Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USAi
Regional Level Types | |
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Sunshine Mining District | Mining District |
Tooele County | County |
Utah | State |
USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
40° North , 113° West (est.)
Estimate based on other nearby localities or region boundaries.
Margin of Error:
~99km
Locality type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Link to the district located in Utah County: https://www.mindat.org/loc-245881.html
The Sunshine (South Mercur) mining district is located on the southern slopes of the Oquirrh Mountains, about 18 mi southeast of Tooele and just south of the Mercur district, in Tooele and Utah Counties. Sunshine is a significant district having an estimated 21,000 ounces of Au produced between 1898 and 1910 (Gilluly, 1932). The area also produced a significant amount of refractory clay to the east in the Clay Canyon area, Utah County. Total district metal production at modern metal prices is estimated at $23 million. The Overland and Sunshine underground mines are the largest historical Au producers.
The Oquirrh Mountains are one of the easternmost ranges in the Basin and Range Province. The main Sunshine Au orebodies underlie Sunshine Canyon. The Au deposits occur in the Mercur member clastic carbonate of the Mississippian Great Blue Limestone, just below the carbonaceous Long Trail Shale Member. The deposits are on the east limb of the asymmetrical Ophir thrust-cored anticline stratigraphically analogous to the Au orebodies in the Mercur district to the north. At Sunshine, the host Mercur member bed dips 20Β° to 25Β° east and the ore is associated with northwest-trending, high-angle faults. The resulting elongated, tabular Au deposits rake moderately to the southeast. The ores are largely oxidized to a depth of about 150 ft but become more carbonaceous and refractory at depth. Alteration associated with the mineralization is primarily silicification and decalcification. Iron oxides are common and arsenic oxides occur locally, typically with Au values. The Au ores are anomalous in As (500β4000 ppm), Hg (1β10 ppm), Sb (25β100 ppm), and Tl (7β31 ppm) (USGS Model 26a).
The Sunshine district was extensively explored in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in the delineation of three small Au resources. On the north, the Overland deposit is located at the Overland mine shaft and under the canyon to the west; its footprint is about 900 ft in an east-west direction and 950 ft north-south. The next deposit to the south, and the smallest, is Red Cloud located near the old Sunshine town site; it is about 700 ft north-south by 270 ft east-west. The Sunshine deposit at the old Sunshine mine, the southernmost and largest of the three deposits, is centered just north of the Sunshine shaft, and is about 1300 ft north-south by 700 ft east-west.
Roughly 1 mi east of Sunshine Canyon, Clay Canyon has an unnamed shale in the upper Great Blue Limestone that has been variably altered to clay, including illite, kaolinite, halloysite, smectite, variscite, and crandallite (Shubat, 1988). Clay Canyon trends northwesterly parallel to a series of faults. The clay has been exploited for fire brick, largely by the Interstate Brick Company. Very limited geochemical sampling of the clay mines showed weak Au to 0.09 ppm, As to 74 ppm, Sb to 29 ppm, and Zn to 590 ppm.
The Oquirrh Mountains are one of the easternmost ranges in the Basin and Range Province. The main Sunshine Au orebodies underlie Sunshine Canyon. The Au deposits occur in the Mercur member clastic carbonate of the Mississippian Great Blue Limestone, just below the carbonaceous Long Trail Shale Member. The deposits are on the east limb of the asymmetrical Ophir thrust-cored anticline stratigraphically analogous to the Au orebodies in the Mercur district to the north. At Sunshine, the host Mercur member bed dips 20Β° to 25Β° east and the ore is associated with northwest-trending, high-angle faults. The resulting elongated, tabular Au deposits rake moderately to the southeast. The ores are largely oxidized to a depth of about 150 ft but become more carbonaceous and refractory at depth. Alteration associated with the mineralization is primarily silicification and decalcification. Iron oxides are common and arsenic oxides occur locally, typically with Au values. The Au ores are anomalous in As (500β4000 ppm), Hg (1β10 ppm), Sb (25β100 ppm), and Tl (7β31 ppm) (USGS Model 26a).
The Sunshine district was extensively explored in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in the delineation of three small Au resources. On the north, the Overland deposit is located at the Overland mine shaft and under the canyon to the west; its footprint is about 900 ft in an east-west direction and 950 ft north-south. The next deposit to the south, and the smallest, is Red Cloud located near the old Sunshine town site; it is about 700 ft north-south by 270 ft east-west. The Sunshine deposit at the old Sunshine mine, the southernmost and largest of the three deposits, is centered just north of the Sunshine shaft, and is about 1300 ft north-south by 700 ft east-west.
Roughly 1 mi east of Sunshine Canyon, Clay Canyon has an unnamed shale in the upper Great Blue Limestone that has been variably altered to clay, including illite, kaolinite, halloysite, smectite, variscite, and crandallite (Shubat, 1988). Clay Canyon trends northwesterly parallel to a series of faults. The clay has been exploited for fire brick, largely by the Interstate Brick Company. Very limited geochemical sampling of the clay mines showed weak Au to 0.09 ppm, As to 74 ppm, Sb to 29 ppm, and Zn to 590 ppm.
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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.Mineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities16 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
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Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities
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Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
β Baryte Formula: BaSO4 Localities: Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Calcite Formula: CaCO3 Localities: Reported from at least 13 localities in this region. Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β 'Chlorite Group' Localities: Reported from at least 10 localities in this region. Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Cinnabar Formula: HgS Localities: Reference: UGMS Bull 117 Minerals and Mineral Localities of Utah; U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Dolomite Formula: CaMg(CO3)2 Localities: Sunshine Mine North, Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Clay Mine (MRDS - 10012728), Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA McFait Canyon Prospect, Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Sunshine Mine South, Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Unknown Mine (MRDS - 10097829), Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Gold Formula: Au Localities: Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O Localities: Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Halloysite Formula: Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 Localities: Reported from at least 10 localities in this region. Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β 'Limonite' Localities: Sunshine Mine North, Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Clay Mine (MRDS - 10012728), Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA McFait Canyon Prospect, Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Sunshine Mine South, Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Unknown Prospect (MRDS - 10094503), Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Montmorillonite Formula: (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 Localities: Reported from at least 12 localities in this region. Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Muscovite var. Sericite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 Localities: Reported from at least 12 localities in this region. Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Orpiment Formula: As2S3 Localities: Reference: UGMS Bull 117 Minerals and Mineral Localities of Utah |
β Pyrite Formula: FeS2 Localities: Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Quartz Formula: SiO2 Localities: Reported from at least 12 localities in this region. Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Realgar Formula: As4S4 Localities: Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Stibnite Formula: Sb2S3 Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
β Sulphur Formula: S8 Reference: UGMS Bull 117 Minerals and Mineral Localities of Utah |
β Talc Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 Localities: Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
Group 1 - Elements | |||
---|---|---|---|
β | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
β | Sulphur | 1.CC.05 | S8 |
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
β | Cinnabar | 2.CD.15a | HgS |
β | Orpiment | 2.FA.30 | As2S3 |
β | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
β | Realgar | 2.FA.15a | As4S4 |
β | Stibnite | 2.DB.05 | Sb2S3 |
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
β | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
β | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
β | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
β | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
β | Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 Β· 2H2O |
Group 9 - Silicates | |||
β | Halloysite | 9.ED.10 | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
β | Montmorillonite | 9.EC.40 | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 Β· nH2O |
β | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
β | var. Sericite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
β | Talc | 9.EC.05 | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc. | |||
β | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
β | 'Limonite' | - |
List of minerals for each chemical element
H | Hydrogen | |
---|---|---|
H | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
H | β Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
H | β Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
H | β Halloysite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
H | β Montmorillonite | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O |
H | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
C | Carbon | |
C | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
C | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
O | Oxygen | |
O | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
O | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
O | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
O | β Baryte | BaSO4 |
O | β Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
O | β Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
O | β Halloysite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
O | β Quartz | SiO2 |
O | β Montmorillonite | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O |
O | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Na | Sodium | |
Na | β Montmorillonite | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O |
Mg | Magnesium | |
Mg | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
Mg | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
Mg | β Montmorillonite | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O |
Al | Aluminium | |
Al | β Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Al | β Halloysite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
Al | β Montmorillonite | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O |
Al | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Si | Silicon | |
Si | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
Si | β Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Si | β Halloysite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
Si | β Quartz | SiO2 |
Si | β Montmorillonite | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O |
Si | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
S | Sulfur | |
S | β Cinnabar | HgS |
S | β Orpiment | As2S3 |
S | β Sulphur | S8 |
S | β Realgar | As4S4 |
S | β Pyrite | FeS2 |
S | β Baryte | BaSO4 |
S | β Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
S | β Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
K | Potassium | |
K | β Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
K | β Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Ca | Calcium | |
Ca | β Calcite | CaCO3 |
Ca | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
Ca | β Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
Ca | β Montmorillonite | (Na,Ca)0.33(Al,Mg)2(Si4O10)(OH)2 · nH2O |
Fe | Iron | |
Fe | β Pyrite | FeS2 |
As | Arsenic | |
As | β Orpiment | As2S3 |
As | β Realgar | As4S4 |
Sb | Antimony | |
Sb | β Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
Ba | Barium | |
Ba | β Baryte | BaSO4 |
Au | Gold | |
Au | β Gold | Au |
Hg | Mercury | |
Hg | β Cinnabar | HgS |
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Localities in this Region
- Utah
- Tooele County
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mojave DomainDomain
- Oquirrh BasinBasin
USA
- Utah
- Great Salt Lake DesertDesert
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Sunshine Mine North, Sunshine Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA