Prichard Creek Placer

The Prichard Creek Placer is a gold mine located in Shoshone county, Idaho at an elevation of 3,081 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: Prichard Creek Placer

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver

Location

State: Idaho
County: Shoshone
District: Summit

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Zanetti Brothers
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1948 -

Owner Name: Porter Brothers
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1940 -

Owner Name: Yukon Gold Co.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: New York
Years: 1917 - 1926

Owner Name: New England Exploration Co.
Percent: 100.0
Years: 1910 -

Owner Name: Coeur d'Alene Miing Co., Ltd.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Boston, Massachusetts
Years: 1899 -

Production

Year: 1926
Time Period: 1917-1926
Mined: 8663467.000 cm
Material type: material dredged

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: PLACER
Plant Type: Beneficiation (Mill)
Plant Subtype: Gravity
Operation Type: Placer
Mining Method: Dredging
Milling Method: Gravity
Year First Production: 1884
Year Last Production: 1946
Discovery Year: 1879
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Sand and Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Quaternary

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Large volumes of bench gravels remain, particularly at the confluence of Prichard and Eagle Creeks. Prichard Creek not dredged below Accident Gulch or above Bear Gulch.

Comment (Development): Early placer operations (1883 to 1890) a dissapointment due to deep bedrock, much water, and low grade. Attempts by Coeur d'Alene Mining Co. to mine deep placers with an hydraulic elevator from 1903 to 1909 were not successful.

Comment (Production): Grade estimated using reported recovery factor of 95 percent. Data from Yukon Gold annual reports, abstracted in Mineral Resources of the United States for the years 1917 to 1926.

Comment (Development): Murray No. 1 dredge was formerly the Yukon No. 9 dredge at Eldorado Creek, Klondike, Yukon Territory, Canada. Built in 1911 by Yuba Manufacturing Co. Dredge moved to Rogue River, Oregon in 1926.

Comment (Development): Murray dredge did not go upstream from Raven due to a shallow bar of bedrock and did not go downstream from Accident Gulch because pay gravel was too deep.

References

Reference (Deposit): Dart, W., 1958, Gold-bearing gravels near Murray, Idaho: Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology Pamphlet 116, 21 p.

Reference (Development): Smith, R.W., 1932, History of placer and quartz gold mining in the Coeur d'Alene District: Moscow, University of Idaho, M.A. Thesis, 132 p.

Reference (Development): Rickard, T.A., 1920, The Bunker Hill enterprise, IV; The old diggings and modern dredging operations: Mining and Scientific Press, v. 120, no. 6, p. 185-194.

Reference (Deposit): Cranston, ?, 1904?, Report on Coeur d'Alene Mng. Co., 14 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.