Aspen Mine

Past Producer in Pitkin county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc
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. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10013236
MRDS ID D009423
Record type Site
Current site name Aspen Mine
Alternate or previous names Claim: Aspen
Related records 10215358

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.8234, 39.17832 (WGS84)
Elevation 2707
Relative position 0.75 MILES S 20 W FROM ASPEN

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pitkin(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Aspen(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Roaring Fork(hydrologic unit)

Colorado Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Colorado Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

White River 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 Pitkin

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 010S 085W 13 SE OF SE Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • IN ASPEN MTN AREA ALONG VALLEJO GULCH. ELEV AND LAT-LONG FROM BRYANT (1972) ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1980)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • UNSPECIFIED CARBONATES AND OXIDES IN OXIDIZED PARTS OF ORE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Barite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Aplite Porphyry
    Rock description Aplite Porphyry
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Mississippian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Leadville Limestone (Redcliff And Castle Butte Members);Belden Formation
    Rock description Leadville Limestone (Redcliff And Castle Butte Mbrs);Belden Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.8234, 39.17832

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Sawatch Uplift, Central Colorado Trough, Piceance Basin, White River Uplift, Elk Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Silver Fault, Contact Fault, Aspen Mountain Syncline, Aspen Fault, Tourtelotte Park Uplift

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Bedding Plane Faults, High-Angle Later Faults, Subordinate Faults And Fractures; Paleokarst

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1884
Discoverer Elmer T. Butler And Others (Claimants)

Mining district

District name Aspen (Roaring Fork) District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 457.2M
    Overall length 304.8M

Comments on the workings information

  • EXTENSIVE DRIFTING ALONG CONTACT, ASPEN, AND SUBORDINATE FAULTS, CONNECTING WITH DURANT MINE AND OTHER OPERATIONS. LOWER DURANT TUNNEL (2700 FT LONG AND DRIVEN S 45 W) DRIVEN TO PROVIDE DRAINAGE AND ORE TRANSPORT FOR DEEP MINES, CONNECTS WITH DURANT-ASPEN WORKINGS ABOUT 250 FT WEST OF ASPEN SHAFT. TWELVE LEVELS DEVELOPED AT 50-AND 100-FT INTERVALS FROM DEPTHS OF 400 TO 1200 FT. "ELECTRIC WINZE" DRIVEN NW THRU CONTACT AND ASPEN FAULTS FROM DEPTHS OF 500 TO 1200 FT.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SPURR, J.E., 1898, GEOLOGY OF THE ASPEN DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS MON. 31, P. 155-157, PL. 40

  • Deposit

    BRYANT, BRUCE, 1971, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE ASPEN QUADRANGLE, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS MAP GQ-933.

  • Deposit

    BRYANT, BRUCE, 1972, MAP SHOWING MINES, PROSPECTS, AND AREAS OF SIGNIFICANT SILVER, LEAD, AND ZINC PRODUCTION IN THE ASPEN QUADRANGLE, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS MAP I-785-D

  • Deposit

    BLM MINERAL SURVEY MS 3641

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DOLOMITE AND LIMESTONE BEDS ON EAST LIMB OF ASPEN MTN SYNCLINE STEEPEN TO HIGH-ANGLE WESTWARD DIP TO OVERTURNED (TO EAST), THENCE INTO GENTLE DIPS ON SYNCLINAL AXIS. ALONG PORTION OF STEEPEST DIP, NEAR-VERTICAL ASPEN FAULT TRUNCATES CONTACT AND SILVER FAULTS, WITH SILVER FAULT DISAPPEARING MUCH HIGHER ON THE FAULT PLANE. ORE FOUND MOSTLY IN CONTACT FAULT AND IN 70-TO 200-FT-WIDE ZONE BETWEEN CONTACT AND ASPEN FAULTS. ZONE IS COMPLICATED BY NUMEROUS SMALLER FAULTS AND FRACTURES AND MAJOR FAULT ABOVE AND SUBPARALLEL TO CONTACT FAULT. SPURR NOTED THAT ORE OCCURS IN FAULTS OF BOTH LARGE AND SMALL DISPLACEMENT AND AT INTERSECTIONS OF FAULTS. VERTICAL ORIENTATION OF BEDS, FAULTS, AND ORE BODIES ENABLED CONTINUOUS STOPING DOWN TO DEPTHS OF ABOUT 1500 FT. OXIDIZED ORES (CARBONATES AND OXIDES) OCCUR IN UPPER MINE LEVELS. ON THIRD LEVEL NEAR ASPEN SHAFT, AG SULFIDE REPORTEDLY RUNNING ABOUT 200 OZ/TON OCCURRED IN UNALTERED BLUE LIMESTONE WITH NO DOLOMITE, QUITE DIFFERENT THAN
Deposit CHARACTERISTIC OCCURRENCE FOR DISTRICT. SOME ORE ALONG CONTACT FAULT COULD REPRESENT REPLACEMENT IN PALEOKARST ZONE.

Reporter information

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

Beyond USGS

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

Authoritative Colorado resources

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