Belle of the West Mine

Past Producer in Hinsdale county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Antimony

Sections on this page

Identification information
Geographic coordinates
Site location context
Geographic areas
Public Land Survey System information
Commodities
Materials information
Host and associated rocks
Nearby scientific data
Geologic structures
Controls for ore emplacement
Economic information about the deposit and operations
Mining district
Land status
Ownership information
Production statistics
Links to other databases
Bibliographic references
General comments
Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10014674
MRDS ID	D011553
Record type	Site
Current site name	Belle of the West Mine
Alternate or previous names	Patented Claims: Belle of the West, MS 357, Extension, MS 358, Malter Placer, MS 588, Western Belle, MS 1049, Delphos, MS 6952, Trenton, MS 6967
Related records	10142763

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates:	-107.28563, 38.00168 (WGS84)
Elevation	2957
Relative position	2.5 MILES S 36 E FROM LAKE CITY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Hinsdale(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Lake City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Gunnison(hydrologic unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic accounting unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(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	Hinsdale

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian	Township	Range	Section	Fraction	State
New Mexico	043N	004W	10,11,15		Colorado

Comments on the location information

CLAIMS LIE ALONG LAKE FORK AND ON HILLSIDE EAST OF LAKE FORK BETWEEN DEADMAN GULCH AND SLUMGULLION CREEK. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR TUNNEL PORTAL ON HILLSIDE ABOVE DEADMAN GULCH, IN NW SW SE NE SEC. 10. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977

Commodities

Commodity	Importance
Silver	Primary
Gold	Primary
Copper	Secondary
Lead	Secondary
Zinc Critical	Secondary
Antimony Critical	Tertiary

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Bournonite	Ore
Chalcopyrite	Ore
Galena	Ore
Sphalerite	Ore
Barite	Gangue
Quartz	Gangue

Host and associated rocks

Host or associated

Associated

Rock type

Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite

Rock unit name

Rhyolite Of Volcanics Of Uncompahgre Peak;Carpenter Ridge Tuff

Rock description

Rhyolite Of Volcanics Of Uncompahgre Peak;Carpenter Ridge Tuff

Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Oligocene
Stratigraphic age (youngest)	Oligocene

Host or associated Host

Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite

Host or associated	Host
Rock type	Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite

Nearby scientific data

(1)	-107.28563, 38.00168	ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure	Regional
Structure description	San Juan Volcanic Field, San Juan Depression
Type of structure	Local
Structure description	San Juan-Uncompahgre Calderas, Lake City Caldera

Controls for ore emplacement

Ne-Trending Radial Fracture/Fault Related To Lake City Caldera Formation

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status	Past Producer
Commodity type	Metallic
Deposit size	Small
Significant	No
Year of last production	1959

Mining district

District name	Lake (Lake City) District

Land status

Ownership category	Private

Ownership information

Type Operator

Owner 32-36 Development Co.

Home office Lake City, CO

First year 1965
Type Owner

Owner Ted Buder

Home office Lake City, Co.

First year 1965

Type	Operator
Owner	32-36 Development Co.
Home office	Lake City, CO
First year	1965

Type	Owner
Owner	Ted Buder
Home office	Lake City, Co.
First year	1965

Production statistics

Year 1915

Description Ap_Grade: ^110 Oz/Ton Ag

Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage

Major Ore Silver Silver 3106g/mt

Comments on the production information

PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. FIGURES UNAVAILABLE FOR YEARS PRIOR TO 1911. TONNAGES AND GRADES FOR 1919 AND 1922-1924 ARE FROM CDM RECORDS. PRODUCTION FOR OTHER YEARS (CITED IN USGS/USBM DOCUMENTS) NOT REPORTED SEPARATELY BUT COMBINED WITH OTHER LAKE DISTRICT MINES. AND IS CONSIDERED TO BE SMALL FOR EACH YEAR LISTED. PRODUCTION FIGURE FOR 1940 FROM USBM MINERAL YEARBOOK, WHICH ALSO CITES 1959 AS LAST YEAR OF PRODUCTION, EVEN THOUGH CDM RECORDS REPORT PRODUCTION ONLY THROUGH 1924.

Comments on the workings information

TUNNEL NO. 1 (UPPER), ABANDONED, EXTENT UNKNOWN; TUNNEL 2 DRIVEN 600 FT GENERALLY SE; TUNNEL 3 DRIVEN 600 FT GENERALLY SE; TUNNEL 4 (LOWER) DRIVEN 800 FT GENERALLY SE; 200-FT SHAFT.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency	Database name	Acronym	Record ID	Notes
USGS	Mineral Resources Data System	MRDS	D011553
U.S. Bureau of Mines	Minerals Availability System	MAS	0080530069

Bibliographic references

Deposit

IRVING, J.D., AND BANCROFT, HOWLAND, 1911, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS NEAR LAKE CITY, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 478.
Deposit

LIPMAN, P.W., 1976, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LAKE CITY CALDERA AREA, WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-962.
Deposit

LIPMAN, P.W., AND OTHERS, 1976, MULTIPLE AGES OF MID-TERTIARY MINERALIZATION AND ALTERATION IN THE WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 71, NO. 3, P. 571-588.
Deposit

SLACK, J.F., 1980, MULTISTAGE VEIN ORES OF THE LAKE CITY DISTRICT, WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 75, NO. 7, P. 963-9919
Deposit

BROWN, W.H., 1926, THE MINERAL ZONES OF THE WHITE CROSS DISTRICT AND NEIGHBORING DEPOSITS IN HINSDALE COUNTY, COLORADO: MINES MAG., V. 15, NO. 11, P. 5-15.
Deposit

COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPTS. AND ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.
Deposit

BLM MINERAL SURVEYS MS 357, 358, 588, 1049, 6952, 6967
Production

COLORADO DIV. MINES ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.; USBM/USGS MINERAL RESOURCES OF U.S.; USBM MINERAL YEARBOOKS

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	DEPOSIT LIES IN THICK, HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED RHYOLITE FLOWS AND DOMES OCCUPYING EAST PART OF UNCOMPAHGRE CALDERA'S MOAT-FILL. BROWN (1926) DESCRIBED NE-TRENDING VEIN AS PARALLEL TO ABOUT 150 FT SE OF BELLE OF THE EAST VEIN. APPROX ORDER OF ORE DEPOSITION WAS PYRITE, SPHALERITE, TETRAHEDRITE, GALENA, CHALCOPYRITE. ONE SECTION SHOWED APPARENT SIMULTANEOUS DEPOSITION OF SPHALERITE, TETRAHEDRITE, AND GALENA. VEIN OCCUPIES RADIAL FRACTURE/FAULT NE OF LAKE CITY CALDERA AND LIES IN SLACK'S (1980) BARITE/PRECIOUS METALS ASSEMBLAGE, ON APPROX BOUNDARY BETWEEN OUTER RHODOCHROSITE-TETRAHEDRITE ZONE AND INNER QUARTZ-SPHALERITE ZONE.

Subject category

Comment text

Deposit

DEPOSIT LIES IN THICK, HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED RHYOLITE FLOWS AND DOMES OCCUPYING EAST PART OF UNCOMPAHGRE CALDERA'S MOAT-FILL. BROWN (1926) DESCRIBED NE-TRENDING VEIN AS PARALLEL TO ABOUT 150 FT SE OF BELLE OF THE EAST VEIN. APPROX ORDER OF ORE DEPOSITION WAS PYRITE, SPHALERITE, TETRAHEDRITE, GALENA, CHALCOPYRITE. ONE SECTION SHOWED APPARENT SIMULTANEOUS DEPOSITION OF SPHALERITE, TETRAHEDRITE, AND GALENA. VEIN OCCUPIES RADIAL FRACTURE/FAULT NE OF LAKE CITY CALDERA AND LIES IN SLACK'S (1980) BARITE/PRECIOUS METALS ASSEMBLAGE, ON APPROX BOUNDARY BETWEEN OUTER RHODOCHROSITE-TETRAHEDRITE ZONE AND INNER QUARTZ-SPHALERITE ZONE.

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	01-MAR-1984	Schwochow, Stephen D.	Colorado Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Wikidata: Q49399136 (Belle of the West Mine)

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.