Old Mines of Southern California: Desert-Mountain-Coastal Areas Including the Calico-Salton Sea Colorado River Districts and Southern CountiesFairbanks, Harold W. (Harold Wellman)
History
Old Mines of Southern California: Desert-Mountain-Coastal Areas Including the Calico-Salton Sea Colorado River Districts and Southern Counties
Fairbanks, Harold W. (Harold Wellman)
Geology -- California, Southern; Mines and mineral resources -- California, Southern
The clay may have been derived in part from the decomposition of the
overhanging wall, the fine silt settling by gravity on the foot wall
side of the vein. In places a soft, clayey gouge constitutes the entire
vein filling, suggesting that the clay selvage and gouge are also partly
due to the attrition of the walls. Galena occurs sparingly in small
disseminated crystals, but the occurrence is so infrequent as to be
scarcely worth mentioning. In width the crevice varies from a thin seam
to over 4 feet. A banded structure is not uncommon in the vein.
The rocks inclosing the vein differ in various parts of the mine. A much
decomposed rock, containing iron in the form of carbonate, occurs
frequently, while a chloritic, more or less schistose, sometimes
massive, rock, also plays an important part in this connection. The dike
of dark basic rock, resembling diorite, previously referred to, is
exposed at numerous places throughout the workings, often in contact
with the vein, or close to it. Since its formation the Kelsey vein has
been subjected to severe torsion, which has resulted in abrupt fracture
and displacement. To me it seemed very probable that the vein was the
result of chemical precipitation, and no doubt, to some extent, the
replacement of country rock along the line of a fissure or fault plane;
that subsequent to the filling in of the vein the region was subjected
to further violent disturbances, which fractured the rocks along an east
and west course, and causing the turning of a large mass of rock
formation lying south of this fault to the west. The vein being included
in the general movement, was deflected from its natural course north and
south. I came to these conclusions from close observations taken along
the surface of the ground on the course of the vein, and in all
accessible underground workings.
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