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Unnamed Thorium Occurrence

Occurrence in Gunnison county in Colorado, United States with commodities Thorium, REE
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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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014385
MRDS ID D011131
Record type Site
Current site name Unnamed Thorium Occurrence

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.03062, 38.4925 (WGS84)
Elevation 2316
Location accuracy 1000(meters)
Relative position 6.5 MILES S 59 W FROM GUNNISON

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Gunnison(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Mesa(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Gunnison(hydrologic unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic accounting unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Curecanti National Recreation Area(National Recreation Area)

National Recreation Area NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Gunnison

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 049N 002W 24 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • EXACT LOCATION WITHIN SECTION IS UNKNOWN. SITE PROBABLY LIES WITHIN 0.5 MILE OF HIERRO, WHICH IS ON US HWY 50 ALONG GUNNISON RIVER. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR CENTER OF SEC. 24.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Thorium Tertiary
REE Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Rhabdophane Ore

Analytical data

Result PHYSICAL AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF HAND-PICKED GRAINS: REDDISH BROWN COLOR, CONCHOIDAL FRACTURE, RESINOUS LUSTER, HARDNESS 3 TO 4, 3.7 TO 4.3 SPECIFIC GRAVITY, 1.66 TO 1.69 AVERAGE INDEX OF REFRACTION, MODERATE BIREFRINGENCE. SEMIQUANTITATIVE SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS SHOWED GT 10 % TH
Result 7 % P, SI, AND FE
Result 3 % CA
Result 1.5 % TI
Result 0.7 % AL, BA, AND CE
Result 0.3 % LA, ND, Y, AND ZR
Result 0.15 % CU
Result 0.07 % MG, DY, AND GD
Result 0.03 % MN
Result 0.015 % YB
Result LT 0.01 % BI, CO, AND CR
Result 0.0015 % BE. ALSO AT LOWER LIMITS OF DETECTION (10 TO 500 PPM) WERE LIGHT RAE EXCEPT LA, CE, AND ND
Result HEAVY RAE EXCEPT GD, DY, YB, AND Y.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Granite Of South Beaver Creek;Granite And Leucogranite Dikes;Quartz Diorite
    Rock description Granite Of South Beaver Creek;Granite And Leucogranite Dikes;Quartz Diorite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Metamorphic Rocks--Quartz-Biotite Schist And Gneiss And Migmatite;Metamorphic Rocks--Amphibolite
    Rock description Metamorphic Rocks--Quartz-Biotite Schist And Gneiss And Migmatite;Metamorphic Rocks--Amphibolite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Amphibolite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -107.03062, 38.4925
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Gunnison Uplift, West Elk Centers

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1955
Discoverer R.C. Derzay And R.C. Maylan

Mining district

District name Gunnison Area

Comments on development

  • MINERAL WAS CONCENTRATED FROM HEAVY-MINERAL FRACTION AND ANALYZED BY X-RAY POWDER DIFFRACTION AND BY SEMIQUANTITATIVE SPECTROGRAPHY.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    DOOLEY, J.R., JR., AND HATHAWAY, J.C., 1961, TWO OCCURRENCES OF THORIUM-BEARING MINERALS WITH RHABDOPHANE-LIKE STRUCTURE: USGS PROF. PAPER 424-C, P. C339-C341.

  • Deposit

    HEDLUND, D.C., 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE BIG MESA QUADRANGLE, GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS MAP GQ-1153.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit FOLIATION OF SCHISTOSE COUNTRY ROCKS TRENDS GENERALLY WNW-ESE, DIPPING NE. SCHIST CONTAINS IRREGULARLY ELONGATE BODIES AND DIKES OF GRANITIC ROCKS OF BEAVER CREEK BROADLY CONCORDANT TO METAMPORPHIC FOLIATION. GENERALLY NW-TRENDING LEUCOGRANITE DIKES CUT METAMORPHICS AND BEAVER CREEK GRANTIC ROCKS. TREND OF VEIN UNKNOWN BUT PROBABLY CONCORDANT TO LOCAL FOLIATION TREND. DOOLEY AND HATHAWAY (1961) DESCRIBE VEIN MATERIAL AND SURROUNDING ROCK AS OXIDIZED AND FRIABLE. RELATIVELY FRESH MATERIAL CONTAINED K FELDSPAR (CHIEFLY MICROCLINE) AND SUBORDINATE QUARTZ. HEAVY-MINERAL FRACTION CONTAINED TH-BEARING MINERAL, FE-BEARING OPAQUE MINERALS, AND MINOR AMPHIBOLE AND RUTILE. ANALYSIS SUGGEST SIMILARITY OF TH MINERAL WITH RHABDOPHANE, (CE, Y, LA, DY) P04. H20, BUT LOW RAE CONTENT COMPARED TO TH AND CA CONTRASTS WITH MODERATE TO HIGH RAE CONTEST OF RHABDOPHANE AND MONZITE. MINERAL DID SHOW MONAZITE-LIKE STRUCTURE ON IGNITION AT 800 TO 900 C.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1984 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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Authoritative Colorado resources

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