Crystal Silica Mine

Past Producer in Larimer county in Colorado, United States with commodities Mica, Beryllium, Niobium (Columbium)
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. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10013856
MRDS ID D010385
Record type Site
Current site name Crystal Silica Mine
Alternate or previous names Claim: Crystal Silica Placer
Related records 10191008

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -105.43615, 40.5347 (WGS84)
Elevation 2981
Relative position 12.2 MILES N 18 E FROM ESTES PARK

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Larimer(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Crystal Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fort Collins(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Greeley(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Big Thompson(hydrologic unit)

South Platte(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Platte(hydrologic subregion)

Missouri(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Larimer

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 007N 071W 26 SW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • ON RIDGE BETWEEN CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN AND LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN 0.35 MILES SW OF CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1980)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mica Primary
Beryllium Critical Tertiary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Beryl Ore
Muscovite Ore
Albite Gangue
Apatite Gangue
Columbite Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Microcline Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Tonalite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Rock unit name Pegmatite;Tonalite (Quartz Diorite)
    Rock description Pegmatite;Tonalite (Quartz Diorite)
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist > Mica Schist
    Rock unit name Metasedimentary Rocks-Mica Schist;Pegmatite
    Rock description Metasedimentary Rocks-Mica Schist;Pegmatite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -105.43615, 40.5347

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Front Range Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Thompson Canyon Fault, Mt Olympus Batholith, Ne-Trending Folds

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1900
Year of first production 1900

Mining district

District name Crystal Mountain (Storm Mountain) Pegmatite District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the workings information

  • FOUR LARGE OPEN CUTS, 19 SMALL OPEN CUTS AND PROSPECT TRENCHES, 40-FT-DEEP VERTICAL SHAFT, TWO ADITS.

Comments on development

  • MINE REPORTEDLY PRODUCED PRIOR TO 1900, BUT NO RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ZONED PEGMATITE CONSISTS OF 1) WALL ZONE OF FINE-GRAINED QUARTZ-MICROCLINE-MUSCOVITE-PLAGIOCLASE PEGMATITE, 2) INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF DISCONTINUOUS MUSCOVITE-BERYL PEGMATITE WITH ACCESSORY ALBITE, MICROCLINE, QUARTZ, APATITE, AND COLUMBITE, 3) UNIT OF MICROCLINE-QUARTZ-MICA PEGMATITE, AND 4) MASSIVE QUARTZ PEGMATITE CORE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-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

Authoritative Colorado resources

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