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

Browns Canyon District

Past Producer in Chaffee county in Colorado, United States with commodities Fluorine-Fluorite, Manganese
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Ore body information
  14. Controls for ore emplacement
  15. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  16. Mining district
  17. Land status
  18. Ownership information
  19. Production statistics
  20. Reserves and resources
  21. Workings at the site
  22. Links to other databases
  23. Bibliographic references
  24. General comments
  25. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10013778
MRDS ID D010255
Record type District
Current site name Browns Canyon District
Alternate or previous names Mines and deposits include: Colorado-American, Delay Adit, Lloyd Shaft, Chimney Hill, Manganese Hill, Browns Canyon Fluorspar Area
Related records 10214542

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.0756, 38.64722 (WGS84)
Elevation 2316
Relative position 7 MILES SOUTH OF NATHROP

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Chaffee(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Nathrop(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Gunnison(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Arkansas Headwaters(hydrologic unit)

Upper Arkansas(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Arkansas(hydrologic subregion)

Arkansas-White-Red(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management CO)

Bureau of Land Management CO BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Chaffee

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 051N 008E 22,27,28,34 SE (22); NW OF SW (27); NE (28); SE OF N2 (34) Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • THE DISTRICT LIES ABOUT 8 MILES NW OF SALIDA, EAST OF US HWY 285 IN THE VICINITY OF HECLA JUNCTION, AND WEST OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER; MOSTLY IN SECS. 22, 27-28, AND 34, T 51 N, R 8 E.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Primary
Manganese Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • FLUORITE MOSTLY MICROGRANULAR TO FINE GRAINED AND LAYERED; WELL FORMED CRYSTALS SMALL (<1 MM), NOT COMMON; CHOCOLATE-BROWN, PURPLE, RED, PINK, GREEN, YELLOW, GRAY, WHITE, COLORLESS; NON FLUORESCENT. MICROCRYSTALLINE TO CHALCEDONIC QUARTZ IS THE OTHER MAJOR VEIN MINERAL AND IS INTIMATELY MIXED WITH THE FLUORITE. MANGANESE-OXIDE MINERALS ARE WIDESPREAD IN THE FLUORSPAR ORES, BUT NO MINEABLE MANGANESE ORE HAS BEEN FOUND.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Fluorite Ore
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Goethite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Kaolinite Gangue
Manganite Gangue
Montmorillonite Gangue
Opal Gangue
Psilomelane Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Pyrolusite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification, Fluoritization

Analytical data

Result ORE AVERAGES: 21.1-67.8% CAF2, 20.4-50.2% SIO2, 0.09-1.1% CACO3, 0.7-2.0% FE, 0.3% MGO, 1.95-11.0% AL2O3.
Result DISTRICT PRODUCED CONCENTRATES AVERAGING 59% METALLURGICAL GRADE (85%) CAF2, 39% CERAMIC GRADE (92-97%) CAF2 AND 2% ACID GRADE (98%) CAF2

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 174
USGS model code 26b
Deposit model name Fluorspar deposits (fluorite veins)

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Gneissic Quartz Monzonite;Ash-Flow Tuff
    Rock description Gneissic Quartz Monzonite;Ash-Flow Tuff
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Banded Gneiss
    Rock description Banded Gneiss
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.0756, 38.64722
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Southern Mosquito Range, Arkansas Valley Graben
Type of structure Local
Structure description Folds, Faults; N-Trending Fault Bounding Arkansas Valley

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR, LENTICULAR
    Thickness 137.16M
    Length 914.4M
    Width 3.05M
    Depth to bottom 137.16M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fault Breccia; Fault Zone Striking N 30-50 W Dipping 65-85 Sw; Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • Epithermal (hot spring) fluorspar veins occur along a NW-trending fault zone over a distance of 3000 feet.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1923
Discoverer Colorado Fluorspar Mines, Inc.; American Fluorspar Corp.; U.S. Fluorspar & Manganese, Inc.; Commercial Minerals, Inc.
Year of first production 1927
Year of last production 1949

Mining district

District name Browns Canyon District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Allied Chemical Corp., General Chemical Division
    First year 1969

Production statistics

  • Year 1949
    Period 1927-1949
    Material FLUORSPAR CONCENTRATES
    Ore mined 127946mt
    Accuracy Estimate

Comments on the production information

  • ABOUT 260,000 TONS OF ORE YIELDED 130,000 TONS OF COMMERCIAL-GRADE FLUORSPAR, VALUED AT ABOUT $5,000,000, BETWEEN 1927 AND 1949. ABOUT 90% OF FLUORSPAR CONCENTRATES FROM THIS DISTRICT CAME FROM THE COLORADO-AMERICAN MINE. ALMOST 60% OF THE CONCENTRATES WERE METALLURGICAL-GRADE (85% CAF2), 40% WERE CERAMIC-GRADE (92-97% CAF2), AND 2% WERE ACID-GRADE (98% CAF2).

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1969
    Demonstrated 225000mt ore
    Inferred 135000mt ore
    Total resources 360000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Fluorine-Fluorite 50 wt-pct Fluorine Major 1969
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1969
    Demonstrated 136000mt ore
    Inferred 1360000mt ore
    Total resources 1500000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Fluorine-Fluorite 20 wt-pct Fluorine Major 1969

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • VAN ALSTINE, R.E. (1969)

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 137.16M

Comments on development

  • MILLS OPERATING IN DISTRICT (FLOTATION): COLORADO FLUORSPAR CORP.; KRAMER MINES, INC.; FLUORSPAR PROCESSING CORP; UNITED STATES FLUORSPAR & MANGANESE, INC. (NONE OPERABLE IN 1969)

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit VUGS AS LARGE AS 4 X 8 X 30 FT HIGH ALONG VEIN/FAULT
Deposit THIS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR FLUORSPAR DISTRICTS IN THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE OF SUBSTANTIAL PRODUCTION AND RESOURCES ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-FEB-1983 Collins, Donna B. Colorado Geological Survey
Reporter 02-MAR-1995 Osmonson U.S. Bureau of Mines
Updater 10-MAR-2006 Beach, Richard A. 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.