Mine History
DEER TRAIL MINE HISTORY
Gold was discovered at the present site of the Deer Trail Mine by deer hunters
in 1878. A mine was developed shortly thereafter and operated up until 1930, at
which time an underground fire disrupted the mining operations. Some of the workings
collapsed and this portion of the mine has been closed to this day. Two hundred
thousand ounces of gold and 1.5 million ounces of silver were reported to have
been processed at the site (at today's precious metal values this would amount
to over thirty million dollars). The portals of the mine tunnels, foundations
for the mill and some equipment can be seen, including tailings disposal ponds
consisting of over 150,000 tons of material.
It has been reported that the grade of gold processed from the mine ranged
from 2 ounces up to as high as 7 ounces per ton. Assays on the tailings indicate
gold at 0.04 per ton and silver at 2.5 oz per ton, with a total value of approximately
three million dollars.
In the late 1950's a tunnel (now referred to as the PTH Tunnel) was driven
four hundred feet below the old working with the intent of reopening the old gold
workings. At a distance of 3400 feet in the tunnel, a fairly large sulfide ore
body containing lead, zinc and silver was intersected. The tunnel was extended
to over ten thousand feet and a second ore body was intersected at 8,600 feet.
One hundred and fifty thousand tons of high grade lead and zinc ore, together
with the silver from this area of the tunnel, were processed in smelters in Kellogg,
Idaho. In the mid 1970's, as a result of falling metal prices, the smelters were
closed down and mining at the Deer Trail was halted.
In the lower working of the PTH tunnel, records show that an additional 69,000
tons of ore were processed between 1975 and 1981. At present day metal prices,
the total production from the PTH tunnel would be in the order of 30 million dollars.
Since production in the mine ceased, Phelps Dodge, Noranda and Goldfields Mining
Companies separately have conducted exploration programs at the mine and surrounding
areas. Recent assays on the "8600" level show 0.018 ounces of gold per
ton, 49.70 ounces of silver per ton, 14.3% lead per ton and 41.8% zinc per ton.
In 1992, and again in 2001 UNICO obtained a lease option with Deer Trails Development
Corporation for the Deer Trail Mine and for the past 9 years has opened up the
underground workings and this past year constructed a processing mill on site.
The priority is to mine ore from the PTH tunnel and produce gold, silver, lead
and zinc concentrates for smelting. UNICO plans to further open up the mine next
year to gain greater production tonnage. Later, UNICO will gain access to the
upper gold bearing regions.
Based on a consulting geologist reports dated April, 1997 and March, 2002 it
is stated that over one million tons of ore are estimated to be contained in the
two mineralized zones located 3,400 and 8,600 feet from the portal of the PTH
tunnel. The ore bodies are from 20 to 30 feet high and 90 to 300 feet wide and
trend in a north westerly direction for several thousand feet, dipping 17 degrees
to the north and west. Access to these ore bodies is by sub-level drift from winzes
and raises off the PTH tunnel level. |
