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

Little May Mine

Past Producer in San Juan county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Tellurium, Antimony
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10101864
MRDS ID D010723
Record type Site
Current site name Little May Mine
Related records 10239936

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.5348, 37.71612 (WGS84)
Elevation 3694
Relative position 9.1 MILES S 47 E FROM SILVERTON

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

San Juan(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Storm King Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Silverton(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 San Juan

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 040N 006W 20 SE Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). ON WEST SIDE OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE IN HEADWATERS OF ELK CREEK 0.3 MILE NORTH OF ELDORADO LAKE AND 2.25 MILES WSW FROM BEARTOWN SITE (UNSURVEYED SECTION). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977

Commodities

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

Comments on the commodity information

  • TELLURIDES, CU-PB-ZN SULFIDES, AND OXIDIZED ORES LISTED ARE REPORTED GENERALLY FOR DISTRICT AND NOT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED AT THIS MINE. MINOR PRODUCTION OF CU AND PB LIKEWISE NOT VERIFIED.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Calaverite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Marcasite Ore
Petzite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Sylvanite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Analytical data

Result STEVEN AND OTHERS' (1969) SEMIQUANTITATIVE SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSES OF PYRITE-BEARING SHEARED ZONE SHOWED 300 TO 1000 PPM TI, 30 TO 70 PPM MN, 1.5 TO 5 PPM AG, 700 PPM AS, 100 TO 300 PPM BA, LT 10 PPM BI, LT 20 PPM CD, LT 5 TO 7 PPM CO, LT 5 TO 5 PPM CR, 7 TO 30 PPM CU, LT 5 PPM MO, 20 TO 100 PPM NI, 15 TO 20 PPM PB, LT 100 PPM SB, LT 10 PPM SN, LT 100 TO 100 PPM SR, LT 10 TO 15 PPM V, LT 50 PPM W, LT 200 PPM ZN, 7 TO 15 PPM FE. CHEMICAL ANALYSES SHOWED LT 0.02 PPM AU, LT 10 PPM CU, LT 25 PPM PB, 28 TO 38 PPM ZN, 4 TO 8 PPM MO, 30 PPM AS, 8 PPM SB, 1.3 PPM HG, 0.3 PPM TE, LT 0.1 PPM AG.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 84
USGS model code 22b
Deposit model name Alkaline Au-Te (Au-Ag-Te veins)
Mark3 model number 80

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyodacite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name San Juan Formation;Early Intermediate Lavas And Breccias--Near-Source Facies
    Rock description San Juan Formation;Early Intermediate Lavas And Breccias--Near-Source Facies
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Slate
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Rock unit name Uncompahgre Formation
    Rock description Uncompahgre Formation
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Argillite

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Uplift, San Juan Volcanic Field
Type of structure Local
Structure description San Juan Uplift, Unnamed Fault

Controls for ore emplacement

  • North-Trending Fissures In Precambrian Quartzite And Slate

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1892
Year of first production 1893

Mining district

District name Beartown (Bear Creek) District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name San Juan N. F.

Comments on the workings information

  • ONE TUNNEL OF UNKNOWN EXTENT HEADING GENERALLY EAST OR ESE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    STEVEN, T.A., AND OTHERS, 1969, MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE SAN JUAN PRIMITIVE AREA, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1261-F, P. 67-71, 89-90, 168-171.

  • Deposit

    STEVEN, T.A., AND OTHERS, 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE DURANGO QUADRANGLE, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-764.

  • Deposit

    CROSS, WHITMAN, AND OTHERS, 1905, DESCRIPTION OF THE NEEDLE MOUNTAINS QUADRANGLE, COLORADO: USGS FOLIO 131.

  • Deposit

    PROSSER, W.C., 1911, THE BEAR CREEK SYLVANITE CAMP, COLORADO: ENG. MINING JOUR., V. 91, P. 712.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MINE DEVELOPED ON WNW-TRENDING QUARTZ VEIN WEST OF CENTRALLY CONCENTRATED FISSURE ZONE AND WEST OF SMALLER CONCENTRATED ZONE ON CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AT SUMMIT AND GOLDEN SHEAR MINES. VEIN TREND IS AT APPROX RIGHT ANGLE TO PREDOMINANT NNE TREND IN REST OF DISTRICT TO EAST. VEIN LIES ALONG EAST-WEST-TRENDING FAULTS ENCLOSING NARROW BAND OF SLATE AND ARGILLITE BETWEEN QUARTZITE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1983 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.