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Hidden Treasure Mine

Past Producer in Hinsdale county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Antimony, Manganese
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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. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014721
MRDS ID D011612
Record type Site
Current site name Hidden Treasure Mine
Alternate or previous names Patented Claims: Hidden Treasure, MS 342, Don Quixote, MS 12572, Crystal, MS 13193, Invincible, MS 13478, Protector, MS 13478, Hard To Beat, MS 14988, Winner, MS 14988, Hard Tack, MS 14988, Steele, MS 15157, Otis, MS 15157, Albany, MS 15157, Windsor, MS 15157, Metropole, MS 15157, Mccombe No. 2, MS 15157, Unpatented Claims: Hot Stuff, Hot Stuff No. 2, Dutch Mike, O'Donnell, Hidden Treasure Tunnel Site, Manager
Related records 10288392

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.36869, 38.02556 (WGS84)
Elevation 3109
Relative position 3.0 MILES S 83 W FROM LAKE CITY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Hinsdale(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Lake City(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 Hinsdale

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 044N 004W 30,31 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • MINE LOCATED ON HILL NORTH OF HENSON CREEK AND HENSON (UNCOMPAHGRE PEAK QUAD) BETWEEN UTE CREEK AND CRYSTAL CREEK. SECOND CLAIM BLOCK (MS 12572, 13193, 14988) EXTENDS EAST FROM HENSON ALONG SOUTH BASE OF HILL TO CRYSTAL CREEK. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR HIDDEN TREASURE SHAFT, 0.6 MILE NE OF HENSON, IN SE NE NW SEC. 31. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Lead Primary
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Ankerite Gangue
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Chalcedony Gangue
Dickite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Gypsum Gangue
Kaolinite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rhodochrosite Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Eureka Member Of Sapinero Mesa Tuff;Intrusive Rocks--Porphyro-Aphanitic Rocks
    Rock description Eureka Member Of Sapinero Mesa Tuff;Intrusive Rocks--Porphyro-Aphanitic Rocks
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Picayune Megabreccia Member Of Sapinero Mesa Tuff
    Rock description Picayune Megabreccia Member Of Sapinero Mesa Tuff

Nearby scientific data

(1) -107.36869, 38.02556
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Volcanic Field, San Juan Depression
Type of structure Local
Structure description Wallrock Silicification; Serictization; Pyritization

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR, PINCH AND SWELL
    Thickness 6.1M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ne-Trending Fault/Fracture Transverse To Trend Of North Ring Fault Of Lake City Caldera But Subparallel To Trend Of Pre-Lake City Caldera Eureka Graben

Comments on the geologic information

  • GANGUE AND OTHER ACCESSORY MINERALS LISTED ARE BASED ON GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS OF UTE, ULE, AND HIDDEN TREASURE VEINS; ALL MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE PRESENT HERE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1880
Discoverer H. Musgrave And Others (Claimants)
Year of first production 1897
Year of last production 1922

Mining district

District name Galena (Henson Creek) District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner St. Louis Smelting And Refining Co.
    Home office St. Louis, Mo.
    First year 1926
  • Type Owner
    Owner Mccarthy-Hidden Treasure Mining Co.
    Home office Omaha, Ne.
    First year 1926

Production statistics

  • Year 1918
    Description Ap_Grade: ^14.73 Oz/Ton Ag, 35.55 % Pb, 0.099 Oz/Ton Au
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Gold Gold 3g/mt
    Major Ore Lead Lead 36wt-pct
    Major Ore Silver Silver 416g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. FIGURES UNAVAILABLE FOR PRIOR YEARS. MINERAL RESOURCES OF U.S. VOLUMES CITE PRODUCTION IN 1906, 1907, 1912, 1912, 1913, AND 1922, BUT NO FIGURES WERE GIVEN

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE DEVELOPED BY 960-FT SHAFT INCLINED 60 DEG GENERALLY WEST OR WNW ALONG VEIN, WITH EIGHT LEVELS. FIRST LEVEL 1 (NEW LEVEL 1), AT 350-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 220 FT NE WITH SMALL OVERHEAD STOPE. MAIN LEVEL 1, AT 420-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 400 FT NE AND CONNECTS WITH UTE NO. 1 LEVEL AT SHAFT. LEVEL 2, AT 560-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 1000 FT NE AND CONNECTS WITH UTE NO. 2 LEVEL AT SHAFT. LEVEL 3, AT 650-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 1440 FT NE. LEVEL 4, AT 700-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 170 FT NE. LEVEL 5, AT 750-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 1025 FT NE AND CONNECTS WITH UTE NO. 3 LEVEL AT SHAFT. LEVEL 6, AT 900-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 920 FT NE AND CONNECTS WITH UTE NO. 4 LEVEL AT SHAFT. LEVEL 7, AT 960-FT DEPTH, DRIVEN 150 FT NE. WINZE CONNECTS LEVELS 2 AND 3 AT 680 FT FROM SHAFT; WINZE CONNECTS LEVELS 3 AND 5 AT 850 FT FROM SHAFT; WINZE CONNECTS LEVELS 3, 5, AND 6 AT 470 FT FROM SHAFT. SOME STOPING ABOVE LEVELS 6 AND 7, BUT PRINCIPAL STOPED AREA LIES BETWEEN LEVEL 5 AND LEVEL 1. SW OF SHAFT, VEIN IS STOPED FROM UTE NO. 4 TO ABOVE UTE NO. 1
  • LEVELS. 3000-FT AERIAL TRAM CONNECTED MINE TO MILL SITE ON HENSON CREEK. 100-ST-CAPACITY CONCENTRATION MILL ERECTED IN 1898 HAD WATER-DRIVEN COMPRESSOR, 50-HP ELECTRIC HOIST, AND BLEICHERT WIRE-ROPE TRAM WITH TWENTY-FIVE 450- TO 500-LB BUCKETS HAVING CAPACITY OF ABOUT 12 TON/HR.

Comments on development

  • HIDDEN TREASURE CLAIM WAS SURVEYED AND PATENTED IN 1880-1881 BY H. MUSGRAVE AND OTHERS. DON QUIXOTE, CRYSTAL, INVINCIBLE, AND PROTECTOR CLAIMS WERE SURVEYED AND PATENTED IN 1898-1903 BY C.E. DEWEY. REMAINING CLAIMS IN PROPERTY WERE SURVEYED AND PATENTED IN 1901-1904 BY P.C. MCCARTHY. SHAFT WAS SUNK ON VEIN FOR 265 FT BEFORE ENCOUNTERING ORE THAT PAID EXPENSES. ORE FIRST TAKEN IN JUNE 1897 AND SHIPPED TO SMELTERS. CONCENTRATION MILL BUILT IN 1897. POWER FOR MILL SUPPLIED BY 150-HP PELTON WHEEL FED BY WOODEN PIPELINE FROM DAM ON HENSON CREEK. HIDDEN TREASURE AND UTE-ULAY MINES BECAME DISTRICT'S LARGEST PRODUCERS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit SERIES OF FRACTURES AND AVERAGES 4 FT, BUT WITH PINCHES AND SWELLS. IN UTE MINE, VEIN IS WELL DEFINED BETWEEN SIMPLE WALLS. IN HIDDEN TREASURE MINE, VEIN SPLITS INTO STRINGERS, MOST NOTABLE OF WHICH WAS RICHLY MINERALIZED AND OCCURRED ON FIFTH LEVEL WHERE 10-FT- AND 4-FT-WIDE BRANCHES SPLIT FROM 20-FT-WIDE VEIN, WITH JUNCTION PITCHING NE IN PLANE OF VEIN. ON UTE NO. 5 LEVEL, VEIN SPLITS INTO MANY SMALL PARALLEL STRINGERS SEPARATED FROM MAIN VEIN BY BARREN SILICIFIED ROCK. VEIN SYSTEM LIES IN SLACK'S (1980) QUARTZ-BASE-METAL ASSEMBLAGE AND SHOWS LATERAL ZONING FROM INNER QUARTZ-CHALCOPYRITE ZONE IN SW (CLOSEST TO LAKE CITY RING FAULT), INTO MIDDLE HYBRID (TRANSITION) ZONE, TO OUTER CARBONATE-TETRAHEDRITE ZONE ON NE. MINERALOGY IS COMPLICATED BY BARITE AND SPHALERITE OVERPRINT FROM YOUNGER BARITE/PRECIOUS-METALS ASSEMBLAGE MORE PROMINENT JUST TO EAST AROUND NE RIM OF LAKE CITY CALDERA IN LAKE DISTRICT (SEE LAKE DISTRICT RECORD FOR MINERALOGY AND PARAGENESIS OF BARITE/PRECIOUS-METALS
Deposit ASSEMBLAGE). LATERAL ZONING ON UTE NO. 5 LEVEL: (1) QUARTZ, SPHALERITE, ARGENTIFEROUS GALENA, MINOR CHALCOPYRITE, TRACE PYRITE AND BARITE (AT SW END NEAREST LAKE CITY RING FAULT), (2) INCREASED GALENA, DECREASED SPHALERITE, PLUS SMALL AMOUNTS OF RHODOCHROSITE AND HEMATITE (CENTER), (3) MASSIVE RHODOCHROSITE, MINOR SERICITE, AND TETRAHEDRITE (NE END). IN GENERAL, ZONATION SHOWS THAT PARAGENETICALLY YOUNGER PERIODS OF QUARTZ/BASE-METAL MINERALIZATION FORMED PROGRESSIVELY OUTWARD (TO NE) ALONG VEIN. BARITE/PRECIOUS-METALS OVERPRINT ALSO SHOWS VERTICAL ZONATION: (1) QUARTZ, SPHALERITE, MINOR BARITE AND GALENA, AND TRACE MAGNETITE, TETRAHEDRITE, AND OTHER SULFOSALTS (UTE NO. 5 LEVEL), TO (2) ABUNDANT COARSE BARITE, TETRAHEDRITE, AND ACCESSORY QUARTZ AND SULFIDES (SURFACE EXPOSURE). ADJACENT TO VEIN SYSTEM, ALTERED ROCK COMPOSED OF DENSE MIXTURE OF FINE-GRAINED QUARTZ, PYRITE, AND MINOR SERICITE. IN INNER ZONE, MINOR SPHALERITE, GALENA, CHALCOPYRITE, AND ARSENOPYRITE FILL THIN FRACTURES AND
Deposit MINE LOCATED NORTH OF LAKE CITY CALDERA RING FAULT IN UNCOMPAHGRE CALDERA INFILL SEQUENCE CONSISTING OF EUREKA MEMBER RHYOLITE OVERLYING PICAYUNE MEGABRECCIA, COMPOSED OF CHAOTIC MASSES OF PRECALDERA INTERMEDIATE-COMPOSITION ROCKS INTERPRETED TO BE RESULT OF SLUMPING FROM OVERSTEEPENED CALDERA WALLS DURING INITIAL SUBSIDENCE OF UNCOMPAHGRE CALDERA. AT SUGARLOAF ROCK (ONE MILE EAST OF HIDDEN TREASURE SHAFT) AND APPROX ALONG TREND OF UTE-ULAY/HIDDEN TREASURE VEIN NE OF HIDDEN TREASURE SHAFT ARE PORPHYRO-APHANITIC, ANDESITIC TO RHYOLITIC PLUG AND DIKE, RESPECTIVELY, BOTH INTRUDING EUREKA RHYOLITE. ACCORDING TO IRVING AND BANCROFT (1911), VEIN LIES ENTIRELY WITHIN MEGABRECCIA, ALTHOUGH NE END OF HIDDEN TREASURE VEIN EXTENDS CLOSE TO OVERLYING EUREKA RHYOLITE. VEIN SYSTEM IS GENERALLY CONCAVE TO NW AND TRENDS N 46 E AT SW END, N 37 E IN CENTER, AND N 19 E AT NE END. DIP AND STRIKE BOTH SHOW MANY DEFLECTIONS IN TREND; AVERAGE DIP IS 56 TO 60 NW. VEIN WIDTH VARIES FROM 20 FT TO FRACTURES OR
Deposit ARE INTERGROWN WITH DISSEMINATED PYRITE. OUTWARD FROM VEIN, LESS ALTERED ROCK COMPOSED OF QUARTZ, SERICITE, PYRITE, CLAYS (KAOLINITE AND POSSIBLY DICKITE), RELICT FELDSPAR AND APATITE, PRIMARY MAGNETITE/HEMATITE SELECTIVELY REPLACED BY PYRITE AND RARE ACCESSORY BASE-METAL SULFIDES. NE TREND OF VEIN CONSIDERED TRANSVERSE TO TREND OF NORTH LAKE CITY RING FAULT; HOWEVER, SUCH NE TRENDS NORTH OF LAKE CITY CALDERA AND NE TRENDS OF "CONCENTRIC" VEINS NW OF LAKE CITY RING FAULT ARE PARALLEL TO NE TREND OF PRE-LAKE CITY EUREKA GRABEN FAULTS/FRACTURES AND INDICATE PRE-LAKE CITY AGE. BARITE/PRECIOUS-METALS OVERPRINT AT UTE-ULAY/HIDDEN TREASURE MINES SUGGESTS YOUNGER MINERALIZATION PHASE RELATED TO INTRUSIONS (SUCH AS RED MTN) ALONG EAST RING FAULT OF LAKE CITY CALDERA. MINIMUM AGE SUGGESTED BY K-AR DATE OF 20.3+/-0.4 MY FROM SERICITE STRINGER IN HIDDEN TREASURE VEIN. FRACTURES HOSTING QUARTZ/BASE-METALS ASSEMBLAGE MAY HAVE OPENED INITIALLY DURING UNCOMPAHGRE-SAN JUAN CALDERA RESURGENT DOMING,
Deposit AND REACTIVATED AND MINERALIZED CONTEMPORANEOUSLY WITH EMPLACEMENT OF MIOCENE PERIPHERAL PORPHYRIES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-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.