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Pitch Mine

Past Producer in Saguache county in Colorado, United States with commodities Uranium, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Vanadium
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Mineral rights holdings
  17. Land status
  18. Ownership information
  19. Production statistics
  20. Reserves and resources
  21. Workings at the site
  22. Links to other databases
  23. Bibliographic references
  24. General comments
  25. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10012409
MRDS ID D008021
MAS/MILS ID 0081090022
Record type Site
Mineralized Area Marshall Pass
Current site name Pitch Mine
Alternate or previous names Pinnacle Mine, Erie No. 28 Claim, Pitch Tunnel

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Pit
Geographic coordinates: -106.30088, 38.4075 (WGS84)
Elevation 3200
Location accuracy 10(meters)
Relative position 6.5 MILES N85E FROM SARGENTS

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Saguache(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Pahlone Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Saguache(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Tomichi(hydrologic unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic accounting unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Saguache

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 048N 006E 15,16,21,22 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • AT HEADWATERS OF INDIAN CREEK 3 MILES NW OF MARSHALL PASS ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary
Copper Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Vanadium Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Pitchblende Ore
Uraninite Ore
Uranophane Ore
Chalcocite Gangue
Covellite Gangue
Galena Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Jasper Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Marcasite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Weathering of sulfides

Analytical data

Result ORE GRADE AT LITTLE INDIAN NO. 36 IN 1957-59 WAS 0.48 % U3O8. RESERVES ESTIMATE HAS ORE GRADE 0.17 % U3O8. AVERAGE ANALYSES OF LEADVILLE AND BELDEN CARBONATES ARE 1.79 % AL2O3, 2.54 % FE2O3, 13.28 % MGO, 23.92 % CAO, 22.67 % SIO2, 0.03 % NA2O, 0.38 % K2O, 1.37 % H2O, 0.088 % TIO2, 0.038 % P2O5, 0.074 % MNO, 0.032 % F, 33.15 % CO2, 0.36 % S, 143.6 PPM CL, 116.8 PPM BA, 91.9 PPM SR, 20.9 PPM PB, 112.6 PPM ZN, 6.94 PPM MO, 0.187 PPM HG. MEAN VALUES OF OTHER METALS FROM SEMIQUANTITATIVE EMISSION SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF ORE SAMPLES WITH 0.01 TO 0.05 % U ARE 13 PPM CR, 5 PPM CU, 13 PPM NI, 14 PPM V, 36 PPM ZR. FOR ORE SAMPLES WITH G.T. 0.05 % U, 13 PPM CR, 3.5 PPM CU, 10 PPM NI, 12 PPM V, 24 PPM ZR.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Leadville Dolomite;Belden Formation
    Rock description Leadville Dolomite;Belden Formation

Nearby scientific data

Pit (1) -106.30088, 38.4075
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure name Chester Fault
Structure description Chester Fault, Unnamed Syncline
Type of structure Regional
Structure description Sawatch Range

Ore body information

  • General form intermediate dipping breccia zone
    Strike APPROX N0E
    Dip 70E
    Thickness 15.24M
    Length 1402.08M
    Width 106.68M
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 137.16M

Comments on the ore body information

  • Copied from deleted duplicate record 10167205:
    Length: 396 M
    Thickness: 15 M
    Type of Orebody #1 : SHEAR ZONE
    Shape of Orebody #1 : UNKNOWN
    Type of Orebody #2 : FISSURE VEIN
    Type of Orebody #3 : DISSEMINATED
    Primary mode of Origin : OXIDATION
    Secondary mode of Origin : RESIDUAL CONCENT
    Primary Ore Control : FAULTING
    Secondary Ore Control : FRACTURING
    Degree of Wallrock Alter. : INTENSE
    Date of Last Modification : 780615

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures And Breccia In Footwall Of Reverse Fault

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1955
Mining method Caving Methods - Top Slicing
Year of first production 1958
Year of last production 1981
Production years began 1957 or 1958

Mining district

District name Marshall Pass District

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Located Claim

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Pinnacle Exploration
    Year 1975
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Homestake Mining Co.
    Home office Gunnison, Co.
    First year 1980

Production statistics

  • Year 1978
    Period 1958-1971
    Material uranium ore
    Ore mined 102868.58mt
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major U3O8 Uranium Uranium 547.08mt 1wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION FOR 1957 UNDER NAME OF LITTLE INDIAN 36. PRODUCTION FOR 1958-59 UNDER NAME OF LITTLE INDIAN 36 AND PITCH TUNNEL; 1959 PRODUCTION BREAKDOWN WAS 8684 ST ORE AND 83931 LB U308 FOR PITCH TUNNEL AND 765 ST ORE AND 5429 LB U308 FOR LITTLE INDIAN. NO PRODUCTION 1963-67. PRODUCTION IN 1968-72 BY SOLUTION MINING AND ION-EXCHANGE RECOVERY. PRODUCTION SINCE 1976 FROM OPEN PIT. U308 FIGURE FOR 1979 CALCULATED FROM ORE GRADE. MINE REPORTEDLY PRODUCED IN 1981 BUT FIGURE UNAVAILABLE. CUMULATIVE FIGURE FOR 1957-80 EXCLUDES 1968-72 PRODUCTION BY SOLUTION MINING AS NO "ORE" WAS ACTUALLY REMOVED.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1978
    Indicated 2100000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Uranium U3O8 0.17 wt-pct Uranium Major 1978

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 21.044HA
    Overall depth 36.58M
    Overall length 457.2M
    Overall width 457.2M

Comments on the workings information

  • ORIGINAL WORKINGS WERE SURFACE PROSPECT PITS ON FAULT TRACE AND UNDERGROUND TUNNELS DRIVEN SE ABOUT 1000 FT TO FAULT ZONE. PITCH TUNNEL FACE WAS ABOUT 250 TO 300 FT BELOW SURFACE. OVER 3000 FT TOTAL TUNNEL AND DRIFTS. STRIPPING FOR OPEN PIT DEVELOPMENT BEGAN 1970, PIT SIZE AS OF 1978 GIVEN ABOVE. ULTIMATE PIT DIMENSIONS TO BE 5000 FT LONG (ALONG FAULT TRACE), 2000 FT WIDE, 400 FT DEEP.
  • Copied from deleted duplicate record 10167205:
    Type of Workings: Underground
    MAS Development Schedule #: 1
    Mining Record # : 1
    Status of Mining Method : ESTIMATE
    Mining Method : TOP SLICING 10-70
    Hardness of Rock : HARDROCK FISSURED WITH MODERATE WATER
    Rock Characteristics : MULTIPLE SYSTEMS OF WEAKNESS PLANES
    Rock Support Chars. : UNSUPPORTING MAY SLOUGH
    Mine Support Chars. : STEEL W/LAGGING CONCRETE REINFOR
    Avg. Length of Adits (m) : 265
    Number of Adits : 1
    Capacity Units : MT ORE/DAY
    Units of Production : $/MT ORE
    Year of Information : 1975

Comments on development

  • URANIUM WAS DISCOVERED ON THESE CLAIMS IN 1955. SITE WAS ORIGINALLY OPERATED BY PINNACLE EXPLORATION CO. AS PINNACLE MINE ON THE LITTLE INDIAN, ERIE, AND OTHER CLAIMS. PITCH TUNNEL WAS DEVELOPED IN 1958 AND PRODUCED ORE THRU 1962 WHEN MINE CLOSED DUE TO EXPIRATION OF AEC LEASE. PRODUCTION FROM PITCH MINE PROPER FROM 1968-72 WAS BY SOLUTION MINING OR RECIRCULATION OF WATER THRU UNDERGROUND WORKINGS AND RECOVERY OF U3O8 VALUES BY ION-EXCHANGE PROCESS IN SURFACE PLANT. HOMESTAKE MINING CO. ACQUIRED LEASES IN 1972 AND BEGAN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT FOR OPEN PIT PRODUCTION.
  • Copied from deleted duplicate record 10167205 [copied as is, there are words missing, but can understand the gist]:
    APPROXIMATELY 100,000 TONS OF ORE CONTAINING ONE MILLION LB URANIUM CONCENTRATE WERE REMOVED FROM THE MINE BETWEEN 1959 SOME OF THE ORE WAS REPORTED TO BE 10-15 PERCENT U308 AND TH CUT-OFF GRADE FOR MINING WAS 0.25PERCENT U308. THE MOST RECENT ATTEMPTS TO RECOVER URANIUM BEGAN IN 1967 WI ATTEMPTS TO RECOVER URANIUM BY UNDERGROUND LEACHING METHODS. DATE,THIS METHOD HAS MET WITH ONLY LIMITED SUCCESS. FURTHER IS BEING DONE AS TO HOW TO RECOVER THE REMAINING URANIUM. INTENSIVE EXPLORATION IS ALSO BEING DONE IN THE MARSHAL PASS PRIMARILY BY HOMESTAKE MINING CO. MORE INFO. IN BACKUP FILE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MINERALIZATION OCCURS MOSTLY IN LEADVILLE AND BELDEN FMS AS FRACTURE COATINGS, AND POSSIBLY DISSEMINATED IN BRECCIA MATRIX, ALL IN FOOTWALL OF CHESTER FAULT ZONE (ATTITUDE GIVEN ABOVE). OXIDATION OCCURS TO DEPTHS OF ABOUT 330 FT. SOME ORE FOUND IN HANGING WALL IN PRECAMBRIAN BIOTITE SCHIST AND PEGMATITE. MINERALIZATION AT LITTLE INDIAN 36 FOUND IN LIMONITIC HARDING QUARTZITE (ORDOVICIAN). HIGH URANIUM CONCENTRATIONS FOUND IN COLLUVIUM OR REGOLITH OVERLYING PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS. CHESTER FAULT IS CUT BY 6 SMALLER REVERSE FAULTS OF AVERAGE ATTITUDE N70E. MINERALIZATION DECREASES BELOW AND AWAY FROM FAULT ZONE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-81 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey
Editor 01-NOV-11 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted 10167205
Reporter 27-FEB-84 Minecom U.S. Bureau of Mines MAS 0081090022 = 10167205

Beyond USGS

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

Operator history (post-MRDS)

MRDS records operators as of each record's last update (≤ 2019). Some of the operators listed here have since changed hands or dissolved:

  • Homestake Mining Co. — acquired by Subsidiary of Barrick Gold (2001)
    Operator of the historic Homestake Mine in South Dakota; acquired by Barrick Gold in 2001.

Curated by qvyshift.com from publicly-reported M&A activity (SEC filings, press releases, USGS Mineral Yearbooks). Not authoritative — verify against primary sources before relying on it. The MSHA panel above is the current authoritative source for actively-permitted mines.

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.