Iowa Chief Mine

Past Producer in Pitkin county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Lead
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. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10101795
MRDS ID D009435
Record type Site
Current site name Iowa Chief Mine
Alternate or previous names Claim: Iowa Chief
Related records 10289166

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.82423, 39.16193 (WGS84)
Elevation 3127
Relative position 1.8 MILES S 10 W FROM ASPEN

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pitkin(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Aspen(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Leadville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Roaring Fork(hydrologic unit)

Colorado Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Colorado Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

White River 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 Pitkin

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 010S 085W 24 SE Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • IN UPPER ASPEN MTN AREA AT TOURTELLOTTE PARK ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1980)
  • LAT LONG ARE CENTRAL FOR DISTRICT. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1954)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Aplite Porphyry
    Rock description Aplite Porphyry
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Mississippian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Leadville Limestone (Castle Butte Member);Belden Formation
    Rock description Leadville Limestone (Castle Butte Mbr);Belden Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.82423, 39.16193

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Sawatch Uplift, Central Colorado Trough, Piceance Basin, White River Uplift, Elk Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Silver Fault, Contact Fault, Aspen Mountain Syncline, Tourtellotte Park Uplift, Silver Bell Fault, Burro Fault

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Bedding Plane Fault

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE QUARZ MONZONITE HAS BEEN INTRUDED BY APLITE AND PEGMATITE. IRON-STAIN VUGS OCCUR.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1882
Discoverer James Lyons And Others (Claimants)

Mining district

District name Aspen (Roaring Fork) District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1097.28M

Comments on the workings information

  • 280-FT-DEEP SHAFT. DRIFTS ON AND BELOW SILVER FAULT. ON NORTH END, WORKINGS CONNECT WITH TWO TUNNELS FROM SURFACE AND WITH CAMP BIRD MINE WORKINGS TO NORTH. WESTERNMOST WORKINGS CONNECT WITH NORTH EDISON INCLINE.

Comments on development

  • MINES: BUTTE-ELK PARK EXTENSION, EUREKA

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SPURR, J.E., 1898, GEOLOGY OF THE ASPEN DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS MON. 31, P. 173-174

  • Deposit

    BRYANT, BRUCE, 1971, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE ASPEN QUADRANGLE, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS MAP GQ-933.

  • Deposit

    BRYANT, BRUCE, 1972, MAP SHOWING MINES, PROSPECTS, AND AREAS OF SIGNIFICANT SILVER, LEAD, AND ZINC PRODUCTION IN THE ASPEN QUADRANGLE, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS MAP I-785-D

  • Deposit

    BLM MINERAL SURVEY MS 2246

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ALTHO ADJACENT TO CAMP BIRD MINE, IOWA CHIEF ORE OCCURRENCE CONTRASTS IN THAT IT IS FOUND ALONG SILVER FAULT INSTEAD OF CONTACT FAULT. MINERALIZED ZONE LIES IN FAULT BLOCK DISPLACED DOWNWARD AND BOUNDED BY NW-STRIKING, SW-DIPPING SILVER BELL FAULT ON NORTH AND BY EAST-WEST-STRIKING, NORTH-DIPPING BURRO FAULT ON SOUTH. ORE ALSO OCCURS IN MINOR SLIPS IN LIMESTONE PARALLEL TO AND BELOW SILVER FAULT.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1982 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Authoritative Colorado resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.