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Copper Hill Mine

Past Producer in Rio Grande county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper
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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. Alteration
  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. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014032
MRDS ID D010645
Record type Site
Current site name Copper Hill Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.59754, 37.42308 (WGS84)
Elevation 3599
Relative position 0.52 MILES S 26 W FROM SUMMITVILLE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Rio Grande(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Summitville(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Antonito(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Durango(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alamosa-Trinchera(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 Rio Grande

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 037N 004E 30 NE OF SW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • ON NE SIDE OF SOUTH MTN. PORTAL ELEV FROM STEVEN AND RATTE (1960, PL. 4). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1975

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Secondary

Alteration

  • (Local) Quart-Alunite Solfataric Alteration

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Rock unit name Quartz Latite Of South Mountain;Summitville Andesite
    Rock description Quartz Latite Of South Mountain;Summitville Andesite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Rock unit name Quartz Latite Of South Mountain;Summitville Andesite
    Rock description Quartz Latite Of South Mountain;Summitville Andesite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.59754, 37.42308
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Volcanic Field
Type of structure Local
Structure description Platoro Caldera, Summitville Caldera, Summitville Fault, South Mountain Dome

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Quartz-Alunite Solfataric Replacement Bodies Following Nw-Trending Fractures Near Sw Margin Of South Mountain Feeder Conduit

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Summit (Summitville) District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 1524M

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MINE DEVELOPED ON HIDDEN VEIN AND COPPER HILL-ESMOND VEIN ZONES AND TO LESSER EXTENT ON NORTH TEWKSBURY AND BLACK WONDER VEIN ZONES. HIDDEN VEIN ZONE IS NARROW, OBSCURED, HIGHLY SILICIFIED AND MINERALIZED ZONE TRENDING N 40 TO 60 W AND CONTAINING CONTINUOUS TABULAR MASS OF VUGGY QUARTZ ROCK IN QUARTZ-ALUNITE ZONE FLANKED BY HIGHLY ARGILLIZED ROCK. ON VEIN TREND TO SE ARE SEVERAL PIPELIKE MASSES OF HIGHLY SILICIFIED ROCK LIKEWISE SURROUNDED BY ARGILLIZED ENVELOPES AND PROBABLY MARKING LOCAL UPWARD PROJECTIONS OF MORE CONTINUOUS VEIN ZONE AT DEPTH. ON NARROW GAUGE AND 104 SUBLEVEL (BOTH BELOW COPPER HILL LEVEL), VEIN ZONE CONSISTS OF MANY IRREGULAR. DISCONTINUOUS, AND OVERLAPPING MASSES. ENTIRE ZONE DIPS ABOUT 85 SW. LYING NE OF AND SUBPARALLEL TO HIDDEN VEIN ZONE IS COPPER HILL-ESMOND VEIN ZONE, A LARGE MASS OF HIGHLY SILICIFIED ROCK INQUARTZ-ALUNITE ZONE EXTENDING ACROSS MAIN MINERALIZED AREA FROM COPPER HILL KNOB TO ESMOND VEIN. MASS CONTAINS IRREGULARLY DISTRIBUTED COMPACT QUARTZ
Deposit ZONES WITH VUGGY QUARTZ PIPELIKE ORE BODIES. LARGE SILICIFIED MASS CAPPING COPPER HILL KNOB APPARENTLY GIVES WAY AT DEPTH TO SERIES OF MORE DISTINCT SILICIFIED ZONES SEPARATED BY SEPTA OF LESS ALTERED ROCK. ON SURFACE, VUGGY QUARTZ MASSES RANGE FROM ELONGATE BRANCHING BODIES REFLECTING FORMER JOINT PATTERN TO MORE PIPELIKE MASSES WITH IRREGULAR BUT GENERALLY EQUIDIMENSIONAL HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONS. LARGEST MASSES OF VUGGY QUARTZ ROCK OCCUR NEAR NW END OF VEIN ZONE NEAR ESMOND AND DEL NORTE MINES AND PICKENS CUT.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1983 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

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.