Gold Bug Mine (Silver Pine Mine; Priest Mine; Gold Bug Lode; Hattie Mine), Hangtown Gold Bug Park, Placerville (Hangtown), Placerville Mining District, El Dorado County, California, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° 44' 36'' North , 120° 47' 59'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Placerville | 10,650 (2017) | 1.5km |
| Diamond Springs | 11,037 (2011) | 5.6km |
| Cold Springs | 446 (2011) | 6.1km |
| Deer Park | 1,384 (2018) | 7.1km |
| Coloma | 529 (2011) | 10.1km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| El Dorado County Mineral and Gem Society | Placerville, California | 2km |
| Gold Country Treasure Seekers | Placerville, California | 2km |
| Amador County Gem & Mineral Society | Sutter Creek, California | 39km |
| Roseville Rock Rollers | Roseville, California | 42km |
A former lode Au occurrence/mine located in sec. 6, T10N, R11E, MDM, in the Hangtown Gold Bug Park (off Bedfod Avenue, less than 1 mile N of US highway 50), on state land. Discovered in 1848 by Chilean prospectors. First production was in 1888. Operated by the John I. Martin estate. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 500 meters. The Gold Bug is one of 2 main adits connected with a vertical shaft. The other main adit is the Priest Mine, and a third undeveloped adit is the Silver Pine Mine.
NOTE: Both USGS MRDS database files contain serious errors in the data presented. Both files No. 10030387 & 10285147 present geographic coordinates (38°52'03"N, 120°39'31"W and 38°52'00"N, 120°39'35"W, respectively) that place this mine in sec. 20, T12N, T12E, MDM, a considerable distance from Placerville in the East Belt. Further, accompanying data are also in error, describing the mine as being on the SW slope of Sand Mountain, consistent with the erroneous geographic coordinates. The coordinates presented in this Mindat file are the coordinates of record for the Hangtown Gold Bug Park, in which the mine is situated.
Mining was probably started by William Craddock and John Bench in 1888. They named the mine the Hattie Mine after Craddock's eldest daughter. The claim was then sold to Thomas Bishop and Frank Monaghan in 1902. In 1926, the next owner, John McKay, renamed it the Gold Bug Mine, and operated it until WWII, when President Roosevelt ordered all gold mines closed because they were deemed non-essential. The upper level, the Priest Mine was started before the Gold Bug, which worked the same quartz vein. Stamp mills were probably in place in the 1920's or 1930's.
On February 1, 1985, the Gold Bug Mine was placed on the National register of historic places. The 61 acre Gold Bug PArk provides a safe walk through a real gold mine and has an 8-stamp mill once used to reduce the ore to powder. The park has 8 adits and over 250 prospecting holes and trenches.
Mineralization is a Au deposit (Deposit model code: 273; USGS model code: 36a; Deposit model name: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein), on the Mother Lode, and hosted in rocks of the Amador Group - M to L (metamorphic rock, Paleocene Calaveras Formation sandstone & shale). Tabular veins dip steeply to the NE and parallel the metamorphosed sandstone and shale layers. The mineralogy is simple and consists of white quartz ribboned with bands of slate or schist and minor amounts of pyrite with native gold. Local rocks include Mesozoic granitic rocks, unit 3 (Sierra Nevada, Death Valley area, Northern Mojave Desert and Transverse Ranges).
Related tectonic structures include the Melones Fault Zone (located approximately 1,000 feet (305 meters) W of the mine).
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsGallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10030387 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Calaveras-Baker DomainDomain
- Sierra Nevada BatholithVolcanic Arc
USA
- California
- Mother Lode BeltBelt
- Sierra NevadaMountain Range
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References
(n.d.) Minerals Availability System (MAS), U.S. Bureau of Mines.file #0060171027
Gold Bug Mine, Hangtown Gold Bug Park, Placerville, Placerville Mining District, El Dorado County, California, USA