1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Sphalerite Mine

Occurrence in Pitkin county in Colorado, United States with commodities Zinc, Lead, Copper
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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 10013877
MRDS ID D010417
Record type Site
Current site name Sphalerite Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.61534, 39.03193 (WGS84)
Elevation 3414
Relative position 6.1 MILES S 27 W FROM INDEPENDENCE PASS

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pitkin(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Independence Pass(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Roaring Fork(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 Pitkin

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 012S 083W 01 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • ALONG LINCOLN GULCH 5.2 MILES SSW FROM INDEPENDENCE TOWNSITE AND 0.8 MILE NW OF RUBY TOWNSITE. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1977)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Primary
Copper Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSES DETECTED TRACES OF SB, W, MO, AND AG, V, CO

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Barite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Quartz-Sericite-Pyrite, Quartz-Sericite, Argillic

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Rock unit name Quartz Latite Porphyry (Sawmill Plug);Diorite (Twin Lakes Batholith)
    Rock description Quartz Latite Porphyry (Sawmill Plug);Diorite (Twin Lakes Batholith)
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Rock unit name Quartz Latite Porphyry (Sawmill Plug);Diorite (Twin Lakes Batholith)
    Rock description Quartz Latite Porphyry (Sawmill Plug);Diorite (Twin Lakes Batholith)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.61534, 39.03193
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Sawatch Uplift, Central Colorado Trough, Arkansas Valley Graben, Twin Lakes Batholith
Type of structure Local
Structure description Grizzly Peak Cauldron, Mt Elbert Volcanotectonic Depression, Lincoln Gulch Stock, Sawmill Plug

Ore body information

  • Thickness 0.15M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Nnw-Trending Block Fault

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Lincoln (Lincoln Gulch, Ruby) District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the workings information

  • ONE TUNNEL OF UNKNOWN EXTENT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit QUARTZ LATITE DIKES RADIATE FROM POST-BLOCK FAULT ACIDIC PLUG THAT INTRUDES SATELLITE DIORITE STOCK OF TWIN LAKES BATHOLITH ON TRACE OF LINCOLN GULCH FAULT. SAWMILL PLUG IS ONE OF SEVERAL INTRUSIONS ON ARCUATE ZONE EXTENDING FROM PINE-BOWMAN CREEK DIVIDE TO WEST RED MTN. AND MAY POSSIBLY CONNECT WITH RING DIKE AT DEPTH. PLUG COMPOSED OF BANDED FELSITE PORPHYRY CENTER GRADING INTO PYROCLASTIC CORE CUT BY SEVERAL VUGGY RHYOLITE DIKES. CONTACTS OF PLUG AND DIORITE GENERALLY MARKED BY GLASSY PORPHYRY AND BY 50-FT-WIDE BRECCIA ON NE EDGE. ALTERATION CONSISTS OF QUARTZ-SERICITE-PYRITE CORE ENCLOSED IN QUARTZ-SERICITE ZONE ENCLOSED IN ARGILLIC ZONE. PLUG BELIEVED TO POSTDATE CAULDRON DEVELOPMENT AND WAS LOCALIZED ON NNW-TRENDING BLOCK FAULT BECAUSE 1) IT IS MORE ACIDIC THAN EARLIER MAFIC INTRUSIONS; AND 2) LACK OF OFFSET ON LINCOLN GULCH FAULT.

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.

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.