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Mancos River Black Sand Deposit

Occurrence in Montezuma county in Colorado, United States with commodities Uranium, Thorium, Zirconium, Titanium, Metal, Iron, REE
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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. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Links to other databases
  15. Bibliographic references
  16. General comments
  17. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10090136
MRDS ID D010872
Record type Site
Current site name Mancos River Black Sand Deposit
Alternate or previous names Shiprock Group

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -108.65538, 37.12668 (WGS84)
Elevation 1875
Relative position 6.5 TO 12 MILES S 13 W FROM CORTEZ

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Montezuma(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Towaoc(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Cortez(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Cortez(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Mancos(hydrologic unit)

Upper San Juan(hydrologic accounting unit)

San Juan(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

BIA(Federal land areas administered by BIA)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Montezuma

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 032N;033N;033N;33 017W;016W;017W;017W 15,23;33;01,02,03,11,12;25,26 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • ANOMALIES LIE EAST OF U.S. ROUTES 666 AND 164 WITHIN UTE MOUNTAIN INDIAN RESERVATION AND ON MESA VERDE, SHORT MESA, COWBOY MESA, AND TANNER MESA. ANOMALIES ALSO EXTEND ONTO TANNER MESA (1966) QUAD. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR APPROX CENTER OF NORTHERN CLUSTER OF ANOMALIES, COMMON CORNER OF SECS. 01, 02, 11, AND 12, T33N, R17W. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1975

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary
Thorium Primary
Zirconium Critical Primary
Titanium, Metal Critical Primary
Iron Secondary
REE Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Anatase Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Monazite Ore
Hematite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Limonite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Fe Oxidation And Cementation

Analytical data

Result AEC REPORTS SHOW GRAB SAMPLE ASSAYS OF 0.01 TO 0.06% EQUIV U308. DOW AND BATTY (1961) ANALYZED BLACK SANDSTONE FROM THE MENEFEE FM AND FOUND: AVG. 0.2 TO 0.5% TI02 (HIGH 5.5%), 0.05% ZR02, 2.2 TO 11.6% FE, 0.01 TO 0.06% EQUIV TH02. VALUES FROM PALMER MESA WERE 2.8% TI02, 0.42% ZR02, 12.8% FE, 0.03% EQUIV TH02

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Mesaverde Group--Point Lookout Sandstone;Mesaverde Group--Menefee Formation
    Rock description Mesaverde Group--Point Lookout Sandstone;Mesaverde Group--Menefee Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous

Nearby scientific data

(1) -108.65538, 37.12668
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Basin, Four Corners Platform
Type of structure Local
Structure description Mesa Verde Basin, Mcelmo Dome

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Backshores And Upper Foreshores On Flat Beaches In Regressive Marine Sequence

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1912

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • DOW AND BATTY, 1961

Comments on the workings information

  • GEOPHYSICAL ANOMALIES AND SURFACE PROSPECT PITS (AIRBORNE RADIOACTIVE ANOMALIES: SURFACE EXPOSURES

Comments on development

  • BLACK SANDS KNOWN SINCE EARLY 1910S, BUT AIRBORNE RADIOACTIVE ANOMALIES DISCOVERED AND EXAMINED ON GROUND IN MID 1950S. FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS FOR TI AND OTHER HEAVY-MINERAL RESOURCE APPRAISAL IN LATE 1950S AND 1970S.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: EARLY 1910S
Deposit BEACH PLACERS FORMED DURING MARINE REGRESSION IN LATE CRETACEOUS TIMES. TYPICAL BLACK SANDSTONE DEPOSIT DESCRIBED BY HOUSTON AND MURPHY (1977) IS BLACK SANDSTONE UNDERLAIN BY WHITE, NEARSHORE MARINE SANDSTONE AND OVERLAIN BY NONMARINE SANDSTONE, CARBONACEOUS SHALE, COAL, AND COMMONLY OYSTER-BEARING BEDS OF LAGOONAL AND SWAMP ORIGIN. HEAVY MINERALS SUPPOSEDLY ORIGINATED FROM STREAMS ERODING THROUGH PLUTONIC AND VOLCANIC ROCKS FARTHER INLAND AND DEPOSITING SEDIMENT IN DELTAS AND DISTRIBUTARIES WITH SUBSEQUENT CONCENTRATION ON LEE SIDES WITH RESPECT TO LONGSHORE CURRENT DIRECTION. HEAVY MINERALS CONCENTRATED IN REGRESSIVE BACKSHORE AND UPPER FORESHORE WHERE MORE PROTECTED FROM EROSION. AEC REPORTS DESCRIBE ROCK AT SITES OF AIRBORNE ANOMALIES AS DARK YELLOWISH-BROWN, LIMONITE-CEMENTED, VERY FINE-GRAINED SANDSTONE ZONES (LENSES) IN LIGHT YELLOWISH-GRAY TO LIGHT GRAY, MASSIVE, CROSS-BEDDED, FINE- TO MEDIUM-GRAINED SANDSTONE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1983 Schwochow, Stephen D. 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.