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El Plomo District

Past Producer in Costilla county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper, Molybdenum, Zinc
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Mineral occurrence model information
  7. Nearby scientific data
  8. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  9. Mining district
  10. Production statistics
  11. Bibliographic references
  12. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10311029
Record type District
Current site name El Plomo District
Alternate or previous names Rito Seco district, San Luis

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -105.33945, 37.25447 (WGS84)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Costilla(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Ojito Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Alamosa(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Trinidad(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alamosa-Trinchera(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Costilla

Comments on the location information

  • About 5 miles northeast of the town of San Luis. Located on the lower western slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The district is dominated by the San Luis Mine, which was operated by Battle Mountain Gold Company from 1991 to 1997.

Commodities

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

Comments on the commodity information

  • See more detailed MRDS entry for San Luis Mine for specific minerals present.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 281
USGS model code 37b
Deposit model name Gold on flat faults
Model code 82
USGS model code 22
Deposit model name Epithermal veins

Nearby scientific data

(1) -105.33945, 37.25447
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • See San Luis Mine for details on geology. The large San Luis mine is the only significant producer in the district. It was active from 1991 to 1997.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No

Mining district

District name El Plomo District

Production statistics

  • Year 1996
    Period 1991-1996
    Accuracy Estimate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Gold Gold 11197253.16g 0oz/st

Comments on the production information

  • Production from 1991 through 1996 was 360,000 ounces of gold. Silver was also produced but the quantity of silver was only about half that og gold. Gold production for final year (1997) of mining and heap leaching at San Luis mine not known.
  • The first recorded mining activity in the area started around 1890 near what became known as the "East Ore Zone" at the modern San Luis Mine. Silver and lead were the principal metals mined in the early days. A gold mill with an amalgamation circuit and later a cyanide circuit operated intermittently from 1897 through 1934 (Benson and Jones, 1994).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • San Luis deposit contained 15,430,100 grams (approximately 500,000 oz) of gold before mining. 425,000 ounces were considered recoverable.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Geology

    Wallace, A.R., and Soulliere, S.J., 1996, Geologic map of the Ojito Peak quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2312-B, scale 1:24,000.

  • Geology

    Kirkham, R.M., Shaver, K.C., Lindsay, N.R., and Wallace, A.R., 2003, Geologic map of the Taylor Ranch quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-15, scale 1:24,000, 30 p.

  • Geology

    Benson, R.G., 1997, Detachment fault-related mineralization in a rift setting at the San Luis gold deposit and Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Alamosa, Costilla, and Saguache Counties, Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation, 226 p.

  • Deposit

    Benson, R.G., 1997, Detachment fault-related mineralization in a rift setting at the San Luis gold deposit and Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Alamosa, Costilla, and Saguache Counties, Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation, 226 p.

  • Deposit

    Vanderwilt, J.W., 1947, Mineral resources of Colorado: State of Colorado Mineral Resources Board, 547 p.

  • Deposit

    VAN DEIST, E.C., AND VAN DEIST, P.H., 1898, NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY OF THE WESTERN SLOPE OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO RANGE IN COSTILLA COUNTY, COLO.: COLO, SCI. SOC. PROC., V. 5, P. 76-80.

  • Deposit

    Benson, R.G., and Jones, D.M., 1994, Geology of the San Luis gold deposit: New developments, Costilla County, Colorado: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, SME Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 9 p.

  • Development

    WEILKINSON, BRUCE, 1981, GOLD LODE STUDIED IN COSTILLA COUNTY: DENVER POST, 6/14/81, P. 46.

  • Deposit

    GUNTHER, C.G., 1905, THE GOLD DEPOSITS OF PLOMO, SAN LUIS PARK, COLORADO: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 1, P. 143-154.

  • Development

    EPLER, BILL. SAN LUIS GOLD - BMG'S NEW PRODUCER IS UP & RUNNING, PAYDIRT MAG. (ROCKY MT ED), MAY 1991, PP 4A-6A

  • Geology

    GOLD DEPOSIT, COSTILLA CO, COLORADO. GOLD '90 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AIME OF THE GOLD '90 SYMPOSIUM, SALT LAKE CITY,

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-MAY-2005 Keller, John W. 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

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