Wah Wah Mine, Pine Grove Mining District, Beaver County, Utah, USAi

Regional Level Types
Wah Wah Mine	Mine
Pine Grove Mining District	Mining District
Beaver County	County
Utah	State
USA	Country

The Wah Wah lead–zinc mine is located on the west side of the Wah Wah Range in Beaver County, Utah, approximately 58 miles southwest of Milford. The Pine Grove mining district, in which the mine lies, was first organized in 1873, though significant development did not begin until after reorganization in 1879. The Wah Wah Mining Company was incorporated in September 1937 and carried out most of the development work between 1937 and 1942, with renewed investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Mines beginning in 1942. Production prior to federal investigation included several thousand tons of ore yielding lead, zinc, silver, and minor gold. Mine workings are centered on the Tasso shaft, with multiple levels developed to depths of about 200 feet, along with diamond drilling to explore mineralization at greater depths.

Geologically, the deposit is hosted by Cambrian sedimentary rocks consisting chiefly of quartzite overlain by a thick sequence of limestone and shale. These units are correlated with the Tintic quartzite and Ophir Formation known from other districts in Utah and Nevada. The sedimentary sequence is cut by a rhyolitic porphyry intrusion and strongly disrupted by the east–west–trending Tasso fault, a major structural feature that displaces beds by roughly 700 feet. Faulting, fracturing, and associated fissures provided pathways for ore-bearing solutions, and mineralization is most intense near limestone–shale contacts. Oxidation is extensive in the upper levels, reflecting fluctuations in the groundwater table over time.

The ore deposits are primarily replacement bodies developed in limestone and shale. Below the oxidized zone, primary sulfide ore consists mainly of massive pyrite with subordinate galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, carrying gold and silver in minor amounts. In the oxidized zone, the ore is dominated by limonite with cerussite, smithsonite, and residual sulfides; zinc occurs chiefly as carbonate ore formed by downward migration and reprecipitation. The mineral assemblage and structural control are characteristic of carbonate-replacement lead–zinc deposits of the Basin and Range province, with oxidation playing a major role in modifying the near-surface mineralogy.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10087007

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References