The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-01-01
Pine Creek District is Subject of Report
BY Eminent Biologists

@.hc-1edd type. Inc most ydIuaute o.,
a. Hne- grained aggregate Vi spna.,
e4.Ie ana gdIend III winch there ais
commonly fragments ot unlep.aee,
wall ROCKS. PyIrnOute accompanle.
tne ore and III PAGES is the cnIeI min
eidi. ChalcopyrIte is usually presen.
J. small amounts. Gangue minerals
a4e spdrlhgiy deye.oped, and OF these
quartz is the most abundant accom-
panied rarely 10y sluerte and calcite
1he hlghland-SurprIse Constitution
anu douglas mines are on veins thai
C-edI4S SHOW replacement ON OF ad
Jacent to large faults.
III ,Ae mineral belt which extends
hoIthMestWard from the highland :
surprise NINE to the Northern Light
mime the Veins have IN general a west
northwest strike and the assures
Whlch they occupy are thought to be
que to The same dynamic forces. AS
the distance from the Placer creek
lault is increased the unreasonable
type of vein gradually gives way to
the assure type, ana the change is ac-
Companied by changes in mineral COM
position. In the veins covered by the
Nabob, Little PittsDurg, Denver and
Sydney claims, about miles north
west of the Highland Surprise, the
ore Is coarser grained and the quartz
gangue more abundant than in the
Highland Surprise mine, though sid
erite is likewise rare. The ore min
erals of these veins consist chiefly of
sphalerite and galena, but pyrrhotite
Is locally abundant and chalcopyrite
occurs in greater amount than in the
highlands Surprise vein. In the Idaho
and V veins, which are opened by
prospects short distance northwest
of the Nabob mine, and the Liberal
King and Carbonate Veins still farther
northwest, ON the slope toward Pine
creek, the deposits are fssure filings
with fairly we'll defined walls. Quartz
IS abundant in the gangue, but siderite
Is only locally prominent. Sphaierite,
galena, chalcopyrite and pyrite gener-
ally coarse grained, are the ore min
erals Of these veins, but pyrrhotite
was not observed. Chalcopyrte is
particularly abundant in the Liberal
King vein, where it probably occurs
in sufficient quantity to constitute an
pf "A oha1 ,.it
tains small amounts of gold. A spec
linen from the Carbonate mine which
showed abundant galena and chalco-
pyrite was assayed for gold and silver
and gave results of Sc ounces Of sill
Yer and COS ounce of gold to the ton
An assay of a partly oXidized speci-
men from the Liberal King vein COM
posed principally Of pyrite with
little chalcopyrite gave O,67 ounces of
silver and O.03 ounce of gold to the
ton. In the Northern Light mine
there are several parallel veins con-
tanned in two massive white quartz
lite beds and in blue siliceous states
and quartzites about 200 feet thick
which lie between the massive quartz
ties. A northwesterly fault with
strongly developed gouge occurs on
the southwest side of the veins, but
had not been penetrated by the mine
workings at the time of visit Near
this fault large vein was intersected
in November, 1916, which is reported
to be of the replacement type and to
contain abundant galena,. sphalerite
and pyrrhotite. The other veins,
which lie north of the large one, are
narrow veins Of the fissure type,
though some lie in or on the wallis of
shear zones. In these veins the DOM
inant minerals are galena and pyrite
in quartz gangue with subordinate
siderite. Sphalerite occurs sparsely
but pyrrhotite was not observed.
The Hypotheek vein, which is from
II to Is feet wide, is of the assure
type and cuts hard, massive quartzite
and associated blue and gray siliceous
states Of the middle Prichard forma-
ton. Galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite and
tetrahedrite are prominent in this
vein, which contains also a little ar
senopyrite. The gangue minerals are
quartz, calcite and siderite, which in
general predominant over the sulphide
minerals of the vein. Noteworthy fea-
lures of the primary naturalization in
the Hypotheek vein are the occurrence
of tetrahedrite, the abundance of cal
cite in the gangue and the absence of
pyrrhotite and sphalerite.
Comparison With Deposits Of Occur
d'AIene District.
The znc-lead deposits Of the Pine
creek district, though but few miles
from the great deposits Of the Ward
ner district, are notably different from
those deposits in mineralogy, although
in both areas the deposits have several
characteristics in common. The Pine
creek deposits are contained solely in
the Prchard formation, whereas the
lWardner deposits occur in the quartz
iites of the Burke and Revett forma-
tons. The deposits Of both areas are
unreasonable assure veins that occur
adjacent to areas of intense fauting,
but in the Wardner deposits galena is
the dominant sulphde, sphalerite oc-
ours only in small amounts and pyrr-