Clearinghouse Mine (Golden Rule claim; Golden Rule No. 2 claim; Anderson I claim; North Extension of the Anderson claim; Moonstone claim; Moonstone No. 2 claim; El Portal claim; Ferguson Original claim; Original No. 2 claim; South Original Extension claim), Clearing House, Clearing House Mining District, East Belt, Mariposa County, California, USAi

Regional Level Types
Clearinghouse Mine (Golden Rule claim; Golden Rule No. 2 claim; Anderson I claim; North Extension of the Anderson claim; Moonstone claim; Moonstone No. 2 claim; El Portal claim; Ferguson Original claim; Original No. 2 claim; South Original Extension claim)	Mine
Clearing House	- not defined -
Clearing House Mining District	Mining District
East Belt	- not defined -
Mariposa County	County
California	State
USA	Country

A former lode Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn mine located in secs. 16, 21, 22 & 27, T3S, R19E, MDM, 1.0 km (3,200 feet) NNE of Clearing House (7 miles W of El Portal), on private land in a National Forest area. Discovered in 1860. Property consisted of 10 patented claims), totaling about 190 acres. Operated during the periods of the 1860's, 1911-1940. Operated by Mrs. Frank E. Gallagher. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 1,000 meters.

Mineralization is hosted in metasedimentary rock. The ore body strikes N8.5E and dips 78E.

Attitudes: Ferguson vein: N21E, 70W; Original vein: N8.5E, 78E to a depth of 400 feet. The Original vein lies in slaty metasediments; below that the wall rock is a coarse-grained biotite granodiorite which intrudes roughly parallel to slaty cleavage & schistosity. The Ferguson vein follows a granodiorite-metasediments contact. Metasediments include slate, quartz-biotite hornfels, graphite-mica schist & some quartz-biotite gneiss. Numerous ore shoots average 4 to 5 feet thick and 100 to 150 feet wide. Three lateral quartz veins - the Spanish, Golden Rule and Moonstone veins, join the Ferguson vein from the NE. The sulfide content of the ore is about twice as great in the shoots of the Ferguson vein as in shoots of the Original vein. Native gold occurs in ribbon quartz. An associated rock is Late Permian diorite. Local rocks include Paleozoic marine rocks, undivided, unit 4 (Western Sierra Nevada).

Workings include surface and underground openings with an overall depth of 457.2 meters. The main shaft of the Original Mine has 9 levels. At 650 level a 1,200 foot crosscut connects with the Ferguson vein, which is developed by a shaft and 5 adit levels. Total drifts are in the thousands of feet. Superficial workings are nearby.

Production data are found in: Bowen, O.E., Jr. & C.H. Gray, Jr. (1957).

Production information: The mine has been among the 10 highest producing mines in the county, with total production being in excess of $3,350,000 (period values). Claims of the Ferguson have yielded an estimated production of $1,250,000 (period values), and recorded production between 1935 and 1940 of $107,000 (period values), a total of $1,357,000. Between 1911 and 1937 claims of the Original Mine yielded 79,636.79 ounces of Au, 25,364 ounces of Ag, 340 pounds of Cu and 134 pounds of Pb from 175,156 tons of ore. Copper production was less than 100,000 pounds (Eric 1948).

Assay analyses results: Year: 1937: Original Mine: ^0.454 ounces Au/ton (13 grams/metric ton); ^0.14 ounce Ag/ton (4 grams metric/ton).

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10102910

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References