Castle Mountain Mine (Castle Mountain project), Hart, Hart District (Castle Mountain District), Castle Mountains, San Bernardino County, California, USAi

Regional Level Types
Castle Mountain Mine (Castle Mountain project)	Mine
Hart	- not defined -
Hart District (Castle Mountain District)	Mining District
Castle Mountains	Mountain Range
San Bernardino County	County
California	State
USA	Country

A lode Au-Ag-Clay occurrence/mine located in sec. 24, T14N, R17E, and in the SW¼SW¼ sec. 18 and in the NW¼NW¼ sec. 19, T14N, R18E, SBM, 0.9 km (0.5 mile) S of Hart (site) (3.7 miles S of Hart Peak; at the S end of the Castle Mountains), on private (patented) land (located claims). Discovered in 1907. Owned & operated by the Viceroy Gold Corporation (Viceroy Resources Corp.) (75%), Canada (1996); and owned by MK Gold Company (25%), Idaho (1996). The Viceroy Gold Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viceroy Resources Corporation. First produced in 1991. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 5,000 meters.

Mineralization is hosted in plutonic rock, latite, basalt, volcanic ash and rhyolite. Ore bodies in the mining area include the Jumbo South, Lesley Ann, Oro Belle, South Extension, Jumbo and Hart (see MAS file #0060710157, Oro Belle Mine. Ore body No. 1 is irregular in a shear zone. Ore body No. 2 is a replacement deposit. The primary mode of origin is hydrothermal. Controls for ore emplacement included NNE-trending structures and permeable rhyolite breccia zones surrounding rhyolite domes. Zones occur along fractures. 6 individual deposits are associated with rhyolite dome, dome complexes, and silicifeid fracture zones. Cut by zones of broken, clay-rich rock. Mineralization is related to the permeability of the host rocks. The water table is at 550 feet with all reserves in the oxidized zone above that depth. Primary ore control was fracturing. Gold averages 10 microns in size but ranges from 1 to 2,000 microns. Silicified and mineralized arcuate fractures suggest that the deposits lie near the center of a small caldera or collapsed volcano. One deposit, buried by as much as 300 feet of gravel, was discovered by geological interpretation (Linder, 1989). Local alteration is strong (silicification, argillization, adularia). Wallrock alteration is unknown. Local rocks include Tertiary volcanic flow rocks, unit 16 (Northern Mojave Desert).

Workings include surface openings comprised of an open pit. Plant includes leach operation. The milling methods include heap leaching-agglomerate-carbon column-electrowin.

Production data: Year: 1993 (fiscal year 1993): Au: 104,105 Troy ounces(3,238,028 grams)/year. Ag: 24,391 Troy ounces (758,645 grams).

Year: 1994 (fiscal year 1994): Au: 150,907 Troy ounces (4,693,733 grams)/year. Ag: 31,812 Troy ounces(989,464 grams)/year.

Year: 1995 (fiscal year 1995): Au: 168,190 Troy ounces(5,262,398 grams)/year. Ag: 40,466 Troy ounces(1,258,633 grams)/year.

Year: 1996 (total 1996): Au 122,192 Troy ounces(3,800,597 grams)/year.

During the 1920's and 1930's there was major production of high-grade clay from hydrothermal alteration zones in and around the gold deposits. The clay was used to produce high-quality clay products such as commodes, sinks & floor tile.

Reserve/resource data: Type: in-situ (1997): demonstrated: 17,962,000 metric tons of ore at 1.23 grams/metric tons. Proven reserves (date unknown): Lesley Ann ore body depleted, others were being mined. Production was based on 11,400 short tons/day. Ore processed at 360 days per year.

Analytical data results: Au:Ag = 1:2 overall but 2:1 in the core deposit.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10085019

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References