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Vixen Placer District

Past Producer in Montrose county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver
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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. 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. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014256
MRDS ID D010952
Record type District
Current site name Vixen Placer District
Alternate or previous names Vixen District

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -108.83929, 38.43777 (WGS84)
Elevation 1451
Relative position 5.2 TO 9 MILES N 42 TO 53 W FROM URAVAN

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Montrose(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Red Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Nucla(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Moab(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Dolores(hydrologic unit)

Upper Colorado-Dolores(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Colorado-Dolores(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Montrose

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 048N 018W 02,03,04,10,11,14 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • CLAIMS LIE ALONG DOLORES RIVER FROM POINT JUST BELOW RED CANYON CONFLUENCE TO POINT 0.5 MILE ABOVE ROC CREEK CONFLUENCE; PLACER OPERATIONS LOCATED AS FAR AS ONE MILE BELOW ROC CREEK. DISTRICT ACCESSIBLE VIA COLORADO RTE 141 ALONG DOLORES AND SAN MIGUEL RIVERS NW FROM NATURITA AND URAVAN AND SE FROM GATEWAY. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR MESA CREEK CONFLUENCE, APPROX CENTER OF DISTRICT (S2 S2 SE SEC. 02, T48N, R18W). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1975

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Silver Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Sand and Gravel
    Rock unit name Terrace Gravel;Alluvium
    Rock description Terrace Gravel;Alluvium
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -108.83929, 38.43777
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Paradox Basin Fold And Fault Belt, Uncompaghre Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Nucla Syncline

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Contact Between Gravel And Resistant, Nearly Flat-Lying Bedrock Surfaces; Insides Of Meanders

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1885
Discoverer W.H. Remington (Claimant)

Mining district

District name Vixen District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the workings information

  • MOST OPERATIONS PROBABLY WERE SLUICES. PRINCIPAL HYDRAULIC OPERATION AT MESA CREEK USED 4-MILE-LONG HANGING FLUME ELEVATED 100 TO 400 FT ABOVE RIVER. 6-FT-WIDE BY 4-FT-DEEP FLUME SUPPORTED BY WOOD BRACKETS ANCHORED TO CLIFF BY 1.25-INCH-DIAM PINS. IN ONE SECTION, TO GET AROUND ROCK OVERHANG, FLUME WAS SUSPENDED FROM PINS FASTENED OVERHEAD.

Comments on development

  • PLACERS MAY HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED AS EARLY AS LATE 1870S. CLAIMS SURVEYED BY W.H. REMINGTON IN 1885. IN 1886 SEVERAL COMPANIES WERE FORMED TO WORK PLACERS. IN 1887 MESA CREEK PROPERTIES ACQUIRED BY MONTROSE PLACER MINING COMPANY. FOLLOWING ENCOURAGING PROSPECTING OF GRAVEL AT MESA CREEK, COMPANY BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF ELEVATED, HANGING FLUME TO BRING WATER FROM FARTHER UP VALLEY TO BEGIN HYDRAULIC OPERATION. COFFIN'S (1921) MAP SHOWS HYDRAULIC BRIDGE (AT LOWER END OF FLUME) CROSSING RIVER AT PLACER SITE 0.5 MILE BELOW MESA CREEK. FLUME BUILT BY COL. N.P. TURNER IN 1889-1890. OPERATION WORKED ONLY TWO YEARS AS GRAVELS PROVED LESS EXTENSIVE AND LESS PAYING THAN COMPANY'S ESTIMATES. POSSIBLY SOME-SCALE INTERMITTENT PRODUCTION THROUGH 1930S, BUT COUNTY PLACER PRODUCTION STATISTICS DO NOT DISTINGUISH DISTRICTS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit CONTROLLED BY POSITION OF HARD RESISTANT LAYERS IN KAYENTA AND CARMEL FMS AND ENTRADA SANDSTONE, PERMITTING EASY WORKING AND CLEANING OF GRAVEL-BEDROCK CONTACT. GOLD DERIVED FROM MINERALIZED AREAS IN UPPER SAN MIGUEL RIVER VALLEY AROUND TELLURIDE, OPHIR, AND TO LESSER EXTENT FROM MT WILSON AREA.
Deposit NO INDIVIDUAL RECORDS PREPARED DUE TO LACK OF DESCRIPTIONS OF OPERATIONS. LONE TREE PLACER DESCRIPTION IS ESSENTIALLY SAME AS DISTRICT RECORD. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT
Deposit SAN MIGUEL RIVER AND DOLORES RIVER HAVE DISSECTED NEARLY FLAT-LYING MORRISON FM (JURASSIC) SEDIMENTS, LEAVING TERRACE GRAVELS AND FLOOD-PLAIN ALLUVIUM. UPPER RIM OF ADJACENT MESAS CAPPED BY BURRO CANYON FM AND DAKOTA SANDSTONE (EARLY CRETACEOUS). BETWEEN RED CANYON AND ROC CREEK, FLOOD PLAIN WIDENS TO PERMIT MEANDERING OF RIVER AND FORMATION OF TERRACE AND FLOOD-PLAIN DEPOSITS. AREA CORRESPONDS TO SLIGHT SYNCLINAL FLEXURE (ASSOCIATED WITH NUCLA SYNCLINE) THAT HAS KEPT MORE RESISTANT WINGATE SANDSTONE SLIGHTLY DEEPER, PERMITTING RIVER TO MEANDER AT EXPENSE OF MORE EASILY ERODIBLE SHALE AND SILTSTONE OF KAYENTA FM. AT BOTH ENDS OF DISTRICT, CANYON IS NARROW AND CONTAINS FEW OR NO FLOOD-PLAIN DEPOSITS WHERE RIVER HAS CUT INTO WINGATE. MCKAY'S (1955) GEOLOGIC MAP SHOWS TERRACE GRAVEL AT 20 TO 40 FT ABOVE FLOOD PLAIN AND MAJOR TERRACE AT 60 TO 85 FT ABOVE RIVER. MAJOR BENCHES LIE JUST BELOW RED CANYON, AT MESA CREEK CONFLUENCE, AND AT ROC CREEK CONFLUENCE. PRINCIPAL BENCHES PROBABLY

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-83 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey
Editor 16-NOV-11 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey Changed record type from site to district.

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.