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Leadville District

Past Producer in Lake county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Zinc, Gold, Lead, Copper, Manganese, Iron, Sulfur, Sulfuric Acid, Bismuth, Cadmium, Vanadium, Tungsten
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Production statistics
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10008106
MRDS ID D000017
MAS/MILS ID 80650007
Record type District
Current site name Leadville District

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.26, 39.24 (WGS84)
Elevation 3350
Location accuracy 1000(meters)
Relative position Approximate center of Leadville mining district.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Lake(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Leadville South(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Arkansas Headwaters(hydrologic unit)

Upper Arkansas(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Arkansas(hydrologic subregion)

Arkansas-White-Red(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Lake

Comments on the location information

  • The district extends from Leadville east to the crest of the Mosquito Range and from Canterbury Hill and Prospect Mountain on the north to Empire Gulch on the south. It includes about 30 square miles, mostly in T 9 S, R 79 and 80 W. The most intensely mineralized area lies immediately east of Leadville and covers about 8 square miles.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Gold Primary
Lead Primary
Copper Secondary
Manganese Critical Secondary
Iron Secondary
Sulfur, Sulfuric Acid Secondary
Bismuth Critical Secondary
Cadmium Tertiary
Vanadium Critical Tertiary
Tungsten Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • At today's metal prices (2006), silver, zinc, gold, and lead are the main products of the district; copper is a byproduct. Manganiferous iron ore was used in steelmaking; iron-silver and iron-manganese-silver ores were produced for smelter flux. Bismuth and cadmium were recovered as byproducts of smelting. Pyrite was used to make sulfuric acid. Tungsten minerals (in one orebody) and vanadium minerals are reported but have not been recovered.
  • Gangue contains manganoan siderite (manganosiderite).

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Hematite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Argentite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Galena Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Cerussite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Hemimorphite Ore
Limonite Ore
Manganese Ox-Hydrous Ore
Silver Ore
Smithsonite Ore
Wad Ore
Siderite Gangue
Serpentine Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) silicification, sericitization

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 224
USGS model code 32a
Deposit model name Mississippi Valley, S.E. Missouri Pb-Zn
Mark3 model number 42
Model code 72
USGS model code 19a
Deposit model name Polymetallic replacement
Mark3 model number 47
Model code 56
USGS model code 17a
Deposit model name Placer Au

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Orthoquartzite
    Rock unit name Sawatch Quartzite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Proterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Peerless Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Manitou Dolomite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Parting Sandstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Ordovician
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Dyer Dolomite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Gilman Sandstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Leadville Dolomite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale > Black Shale
    Rock unit name Belden Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Mississippian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Arkose
    Rock unit name Minturn Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pennsylvanian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Porphyry
    Rock unit name Pando, Lincoln, Evans Gulch, Sacramento, Johnson Gulch, rhyolite, and fragmental porphyries
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pennsylvanian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name St. Kevin Granite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.26, 39.24
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description numerous faults of several periods

Comments on the ore body information

  • Major minerals in each of four types of orebodies are listed: (1) hypogene oxide-silicate ore, (2) hypogene sulfide veins and stockworks, (3) blanket or manto replacement ore, and (4) oxidized or supergene ore.

Comments on the geologic information

  • Granitic and metamorphic basement rocks are overlain by 500 feet of east-dipping marine Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, cut by numerous faults, and intruded by many Tertiary igneous rocks. Five types of orebodies are: (1) hypogene oxide-silicate ore, (2) hypogene sulfide veins and stockworks, (3) blanket or manto replacement ore, (4) oxidized or supergene ore, and (5) placer deposits.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1860
Year of last production 1999

Mining district

District name Leadville District

Production statistics

  • Year 1999
    Period 1860-1999
    Material Iron-silver and iron-manganese-silver ore. From comment by Richard Beach, reporter.
    Ore mined 2600000mt
  • Year 1999
    Period 1860-1999
    Ore mined 29000000mt
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Primary recovered Lead Lead 1200000mt
    Primary recovered Gold Gold 101mt
    Secondary recovered Copper Copper 53000mt
    Primary recovered Silver Silver 8400mt
    Primary recovered Zinc Zinc 1235000mt
  • Year 1999
    Period 1860-1999
    Material Iron-silver and iron-manganese-silver ore. From comment by Richard Beach, reporter.
    Ore mined 900000mt

Comments on the production information

  • After 140 years of nearly continuous mining activity, the Leadville district ranks among the most productive areas for base and precious metals in the U.S. First, gold placer deposits, then lode gold deposits were worked, from 1860 to 1875; oxidized silver-lead ores were dominant from 1876 to 1902; then oxidized zinc ores were worked from 1902 to 1923; finally, mixed sulfide base- and precious-metal ores were mined from 1924 almost continuously until 1999.
  • An estimate of total metal production, based on published reports and the reporter's estimate of recent production, includes 3,250,000 oz of gold, 270,000,000 oz of silver, 53,000 tons of copper, 1,200,000 tons of lead, and 1,235,000 tons of zinc. Nearly 29 million tons of ore were mined. Almost 1,000,000 tons of manganiferous iron ore and 2,900,000 tons of iron-silver and iron-manganese-silver ore, plus an unknown quantity of pyrite, was produced.
  • For the 1860-1999 cumulative production listed in the previous comment, assuming the amounts are metric tons, at 2010 prices the commodity importance order and dollar value in millions is: Ag $4.9 Au $3.7 Zn $3.0 Pb $2.6 Cu $0.4 For the 1860-1963 cumulative production, Tweto, 1968, lists the relative economic importance as follows: 37% Silver 22% Zinc 21% Lead 13% Gold 3% Copper 4% Other including Bi and Mg

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Low-grade manganese resources may total 2,000,000 tons of oxidized ore, containing 10% to 35 % Mn, plus 2,000,000 tons of primary (manganosiderite) ore, containing 14 to 20 % Mn. (Hedges, J. H., 1940)

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1973-08-10 FISCHER, RICHARD P. U.S. Geological Survey Original district record.
Reporter 1983-11-17 Intermountain Field Operations Center (IFOC) U.S. Bureau of Mines Greenback record.
Reporter 2006-02-17 Beach, Richard A. Colorado Geological Survey Major work.
Editor 2007-08-23 Melton, Greg U.S. Geological Survey Greenback record.
Editor 2010-04-05 Schruben, Paul U.S. Geological Survey record consolidation, etc.
Editor 2012-01-05 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey Added mention of AY and Minnie

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

External references

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Colorado resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.