Manganese Deposits in the Paymaster Mining District, Imperial County, California (open access)

Manganese Deposits in the Paymaster Mining District, Imperial County, California

Abstract: The manganese deposits of the Paymaster district, in Imperial County, Calif., extend along steeply inclined normal fault fissures which cut Tertiary (?) volcanic breccia and fanglomerate. The ore deposits are in part open-space fillings composed largely of psilomelane, and in part fault breccia replaced by psilomelane, pyrolusite, and manganite. Calcite and rock fragments are the chief impurities. High-grade ore now exposed averages about 40 percent manganese, and contains much barium. About 3,000 tons of ore averaging 42 percent manganese was produced from the district by hand-sorting in 1917-18. It is estimated that nearly the same amount could be produced again, largely from present workings. In addition, a few tens of thousands of tons of milling ore, estimated to contain between 10 and 30 percent of manganese, are believed to exist in veins one to three feet wide within one or two hundred feet of the surface.
Date: 1942
Creator: Hadley, Jarvis B.
System: The UNT Digital Library