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Azurite Mine, Slate Creek Mining District, Whatcom County, Washington, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Azurite Mine | Mine |
| Slate Creek Mining District | Mining District |
| Whatcom County | County |
| Washington | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
48° 40' 56'' North , 120° 46' 50'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Claims: Azurite, South Azurite, Ibex, Chalcopyrite
The Azurite Mine is one of the most significant producing metal mines in western Washington. The ore occurred as a few veins in shears in argillite, quartzite and conglomerate. The most notable of these veins was the Azurite, followed by the Devils Hole, Monster, and Lucky Dog. In the Azurite vein the gold content decreased with depth. The deposit was discovered in 1915, but the mine did not see much activity until 1930, when the Tinson tunnel was driven. Accessibility had always been an issue since it was necessary to cross over two high passes to get to the mine from the nearest highway. In 1935 ASARCO leased the mine and in 1936 built a mill which ran until 1939. Total production was 72,000 tons of rock averaging 0.38 oz/ton Au. Later drilling was done to search for more ore, but little was found and the equipment was removed in 1942.
Note: While this mine is named "Azurite" little copper was produced from it other than near the outcrop.
Structure: Deposit Is On Northeast Limb Of Northwest Trending Anticline. Shear Zones Trending N10w-S50w, Dipping 45-60n And W.
Alteration: Wall Rock Has Been Silicified, Chloritized, Sericitized, Kaolinized, And Pyritized.
Tectonics: Cascade Volcanic Arc
Deposit: At one time, property consisted of 40 contiguous claims but no W consists of 4 claims; other 36 are invalid from lack of annual assessment work. Mine is one of main gold producers of county. ; info.src : 1 pub lit largest veins of deposit are azurite, devil's hole, monster, and luck dog. Azurite is the principal vein of group. Veins are traceable for several thousand feet. Some massive chalcopyrite lenses are reported
Deposit type: Polymetallic veins
Development: Double dragon was doing road repairs, sampling old tailings, and cleaning up the mill site in 1992
Geology: Rocks of virginia ridge formation are intruded by circular and elliptical bodies of diorite.
Rock formation(s): Virginian Ridge Formation;Virginian Ridge Formation;Virginian Ridge Formation
Ore(s): Faults
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
9 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Arsenopyrite Formula: FeAsS |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Pyrrhotite Formula: Fe1-xS |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrrhotite | 2.CC.10 | Fe1-xS |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Arsenopyrite | 2.EB.20 | FeAsS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| C | Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| As | Arsenic | |
| As | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10047819 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
- Cascade RangeMountain Range
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Franciscan DomainDomain
- MethowAccretionary Complex
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Azurite Mine, Slate Creek Mining District, Whatcom County, Washington, USA