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Mica Lode Mine

Past Producer in Fremont county in Colorado, United States with commodities Feldspar, Mica, Beryllium, Quartz, Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, REE, Bismuth, Lithium, Copper
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  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. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  19. Reserves and resources
  20. Workings at the site
  21. Links to other databases
  22. Bibliographic references
  23. General comments
  24. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10013530
MRDS ID D009880
Record type Site
Current site name Mica Lode Mine
Alternate or previous names Mica Hill Deposit, Micalode Mine, Mica Lode
Related records 10142766

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Pit
Geographic coordinates: -105.3025, 38.4786 (WGS84)
Elevation 1859
Location accuracy 10(meters)
Relative position 4.7 MILES N 52 W OF CANON CITY. Mine is visible on imagery and quarry is shown on topo.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Fremont(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Royal Gorge(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Canon City(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Pueblo(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 Fremont

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 018S 071W 14 NE OF SW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • JUST NORTH OF ROYAL GORGE PARK; NW OF MEYERS MINE ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Feldspar Primary
Mica Primary
Beryllium Critical Primary
Quartz Primary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical Secondary
Tantalum Critical Secondary
REE Critical Secondary
Bismuth Critical Tertiary
Lithium Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SOME PARTS OF BERYL CRYSTALS ARE OF GEM QUALITY

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Beryl Ore
Bismutite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Lepidolite Ore
Malachite Ore
Microcline Ore
Muscovite Ore
Albite Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue
Apatite Trace

Analytical data

Result BERYL: 12.01-12.68% BEO

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 32
USGS model code 13
Deposit model name Pegmatites

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Granodiorite
    Rock description Granodiorite (Pikes Peak Granite)
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Paleoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist > Mica Schist
    Rock unit name Migmatitic Gneiss
    Rock description Migmatitic Gneiss
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss

Nearby scientific data

Pit (1) -105.3025, 38.4786
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Ne-Trending Fault, Shear Zone
Type of structure Regional
Structure description Southern Front Range, Canon City Embayment

Ore body information

  • General form "TADPOLE-SHAPED"
    Strike EAST
    Dip 20-25 N, STEEPER AT DEPTH
    Thickness 70.1M
    Length 609.6M
    Width 198.12M
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 45.72M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Pegmatite, Foliation, Fault?

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1904
Discoverer Mica Mining And Mills Co (1904)
Year of first production 1928

Mining district

District name Eight Mile Park District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Robert A Shipley
    Home office Canon City, Co.
    First year 1944
  • Type Owner
    Owner Colorado Feldspar Co.
    Home office Canon City, Co.
    First year 1944
  • Type Owner
    Owner COLONNA + CO OF COLO, INC.
    Year 1977
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner LOCKHART & SONS

Production statistics

  • Year 1950
    Period 1928-1950
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Beryl Beryllium Beryllium 51mt
    Major Scrap Mica Mica Mica 31230mt
    Major Feldspar Feldspar Feldspar 152180mt

Comments on the production information

  • AS OF 1950 THIS WAS THE LARGEST PEGMATITE FELDSPAR PRODUCER IN COLORADO

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Name beryl
    Estimate year 1950
    Inferred 100mt ore

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • VISUAL ESTIMATES GIVEN ABOVE; HANLEY STATES THAT "IT IS PROBABLE THAT THE ACTUAL RESERVE...IS TWO OR THREE TIMES THE ESTIMATED TOTAL"

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Unknown
    Area 1.38HA
    Length 131.06M
    Overall depth 45.72M
    Overall length 137.16M
    Overall width 106.68M

Comments on the workings information

  • FOUR OPEN CUTS NEAR EAST END OF PEGMATITE, PLUS A ROOM CUT IN NORTH FACE AT WATER LEVEL (LOWER WORKINGS FLOODED); BENCHES

Comments on development

  • J.E. MEYERS (CANON CITY) RELOCATED THIS IN 1928

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Production

    USBM PROD. TABS.

  • Deposit

    HANLEY, J. B., HEINRICH, E. W. AND PAGE, L. R., 1950, PEGMATITE INVESTIGATIONS IN COLORADO, WYOMING, AND UTAH, 1942-1944: USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 227, P. 34-37

  • Deposit

    ECKEL, E. B., 1961, MINERALS OF COLORADO, A 100-YEAR RECORD: USGS BULLETIN 1114, P. 20, 72, 160, 339-340.

  • Deposit

    TAYLOR, R. B., SCOTT, G.R., WOBUS, R. A. AND EPIS, R. C.,1975, RECONNAISSANCE GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE ROYAL GORGE QUADRANGLE, FREMONT AND CUSTER COUNTIES, COLORADO: USGS MAP I-869, 1:62,500

  • Deposit

    MEEVES, H. C., HARRER, C. M., SALSBURY, M. H., KONSELMAN, A. S., SHANNON, S.S., JR., 1966, RECONNAISSANCE OF BERYLLIUM-BEARING PEGMATITE DEPOSITS IN SIX WESTERN STATES; ARIZONA, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, SOUTH DAKOTA, UTAH, AND WYOMING: USBM INFORMATION CIRCULAR 8298, P. 25

  • Deposit

    STERRETT, D. B., 1923, MICA DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES: USGS BULLETIN 740, P. 55-56

  • Deposit

    LANDES, K. K., 1935, COLORADO PEGMATITES: AMERICAN MINERALOGIST, V.20, NO. 5, P. 328-329

  • Deposit

    HEINRICH, E. W., 1948, PEGMATITES OF EIGHT MILE PARK, FREMONT COUNTY , COLORADO: AMERICAN MINERALOGIST, V. 33, NOS. 7-10,P. 420-448, 550-587.

  • Reserve-Resource

    HANLEY, J.B., 1950, P. 37; MEEVES, H.C., 1966, P. 8.

  • Deposit

    Colorado and Utah Industrial Minerals, 1974: MINOBRAS, 120 p.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ZONED PEGMATITE; WALL ZONE IS QUARTZ-MICROCLINE-MUSCOVITE-BIOTITE PEGMATITE, INTERMEDIATE ZONE IS MUSCOVITE-QUARTZ-ALBITE PEGMATITE CONTAINING BERYL, CORE IS MICROCLINE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE
General As of 2014, mine appears abandoned on satellite imagery.
Deposit First Production Year: 1928-1942

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1983-01-01 Collins, Donna B. (Parker, Raymond L.) Colorado Geological Survey
Editor 2014-06-12 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted duplicate record 10142766
Reporter 1992-05-29 Martinez U.S. Geological Survey MAS 10142766 = 10142766, merged and deleted.

Beyond USGS

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

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.