Gold Hill, Clifton Mining District, Tooele County, Utah

One of my favorite collecting sites is Gold Hill, Tooele County, Utah. Below is a list of know minerals from this locality. I am also sure that there are more there waiting to be discovered by someone.

Gold Hill is in the north end of the Deep Creek Mountains. These mountains have been mined since the min-1800's. These mountains proved to be rich in silver, copper, arsenic, cobalt, and tungsten. When the miners first started at Gold Hill, they were after gold, and thought that they hit it rich. But the mine was low in gold, and rich in copper and arsenic. Gold Hill itself was closed in 1925. It was mined for a short period of time during W.W.II for arsenic.
The geology consists of three intrusions into a Paleozoic limestone. This is what created the skarn deposits that produced the garnets (grossular-andradite in solid solution), wollastonite, diopside, and zoisite.
The primary sulfides were deposited by hydrothermal ground water after the skarn. This is where the main copper minerals came from.

Gold Hill Mine, was fairly extensive. From the top of the peak the mine went down to the 900' level. There are a number of levels that can still be accessed, though ground water has reached the 400' level, making to impossible to go deeper. Austinite was first discovered at Gold Hill. It was encountered near the surface in the first diggings at Gold Hill. This site is still accessible today for collectors, though a dealer has blasted the site making it difficult to acquire undamaged, large specimens. The 80' level is a very scary place. I would not recommend exploring that level. It is partially collapsed and very unsafe. The 150' level has lots of good collecting sites. Connellite, adamite, arsenopyrite, brochantite, and the un-named CuBi-arsenate all come from this level. The 300' level is where the big concrete block is at. This level is also neat to explore, though there isn't much in the way of specimens here anymore.

For more information see the Mineralogical Record, vol. 24 January-February issue pg. 11;
Ore Deposits of Utah, S. Butler. USGS Professional Paper 111.

There are several on this list I do not have in my own collection. If you have any of the hard to come by ones, let me know if you are interested in selling or trading.

Some of these are available for sale in the store.  Please call for current selection.
1-888-Rock-Shop

Adamite
Adularia
Anglesite
Arsenopyrite
Atacamite
Atelestite
Austinite
Azurite
Barite
Barium-pharmocosiderite
Bayldonite
Beudanite
BismuthaniteBismutite
Brochantite
Calcite
Carbonate-fluoroapatite
Carminite
Cerussite
Chalcophanite
Chalcopyrite
Chlorargyrite
Chryscolla
Clinoclase
Conichalcite
Connellite
Copper, native
Cornubite
Cornwallite
Covellite
Cuprite
Dietrichite
Diopside
Garnet
Gold, native
Hallyosite
Hemimorphite
Hidalgoite
Hydrohetaerolite
Jarosite
Juanitaite
Kaolinite
Kettnerite
Kottigite
Lavendulan
Malachite
Metazunnerite
Mimetite
Mixite
Olivenite
Parnauite
Philipsburgite
Quartz
Rutile
Scorodite
Siderite
Silver
Sodium-pharmocosiderite
Spadeite
Strashimirite
Talmessite
Tennantite
Thometzekite
Tyrolite
Un-named CuBi-arsenate
Un-named CuCa-arsenate
Wollastonite
Wulfenite
Zoisite

Rick, Rockpick Legend Co.
minerals@rocks4u.com

Photos are of Gold Hill, Utah Area,
Copyright 2006 Rockpick Legend Co.