Yellow Medicine Mine

Past Producer in Hinsdale county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc
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 10101908
MRDS ID D011625
Record type Site
Current site name Yellow Medicine Mine
Alternate or previous names Patented Claims: Yellow Medicine, MS 5187, Mountain Bell, MS 5187
Related records 10264048

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.46952, 38.02 (WGS84)
Elevation 3322
Relative position 8.4 MILES S 87 W 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

Uncompahgre Peak(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)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Hinsdale

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 044N 006W 36 W2 OF E2 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • MINE LOCATED ON WEST SIDE OF YELLOWSTONE GULCH ABOUT 0.6 MILE ABOVE CONFLUENCE WITH NORTH FORK HENSON CREEK AND 0.85 MILE NNW OF CAPITOL CITY SITE. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary

Materials information

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

Analytical data

Result STEVEN AND OTHERS' (1977) SEMIQUANTITATIVE SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS. CHIP SAMPLE FROM VEIN AT TUNNEL FACE CONTAINED 2% AL, 0.06% CA, 5% FE, 0.2% MG, 0.05% MN, 0.1% TI, 60 PPM CR, 600 PPM CU, 20 PPM MO, 20000 PPM PB, 3000 PPM ZN, LT 70 PPM ZR, TRACE AU AND 1.6 OZ/TON AG (FIRE ASSAY), 0.13% CU AND 1.85% PB, AND 0.32% ZN (ATOMIC ABSORPTION).

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Rock unit name Eureka Member Of Sapinero Mesa Tuff;Biotite-Quartz Latite Of Burns Member Of Silverton Volcanics;Intrusive Rocks--Monzonite Porphyry;Intrusive Rocks--Rhyolite
    Rock description Eureka Member Of Sapinero Mesa Tuff;Biotite-Quartz Latite Of Burns Member Of Silverton Volcanics;Intrusive Rocks--Monzonite Porphyry;Intrusive Rocks--Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Monzonite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -107.46952, 38.02

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, Eureka Graben

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Nw-Trending Fault/Fracture Related To Monzonite Intrusion

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Year of first production 1896
Year of last production 1952

Mining district

District name Galena (Henson Creek) District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Joe Gomez
    Home office Crested Butte, Co.
    First year 1972
  • Type Owner
    Owner James Chisholm (Estate)
    Home office Hamilton, Ontario
    First year 1951

Comments on the production information

  • PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. PRODUCTION FIGURES UNAVAILABLE FOR YEARS PRIOR TO 1896 AND FOR YEARS AFTER 1898. MINERAL RESOURCES OF U.S. VOLUMES AND MINERAL YEARBOOKS CITE PRODUCTION IN 1906, 1907, 1910, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, AND 1952, BUT FIGURES WERE GIVEN ONLY FOR 1948 AND 1949.

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE DEVELOPED BY THREE TUNNELS, LOWER TUNNEL CAVED, INACCESSIBLE. MIDDLE TUNNEL DRIVEN GENERALLY NW FOR 200 FT; AT 190 FT FROM PORTAL IS 55-FT WINZE AND SOME STOPING. UPPER TUNNEL DRIVEN GENERALLY NW FOR 40 FT TO VEIN, WITH 500-FT EAST DRIFT; AT 150 FT EAST OF CROSSCUT IS 20-FT RAISE, STOPES STARTING AT RAISE AND PROCEEDING 50 FT EAST TO OLDER 80-FT RAISE.

Comments on development

  • APPROX $40,000 WORTH OF METALS PRODUCED PRIOR TO 1896, MOSTLY COMING FROM AG AND SECONDARILY FROM CU. PRODUCTION UNKNOWN FROM 1892 TO 1895. CROW AND FAGAN SHIPPED 500 ST ORE FROM MIDDLE LEVEL IN 1896. CONCENTRATES SHIPPED IN 1898 BY YELLOWSTONE MINING CO. IN 1907, 15 TPD OF MILL DIRT WERE SHIPPED BY O'BRIEN, BOWLES, AND BARDWELL TO MORO MILL TO SOUTH ON HENSON CREEK. MILL WAS BUILT AND OPERATED BEGINNING IN 1897.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MINE LIES NW OF LAKE CITY CALDERA RIM IN UNCOMPAHGRE CALDERA INFILL ROCKS, CONSISTING OF EUREKA RHYOLITE, BURNS QUARTZ LATITE, INTRUDED BY MONZONITE PORPHYRY PLUGS AND LATER RHYOLITE PLUGS. ONE OF EACH KIND OF PLUG IS LOCATED SOUTH OF MINE AREA. IRVING AND BANCROFT (1911) STATE THAT VEIN TRENDS N 13 W, DIPS 79 NE, AND OCCURS AT CONTACT OF QUARTZ LATITE AND MONZONITE INTRUSION. DEPOSIT LIES IN SLACK'S (1980) QUARTZ/BASE-METAL ASSEMBLAGE, INNER QUARTZ-CHALCOPYRITE ZONE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-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

Authoritative Colorado resources

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