California · Mariposa County
Past Producer

Pine Tree-Josephine Mine

Mariposa County, California, United States
GoldSilverCopperLeadZincNickelCobalt
⌖ Show on mapUSGS source ↗
Commodities
PrimaryGold
SecondarySilver, Copper
TertiaryLead, Zinc, Nickel, Cobalt
Commodity typeM
Deposit
Deposit typeHydrothermal vein and replacement; hydrothermal stockwork
Model273: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Orebody formTabular, irregular
Ore controlMineralization along a major fault zone. The zone channeled carbon-dioxide-rich hydrothermal fluids, which resulted in open-space filling along fractures and replacement of wall rock.
Materials
Ore mineralsGold, Pyrite, Arsenopyrite, Sphalerite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Niccolite, Millerite, Erythrite
GangueQuartz, Ankerite, Talc
Geology
Host rockSchist · Mariposa Formation
Associated rockGreenstone,Slate,Graywacke,Serpentinite,Diorite
StructureMain and subsidiary (Mother Lode fault zone) branches of the Melones Fault Zone
Tectonic settingMagmatic arc
AlterationCarbonate; ankerite, quartz, sericite, Cr-mica, pyrite \nChloritic; chlorite, talc
Economic & production
Development statusPast Producer
Discovery year1849
Identification
Deposit ID10310715
RegionNA
Data scoreA
Coordinates37.59583, -120.12222
References
Bateman, P.C. and Krauskopf, K.B., Geologic map of the El Portal Quadrange, west-central Sierra Nevada, California: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1998, scale 1:62,500.Bowen, O.E., Jr. and Gray, C.H., Jr., 1957, Mines and mineral resources of Mariposa County, California: California Journal of Mines and Geology, v. 53, nos. 1-2, p. 35-343.Castello, W.O., 1921, Mariposa County: California State Mining Bureau, 17th Annual Report of the State Mineralogist, p. 86-143.Clark, W. B., 1970, Gold districts of California: California Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 193, p. 29.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. 72-73.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.Evans, J.R. and Bowen, O.E., 1977, Geology of the southern Mother Lode, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, California: California Division of Mines and Geology Map Sheet 36, scale 1:24,000.Julihn, C.E., and Horton, F.W., 1940, Mineral industries survey of the United States - Mines of the southern Mother Lode Region, Part II - Tuolumne and Mariposa counties: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 424, 179 p.Kistler, R.W., Dodge, F.C.W. and Silberman, M.L., 1983, Isotopic studies of mariposite-bearing rocks from the south-central Mother Lode, California: California Geology, v. 36, no. 9, p. 201-203.Knopf, A., 1929, The Mother Lode system of California: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 157, 88 p.Koschmann, A.H., and Bergendahl, M.H., 1968, Principal gold-producing districts of the United States: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 610, 283 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.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 Division of Mines Bulletin 108, 240 p.McAllister, C.A. and Barabas, A.H., 1990, Geology, ore deposits, and modern mining history of the Pine Tree-Josephine properties, Bagby District, southern Mother Lode, California, in Landefeld, L.A. and Snow, G.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. 125-145.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.Strand, R.G., 1967, Mariposa Sheet: California Division of Mines and Geology Geologic Map of California, scale 1:250,000.Wagner, D.L., Bortugno, E.J., and McJunkin, R.D., 1990, Geologic map of the San Francisco-San Jose Quadrangle, California: California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology Regional Geologic Map Series, Map No. 5A, scale 1:250,000.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.