Little Cottonwood Creek (Salt Lake County, Utah) confluence with the Jordan River. The stream provides electrical power generation for Murray City. The first legitimate mining operation in Little Cottonwood Canyon was established in 1865. The ore deposits in Little Cottonwood Canyon yielded principally silver and lead with some copper, gold, and zinc. These ore deposits were formed mainly in shale, limestone, and dolomite. Galena or lead sulfide was the common primary lead mineral of the area. Argentite was found in most of the primary ores and was probably an abundant primary silver mineral. Ore production varied with time because of the nature of the deposits and the
Hydrothermal mineral deposit Hydrothermal mineral deposit Hydrothermal mineral deposits are accumulations of valuable minerals which formed from hot waters circulating in Earth's crust through fractures. They eventually create rich-metallic fluids concentrated in a selected volume of rock, which become supersaturated and then precipitate ore minerals. In some occurrences, minerals can be extracted at a profit by mining. Discovery of mineral deposits consumes considerable time and resources and only about one in every one thousand prospects explored by companies are eventually developed into a mine. A mineral deposit is any geologically significant concentration of economical rock or mineral present in a specified area. However,