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Copper King Mine

Past Producer in Larimer county in Colorado, United States with commodities Uranium, Zinc, Vanadium, Copper, Iron, Molybdenum
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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. 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. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10013961
MRDS ID D010535
Record type Site
Current site name Copper King Mine
Alternate or previous names Claims: Black Hawk No. 1, Black Hawk No. 2
Related records 10288348

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -105.49588, 40.85026 (WGS84)
Elevation 2423
Relative position 28.8 MILES N50W FROM FORT COLLINS

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Larimer(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Haystack Gulch(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fort Collins(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Greeley(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Cache La Poudre(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 010N 072W 08 S2 OF S2 OF NW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • ON SOUTH SIDE OF PRAIRIE DIVIDE 6 MILES NE OF RED FEATHERS LAKES. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1980

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Vanadium Critical Secondary
Copper Tertiary
Iron Tertiary
Molybdenum Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Coffinite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Marcasite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Pitchblende Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Actinolite Gangue
Anthophyllite Gangue
Apatite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Goethite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Phlogopite Gangue
Siderite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Saussuritic(?) Alteration Of Granite Wallrock; Amphibole And Mica Replacement In Skarn; Chloritization Of Skarn And Mica; Partial Oxidat Ion And Hydration Of Pitchblende; Fe Oxidation

Analytical data

Result SELECTED SEMIQUANTITATIVE SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSES OF SULFIDE-MAGNE TITE ORE FROM SIMS AND OTHERS GIVE 0.00X TO 0.0X% TI, 0.0X% MN, 0.00X TO TRACE % AG, UP TO 0.X% CD, 0.00X TO 0.0X% CO, TRACE IN, 0.00X% MO, 0.000X TO 0.00X% NI, 0.00X% SN, 0.00X% V, 0.X% U, 0.00X% Y, 0.002 TO 0 .27 TO 0.27% EQUIV U. ANALYSES FROM VEIN FAULTS GIVE SIMILAR TRACE VAL UES PLUS 0.034% EQUIV U ON B FAULT TO 3.6% EQUIV U ON COPPER KING VEIN (RADIOMETRIC ANALYSES). FOR ABOVE VALUES, THEORETICAL RANGE OF % FOR 0.X IS 0.215 TO 0.46%.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Rock unit name Sherman Granite;Pegmatite
    Rock description Sherman Granite;Pegmatite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Sherman Granite;Metasedimentary Rocks--Amphibole Skarn
    Rock description Sherman Granite;Metasedimentary Rocks--Amphibole Skarn

Nearby scientific data

(1) -105.49588, 40.85026
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Front Range Uplift, Sherman Batholith
Type of structure Local
Structure description Virginia Dale Ring Dike Complex, Copper King Fault, B Fault, A Fau Lt

Ore body information

  • General form WEDGE
  • General form WEDGE

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Sulfide-Magnetite Localized In Isolated Skarn In Granite; U Localiz Ed In Laramide Faults Near Intersections With Sulfide-Magnetite Ore.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1925
Year of first production 1920
Year of last production 1953

Mining district

District name Prairie Divide (St. Cloud) District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Cherokee Mines
    Home office Fort Collins, Co.
    First year 1956

Comments on the production information

  • SIMS AND OTHERS AND NELSON-MOORE AND OTHERS REPORT CUMULATIVE U OR E PRODUCTION OF 633 TO 652+ ST, BUT COLO. DIV. MINES REPORTS TOTAL OF 682+ ST FOR SAME PERIOD. ESTIMATED CUMULATIVE TOTALS FOR U308 AND V205 FROM NELSON-MOORE AND OTHERS ARE BASED ON TOTAL ORE PRODUCTION OF 633 ST AT GRADE OF 0.3% U308.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 174.35M
    Overall depth 51.82M

Comments on the workings information

  • MAIN (EAST) VERTICAL SHAFT IS 170 FT DEEP WITH LEVELS AT 70 FT (1 18 FT LONG CONNECTING WITH BOTTOM OF 64-FT WEST SHAFT), 110 FT (70 FT LONG), 140 FT (55 FT LONG), 160 FT (35 FT LONG). RAISE NO. 1 CONNECTS LEVELS 110 AND 140; RAISE NO. 2 CONNECTS LEVELS 140 AND 160 EAST OF MA IN SHAFT. PRINCIPAL STOPES WORKED ABOVE 110 LEVEL ON BOTH SIDES OF MAI N SHAFT AND BETWEEN LEVELS 110 AND 140 EAST OF MAIN SHAFT. OTHER SHORT SHAFTS AND PROSPECT PITS FOUND IN MINE AREA.

Comments on development

  • MINE AND NEARBY PROPERTY OPENED IN WW I IN SEARCH FOR CU AND ZN. NO ORE PRODUCED UNTIL 1920 WHEN ONE CARLOAD ZN ORE WAS SHIPPED; BRIEF ACTIVITY IN 1936 BUT NO PRODUCTION. RADIOACTIVITY DISCOVERED ON DUMP I N 1949, AFTER WHICH BLACK HAWK CLAIMS FILED BY A.H. BROWN AND H.G. ISM ERT. FOLLOWING DEWATERING OF SHAFT, ZN AND U ORE PRODUCED IN 1950-51. UNDER DMEA CONTRACT IN 1951, CHEROKEE MINES COMPLETED MAIN SHAFT BY RA ISING TO SURFACE FROM 70 LEVEL OF OLD (WEST) SHAFT. MINE PRODUCED U OR E FROM 1951 TO 1953 BEFORE CLOSING.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SIMS, P.K., AND OTHERS, 1958, GEOLOGY OF THE COPPER KING URANIUM MI NE, LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1032-D, 50 P.

  • Deposit

    PHAIR, GEORGE, AND SIMS, P.K., 1954, PARAGENESIS AND AGE OF THE URA NIUM MINERALS IN THE COPPER KING MINE, LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO (ABS.) : GSA BULL., V. 65, NO. 12, PT. 2, P. 1385.

  • Deposit

    SIMS, P.K., AND TOULMIN, PRIESTLY, 1961, TEMPERATURE OF FORMATION O F A PRECAMBRIAN MASSIVE SULFIDE DEPOSIT, COPPER KING MINE, FRONT RANGE , COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 424-B, P. B1-B2.

  • Deposit

    NELSON-MOORE, J.L., AND OTHERS, 1978, RADIOACTIVE MINERAL OCCURRENC ES OF COLORADO AND BIBLIOGRAPHY: CGS BULL. 40, P. 208.

  • Deposit

    COLORADO DIV. MINES ANN. OPERATOR REPTS. AND INF. REPTS.

  • Production

    SIMS AND OTHERS (1920 ZN PROD.); ORIGINAL CRIB RECORD (1951 ZN AND U ORE PROD.); COLO. DIV. MINES (1952-53 U ORE PROD.); NELSON-MOORE AND OTHERS (CUMUL. U308/V205 PROD.)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: EARLY 1900S
Deposit MASSIVE SULFIDE-MAGNETITE ORE OCCURS IN TABULAR TO WEDGE-SHAPED A NTHOPHYLLITE-CUMMINGTONITE-ACTINOLITE SKARN IN GRANITE, STEEPLY PLUNGI NG, COMPLEXLY FOLDED, AT LEAST 100 FT LONG, 20 TO 50 FT WIDE, 6 FT THI CK, PROBABLY THINNING OUT AT DEPTH OF ABOUT 170 FT. BODY CONTAINS ACCE SSORY PHLOGOPITE, APATITE, QUARTZ. SIMS AND OTHERS BELIEVE SKARN FORME D BY PRECAMBRIAN PYROMETASOMATISM OF LIMY OR CARBONATE ROCKS. ORIGINAL ANTHOPHYLLITE AND PHLOGOPITE REPLACED BY CUMMINGTONITE AND BIOTITE; F E INTRODUCED TO FORM MAGNETITE, FOLLOWED BY SULFIDE AND QUARTZ DEPOSIT ION BY MAGMA-DERIVED ORE SOLUTIONS. ORES FORM STREAKS, KNOTS, OR MASSI VE LENTICULAR LAYERS ELONGATED IN DIRECTION OF LINEATION. GENERAL PARA GENESIS: MAGNETITE (REPLACING CUMMINGTONITE), MINOR QUARTZ, PYRRHOTITE , PYRITE, SPHALERITE, EXSOLUTION CHALCOPYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE, LATE PYRR HOTITE (BLEBS IN SPHALERITE). PITCHBLENDE ORE OCCURS IN COPPER KING AN D SUBSIDIARY, SMALL-DISPLACEMENT, LARAMIDE FAULTS (A & B) THAT CUT GRA NITE AND
Deposit SKARNIN EAST-TRENDING ZONE. COPPER KING IS VERTICAL FAULT TR ENDING N60W AND CHARACTERIZED BY BRANCHING HORSETAIL FRACTURES. B FAUL T TRENDS N80 TO 85E, 65 TO 85SE AND FILLED WITH HEMATITE, GOETHITE, OT THER FE OXIDES, VUGGY QUARTZ. A FAULT TRENDS N55 TO 70W, 80SW AND CONT AINS SOFT GOUGE AND BRECCIA, FE OXIDES, QUARTZ VEINLETS, DISCONTINUOUS PYRITE SEAMS. NEAR INTERSECTION OF VEIN AND SKARN, U OCCURS IN PYRITE -MARCASITE BOXWORK WITH ABUNDANT SIDERITE, QUARTZ, SPHALERTIE, MINOR C HALCOPYRITE AND FLUORITE, ABUNDANT GOETHITE.

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

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