California · Calaveras County
Past Producer

Sheep Ranch Mine

Calaveras County, California, United States
SilverGoldIronZincCopperLead
⌖ Show on mapUSGS source ↗
Commodities
PrimarySilver, Gold
TertiaryIron, Zinc, Copper, Lead
Commodity typeM
Deposit
Deposit typeHydrothermal vein
Model273: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Orebody formTabular, lens
Ore controlMineralization occurs as ore shoots within mesothermal gold-bearing quartz veins deposited in parallel fault planes, fractures, and fissures. Ore concentrations are common at intersections of quartz veins and where igneous dikes and quartz veins intersect.
Materials
Ore mineralsGold, Chalcopyrite, Sphalerite, Pyrite, Galena
GangueQuartz
Geology
Host rockMica Schist · Calaveras Complex
StructureMelones Fault Zone, Bear Mountain Fault Zone, Foothills Fault System, Calaveras-Shoo Fly Thrust, Parallel veins in unnamed fractures.
Tectonic settingMagmatic arc
AlterationNegligible? None described.
Economic & production
Development statusPast Producer
Discovery year1867
Identification
Deposit ID10310676
Alternate namesWashington Mine, Wallace and Ferguson Mine, Chavanne Mine, Pioche Mine, American Mine, Chavanne Claim, Wallace Claim, McNair Claim, Location Claim, Aspinwall Claim, Northstarv Claim, Salamanda Claim, Admiral Dewey Claim, Rosco Claim, Alabama Claim, Franklin Claim, Lodi Claim, Eureka Claim, Elk Claim, Hurricane Claim, Toom Claim
RegionNA
Data scoreA
Coordinates38.20845, -120.46871
References
Bateman, P.C. and Eaton, J.P., 1967, Sierra Nevada batholith: Science, v. 158, p. 1407-1417.Bohlke, J.K., 1999, Mother Lode gold, in Moores, E.M. and others, editors, Classic Cordilleran concepts: A View from California: Geological Society of America Special Paper 338, p. 55-67.Bohlke, J.K. and Kistler, R.W., 1986, Rb-Sr, K-Ar, and stable isotope evidence for the ages and sources of fluid components in gold-quartz veins of the northern Sierra Nevada foothills metamorphic belt, California: Economic Geology, v. 81, p. 296-322.Bradley, W., 1936, Mines and mineral resources of Calaveras County: California Division of Mines 13th Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 236-239.Burchfiel, B.C. and Davis, G.A., 1981, Triassic and Jurassic tectonic evolution of the Klamath Mountains - Sierra Nevada geologic terrane, in Ernst, W.G., editor, The geotectonic development of California (Rubey Volume I): Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p. 50-70.Clark, L.D., 1954, Geology and mineral deposits of the Calaveritas quadrangle, Calaveras County, California: California Division of Mines Special Report 40, 23 p.Clark, L.D., 1964, Stratigraphy and structure of part of the western Sierra Nevada metamorphic belt, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 410, 70 p.Clark, L.D., 1970, Geology of the San Andreas 15-minute quadrangle, Calaveras County, California: California Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 195, 23 p.Clark, W.B, and Lydon, P.A., 1962, Mines and mineral resources of Calaveras County, California: California Division of Mines and Geology County Report No. 2, p. 69-70.Clark, W.B., 1970, Gold districts of California: California Divisions of Mines and Geology Bulletin 193, p. 115-116.Coveney, R.M., Jr., 1981, Gold quartz veins and auriferous granite at the Oriental Mine, Alleghany, California: Economic Geology, v. 76, p. 2176-2199.Crawford, J.J., 1896, Calaveras County gold: California State Mining Bureau 13th Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 288, 318.Dickinson, W.R., 1981, Plate tectonics and the continental margin of California, in Ernst, W.G., editor, The geotectonic development of California (Rubey Volume I): Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p. 1-28.Eric, J.H. and others, 1955, Geology and mineral deposits of the Angels Camp and Sonora quadrangles, Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties, California: California Division of Mines Special Report 41, 55 p.Fischer, E. and Miller, B., 1998, Sheep Ranch pioneers: Las Calaveras, Quarterly Bulletin of the Calaveras County Historical Society, v. XLVII, October, 8 p.Hamilton, F., 1914, Mines and mineral resources of parts of California: California State Mining Bureau 14th Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 104-105.Hamilton, F. 1923, Mining in California - Activities of the State Mining Bureau: California State Mining Bureau 19th Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 17.Hanks, H.G, 1886, Calaveras County: California State Mining Bureau 6th Annual Report of the State Mineralogist - Part II, p. 30.Ireland, W., 1888, Calaveras County: California State Mining Bureau 8th Annual Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 131-133.Julihn, C.E. and Horton, F.W., 1938, Mines of the southern Mother Lode region, Part I - Calaveras County: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 413, p. 110-112.Knopf, A., 1929, The Mother Lode system of California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 157, 88 p.Landefeld, L.A., 1990, The geology of the Mother Lode Gold Belt, Foothills Metamorphic Belt, Sierra Nevada, California: in Landefeld, L.A. and Snow, G., editors, Yosemite and the Mother Lode Gold Belt: geology, tectonics, and the evolution of hydrothermal fluids in the Sierra Nevada of California: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pacific Section, Guidebook 68, p 117-124.Logan, C.A., 1935, Mother Lode gold belt of California: California State Division of Mines Bulletin 108, 240 p.Moore, L., 1968, Gold resources of the Mother Lode Belt of California: U. S. Bureau of Mines Technical Progress Report 5 - Heavy Metals Program, 22 p.Moores, E.M., 1972, Model for a Jurassic island arc - continental margin collision in California: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with program, v. 4, p. 202.Nesbitt, B. E. and others, 1986, Dual origins of lode gold deposits in the Canadian Cordillera: Geology, v. 14, p. 506-509.Preston, E.B., 1892, California State Mining Bureau 11th Annual Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 175-176.Root, L.L., 1925, Mining in California: California State Mining Bureau 21st Annual Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 158-159.Saleeby, J., 1981, Ocean floor accretion and volcanoplutonic arc evolution of the Mesozoic Sierra Nevada, in Ernst, W.G., editor, The geotectonic development of California (Rubey Volume I): Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p. 132-181.Schweickert, R.A. and Cowan, D.S., 1975, Early Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the western Sierra Nevada, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 86, p. 1329-1336.Schweickert, R.A. and others, 1988, Deformational and metamorphic history of Paleozoic and Mesozoic basement terranes in the western Sierra Nevada metamorphic belt, in Ernst, W.G., editor, Metamorphism and crustal evolution of the western United States (Rubey Volume VII): Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p. 789-822.Seward, T.M., 1991, The hydrothermal geochemistry of gold, in Foster, R.P., editor, Gold metallogeny and exploration: Blackie, Glasgow, p. 37-62.Wagner, D.L. and others, 1981, Geologic map of the Sacramento quadrangle, California: California Division of Mines and Geology Regional Map Series Map 1A, scale 1:250,000.Weir, R.H. and Kerrick, D.M., 1987, Mineralogic, fluid inclusion, and stable isotope studies of several gold mines in the Mother Lode, Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties, California: Economic Geology, v. 82, p. 1659-1682.Miscellaneous information on Sheep Ranch deposit is contained in File Number 330-2461 (CDMG Mineral Resources Files, Sacramento) and in files of the Anaconda Geological Documents Collection at the University of Wyoming.Additional miscellaneous information on Sheep Ranch Mine is also on file with:Collection number Ms 231.Holt Atherton Department of Special CollectionsUniversity of the Pacific LibraryStockton, CA 95211P. O. Box 721San Andreas, CA 95249(In addition to historical data, this collection includes an impressive photo catalog)