Buckhorn Mica Mine

Producer in Larimer county in Colorado, United States with commodities Mica, Beryllium, Lithium, Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum

Sections on this page

Identification information
Geographic coordinates
Site location context
Geographic areas
Public Land Survey System information
Commodities
Materials information
Alteration
Host and associated rocks
Nearby scientific data
Geologic structures
Ore body information
Economic information about the deposit and operations
Mining district
Land status
Ownership information
Workings at the site
Links to other databases
Bibliographic references
General comments
Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10013811
MRDS ID	D010316
Record type	Site
Current site name	Buckhorn Mica Mine
Alternate or previous names	Claim: Emerald Gem
Related records	10166384

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates:	-105.3767, 40.53692 (WGS84)
Elevation	2502
Relative position	12.8 MILES N 31 E FROM ESTES PARK

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Larimer(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Crystal Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fort Collins(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Greeley(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Big Thompson(hydrologic unit)

South Platte(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Platte(hydrologic subregion)

Missouri(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Arapaho and Roosevelt 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	Larimer

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian	Township	Range	Section	Fraction	State
6th Principal	007N	071W	29	SW	Colorado

Comments on the location information

ON DIVIDE BETWEEN FISH CREEK AND SHEEP CREEK 2.95 MILES ESE OF CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1980)

Commodities

Commodity	Importance
Mica	Primary
Beryllium Critical	Primary
Lithium Critical	Tertiary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical	Tertiary
Tantalum Critical	Tertiary

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Beryl	Ore
Muscovite	Ore
Spodumene	Ore
Albite	Gangue
Cleavelandite	Gangue
Garnet	Gangue
Purpurite	Gangue
Sericite	Gangue
Tourmaline	Gangue

Alteration

(Local) Tourmalinization Of Schistose Wallrock; Albite, Cleavelandite, And Sericite Replacement Of Spodumene

Analytical data

Result	THURSTON'S DATA FROM DRILLING INDICATE BERYL CONTENT OF 0.01 TO 1.97 % WITH AVERAGE 0.86 %. COMBINED WITH OTHER SAMPLE DATA, RANGE IS 0.29 TO 1.97 % BERYL, WITH AVERAGE 1.06 %.

Host and associated rocks

Host or associated

Associated

Rock type

Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Tonalite

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Neoproterozoic
Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Neoproterozoic

Host or associated Associated

Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite

Rock unit name Pegmatite;Tonalite (Quartz Diorite)

Rock description Pegmatite;Tonalite (Quartz Diorite)

Host or associated	Associated
Rock type	Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
Rock unit name	Pegmatite;Tonalite (Quartz Diorite)
Rock description	Pegmatite;Tonalite (Quartz Diorite)

Host or associated	Host
Rock type	Metamorphic Rock > Schist
Rock unit name	Metasedimentary Rocks-Quartz-Biotite Schist;Pegmatite
Rock description	Metasedimentary Rocks-Quartz-Biotite Schist;Pegmatite

Nearby scientific data

(1)	-105.3767, 40.53692	ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure	Regional
Structure description	Front Range Uplift
Type of structure	Local
Structure description	Thompson Canyon Fault, Mt Olympus Batholith, Ne-Trending Folds

Ore body information

General form LENTICULAR

Length 205.74M

Width 11.28M

General form	LENTICULAR
Length	205.74M
Width	11.28M

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status	Producer
Commodity type	Both
Deposit size	Small
Significant	No
Discovery year	1884
Year of first production	1884

Mining district

District name	Crystal Mountain (Storm Mountain) Pegmatite District

Land status

Ownership category	Private

Ownership information

Type Owner

Owner Hyatt, Roy

First year 1950

Type	Owner
Owner	Hyatt, Roy
First year	1950

Comments on the reserve resource information

HANLEY AND OTHERS, 1950

Workings at the site

Type of workings Surface/Underground

Overall depth 15.24M

Overall length 48.77M

Overall width 7.62M

Type of workings	Surface/Underground
Overall depth	15.24M
Overall length	48.77M
Overall width	7.62M

Comments on the workings information

THREE SHAFTS, DEEPEST OF WHICH IS ABOUT 50 FT WITH SOME DRIFTS; CENTRAL SHAFT ABOUT 20 FT DEEP; WESTERN SHAFT 10 FT DEEP; LARGE OPEN CUT UP TO 15 FT DEEP; SEVERAL SMALL OPEN CUTS AND TRENCHES

Comments on development

FIRST OPERATED IN 1884 BY BUCKHORN MICA MINING AND MILLING CO. RELOCATED BY ROY HYATT IN 1942 AS EMERALD GEM CLAIM.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency	Database name	Acronym	Record ID	Notes
USGS	Mineral Resources Data System	MRDS	D010316
U.S. Bureau of Mines	Minerals Availability System	MAS	0080690032

Bibliographic references

Deposit

THURSTON, W.R., 1955, PEGMATITES OF THE CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1011, 185 P., 13 PLS.
Deposit

HANLEY, J.B., AND OTHERS, 1950, PEGMATITE INVESTIGATIONS IN COLORADO, WYOMING, AND UTAH, 1942-1944: USGS PROF. PAPER 227, P. 88-90, PL. 11.
Deposit

STERRETT, D.B., 1923, MICA DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES: USGS BULL. 740, P. 59-61.

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	IRREGULARLY ZONED AND MULTIPLY INTRUDED PEGMATITE TRENDS N 65 E, 80 TO 90 NW, AND CONSISTS OF 1) WALL ZONE OF PLAGIOCLASE-PERTHITE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE, UP TO 15 FT THICK, AVERAGING 7 FT THICK, EXTENDING TO DEPTH OF 110 FT, MOSTLY FINE GRAINED WITH COARSE-GRAINED STREAKS, CONTAINS UP TO 1 % MUSCOVITE AND 0.4 % FINELY DISSEMINATED BERYL, 2) OUTER INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE UP TO 10 FT THICK, CONTAINING LOCAL MUSCOVITE CONCENTRATIONS WITH TOURMALINE AND PURPURITE, AND 0.5 % EUHEDRAL AND ANHEDRAL BERYL, GRADING INTO 3) INNER INTERNEDIATE ZONE OF CLEAVELANDITE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE UP TO 16 FT THICK, CONTAINING 2 % ACCESSORY MINERALS (MUSCOVITE, BERYL, PERTHITE, COLUMBITE-TANTALITE); 4) CORE OF CLEAVELANDITE-QUARTZ-SPODUMENE PEGMATITE UP TO 10 FT THICK, AVERAGING 4 FT THICK, EXTENDING TO 75-FT DEPTH, CONTAINING 3 % RELICT SPODUMENE REPLACED BY CLEAVELANDITE, ALBITE, AND SERICITE, 2 % ACCESSORY MINERALS, 1 % BERYL.

Subject category

Comment text

Deposit

IRREGULARLY ZONED AND MULTIPLY INTRUDED PEGMATITE TRENDS N 65 E, 80 TO 90 NW, AND CONSISTS OF 1) WALL ZONE OF PLAGIOCLASE-PERTHITE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE, UP TO 15 FT THICK, AVERAGING 7 FT THICK, EXTENDING TO DEPTH OF 110 FT, MOSTLY FINE GRAINED WITH COARSE-GRAINED STREAKS, CONTAINS UP TO 1 % MUSCOVITE AND 0.4 % FINELY DISSEMINATED BERYL, 2) OUTER INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE UP TO 10 FT THICK, CONTAINING LOCAL MUSCOVITE CONCENTRATIONS WITH TOURMALINE AND PURPURITE, AND 0.5 % EUHEDRAL AND ANHEDRAL BERYL, GRADING INTO 3) INNER INTERNEDIATE ZONE OF CLEAVELANDITE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE UP TO 16 FT THICK, CONTAINING 2 % ACCESSORY MINERALS (MUSCOVITE, BERYL, PERTHITE, COLUMBITE-TANTALITE); 4) CORE OF CLEAVELANDITE-QUARTZ-SPODUMENE PEGMATITE UP TO 10 FT THICK, AVERAGING 4 FT THICK, EXTENDING TO 75-FT DEPTH, CONTAINING 3 % RELICT SPODUMENE REPLACED BY CLEAVELANDITE, ALBITE, AND SERICITE, 2 % ACCESSORY MINERALS, 1 % BERYL.

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	01-MAR-1983	Schwochow, Stephen D.	Colorado Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Wikidata: Q49402384 (Buckhorn Mica Mine)

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.