Needle Mountain District

Past Producer in La Plata county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Antimony, Uranium, Molybdenum, Manganese, Bismuth
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Alteration
  7. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Controls for ore emplacement
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Bibliographic references

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 60000375
MRDS ID D010711
Record type District
Current site name Needle Mountain District
Alternate or previous names Tacoma District
Related records 10191364

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.60283, 37.59891 (WGS84)
Relative position (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). DISTRICT LIES WITHIN NEEDLE MTNS AND INCLUDES 1) NEEDLE CREEK VALLEY FROM HEADWATERS AT CHICAGO BASIN DOWNSTREAM TO CONFLUENCE WITH ANIMAS RIVER AT NEEDLETON; 2) UPPER FLORIDA RIVER DRAINAGE INCLUDING LILLIE LAKE, CRYSTAL VALLEY, MISSOURI GULCH, EAST AND WEST SILVER MESAS, MT KENNEDY, TRIMBLE PASS, AND AZTEC, BULLION, AND FLORIDA MOUNTAINS; 3) UPPER JOHNSON CREEK DRAINAGE (VALLECITO BASIN) INCLUDING HAZEL LAKE, COLUMBINE LAKE, HOPE, JUPITER, AND ECHO MOUNTAINS, GRIZZLY AND MCCAULEY PEAKS, AND UPPER GRIZZLY GULCH (BOTH IN DRAINAGE AREA 14080101). DISTRICT EXTENDS ONTO MOUNTAIN VIEW CREST (1973) QUAD. CLAIMS EXTEND INTO SEC. 06, T38N, R6W. ACCESSIBLE VIA TRAILS UP VALLECITO CREEK AND JOHNSON CREEK NORTH FROM VALLECITO RESERVOIR; VIA TRAIL UP NEEDLE CREEK FROM ANIMAS RIVER AND D&RGW RR; VIA EAST FLORIDA ROAD AND TRAIL NE FROM FLORIDA RIVER AND LEMON RESERVOIR; VIA ROAD AND TRAIL NE FROM HERMOSA UP COON CREEK, CANYON CREEK, AND OVER LIME MESA EAST TO WEST SILVER MESA. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR COLUMBINE PASS (SW SE SEC. 35, T39N, R7W). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1977)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

La Plata(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Columbine Pass(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Silverton(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Durango(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper San Juan(hydrologic unit)

Upper San Juan(hydrologic accounting unit)

San Juan(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

San Juan National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Weminuche Wilderness(Wilderness)

Wilderness FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado La Plata

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Lead Secondary
Copper Secondary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Uranium Tertiary
Molybdenum Tertiary
Manganese Critical Tertiary
Bismuth Critical Tertiary

Alteration

  • (Local) HYDROTHERMAL

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 74
USGS model code 19b
Deposit model name Replacement Mn

Nearby scientific data

(1) -107.60283, 37.59891

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description NEEDLE MTNS UPLIFT, CHICAGO BASIN STOCK, EOLUS BATHOLITH, TRIMBLE STOCK
Type of structure Regional
Structure description SAN JUAN UPLIFT, SAN JUAN BASIN, SAN JUAN VOLCANIC FIELD

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fault/fracture

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Discovery year 1880
Year of first production 1880
Year of last production 1936

Mining district

District name NEEDLE MOUNTAIN DISTRICT
District name TACOMA DISTRICT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CROSS, WHITMAN, AND OTHERS, 1905, DESCRIPTION OF THE NEEDLE MOUNTAINS QUADRANGLE, COLORADO: USGS FOLIO 131.

  • Deposit

    SCHMITT, L.J., AND RAYMOND, W.H., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE NEEDLE MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADK: USGS BULL. 1434, 40 P.

  • Deposit

    BARKER, FRED, 1969, PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY OF THE NEEDLE MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 644-A. 35 P.

  • Deposit

    STEVEN, T.A., AND OTHERS, 1969, MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE SAN JUAN PRIMITIVE AREA, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1261-F.

  • Deposit

    MUILENBURG, G.A., 1919, MANGANESE DEPOSITS OF COLORADO: CGS BULL. 15, P. 49.

  • Deposit

    A WORCESTER, P.G., 1919, MOLYBDENUM DEPOSITS OF COLORADO WITH GENERAL NOTES ON THE MOLYBDENUM INDUSTRY: CGS BULL. 14, P. 68-69.

  • Deposit

    LAKES, ARTHUR, 1897, THE NEEDLES--LA PLATA MOUNTAINS, COLLIERY ENGINEER, V. 18, P. 74-77, 101-103.

  • Deposit

    TRIPPE, T.M., 1905, REPORT ON THE AETNA MINE ACCOMPANIED BY A STATEMENT CONCERNING THE ADJOINING AZTEC AND REPUBLIC CLAIMS, LA PLATA COUNTY: COLO. DIV. MINES FILES, UNPIB. ENG. REPT., 3 P.

  • Deposit

    COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPT. (BROOKLYN GROUP).

  • Deposit

    BLM MINERAL SURVEYS

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.