Idaho
Info Year: 1983

Owner Name: Rhone-Poulenc Basic Chemicals
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 1995

Production

Year: 1967
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.1% P205 320000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1968
Description: Phosphate Rock 27.5% P205 380000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1969
Description: Phosphate Rock 25.8% P205 440000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1970
Description: Phosphate Rock 25.5% P205 510000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1971
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 420000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1972
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 360000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1973
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 330000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1974
Description: Phosphate Rock 25.7% P205 590000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1975
Description: Phosphate Rock 25.9 % P205 780000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1976
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 880000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1977
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 530000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1978
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.1% P205 700000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1979
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 1079000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1980
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 1157000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1981
Description: Phosphate Rock 28.3% P205 659000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1983
Description: None
Year: 1982
Description: Phosphate Rock 30.1% P205 118000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1984
Description: Phosphate Rock 26.0% P205 453700 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1985
Description: Phosphate Rock 26% P205 168900 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1986
Description: Phosphate Rock 26% P2o5 201000
Year: 1956
Description: Phosphate Rock 24.1% P205 100000 Mt Ore Per Year
Year: 1955
Description: Phosphate Rock 23.9% P205 100000 Mt Ore Per Year

Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Past Producer
Plant Type: Beneficiation (Mill)
Plant Subtype: Gravity
Operation Type: Surface
Mining Method: Open Pit
Milling Method: Washing
Year First Production: 1955
Year Last Production: 1983
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Great Basin

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Phosphate, upwelling type

Orebody

Form: TABULAR, SEDIMENTARY

Form: TABULAR, SEDIMENTARY

Structure

Type: R
Structure: Dry Valley Anticline

Type: R
Structure: Blackfoot Fault

Type: R
Structure: Wooley Valley Anticline

Type: R
Structure: Schmid Syncline

Type: R
Structure: Georgetown Syncline

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

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

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

Name: Shale
Role: Host
Description: Phosphatic Shale
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Permian

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

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: 114 SAMPLES OF STRATIGRAPHIC SECTION GAVE UP TO 34.5 % P2O5 MAX. ( SECTION 24)

Materials

Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite
Unknown: Orthoclase
Unknown: Montmorillonite
Unknown: Limonite
Unknown: Kaolinite
Unknown: Dolomite
Unknown: Collophane
Unknown: Chalcedony
Unknown: Sericite

Comments

Comment (Production): MINED OUT. THE PRESENT ACCESS ROAD IS ADEQUATE. WATER AND ELECTRICAL POWER ARE AVAILABLE AT THE SITE. POSSIBLY THE SAME MINE AS SEQ# 0160290015 WOOLEY VALLEY MINE.

Comment (Development): NON-GEOLOGIC CONSTRAINTS ON DEVELOPMENT OR EXPANSION IN 1-5 YRS. (). DEVELOPMENT(UNKNOWN); EXPLORATION(UNKNOWN); RUN OF MINE ORE 18-24 % P2O5 (39.3-52.4 % BPL), THE ORE IS RAISED TO 24-28 % P2O5 (52.4-61.1 % BPL)

Comment (Deposit): THIS RECORD WAS COMPILED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC MINERALS INVENTORY. THE DATA WERE USED IN PREPARATION OF THE USGS CIRCULAR 930 SERIES OF REPORTS. MINERAL RESOURCE CATEGORIES AND CODES HEREIN ARE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM RECOMMENDED BY THE UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY FOR MINERAL RESOURCES. (SEE NATIONAL RESOURCES FORUM, V. 4, NO. 3, P. 307-313.). SURFACE PHOSPHATE CONCENTRATE THE RUN OF MINE ORE GRADES 19-23 % P2O5. PART OF THE OUTPUT IS UP-GRADED TO 30 % P2O5 BY WASHING. SOME OF UPGRADED PRODUCT IS THEN MIXED WITH UNWASHED MATRIX TO PROVIDE A 25 % P2O5 (54.6 % BPL) MATERIAL.

Comment (Development): 2 LEASES TOTAL 760 ACRES ( 1966 ) ; ECON.COM: RESERVES WILL BE DEPLETED BY 1982 ( USGS, 1975 )

References

Reference (Reserve-Resource): EMIGH, G. D. PETROGRAPHY,MINERALOGY, AND ORIGIN OF PHOSPHATE PELLETS IN THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION. ID BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL. PAMPHLET NO. 114, 1958, 60 PP.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): SERVICE, A. L. AND C. C. POPOFF. AN EVALUATION OF THE (IN FIVE PARTS), PART 1, INTRODUCTORY REVIEW. BUMINES RI 6485, 86 PP.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): THOMPSON, M. E. DISTRIBUTION OF URANIUM IN RICH PHOSPHATE BEDS OF THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION. U. S. GEOL. SURV. BULL. 988-D, 1953, PP. 45-65.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): THOMPSON, M. E. FURTHER STUDIES OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF URANIUM IN RICH PHOSPHATE BEDS OF THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION. U. S. GEOL. SURV. BULL. 1049-D, 1954 PP. 107-122.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): SERVCE, A. L. AND N.S. PETERSEN. AN EVALUATION OF THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY AND ITS RESOURCES (IN FIVE PARTS); PART 5, TRENDS AND OUTLOOK. BUMINES RI 6935, 1967, 131 PP.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): DAY, R. L. TRENDS IN THE PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY OF IDAHO AND THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE FILED. ID BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL. PAMPHLET 155, 1973, 63 PP.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): GARRAND, L. J. PHOSPHATE STUDY SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO. U.S. FOREST SERVICE CONTRACT NO., 50-820, GARRAND CORP., 1975.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): LI, T.M. SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO PHOSPHATE DURING MINING; HOW AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT DISTORTS GROWTH PLANS. MIN. ENG., V. 30, NO. 1, 1987, PP. 25-28.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): MANSFIELD, G. R. GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO. U.S. GEOL. SURV. PROF. PAPER 152, 1927.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): MARTIN, G. W. MINERALOGY OF PHOSPHATE OOLITES, ECON. GEOL., V. 53, NO. 8, 1958, PP. 1046-1048.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): MCDIVITT, J. F. ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF PHOSPHATE AND OTHER MINERALS IN SOUTHERN IDAHO. ID BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL. PAMPHLET NO. 111, 1956.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): POWELL, J. D. EVALUATION OF PHOSPHATE RESOURCES IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO. ID BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL. IC NO. 250, 1974, 33 PP.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): RULE, A. R., D. E. KIRBY, AND D. C. DAHLIN. RECENT ADVANCES IN BENEFICIATION OF WESTERN PHOSPHATES. MIN. ENG., V. 30, NO. 1, 1978, PP. 36-40.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): SERVICE, A.L. AN EVALUATION OF THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY AND ITS RESOURCES (IN FIVE PARTS); PART 3, IDAHO. BUMINES RI 6801, 1966, 201 PP.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, U.S. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, AND U. S. FOREST SERVICE, FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT/DEVELOPMENT OF PHOSPHATE RESOURCES IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO, FOUR V., 1978. PP. 107-122.

Reference (Deposit): O'MALLEY, F. W., AND OTHERS, 1953 , STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS OF THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION IN IDAHO, 1947 - 1948 , PART 3 : USGS CIRC. 262 , 43 P.

Reference (Deposit): IDAHO DEPT. OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, 1975 , FIRST ANNUAL REPORT ADDENDUM FOR JULY 1 , 1974 - JUNE 30 , 1975 , 95 P.

Reference (Deposit): 1927 RECON G. R. MANSFIELD, PROF. PAPER 152

Reference (Deposit): 1955 DIREXPL TERTELING LAND CO., USBM REPT. INV. 6801

Reference (Deposit): 1975 COMPILE IDAHO DEPT. LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, ADDENDUM

Reference (Reserve-Resource): CARTER, R.A. AN INTEGRATED INDUSTRY-PHOSPHATE MINING AND MILLING IN IDAHO. MIN. ENG., V. 30, NO. 1, 1978 PP. 29-36.

Idaho Gold

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