Esperanza Mine

Past Producer in Saguache county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Lead

Sections on this page

Identification information
Geographic coordinates
Site location context
Geographic areas
Public Land Survey System information
Commodities
Materials information
Alteration
Host and associated rocks
Nearby scientific data
Geologic structures
Controls for ore emplacement
Economic information about the deposit and operations
Mining district
Land status
Ownership information
Workings at the site
Links to other databases
Bibliographic references
General comments
Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10101769
MRDS ID	D008932
Record type	Site
Current site name	Esperanza Mine
Alternate or previous names	Esperanza, Valardena, Jesus Marie
Related records	10264913

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates:	-106.3056, 37.94584 (WGS84)
Elevation	2868
Relative position	18.2 MILES N8E OF DEL NORTE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Saguache(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Lime Creek(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Del Norte(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Durango(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Saguache(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country	State	County
United States	Colorado	Saguache

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian	Township	Range	Section	Fraction	State
New Mexico	043N	006E	27	SW OF NW	Colorado

Comments on the location information

ON CRYSTAL HILL, BETWEEN SANDERSON GULCH AND BIEDELL CREEK 8 MILES NW OF LA GARITA ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Cerargyrite	Ore
Gold	Ore
Wad	Ore
Beidellite	Gangue
Magnetite	Gangue
Malachite	Gangue
Quartz	Gangue

Alteration

(Local) Pervasive Propylitization; Locally Intense Argillization; Kaolinitization, Silicification

Analytical data

Result	TWO ORE SAMPLES FROM 100 LEVEL ASSAYED 0.04 OZ/TON AU AND 20.8 OZ/TON AG. SIX SAMPLES FROM FACE, FLOOR, AND BREAST ON 200 LEVEL AVERAGED 0.032 OZ/TON AU AND 25.05 OZ/TON AG, RANGING 0.02 TO 0.05 OZ/TON AU AND 5.6 TO 38.2 OZ/TON AG. TWO SAMPLES FROM WINZE BELOW 200 LEVEL ASSAYED 0.05 AND 0.06 OZ/TON AU, 21.3 AND 23.3 OZ/TON AG. COMPOSITE ANALYSIS OF THESE TEN SAMPLES ASSAYED 67.6% SILICA, 11.1% MN, 1.8% LIME, 0.5% ZN, 0.3% S, NO PB, NO CU. ASARCO SMELTER IN PUEBLO (CIRCA 1921) REPORTED FOLLOWING WEIGHTED AVERAGE ASSAY ON NINE ORE LOTS TOTALLING 225,697 NEW LB: 0.158 OZ/TON AU AND 54.17 OZ/TON AG, WITH RANGES OF 0.12 TO 0.965 OZ/TON AU, 45.3 TO 332.8 OZ/TON AG. OSTERWALD'S GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES SHOW 500 TO 5000 PPM CU, 500 TO 5000 PPM ZN, GT 10000 PPM PB, GT 10000 PPM AG, 20 TO 59 PPM MO

Result

TWO ORE SAMPLES FROM 100 LEVEL ASSAYED 0.04 OZ/TON AU AND 20.8 OZ/TON AG. SIX SAMPLES FROM FACE, FLOOR, AND BREAST ON 200 LEVEL AVERAGED 0.032 OZ/TON AU AND 25.05 OZ/TON AG, RANGING 0.02 TO 0.05 OZ/TON AU AND 5.6 TO 38.2 OZ/TON AG. TWO SAMPLES FROM WINZE BELOW 200 LEVEL ASSAYED 0.05 AND 0.06 OZ/TON AU, 21.3 AND 23.3 OZ/TON AG. COMPOSITE ANALYSIS OF THESE TEN SAMPLES ASSAYED 67.6% SILICA, 11.1% MN, 1.8% LIME, 0.5% ZN, 0.3% S, NO PB, NO CU. ASARCO SMELTER IN PUEBLO (CIRCA 1921) REPORTED FOLLOWING WEIGHTED AVERAGE ASSAY ON NINE ORE LOTS TOTALLING 225,697 NEW LB: 0.158 OZ/TON AU AND 54.17 OZ/TON AG, WITH RANGES OF 0.12 TO 0.965 OZ/TON AU, 45.3 TO 332.8 OZ/TON AG. OSTERWALD'S GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES SHOW 500 TO 5000 PPM CU, 500 TO 5000 PPM ZN, GT 10000 PPM PB, GT 10000 PPM AG, 20 TO 59 PPM MO

Host and associated rocks

Host or associated

Associated

Rock type

Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite

Rock unit name

Biedell Quartz Latite

Rock description

Biedell Quartz Latite

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Oligocene
Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Oligocene
Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Oligocene
Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Oligocene

Host or associated	Host
Rock type	Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
Rock unit name	Biedell Quartz Latite
Rock description	Biedell Quartz Latite

Nearby scientific data

(1)	-106.3056, 37.94584	ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure	Regional
Structure description	San Juan Volcanic Field, Rio Grande Rift
Type of structure	Local
Structure description	Biedell-Klondike Fault, Esperanza Fault Zone, Biedell Stock

Controls for ore emplacement

Breccia Pipe And Fault Zone In Small Stock

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status	Past Producer
Commodity type	Metallic
Deposit size	Small
Significant	No
Discovery year	1884
Discoverer	Mark Biedell
Year of last production	1920

Mining district

District name	Crystall Hill District

Land status

Ownership category	Private

Ownership information

Type Operator

Owner George W. Altman

Home office Denver, Co.

First year 1928
Type Owner

Owner J. Nichol

Home office San Francisco, Ca.

First year 1928

Type	Operator
Owner	George W. Altman
Home office	Denver, Co.
First year	1928

Type	Owner
Owner	J. Nichol
Home office	San Francisco, Ca.
First year	1928

Comments on the production information

USGS MINERAL RESOURCES OF US REPORTS ESPERANZA MINE PRODUCING IN 1907, 1916, 1917, AND 1920. COLORADO DIV. MINES REPORTS 1920 PRODUCTION OF 270 TONS OF ORE CONTAINING 0.08 OZ/TON AU, 33 OZ/TON AG, 14% MN

Workings at the site

Type of workings Underground

Length 166.12M

Overall depth 76.2M

Type of workings	Underground
Length	166.12M
Overall depth	76.2M

Comments on the workings information

200-FT SHAFT FROM WHICH 35 FT OF DRIFT AND STOPES DEVELOPED AT 100 LEVEL. ON 200 LEVEL, 20-FT CROSSCUT DRIVEN TO VEIN ALONG WHICH 215-FT DRIFT DRIVEN SW. HALFWAY DOWN 50-FT WINZE SUNK FROM THIS LEVEL IS A 25-FT INCLINE

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency	Database name	Acronym	Record ID	Notes
USGS	Mineral Resources Data System	MRDS	D008932

Bibliographic references

Deposit

COE, H.S., 1922, ON RECONNAISSANCE EXAMINATION OF THE ESPERANZA MINE, SAGUACHE MINE, SAGUACHE COUNTY, COLORADO: COLORADO DIV. MINES UNPUB. ENG. REPT.
Deposit

NICKEL, G.D., 1922, DESCRIPTION OF ESPERANZA MINE: UNPUB. REPT. IN COLORADO DIV. MINES FILES
Deposit

LARSEN, E.S., JR., AND CROSS, WHITMAN, 1956, GEOLOGY AND PETROLOGY OF THE SAN JUAN REGION, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 258, P. 83-86.
Deposit

OSTERWALD, E.J., 1977, THE BEIDELL AND SANDERSON VOLCANIC CENTERS, SAGUACHE COUNTY, COLORADO: COLORADO STATE UNIV. M.S. THESIS, 145 P.

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	BIEDELL STOCK IS PORPHYRITIC QUARTZ LATITE INTRUSIVE BOUNDED ON SE BY BIEDELL-KLONDIKE FAULT AND CUT BY SMALLER NORMAL FAULTS ON SW AND ON NORTH BY EAST-WEST-TRENDING ESPERANZA FAULT ZONE. OXIDIZED MANGANIFEROUS ORES FILL VOID SPACES IN BRECCIA PIPE; SOME VEIN-TYPE OCCURRENCE MAY BE PRESENT IN FAULT ZONE. MINERALIZING FLUIDS PROBABLY ORIGINATED FROM BIEDELL-KLONDIKE FAULT. SILVER HALOID AND FREE GOLD IN MANGANESE IS CONSIDERED TO BE A COCKADE ORE IN THE OXIDIZED AND LEACHED ZONE. PRESENCE OF CU CARBONATES SUGGESTS SULFIDE ZONE AND ENRICHMENT MAY LIE BELOW THE DEEPEST WORKINGS.

Subject category

Comment text

Deposit

BIEDELL STOCK IS PORPHYRITIC QUARTZ LATITE INTRUSIVE BOUNDED ON SE BY BIEDELL-KLONDIKE FAULT AND CUT BY SMALLER NORMAL FAULTS ON SW AND ON NORTH BY EAST-WEST-TRENDING ESPERANZA FAULT ZONE. OXIDIZED MANGANIFEROUS ORES FILL VOID SPACES IN BRECCIA PIPE; SOME VEIN-TYPE OCCURRENCE MAY BE PRESENT IN FAULT ZONE. MINERALIZING FLUIDS PROBABLY ORIGINATED FROM BIEDELL-KLONDIKE FAULT. SILVER HALOID AND FREE GOLD IN MANGANESE IS CONSIDERED TO BE A COCKADE ORE IN THE OXIDIZED AND LEACHED ZONE. PRESENCE OF CU CARBONATES SUGGESTS SULFIDE ZONE AND ENRICHMENT MAY LIE BELOW THE DEEPEST WORKINGS.

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	01-MAR-1982	Schwochow, Stephen D.	Colorado Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Colorado resources

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