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Western Belle Mine

Past Producer in La Plata county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, 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 10014195
MRDS ID D010862
Record type Site
Current site name Western Belle Mine
Alternate or previous names Western Belle and Golden Rose Mines, Patented Claims: Western Belle, MS 5715, Golden Rose, MS 7498
Related records 10264304

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -108.00758, 37.41945 (WGS84)
Elevation 3383
Relative position 11.9 MILES N 37 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 31 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). ON SE SIDE OF LEWIS MTN IN UPPER WALLS GULCH, 3.4 MILES NE OF LA PLATA TOWNSITE (UNSURVEYED SECTION). ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR WESTERN BELLE ADIT. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1974

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Barite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification

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) Eocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Cutler Formation
    Rock description Cutler Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -108.00758, 37.41945
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

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1882
Year of first production 1885
Year of last production 1942

Mining district

District name California (La Plata) District

Land status

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

Comments on the production information

  • PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. FIGURES UNKNOWN FOR OTHER YEARS PRIOR TO 1902. NO PRODUCTION IN 1902-1921, 1923-1941, OR AFTER 1943, ESTIMATED AU FIGURES FOR 1888-1892 CALCULATED FROM REPORTED AU VALUE AND AVERAGE PRICE OF $20.65/OZ AU. AU FIGURES FOR 1922 AND 1942 WERE CITED BY ECKEL AND OTHERS BUT EQUAL CALCULATED AMOUNTS USING $20.65/OZ AND $35.00/OZ, RESPECTIVELY. ESTIMATED AG FIGURES CALCULATED FROM REPORTED VALUES (FOR 1889, 1890, 1891, AND 1892, AS SHOWN IN TABLE); FOR YEARS IN WHICH AG VALUES NOT REPORTED, FIGURES CALCULATED USING AVERAGE PRICE OF $1.00/OZ AG.

Comments on the workings information

  • WESTERN BELLE MINE DEVELOPED BY UPPER CROSSCUT ADIT DRIVEN N 10 W FOR 50 FT TO VEIN. DRIFT DRIVEN N 65 E FOR 170 FT TO CAVED AREA, THENCE ON APPROX 80 FT TO CAVED OPEN CUT; FROM CROSSCUT, DRIFT ALSO DRIVEN S 65 W FOR 40 FT, THENCE S 85 W FOR 85 FT TO CAVED AREA; IN SW DRIFT, 25-FT WINZE SUNK AT 85 FT FROM CROSSCUT. LOWER CROSSCUT ADIT LOCATED APPROX 90 FT SSW FROM UPPER PORTAL, EXTEND UNKNOWN. GOLDEN ROSE MINE DEVELOPED BY SHAFT OF UNKNOWN DEPTH.

Comments on development

  • BOTH MINES DISCOVERED IN EARLY 1880S AND OPERATED TO ABOUT 1895, ALTHOUGH MINOR PRODUCTION WAS REPORTED FROM WESTERN BELLE IN 1922 AND SOME FROM GOLDEN ROSE IN 1942. SOME ORE CONCENTRATED IN SMALL CYANIDE MILL AT MOUTH OF WALLS GULCH.

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, 172-173.

  • Deposit

    BLM MINERAL SURVEYS MS 5717, 7498

  • Production

    ECKEL AND OTHERS, 1949, P. 172 (AS COMPILED FROM U.S. MINE AND USBM RECORDS)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: EARLY 1880S
Deposit COUNTRY ROCK CONSISTS OF SLIGHTLY SILICIFIED SHALE AND SANDSTONE OF CUTLER FM, DIPPING NW, AND INTRUDED BY DIORITE-MONZONITE PORPHYRY SILLS AND DIKES AND BY DIORITE FROM LEWIS MTN STOCK. VEIN TRENDS N 65 TO 90 E, DIPS STEEPLY SOUTH. AND FOLLOWS NORMAL FAULT DOWNTHROWN ON SOUTH, VEIN LIES IN 3- TO 7-FT FRACTURE ZONE CONTAINING 12 TO 18 INCHES OF VEIN MATTER COMPOSED OF QUARTZ, BARITE, AND PYRITE; ELSEWHERE IT FORMS NARROW BELT OF QUARTZ STRINGERS. IN GOLDEN ROSE SHAFT, VEIN WAS WEAK OR PINCHED OUT IN SHALE BUT WAS 8 TO 10 FT WIDE IN SANDSTONE AND PORPHYRY.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-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

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.