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Empress Josephine Mine

Past Producer in Saguache county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold, Copper, Tellurium, Manganese
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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. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10012538
MRDS ID D008204
Record type Site
Current site name Empress Josephine Mine
Alternate or previous names Empress Josephine and Boss Mammoth Claims
Related records 10143489

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.1356, 38.29918 (WGS84)
Elevation 2978
Relative position 14 MILES NOW FROM SAGUACHE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Saguache(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bonanza(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Saguache(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

San Luis(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Rio Grande National Forest(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 047N 008E 30 SE OF SW OF NW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • S-T-R, LAT-LONG, AND ELEV. TAKEN FROM BURBANK'S (1932) PLATE 1 (SCALE 1:12000). MINE OR CLAIM LIES NE OF BONANZA ON DIVIDE BETWEEN KERBER CR. AND COPPER GULCH. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Secondary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SECONDARY ORES INCLUDE CERUSSITE, ANGLESITE, NATIVE CU, CERARGYRITE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Altaite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Galena Ore
Hessite Ore
Petzite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Rickardite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Sylvanite Ore
Tennantite Ore
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rhodochrosite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Early Barren Stage Of Alteration By Fumarolic Or Acid-Hot Spring Activity Resulted In Intense Silicification, Wallrock Replacement By Jasper And Alteration Products Hematite, Diaspore, Alunite, Barite, Zunyite, Rutile, And Kaolin Minerals. Later Mineralizing Stage By Alkaline Or Neutral Solutions Deposited Ore And Gangue And Caused Micaceous Alteration (Sericite And Chlorite) And Calcite, Quartz, And Pyrite.

Analytical data

Result PATTON REPORTED ASSAYS OF FIVE ORE SHIPMENTS IN 1908 AND 1912. EACH SET OF VALUES IS GROSS ORE WT.(LB), OZ/TON AU, OZ/TON AG, % PB, % CU, % ZN (NR=NOT REPORTED): 6300, 0.17, 26.7, 11.15, NR, 9.2
Result 18, 040, 1.67,12.6, NR, NR, 4.5
Result 4720, 0.055, 54.6, 23.9, 0.7, 4.0
Result 305, 2.0, 21.6, 3.8, NR, 9.0
Result 3257, 1.225, 46.9, 25.4, NR, 7.9. OTHER ORE SAMPLES ANALYZED IN 1907 GAVE THE FOLLOWING SETS OF VALUES, AN OZ/TON AU, OZ/TON AG, % TE: 0.64, 159.80, NR
Result 0.06, 40.50, NR
Result 5.3, 1282.7, NR
Result 14.32, 6465, 48.5
Result 6.88, 1622.5, NR. FOUR ANALYSES OF EMPRESSITE GAVE FOLLOWING SETS OF VALUES (% AG, % TE, % FE): 45.16, 54.62, 0.30
Result 45.17, 54.89, 0.15
Result 43.71, 53.86, 2.17
Result 43.68, 53.81, 2.16.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Rawley Andesite
    Rock description Rawley Andesite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Rawley Andesite
    Rock description Rawley Andesite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.1356, 38.29918
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Sawatch Range, San Juan Volcanic Fields, Rio Grande Rift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Bonanza Caldera

Controls for ore emplacement

  • See Comments

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1881
Year of last production 1948

Mining district

District name Bonanza (Kerber Creek)

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Marivisa Mining Co.
    Home office Denver, Co.
    First year 1948

Comments on the production information

  • BASED ON REPORTED VALUES OF METALS BY U.S. MINT, ESTIMATES OF PRODUCTION CALCULATED USING $20/OZ AU, $1.29/OZ AG, $87/TON PB: FOR 1887, 14.35 OZ AU, 1691 OZ AG; FOR 1888, 75 OZ AU, 9020 OZ AG; FOR 1891, 6.2 OZ AU, 716 OZ AG, 1632 LB PB. PATTON ESTIMATES 5000 TONS ORE PRODUCED FROM 1881 TO 1900. PRODUCTION IN 1908 AT LEAST 15 TONS. FROM 1909 TO 1930 (APPROX.), 77 TONS ORE SHIPPED. COLO. DIV. OF MINES REPORTS NO PRODUCTION IN 1946-47, BUT 67 TON ORE IN 1948 AT GRADE OF 0.1 OZ/TON AU, 10 OZ/TON AG, 3% PB, 3% ZN, 0.001% CU.

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE DEVELOPED BY 500-FT-DEEP INCLINED SHAFT WITH SEVEN LEVELS, ON WHICH TOTAL EXTENT OF DRIFTING IS UNKNOWN. NAMES OF LEVELS AND DEPTH BELOW SURFACE AND APPROX. MAPPED EXTENT OF DRIFTS AS FOLLOWS: FIRST (70 FT), 270 FT; SECOND (140 FT), 500; THIRD (210 FT), 2400; FOURTH (265 FT), 550; FIFTH (340 FT), 300; SIXTH (430 FT), 500; SEVENTH (DEPTH AND EXTENT UNKNOWN). PATTON DESCRIBED FIRST LEVEL AS WORKED OUT AND ABANDONED; SECOND LEVEL WORKED EAST OF SHAFT ONLY, WINZE TO THIRD LEVEL SUNK 270 FT FROM SHAFT.

Comments on development

  • LARGEST PRODUCING MINE IN EARLY HISTORY OF DISTRICT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    PATTON, H.B., 1916, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE BONANZA DISTRICT, SAGUACHE COUNTY, COLORADO: COLORADO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 9, 136 P.

  • Deposit

    BURBANK, W.S., 1932, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE BONANZA MINING DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 169, 166 P.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit VEIN RANGES CONSIDERABLY IN ATTITUDE BUT GENERALLY TRENDS N75 TO 80E, 85NW AND IS CUT OBLIQUELY BY CROSS-FAULTS DISPLACING THE VEIN A FEW TO 20 FT. ORES WERE RICHER NEAR CROSS-FAULTS. UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED ORE SHOOTS ARE 25 TO 30 FT WIDE, PITCHING EAST, AND OFTEN BOUNDED BY SERIES OF EAST-TRENDING FAULTS. TO DEPTH OF 60 TO 80 FT, PB ORES OXIDIZED TO CERUSSITE AND ANGLESITE. PROBABLE SHALLOW AG ENRICHMENT LIES BELOW OXIDIZED ZONE. TELLURIDES DEPOSITED LATE IN SEQUENCE IN LENTICULAR BODIES BETWEEN FACES OF NORMAL PB-ZN ORE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-1981 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey

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.