Snowflake Deposit

The Snowflake Deposit is a fluorine-fluorite mine located in Chaffee county, Colorado at an elevation of 7,520 feet.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Name: Snowflake Deposit

State:  Colorado

County:  Chaffee

Elevation: 7,520 Feet (2,292 Meters)

Commodity: Fluorine-Fluorite

Lat, Long: 38.63861, -106.07639

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.


Satelite image of the Snowflake Deposit

Snowflake Deposit MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Snowflake Deposit
Secondary: Snowflake Lode and Snowflake No. 2
Secondary: Lionelle


Commodity

Primary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Tertiary: Manganese


Location

State: Colorado
County: Chaffee
District: Browns Canyon District


Land Status

Land ownership: Private
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.


Holdings

Not available


Workings

Type: Surface/Underground


Ownership

Owner Name: E. Lionelle And J. H. Lionelle
Years: 1969 -


Production

Year: 1943
Time Period: 1933-1943
Mined: 393.680 mt
Material type: FLUORSPAR ORE


Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1927
Year Last Production: 1949
Discovery Year: 1923
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S


Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Southern Rocky Mountains


Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Fluorspar deposits (fluorite veins)


Orebody

Form: LENSOID


Structure

Type: R
Description: Southern Mosquito Range, Arkansas Valley Graben

Type: L
Description: Folds, Faults; N-Trending Fault Bounding Arkansas Valley


Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification, Fluoritization


Rocks

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Oligocene

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Oligocene

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Oligocene


Analytical Data

Not available


Materials

Ore: Fluorite
Gangue: Pyrolusite
Gangue: Kaolinite
Gangue: Montmorillonite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Opal
Gangue: Psilomelane
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Goethite
Gangue: Manganite


Comments

Comment (Deposit): LENSES CONTAIN 40-70% CAF2

Comment (Location): SE OF HECLA JUNCTION, EAST OF US HWY 285, WEST OF ARKANSAS RIVER; SW/4 SEC. 27, T 51 N, R 8 E. INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Comment (Workings): ADIT, INCLINE (SLOPES WESWARD 15 DEG)

Comment (Location): 7.3 MILES SOUTH OF NATHROP


References

Reference (Production): VAN ALSTINE, R.E. (1969)

Reference (Deposit): VAN ALSTINE, R.E. AND COX, D.C., 1969, FLUORSPAR MINES AND PROSPECTS, IN, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE PONCHA SPRINGS NE QUADRANGLE, CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 626, P. 38-43

Reference (Deposit): BRADY, B.T., 1975, MAP SHOWING FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS IN COLORADO: USGS MAP MR-70, 1:500,000, TEXT

Reference (Deposit): COLO BOM AN RPT 1937

Reference (Deposit): VAN ALSTINE, R.E., 1969, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE PONCHA SPRINGS NE QUADRANGLE, CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 626, 52 P.


Colorado Mining Photos

Placer mines at Cripple Creek, Colorado ca. 1892

Check out this collection of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.