Oro Y Plata Mine (Oro-Plata Extension Mine; Red Wing Willard Mine; Pay Rock Mine; Silver Star Mine; Blue Wing Mine), Murphys, Murphys Mining District (Esmeralda Mining District; Sperry Mining District), East Belt, Calaveras County, California, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° 8' 45'' North , 120° 28' 5'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Murphys | 2,213 (2015) | 1.1km |
| Forest Meadows | 1,249 (2015) | 5.9km |
| Vallecito | 442 (2011) | 6.2km |
| Angels Camp | 2,677 (2012) | 10.7km |
| Avery | 646 (2011) | 10.8km |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Calaveras Gem & Mineral Society | Angels Camp, California | 11km |
| Amador County Gem & Mineral Society | Sutter Creek, California | 40km |
Mindat Locality ID:
75727
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:75727:1
GUID (UUID V4):
6c08073c-8088-4008-a9ff-e6083eb9cd45
A former Au-Cu-Pb-Ag-Sn-Hg-Zn-Sb mine located in secs. 5 & 6, T3N, R14E, MDM, about 1 km NW of Murphys. Owned by Mary Bess Norton (1962). MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 100 meters. In 1962, an adit for tourist attraction was being developed .
Mineralization is a vein deposit hosted in limestone and diorite. The principal veins are the Red Wing, Oro Plata, Blue Wing and White Wing, on the contact between several NW-trending diorite bodies in limestone. The Red Wing vein strikes N85W and dips N and may be a mineralized dike, 100 feet thick with lenses of quartz asnd igneous rocks interspersed with gouge. The Oro Plata vein, N of the Red Wing vein, lies between diek rock and limestone, strikes N85W and dips vertically. The Blue Wing vein to the S branches from the Red Wing vein with limestone walls, strikes N75E and dips 75SE, and has two ore shoots. The E shoot is 8 to 10 feet thick at a width of 75 feet. The W shoot is 2.5 feet thick and 160 feet wide. The North branch of the Blue Wing vein strikes N85W and has a dip of either vertical or slightly to the NE and parallels the Red Wing vein. Two parallel pay rocvk veins occur in limestone N of the Red Wing, striking N78W and dupping SW at 2 fet thick. The White Wing vein, S of the Blue Wing, strikes N85W and dips 54NE. The recrystallized limestone and dolomite form lenses. Local alteration involved the mineralized of the network of igneous rocks. Mostly low grade Au ore on the N side of the hill, pay rock and Oro Plata veins consist mainly of galena, with Ag:Au = 6:1, while ore from the S side of the hill, the Blue Wing vein, has tetrahedrite with no galena and a an Ag:Au = 1:1. Stibnite hosting minor amounts of gold and silver has occasionally been found in the veins. Local rocks include limestone of probable Paleozoic or Mesozoic age.
Workings include surface and underground openings with an overall depth of 96.62 meters and comprised of open cuts, adits, a glory hole and a number of shafts at 286 feet and 317 feet deep, with drifts.
Production data are found in: Logan, Clarence August and Franke, H. (1936), and Clark, Wm. B. & P.A. Lydon (1962).
At the 1888 closing, ore was mostly low grade. The ore varies from 0.25 to 1.10 ounces/ton Au.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| β Cinnabar Formula: HgS |
| β Dolomite Formula: CaMg(CO3)2 |
| β Galena Formula: PbS |
| β Gold Formula: Au |
| β Stibnite Formula: Sb2S3 |
| β 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' Formula: Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| β | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| β | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| β | Cinnabar | 2.CD.15a | HgS |
| β | Stibnite | 2.DB.05 | Sb2S3 |
| β | 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' | 2.GB.05 | Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| β | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| C | Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| C | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | β Cinnabar | HgS |
| S | β Galena | PbS |
| S | β Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
| S | β Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | β Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | β Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
| Sb | Antimony | |
| Sb | β Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
| Sb | β Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | β Gold | Au |
| Hg | Mercury | |
| Hg | β Cinnabar | HgS |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | β Galena | PbS |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10040656 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
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References
(n.d.) Minerals Availability System (MAS), U.S. Bureau of Mines.file ID #0060090960
