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Boraxo Mine, Ryan, Furnace Creek Mining District (Furnace Creek Borate Mining District), Inyo County, California, USAi
Regional Level Types
Boraxo MineMine
RyanUnincorporated Community
Furnace Creek Mining District (Furnace Creek Borate Mining District)Mining District
Inyo CountyCounty
CaliforniaState
USACountry

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00674420014946862697045.jpg
Boraxo open pit mine field trip for the Mineralogical Society of Southern California 1974

Boraxo Mine, Ryan, Furnace Creek Mining District, Inyo County, California, USA
00674420014946862697045.jpg
Boraxo open pit mine field trip for the Mineralogical Society of Southern California 1974

Boraxo Mine, Ryan, Furnace Creek Mining District, Inyo County, California, USA
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
36° 20' 22'' North , 116° 42' 16'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Tecopa150 (2011)69.5km
Mindat Locality ID:
5571
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:5571:3
GUID (UUID V4):
79e30925-3821-4cef-a3e3-4fa22fd717d6
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Kern Borate Mine; Boraxo deposit; Boraxo No. 1 and No. 2; Clara claim; Thompson Mine; Tenneco Mine


A former borate mine located in the NEΒΌNEΒΌ sec. 36, T26N, R2E, SBM, 2 miles (3.22 km) WNW of Ryan (S of hill 2562), on National Park Service land (Death Valley National Park). Discovered in 1915. Operated by Tenneco Mining Inc. (1976). Owned by the Pacific Coast Borax Co.; Russell, Monaghan, Barlow, and Hill; Pacific Coast Borax Co. (1915). The mine was purchased in 1960 by the Kern County Land Company for $200,000. Operated in the 1960s and during the period 1970 to 1977 (?). Closed in 1977. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 100 meters.

Mineralization is a lacustrine borate deposit (Deposit model: 260: Lacustrine borates; USGS model code 35b.3), hosted in rocks of the Miocene Furnace Creek Formation (limestone, clay, mud, mudstone, sandstone, shale). The orebody is lenticular, strikes E-W and dips 5-60S (40S average), at a thickness of 39.62Β m, width of 853.44 meters, and a length of 213.36 meters.

The rocks of the Furnace Creek Formation weather to a yellow or green. Greyish basaltic flows and/or intrusions occur locally in a zone from 400 to 900 feet (ca. 274 m) above the base of the formation. In the mine area, the formation is a maximum of 1,200 feet (ca. 366 m) thick. Local rocks include Quaternary alluvium and marine deposits.

The deposit occurs on the S limb of the anticline within a few tens of feet to 200 feet (ca. 61 m) of the base of the Furnace Creek Formation. It is cut near the ground surface by the pit fault on the N and pinches out on the S at a depth of about 800 feet (ca. 244 m) below the ground surface. The body is deformed locally by minor folds and ranges in thickness up to 130 feet (ca. 40 m) (average 40 to 45 feet (ca. 14 m)). The deposit is 2,800 feet (ca. 853 m) wide along strike and 300 to 700 feet (ca. 213 m) long down dip. The deposit is largely parallel to the dip of the enclosing beds. The Boraxo deposit is composed of 2 zones of borate minerals with interstitial clay and interlayered limy shale, mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone beds that are commonly 1 to 5 feet (1.52 m) thick. The outer zone of the deposit is colemanite and the core is a mixture of ulexite and probertite.

Local structures include a W-trending E-plunging anticline, the Death Valley graben, Pit fault and minor folding.

Workings include surface openings comprised of an open pit with a length of 670.56 meters. In 1976, the pit was 2,200 feet (ca. 671 m) long, 300 feet (91.44 m) wide at surface on the W to about 1,000 feet (ca. 305 m) wide on the E and 225 feet (68.58 m) deep. The maximum pit depth will be 450 feet (ca. 137 m) on the E, but the length and width were already at the maximum of the pit design. On completion of the open pit operations, a substantial tonnage of ore will remain beneath the floor that would require underground mining. The stripping ratio of overburden to ore was 26:1 in 1976, but was expected to decrease with further mining.

Production data are found in Evans et al. (1976).

Analytical data results: Assays of drill cores indicate an average grade of 20% B2O3 for colemanite ore. Assays of mill-run material indicate an average grade of 28% B2O3 for ulexite ore. This indicates a mineral content of about 40% colemanite and 70% ulexite-probertite.

Reserve-Resource data are found in Orris (1990).

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity 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-localities

8 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

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Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

β“˜ Calcite
Formula: CaCO3
β“˜ Celestine
Formula: SrSO4
β“˜ 'Clay minerals'
β“˜ Colemanite
Formula: Ca[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O
β“˜ Hydroboracite
Formula: CaMg[B3O4(OH)3]2 · 3H2O
β“˜ Priceite
Formula: Ca2B5O7(OH)5 · H2O
β“˜ Probertite
Formula: NaCa[B5O7(OH)4] · 3H2O
β“˜ Tunellite
Formula: SrB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O
Description: Small, well-formed crystals.
β“˜ Ulexite
Formula: NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
β“˜Calcite5.AB.05CaCO3
Group 6 - Borates
β“˜Colemanite6.CB.10Ca[B3O4(OH)3] Β· H2O
β“˜Hydroboracite6.CB.15CaMg[B3O4(OH)3]2 Β· 3H2O
β“˜Ulexite6.EA.25NaCa[B5O6(OH)6] Β· 5H2O
β“˜Probertite6.EB.15NaCa[B5O7(OH)4] Β· 3H2O
β“˜Priceite6.EB.25Ca2B5O7(OH)5 Β· H2O
β“˜Tunellite6.FC.05SrB6O9(OH)2 Β· 3H2O
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
β“˜Celestine7.AD.35SrSO4
Unclassified
β“˜'Clay minerals'-

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hβ“˜ ColemaniteCa[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O
Hβ“˜ HydroboraciteCaMg[B3O4(OH)3]2 · 3H2O
Hβ“˜ PriceiteCa2B5O7(OH)5 · H2O
Hβ“˜ ProbertiteNaCa[B5O7(OH)4] · 3H2O
Hβ“˜ TunelliteSrB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O
Hβ“˜ UlexiteNaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O
BBoron
Bβ“˜ ColemaniteCa[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O
Bβ“˜ HydroboraciteCaMg[B3O4(OH)3]2 · 3H2O
Bβ“˜ PriceiteCa2B5O7(OH)5 · H2O
Bβ“˜ ProbertiteNaCa[B5O7(OH)4] · 3H2O
Bβ“˜ TunelliteSrB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O
Bβ“˜ UlexiteNaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O
CCarbon
Cβ“˜ CalciteCaCO3
OOxygen
Oβ“˜ CalciteCaCO3
Oβ“˜ CelestineSrSO4
Oβ“˜ ColemaniteCa[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O
Oβ“˜ HydroboraciteCaMg[B3O4(OH)3]2 · 3H2O
Oβ“˜ PriceiteCa2B5O7(OH)5 · H2O
Oβ“˜ ProbertiteNaCa[B5O7(OH)4] · 3H2O
Oβ“˜ TunelliteSrB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O
Oβ“˜ UlexiteNaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O
NaSodium
Naβ“˜ ProbertiteNaCa[B5O7(OH)4] · 3H2O
Naβ“˜ UlexiteNaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O
MgMagnesium
Mgβ“˜ HydroboraciteCaMg[B3O4(OH)3]2 · 3H2O
SSulfur
Sβ“˜ CelestineSrSO4
CaCalcium
Caβ“˜ CalciteCaCO3
Caβ“˜ ColemaniteCa[B3O4(OH)3] · H2O
Caβ“˜ HydroboraciteCaMg[B3O4(OH)3]2 · 3H2O
Caβ“˜ PriceiteCa2B5O7(OH)5 · H2O
Caβ“˜ ProbertiteNaCa[B5O7(OH)4] · 3H2O
Caβ“˜ UlexiteNaCa[B5O6(OH)6] · 5H2O
SrStrontium
Srβ“˜ CelestineSrSO4
Srβ“˜ TunelliteSrB6O9(OH)2 · 3H2O

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:10023438

Localities in this Region

  • California
    • Inyo County
      • Furnace Creek Mining District (Furnace Creek Borate Mining District)

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality


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References

 
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