Soulsbyville & Confidence Mining District, East Belt, Tuolumne County, California, USAi

Regional Level Types
Soulsbyville & Confidence Mining District	Mining District
East Belt	- not defined -
Tuolumne County	County
California	State
USA	Country

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A district combined from 2 former smaller districts: Soulsbyville and Confidence Districts.

Soulsbyville District:
Location: The Soulsbyville district is in west-central Tuolumne County in the general vicinity of the towns of Soulsbyville and Toulumne. It includes the Arrastraville and Buchanan areas.

History: This district was placer-mined during the gold rush. Lode mining began in the early 1850s, and there was a rush to the district that began in 1858 after Ben Soulsby discovered rich ores. The mines were worked on a major scale until about 1915. There was some activity during the 1920s and 1930s, and there has been minor prospecting and development in a few of the mines since. This has been the most productive district in the Sierra Nevada east gold belt, with a total output value to be at least $20 million.

Geology: Granitic rocks, of which granodiorite predominates, underlie the west-central portion of the district (fig. 24). These granitic rocks are intrusive into slate, schist, phyllite, and quartzite of the Calaveras Formation (Carboniferous to Permian). Limestone is to the south and west, and the interstream ridges to the north are capped by andesite. Numerous dioritic and aplitic dikes are present, often associated with gold-quartz veins.

Ore Deposits: A large number of unoriented gold-quartz veins occur in both the granitic and metamorphic rocks, usually ranging from one to five feet in thickness. The ore bodies are often lenticular in shape and contain native gold and often abundant sulfides, especially galena, which is nearly always associated with the gold. Milling-grade ore usually ranged from Vi to one ounce of gold per ton, and considerable high-grade ore has been mined in the district. The maximum depth of development is 1 500 feet.

Mines: Agua, Caliente, Black Oak ($3.5 million), Black Hawk, Blue Lead, Buchanan ($600,000), Carlotta, Chickenfeed, Columbus ($100,000+), Consolidated Eureka, Dead Horse, Draper ($1 million), Drei Tusen, Empire, Fair Maiden, Fair Oaks, Garfield, Gilson (Piatt & Gilson) ($1.25 million), Grizzly ($1.5 million), Hattie Ester, Hunter ($300,000), Jigger Bill Brothers, Junction, Lady Washington, Laura & North Star, Louisiana, Mammon, New Albany, Ophir, Park and Mason, Phoenix, Providence ($700,000), Prudhomme, Seminole, Spring Gulch ($250,000), Soulsby ($5.5 million), Starr King ($100,000), South United ($1.7 million), Waif, Wheal Ruff, Worcestor.

Confidence District:

Location and History: The Confidence district is in west-central Tuolumne County between Twain Harte and Long Barn and about 15 miles northeast of Sonora. It is in the Sierra Nevada East Gold Belt and adjoins the Soulsbyville district on the northeast (see fig 24, p. 122). This region was first placer-mined during the gold rush, and lode mining began shortly afterward. The Confidence mine was worked on a large scale until around 1912. Some of the mines were active in the 1930s, and the district was later prospected for tungsten.

Geology: The mines in this district are located chiefly in a southwest-extending arm or "peninsula" of granitic rocks of the main Sierra Nevada batholith (see fig. 24). The principal rock is granodiorite; slate, mica schist, phyllite, and quartzite lie to the south. Fine-grained dioritic dikes are present and commonly are associated with the gold-quartz veins. Also present are small bodies of tungsten-bearing tactite, which occur as roof pendants in the granitic rocks. Ore Deposits. The ore bodies occur in north to northwest-striking quartz veins that usually range from one to five feet in thickness. The ore contains free gold and often abundant sulfides, especially galena, which often is associated with gold. The Confidence vein was mined to an inclined depth of 1200 feet.

Mines: Casa Madera, Corona, Confidence ($14.25 million), Excelsior ($1,420,000), Fair Oaks, Gem, Geraldine, Green ($200,000), Humbug, Lucky Strike, Morning Glory, Red Cloud, Ripperton, Ryan, Thunderbolt, Too Far North, and the Wall Street.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

15 valid minerals.