Carbonate District

Past Producer in Garfield county in Colorado, United States with commodities Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper
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. Land status
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10013509
MRDS ID D009854
Record type District
Current site name Carbonate District

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.35121, 39.74192 (WGS84)
Elevation 3377
Relative position 5 TO 13 MILES N 7 W AND 6.5 MILES N 63 E FROM GLENWOOD SPRINGS

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Garfield(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Carbonate(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Glenwood Springs(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Colorado Headwaters(hydrologic unit)

Colorado Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Colorado Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

White River 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 Garfield

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 003S;004S;005S;005S 089W;089W;088W;089W 26,34,35;02,03,11,22,23;18,19,25;12,13 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • MAIN PART OF DISTRICT LIES NEAR CARBONATE TOWNSITE AT HEADS OF GRIZZLY, CANYON, AND JOHNSON CREEKS. ISOLATED DEPOSITS FOUND NORTH OF COLORADO RIVER NEAR SHOSHONE, AND 2 (?) TO ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH OF GLENWOOD SPRINGS IN WINDY POINT AREA NEAR HEADS OF MITCHELL, CASCADE, OASIS, AND EAST NO NAME CREEKS. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1975)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcocite Ore
Smithsonite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Malachite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Near Complete Oxidation Of Ore Minerals

Analytical data

Result HEYL (1964) REPORTS PARTIAL ANALYSIS OF 3-FT CHANNEL SAMPLE FROM VEIN AT PRINCIPAL WORKINGS WEST OF CARBONATE: 13.9% ZN, 0.3% PB, 0.20 OZ/TON AG, 37.4% SILICA, 28.1% CARBONATE, NO AU.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
    Rock unit name Basalt Flows, Basalt Intrusive
    Rock description Basalt Flows, Basalt Intrusive
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pleistocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pleistocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Leadville Limestone;Chaffee Formation
    Rock description Leadville Limestone;Chaffee Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -107.35121, 39.74192

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description White River Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Grizzly Creek Fault, Spring Creek Fault, Numerous Unnamed Normal Faults

Ore body information

  • General form PINCH AND SWELL
    Thickness 1.83M
    Length 304.8M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Normal Fault And Basaltic Intrusive

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1879
Year of last production 1945

Mining district

District name Carbonate District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the workings information

  • SHAFTS, ADITS, PITS, AND TRENCHES

Comments on development

  • FROM HEYL (1964): "ALTHOUGH THE AREA WAS PROSPECTED AS EARLY AS 1879, A REPORT IN 1881 THAT VERY RICH SILVER ORE HAD BEEN DISCOVERED LED TO A LARGE-SCALE MINERAL RUSH EARLY IN 1882, WHEN MORE THAT 2,000 MEN CAME TO THE AREA TO PROSPECT. THEY FOUNDED A TOWN CALLED CARBONATE, THE FIRST COUNTY SEAT OF GARFIELD COUNTY, BUT LOCATED ONLY SMALL DEPOSITS, WIDELY SCATTERED OVER THE PLATEAU; BY THE FOLLOWING WINTER MOST OF THEM HAD BECOME DISCOURAGED AND LEFT. SINCE THEN, PROSPECTING AND MINING HAVE BEEN ONLY SPORADIC...A FEW TONS OF OXIDIZED ZINC ORE ARE REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN PRODUCED, PROBABLY IN 1941 OR 1942, FROM THE DEFIANCE GROUP OF MINES AND PROSPECTS..."

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    TWETO, OGDEN, AND OTHERS, 1978, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LEADVILLE 1X2 QUADRANGLE, NORTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-999

  • Deposit

    HEYL, A.V., 1964, OXIDIZED ZINC DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES, PART 3--COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1135-C

  • Deposit

    BASS, N.W., AND NORTHROP, S.A., 1963, GEOLOGY OF GLENWOOD SPRINGS QUADRANGLE AND VICINITY, NORTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1142-J

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit SOUTHERN FLANK OF WHITE RIVER UPLIFT CUT BY E-W AND WNW-ESE TRENDING NORTH-DIPPING DOLAN GULCH, GRIZZLY CREEK, AND SPRING CREEK REVERSE FAULTS, BETWEEN WHICH ARE NUMEROUS SUBPARALLEL AND NW-SE TRENDING NROMAL FAULTS WITH A FEW OF NE-SW TREND. FISSURE VEINS AND WEAK STOCKWORKS CUT LEADVILLE LIMESTONE AND CHAFFEE FM. AT CARBONATE, PRINCIPAL VEIN PARALLELS NORMAL FAULT STRIKING N 55 TO 65 E AND DIPPING 80 TO 90 SE. VEINS ARE LOCATED PERIPHERAL TO BASALTIC VOLCANIC NECK AND SCORIA CONE, LOCALLY METAMORPHOSING LEADVILLE LIMESTONE TO MARBLE. ORE NEARLY ALL OXIDIZED, LITTLE SULFIDES LEFT.
Deposit NO INDIVIDUAL RECORDS PREPARED FOR DISTRICT. MOST OF ABOVE DESCRIPTIONS COME FROM MAIN UNNAMED WORKINGS AT CARBONATE. OTHER NAMES LISTED BY HEYL (1964) BUT NOT DESCRIBED SUFFICIENTLY INCLUDE CANYON CREEK AND JOHNSON CREEK PROSPECTS NEAR CARBONATE, DEFIANCE OR FORT DEFIANCE MINE (SEC. 25, T 5 S, R 89 W), AND WINDY POINT (OR STRONG) MINE AND TRANSFER SPRINGS STAGE ROAD PROSPECTS PROBABLY LOCATED NEAR WINDY POINT (SEC. 12 AND 13, T 5 S, R.89 W AND SECS. 18 AND 19, T 5 S, R 88 W), ALTHO HEYL'S MAP SHOWS LOCATION CLOSER TO GLENWOOD SPRINGS AT APPROX. SEC. 30, T 5 S, R 89 W. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-83 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey
Editor 16-NOV-11 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey Changed record type from site to district.

Beyond USGS

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

Authoritative Colorado resources

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