1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Amethyst Mine

Past Producer in Mineral county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Gold, Zinc, Copper, Cadmium, Arsenic, Antimony
Map
XML
JSON
KML
A
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. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10087590
MRDS ID D007964
Record type Site
Current site name Amethyst Mine
Related records 10191428

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.93784, 37.88501 (WGS84)
Elevation 3109
Relative position 2.25 MILES N 14 W FROM CREEDE (B.M. 8853 AT NORTH END OF TOWN)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Mineral(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

San Luis Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Del Norte(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Durango(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Rio Grande 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 Mineral

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 042N 001W 13 CENTER OF E2 OF W2 OF SW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • S-T-R, LAT-LONG, AND ELEV DETERMINED FROM EMMONS AND LARSEN'S (1923) TOPO MAP (1:24,000). MINE OR CLAIM LIES ABOVE W. WILLOW CR. NORTH OF BACHELOR MTN. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Gold Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Copper Secondary
Cadmium Secondary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Anglesite Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Greenockite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tennantite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Amethyst Gangue
Barite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Goslarite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Wad Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Chloritization, Silicification, Argillization; Fe-Mn Oxides

Analytical data

Result OXIDIZED ORE FROM LEVEL 4 CARRIED 50 TO 100 OZ/TON AG AND SMALL % OF PB, LITTLE AU. ON LOWER LEVELS (BELOW 6) ORE CARRIED 5 TO 10% PB, 8 TO 10 OZ/TON AG, $1 TO $2/TON AU. BASED ON ORE PRODUCTION RECORDS FOR 1919-1944, ORES RAN 0.026 TO 0.08 OZ/TON AU, 15 TO 148 OZ/TON AG, 0.9 TO 3.3% PB, LESS THAN 0.01% ZN AND CU.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Campbell Mtn. Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Rock description Campbell Mtn. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Cr. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Campbell Mtn. Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Rock description Campbell Mtn. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Cr. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Volcanic Field; La Garita, Creede, And Bachelor Calderas
Type of structure Local
Structure description Creede Graben; Amethyst Fault Zone

Ore body information

  • Strike N 15 TO 30 W
    Dip AVE. 55 SW
    Width 3.66M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Amethyst Fault, Ancestral Amethyst Fault, Subparallel And Antithetic Fractures In Hanging Wall

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1891
Discoverer N.C. Creede, D.H. Moffatt, L.E. Campbell
Year of first production 1891
Year of last production 1976

Mining district

District name Creede District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Harrison-Western Corp.
    First year 1980
  • Type Owner
    Owner Minerals Engineering Co. (Meco)
    Home office Grand Junction, Co.
    First year 1981

Production statistics

  • Year 1937
    Material PB
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^0.026 Oz/Ton Au, 15.7 Oz/Ton Ag, 1.5% Pb, 0.5% Zn
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Minor Zinc Zinc 1wt-pct
    Major Lead Lead 2wt-pct
    Major Silver Silver 443g/mt
    Gold Gold 1g/mt
  • Year 1937
    Material ORE AG PB
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^18 Oz/Ton Ag, 1.7% Pb
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Lead Lead 2wt-pct
    Major Ore Silver Silver 508g/mt
  • Year 1938
    Material AG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^0.092 Oz/Ton Au, 15.4 Oz/Ton Ag, 5.9% Pb, 0.008% Zn, 0.001% Cu
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Copper Copper 0wt-pct
    Minor Zinc Zinc 0wt-pct
    Major Lead Lead 6wt-pct
    Major Silver Silver 435g/mt
    Gold Gold 3g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • PARTIAL PRODUCTION HISTORY OF AMETHYST MINE. AMTS. OF METALS FOR 1919, 1920, 1928, 1937, 1938, AND 1944 CALCULATED FROM REPORTED ORE GRADES. IN 1942, AMETHYST PRODUCTION CONSOLIDATED WITH OTHER WORKINGS AND REPORTED AS EMPERIUS MINE.

Comments on the workings information

  • AMETHYST SHAFT 1283 FT LONG ON INCLINE, FOLLOWS AMETHYST VEIN BUT IS INCLINED 3 OR 4 DEG SOUTH OF VEIN DIP. 12 LEVELS TURNED AT 100- TO 200-FT INTERVALS ON INCLINE. LEVEL 13 IS NELSON-WOOSTER-HUMPHREYS TUNNEL. AN 870-FT TUNNEL WAS DRIVEN N83W TO CONNECT WITH LEVEL 5 ABOUT 350 FT (VERT.) BELOW SHAFT COLLAR. TOTAL EXTENT OF ALL LEVELS, DRIFTS, AND CROSSCUTS UNKNOWN BUT LIKELY EXCEEDS 2.5 MILES. PARTIAL MEASUREMENT OF MAPPED WORKINGS ON AMETHYST 5 LEVEL INCLUDES 870-FT PORTAL TUNNEL, 3300 FT DRIFT ON AMETHYST VEIN, 6300 FT DRIFT ON OH VEIN, 1350 FT DRIFT ON WINCHESTER VEIN, 4900 FT OTHER DRIFTS, 8200 FT CROSSCUTS.

Comments on development

  • AMETHYST WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MINES TO PRODUCE IN CREEDE DISTRICT AND EVENTUALLY BECAME ONE OF THE LARGEST, LONGEST OPERATING, AND RICHEST MINES IN DISTRICT. AS SHAFTS WERE SUNKER DEEPER ON AMETHYST VEIN, MUCH WATER ENCOUNTERED. IN EARLY 1890S, NELSON TUNNEL CO. ORGANIZED AND BEGAN DRIVING TUNNEL NORTHWARD ALONG VEIN TO PROVIDE DRAINAGE, TO INTERSECT OTHER VEINS AT DEPTH, AND ULTIMATELY TO PROVIDE ORE HAULAGE ROUTE. IN 1942 AMETHYST CONSOLIDATED WITH COMMODORE AND OTHER WORKINGS INTO EMPERIUS MINE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PRINCIPAL LODE IS AMETHYST VEIN (ATTITUDE ABOVE). STRONGLY ZONED MINERALIZATION AND ALTERATION CONSIST OF 1) DEEP BASE-METAL SULFIDES AND TETRAHEDRITE-TENNANTITE IN CHLORITE GANGUE WITH LITTLE WALLROCK ALTERATION, 2) MORE ECONOMICAL CENTRAL ZONE WITH VEIN SULFIDES AND ACANTHITE IN QUARTZ-CLAY GANGUE AND DISSEMINATED ORE IN CLOSELY SPACED MICROVEINLETS AND INTERGRANULAR PORE FILLING, VARIABLY ALTERED BY FE-MN OXIDES, 3) UPPER BROAD, IRREGULAR ZONE OF DISSEMINATED MINERALIZATION LOCALIZED IN ERRATIC PODS OF LOW-GRADE ORE (BASE-METAL SULFIDES, ARGENTIFEROUS CU AND PB SULFIDES, ANGLESITE, ACANTHITE, GREENOCKITE) IN QUARTZ GANGUE, WITH STRONG ILLITIC-SMECTITIC ALTERATION. PRODUCTIVE HANGING-WALL ANTITHETIC FRACTURES (MAINLY OH, WINCHESTER) BRANCH UPWARD FROM AMETHYST FAULT BUT STRIKE MORE WESTERLY, DIP MORE STEEPLY (SW TO VERTICAL TO NE) AND DIE OUT UPWARD INTO MORE ALTERED ROCK. DENSEST AND MOST INTENSE FRACTURING DEVELOPED INSIDE MAJOR WESTWARD BENDS IN AMETHYST FAULT.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1981 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.