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Last Chance Mine

Past Producer in Gunnison county in Colorado, United States with commodities Feldspar, Mica
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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. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014560
MRDS ID D011385
Record type Site
Current site name Last Chance Mine
Alternate or previous names Peifer Quarry, Unpatented Claim: Peifer
Related records 10142425

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.38731, 38.44556 (WGS84)
Elevation 2435
Relative position 25.5 MILES S 75 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

Curecanti Needle(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)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Gunnison

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 048N 005W 01 S2 OF NW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • ON SOUTH RIM OF BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON RIVER BETWEEN PINE CREEK AND BLUE CREEK ABOUT 4.5 MILES SW OF SAPINERO SITE (BENEATH BLUE MESA RESERVOIR) AND 0.45 MILE NORTH OF U.S. RTE 50. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1975

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Feldspar Primary
Mica Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Microcline Ore
Muscovite Ore
Biotite Gangue
Garnet Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Rock unit name Pegmatite
    Rock description Pegmatite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Migmatitic Gneiss
    Rock description Migmatitic Gneiss

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Gunnison Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Gunnison Uplift, Cimarron Fault

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Thickness 30.48M
    Length 91.44M

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1936
Discoverer C. Peifer
Year of first production 1937
Year of last production 1957

Mining district

District name Curecanti Needle Area

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner C. S. And H. Mining Co.
    Home office Denver, Co.
    First year 1957

Comments on the production information

  • CDM FILES CONTAINED NO REPORTS FOR 1940-1942, 1946-1951, 1953-1955, AND AFTER 1957. ARGALL (1949) STATES THAT QUARRY PRODUCED IN 1946 AND 1947; AS NO RECORDS OR FIGURES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THESE YEARS, PRODUCTION IS CONSIDERED SMALL. ESTIMATED PRODUCTION FOR 1956 WAS CALCULATED FROM REPORTED RATE OF 500 TONS/MONTH FOR 100 OPERATING DAYS. ESTIMATED PRODUCTION FOR 1957 WAS CALCULATED FROM REPORTED RATE OF 300 TONS/MONTH FOR 300 OPERATING DAYS.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Length 12.19M

Comments on the workings information

  • PROSPECT CUT 10 FT LONG, 5 FT WIDE, 3 FT DEEP. MAIN CUT IS 40 FT LONG, 25 TO 30 FT WIDE, AND 40 FT DEEP.

Comments on development

  • FOLLOWING PEIFER'S DISCOVERY IN 1936, PROPERTY WAS ACQUIRED IN 1937 BY COLORADO FELDSPAR CO. OF TRENTON, NJ, WHICH OPERATED QUARRY THROUGH 1945 (POSSIBLY THROUGH 1947). FELDSPAR WAS DRILLED AND BLASTED, TRUCKED TO SAPINERO, RAILED FROM THERE TO CANON CITY FOR MILLING, THENCE RAILED TO NEW JERSEY FOR USE IN GLASS AND CERAMIC MANUFACTURE. C.S.&H. MINING CO. OPERATED QUARRY FROM 1956 TO 1957, TRUCKED FELDSPAR TO SALIDA, THENCE RAILED TO INTERNATIONAL CHEMICAL COMPANY IN DENVER.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit FOLIATION OF GNEISSIC COUNTRY ROCK TRENDS GENERALLY NORTH-SOUTH TO NNW-SSE, DIPPING SW. AT TOP OF CANYON RIM, GNEISS AND PEGMATITE COVERED BY LAVA FLOWS OF TERTIARY WEST ELK BRECCIA. WEDGE- OR TABULAR-SHAPED PEGMATITE TRENDS ABOUT N 65 E, DIPPING 85 SE. CRUDE ZONATION MARKED BY 10-FT-WIDE BORDER ZONE OF APLITIC PEGMATITE, DISCONTINUOUS WALL ZONE OF QUARTZ-MICROCLINE-MUSCOVITE-BIOTITE PEGMATITE, AND CORE OF MICROCLINE-QUARTZ-MUSCOVITE PEGMATITE. BORDER ZONE IS FINE-GRAINED QUARTZ AND FELDSPAR, AND SOME BIOTITE, WITH SUGARY TEXTURE. WALL ZONE IS COARSE-GRAINED GRANITIC INTERGROWTH OF QUARTZ AND MICROCLINE WITH ACCESSORY MUSCOVITE AND BIOTITE AND RED GARNET. CORE CONTAINS MASSIVE WHITE QUARTZ, 5-FT-LONG CREAM-COLORED MICROCLINE CRYSTALS, SMALL FELTED PLATES AND RADIATING SHEAVES OF MUSCOVITE, AND REDDISH-BROWN GARNET CRYSTALS UP TO 8 INCHES IN DIAMETER. MAIN COMMODITIES WERE FELDSPAR AND MINOR AMOUNTS (5 TO 8%) OF SCRAP MICA.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-FEB-1984 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.