Geologic description
This prospect is in the Coast Range plutonic-metamorphic complex which consists of high-grade schist and gneiss intruded by Cretaceous and Tertiary granodiorite. The metamorphic rocks are derived from volcanic, pelitic, and minor carbonate strata of unknown protolith age (Brew and Ford, 1974, 1984). Brew and Ford (1985) show the prospect in sphene-bearing biotite-hornblende granodiorite associated with a large pendant of marble and calc-silicate granofels immediately to the east. The Whiting River prospect, also referred to as the Lost Charlie Ross, consists of several quartz veins in a dolomite roof pendant within diorite (Cobb, 1978 [OFR 78-698]). The dolomite is probably part of an assemblage of Paleozoic metamorphic rocks that outcrop discontinuously to the south of the Whiting River (Clough, 1990). Knopf (1910) describes the deposit as a quartz vein 4.5 feet wide and 100 feet long that contains arsenopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite. A sample of 'a streak of solid mineral 11 inches wide' on the footwall assayed more than 1 ounce of gold per ton, 50 ounces of silver per ton, and 40% lead. The dominant sulfide is arsenopyrite. Buddington (1929) describes an open cut along the vein and a 118-foot crosscut that did not reach the vein; also that the prospect has been known since 1898. |
