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Big Five (Central) Tunnel

Past Producer in Clear Creek county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Uranium
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Land status
  14. Links to other databases
  15. Bibliographic references
  16. General comments
  17. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10238341
MAS/MILS ID 80190054
Record type Site
Current site name Big Five (Central) Tunnel
Alternate or previous names Lake Central Project, Central (Big Five) Tunnel Project, Big Five Tunnel

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Ore Body
Geographic coordinates: -105.53361, 39.76389 (WGS84)
Elevation 2194
Location accuracy 100(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Clear Creek(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Central City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Denver West(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Denver(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Clear(hydrologic unit)

South Platte(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Platte(hydrologic subregion)

Missouri(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Clear Creek

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 003 S 073 W 35 Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • Project to access Lake, Belman, and nearby veins at depth, via Big Five (Central) tunnel just west of Idaho Springs. The target area lies in NW/4 sec. 26, T 3 S, R 73 W, about 1-1/2 miles NNW of Idaho Springs.
  • An access-drainage-exploration tunnel, the portal is located at highway level just west of Idaho Springs, in the W/2 sec. 35, T3 S, R 73 W.

Commodities

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

Comments on the commodity information

  • CGS Bull.40 lists uranium here (US BuMines unpub. rept.).

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Gangue
Sphalerite Unknown
Uraninite Unknown

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Nearby scientific data

Ore Body (1) -105.53361, 39.76389
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Thickness 2M
    Field Value
    Type of Orebody #1 FISSURE VEIN
    Shape of Orebody #1 PIPELIKE
    Type of Orebody #2 SHEAR ZONE
    Shape of Orebody #2 IRREGULAR
    Primary mode of Origin HYDROTHERMAL
    Secondary mode of Origin CONT METASOMATIC
    Primary Ore Control IGNEOUS
    Secondary Ore Control FRACTURING
    Degree of Wallrock Alter. MODERATE
    Type of Wallrock Alter. #1 PYRITIZATION
    Type of Wallrock Alter. #2 SILICIFICATION
    Date of Last Modification 790430

Comments on the geologic information

  • The Lake vein is a fissure vein up to 5 feet in width, that strikes NE and dips steeply NW, and contains mostly pyrite at the tunnel level. The Belman vein strikes NW and dips NNE, and contains quartz, pyrite, and chalcopyrite.
  • The Big Five tunnel cuts Precambrian gneiss, amphibolite, granite and pegmatite, and Tertiary porphyry dikes, plus many veins.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1901
Year of first production 1901

Mining district

District name Idaho Springs District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Sunshine files contain reports that may have dated or optimistic resource estimates of 488,000 tons of ore, assuming 2' avg. thickness of veins from tunnel level up to previously mined stopes.

Comments on the workings information

  • The tunnel extends due north for about 10,000 feet, at an elevation of 7600 feet, under Pewabic Mountain.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    REF:MAS

  • Deposit

    Sunshine Mining Co. Colorado exploration files, unpublished data, Colorado Geological Survey.

  • Deposit

    Moench, R. H., and Drake, A. A., Jr., 1966, Economic geology of the Idaho Springs district, Clear Creek and Gilpin counties, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1208, 91 p.

  • Commodity

    Nelson-Moore, J.L., Collins, D.B., and Hornbaker, A.L., 1978, Radioactive mineral occurrences of Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Bulletin 40, 1054 p., 12 pl.

  • Deposit

    Bastin, E. S., and Hill, J. M., 1917, Economic geology of Gilpin County and adjacent parts of Clear Creek and Boulder Counties, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 94, 379 p.

  • Deposit

    Moench and Drake, 1966, USGS Open-File Report 66-87 (formerly numbered as OFR 835).

  • Deposit

    Lovering and Goddard, 1950, Geology and ore deposits of the Front Range, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 223, p. 187;#1, 17-P, pl. 3, north half.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Environmental Factors CERCLA (SUPERFUND0 SITE. PROPERTY INCLUDED IN THE CLEAR CREEK/CENTRAL CITY MINING WASTE SITE ADDED TO THE NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL) IN 1983. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS INCLUDE: 1) ACID MINE DRAINAGE CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS, AND 2) CONTAMINATED STORM-WATER RUNOFF.
Deposit INFORMATION FROM OME REPORT, DOCKET NO. 6022, DATED 1959. AT TIME OF THE REPORT, THERE HAD BEEN NO PRODUCTION FROM THE MI THE FORM OF URANIUM. AN EARLY GOLD-SILVER-COPPER-LEAD PRODUC CLAIMS WERE CONTROLLED BY CLEAR CREEK MINING CO., COLO., AT TIME OF THE REPORT. THE CLAIMS ARE IN SECS. 23, 26, AND 35, R. 73 W., 6TH P.M., AND ON THE 7-1/2 MINUTE MAP, IDAHO SPRIN CLAIMS ARE WELL DEVELOPED WITH UNDERGROUND WORKINGS. INCLUDE THE OME REPORT ARE LOCATION AND MINE MAPS. THE OME REPORT CO THAT DUE TO GOOD CHANCES FOR FINDING COpPER (BUT NOT URANIUM ITS, ASSISTANCE FOR EXPLORATION BE GRANTED.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1984-02-27 Minecom U.S. Bureau of Mines
Updater 2006-01-10 Beach, Richard A. Colorado Geological Survey
Editor 2015-08-28 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 1978-02-13 Intermountain Field Operations Center (IFOC) U.S. Bureau of Mines mas 0080190244 = 10167042
Reporter 1977-04-01 Hassler, J. William U.S. Geological Survey MAS 0080190244 = 10167042
Reporter 2007-06-28 Melton, Greg U.S. Geological Survey MAS 0080190244 = 10167042

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.