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Emperius Mine

Past Producer in Mineral county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Gold, Cadmium, Arsenic, Antimony
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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. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10101728
MRDS ID D007967
Record type Site
Current site name Emperius Mine
Related records 10166590

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.93784, 37.88501 (WGS84)
Elevation 3048
Relative position 1-2 MILES N 15 W FROM CREEDE (B.M. 8853 AT NORTH END OF TOWN)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Mineral(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

San Luis Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Del Norte(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Durango(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Rio Grande National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Mineral

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 042N 001W 13,14,24 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • S-T-R, LAT-LONG, AND ELEV DETERMINED FROM EMMONS AND LARSEN'S (1923) TOPO MAP (1:24,000). MINE OR CLAIM LIES ALONG AMETHYST VEIN FROM BACHELOR TO HAPPY THOUGHT MINES. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Acanthite Ore
Anglesite Ore
Cerargyrite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Greenockite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyromorphite Ore
Silver Ore
Smithsonite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tennantite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Amethyst Gangue
Barite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Goslarite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rhodochrosite Gangue
Wad Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Chloritization, Silicification, Argillization; Fe-Mn Oxides, Cu Carbonates

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Campbell Mtn. Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Rock description Campbell Mtn. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Cr. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Campbell Mtn. Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Rock description Campbell Mtn. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Cr. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Volcanic Field; La Garita, Creede, And Bachelor Calderas
Type of structure Local
Structure description Creede Graben; Amethyst Fault Zone

Ore body information

  • Strike N 15 TO 30 W
    Dip 55 TO 70 SW
    Width 9.14M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Amethyst Fault, Ancestral Amethyst Fault, Subparallel And Antithetic Fractures In Hanging Wall

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1942
Year of last production 1976

Mining district

District name Creede District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Pioneer Nuclear, Inc.
    First year 1982
  • Type Owner
    Owner Minerals Engineering Co. (Meco)
    Home office Grand Junction, Co.
    First year 1980

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION SINCE 1942 IS CONSOLIDATION OF COMMODORE, AMETHYST AND CONNECTED WORKINGS. NO PRODUCTION REPORTED FOR 1945, 1971, 1973, 1977 THRU 1980. IN ADDITION TO CADMIUM PRODUCED IN 1970, UNSPECIFIED AMOUNTS OF CD REPORTED FOR 1965 AND 1967. AMTS. OF PRINCIPAL METALS FOR 1942-50 CALCULATED FROM REPORTED ORE GRADES.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Area 88.225HA
    Overall depth 569.98M
    Overall length 3218.6M
    Overall width 274.32M

Comments on the workings information

  • INCLUDES ALL WORKINGS ON CENTRAL, MOST OF SOUTHERN, AND PART OF NORTHERN AMETHYST VEIN. SEE DESCRIPTIONS OF INDIVIDUAL MINES LISTED BELOW IN GENERAL COMMENTS

Comments on development

  • INDIVIDUAL MINES LOCATED AND DEVELOPED IN EARLY 1890S, CONSOLIDATED INTO EMPERIUS MINING CO. IN 1942, ACQUIRED BY MINERALS ENGINEERING CO. (MECO) IN 1973, PRODUCED THRU 1976. EXPLORATION SINCE THEN CARRIED OUT BY MECO'S OPERATORS, CHEVRON RESOURCES AND HARRISON-WESTERN.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PRINCIPAL LODES ARE IN AMETHYST FAULT (USUALLY AS FAULT CONTACT BETWEEN CAMPBELL MTN. RHYOLITE IN HANGING WALL AND WILLOW CR. RHYOLITE IN FOOTWALL), ANCESTRAL AMETHYST (DEAN) FAULT, AND IN MAJOR HANGING-WALL FRACTURES AND VEINS (OH AND WINCHESTER) SUBPARALLEL TO AND JOINING AMETHYST FAULT AT DEPTH BUT STRIKING FARTHER WEST AND DIPPING VERTICAL TO STEEPLY NE AND DYING OUT UPWARD INTO STRONGLY ALTERED ROCK. DEEP MINERALIZATION IS UNOXIDIZED BASE-METAL VEIN TYPE IN CHLORITE GANGUE WITH LITTLE WALLROCK ALTERATION. CENTRAL AREA SILICIFIED WITH PARTLY OXIDIZED AG-BEARING ORES IN FE-MN-OXIDE-STAINED QUARTZ-AMETHYST-BARITE GANGUE IN VEINS AND DISSEMINATIONS. UPPER OXIDIZED ORE MOSTLY DISSEMINATED IN FRACTURED, STRONGLY ARGILLIZED ROCK.
Deposit EMPERIUS MINE RECORD IS CONSOLIDATION OF DATA FROM HAPPY THOUGHT, LAST CHANCE, NEW YORK, DEL MONTE, AMETHYST, COMMODORE, AND BACHELOR MINES ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1981 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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.