| Basis for focus area |
Focus area includes 3 polygons that outline past-producing barite mines and occurrences. Areas overlie areas of moderate and low potential for bedded barite identified in the SaMiRA study (Bedded barite and Muldoon-Pioneer tracts). |
| Identified resources |
Historical production of barite. |
| Production |
Barite production at the Sun Valley barite mine was intermittent, although the Sun Valley mine produced most of the barite mined in Idaho. In 1949 6700 tons of barite were produced; the best ore grade was 84 to 88% barite (Kiilsgaard, 1950). |
| Status |
Past mining. |
| Estimated resources |
Unknown. |
| Geologic maps |
Skipp and Kuntz (2009), scale 1:100,000; Worl and others (1991), scale 1:250,000; Kiilsgaard (1950), scale 1:20,454. |
| Geophysical data |
Inadequate Rank 3 to 4 aeromagnetic and Rank 4 aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Formations known to contain bedded barite deposits include Permian Dollarhide Formation of the Sun Valley Group, Mississippian Copper Basin Formation, and Cambrian to Mississippian Salmon River assemblage. |
| Deposits |
Sun Valley barite mine (MRDS dep_id: 10216701), Muldoon mine (MRDS dep_id: 10217240). |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
MRDS. |
| Geochemical evidence |
Anomalous Ba in rock samples (Smith and others, 2016) is associated with both the northern and southern parts of the bedded-barite tract defined by Lund and others (2016). Two of four heavy-mineral concentrate samples are anomalous for Ba, with one nonmagnetic fraction having more than 10,000 ppm Ba. |
| Geophysical evidence |
Unknown. |
| Evidence from other sources |
None. |
| Comments |
Bedded barite zones at the Muldoon barite deposit are about 70 m long and concordant with limestone lenses in calcareous quartzite of the Mississippian Copper Basin Formation. Other bedded barite deposits near the study area are lenticular masses in carbonaceous units of the Sun Valley Group (Hall and Kiilsgaard, 1995). The correlative carbonaceous rocks of the Salmon River assemblage may also host these deposits (Hall and Kiilsgaard, 1995). |
| Cover thickness and description |
Exposed at the surface. |
| Authors |
Jane M. Hammarstrom. |
| New data needs |
Lidar, high resolution geophysics. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
None requested at this time. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High resolution, Rank 1 aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar in progress or incomplete. |
