ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

AND THE

BULLETIN OF THE SOCIETY OF

ECONOMIC GEOLOGISTS

VOL. 59 MAY, 1964 No. 3

NICKELIFEROUS LATERITES IN SOUTHWESTERN OREGON

AND NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA •

PRESTON E. HOTZ

CONTENTS
PAGE

Abstract .............................................................. 356

Introduction .......................................................... 356
Geography ........................................................... 357
Climate and vegetation .............................................. 357
Physiographicsubdivision,topography,and drainage ................... 358
Geologicsetting ....................................................... 359
Ultramafic rocks ...................................................... 360
Distribution,form, and structure ..................................... 360
Petrography ....................................................... 362
Chemicalcomposition............................................... 363
The lateriticdeposits................................................... 364
Definition ......................................................... 364
Distribution and mode of occurrence .................................. 365
The soil profile ..................................................... 366
Mineralogy ..................................................... 368
Chemicalcomposition............................................ 371
Interpretation ................................................... 375
Supergeneveins ................................................... 381
Quartz ......................................................... 381
Garnierite ...................................................... 382
Sepiolite ........................................................ 385
Comparisonwith other lateritic deposits.............................. 387
Origin ............................................................ 390
Economic considerations ............................................ 393
Acknowledgments..................................................... 394
References ............................................................ 394

I Publication authorized by the Director, U.S. Geological Survey.

355
356 _PRESTON E. HOTZ

ABSTRACT

Depositsof ferruginous nickeliferouslateritic soils formed by weather-

ing in place of ultramafic rocks occur at several places in northwestern
California and southwestern Oregon, mostly in the Klamath Mountains
province. Most of the depositshave been derived from relatively fresh
peridotite, although at least one depositwas formed on serpentinite. The
accumulationsof lateritic soil are on flat-lying to gently sloping surfaces
in a terrain that has been extensively dissectedand deeply entrenched.
The thicknessof the depositsrangesfrom a few feet to more than 50
feet, and may vary widely in any given deposit, for the bedrock surface
is commonlyhighly irregular. The deposit at Nickel Mountain, Oregon,
is unique,becauseit is the only one in which the nickel silicate, garnierite,
is plentiful. At Nickel Mouhtain,garnierite,accompanied
by abundant
microcrystalline quartz, occurs in veinlike bodies and boxworks that lie
at the base of the soil zone and persist in depth along joints and fractures
into the underlying slightly weatheredor fresh peridotite.
Mineralogical studiesand chemical analysesshow that weathering of
the ultramafic rocks destroyedolivine and much of the orthopyroxeneand
serpentineminerals. Secondaryminerals formed are predominantlyhy-
drated ferric oxides (goethite); minor amountsof a montmorillonitemin-
eral, chlorite, and talc were also identified. The kaolin group and bauxite
minerals were not found. Except for garnierite at the Nickel Mountain
deposit,no nickel-bearingmineral was identified. Nickel may occur, how-
ever, in montmorillonite, chlorite, and talc where it substitutes for Mg
to a limited extent; in serpentine minerals that were not destroyed by
weathering; and possiblyin combinationwith ferric hydroxides. Cobalt
may also occur in the clay minerals and probably is associatedwith trace
amountsof manganeseoxide or hydroxides.
The lateritic soils in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon
are similar to soils formed by lateritic weathering of ultramafic rocks in
Cuba, the Philippines, New Caledonia,and other tropical regions of the
world. They have, however, a higher content of SiO 2 and MgO, and a
lower content of Fe20 a than depositsformed in tropical climates. The
California and Oregon deposits are considerably smaller and lower in
average metal content which, becausethey are widely scattered in a
rugged, relatively isolatedterrain, makes them unpromisingas likely re-
servesfor commercial exploitation in the foreseeablefuture.
Most of the depositsare regarded as having been formed by chemical
weathering in a climate having alternating wet and dry seasons,probably
similar to that prevailing today. Their age is uncertain but may range
from post-Miocene to Pleistocene.

I NTRODUCTIO N'

NICKELIFEROUSlaterites are known at several places in northwestern Cali-

fornia and southwesternOregon (Fig. 1). Most of the depositsare near
the California-Oregonboundaryand are clusteredwithin an area of approxi-
mately 1,100 squaremiles in Del Norte County, Calif., and Josephineand
JacksonCounties,Ore. The most important and only productivedeposit,
however,is outsidethis limited area at Nickel Mountain near Riddle, Doug-
las County, Ore., approximately65 miles north of the State line. A few
isolatedprospectsin Californiaoccuras far southas 150 milesfrom the group
of depositsnear the state line. The depositat Nickel Mountain, Ore., has
beenthe subjectof severalreports,first by Clarke (14) soonafter its discovery
 NICKELIFERO US L•t TERITES 357

in 1881, and subsequentlyby von Foullon (22), Austin (2), Ledoux (44),
Kay (39), Pecora and Hobbs (53), and $choenike(61). Other lateritic
deposits in Oregonhavebeenstudiedby Libbey,Lowry, and Mason (46, 47),
Dole, Libbey,and Mason (19), Mason (48), Hundhausen,McWilliams, and
Banning(33), and Miller (50). No comparable data havebeenpublishedon
lateriticdepositsin Californiaexceptfor a summaryarticleby Rice (59).
leXPL&N&T ION

124 • 3* • '
{ Boundary of
43• physiographicprovince•

/•DOUO LAS Boundary between

Klamath Mountain•
and Northern Coast
Ranges according to
Diller (17, p1.1)

Extension of Irwin's
!(34,fig.
2)bou
_ndary
between
Klamath Mountains and

42øI
Northern
Coast
Ranges

Ultramarie
roeks.
Distribution
fromIrwin
(34, PI. I) and Wells and
Peck (70)

/ SHASTA

0
0

0 20 40 Mil•

HUMBOLDT

124 ø 122'

Fro. 1. Map of N.W. California and S.W. Oregon showing physiographic

provinces,distribution of ultramafic rocks, and location of lateritic deposits: 1,
Nickel Mountain; 2, Eight Dollar Mountain; 3, WoodcockMountain; 4, Red Flats;
5, Pine Flat Mountain; 6, Little Red Mountain.

GEOGRAPHY

Climateand Vegetation
The climate of the region is mild and humid (Table 1). The average
annualrainfall in the coastalareasof Oregonand at CrescentCity, California,
358 PRESTON E. HOTZ

is approximately75 inches. Lessthan half as muchannualprecipitationis

found in the interior valleys away from the coast. Summer months are
generallydry exceptfor occasionallocal thunderstormsin the mountains.
Most of the precipitationis in the form of rain, but in the mountainsabove
approximately4,000feet,snowmayfall andcoverthe groundfrom November
to April. Near the coasttemperaturesare moderatewith small daily and
annualranges. Eastward,inland from the ocean,daily and annualtempera-
turesvary more widely.

Table 1.Mnnual climatic averages, long-term means

[U.S. WeatherBureau, 1958 (66)]

JanFeb.
ManApril
MayJune,
JulyAu•SepL
OcLNov.
Elec.
Average
Temperature (øF)

Oregon
36.9
40.4
44.2
Southwe s tern

valleys 49.1 55.761.067.9 67.262.3 53.0 43.538_.8 51.7

52.1

Coastal
area
42.5
44.9[46.6
California
50.1
54.1
Crescent Cit,
57.9
6•:_2
61.4
59.•4.4t_47•.2
46.0
44.8
[
47.5148.8 50.9 53.7157.1 59.3 59.5 58.9155.3152.4 47.0• 52.9

Precipitation (inches)
Total

Or•uø•hwe
stern 30.29
valleys [4.813.41 3.09
2.061.90 1.44.25.26•.872.78 I 4.•75.25 75.42
Coastalarea111.71
I 9.7318.9ø14-91
I 3.3ø12.31
I .721.86/2.21
16.59110.56
113.62
Ca•]-i--}7-ot
fomia
Crescent
city!11.93
11.0
9.39
6.09
3.91
1.83
.48
.37i2
045.53
10.34111
90 74.87

The abundantrainfall supportsa lush vegetationover all the region,

whichis characterized
by coniferforestsof fir, spruce,pine, cedar,and, in a
narrowbelt alongthe coast,greatgrovesof redwoods. A heavyunderstory
vegetation
is maintained
alsowhichincludesoak, maple,laurel,dogwood,
and other deciduoustrees, and many slopeshave heavy growths of man-
zanita,salal,rhododendron,
scruboak, and other brushyvarieties.

Physiographic
Subdivision,
Topography,
andDrainage
Most of the nickeliferous laterites in northwestern California and south-
westernOregonare in the KlamathMountains physiographic
province(Fig.
1). A few scattereddepositslie southof the KlamathMountainsprovince
in the northernCoastRangeprovinceof California. The depositat Nickel
Mountain,near Riddle,and the Red Flats depositin Curry County,Ore.,
are in the extensionof the northern Coast Range provinceas defined by
Irwin (34, Fig. 3), whichis differentfromDiller'sdelineation
(17, P1. 1)
betweenthe Klamath Mountain and Coast Range provinces.
The Klamath Mountainsprovinceis a deeplytrenchedmountainous
ter-
rain. The drainage
patternis dendritic,
andmostof the regionis traversed
by a few majorwestward-flowing riverswhichare fed by manysmaller
 NICKELIFERO US L./I TERITES 359

streams;the southeastern part of the province,however,is drained by the

southward-flowingSacramentoRiver.
The Klamath Mountainsprovinceis an area of many steep-sloped valleys
which are commonly2,000 to 3,000 feet deep. Many peakshave altitudes
between5,000 and 7,000 feet, and a few are from 7,000 to nearly 9,000 feet
above sea level. Summits in the eastern part of the province are generally
higher than in the western part. A characteristicfeature of the province,
first notedby Diller (17), is the accordance of summitsover extensiveareas,
marking the remnantsof an ancient land surfacethat has been extensively
modifiedby subsequenterosion. In the western part of the area where the
ancientsurfaceis bestpreserved,the uplandterrain is typicallyone of broad,
nearly flat to gently slopingridgeswhich continuefor long distances.
The northern Coast Ranges province in California is characterizedby
northwest-trendingparallel ridges and streams. Although the altitudes of
the rangesare generally somewhatlower than in the Klamath Mountains,
local variationsof relief amount to 3,000 feet in many placesand the valleys
are narrowand the slopessteep. Here, too, the broadridgesand concordant
altitudes are the remnants of old erosion surfacesthat are closely related to
comparable
surfacesin the KlamathMountains(17; 34, p. 13).

GEOLOGIC SETTING

The most comprehensive descriptionof the geologyof northwesternCali-

fornia is Irwin's report (34) on the northern Coast Ranges and Klamath
Mountains. Modern knowledgeof the geologyof the Klamath Mountains
regionin southwestOregoncomeschieflyfrom the work of F. G. Wells and
his co-workers(68, 69, 70, 71, 72), whichhasbeensummarizedin map form
by Wells and Peck (70).
In the Klamath Mountains sedimentarystrata and volcanicrocks,ranging
in age from Paleozoicto Mesozoic,and metamorphicrocks of uncertain age
are distributedin a broad arc convex to the west (34, p. 14, Fig. 3) and
which comprisesfour concentricbelts, (1) the easternPaleozoicbelt, (2) the
centralmetamorphicbelt, (3) the westernPaleozoicand Triassicbelt, and
(4) the western Jurassicbelt. In the northern Coast Ranges of California
northwest-trendingbelts of sedimentaryand volcanicrocks of Late Jurassic
to Late Cretaceous agerepresented chiflyby strataassigned
to the Franciscan
Formation lie west and southwest of the Paleozoic and older Mesozoic forma-
tions of the Klamath Mountain arc. In Oregon similar and quite possibly
correlativerocksof the Dothan Formation occurwest of the westernJurassic
belt in the Klamath Mountainsand trend in a north to northeasterlydirection.
Ultramafic rocks,predominantlyperidotite,and rocks of gabbroiccompo-
sition intrude strata in both the Klamath Mountains and the northern Coast
Rangesprovinces,but are more plentiful in the Klamath Mountains. Intru-
sivebodiesof graniticcomposition are restrictedto.rocksof the four concen-
tric beltsin the Klamath Mountainseast of the youngerMesozoicrocks.
Becauseof its complexityand the relatively small amount of detailed
geologicmappingwhich has beendone,the structureof northwesternCall-
360 PRESTON E. HOTZ

fornia and southwestern

Oregon is poorly known. The strata are highly
folded and commonlyoverturnedwestwardso that the prevailingdips are
eastward. Accordingto Irwin (34, p. 59), "The dominantstructuralele-
mentsin the KlamathMountainsprovince[in California]appearto be a series
of concentricmoderate to high-angle reverse faults over which the rocks of
the provincewere thrust southwestward." In Oregon there is someevidence
(70) that similarfault relationsmay exist betweenmajor lithic and strati-
graphicunits; however,the trend of the rocksis northeastand the thrusting
was toward the northwest. The boundarybetweenthe Klamath Mountains in
Californiaand the northernCoastRangesis a high-anglereversefault (34,
p. 59-60). Faultsin the northernCoastRangesstrikegenerallynorthwest
and dip steeply.

ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS

Dixtribution, ?orm, and Structure

Intrusivemassesof peridotiteand its alteredequivalent,serpentinite,are

widely distributedthroughoutnorthwesternCaliforniaand southwestern Ore-
gon (Fig. 1). Taken as a whole, the intrusiveshave the featurescharacter-
istic of alpine-typeultramaficbodies,as outlinedby Benson(5), Wilkinson
(71), and Thayer (63).
Ultramafic rockscrop out in both the Klamath Mountainsand northern
CoastRangesprovinces, but the bodiesare largerand muchmoreplentifulin
the Klamath Mountainsprovince. A few relativelysmallscatteredbodiesof
peridotiteand serpentiniteoccurthroughoutthe central belt of rocksof the
FranciscanFormation in the northern Coast Ranges of California. A few
bodiesof ultramaficrocks in Curry County, Ore., are intruded into sedi-
mentary rocks of Late Jurassic(?) and Cretaceousage that have been tenta-
tively correlated(70) with similarrocksin the northernCoastRanges.
Peridotite and serpentiniteoccupymore than 1,700 squaremiles in the
Klamath Mountains where three fairly well-definedbelts of peridotite and
serpentinitecan be outlined. The most prominentand clearly definedbelt is
adjacentto the westernboundaryof the KlamathMountainsprovince(Fig. 1)
and extendsinto Oregon, passingin a northeastdirectionthrough Josephine
Countyto the northeastern boundaryof the KlamathMountainsprovincenear
the corner commonto Josephine,Douglas, and JacksonCounties. This belt
is more than 200 miles long. An arcuate eastern belt of ultramafic rocks
extendsfor approximately100 miles from the vicinity of Weaverville, Calif.,
to the easternborder of the Klamath Mountains at Yreka, Calif. (Fig. 1).
Midway betweenthe easternand westernbeltsis a centralbelt of peridotite
and serpentinitewhich commencessouthwestof Weaverville, Calif., and con-
tinuesnorthward into the south-centralpart of SiskiyouCounty, Calif., where
it is interruptedby a large graniticbody. The broadzoneof scatteredultra-
mafic bodies near the California-Oregonboundary in northern Siskiyou
County, Calif., and southernJacksonand JosephineCounties,Ore., may be
the northward continuation of the central belt. The eastern and western belts
 NICKELIFERO US L.4TERITES 361

are approximately100 milesapart in the centralKlamath Mountainalonga

line normalto the concentricarcs. Southward,the three beltsconverge,and
thetwo outerbeltsare onlyabout25 milesapartwherethe KlamathMountains
pinchout betweenthe northernCoastRanges,the SacramentoValley, and
the Cascadeprovinces. Hess (32, p. 393) notedthat serpentinitebodiesof
somealpine-typemountainsystemsare concentrated in two parallel belts
about60 mileseither sideof the axis of the system.
Within the beltsthe bodiesof peridotireand serpentiniteoccurin swarms
of discontinuous bodies. Many are subparallelor arrangeden echelonand
commonlyare elongateparallel to the regional trend of the country rock.
Hence,on the map many are elongatein a northwest,north-south,or north-
east directionwith lengthsseveraltimes their widths. The smallestbodies
have dimensions that rangefrom a few tens to a few hundredfeet, too small
to be shownon the map. Many of the ultramaficintrusiveson Figure 1 are
5 to 6 miles long, and bodiesfrom 10 to 20 miles are common. Outcrop
widths range from approximately2,000 feet to as much as 3 miles. Some
have highly irregular outlinesand may have deepindentationsand inliers of
countryrock, or are forklike with long, narrow, pronglikeextensionsparallel
to the strike of the body and the enclosingcountry rocks, and some have
sheetlikeapophyses. Generallythe more irregular bodiestend to be larger
and have widths of 4 miles or more at the outcrop. The longestintrusion,
which has been called the Josephineperidotite sheet (69, p. 9), occursin
Del Norte County,Calif., and Curry County,Ore (12, p. 93). It is approxi-
mately75 mileslong, 11 to 16 milesacrossat its widestparts,and its tapering
southernextensionranges from less than half a mile to 3 miles in width.
It has an area of more than 400 squaremiles. A large irregularly shaped
body in northeasternTrinity County,Calif., is approximately50 miles long
and more than 30 miles wide. The area of its ultramafic rock, less the areas
occupiedby granitic intrusives,is approximately470 squaremiles.
Many of the narrow, elongatebodies are tabular sills parallel to the
beddingor foliationof the enclosingrocksor occupyfault zones. Someare
subhorizontalsheets,thus accountingfor their highly irregular outlines,wide
areal extent, and occurrenceon the tops or upper parts of mountains. Irwin
and Lipmann (35) have postulatedthat the large irregular ultramafic body
in northeastern Trinity County, Calif., is part of a great sheet that was
intrudedalonga discontinuitybetweenrocksof Paleozoicage and presumably
older rocks of the central metamorphicbelt. Thin tabular apophysesof
varieddip, too smallto be shownon the map,makehighlyirregularpatterns
in topographic situations
wherethey havebeendissected by erosion.
Commonlythe smallerbodiesshowevidence of shearingand displacement
alongtheircontacts, andsomeare thoroughlyshearedthroughout.Although
shearedcontactsare not uncommonin larger massesas well, in a good many
placesthe contactsappearto be unbroken. Fault zonesalsotransectbodies
of peridotire. The peridotirebodieshave been serpentinizedin zonesof
shearingin manyplaces;suchserpentinite hasgreenishcurvingslickensided
surfaces,
commonly referredto as "slickentite"by the prospectors,
362 PRESTON E. HOTZ

Petrography
The ultramaficbodiesand their serpentinizedequivalentsare predomi-
nantlyenstatiteperidotite,commonlycalledsaxonite, 2 but manycontainsome
dunite,composed essentiallyof olivinewith lessthan 5 percentorthorhombic
pyroxene. Minor amountsof other ultramaficvarieties,includingwherlite
andlehrzolitehavebeenreported. Someof the ultramaficbodies,especially
someof the largerintrusions,are accompanied by minor quantitiesof gabbroic
rock, pyroxenite, anorthosite,and diabase.
Most of the nickeliferous laterites that were visited in northwest California
and southwestOregon rest on unalteredto partly serpentinizedenstatite
peridotite, with which are associatedrelatively small amountsof dunite.
The only exceptionto this observedrelationship is at Red Flats in Curry
County,Ore., where the ultramaficrock is a stronglyserpentinizedenstatite
peridotite.
The saxoniteis a medium- to coarse-grainedallotriomorphicgranular
rock. Olivine, which rangesin grain size fore 0.1 to 5 ram, is the most
abundantconstituent and rangesfrom approximately55 percentto morethan
80 percentby volume. The olivine is forsterite,which has a persistently
narrow range in compositioneven in specimens from widely separatedlocali-
ties. Determinationsby indicesof refraction,X-ray methods,and chemical
analysesindicatethat the range is from Fo00to Fo;,_•. Enstatite, in grains
that tendto be somewhatlargerthan mostof the olivine,rangingin diameter
from 1 to 5 mm and commonlyaveragingbetween1.5 and 2 mm, constitutes
approximately10 to 30 percentof the rock by volume. Its composition,as
determinedby opticalmethodsis near En90Fs•0. Characteristically the en-
statite contains microscopiclamellae of clinopyroxene (diopside) oriented
parallel to the optic plane (010) of the host. Chromite, the only primary
accessorymineral, is 1 percent or less.
Secondaryserpentineminerals,whichreplaceprimaryolivineand enstatite,
amount to from 5 percentor less in the least altered saxoniteto more than 25
percentin someof the partly serpentinizedrocks. At Red Flats in Curry
County, Ore., the ultramafic rock associatedwith nickeliferoussoil contains
80 percentserpentine. Peridotiteswhich have been more than 50 percent
serpentinizedare not uncommon,but nonein southwestOregon or northwest
California, except the Red Flats body, have well-developedlateritic soils.
Magnetite,alsoof secondaryorigin, is seldommore than 1 percentby volume
but may range from a trace to as much as 5 percent.
Dunite containslessthan 5 percentpyroxene. No pyroxenewas observed
in dunites that were examined petrographicallyduring this study. Olivine
tends to be slightly more magnesianthan in the saxonitesand is commonly
near Fo0•_o•. Chromite,the only other primary mineral in additionto olivine,
occurs as a few scattered grains. The dunites may also be more or less
serpentinized.
2 Saxonite and harzburglte are essentially synonymous terms but saxonire has priority.
In Johannsen's classification (36, p. 435), ultramafic rocks composed essentially of olivine and
orthopyroxene are saxonire if they contain "less than 5 percent of the iron ores," but those
with more than 5 percent "iron ore" are harzburgites.
 NICKELIFERO US L•t TERITES 363

Chemical Composition
Chemicaland spectrographic analysesof four samplesof saxonitefrom
the principalplacesin which lateritic soils occurin southwestOregon are
presentedin Table 2. The norms,Nigõli values,and modesare presented
in Table 3.

Table 2.-Chemical and spectrographic analyses of saxonire

[Rapidrockanalyses
bymethods
similarto thosedescribed
byShapiro
and Brannock in U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1036-C. Analysts:
Nos.1•3,P.L•L.DoD.Elmore•
, Pc Elmore,I J.H.I. Barlow.
Dinnin,S•S.D-
D.Botts
Botts,M.D.
G> ChloeMa42k;
J No.

1 2 3 4

Eight Nickel Woodcock Red

Dollar Mountain, Mountain, Flats,
Mountain, Oregon Oregon Oregon
Oregon
43.0 42 8 41 9 40 6
SiO2
1.6 1 1 1 0 1 9
A1203
1.4 0 8 2 2 4 8
Fe203
FeO 6.7 6 8 6 0 2 3

MgO 43.1 45 7 43 6 36 4

CaO 1.4 0 90 0 85 0 39

0.02 0 03 0 01 0 01
Na20
0.02 0 01 0.01 0 01
K20
2.4 1 6 4.1 13 8
H20+
0.03 0 O2 0.02 0 04
TiO2
0.01 0 O2 0.0l 0 02
P205
MnO 0.14 0 12 0.14 0 11

0 26 0 12 0.35 <0 05
CO2
0 36 0 45 0.36 0.28
Cr203
NiO 037 0 36 0.33 0.25

CoO 0 O2 0 02 0.02 0.08

Total 100 83 100 85 100.90 101.04

MgO:FeO 6 4 6 7 7.3 8.31

Quantitative spectrographicanalyses (in percent)2
Cu .0007 .0019
V .0051 .0050
Sc .0017 .0013
Sr <.0002 .0016
Ba <.002 <.002

lOne-halfFe203converted
to FeO
2Results have an overall accuracy of ñ15 percent except near
limits of detection where only one digit is reported. Looked for
but not found: Os, It, Pt, Be, Cd and Y, Bh. Analyst: Sol Berman
364 PRESTON E. HOTZ

The closesimilarityin compositionof samplesof relativelyfresh saxonite

is well shownby comparinganalysesof the first three samples. The rock
from Red Flats (No. 4) is about80 percentserpentinized, which is reflected
in its markedlyhigher H20+ contentand higher Fe2Oadue to secondary
magnetiteformedduring serpentinization.MgO is markedlylower than in
freshsaxoniteand sin2 is slightlylower.
Comparingthe Niggli valuesderivedfrom the analyses, in whichH20+
doesnot affect the calculationsof the other values,the great similarityin
composition, includingthe serpentinizedsaxonite,is shownby the close
agreementof valuesfor al, fm, c, and mg.

Table 3.-Calculated,¾iggli values arid •ea;ured ,zo(lesof wmlyzed saxonites

1 2 3 1 2 3 4

Eight Eight N•cke[ •;oodcock Bed

Dollar N•ekeI •ondcock Bed I)ol
Mountain. Mount a•n, [']at •, Mountain,
Mountain,
Mountain,Flats,
Mountain,
Oregon
0re,on Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon
Niggli values Modes (volume percent)
Points
a[ 1.5 1.1 1.0 1.9
counted 887 91l 825 859
fm 96.5 07.7 97.7 97. I 01ivine t)9 82 63 6

c 2 1.2 1.2 0.7 Pyroxene 18 11 1[ 8

alk tr tr tr tr Chromite 1 0.5 ] 1

rng . (•0 .91 .90 .91 MagneLi te ßßß ].5 ßßß 5

si 58 55 50 66.1 %erpent 1he 12 $ 22 80
l',n lk
(len-•tv ',.2D "1.35 3. 13 2.57

TIlE LATERITIC DEPOSITS

Chemicalweatheringof ultramafic rocks in southwestOregon and north-

west California has resulted in the formation of lateritic soils in which some
elementscontainedin the parent rock are preservedand concentratedwhereas
other elementsare lost or markedlydepleted. The resultsof theseprocesses
are lateritic soils rich in iron and containingnickel, cobalt, and manganese,
but in which magnesiumand silica have been extensivelyremoved, and at
Nickel Mountain, Ore., an economicallyimportant deposit of nickel silicate
has beenformed in the lower part of the lateritic zone.

Definition
Excellent rather completereviews of laterite terminologyand the lateri-
zationprocesshavebeenpublishedin recentyearsby Reiche (58, p. 71-81),
Mohr and Van Baren (52), Gordon,Tracey, and Ellis (29, p. 71-73), and
Briggs (7). It is evidentfrom thesediscussions that the term "laterite" has
beenusedin so many ways and for sucha multitudeof weatheringproducts
that its meaningis confused.
Laterite originallywas the namegiven to a singlezonein a soil profile
by Buchananin 1807 for a reddish-brown ferruginousresidualrock in
 NICKELIFERO US L,4 TERITES 365

southernIndia, which hardenson exposureand was usedfor buildingcon-

struction(58, p. 72; 29, p. 72). Subsequently the term was widely usedfor
manyred, ferruginous-weathering productsin tropicalregions. Someinvesti-
gatorshavesuggested that useof the term shouldbe restrictedto Buchanan's
originalusagewhile otherswould modifyit to refer to tropicalsoilsin which
there is an excessof A1203over SiO2, or to materialcontaininghydratedfree
alumina as gibbsiteor diaspore,or to soils containingmore than 90 percent
of the oxidesof iron, aluminum,titanium,and manganese(58, p. 72). A
classificationproposedby Joachim(in 52, p. 354) basedon chemicalcompo-
sition suggeststhat soil in whoseclay fractionsthe SiO•:A1203 ratios are
greater than 2 should be called nonlateritic red loams; those in which
SiO,.:Al•O3 is less than 2 but greater than 1.33 are lateritic red earths.
Those with SiO,.:Al•Oa less than 1.33 would then be termed "laterites,"
accordingto Briggs (7, p. 104). Reiche (58, p. 72) pointsout, however,
that since alumina cannot be recognizedin the field and "... since many
tropical red soilslack it entirely, suchusagewould destroythe availability
of laterite as a field term."
Mohr and Van Baren (52, p. 353) are of the opinionthat "... there is
everyjustificationfor the useof 'laterization'and 'laterite,'as terms indicating
that the weatheringtendsto assistthe accumulation of iron and aluminaand
the leachingof silica and bases." Gordon,Tracey, and Ellis (29, p. 73)
have said that a laterite "... may be said to be a rock rich in the oxidesof
iron or alumina, or both, that has been formed as a product of tropical
weathering."
In considerationof their relatively high silica content,the residualde-
positson ultramaficrocksin southwesternOregonand northwesternCalifornia
are here referred to as lateritic soils; becauseof their high iron and relatively
low alumina contentthey probably shouldalso be classedas ferruginous
lateritic soils.

Distributionand Mode of Occurrence

Localitiesin which there are lateritic soils on peridotite in northwestern
California and southwesternOregon (Fig. 1) are essentiallyrestrictedto the
westernpart of the KlamathMountainsnorth of latitude41ø 30' N and south
of latitude43ø 00' N, and west of longitude123ø. The majority are in Del
Norte County,Calif., and JosephineCounty,Ore., but the most important
deposit,at Nickel Mountain,is in southwest DouglasCounty,Ore., and one
of moderateimportance,the Red Flats deposit,is in •vest-centralCurry
County,Ore., and a third is at Little Red Mountainin northernMendocino
County,Calif., in the northernCoastRanges.
The accumulations
of lateritic soil are on nearly flatdying to gently sloping
areason broadridgecrests,in saddles and on lowershoulders,
terraces,and
benchesin a terrainthat hasbeenthoroughlydissected
and deeplyentrenched
by erosion. Substantialresidualsoil blanketson peridotiteare unusual,
however. Otherrocktypesin thisregionof highrainfallanddensevegetation
366 PRESTON E. HOTZ

havea ratherthickoverburden
of soil,but peridotiteand serpentinite
generally
have a thin soil cover or are bare.
Over much of the region, especiallyin Del Norte County, Calif., and
southeastern Curry and southwestern JosephineCounties,Ore., many of the
areas of ultramaficrock are characterizedby extensiveplateau-likesurfaces
of low relief separatedby deep, steep-sidedvalleys, but in most placesthe
relatively flat surfacesare not sites of deep soil accumulation. On the con-
trary, they are essentiallybare rock surfaceswith a thin soil cover that is
rarely more than a few inchesdeep. The adjoining slopeshave somewhat
more soil, which may in large part have beenwasheddown from the summits,
but generallytheseslopes,too, are studdedwith exposuresof peridotite.
A few of the lateritic depositsare on or near the crest of a ridge. The
most important of these is at Nickel Mountain, Ore. Others are at Wood-
cock Mountain and Red Flats, Ore., and at Pine Flat Mountain and Little
Red Mountain, Calif. (Fig. 1). They may occupysmallareason the summit
and feather out on either side at the edge of the adjoining slopes. Others
end abruptly on one side of the crestwhere a steepslopebegins,and extend
downwardfor a considerabledistanceon a gentler slopeon the oppositeside.
The depositshave little continuityin either directionalong the ridge so that
bedrock is exposed in higher and lower terrains and adjoining areas that
have the same altitude.
Many depositsoccupybencheson slopesbelow the ridge crests. Generally
they are on the upper, gentler parts of slopes. Some of the bencheson slopes
have resultedfrom normal faulting parallel to the ridge crests. The thickest
parts of the depositare generally toward the inner edge and the depositends
abruptly againstthe inner slope. The outer edge may feather out gradually
where the downward slopebegins,or in somecasesit wedges out against a
rim of bedrockas if it lay on a surfacethat was tilted inward toward the
mountain. Examples of fault benchesare to be found at the "Discovery
Area" (53) on the southeastsideof Nickel Mountain and the Diamond Flats
area on the southeastside of Pine Flat Mountain. Others appear to have
been formed on erosionalterraces which are representedeither by gentler
terrain on the sidesof steeperslopes,or by nosesand shoulderson valley sides.
In either casetheseterracesprobably are remnantsof erosionalsurfacesthat
are generallylower than the higher and older Klamath surface,but well above
the gravel-coveredstream terracesof Quaternary age.

The Soil Profile

All the depositsof lateritic soil on peridotitein the region have similar
profiles,exceptthe depositat Nickel Mountain, Ore. The Nickel Mountain
depositis unique in that the nickeliferoushydrosilicate,garnierite, constitutes
an important part of the depositwhile it is very uncommonor apparently
absentin the other deposits.
The data that follow are from observationsmade and samplescollected
mainlyat Eight Dollar Mountain and WoodcockMountain, Ore., where the
soil profile has beenwell exposedby exploratoryexcavations. The validity
 NICKELIl:ERO US L.4 TERITES 367

of general applicationof these observationshas been checkedby study of

exposuresin bulldozertrenchesand from collectionsof churn drill cuttings
at other deposits.
From the surfacedownwarda typical well-developedprofile consistsof:
(1) reddish-brownsoil with more or less vegetal matter and iron oxide
pellets; (2) yellowish-orangesoil with or without fragmentsof soft decom-
posedperidotite; (3) yellowish-brownsaprolite; (4) weatheredperidotitc;
(5) fresh peridotire(bedrock). Many variationsand deviationsfrom this
generalizedprofile have been observedbetweendifferent localitiesand even
within a singledeposit.
The uppermostzone of reddish-brownsoil is commonto all depositsand
althoughit is the leastvariablepart of the profilein generalappearanceand
lithologiccharacter, it variesconsiderably in chemical
composition
from place
to place. It is commonlyfrom 1 foot to 3 feet thick, althoughas much as
7 feet of red soil was observedat one placeon Eight Dollar Mountain,and
Pecora and Hobbs (53, p. 214) reported as much as 9 feet at Nickel
Mountain. The uppermost zoneis softandincoherent and,exceptduringthe
rainy season, is dry or slightlymoistto the touch. Smallroundbrownpellets
of iron oxide are commonthroughout,and small,generallyplaty fragments
of microcrystalline quartz occurlocally. Generallythis zonecontainsplant
roots and partly decomposedwood fragments and conifer needles. The
boundarybetweenthe red soil and underlyingyellowishto brown soil is
abrupt althoughin detail it is gradationalthroughan inch or so. The sur-
ficialred soillayeris subjectto erosion,andwashderivedfrom it commonly
coversthe slopesbelowas a relativelythin mantlewhich, unlesstestedby
excavationor drilling, may give an erroneousimpressionof the extent of a
lateritic deposit.
The yellowish-orangesoil zone beneath the reddish-brownzone is soft,
more or less compact,and moist to the touch. Thickness of this zone varies
from onedepositto another,and evenwithin individualdeposits.Typically
it containsfragmentsand blocksof partly weatheredperidotitc. In general,
the fragmentsand blocksbecomelarger and more abundantdownward,but
largeblocksof freshrockare not uncommonly distributed
all throughthe
zone;largeblocksat the surfacemay be erroneously
assumed to be bedrock
outcrops.At mostplacesthe fragmentsand blockshave freshto slightly
weatheredcores,but in someprofileseventhe largerblocks,thoughcoherent,
are completelyaltered. Platy fragmentsand discontinuous
veinletsof micro-
crystallinequartz are commonin the soil, and it is not unusualto see similar
veinletsin the blocksof weatheredand partly weatheredperidotire. Some
of the silicaveinletscuttingthe peridotire
blocksmay havepaper-thin,
pale-
green films of garnierite.
In placesthe dark yellowish-orange
zonegradesdownwardinto yellowish-
brownperidotitcsaproliteconsisting of completelyweatheredperidotiresoft
enoughto be cut by a knife blade,yet so coherentthat the originalgranular
texture is preserved. Serpentineveinlets and veinlike films and sheetsof
microcrystallinequartz, which were formed in the original rock, are also
preserved. In manyof the well-exposed soilprofiles,however,the yellowish-
368 PRESTON E. HOTZ

orangesoil commonlyrestson weatheredperidotite. Along joint planesand

fracturesthe rock is weatheredto soft yellowish-browncrustsas much as
2 inchesthick, but the interior partsare freshperidotite.
The bedrocksurfaceis highlyirregularand the relief resultsin a widely
variablethicknessof the overlyinglateritic soil. Prongs,ribs, and irregular
knobsof bedrockextendthroughthe lateriticsoil to the surface,and rootlike
projectionsof soil and saprolitepenetratedownwardinto bedrockalong
prominentjoints and fractures.
Mineralogy.--The mineralogyof the lateritic soilswas studiedby micro-
scopeand by X-ray diffractometer.Sand fractionsof samplesfrom which
solubleiron wasremovedwereexaminedmicroscopically, aswerethin sections
of weatheredperidotiteand specimens of vein material. Poorly crystallized
or fine-grainedsecondarymineralswere examinedwith a Norelco X-ray
diffractometer.Randomlyorientedpowdersamplesof lateriticmaterialwere
examinedby Mn-filtered FeKa radiation in an attempt to determinethe
secondary iron minerals. Orientedaggregates of clay mineralson glassand
ceramic slides were examined by Ni-filtered CuKa radiation following
methodsdescribedby Hathaway (30). Solubleiron was removedby the
dithionate-citrate method(49). The clay mineralslideswere alsoexamined,
followingtreatmentwith ethyleneglycoland heat at 400ø C and 550ø C.
The lateritic soils are a mixture of residualmineralsproducedfrom the
distintegration of peridotiteby weathering,and secondary productsformedby
the recombination of constituents
releasedby decomposition of primarymin-
eralsand not removedin solutionby circulatinggroundwater. With con-
tinuedweatheringand loweringof the soil zone,secondary veinsand veinlets
that fill jointsandfracturesin the underlyingrocksalsomay becomeincorpo-
rated in the residual mantle.
Residual minerals from the peridotite--olivine, enstatite,chromite, and
serpentine--aresparinglypresentin the residualsoil, but their relative pro-
portionsare vastly different from thosein the unweatheredrock (Table 4).
Weathering has resultedin destructionof most of the olivine, while the more
resistantenstatiteis relatively concentrated,althoughit is less concentrated
in the more weathered soil section. The concentrationof chromite, which is
most resistantto weathering,increasesrelatively upward in the weathered
zone. The validity of the data for serpentineis questionablebecausesome
may have beenformed during weatheringand thereforeis not residual; also,
somefine-grainedserpentinemay have been lost during preparationof the
sample.
Secondaryiron oxides, which are responsiblefor the yellow, brown, and
reddish colors of the lateritic material, are mostly amorphous hydrates, or
"limonite," and obscurecrystallineconstituentsin samplesthat have not been
deferrized prior to X-ray examination. Some specimens,however, when
X-rayed using FeKa radiation, give weak reflectionsthat were identified as
goethite. Goethite is optically recognizableas minute brown anisotropic
flakes. In addition to "limonite" and goethitethe magneticanhydrousferric
oxide maghemite (y Fe._,Oa)has been identified in poorly defined powder
patternsand microscopicexaminationas a commonconstituentof the brick-
 NICKELIFERO US L.4 TERITES 369

red surficialsoil zone. The shotlikegranules,whichare commonlyfoundon

the surfaceof the red soil area and are moderatelyto strongly magnetic,
appearopticallyto be composedmostlyof maghemite with lesseramounts
of
goethite. Throughoutthe soil profileall samples
havesomeearthybrown
magneticgrains,but in mostinstancesit is uncertainwhethertheseare mag-
hemitcor magnetitegrainscoatedwith "limonite."
Fragmentsof microcrystallinequartz are a commonconstituentof the
lateriticsoils. Presumably
the quartzis derivedfrom microcrystallinefilms
that commonly coatjoint surfacesand occuras veinsandveinletsin perido-
tite and weatheredperidotitcnear the baseof the weatheredzone. With
progressiveloweringof the weatheringprofilethe quartzis incorporated
and
relativelyconcentrated
in the lateriticoverburden,
but owingto solutionthe
Table 4.dtetattve proporttons oJ mmerals m per•dot•te and tn the sand
fraction of lateritic soil at E•ght Dollar Mountain, Oregon(in percent)
[Numbers correspondto those of analyzedsamplesin table 5 ]

Samples 1 2 4 6 8

Olivine 69 13 4 5 2

Enstatite 18 63 56 44 51
Chromite 1 10 32 44 44

Serpentine ]2 14 8 7 3

1. Fresh peridotitc.
2. Weathered peridotire, 17.8 to 13.6 feet below surface.
4. Yellowish-brown soft granular peridotitc saprolite, 10.8 to 8.2 feet below surface.
6. Compac[ yellowish-orange soil, 5.5 to 2.8 feet below surface.
8. Firm red-brown soil, to 1 foot belo* surœace.

amountof quartzin the red surficialzoneis lessthanthat in the underlying

yellowish-orange
zone. Wheresilicaboxworkhasbeenincorporated intothe
weatheredzone,as at Nickel Mountain,the contentof microcrystalline quartz
in the soil is unusuallyhigh.
Montmorillonite,chloriteand talc constitutethe clay fractionof the laterite
at EightDollar Mountain. X-ray data,shownin Figure2, showthat mont-
morilloniteis a commonconstituentof the weatheredzone (Fig. 2, B, C, and
D) beneath
thesurficial
brick-redhorizon(Fig. 2A). Fig. 2•t indicates
that
somemontmorilloniteis present,but talc and chloritepredominates.In Fig.
2D the montmorillonitepatternis prominent,and as no 14 angstrompeak
wasresolvedafter heatingthe sampleto 550ø C, it is concluded
that chlorite
is absentin this horizon. Talc occursin all samples,but relative peak heights
suggestthat it is moreplentifulin the surficialzone(Fig. 2•t). The mont-
morilloniteprobably is the highiron analogue, nontronite.The presence
of
kaolinitccouldnot be positivelydemonstrated from thesedata.
Althoughnickeland cobaltoccurin all analysesof the lateriticsoil, no
specificmineralsof theseelementshave beenidentifiedexceptat Nickel
Mountainwheregarnierite,the hydroussilicateof nickel,occurswith quartz
in veins and veinletsand in boxwork in weatheredperidotitcand in fresh
370 PRESTON E. HOTZ

• • 30 ø 20 ½ 10 ø 0

20 • 2O
ooh
B
A 129A

M
17i•

0 40ø 30ø 20ø 10ø

2O
O

FIG. 2.
 NICKELIFERO Uo
e L•I 7'ERITEoc 371

peridotite,and as residualveinlets in the soil. Probably nickel and cobalt

are constituentsof secondarymineralsin the soil. Ni 2+has an ionic radius
(0.69A) similarto that of Mg2+(0.66A) and can proxy for magnesium
in
montmorillonite,talc, and chloriteof the clay fraction. Unaltered serpentine
mineralsprobablyaccountfor somenickel,a and much of it may occurin
goethite(21). Presumably Co2+withanionicradiusof 0.72Amayalsosubsti-
tute in the claymineralsto a limitedextent,but probablyit is associated
with
manganese (21). It is knownthat cobaltcombines selectivelywith Mna+and
Mn 4+ (25), and, althoughno manganesemineralswere recognizedfrom the
X-ray or petrographicstudies,black specksand films of an unidentified
manganeseoxide or hydroxideare seenin most exposuresof lateritic soil.
ChemicalComposition.--Chemical data showthat weatheringof the pe-
ridotite,whichdestroyed olivineandmuchof the orthopyroxene andserpentine
minerals,results in the loss of large quantitiesof Mg and Si and relative
residualconcentrationof Fe, A1, and Ni. The concentrationis greatestin the
weatheredzoneabovefresh rock; in surficialparts of the soil profile even the
residual constituents are leached.
These generaltrends are well demonstratedin a soil profile exposedin a
freshexcavationat Eight Dollar Mountain,Oreg. Variationsin composition
with depthshownin Table 5 and illustratedin Figure 3 in terms of molecular
proportions
4 are believedto be typicalof soilsformed on peridotitein the
Klamath Mountains region.
In successively
higherpartsof the weatheredzone,beginningin the weath-
ered bedrock,Fe203 and A1203 increasewhile MgO, FeO, CaO, and SiO2
decrease. Of the oxides in lower concentrationsin the fresh peridotite, the
alkalies Na20 and K,oO increase; NiO, CoO, Cr2Oa and MnO are more
abundantthan in the parent rock. CoO attainsits greatestconcentrationin a
zone approximately5 feet higher than the depth at which NiO reachesits
peak,a relationshipthat hasbeenobservedelsewhere in lateriticdeposits(25,
pp. 120, 181). Within 1 foot to approximately3 feet of the surface,in the
reddish-brownsurficiallayer and the soil immediatelybeneathit, mostof the
constituentsreversetheir trends. Thus, Fe2Oadecreases, while SiO2, MgO,
FeO, and CaO increase. The notableexceptionis A12Oawhich,followingits
trend beneath the surficial zone, continues to increase. The less abundant
oxides,TiO2, Na20, and K20, also increasethroughout. NiO and CoO are
depleted in the surficial zones, while Cr2Oa remains essentiallyconstant.
MnO followsa different trend, having showndepletionin samplesbetween
8.2 and 2.8 feet, and increasingslightlyin the surficialzone.
a Montoya and Baur (Amer. Mineralogist, vol. 48, pp. 1227-1238, 1963) identified a nickel-
bearing lizardite and small quantities of clino-chrysotileand fibrous antigorite in samplesof
lat•ritic ore from Humboldt Co., Calif.
t Molecular proportions are obtained by dividing weight percentages in Table 5 by the
molecular v-eights of the oxides; the computed values multiplied by 104 are plotted log-
arithmically.

Fro. 2. X-ray diffractometerpatternsof clay fractionsfrom laterite at Eight

Dollar Mountain, Oregon. Peaks identified as follows: M, Montmorillonite; C,
Chlorite; T, Talc; Q, Quartz. Samplesare from splits of analyzed sampleslisted
in Table 5. _4, 0-1 foot; B, 2.8-5.5 feet; C, 8.2-10.8 feet; D, 13.6-17.8 feet.
372 PRESTON E. HOTZ

Table 5.-Chemical and quantitative spectrographtc analyses, in percent,

of peridottie and overlying soil at Eight Dollar Mountain, Oregon
[Analysts: Chemicalanalyses, Paul L. D. Elmore, JosephI. Dinnin, SamuelD.
Boris, and Marvin D. Mack; spectrographic analyses, Sol Betman. Samples were
analyzed by rapid-rock-analysis methodssimilar to those described by Shapxro
and Brannock, U.S. Geological Survey Bull. 1036-C]

Samples 1 '2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Chemical analyaes
SxO2 4%.tJ 32.5 31.5 35.1 21.4 15.6 18.5 21.4
AI203 1.6 3.8 23.9 ,3.5 ,1.7 6.4 o. 9 9.1
Fe20• 1.4 29.6 34 5 38.6 '19.1 56.1 52.2 47.3
FeO 6.7 1.9 .93 12 .20 .14 .68 .72
MgO 43.1 15.9 12 4 4.- 3.3 2.1 1.7 4.1
CaO 1.4 l. 5 1.4 .72 .42 .30 05 ,32
Na20 0.02 0.04 0.07 .04 . (14 .06 .07 .10
k )• 0.02 O. 02 0.02 0.02 .04 .66 .05 .13
HqO '2.4 11.3 12.1 13.6 15.9 15.9 15.6 13.4

TiO2 .03 .06 .06 ß•)4 . ] l; .12 . ]2 ß23

P205 .01 .02 .02 .0• .06 .07 .06 .11
MnO ß 14 .24 .3;" ß46 ß4• ß25 ß 25 .28

CO2 .26 .14 .11 .18 .21 .27 .24 .21

Cr203 .36 1.1 1 1 1.2 2. • 1.8 2.1 2.0
CoO .02 .04 .04 .07 .1 [ .14 .13 .07
NiO .31 1.9 2.2 2 0 2 0 1.8 2.0 1.4

Total 101 100 101 100 100 101 101 101

Quantitative spectrographic analyses

Cu .0007 .013 .0098 .0090 .011 .015 ,010 .012
V .0051 .011 .012 .010 .020 .016 .020 .023
Sc .0017 .0042 0054 .0054 .0076 .0076 .0067 .0066
Sr <.0002 <.0002 <.0002 <.0002 <.0002 <.0002 <.0002 .0010
Ba <.002 .002 .002 .003 .003 .003 .003 .006

NOTE.-Besults have an overall accuracy of ñ15 percent except where only one
digit is reported. Looked for but not found: Os, It, Pt, Be, Cd and Y, Bh.

Metal content

Fe 6.2 22.2 24.8 27.1 34.4 39.2 37.0 33.7

Ni .29 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.1

Co .01 .03 .03 ß 05 ß 11 .11 ß 10 .05

Cr .25 .75 .75 .82 1.6 1.2 1.4 1.4
Mn .11 .18 .23 .36 .34 .19 ß ]9 .16
Fe:Nx 21.4 14.8 14.6 16.9 21.5 28.0 23.1 30.6

Fe:Mn 56.4 •23.3 107.8 75.3 101.2 206.3 194.7 210.6

N•:Co 29.0 50.0 56.6 32.0 14.5 12.7 16.0 22.0
Fe:Cr 24.8 29.6 33.1 33.0 21.5 32.6 26.4 24.1
Ni :Mn 2.6 8.3 7.4 4.4 4.7 7.4 8.4 6.9
Mn:Co 11.0 6.0 7,7 7.2 3.1 1.7 1.9 3.2

1. Fresh peridot•te.
2. •eathered perldotite. Blocks of per•dotite wxth soft weathered selvages as muchas 2
inches thick. Few very thxn seams of garn•er•te and quartz, 13.6 to 17.8 feet.
3. Yellowish-brown soft but granular saprolite w•th greenish and black mottlings and some
th•n platy quartz veinlets, 10.8 to 13.6 feet.
4. Same as 3; 8.2 to 10.8 feet.
5. Compactmottled reddish-brown and yellowish-orange soil w•th some black mottlxngs; 5.5
to 8.2 feet.

6. Compactyellowish-orange so•l with somefragments of thoroughly weathered peridotlie;

2.8 to 5.5 feet.
7. Bedd•sh-yellow soil with streaks of red; 1 foot to 2.8 feet,
8. Firm red-brown soxl w•th iron oxide pellets and some vegetal material; 0 •o 1 foot.
 NICKELIFEROUS L•tTERITES 373

FRESH PERIDOTITE
Sampie 1 WEATHERED
2 PERIDOTITE
3 ?NDSOIL
5 6 7 8

MgO O.
10,000

S•O2 •

./ /
/
H•Oß / /
/
/
/

fe_O
(-.• /

-•

g
CaO ß --

/
/
/
/ .../
/
/ /

,.

NiO "" .-
•' •

,/

TiO 2

18 16 14 12 10 8 • 4 2 0
DEPTH BELOW SURFACE IN FEET

Molecularproportions,
computed from analysesin table 5, of peridotite
andoverlyingresidualsoilat Eight Dollar Mountain,Oregon.
374 PRESTON E. HOTZ

FRESH F•.RI DOTITE

Sample I EATHERED
PERIDOTITE
ANDLATERITE
o 1o 3 4 5 6 7 8

OOl

o OOl

0 0001
DEPTH BELOW SURFACE IN FEET

FIG. 4. Trace element content (in weight percent) of peridotite and overlying
residualsoil at Eight Dollar Mountain, Oregon.
 NICKELIFERO US L•t TERITES 375

The trace elementcontentof the peridotiteand soil derived from it are

plottedin Figure 4. Abundances in the rock and soil are in generalaccord
with publisheddata (57; 28; 67; 6). All the elementsanalyzedfor are con-
centratedin the soil relative to their contentin the peridotite,althoughin the
caseof Ba and Sr, whichare low in the peridotite,there is little or no apparent
concentration exceptin the uppermostred soil layer. Sc, which probablyis
predominantly in the pyroxeneof the peridotiteas a substitutefor ferrousiron
(28, p. 304; 6; 57, p. 255), maintainsa nearconstantratio with ferric iron in
the soil,suggesting that it may be concentrated
in the oxidates(28, p. 305).
The concentrationof vanadium is more or less in direct proportionto the
degreeof weathering,thus it increasesin the higherlevelsof the soil. Prob-
ably the vanadiumin the peridotireis mostly containedin the chromiteand
to a lesserextent in the olivine and pyroxene (28, p. 489; 60, p. 711-714).
On weathering,vanadiumis oxidizedto the vanadateion (VO4) 3- which is
immobilizedby precipitationas relatively insolublehydroxide (28, p. 492-
493) or ferric vanadate(41, p. 425) and becomesconcentrated,therefore,in
the ferruginoussoil zones. The copper contentof the peridotire is very low,
and theoreticallyonewould expectit to have beendepletedduring weathering
due to its relatively high solubility. It is, however, concentratedapproxi-
mately 13 and 20 times in the soil, where it is possiblybound to montmoril-
lonitic clay and fixed by humusin the uppermostred soil zone (25, p. 118,
154).
A series of samplesof weathered peridotire and lateritic soil were also
obtainedfrom the openpit of the Hanna Ore Companyat Nickel Mountain,
Oreg. Analysesof the samplesand the unweatheredperidotiteare shownin
Table 6, and variation of the major constituentsin terms of their molecular
proportionsis shownin Figure 5.
Generally,the constituentshave trends like thoseshown in Table 5 and
Figure 3 for the samplesat Eight Dollar Mountain; however,there are some
differenceswhichare explainablein part. Sample2 containsmore SiO2 than
unweatheredperidotite becauseit included quartz from boxwork veinlets.
MgO reversesits downwardtrend, accompanied by an increasein CaO and
FeO in sample3, probably becauseof inclusionof some less weatheredpe-
ridmite fragments,thoughthe reasonCaO risesto a value slightly greater than
its abundancein the unweatheredperidotite (sample 1) is probably not ex-
plainableby this means.
Interpretation.--The relative amountsof the constituentsin the chemical
analysesof Tables5 and 6 give no informationon absolutegainsand losses
which have taken placeduring weatheringof the rock and formationof the
soil. No determinationswere madeof bulk densitiesof the soil samples,which
couldbe usedwith the analysesto computegainsand losses. Some investi-
gators(40, p. 31-35; 7, p. 107-111), assumingthat only minor volumechanges
have takenplaceduringweathering,have computedstandardcells (3; 4, p.
82-85) in order to compareexchangesin cationsin going from fresh to
weatheredrock. Although preservationof original structuresin the lower
part of the profilesis evidencethat weatheringhasgoneon with little or no
376 PRESTON E. HOTZ

FRESH PERIDOTITE WEATHERED PERIDOTITE AND SOIL

Sample 1 2 3 5

MgO
10.000

\
\

// xX
/

lOOO FeO ,/
H20•x/
\ /
\
I

/
\ /
\ t
\
1
/
\ /
g
\ \ //

lOO

Cr•O•ø

Mr)O
X• •

, Na20 _

K•O©/. I I I I I I
10 8 6 4 2 0
DEPTH BELOW SURFACE,IN FEET

FIG. 5. Molecular proportions,computedfrom analysesin Table 6, of peridotite

and overlyingresidualsoil at Nickel Mountain, Oregon.
 NICKELIFEROUS LztTERITES 377

Table 6.-Chemical analyses, in percent, of peridotire and overlyœng

soil at Nickel Mountain, Oregon
[Analysts: P. l,. D. Elmore, J. I. Dinnin, S. D. Boris, and M. D. Mack.
Samples were analyzed by rapid-rock-analvsks methods sim{lar to those
described by Shapiro and Brannock, U.S. Geological Survey Bull. 1036-C]

Sample 1 2 3 4 5
Chemical analyses
42 8 71. 7 32. 2 26.2 38. 4
SiO2
1 1 1 4 4. 9 7 3 8. 4
A1203
8 14 4 38. 7 46 8 31. 3
Fe20)
FeO 6 8 14 '45 29 1. 3

MgO 45 7 9 7 0 2 1 6 8

CaO 12 0 24 58

03 02 07 08 26
Na20
KoO 01 02 02 09 24

1 6 5 11 9 13.3 0
It20
TiOq O2 03 08 .20 32

02 01 12 20
P205
MnO 12 20 43 49

12 17 24 28 17
CO2
45 59 1 1 3 5
Cr203
CoO 02 03 •6 08 06

36 '1 5 2 3 2 2 1 5

Total 101 100 101 101 100

Metal content

Fe 5.8 10.2 27 4 32 9 22 9

N[ .28 1 2 1 8 1 7 1 2

Co .01 02 06 03

Cr .31 40 75 89 I 02

Mn .09 15 37 33 38

Fe:Ni 20.7 8 5 15 2 19 3 19 1

Fe:Mn 64.4 68 0 74 0 99 7 60 3

Ni:Co 28.0 6(3 0 36 0 28.3 60 0

Fe:Cr 18.7 25 5 36 5 37.0 60.3

1. Composxte sample of fresh peridotitc.

2. 5oft, weathered peridotitc with veinlels of quartz and garnierite; 8 to l0 feet.
3. Compact, yellowish-orange lateritic soil with remnants of quartz veinlets, some
garnierite-rich streaks; 5 to 8 feet.
4. Same as above, with fewer quartz veinlets; 3 to 5 feet.
5. Loose red lateritic soil with iron oxide pellets; 1 foot [o 3 feet.

volumechange,suchevidenceis lackingin the upper parts,and, especially

in the red surficialzone,it is believedthat there has beena decreasein volume.
The absolutegainsand lossescan be compared,however,by assumingthat
oneconstituent
remainsconstant duringthe courseof the weathering.TiO•,
378 PRESTON E. HOTZ

Table 7.-Coapoattton uj re3td,al so•l tn terms u[ uetght percent u3,uatng 41J)• con•tant,
E•ght D,l lar Mo.nta•n, Oregon

.%amp
[e 1 ] 2 change 3 r hange 4 chan•. 5 chang• 6 change

h•O• _
•.[) 13.• -68. f 2.0 -70.[I 1•½.2 -,2.1 -.f -•.0 •,q _el.i)

MgO 1•.1 ..T -85.9 ;.l -aS.1 2.2

(]aO 1.4 O,g -55.0 (I.0 -5•.0 f).3
tl20 2.4 •.7 -98.1 5.0 +1(•7 6.2 +1," 5.• -125 •.• ',;•Y
Xh, .11 .(•T -•1.1 .00 -1[.3 P.I•, -5".[ 0.12 •r•.5 [•.l); --,-.[1
(lr .25 .31 +26 .23 +2• 0.•h
('• .()1 .(}1 +26 .(11 -2,} 0.rl]

],Same aq Fable

possiblythe mostinsolubleconstituent,
wouldbe the mostreliableindicator
of the absolute
quantities
of othercomponents
removedif its content(0.03
percent)inthefreshperidotite
werenotsolow. Therefore,
followingGoldich
(27) andothers,AlcOaischosenastheconstant
against
which theotheroxides
are compared.
In Tables7 and8 the amountsof the principalconstituents
in the samples
fromEightDollarMountainandNickelMountainin termsof weightpercent
relativeto constantA12Oaare computedby multiplyingthe weight percent
of the variable(.4w) by the ratioof A12Oain the freshperidotite(C[) to
that in the sampleof weathered material(Cw), i.e. (-4w x Cf/Cw). The
percentage gainor loss(netchange) involved
in conversionoffreshperidotite
to the weathered productwascomputed thus:100 (1--4w/.4• X C[/Cw) =
percent gainor loss. Figures6 and7 illustrate
graphicallythedatagivenin
Tables 7 and 8.
It is immediately
apparent
fromthesecomputations
thatweathering
of the
peridotite
toformthesoilhascome
about
mainly
bythelossamong
themajor
Table 8.-Composition of residual soil in terms of weight percent,
assumingA1203 constant. Nickel Mountain, Oregon
[ Net Net Net Net
Sample
1 1 2 change 3 change 4 change 5 change
(%) (%) (%) (%)

SiO2 42.8 55.8 +30.3 7.1 -83.5 3.9 -90.8 5.0 -88.3
Total Fe 5.8 8.0 +37.3 6.0 +3.8 4.9 -14.9 3.0 -48.6
MgO 45.7 3.1 -93.4 1.6 -96.6 .3 -99.3 0.9 -98.0
CaO 0.9 .09 -89.6 .22 -75.6 .04 -95.9 -.07 -91.7
H20 1.6 4.3 +169 2.6 +63.7 2.0 +24.6 1.0 -35.0
Mn .09 .12 +30.0 .08 -9.6 .05 -44.9 .03 -45.1
Cr .31 .31 +0.6 .17 -46.8 .13 -56.9 .13 -57.2
Co .01 .02 +56 .01 +10.0 .01 -10.0 .006 -35
Ni .28 .93 +232 .40 +41.5 .25 -8.9 .16 -44.4

lSame as Table 6.
 NICKELIFERO US L.4 TERITES 379

constituents of MgO, CaO, and SiO2 with the retentionof Fe and addition
of I-I20, exceptin the red soil layer at the top, where there has been a net
lossof iron and water. The greatestchangetakesplacein going from fresh
to weatheredperidotiteor peridotite saprolite. In the samplesfrom Eight
Dollar Mountainlarge quantitiesof MgO and SiO2 releasedby decomposition
of olivine,and to a lesserextent enstatite,are lost immediatelyand continue

F'RœSH PœRIDOTITœ

SampLe1

lOO

--

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

DœPTH BE:LOW SURFACE: IN FE:E:T

Fro. 6. Net change in compositionof residual soil in terms of weight percent of

fresh peridotite,assumingA1203 constant,Eight Dollar Mountain, Oregon.

to show progressivedecreasesin samplesof successivelyhigher parts of the

profile. CaO, which is generallyregardedas beingmore susceptible to loss
on weatheringthan MgO (55, p. 379; 58, p. 44), is lost in slightlylesser
amountsthan MgO in weatheringof the peridotite. This is possiblybecause
the CaO is chieflyin the clinopyroxenelamellaeof the enstatite,which is less
susceptibleto weatheringthan the olivine. Iron, also releasedby destruction
of the ferromagnesianminerals,is relatively immobilizedby oxidation from
the ferrous to the ferric state. Its concentrationincreasesin successively
higher samplesthroughthe saproliticzone,then showsprogressivedecreases
throughthe rest of the overlyingsoil and hasa net lossin the surficialbrick
380 PRESTON E. HOTZ

red soil zone, indicatingthat there has beenleachingof iron in the upper
parts of the soil.
Among the constituentsin smaller original concentrations,nickel, chro-
mium, and cobaltshow increases,except,again, in the surficialzone where
FRESH PERIDOTITE WEATHERED PERlOCTITE AND SOiL
Sample 1 2 3 4 5

/
/

200

lOO

.H20

Al2Oa (Assumed Constant)

lOO
12 10 8 6 4 2 0

DEPTH BELOW SURFACE IN FEET

7. Net changein composition of residualsoil in terms of weight percentof

fresh peridotite,assumingAI2Oa constant,Nickel Mountain, Oregon.

there is a net loss of nickel and cobalt and the chromium content shows a re-
versal to its original concentration.Manganeseincreasesin samples4 and
5 midwayin the soil zoneand decreases in the lower and upperparts.
In comparingthe datafrom the Nickel Mountainsampleswith thosefrom
Eight Dollar Mountainsomeinterestingcontrastsbecomeapparentthat do
not appearwhenthe analysesare compared,providing,of course,that the
assumptionof constantAl:Oa is valid. Nickelis stronglyconcentrated
in the
 NICKELIFEROUS L•I TERITES 381

silica boxwork zone at Nickel Mountain, but shows about the same concentra-
tion in the overlyingsoilas at Eight Dollar Mountain,and depletionin the
surficialzoneat bothlocalities. One of the biggestcontrastsis in the behavior
of iron. At EightDollar Mountainiron is stronglyconcentratedin the soil
zone,exceptfor a very slightnet lossat the surface;in the samplesfrom
Nickel Mountain its maximum concentrationis but 40 percentof the maximum
concentration
at EightDollar Mountainandit is greatlydepleted
in the upper
partof thesection,
showing
a netlossof nearly50 percentin thesurficialred
soilzone. Chromiumalsobehavesquitedifferently;at Eight Dollar Mountain
this interpretation
of the datasuggests
that it is concentrated
in the soiland
showsa net lossin the red surficialzone,while in all the samplesfrom Nickel
Mountainabovethe silicaboxworkzoneit is stronglydepleted,showinga net
lossof as muchas 57 percent. If thesenet changesare accepted
as valid,
leachingof the soilzoneat NickelMountainwasmoreprofoundthanat Eight
Dollar Mountain.

Supergene•"eins
Veins and veinletsof microcrystallinequartz and garnierite are closely
associated
with the lateriticdepositsat Nickel Mountainwherethey constitute
an importantpart of the deposit. Quartz is fairly commonat mostof the
otherdeposits,
butgarnieriteis absentexceptfor occasional
thin filmson joints
in weatheredperidotireat a few places. A few sepioliteveinsoccurat Nickel
Mountain but have not been seen elsewhere.
Quartz.-•All the quartzassociatedwith the lateriticdepositsis in a micro-
crystalline
form. It occursin veins,paper-thinveinlets,and as cellularbox-
works. Megascopically it rangesfrom white to brown and sometimesis
staineda pale green. Becauseof its microcrystalline natureit has a dull,
porcelaneous appearance on freshlyfracturedsurfaces. Veins whichare more
than a few millimetersthick are generallymore or less cavernousand the
openingshave drusy surfaceson which minute terminatedprismsof quartz
commonly canbe seenwith a handlens. Microscopic examination showsthat
it occursas microcrystalline clear anhedralgrains ranging from 0.005 to
0.01 mm. Prismaticcrystalsin drusyopeningsare 0.5 mm or lesslongwith
rhombohedral end terminationsand microscopically visiblegrowth lines.
Microcrystallinequartz mostcommonlyoccursas white, gray to greenish
fihns,paper-thinsheets,and incrustations seldommore than a millimeteror
so thick on joint surfacesin unweatheredand coherentweatheredperidotite.
The veinletsmay or may not haveany garnieriteassociated with them.
Quartz veins as much as 3 to 4 incheswide occupyingjoints in partly
weatheredand weatheredbut coherentperidotireare exposedin someexcava-
tions below the lateritic soil. These veins are massive to more or less cavern-
ous, have a dull porcelaneousappearance,and commonly are barren of
garnierite. The cavernous
openings
are vacantor may havea little limonitic
material.
At Nickel Mountain prominentveins of quartz and garnierite as much
as several inches but less than a foot in width have the same attitude as the
major joints in the peridotire. These "veins," which are spacedfrom several
382 PRESTON E. HOTZ

feet to severaltens of feet apart, persistfor severaltens of feet alongtheir

strike and downdip,and are joined with other veins dippingmore or lessat
right anglesin the oppositedirection. The quartz in theseveins occursas
thin sheets1 to 2 mm thickwhich,seenin crosssection,form an anastamosing
network whoseinterspacesare filled or partly filled with garnierite. Where
the cavitiesare not filled, the surfacesof the sheetscommonlyhave a drusy
coating of microscopicallysmall crystalline quartz.
Cellular boxworksof quartz, commonlycalledboxwork silica, are associ-
ated with someof the deposits. At Nickel Mountain,Oreg., spongymasses
composed of intersectingwhite to light-grayveinletsof microcrystallinequartz
less than a millimeter to 2 or 3 mm thick enclose cells of soft ocherous weath-
ered peridotite below the zone of incoherent soil. At Nickel Mountain
garnierite commonlyaccompanies the quartz veinlets. Many of the quartz-
garnieriteveinletshave bilateral symmetrywith selvagesof garnierite and a
central zone of white microcrystallinequartz which commonlyhas a central
drusy cavity lined with microscopic terminatedquartz crystals. A microbox-
work of quartz veinletscrisscrosses somegarnierite veins and veinlets,appar-
ently having been depositedin fracturesthat were openedin the garnierite,
possibly by contraction due to dehydration. Some boxworks have thick-
walled veins of porcelaneous microcrystallinequartz without any garnierite,
but with cells of soft limonitic or serpentinousmaterial.
Silicaboxworkin the soilzonenearand on the surfacecommonlyis devoid
of garnierite, the limonitic material of the cells has been washed out, and the
cell walls are thickenedand coatedwith brown-stainedquartz,which replaces
the white quartz. Some of this apparently barren material when broken,
however, containssmall amountsof garnierite which have been enclosedin
the quartz.
In the zone of lateritic soil the veinletsand smallerveins of quartz become
broken into small platy fragments which may, however, persist into the
surficial red soil layer. The larger veins and coarserboxwork also become
disrupted and partly incorporatedin the soil but at some places rest on the
surfaceas large massesand blocksof barren spongyquartz. These blocks
of barren quartz boxwork are found in the soil and at the surfaceof several
deposits,but garnierite-bearingsilica boxwork is restrictedto the depositat
Nickel Mountain.
At Nickel Mountain, brecciazones,formed either by slumpingof weath-
eredrock or of tectonicorigin, are cementedby brown microcrystalline quartz.
The cementedbrecciahas many cavernousopeningswhich commonlyhave a
thin layer or film of garnieriteand white very finely crystallinedrusy quartz.
In somespecimens, however,it alsoappearsthat brown quartz replacesearlier
depositedand fracturedwhite quartz.
Garnierite.--A green, nickeliferoushydrosilicatefrom LancasterCounty,
Pa., originally named nickel gymnite by Genth, was renamedgenthite by
Dana (in 54. p. 22). Clarke (14), Kay (39), and Diller and Kay (18) also
referred to the green nickeliferousmaterial at Nickel Mountain, Ore., as
genthire.
The name garnierite was introducedby Liversidge for a green hydro-
 NICKELIFERO US L•t TERITES 383

silicate
of nickelandmagnesium
fromNew Caledonia
whichhehadoriginally
namednoumeite(in 54, p. 22). Liversidgereassigned
the namenoumeiteto
a secondnickelmineralfrom the samelocality. Anothervarietyfrom New
Caledoniawasnamednepouite by Glasser(in 43, p. 52-53). Lacroix (43,
p. 53) distinguished
between
noumeite
and nepouite,
but adopted
garnierite
as a generalterm for the green nickeliferoushydrosilicateores of the New
Caledonia deposits,excepting nickeliferoussepiolite. Studies of several
nickeliferous
hydrosilicates
led Caillere,Selfridge,Alexeevaand Godlevsky,
and Spangenberg to concludethat garnierite,noumeite,and nepouiteare es-
sentiallysimilarnonspecific
mixturesof differenthydrosilicatesof magnesium
andnickel(54, p. 22).
PecoraandHobbs(53) usedthenamegarnieritein referringto thegreen
nickelore at Nickel Mountain,whichearlierhadbeencalledgenthite.
Garnieriteis megascopicallyamorphous, has a dull to earthyluster,is
softandfriableto brittlewhendry. Nickel-poorspecimens are moreor less
plasticwhenwet, but nickel-richspecimens are nonplastic(53, p. 18). Its
colorrangeswidelyfrom pale greenishyellows throughyellowishgreento
brilliantgreenas its nickelcontentincreases;
the greencoloris moreintense
in wet specimens.
Pecora,Hobbs,and Murata (54) showedthat there is a direct relation
betweencolor, specificgravity, mean index of refraction,and nickel content
of garnierite. Specificgravity rangesfrom 2.55 to 2.98, meanindex of re-
fractionfrom 1.563to 1.601,and NiO from 2.62 percentto 37.08percent.
Garnieriteandmicrocrystallinequartzgenerallyoccurtogether,
buttheirpro-
portionsare widelyvariable,a fact previouslynotedby Pecora,Hobbs,and
Murata (54, p. 16).
Pale-coloredgarnieriteis less commonthan the darker varieties. Least
commonare palegreenish-yellow (10Y 8/2) to yellowish-green
(10GY 8/2)
waxyappearing veinletsonlya millimeteror sowidein weathered peridotite.
Slightlydarker(moderate greenish-yellow,
10Y 7/4; moderate yellow-green,
5GY 7/4) materialoccursinterstitiallyand as veinletsin breccialike
weath-
eredperidotiteat a fewplaces,
especially
nearthediscovery shaftonthelower
benchat Nickel Mountain. In somespecimens it can be seenthat pale
garnieritealso partly replacesenclosedfragmentsof the weatheredrock.
Generally,pale-coloredgarnieritein weatheredperidotiteis accompaniedby
thin veinletsof whitequartz.
Garnieriteof the morecomplexboxworksis darker (moderateyellow
green,5GY 7/4, to moderateyellowish
green,10GY6/4) andis accompanied
by abundantquartzto whichit maybesubordinate.
Lightercoloredgarnier-
ite, whichmay alsobe presentin somespecimens,is veinedand replaced
by the darker varieties.
In the prominentquartz-garnierite
"fractureveins"(53, p. 219) quartz
is predominantovergarnieritewhich,in theseveins,is commonly a brilliant
green(5G 6/6). The garnieriteoccupies chambers enclosedby septaof
quartzas muchas severalmillimeterswide,whichmay be brownratherthan
Color terms and numericaldesignationsas used in rock color chart, National Research
Council, Washington, D.C., 1958.
384 PRESTON E. HOTZ

white. Some veins have slickensidedsurfacesof brilliant-green garnierite.

Thin, in placesmammillary,incrustationsof brilliant-greengarnierite ac-
companied by very thin white quartz coatssurfacesand lines cavitiesin
siliceousbrecciasof brown quartz containingweatheredperidotiteand pale
garnieriteat Nickel Mountain.
Paragenetically,the succession
is from pale garnieritetowardthe darker
varieties.

4.57

1.•2 1.56

11581•.71.72

1523 Q)•52•318 45 9.9

2.47

525
•NO1 A AFITI•IC(A k
N*CK[L

160
ø 15o
* 1400 1,300 , ]20ø,
2 3 1o 2'o

FIG. 8. X-ray diffractometer

powderpatternsof garnierite.
D-values in angsttoms;Q = quartz peaks.

Pecora,Hobbs, and Murata (54, p. 22) concludedfrom their laboratory

studies,includingchemicalanalysis,X-ray diffractionmeasurements, and
thermalanalyses,that garnieritefrom Nickel Mountainis "... a mixture
of at least two and possiblythree hydrosilicatesanalogousin structureto
serpentine,deweylite,and saponite(pimelite)."
X-ray diffractometer datafor four specimens of garnieriteexamineddur-
ingthepresentstudyare shownin Figure8, andlistedin Table9. Specimen
1 hasa serpentinepattern,butthepresence of onlya fewlineswhichtendto be
broadsuggest that it hasa poorlyorderedstructure. Specimen 1 haslines
whosespacings andintensitiesagreecloselywith thosefor synthetic nickelif-
erousserpentine(9, p. 125). Specimens 2, 3, and 4, whichsuccessivelyhave
 NICKELIFERO US L•I TERITES 38.5

strongergreen shades,show a progressivechangein their patterns. In no.

2 a weak line occursat 9.31, in no. 3 and no. 4 a very strongreflectionoccurs
at about 10. The two strongreflectionsat 7.2 and 3.6 in the pattern of nos.
1 and 2 becomeweak in no. 3 and are barely distinguishable to absentin no. 4.

Table 9.-X-ray powder data for garnierite

[Peak intensities, in parentheses: rs, very strong; s, strong; m,

medium; w, weak; b, broad. 100, very strong, to 5, weak]

A 1 2 3 4 B

9.31(w) 10.05(vs) 9.93 (s) 9.30(70)

7.26(10) 7.25(vs) 7.25(vs) 7.25(w)
4.65(10)
4.50(m) 4.49(m) 4.53 s) 4.47(s) 4.57(80)
4.2(•)
3.629(8) 3.63(s) 3.63(s) 3.59(mw)
3.19 3.23
(m,b) (m,b)
3.13 3.16

3.11(m) 3.10(70)
2.60(6O)
2.50(7) 2.47(m,b) 2.51(m) 2.53(s,b) 2.52(s,b) 2.48(100)
2.2O(2O)
2.14(4) 2.15(w) 2 10(10)
1 92(5)
1 86(20)
1 72(10)
1 67(5,b)
1 56(10)
1.52.4 1.525(m) 1.52(m) 1.524(s,b) 1.523(s) 1 52(70)

A Artificial nickel serpentine(9, p. 125)

1 Mcderategreenish-yellow
WoodcockMountain, Oregon
(10Y7/4) garnieritefromcells in quartzboxwork,
2 Moderate greenish-yellow
(10Y7/4) garnierite, NickelMountain,
Oregon
3 Moderate yellow-green
(SGY 7/4) garn/erite,NickelMountain,Oregon
4 Brilliant green(SG6/6) gar•ierite/ Nickel Mountain,Oregon
B Talc (9, p. 475)

The X-ray data suggestthat the garnieriteof specimens

2 to 4 are mixtures
of serpentine
and a 10A layeredmineral,with the 10A materialbecoming
dominant in no. 5.
Sepiolite.--The hydrousmagnesiumsilicate,sepiolite,occursat Nickel
Mountain
buthasnotbeennotedin association
withtheotherlateriticdeposits.
It hasnot beenpreviouslyreportedfrom Nickel Mountainbecauseit was not
386 PRESTON E. HOTZ

exposeduntil the lateritic overburdenwas removedin placesby mining

operations.
Sepioliteoccursin a few gentlydippingveins3 to 4 incheswide in partly
weatheredperidotitebeneaththe lateriticcoverwhichoverliesthe peridotitc.
Table 10.-X-ray powder data for sepiolite
[Peak intensities, in parentheses: vs, very strong; s, strong; m, medium;
w, weak; b, broad nr, not resolved. 100, very strong, to 5, weak.]
1 2 3 4 5 hkl

2.2(vs) ]2.3(vs) ]2.3(s) 12.05(100) ]2.3(60) 110

7.63(w) 7.38(m) 7.52(w) --- 7.6(5)
7.47(w) --- 7.47( 10) 130
I200
6.66(w,b) 6.61(w) 6.75(•) 6.73(5) --- 1040
5.02(•) 5 04(w) 5.02(w) 5.111(7) 4.9(6b) 150

d.53(m)
4.53(m)
4.33(m)
4.26(m) 4.51(w•
4.29($) 4.498(25)
4.306(40) 4.5}(20nr) 060
4.3 131
...... 3.•7(m) 4.022(7) --- 330
3.74(m) 3.74(m) 3.75(m) 3.750(3(I) 3.746(20b) 260
...... 3.53(w) 3.533(12) 3.49(5)
3.35(m) 3.35(m) 3.35(m) 3-366(30) 3.3:• 080
3.16(w) --- 3.18(ml 3.196(35) ' (20nr,b) 331
......... 2.932(4.) 2.98 370
...... 2.82(w) 2.825 --- 081

2.71(w) ...... 2. 771(4) --- 421

...... 2.6-(w) 2.691(20) '2.6• {••010,0

...... '• t,](ml
.... o 617(30) .__ 441
281

2.57(m)
o58(m)
o55(s•
2.56(55) •-(40nr
b){1312
.... , 71
91

--- 2.46(m)--- 2.47q(5)2.49] 132

'2
45(w)
944(m)
2.44(w)
2.449(25)
2.46}•02
ß " ½)42
(]0nr) [1 1
2.39(w) --- 2.38(w) 2.406(15) 2.3 •2
U61
•062
2.25(m) 2.28(m) 2.25(m) 2.263(30) 2.24(20b) •312

...... 2.18(w) 2.206(3) --- q570

1332
f640
2.13(w) 2.13(w,b) 2.11(w) 2.125(7) --- •2 12
[4: lO',o
2.07(w) 2.06(w) 2.05(w) 2.069(20) 2.08(6,b) 082
--- 2.03(w) --- 2. 033 (4) --- 571

l. Platy sepiolite from vein, Nickel Mountain, Oregon.

2. Fkbrous sepiolite from slickensided surface, Nickel Mountain, Oregon.
3. Fibrous sepiolite, Yavapai County, Arizona (38).
4. SepioliLe from Little Cottonwood, Utah (8).
5. Sepiolite from Eski Chehir, Asia Minor (8).
 NICKELIFEROUS LATERITES' 387

The veinshavea wavysheeted structurecomposedof mattedfoliathat canbe

bepeeledoff with thefingers;thefoliatedstructure
is parallelto thewallsof
theveins. The colorrangesfromwhiteto verylightgreen(SG 8/4), darker
whenwet, commonly withina singlehandspecimen.When dry its hardness
is approximately
2 andit hasa smooth to somewhatgreasyfeelanda silkyto
dull luster. When wet it is rather plastic. A specimenof very light green
sepiolitecontained1.46percentNi by analysis.
A thin layer on the slickensided surfaceof a fracturewhosewalls are
coatedwith microcrystalline quartzwasalsoidentifiedas sepiolite. It hasan
obviously fibrousstructure, andwhendry it hasa hardness of approximately
3, is brittle and splintery,but easilycleavablelengthwise.
The X-ray datafor sepiolitefrom Nickel Mountainare comparable with
Brindley'sdata (8, Fig. 1, p. 496), andthe interplanarspacings correlatewell
with published data (8; 24; 38) on sepiolite. The datafor the samples from
Nickel Mountain are shownin Table 10 and comparedwith publisheddata.
A very strongdiffraction
maximumat 12.2to 12.3A characterizes
the
Nickel Mountainsamples. Galv/mand others(24) concluded
after a study
of Spanish
sepiolitesthata very strongline at 12.1ñ 0.2 A is characteristic
anda stronglineat 3.55A is typical;however,a 3.55A linewasnotrecorded
for the Nickel Mountainspecimens and Brindley (8) and Kauffman (38) do
not list it in their data. Longchampon(in 38, p. 517) listedthe first three
linesfor fibroussepioliteas 12.2 (ñ 0.15), 7.5 (ñ 0.10), and6.7 (ñ 0.05).
Brindley(8) haspointedout that the crystallinityof sepiolitevariescon-
siderably,as illustratedby a comparison of the X-ray patternsof sepiolite
from Little Cottonwood,Utah, and from Eski Chehir. The pattern of the
former has more and better developedpeaks than the latter. The patterns
given by the samplesfrom Nickel Mountain,Oreg., and Yavapai County,
Ariz. (38), seemto indicatean intermediate
degreeof crystallinity
betweenthe
two extremes.

Comparison14/ith Other Lateritic Deposits

The lateritic soils in northwesternCalifornia and southwesternOregon
have many similaritiesto soilsformedby lateritic weatheringof serpentine
andperidotitein otherpartsof the world; mainlytropicalareassuchas Cuba
(45, p. 39; 52, p. 146; 37, p. 344-345), the Philippines(23), New Caledonia
(43; 13), and French Guinea (51).
Lateritic nickel depositselsewherein the world are of two types (64, IV
12 to IV 15): (a) nickeliferous ferruginouslateritescontainingapproximately
40 percent Fe and averagingabout 1 percent Ni but with no discernible
mineralsof nickel; and (b) nickelsilicatedepositsof relativelylow iron con-
tent having concentrations of garnierite in the lower part of the weathered
zone. The former are exemplifiedby extensivedepositsin Cuba and the
Philippineswhich were formedon serpentinite;the New Caledoniandeposits,
the bestknown exampleof the nickel silicatetype, were formed on unserpenti-
nized peridotite.
With the exceptionof the depositat Nickel Mountain, the laterites of
388 PRESTON E. HOTZ
 NICKELIFERO US L.4 TERITES 389

southwesternOregon and northwesternCalifornia are ferruginouslaterites.

In contrastwith similar depositsin Cuba and the Philippines,however, they
have been formed by weathering of fresh peridotire,exceptingthe deposit
at Red Flats in Oregon where the bedrockis serpentinite. The depositat
Nickel Mountain is of the nickel silicatetype and was formed on peridotire.
Comparisonof analysesemphasizesthe similarity in chemicalcomposition
between the northwestern California and southwesternOregon depositsand
lateritic depositselsewherein the world, but it also revealssomedifferences
that may reflect the difference in the climatic environmentunder which
weatheringtook place.
Laterites formed from peridotire and serpentiniteby weathering under
tropicalclimaticconditionshave a notablylower contentof SiO2 and MgO,
and higher Fe and A12Oathan the lateritic soilsof southwestOregon. Ni +
Co are essentiallythe same. The higher rainfall in tropical regionsmay be
responsiblefor the lower SlOe and MgO relative to Fe and A12Oa. Sherman
(62) showedthat the SiO2 contentof soilsformed on basalticrocksin Hawaii
varied inverselywith the amount of rainfall and that Fe2Oa increasedwhile
AleOawasleachedawayin increasingamountsas rainfall increasedin a climate
havingalternatingwet and dry seasons. Pickering(56, p. 1194) has empha-
sized,however,that the laterizationprocessis the samein coolerclimatesif
otherweatheringfactorsare equal,althoughit may take placeat a slowerrate,
and therefore under cooler climatic conditionsthe rate of desilicationmight
not be able to keep aheadof erosion.
Table 11, which comparesthe chemicalcompositionof soil overlyingpe-
ridotire and serpentinitefrom Eight Dollar Mountain, Oreg., and Cuba
exemplifies these similarities and differences. The material analyzed is
physicallysimilarand from comparabledepths.
Comparing variations in constituentsof lateritic soil from Eight Dollar
Mountainin southwestOregon (Table 5) with other lateritic soilsformedon
serpentiniteor peridotiteone findsmany similarities. Fe and A12Oaincrease
rapidlywith the lossof SlOgand MgO, Fe attainingits maximumconcentra-
tion of nearly40 percentat aboutthe samedepthas SiO_o reachesits minimum;
the highestconcentrationof A12Oais near the surfacewhereasFe decreasesin
the upper part of the profile. NiO and CoO concentratein the soil but are
leachedfrom the upper parts relativeto iron and alumina (Fig. 6); Cr2Oa
too, is higher in parts of the soil beneaththe surficialzone.
The depositat Nickel Mountain has many similaritiesto the New Cale-
doniannickel silicatedeposits(43; 13). The characteristic feature of both
localitiesis the lower Fe contentand the occurrence of importantamountsof
"garnierite"accompanied by finely crystallinequartz in veinlikebodiesand
boxworksin the lower parts of the weatheredzone above peridotiteand
serpentinite.
The nickeliferous laterites of northwestern California and southwestern
Oregonare smallerand of lower averagegradethan the lateritesof Cubaand
the Philippineswhere depositsare known (16) that contain hundredsof
millionsof tons of 1 percentor more nickel. The California-Oregonde-
positsindividuallyare small and widely distributedover a ruggedterrain.
390 PRESTON E. HOTZ

In areal extent they rangefrom lessthan 100 acresto 200 acres. Thicknesses
of the lateritic blanketsvary widely and are only approximatelyknown, but are
estimatedto be mineableto no morethan 30 feet and probablyno morethan an
averageof 15 to 20 feet. Their averagenickel contentis estimatedto be
0.75 to 0.80 percentNi; the iron contentis lessthan20 percentFe. Explora-
tion has shown that, except for small localizedparts of a given depositin
whichthe soil is well developeddown to bedrock,many blocksand boulders
of hard, unweatheredperidotireare likely to be distributedthroughoutthe
whole thickness of the weathered zone.

Origin
The lateritic soils that have been formed in northwestern California and
southwesternOregon are evidence of sufficientrainfall to cause chemical
weatheringof the rock and to carry away the solubleproductsof the weather-
ing process. Laterites are most commonlyregardedas characteristicweath-
ering productsof warm tropical regionsthat have alternatingwet and dry
seasons,but the lateritization processis operative in either temperate or
tropicalclimtes(56, p. 1199-1200; 58, p. 81). Ferruginousbauxitesformed
by laterizationof basalticrocks in northwesternOregon near Portland and
Salem(1; 46; 15) are considered to havebeenformedin the intervalbetween
the Mioceneand PlioceneEpochs(1, p. 625) or in Pliocene(15, p. 16) time.
It is unlikely that the region was under the influenceof a tropical climate
since early Miocene time (20, Fig. 3, p. 1259), and during post-Pliocene
time there was a gradual changeto a coolerclimate with alternatingwet and
dry seasons(20). Some small areasof thin lateritic soil on erosionalterraces
may have formed during and sincethe Pleistocene.
It is significantthat all the depositsof lateritic soil are on gently sloping
or nearly flat terracelikefeatures,for it was in theseareaswhere erosionwas
leastactivethat prolongedchemicalweatheringwas permitted(56, p. 1198)
and the productsof lateritic decomposition of the peridotitewere preserved.
The distributionof the lateritic deposits,however,precludesrelating them to
any single surfaceof erosion. Some are situated on summit areas which are
believed to be remnants of an ancient surface of low relief that was created in
the Miocene,the Klamath peneplaneof Diller (17, p. 15-18). Others are at
lower altitudes on benchesand spurs that have been formed during subse-
quent erosion intervals and possiblyin part due to faulting. At least one
small deposit,near Dunsmuir, Calif., is on a spur on the side of the canyon
of the SacramentoRiver, only 700 feet abovethe presentvalley bottom.
Formation of the lateritic depositsrequired,however,more than a gently
slopingterrain. In orderfor the weatheringprocesses to continue,gooddrain-
ageof groundwater downwardthroughthe rock is necessary(56, p. 1200).
Therefore the sitesof lateritic accumulationmust have been, as they now are,
topographicallyelevatedareaswith steeperslopesbelow them.
Drainage also dependson the permeabilityof the rocks. The peridotite
typically is well jointed and therefore rainwater falling on it could move
freelydownward
in thezoneabovethewatertable. The importance
of joints
 NICKELIFEROUS L,4TERITES 391

in promoting weathering of theperidotite

is exemplified
in exposureswhere
weatheringis mostadvanced adjacent
to thejointswhereasthecenters
of large
joint blocksare but slightlyweatheredor fresh. The highlyirregularbed-
rock surfacewith its pinnacles
and "horses"of fresh rock surrounded
by
weatheredrock and lateritic material is controlledby joints. Exposuresin
deepopencutsat NickelMountainshowthat the areasof deepest weathering
and bestore are brecciated
zoneswherethe permeabilityhasbeenaugmented
by fracturing.
Areasunderlainby ultramaficrockshave,in general,sparsevegetation,
andit is unlikelythataccumulation
of decaying
plantremainshadmucheffect
on the formationof the lateriticdeposits,althoughabundantdecayingvegeta-
tionresultsin moderately
acidgroundwaterthatwouldpromoterapidchemi-
calweathering(56, p. 1198-1201). The analyses
(Tables7 and8) showa
lossof total Fe from the red surficialzone accompanied
by a slight decrease
of Fe203 andan increaseof FeO. This may be in part the resultof reduction
of iron from the ferric to ferrous state under the influence of organic matter,
and the removalof Fe2' by rainwaterthat containsdissolvedCO2 in the soil
zone.

The quartz-garnierite veins and boxworkzone at the Nickel Mountain

depositand the silica boxworksand veins of barren microcrystallinequartz
whichmay occurat the otherdeposits requiredspecialenvironmental condi-
tionsfor their formationthat are not clearlyunderstood.The commoninti-
mate association of quartz with garnieriteat Nickel Mountainindicatesthat
thesemineralswere formedconcurrently.
As early as 1888 it was concluded(14) that the nickelsilicatedeposits
at Nickel Mountainwere of secondaryorigin, the "genthite"havingbeende-
rived from the alterationof peridotite. Neither Clarke (14) nor Diller, who
contributeda sectionon petrographyto Clarke'sarticle,stated,however,that
the alteration was due to weathering. Von Foullon (22) and Kay (39)
recognized that the oreswereof supergene originanda decomposition product
of the peridotite. It was their opinion,however,that the peridotitewas con-
verted to serpentineby ordinary atmosphericweatheringprocesses, and the
hydrousnickel-magnesium silicatesand quartz were derivedfrom serpentine
by further weathering. Austin (2) concludedthat the formationof red
ferruginoussoiloverlyingthe depositwas dueto decomposition of saxoniteby
weatheringbut, observingthe intimate associationof quartz with the nickel
silicates,found it difficult to believe that the silica which was depositedas
quartz in suchabundancecouldhave comefrom the peridotitewithout there
havingbeenmore decomposition of the ultramaficrock. In addition,he was
puzzledthat the veins, if they were depositedfrom descendingwaters, con-
tained so little secondaryiron oxide. He concluded,therefore,that the veins
had beendepositedby thermal waters which circulatedthrough fissuresin the
rock. The studiesof Pecoraand Hobbs (53) and Pecora,Hobbs,and Murata
(54) supportedthe earlier conclusions that the depositswere of secondary
supergeneorigin.
:Pecoraand Hobbs (53, p. 223-224) concludedthat the quartz-garnierite
boxwork is the result of redepositionof silica,magnesium,and nickel re-
392 PRESTON E. HOTZ

leasedby Recent weatheringof earlier formed laterite containingnickel-poor

garnierite, and that garnierite and quartz are being depositedat the present
time. They regardedthe earlier garnierite as a direct claylike alteration of
peridotite(54, p. 17). Observationsof weatheredperidotiteand the lateritic
mantle during the recent study has not confirmed the direct formation of
garnierite by alteration of peridotite nor has garnierite been found in the
lateritic soil. The soil contains secondaryminerals, however, including a
montmorillonite,talc and chlorite, which would be susceptibleto weathering
and releaseof silica, magnesium,and nickel. Leachingof silica and nickel
in the upperpart of the lateriticsoil are shownin the analyses(Tables 5 and
6). Initial weatheringof the peridotitealsoaddssilica,magnesium, and nickel
to the downward-moving groundwater.
The formation of secondaryquartz in lateritic depositsis a puzzling phe-
nomenon. Present-day depositionof free silica at or near the surface as
l•ostulatedby Pecoraand Hobbs (53, p. 223-224) and Pecora,Hobbs, and
Murata (54, p. 17) may be taking place,but the field relationsindicatethat
erosionhas transgressedearlier formed veins and boxwork. Several students
of weathering have concludedthat silicificationof laterites and bauxites oc-
curs at or beneath the water table or in a zone of intermittent saturation above
a seasonally
fluctuatingwatertable (29, p. 144-145; 52, p. 380-384).
Some of the porcelaneousor cherty exceedinglyfine grained massesof
quartz in barren veins and breccia zones in weathered peridotite may have
beenformed by coagulationand crystallizationof colloidalsilica. The veins
and boxworks that are commonly accompaniedby garnierite are, however,
somewhatcoarsergrained, and have drusy surfacesof crystallinequartz, sug-
gestingthat the quartz crystallizedfrom solution. Krauskopf (42, p. 15,
24) concludedthat in natural waters most of the silica derived from weather-
ing of silicatesis in true solutionbut that colloidalsilica may be formed by
partial evaporation. He also concluded(42, p. 20-21, 24) that colloidal
silicamay be precipitatedby evaporation,coprecipitation with other colloids,
and by fairly concentratedelectrolytesin solutionswhosepH is greater than
7. On the other hand, silica in true solutionis not precipitatedunlessthe
solutionis supersaturated,except for possibleprecipitationof metal silicates.
Field and textural relationshipsindicate that garnierite formed concur-
rently with quartz, and thereforeboth were precipitatedfrom the samesolu-
tions. Nickel, derived from weathering of the lateritic overburden and
peridotite, is carried, together with magnesium,as bicarbonatein rainwater
with an excessof dissolvedCO2 (26, p. 351). The solubility of nickel in
wateris determinedby the pH, the limitingvaluebeing6.6 to 6.8 (26, p. 351;
25, p. 207); at higherpH valuesit comesout of solution. The formationof
nickeliferoushydrosilicates
of magnesium is possibleby hydrolysisof the nickel
bicarbonate with lossof excesscarbonicacidand increaseof pH (26, p. 351),
and combinationwith the magnesiumand silica which are also in solution.
H•nin (31) and Caillare,H•nin, and Esquevin(10; 11) synthesized nickelif-
erous antigorite from solutionscontaining Mg and Ni ions at temperature
rangesof from 55ø C to 100ø C with low silicaconcentrationsand a pH range
of 5.8 to 6.5. With excesssilicaand a pH greater than 7, montmorillonite
 NICKELIFERO US L.4 TERITES 393

was formed. They concludedthat the temperaturerange was low enoughto

demonstratethat similar processes may occurat temperaturesprevailingnear
the surfaceof the earth, thoughat slower rates.
The environmentalconditionsbeneath a lateritic deposit that would re-
sult in conditionsnecessaryfor the precipitationof free silica and garnierite
are difficultto imagineon the basisof the availablefield evidence. Perhaps
supersaturationof silica in the waters occupyingthe open spacesmay have
beencausedby impedanceof the natural flow and drainingaway of the dilute
solutionsby rise of the water table, or by alternatewetting and drying in
responseto seasonalvariations in rainfall. These waters at or just above
the water table,beingout of the zoneof saturationand in contactwith partly
weatheredperidotite,wouldbe low in carbonate and neutralor slightlyalka-
line, whichwouldbe conducive to precipitationof nickel. Leachingof earlier
formedgarnieriteand enrichmentfrom nickeliferous solutions,as suggested
by Pecoraand others(53; 54) may havetakenplaceconsequent on gradual
uplift and/or seasonal rise and fall of the water table. With further uplift,
the depositwouldhavebeensubjectedto erosionwhile continuedweathering
encroached downwardon the old rootsand the quartz-garnierite boxworkwas
leached,leavinga residuumof barrenquartzin thesoilzone.
The uniqueness of the Nickel Mountaindepositmay be explainableon a
basisof differencein agefrom the otherdeposits;it cannotbe dueto a differ-
encein the nature of the bedrock,becausethe samekind of fresh peridotite
underliesferruginous lateriteselsewhere in the region. Perhapsthe Nickel
Mountaindepositis a lateritethat had a longerperiodof development.Its
topographicpositionsuggeststhat it is on a remnantof an old dissectedero-
sion surface,and its well-developed quartz-garnieriteboxworkindicatesa
previoushistoryof laterizationand enrichment by subsequent weathering.
The uplandsurfaceselsewhere are mostlyareasof bare rockfrom whichthe
soil has been eroded, but on which a few isolated blocks of barren silica box-
work rest,whichare probablyremnantsof formerlateriticdeposits. Several
of the otherlateriticdeposits,
whichhaveno quartz-garnierite boxworkzone,
are on terracesandbenches that are topographically
lower and henceyounger.
The relativeageof a few, suchas the depositat Pine Flat Mountainand Red
Flats,whichareontheuppersurface,
is uncertain.Theymaybeequivalents
of theNickelMountaindeposit,
buttheyarein thesamestageof development
as those on lower Ievels.
Perhapsmanyor all the otherdeposits
of lateriticsoil are youngerthan
the Nickel Mountaindeposit,and weathering,leaching,and reprecipitation
havenot beengoingon longenough,or the depositshavenot beensufficiently
stableand free from erosionto permit extensivesolutionand redeposition
of
nickel.

Economic Considerations

The only economicallyimportantlateritic depositin the regionis at Nickel

Mountain near Riddle in DouglasCounty, Oreg. From 1954 to 1960 more
than 4 milliontonsof ore averaging1.5 percentNi have beenproduced(65)
by theHannaOre Co.froman openpit mine.
394 PRESTOA• E. HOTZ

Severalotherareasof lateriticsoil,including
Woodcock
Mountain,Eight
Dollar Mountain,and Red Flats in Oregon,and the Pine Flat Mountainand
LittleRedMountaindeposits
in California,
havebeenexplored in recentyears
1)yseveralminingcompanies,
but nonehavebeenexploitedcommercially.
Profitable
commercial
production
fromthesedepositsis unlikelyin the fore-
seeablefuture becausealthoughsomeof the larger bodieshave measurable
reserves in excessof 10 milliontons,their nickelcontentaverages
lessthan 1
percent. Unlike the Nickel Mountaindeposit,they do not have bodiesof
high-gradenickelsilicatewith whichto increasethe averagenickelcontent
of the ore as deliveredto the mill heads. Furthermore,mostof the deposits
are relativelyisolatedin a ruggedterrain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The many courtesiesextendedby Earl S. Mollard and the late Walter

Fosterof the Hanna Coal and Ore Corporationat Nickel Mountain,Oreg.,
andby AlexanderSkrekywhowasin chargeof exploration conductedat Eight
Dollar Mountainand WoodcockMountain,Ore., by the Nickel Corporation
of Americaare gratefullyacknowledged.Philip L. Platt assisted
in the field
work in 1957. H.R. Cornwalland E. W. Tooker read the manuscriptand
offeredvaluablesuggestionsfor its iml)rovement.
l.Y.S. GEOLSURVEY,
MENLOPARK,CALIF.,
June 25, 1963
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