Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
come north to the
"extreemly wild and untenanted
wilderness"
to escape punishment for killing an Indian.
In the process of dressing out a deer, Johnson found
gold quartz, the value and significance of which he
recognized immediately. Since Johnson was from
Bohemia in eastern Europe, the region was named for
its discoverer "Bohemia" Johnson.
Johnson's find attracted a number of miners to
this uninhabited terrain. In spite of heavy snows, lack
of roadways, and other difficulties, miners organized
the Bohemia Gold and Silver Mining District in 1867.
Production expanded greatly with the exploitation of
the Musick vein in 1891 and the addition of a stamp
mill about the same time. The Champion, Helena,
Musick, and Noonday mines were the main producers
in the Bohemia district, with a total of about 1 million
dollars. Along with gold and silver, the Bohemia region
has also been mined extensively for copper, zinc, and
lead.
The Champion Mill, a 100-ton selective flotation
plant, processed ore from the Champion and Musick
Mines (photo Oregon Dept. Geology and Mineral
Industries).
The amount of gold and silver taken from the
Bohemia district was followed by that of Quartzville
and Blue River. At Quartzville in Linn County, gold-
bearing veins were located in September, 1864, by
Jeremiah Driggs. The complete output of mines and
mills here was $181,000, which took into account 8,557
ounces of gold and 2,920 ounces of silver. Less than
200 ounces of gold was removed after 1896, and mines
have operated only intermittently since that time. In
1984 the Quartzville Recreation Corridor was reserved
for recreational mining as well as other outdoor uses.
About 45 miles east of Eugene, the Blue River mining
district was largely confined to output from the Lucky
Boy Mine located in 1887. Several other mines were
opened when a 40-stamp mill was installed, however,
practically all operations ceased in 1913 when the
Lucky Boy closed. Overall production figures for gold
and silver have been estimated at $175,000.
Along with the Bohemia area, the North
Santiam district in Marion and Clackamas counties is
one of the most versatile, yielding copper, zinc, lead,
silver, and gold since it was first opened in the 1860s.
Most activity focused on the Ruth Vein found in the
early 1900s where zinc and lead have been mined
periodically. While amounts of gold and silver from
this district remain low in comparision to those of
other minerals, 454 ounces of gold and 1,412 ounces of
silver were removed. The total dollar figure for all
minerals from here is $25,000. Recent exploration
involving surveying and drilling by the Shiny Rock
Mining Company, which held a large block of claims,
has been for copper. The claims were leased in 1980 to
Amoco Minerals Company. Situated in eastern Lane
County, gold deposits in the Fall Creek district are of
Mining and Mineral Industry
Gold and silver in the Western Cascades are
situated in a 25 to 30-mile wide strip west of and
parallel to the volcanic peaks of the younger Cascades.
The belt includes five major mining regions, the North
Santiam district in Clackamas and Marion counties, the
Quartzville district of Linn County, the Blue River
district of Linn and Lane counties, and the Fall Creek
and Bohemia districts in Lane County. Along with gold
and silver, the mining districts yield small amounts of
lead, zinc, and copper as pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and
chalcopyrite.
Most of the ores occur in veins cutting through
older volcanic rocks of the Western Cascades. The
veins are often in shattered breccias that have been
invaded by mineral-rich hydrothermal fluids. The
original volcanic host rocks were faulted and fractured
providing an avenue for hydrothermal fluids at temper-
atures of 250 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Today the
Western Cascades are deeply eroded so that exposures
of the ore- bearing intrusive volcanic rocks within most
of the mining districts are at lower elevations along
valley floors.
Of all the mining areas in the Cascades, the
Bohemia region in Lane County as been the largest
and most productive. Mineralization here is confined to
nine square miles near Bohemia Mountain 25 miles
south of Cottage Grove. The story of the Bohemia
district gold discovery began in 1858 when W.W.
Oglesby and Frank Bass, miners from California
looking for new prospects, discovered placer gold on
Sharps Creek. In the spring of 1863 lode gold deposits
were located by a man named James Johnson who had
