I went through the recent report from the Idaho Geological Survey. Some interesting stuff in there. Following are some notes. I recognize many of the mine names as SFMI properties, some I didn’t, though that doesn’t mean they aren’t SFMI’s. If someone wants to go through and match the site locations with SFMI’s properties, be my guest!
“The only mill site in the area with a significant amount of tailings is at the Dewey Mine.” p 19
This report considers “tailings” in the correct sense, material discarded after it was run through the stamp mills used at the time. If the Dewey mill site is the only one with significant tailings, then that implies that most of the surface material in the area is unprocessed ore, probably discarded because it did not meet the criterion of visible gold, which produces a cutoff grade of ~ 2 oz/ton. From the location description, the Dewey does not seem to be one of SFMI’s properties. This may mean that most of SFMI’s material is indeed ore, and not “tailings”. The descriptions in the report bear this out, since most of the “waste dumps” are at mine sites where there is no mill. Many of the War Eagle mine sites were “in good ore” when they closed, meaning they still had visible gold and were probably still in grades near the 2.5 oz/t that the War Eagle mines averaged. I have noted this information when I found it. In many cases, the history of the mines was not complete.
Oro Fino- One of several ore dumps at this site is 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 20 feet high. p 56
The Ida Elmore and Golden Chariot were both in good ore when mining was stopped. p 66
“A dispute developed between two of the rich mines, the Ida Elmore and the Golden Chariot. These mines were located 75 feet apart, on the surface, on the same ore vein and underground; a single rock partition separated them. In early 1868 the partition between the two mines was broken through, and the miners came face to face. A fight commenced because both mines had rich ore deposits and competing mine owners. The miners fought each other in order to protect their livelihood. The miners, while underground, tried to drown and burn each other with steam hoses. During the exchange, 40 shots were fired killing two Golden Chariot miners and wounding an Ida Elmore miner. A few days after this underground war, a shooting occurred in Silver City directly related to the dispute. One man, from Idaho City and a supporter of the Ida Elmore, was killed outright while the other, a famous Pacific slope Indian fighter and a supporter of the Golden Chariot, was wounded and died later. These deaths brought the hostilities to a conclusion.” p 67
One ore dump at Ida Elmore/Golden Chariot is 60x30x10 feet.
Minnesota Mine (Oro Fino Group)- in good ore when it closed. One ore dump is 150x100x20 feet, another 50x15x10, another 75x15x10-15. p 86-87
South Chariot (Oro Fino Group)- An ore dump is 215x25x80 feet. p 94
Mahogany Mine (Oro Fino Group)- In good ore when it closed. Ore dump 90x50-75x20-30 feet. p 100
Mountain Chief Mine- Ore dump 100x85x15 feet. p 105
Red Jacket Mine- Ore dump 100x80x80 feet. p 109
Illinois Central Mine- Ore dump 120x60x40-50 feet. p 249
Belle Peck Adit of the Poorman Mine- Ore dumps are 240x10-70x30 and 60x25x70-85 feet. p 328
These are just some of the dozens of sites described in the report (over 400 pages of it).
