Widow No. 3 Mine (New Widow), Ryan, Furnace Creek Mining District (Furnace Creek Borate Mining District), Inyo County, California, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
36° 17' 53'' North , 116° 39' 55'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tecopa | 150 (2011) | 63.7km |
A former borate mine located in the SW¼SW¼ sec. 16 (also probably in sec. 21), T25N, R3E, SBM, 2.8 km (1.8 miles) S of Ryan, on private land (?) within what is now National Park Service wilderness land (Death Valley National Park). First operated in 1915. Owned by the U.S. Borax and Chemical Co. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 10 meters.
NOTE: USGS MRDS file #10163804 presents T&R data placing this mine in sec. 21, while file #10023432 places it in sec. 16, along with the other Widow Mines. The coordinates provided in MRDS file #10023432 (116.66366W, 36.29581N) place this mine far south of the described location; whereas, the coordinates presented in file #10163804 place it at the southern boundary of sec. 16, in proximity of the other Widow mines and consistent with the described location. The coordinates from this latter file are presented in this Mindat file.
Mineralization is a Miocene borate deposit (Deposit model code: 26; USGS model code 35b.3; Deposit model name: Lacustrine borates), hosted in rocks of the Miocene Furnace Creek Formation (limestone, shale). The deposit is limited on one side by a fault. This deposit may extend to the Widow No. 7 deposit. Calcite-colemanite mineralization encloses ulexite-probertite mineralization. Local rocks include Tertiary volcanic flow rocks, unit 16 (Northern Mojave Desert).
Local structures include a fault.
Workings include unspecified underground openings (the coordinates place this mine at the southern boundary of sec. 16 with sec. 21 amid a cluster of 6 adit symbols on the topo map.
Reserve-Resource data are found in: Evans and others (1976).
Reserves and resources: Type: In-situ; Estimate year: 1976; Total resources = 340,000 metric tons of ore.
Assay results: Boron-Borates (B2O3): 22 weight per cent (1976).
Evans and others estimated that 50% of the reserves/resources were recoverable.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Colemanite Formula: Ca[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O |
| ⓘ Nobleite Formula: CaB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O |
| ⓘ Sborgite Formula: Na[B5O6(OH)4] · 3H2O Description: Occurs in stalactites at the foot of an ore shoot. |
| ⓘ Thermonatrite Formula: Na2CO3 · H2O |
| ⓘ Ulexite Formula: NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Thermonatrite | 5.CB.05 | Na2CO3 · H2O |
| Group 6 - Borates | |||
| ⓘ | Colemanite | 6.CB.10 | Ca[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O |
| ⓘ | Sborgite | 6.EA.05 | Na[B5O6(OH)4] · 3H2O |
| ⓘ | Ulexite | 6.EA.25 | NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O |
| ⓘ | Nobleite | 6.FC.05 | CaB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Colemanite | Ca[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O |
| H | ⓘ Sborgite | Na[B5O6(OH)4] · 3H2O |
| H | ⓘ Thermonatrite | Na2CO3 · H2O |
| H | ⓘ Ulexite | NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O |
| H | ⓘ Nobleite | CaB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O |
| B | Boron | |
| B | ⓘ Colemanite | Ca[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O |
| B | ⓘ Sborgite | Na[B5O6(OH)4] · 3H2O |
| B | ⓘ Ulexite | NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O |
| B | ⓘ Nobleite | CaB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Thermonatrite | Na2CO3 · H2O |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Colemanite | Ca[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O |
| O | ⓘ Sborgite | Na[B5O6(OH)4] · 3H2O |
| O | ⓘ Thermonatrite | Na2CO3 · H2O |
| O | ⓘ Ulexite | NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O |
| O | ⓘ Nobleite | CaB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Sborgite | Na[B5O6(OH)4] · 3H2O |
| Na | ⓘ Thermonatrite | Na2CO3 · H2O |
| Na | ⓘ Ulexite | NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Colemanite | Ca[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O |
| Ca | ⓘ Ulexite | NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O |
| Ca | ⓘ Nobleite | CaB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10023432 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mojave DomainDomain
- Southern Basin and RangeWide Rift
USA
- Death Valley National ParkNational Park
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References
(n.d.) Minerals Availability System (MAS), U.S. Bureau of Mines.file ID #0060271784
