California · Amador County
Past Producer

Original Amador Mine

Amador County, California, United States
Gold
⌖ Show on mapUSGS source ↗
Commodities
PrimaryGold
Commodity typeM
Deposit
Deposit typeHydrothermal vein
Model273: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Orebody formTabular, pinch and swell
Ore controlOre shoots within mesothermal gold bearing quartz veins.\n
Materials
Ore mineralsGold, Pyrite, Arsenopyrite
GangueQuartz, Slate
Geology
Host rockSlate,Greenstone · Mariposa Formation
StructureMelones Fault zone, Bear Mountains Fault zone, Melones Fault zone
Tectonic settingMagmatic arc
AlterationHydrothermal alteration of greenstone wall rocks resulting in disseminated auriferous pyrite in large enough bodies to constitute low-grade ore.
Economic & production
Development statusPast Producer
Discovery year1851
Identification
Deposit ID10310660
Alternate namesLittle Amador Mine, Minister?s Claim
RegionNA
Data scoreA
Coordinates38.41997, -120.82279
References
Clark, W. B., 1970, Gold districts of California: California Divisions of Mines and Geology Bulletin 193, p. 69-76.Carlson, D.W., and Clark, W.H., 1954, Mines and mineral resources of Amador County, California: California Division of Mines and Geology, 50th Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 188-189.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.Knopf, A., 1929, The Mother Lode system of California: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 157, 88 p.Koschman, A.H., and Bergendahl, M.H., 1968, Principal Gold-Producing districts of the United States: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 610, 283 p.Logan, C.A., 1921, Amador County, Central Eureka Mine: California State Mining Bureau, 17th Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 409-410.Logan, C.A., 1927, Amador County, Central Eureka Mine: California State Mining Bureau, 23rd Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 178-179.Logan, C.A., 1934, Mother Lode gold belt of California: California Division of Mines Bulletin 108, p. 104-106.McDougall, B.W., 1929, Preliminary report on the Original Amador and Bunker Hill Mines, Amador County, California, unpublished report, 13 p.Moore, L., 1968, Gold resources of the Mother Lode Belt, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, and Mariposa counties, California: U.S. Bureau of Mines Technical Progress Report 5, p. 1-22.Schweickert, R.A., Hanson, R.E., and Girty, G.H., 1999, Accretionary tectonics of the Western Sierra Nevada Metamorphic Belt in Wagner, D.L. and Graham, S.A., editors, Geologic field trips in northern California: California Division of Mines and Geology Special Publication 119, p. 33-79.Tucker, W.B., 1914, Amador County, Original Amador Mine: California State Mining Bureau, 14th Annual Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 39-40.Additional information on the Original Amador Mine is available in file no. 332-5820 (CGS Mineral Resources Files, Sacramento).Zimmerman, J.E., 1983, The Geology and structural evolution of a portion of the Mother Lode Belt, Amador County, California: unpublished M.S. thesis, University of Arizona, 138 p.