Spring Creek Mining District, Juab County, Utah, USAi

Regional Level Types
Spring Creek Mining District	Mining District
Juab County	County
Utah	State
USA	Country

The Spring Creek district lies on the west flank of the Deep Creek Range about 65 mi south of Wendover along the Utah- Nevada border in extreme western Juab County. The district was organized in 1891 and has been a modest Au producer. Total district metal production at modern metal prices is estimated at $6 million. The principal mine in the district, the Queen of Sheba underground mine, is credited with the production of 4980 ounces of Au and 8820 ounces of Ag from about 9500 tons of high-grade ore (Hannigan, 1990).
The Deep Creek Range is a prominent mountain range in the Basin and Range Province. The Deep Creek Range lies just northeast of the Snake Range metamorphic core complex in Nevada. The Deep Creek Range is believed to be rotated westward by Miocene Basin and Range listric faulting. The Spring Creek district is located southwest of the Ibapah batholith. A small alaskite body identified underground in the Queen of Sheba mine, but not exposed at the surface, grades upward into pegmatite dikes and quartz veins generally trending N. 85° E., dipping 40° to 65° SE., and cutting moderately east-dipping Neoproterozic McCoy Group quartzite. The quartz veins carry significant Au values (Nutt and others, 1990). Mineralization/sulfides recognized in the quartz veins include galena, chalcopyrite, and pyrite. In addition to Au, the ore is anomalous in Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, and weakly anomalous in As, Bi, and W (Hannigan, 1990). Hannigan (1990) lists a subeconomic inferred resource of 75,000 tons averaging about 7 ppm Au and containing a total of about 15,000 ounces of Au. Small bodies of greisen-like alteration are associated with the margins of the alaskite dikes. The greisens consist of fluorite, muscovite, quartz, and lesser beryl, topaz, garnet, and cassiterite.
The remaining mines and prospects in the district were primarily developed to exploit small Pb-Cu-Zn-Ag replacement deposits (USGS Model 19a). These replacement deposits are mostly on the east side of the district hosted in Ordovician carbonates; however, production has been minimal.
Much of the Spring Creek district lies within the Goshute Indian Reservation.