Lucky Horseshoe

Location: Idaho, United States (44.992, -113.496 approx.)

Commodities: rare earth elements; thorium

Deposit model: REE-Th bearing veins · Th-REE veins

Geology

“We conducted Phase I exploration activities in 2013 on the Lemhi Pass Project in the Silver Queen and Luck Horseshoe veins that included compliant geological mapping and channel sampling on these veins. The channel samples taken across the Silver Queen vein indicated rare earth mineralization that we believe warrants further exploration. We believe that the Lucky Horseshoe claim has limited potential for advanced exploration reserve discovery, but that other claims within the Lemhi Pass area are part of a trend that warrants further exploration.” (U.S. Rare Earths Inc. (2015b)) “The principal workings consist of several large cuts and two short adits (fig. 18). The largest cut, where the vein is best exposed, is 440 feet long. East of the cuts shown in figure 18, four trenches cut the vein on the steep west side of Flume Creek. East of Flume Creek, on the Lucky Horseshoe No. 10 claim, a trench in a broad bulldozed area exposes the extension of the main vein.” (Staatz (1979)) “Allanite is the most common thorium-bearing mineral. This is the only vein in the district in which this mineral is abundant. Other thorium-bearing minerals are dark-red thorite and dark-brown monazite. Other minerals identified in this vein are muscovite, barite, plagioclase, calcite, apatite, rutile, chalcopyrite, and fluorite. The latter three minerals are very rare. Nine samples were taken from the various branches of this vein in the main workings (fig. 18). These samples ranged from 0.047 to 1.00 percent ThO2 (table 6). The total rare-earth oxide content obtained from four of these samples ranged from 0.35 to 10.95 percent. The unusually high rare-earth content of this vein could be expected from its high allanite content.” (Staatz (1979))

Exploration and site history

• Development — In 1957 the property was leased to Fred Gunderjohn who subsequently developed the property by means of extensive bulldozer trenches, 1957 (Staatz (1979))
• Discovery — A group of 12 claims makes up the Lucky Horseshoe group and the principal workings are on the Lucky Horseshoe No. 1. This claim was located on May 31, 1954, by Tony N. Nardello, Ernest A. Woodman, and Clyde Goodwin, 1954 (Staatz (1979))

Record imported from USGS USMIN ver. 4.0 (June 2019). Developments after that date appear on facility records, not here; see the methodology.