Santaquin Mining District, Utah County, Utah, USAi

Regional Level Types
Santaquin Mining District	Mining District
Utah County	County
Utah	State
USA	Country

The Santaquin mining district is in south-central Utah County. The Santaquin district covers Dry Mountain, 2 mi due east of the town of Santaquin. The district was organized in 1871 and has been a small Pb-Ag producer, totaling about 700 tons primarily of high-grade Pb-Ag ore. Total district metal production at modern metal prices is estimated at $260,000. The Union Chief Pb- Ag underground mine is the district’s only significantly productive operation.
The Santaquin district is situated in the southern Wasatch Range of the Middle Rocky Mountain province. The district covers Proterozoic- and Paleozoic-age strata dipping moderately eastward. Mineralization in the district is associated with zones of structural weakness created by folding and faulting; resultant shatter zones acted as pathways for mineralizing hydrothermal fluids. Ore deposits consist primarily of veins, pipes, and bedded replacement bodies in favorable Paleozoic carbonate rocks (Butler and others, 1920). The less reactive Proterozoic rocks to the west host structurally controlled Cu prospects, and the more reactive Paleozoic carbonates to the east host small Pb-Ag veins and replacement deposits at structural intersections (USGS Model 19a). The most important ore host is the Middle Cambrian Teutonic Limestone. The Union Chief mine is developed by a series of adits, drifts, and stopes in the Teutonic Limestone over a vertical distance of about 150 ft. The orebody consists of small replacement bodies in coarse-grained limestone and fissure fillings along structural intersections. The mine produced about 470 tons of ore running over 20% Pb and 250 ppm Ag. The primary ore/sulfide minerals in the district are argentiferous galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite, barite, fluorite, and probably sphalerite (Bullock, 1962).