State of Washington ALBERT D. ROSELLINI, Governor Department of Conservation EARL COE, Director DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY MARSHALL T. HUNTTING, Supervisor Bulletin No. 51 BARITE IN WASHINGTON By WAYNE S. MOEN For sale by Department of Conservation, Olympia, Washington. Price, Sl.00. FOREWORD Barite is on essential row material in several important industries, but it is fomilior to re latively few people. It is not unusual in appearance, and a person might foil to recognize the minerol upon visual examination, but almost anyone who might pick up a sample would notice its unusually high specific gravity (heavy weight) It is this high specific gravity that gives borite its value in its most important use-os a weighting agent in oil well-drilling mud. In recent years about half a million tons of borite hos been mined annually in the United States, and during the post few years Washington deposits have made sma1 I contributions toward that total. Our recent production hos averaged about one­ half of one percent of the total for the United States. Although this may not seem to be a major item in our economy or even in our total State minera l production, it is considered to be important and has provided employment to a few people here. We have Felt that the expected continued demand for borite for drilling muds to be used in Alaska will result in a long-term demand for Washington borite. Because of this anticipated demand and because we have felt that there is on excellent possi­ bility that new and larger deposits of borite could be found and mined in Washington, on investigation of our borite resources was initiated. This report is the product of that investigation. Recognition of the need for more information on borite resources of the Northwest was evident when the Industrial Row Materials Advisory Committee of the Deportment of Commerce and Economic Development recommended that a comprehen­ sive survey be mode of the borite resources of Washington. The committee also recom­ mended that its Deportment proceed with o borite market survey. We had already started the borite resource survey a t the time the recommendation was mode, and the market survey mo~ by the Deportment of Commerce and Economic Development showed that there was, in fact, on expanding market in the region. We feel that this report, giving details of 28 known borite mines and prospect in Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties, is especially timely and will be valuable to those who will be seeking new sources of borite in Washington in the future. Marshall T. Huntting, Supervisor Division of Mines and Geology Olympia, Washington December 1, 1963 m CONTENTS Page Foreword--------------------------------------------------------- m ln~aduction ------------------------------------------------------ Acknowledgments----------------------------------------- 2 Part I: General information ---------------------------------------- 2 Properties of barite --------------------- --------- - ------ - - - 2 Occurrence of barite -------------------------------------- 3 Uses and specifications------------------------------------- 4 United States production, consumption, and prices ------------- 8 Port Il: Barite deposits of Washington ------------------------------- - 13 Location, physiography, and access-------------------------- 16 General geology----------------------------------------- - 16 Geology of the barite deposits ----------------------------- - 19 Fissure veins -------------------------------------- 19 Replacement veins--------------------------------- 20 Bedded deposits ----------- ------------------------ 21 Tenor of the deposits------------------------------ - 21 S~ucture-------------------------------------- --- 22 Origin and age ----------------------------------- 23 Mining and milling ---------------------------------------- 24 Prospecting for barite -------------------------------------- 29 Barite reserves -------------------------------------------- 31 Barite deposits of Stevens County --------------------------- - 33 Huckleberry Mountain areo ------------------------- 33 Allan deposits ------- --------------------- 33 Allan prospect no. 1 --------------- 36 Allan prospect no. 2--------------- 38 Allan prospect no. 3 --------------- 40 Allan Barite (Four A) mine---- ------ 41 Cedor Canyon prospect---------- ----- ------ 43 Shallenberger mine ------------------------ 45 Deer Park Barite No, 1 mine---------------- 49 Deer Park Barite No. 2 mine---------------- 49 Chomokone prospect ----------------------- 50 Hillside (Copper Butte) mine ---------------- 51 CONTENTS-Continued Port II: Borite deposits of Washington-Continued Borite deposits of Stevens County-Continued Huckleberry Mountain area-Continued Wells Forgo mine-------------------------- 53 Cardinal mine ---------------------------- 55 Ye I low Jacket mine ------------------- ---- 57 Volley oreo -------------------------------------- 59 Smith (lnklers Point) mine ------------------ 60 Bokie mine------------------------------- 62 Pease (Loon Loke) mine -------------------- 63 Che we loh oreo ----------------------------------- 66 Eagle Mountain (Lynx Cot) mine------------- 66 Modsen mine ----------------------------- 70 Bruce Creek-Clugston Creek area-------------------- 73 Uribe (Bruce Creek) mine------------------- 74 Ohman prospect--------------------------- 78 Jacobson mine ---------------------------- 79 Rose prospect ----------------------------- 82 Wi 11 ioms Loke prospect--------------------- 85 Deep Loke area ----------------------------------- 85 Deep Lake prospect------------------------ 86 Lotze prospect ---------------------------- 88 Northport oreo ----------------------------------- 90 Flogstoff Mountain mine------------- ------- 90 O'Toole Mountain (Riverview ond Ellingwood) prospect ---------------------------- 93 Borite deposits of Pend Oreille County ----------------------- 96 Skookum Creek oreo ------------------------------- 96 Bobcat mine ------------------------------ 98 Other borite occurrences of the State ------------------------ 102 Ferry County ------------------------------------- 102 Okanogan County--------------- - ----------------- 102 Pend Ore i Ile County------------------------------- 103 Stevens County ----------------------------------- 103 Appendix A: Chemical analyses of Washington borite ------------------ 106 Appendix B: Tabulation of the borite deposits of Washington---------- In pocket Se lected references------------------------------------------------ 110 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Plate 1. Structural and textural features of Washington borite ---------- 18 2. Geologic mop and cross sections of the O'Toole N\ountoin borite deposit, Stevens County, Washington--------- In pocket Figure 1. Domestic f)f"oduction, consumption, and imports of borite, 1920-1961 --------------------------------------- 9 2. Barite deposits of Washington ------------- -- ------ - - -----­ 12 3. Typical flowsheet for concentration of borite by flotation ----­ 26 4. Typical flowsheet for concentration of borite by jigging---- --­ 28 5. Distriblltion of granitic rocks and borite occurrences of Stevens County ----------------------------------- 30 6. Distribution of granitic rocks and borite occurrences of the south half of Pend Oreille County ------------------- 31 7. Graph showing re lotion of speci fie grov ity, percent BaSO 4 and volume of ore --------------------------------- 32 8. Index mop· showing the borite deposits of Stevens County -----­ 34 9. Location mop of the Al Ion borite deposits------------------­ 36 10. Sketch mop of Allon prospects no. 1 and no. 3 -------------­ 39 11. Sketch mop of the Allon borite mine ----------------------­ 42 12. Location mop of the Cedar Canyon prospect ----------------­ 44 13. Location mop of the Shollenberger mine, Copper Butte mine, Deer Po rk Borite No. l and No. 2 mines, and Chomokone prospect----------------------------------------- 46 14. Mir,e mop showing underground workings of the Shollenberger mine 48 15. Location mop of the Wells Forgo, Cardinal, and Yellow Jacket mines ------------------------------------------- 52 16. Sketch mop of underground workings of the Wells Forgo mine -- 54 17. Location mop of the Smith {lnklers Point) and Bokie mines - - --- 60 18. Location mop of the Pease (Loon Loke) mine ---------------- 64 19. Sketch mop of the Pease borite deposit --------------------- 65 20. Location mop of the Eagle Mountain (Lynx Cot) mine --------- 66 21. Sketch mop of the Eagle N\ountoin mine workings ------------ 68 22. Location mop of the Madsen mine-------------------------- 71 23. Sketch mop of the Madsen mine workings ------------------- 72 24. Location mop of the Uribe mine ond the Ohman prospect ------ 74 25. Sketch mop of surface workings of the Uribe mine and Ohman prospect, and the geology of the Uribe mine ---------- 76 ILLUSTRATIONS-Continued Page Figure 26. location mop of the Jacobson mine ond the Rose prospect ---- 80 27. Sketch mop of the geology of the Jacobson borite deposit ---- 81 28. Sketch mop of the geology of the Rose prospect ------------- 83 29. location mop of the Williams Lake prospect ---------------- 84 30. location mop of the Deep lake and Lotze prospects --------- 87 31. Sketch mop of the Lotze borite deposit -------------------- 88 32. location mop of the Flagstaff Mountain mine --------------- 90 33. Sketch mop o~ the. mine workings and geology of the Flagstaff Mountain mine--------------- --------------------- 92 34. location mop of the O'Toole Mountain prospect ------------ 94 35. Index mop showing the