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Green Mountain District

Past Producer in Gunnison county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Selenium, Tellurium
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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. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014558
MRDS ID D011383
Record type District
Current site name Green Mountain District
Alternate or previous names Iris District

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.8309, 38.41694 (WGS84)
Elevation 2748
Relative position 7 MILES S 27 TO 42 E TO 12 MILES S 33 E FROM GUNNISON

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Saguache(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Iris(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Saguache(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Tomichi(hydrologic unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic accounting unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Gunnison
United States Colorado Saguache

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 049N;048N 001E;001E 34,35;02,03,04,09,10,11,12,14,15,16,23,24,25 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • DISTRICT LIES IN GREEN MOUNTAIN AREA AND INCLUDES UPPER PORTIONS OF GRAFLIN GULCH, DIRIGO GULCH, DUTCH GULCH, SAGE HEN GULCH, CHANCE GULCH, STUBBS GULCH, MERRY-GO-ROUND GULCH, LONG GULCH, AND COTTONWOOD GULCH. LANDMARKS INCLUDE GREEN MOUNTAIN (ELEV 9442) AND SCHISTO BASIN. DISTRICT ACCESSIBLE VIA ROAD AND TRAIL UP STUBBS GULCH (VIA GOLD BASIN CREEK) SOUTH FROM GUNNISON; VIA TRAILS UP LONG GULCH SOUTH FROM U.S. RTE 50; VIA TRAIL UP COTTONWOOD GULCH WEST FROM COCHETOPA CREEK AND COLORADO RTE 114. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR OLD TOWNSITE OF IRIS ON UNNAMED TRIBUTARY OF LONG GULCH IN S S2 S2 SEC. 14, T48N, R1E. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1976

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary
Lead Secondary
Selenium Tertiary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Biotite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Pyrrhotite Gangue
Sericite Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Ordovician
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Quartz Diorite To Quartz Monzonite Of Gold Basin;Quartz Vein;Diabase Dikes
    Rock description Quartz Diorite To Quartz Monzonite Of Gold Basin;Quartz Vein;Diabase Dikes
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Amphibolite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.8309, 38.41694
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Gunnison Uplift, San Juan Volcanic Field, West Elk Centers
Type of structure Local
Structure description Gunnison Gold Belt, Iris Syncline, Lulu Fault, Gold Basin Stock

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Quartz Veins Associated With Lulu Fault And Gold Basin Stock And Cutting Metasediments And Amphibolite. Massive Sulfides Controlled By Original Depositional Layering In Submarine Volcanics And Exhalative Carbonates.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Year of last production 1934

Mining district

District name Green Mountain (Iris) District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Carl R. Smith (Lucky Strike Mine)
    Home office Denver, Co.
    First year 1949

Comments on the workings information

  • PRINCIPAL MINES DEVELOPED BY VERTICAL AND INCLINED SHAFTS UP TO 200 FT DEEP AND ON AS MANY AS FOUR LEVELS, WITH DRIFTS AND STOPES. NUMEROUS SURFACE PROSPECTS. OLD 5-STAMP MILL AT LUCKY STRIKE MINE.

Comments on development

  • EARLY HISTORY OF DISTRICT LARGELY UNKNOWN. DISCOVERIES AND EARLY MINING IN GUNNISON GOLD BELT AREA LED TO ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL MINING TOWNS OF DUBOIS, SPENCER, VULCAN, MIDWAY, AND CHANCE IN LATE 1880S. POST-1900 RECORDS INDICATE ONLY INTERMITTENT PRODUCTION FROM SEVERAL LARGER MINES, SUCH AS HEADLIGHT, OLD LOT, ANACONDA (GOOSE CREEK DISTRICT), CONTINENTAL (BEAVER CREEK DISTRICT, LUCKY STRIKE AND LULA. CLAIMS IN GREEN MOUNTAIN DISTRICT SURVEYED AND PATENTED BETWEEN 1894 AND 1905. PROBABLY MOST MINES WERE DEVELOPED BY ABOUT 1900. LATEST ACTIVITY REPORTED WAS ORE PRODUCTION FROM LULA MINE IN 1935 AND ORE PRODUCTION FROM LUCKY STRIKE MINE IN 1922 AND 1933-1934.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DISTRICT LIES NEAR NE END OF GUNNISON GOLD BELT. COUNTRY ROCK CONSISTS OF THICK SEQUENCE OF DUBOIS GREENSTONE FELSITE UNIT THAT AFIFI (1981) SUBDIVIDED INTO DACITIC, ANDESITIC LAPILLI TUFF, RHYOLITE, BASALTIC, AND ALKALI-FELDSPAR RHYOLITE MEMBERS. UNIT INTRUDED BY METAGABBRO (AMPHIBOLITE) DIKES AND SILLS AND FOLDED ALONG STEEPLY PLUNGING, TIGHT, DISHARMONIC IRIS SYNCLINE, ACTUALLY TWO SYNCLINAL SURFACE SEPARATED BY TIGHT ANTICLINAL FLEXURE. CUTTING SUCCESSIVELY UPSECTION THROUGH FELSITE UNIT IS SUBVERTICAL, GENERALLY N 45 W-TRENDING LULU FAULT, WHICH DISPLACES FELSITE ON NE AGAINST OLDER METASEDIMENTARY SEQUENCE ON SW. LATTER IS CUT BY GOLD BASIN QUARTZ DIORITE STOCK. QUARTZ VEINS AND METARHYOLITE DIKES CUT OLDER METASEDIMENTS, FELSITE, AND AMPHIBOLITE AND POSTDATE LULU FAULT. PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS ARE STRATABOUND MASSIVE SULFIDES CHARACTERIZED BY SPHALERITE-PYRITE-CHALCOPYRITE AND INTERPRETED TO BE SYNGENETIC, SUBMARINE, PREMETAMORPHIC. THIS TYPE IS REPRESENTED IN GRAFLIN AND DENVER
Deposit CITY MINES AND SHAUNEE NO. 33 PROSPECT. SECOND MINERALIZATION TYPE IS POSTMETAMORPHIC, EPIGENETIC VEIN ON AND NEAR LULU FAULT AND CONSISTING OF QUARTZ-PYRITE+/-BIOTITE+/-SERICITE+/-TOURMALINE+/-CARBONATE+/-FLUORITE. DEPOSITS ARE SPATIALLY AND PROBABLY GENETICALLY RELATED TO GOLD BASIN STOCK TO SOUTH. THIS TYPE IS REPRESENTED IN LUCKY STRIKE, LULA, AND MINERAL HILL MINES.
Deposit BLM CLAIM RECORDS ASSIGN DISTRICT NAME OF "GREEN MOUNTAIN" BUT DISTRICT ALSO HAS BEEN KNOWN BY POPULAR NAME OF "IRIS." INDIVIDUAL RECORDS PREPARED FOR PRINCIPAL MINES AND TYPES OF MINERALIZATION: DENVER CITY, GRAFLIN, LUCKY STRIKE, LULA, MINERAL HILL, SHAUNEE NO. 33 PROSPECT. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: (11) HEDLUND, D.C., AND OLSON, J.C., 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE IRIS NW QUADRANGLE, GUNNISON AND SAGUACHE COUNTIES, COLORADO: USGS MAP GQ-1134; (12) HILL, J.M., 1909, NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF SOUTHEASTERN GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 380, P. 21-40; (13) RIESMEYER, W.D., 1978, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE DENVER CITY AREA: UNPUB. MAP. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-84 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.