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Aurora Mine

Past Producer in La Plata county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Tellurium
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014151
MRDS ID D010800
MAS/MILS ID 0080670020
Record type Site
Current site name Aurora Mine
Alternate or previous names Patented Claims: Jim Smith, MS 1960, Aurora, MS 1961, Jewel, MS 1962, Aurora Claims Group

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Main Entrance
Geographic coordinates: -108.00564, 37.43084 (WGS84)
Elevation 3338
Location accuracy 500(meters)
Relative position 12.45 MILES N 34 W FROM DURANGO

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

La Plata(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

La Plata(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Cortez(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Cortez(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Animas(hydrologic unit)

Upper San Juan(hydrologic accounting unit)

San Juan(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

San Juan 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 La Plata

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 037N 010W 30 S2 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). ON EAST SLOPE OF LEWIS MTN-SNOWSTORM PEAK ALONG UPPER RUBY GULCH, 3.95 MILES NE OF LA PLATA TOWNSITE (UNSURVEYED SECTION). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1974

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Tertiary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Ankerite Gangue
Barite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Kaolinitization

Analytical data

Result REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF DUMP ORE CONTAINED 0.16 OZ/TON AU AND 0.36 OZ/TON AG. WAYT'S ASSAY OF VEIN SAMPLE FROM SURFACE CONTAINED 5 OZ/TON AU AND 8 OZ/TON AG.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Porphyritic Rocks--Diorite-Monzonite Porphyry;Nonporphyritic Rocks--Diorite
    Rock description Porphyritic Rocks--Diorite-Monzonite Porphyry;Nonporphyritic Rocks--Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Eocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Cutler Formation
    Rock description Cutler Formation

Nearby scientific data

Main Entrance (1) -108.00564, 37.43084
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Uplift, Four Corners Platform
Type of structure Local
Structure description La Plata Dome, Lewis Mtn Diorite Stock

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1882
Discoverer George Wilkinson (Claimant)
Year of first production 1882

Mining district

District name California (La Plata) District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name San Juan N. F.

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE DEVELOPED BY 27-FT SHAFT AND TWO TUNNELS. UPPER CROSSCUT ADIT DRIVEN N 65 W FOR 80 FT, THENCE N 50 W FOR 90 FT THROUGH AURORA VEIN, ON WHICH DRIFT DRIVEN S 70 TO 85 W FOR 70 FT TO CAVED AREA. LOWER ADIT LOCATED 340 FT SE OF AND ABOUT 220 FT BELOW UPPER ADIT, DRIVEN N 40 W FOR 450 FT, THENCE N 20 W FOR 50 FT TO VEIN; 160-FT BRANCH TUNNEL AND DRIFTS DRIVEN WEST AND SW AT 245 FT FROM PORTAL.

Comments on development

  • CLAIM GROUP WORKED AS EARLY AS 1882, LATER IN 1900, PRODUCING ONLY SMALL LOTS OF ORE. CLAIMS SURVEYED IN 1884, PATENTED IN 1887.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ECKEL, E.B., AND OTHERS, 1949, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE LA PLATA DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 219, P. 73-76, 88-89.

  • Deposit

    WAYT, L.M., (NO DATE), STATEMENT CONCERNING THE AURORA GROUP LODE CLAIMS, LA PLATA COUNTY, COLORADO: UNPUB. ENG. REPT., 1 P.

  • Deposit

    BLM MINERAL SURVEYS MS 1960, 1961, 1962

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit COUNTRY ROCK CONSISTS OF CUTLER FM RED BEDS INTRUDED BY DIORITE-MONZONITE PORPHYRY SILLS AND BY DIORITE FROM LEWIS MTN STOCK. AT SURFACE, AURORA VEIN TRENDS N 58 TO 72 E, AND MARKED BY NARROW ZONE OF FE-STAINED AND DECOMPOSED ROCK: NEAR ADIT VEIN IS 1 TO 2 FT WIDE AND COMPOSED OF SHEARED DIORITE WITH QUARTZ, PYRITE, SOME BARITE. ORE IN SHAFT WAS 0.5 TO 2 FT WIDE AND COMPOSED OF TELLURIDE-BEARING QUARTZ.
Deposit Discovery Year: EARLY 1880S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-83 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey
Reporter 22-JUL-78 Intermountain Field Operations Center U.S. Bureau of Mines
Editor 25-JUL-08 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey Merged 3 records--keep 10014151 (from MRDS D101800) and delete 10191156 (MAS 0080670020) and 10214942 (MAS 0080670021).

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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.