Coeur Mine

Shoshone County, Idaho, United States

SilverAntimonyCopperZincLeadGold

⌖ Show on map USGS source ↗

Commodities

PrimarySilver

SecondaryAntimony, Copper

TertiaryZinc, Lead, Gold

Commodity typeM

Deposit

Deposit typeHYDROTHERMAL VEIN AND REPLACEMENT

Model{85: Polymetallic veins}

Deposit sizeM

WorkingsUnderground

Orebody formPINCH AND SWELL

Ore control"Orebodies (massive siderite veins) occur in a wedge of Revett Formation quartzite in the footwall of the Polaris Fault. Revett Formation rocks have been uplifted here over 1 kilometer. Veins pinch out rapidly when they pass into argilite. Boundaries of veins at the intersection of fractures and bedding. Clean Revett Formation quartizite is the best host rock, sericitic quartzite in the St. Regis Formation is a relatively poor host rock. Mineralized fractures occupy fractures of five orientations, one parallel to the Osburn and Placer Creek Faults, and two sets of conjugate fractures related to left-lateral and right-lateral movement on the Osburn and Placer Creek Faults."

Materials

Ore mineralsTetrahedrite, Galena, Sphalerite, Stibnite, Chalcopyrite, Silver, Boulangerite

GangueSiderite, Quartz, Pyrite, Arsenopyrite, Ankerite

Geology

Host rockQuartzite · "St. Regis Formation", "Revett Formation"

Structure"Osburn Fault, 1.5 km north of Coeur shaft, N75W 60-80SW", "Placer Creek Fault, 3.5 km south of Coeur shaft", "Big Creek Anticline, north overturned limb strikes N55W, axial plunge 10 to 20 N, axial plane dips 55SW.", "Polaris Fault, N55W 50-75SW, cuts north limb of Big Creek anticline, a tension fracture extending from the Osburn to the Placer Creek faults.", "St. Elmo Fault, N50W 60SW, shows reverse movement.", "Mineral Point Fault", "Fort Wayne Fault, N60W 60-70SW, shows normal displacement.", "Silver Standard Fault, N60W 65SW, shows normal movement."

Tectonic setting"Belt Basin"

Economic & production

Development statusPast Producer

Production years1892-1895, 1897-1898, 1919-1922, 1938-1952, 1974, 1976-1991, 1996-1998

First production1892

Last production1998

Discovery year1885

Identification

Deposit ID10107346

MRDS IDW026665

Alternate namesRainbow Mine, Mineral Point, Coeur d'Alene Mines

RegionNA

Data scoreA

Coordinates47.49017, -115.98963

References

{Deposit:: ENG. MINING JOUR., 1976 , ASARCO'S NEWLY DEDICATED COEUR SILVER MINE WILL BE FOURTH LARGEST IN US: ENG. MINING JOUR., V. 177 , NO. 7 , P. 23 - 27}{Deposit:: CARTER, R. A., AND LI, TAM., 1976 , IDAHO'S COEUR D'ALENE DISTRICT SETS SIGHTS ON RECORD PRODUCTION: MINING ENG., V. 28 , NO. 7 , P. 49 - 64}{Deposit:: Fryklund, V.C., Jr., 1964, Ore deposits of the Coeur d'Alene district, Shoshone County, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 445, 103 p.}{Deposit:: Robinson, Robert Blair, 1980, Structural geology and structural origin of the veins of the Coeur mine, Coeur d'Alene mining district, Shoshone County, Idaho: Moscow, University of Idaho, MS thesis, 98 p.}{Deposit:: Hackbarth, C.J., and Petersen, U., 1982, Zoning in veins of the Galena and Coeur mines, Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 14, no. 6, p. 314.}{Deposit:: Dahl, Mary Katherine, 1981, Structural and stratigraphic control of ore through the Crescent, Sunshine, Silver Summit, Coeur and Galena mines, Coeur d'Alene mining district, Idaho: Moscow, Univeristy of Idaho, MS thesis, 97 p.}{Deposit:: Hobbs, S. W., And Others, 1965 , Geology Of The Coeur D'Alene District, Shoshone County, Idaho: USGS Prof. Paper 478 , 139 P.}