California · El Dorado County
Past Producer

Big Canyon Mine

El Dorado County, California, United States
GoldSilver
⌖ Show on mapUSGS source ↗
Commodities
PrimaryGold
TertiarySilver
Commodity typeM
Deposit
Deposit typeHydrothermal vein and replacement
Model273: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Orebody formTabular
Materials
Ore mineralsGold, Pyrite
GangueCalcite, Albite, Tuff, Diorite
Geology
Host rockTuff,Diorite
StructureBig Canyon fault zone, Melones fault zone; Bear Mountains fault zone
Tectonic settingMagmatic arc
AlterationPyrite-carbonate-albite alteration of basaltic metatuff and netadiorite
Economic & production
Development statusPast Producer
Discovery year1880
Identification
Deposit ID10310589
RegionNA
Data scoreA
Coordinates38.61063, -120.90531
References
Bohlke, J.K., and Kistler, R.W., 1986, Rb-Sr, K-Ar, and stable isotope evidence for the ages and sources of fluid components of gold-bearing quartz veins in the northern Sierra Nevada foothills metamorphic belt, California: Economic Geology, v. 81 p. 296-322.Busch, L.L., 2001, Mineral land classification of El Dorado County, California: California Geological Survey Open-File Report 2000-03.Clark, L.D., 1964, Stratigraphy and structure of part of the western Sierra Nevada metamophic belt, California:U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 410, 70 p.Clark, W. B., 1970, Gold districts of California: California Divisions of Mines and Geology Bulletin 193, p. 117.Clark, W.B. and Carlson, D.W., 1956, Mines and mineral resources of El Dorado County: California Division of Mines, California Journal of Mines and Geology, v. 52, p. 408.Duffield, W.A., and Sharp, R.V., 1975, geology of the Sierra Foothills melange and adjacent areas, Amador County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 827, 30 p.Earhart, R.L., 1988, Geologic setting of gold occurrences in the Big Canyon area, El Dorado County, California: U.S. Geological Survey professional Paper 1576, 13 p.Logan, C.A., 1926, El Dorado County: California State Mining Bureau, 22nd Report of the State Mineralogist, p.413Logan, C.A., 1938, Mineral resources of El Dorado County: California Division of Mines, 34th Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 220-223.Loucks, R.R., and Mavrogenes, J.A., 1999, Gold solubility in supercritical hydrothermal brines measured in synthetic fluid inclusions: Science, v. 284, p. 2159-2163.Loyd, R.C., Anderson, T.P., and Bushnell, M.M., 1983, Mineral land classification of the Placerville 15-minute quadrangle, El Dorado and Amador counties, California: California Division of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 83-29, 38 p.Nash, T.J., 1988, Geology and geochemistry of the Big Canyon area, El Dorado County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1854, 40 p.Saleeby, J., 1982, Polygenetic ophiolite belt of the California Sierra Nevada: Geochronological and tectonostratigraphic development: Journal of Geophysical research, v. 87, n0. 8, p. 1803-1824.Tucker, W.B., and Waring, C.A., 1916, Mines and mineral resources of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yuba counties, California State Mining Bureau, Fifteenth Report of the State Mineralologist, p. 293.Additional information on the Big Canyon Mine is contained in File No. 322-5979 (CGS Mineral Resources Files, Sacramento)