Empire Mine

Past Producer in Albany county in Wyoming, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Platinum, Copper, Iridium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Osmium, Palladium

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10038160
MRDS ID	M045451
Record type	Site
Current site name	Empire Mine
Alternate or previous names	Schnitzler
Included sites	Centennial Ridge District

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference	Main Entrance
Geographic coordinates:	-106.183, 41.274 (WGS84)
Elevation	2755
Location accuracy	10(meters)
Relative position	APPROXIMATELY 3 MI SOUTHWEST OF CENTENNIAL. Mine shown on topo corresponds with mine labeled on pl. 1 of McCallum.
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Geographic areas

Country	State	County
United States	Wyoming	Albany

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian	Township	Range	Section	Fraction	State
6th Principal	015N	078W	08,17	NE4 OF NW4 (17)	Wyoming

Comments on the location information

IN MEDICINE BOW NATIONAL FOREST

Commodities

Commodity	Importance
Gold	Primary
Silver	Primary
Platinum	Secondary
Copper	Secondary
Iridium	Tertiary
Rhodium	Tertiary
Ruthenium	Tertiary
Osmium	Tertiary
Palladium	Tertiary

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Chalcopyrite	Ore
Chrysocolla	Ore
Malachite	Ore
Pyrite	Ore

Analytical data

Result	AG=TR-33.8 PPM, AU=TR-2.06 PPM, PT=TR-35.7 PPM, IR=TR-97.4 PPM, PD=TR-2,186 PPM IN RUSTY ROCK SAMPLES (CONVERTED FROM ORIGINAL OZ/TON, HESS 1926, P. 130-132)

Host and associated rocks

Host or associated Host

Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

Main Entrance (1)	-106.183, 41.274	ListMap

Geologic structures

Type	Description	Terms
Regional	Mullen Creek-Nash Fork Shear Zone
Local	Fracture Systems

Ore body information

General form VEINS

General form	VEINS

Controls for ore emplacement

Fractures

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status	Past Producer
Commodity type	Metallic
Deposit size	Small
Significant	No

Mining district

District name	Centennial Ridge District

Land status

Ownership category	National Forest

Comments on the production information

NO PRODUCTION FIGURES AVAILABLE, SMALL PRODUCTION PRESUMED

Workings at the site

Type of workings Underground

Length 82.3M

Type of workings	Underground
Length	82.3M

Comments on the workings information

2 ADITS

Comments on development

ADITS BEGUN IN 1896

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency	Database name	Acronym	Record ID	Notes
USGS	Mineral Resources Data System	MRDS	M045451
U.S. Bureau of Mines	Minerals Availability System	MAS	0560010127	= newMRDS 10205150, merged and deleted.

Bibliographic references

Deposit

MCCALLUM, M.E., 1968, THE CENTENNIAL RIDGE GOLD-PLATINUM DISTRICT, ALBANY COUNTY, WYOMING: GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WYOMING PRELIMINARY REPORT 7, P. 9, 11.
Deposit

HESS, F.L., 1926, PLATINUM NEAR CENTENNIAL, WYOMING: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 780-C, P. 130-132.
Deposit

HAUSEL, W.D., 1980, GOLD DISTRICTS OF WYOMING: GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WYOMING REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 23, P. 37.
Deposit

HAUSEL, W.D., 1989, THE GEOLOGY OF WYOMING'S PRECIOUS METAL LODE AND PLACER DEPOSITS: GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WYOMING BULLETIN 68, P. 95.

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	PT-BEARING SULFIDES ARE IN LOWER ADIT; UNPUBLISHED MODEL NAME: NEW RAMBLER CU-AU-PGE.
Deposit	"In 1896, two copper prospect tunnels were driven along iron stained shear planes in a shear zone paralleling schistosity and foliation of the adjacent biotitic and hornblendic schists and gneisses. The upper drift penetrates the shear zone for about 100 feet and the lower drift about 170 feet. Sulphides taken from two crosscutting fracture systems and assayed in 1923 reportedly contained platinum metals along with gold and silver. Hess (1926, p. 130-132) reports the following value ranges: silver, a trace to 0.986 oz per ton; gold, a trace to 0.06 oz per ton; platinum, a trace to 1.04 oz per ton,; iridium (as determined may also include some rhodium, ruthenium, and/or osmium) up to 2.84 oz per ton; and palladium, up to 9.08 oz per ton. A third tunnel was driven thorugh talus into mafic schists and gneisses several hundred yards south of the first two drifts. Samples collected by Hess (1926, p. 32) from fault gouge in this tunnel showed little more than traces of platinum and gold and less than an ounce of silver per ton." (McCallum, 1968, p. 11)

Subject category

Comment text

Deposit

PT-BEARING SULFIDES ARE IN LOWER ADIT; UNPUBLISHED MODEL NAME: NEW RAMBLER CU-AU-PGE.

Deposit

"In 1896, two copper prospect tunnels were driven along iron stained shear planes in a shear zone paralleling schistosity and foliation of the adjacent biotitic and hornblendic schists and gneisses. The upper drift penetrates the shear zone for about 100 feet and the lower drift about 170 feet. Sulphides taken from two crosscutting fracture systems and assayed in 1923 reportedly contained platinum metals along with gold and silver. Hess (1926, p. 130-132) reports the following value ranges: silver, a trace to 0.986 oz per ton; gold, a trace to 0.06 oz per ton; platinum, a trace to 1.04 oz per ton,; iridium (as determined may also include some rhodium, ruthenium, and/or osmium) up to 2.84 oz per ton; and palladium, up to 9.08 oz per ton. A third tunnel was driven thorugh talus into mafic schists and gneisses several hundred yards south of the first two drifts. Samples collected by Hess (1926, p. 32) from fault gouge in this tunnel showed little more than traces of platinum and gold and less than an ounce of silver per ton." (McCallum, 1968, p. 11)

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	01-FEB-75	Blair, Will N.	U.S. Geological Survey
Updater	01-AUG-91	Peterson, Jocelyn A.	U.S. Geological Survey
Updater	04-AUG-11	Wilson, Anna B	U.S. Geological Survey	MAS 0560010127 = newMRDS 10205150, merged and deleted
Reporter	18-NOV-83	Intermountain Field Operations Center (IFOC)	U.S. Bureau of Mines	MAS 0560010127 = newMRDS 10205150