> sterling hill orebody

Sterling Hill orebody

Overview

The Sterling Hill Zn-Mn-Fe orebody was closed for economic and other reasons in 1986. The surface areas now form part of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum property, but there is no access to the underground and flooded workings.

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Isometric sketch of the Sterling Mine

An idealized sketch map for the Sterling Hill orebody was prepared by Metsger et al. (1958), and reproduced in Dunn (1995).

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Idealized plan view of the Sterling ore body showing major internal features. 'North' arrow is mine north, not true north (see Dunn, 1995, for explanation). After Metsger et al. (1958).

The Sterling Hill deposit consists of spatially separated ore-units and calcsilicate rock; the latter mainly occurring in a zone that surrounds what is referred to as the Gneissic Core.

See the accompanying diagram for clarification. The Sterling Hill deposit also contained a zincite-rich zone, generally wrapped around the outer limits of the orebody, called the Zincite Band.

 

Some underground views of the Sterling mine

These photographs were taken in 1993 before rising groundwater flooded the Sterling mine.

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Banded mineralization in Franklin Marble. Sterling Hill Mine, south wall of a crosscut, roughly thirty feet east of West Limb hanging wall, on the 340-foot level.
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Zincite band. Sterling Hill Mine, west wall of West Limb drift, 340-foot level. Note large (12 cm) subhedral franklinite mass in disseminated ore below zincite band. Marble is nearly barren below lower edge of photo.
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Small clinopyroxene-rich detached block, rimmed by garnet and mica, in marble. From the Gneiss Zone (see Sterling map above) in the Sterling Hill Mine, north wall of a crosscut roughly 60 feet east of West limb hanging wall.
 

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