Prospecting For Gold ...(from goldprospecting.blogspot.com)
Gold Mining in Idaho
Although Idaho is probably best known for its agricultural production of potatoes and a design center for semiconductor chips, the state is richly endowed with a surplus of natural resources that extend way beyond the export of a root vegetable gold and innovative memory products. Nickname State of Idaho is the "Gem State" because almost all known gems was found there. Mainly mountainous region of northwestern United States is one of only two places in the world that star garnets have been discovered and is also home to exclusive six-pointed star garnets. In addition to the gold of the impressive variety of important metals that are in Idaho reads like a laundry list, including: antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, platinum, silver, thorium, tungsten, vanadium and zinc. The largest contributors of these deposits to the national economy are silver, phosphate, lead and zinc. Currently, Idaho produced the most money newly extracted and is the second largest producer of phosphate in the nation, representing nearly 45 percent of all cash and 15 percent phosphate product on an annual basis.
The historical context
In the fall of 1860, a group of ten prospectors made the Nez Perce reservation in search of mineral wealth and after difficult months of frustration, Wilbur Bassett discovered the precious metal along Canal Gulch. Rich gold discoveries in the Boise Basin in 1863, encouraged two thousand miners rushing to the Snake River than believing that there was gold in abundance. It is this gold rush that brought the first permanent white settlers of Idaho and caused the country to be established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. According to the Geological Survey of the United States (USGS), Idaho was one of the major placer mining of State from 1860 to 1866 was credited to the production of as much as 19 percent of all gold equivalent to approximately 2.5 million ounces. By late 1800 the deposits of silver, lead and zinc were discovered in the area of ??Coeur d'Alene.
Geological setting
A series of digital maps, data files and reports were produced by the USGS to provide information and geological process of mineral resources with short-term predictions of future mineral activity and forecasts in the longer term to take account of the discovery of future extensions of known mineral deposits, and for the future discovery of mineral deposits is currently unknown. The report uses quantitative estimates of mineral resources currently unknown with some generalizations about the likely areal distribution of undiscovered pools in the ecosystem of the Interior Columbia Basin, Northwest Pacific, which suggests that 58 percent of the average estimated gold resources discovered are considered to occur in a contiguous area of ??southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho and northern Nevada, mostly in the vein superficially deposited and hot springs deposits .
A classic mesothermal vein deposit was discovered in the district of Coeur d'Alene. One of the chief areas of dredging is in the Boise Basin, a few miles north of Boise, in the central western part of the state with other alluvial deposits along the Salmon River and the Clearwater River and its tributaries, especially in Elk City, Pierce and Orofino. Extremely fine (or "flour") or is in the sand deposits along the Snake River in southern Idaho.
Current developments and the political context
In an exclusive interview with Gold Investing News, Virginia S. Gillerman, economic geologist with the Idaho Geological Survey said a "significant increase in exploration for gold in Idaho in the last two years." It is expected that, "it will be a busy season on the ground - a little delayed by heavy snow this year" Major gold plays are some areas of Idaho's historic gold production, with increased activity last year and continuing into this year ..
In the latest survey by the Fraser Institute of mining companies: 2010/2011, Idaho showed a modest improvement in the assessment of last year, located in the upper half of jurisdiction and place between Arizona and New Mexico for its investment climate related to mining. The survey is based on the opinions of mining executives representing 429 companies from exploration and development on a range of criteria including how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulation affect investment in exploration in 79 countries around the world.
Mineral exploration and investment potential
Western Pacific Resources Corp. (CVE: WRP) focuses on the properties of precious metals in Idaho and Nevada. In August 2009, the company received 345 requests in southern Cassia County, Idaho known as the Mineral Gulch property. The project includes the historic mining Pine black with sporadic small-scale gold and base metal mining occurred in the region since 1915. Pegasus Mining has acquired ownership of Noranda and produced over 500,000 ounces of gold from several small open pits in the late 1980s until the mid-1990s.
In April of Vista Gold Corp. (TSX: VGZ) (AMEX: VGZ) announced the successful completion of an agreement in December to combine assets with Midas Gold, a private company that controlled the majority of the Yellow Pine - District stibnite, which included a number of historic past producing mines. Towards the end of last month, Midas reported a mineral resource estimate for the project Golden Meadows. Overall, the company reports that the three gold deposits in the project are estimated to contain an indicated mineral resource of 2.05 million ounces of gold and an inferred mineral resource of 3.74 million additional ounces of gold.
Atlanta Gold Inc. (CVE: ATG), a gold medal junior exploration company with development and properties in Idaho, Quebec and Nunavut has recently made a series of announcements regarding the acquisition of additional property and plans for exploration of the project. 2011 The objective of exploration is to test the continuity of a shear zone at vertical depths of 610 meters below and test the northwest trend of the structure to increase the mineral resources of gold by the end of 2011. A number of environmental initiatives and development related to infrastructure related to the project include host Atlanta and buildings to rebuild on the site of the warehouse and offices.
Premium Exploration Inc. (CVE: PEM) is focused on gold exploration land package in his district size in north-central Idaho near Elk City in the shear zone Orogrande. The objective of the company is to develop to term the multiple resources of gold near the surface along its property that extends beyond 30 km. Its strategy of drilling structures identified by geophysical and gold trends in soil resulted in three gold discoveries and development of significant resources with five potential areas of mineralization.
Otis Gold Corp. (CVE: OOO) is engaged in the business of the acquisition and exploration mining interests unproven, including Kilgore Gold Project in Clark County, and several other properties in the county of Lemhi. Last month, the company said gold recovery positive column leaching tests performed on bulk samples of the crest of the mine Kilgore. The project has a NI 43-101 compliant resource of 218,000 ounces of gold indicated by drilling and inferred 269,000 ounces of gold. In its operations, 2011 on the implementation plans of large diameter column leach tests on a coarse crush size conducting additional analytical and characterization to further improve the resource.
Terraco Gold Corp. (CVE: TEN) (PINK: TCEGF) has a combination of early and advanced stage gold-silver projects in Idaho and Nevada. Project Company is located east of Almaden Weiser and north of Boise. The project hosts a NI 43-101 measured and indicated resource of 864,000 ounces of gold and an inferred resource of 84,000 ounces of gold near the surface. The proposed advanced Almaden has excellent access to quality infrastructure and includes 887 drill holes. In mid-April Terraco announced that its 2011 exploration program is now underway, starting with two basic platforms designed to confirm higher grade zones of gold near the surface and test high grade, Bonanza style, structurally controlled gold mineralization at depth.