Summitville Mine

The Summitville Mine is a gold, copper, and silver mine located in Rio Grande county, Colorado at an elevation of 11,319 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

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Site Name

Primary: Summitville Mine
Secondary: Golconda Tunnel
Secondary: Reynolds Tunnel

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Lead
Tertiary: Zinc

Location

State: Colorado
County: Rio Grande
District: Summit (Summitville) 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: Galactic Resources , Inc.
Home Office: Vancouver, British Columbia
Years: 1988 -

Owner Name: Summitville, Inc.
Home Office: Lakewood, Co.
Years: 1972 -

Production

Year: 1946
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.35 Oz/Ton Au, 1 Oz/Ton Ag, 1% Cu (Mill Ore)
Year: 1944
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.452 Oz/Ton Au, 0.852 Oz/Ton Ag, 0.144% Cu (Mill Ore)
Year: 1945
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.509 Oz/Ton Au, 0.73 Oz/Ton Ag, 0.246% Cu (Mill Ore)
Year: 1944
Description: Ap_Grade: ^1.2 Oz/Ton Au, 0.65 Oz/Ton Ag, 0.45% Cu (Mill Ore)

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year Last Production: 1971
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: Epithermal quartz-alunite Au

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: San Juan Volcanic Field

Type: L
Description: Platoro Caldera, Summitville Caldera, Summitville Fault, South Mountain Dome

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Quartz-Alunite Solfataric Alteration

Rocks

Name: Quartz Latite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Name: Quartz Latite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Covellite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. ANNUAL AMOUNTS OF CON, AU, AND AG NOT CONSISTENTLY REPORTED. PRODUCTION IS FROM CONSOLIDATION OF CLAIMS AND OLDER MINE WORKINGS, BUT SOURCE WORKINGS FOR PARTICULAR YEAR'S PRODUCTION ARE UNKNOWN. NO CDM RECORDS PRIOR TO 1926. NO PRODUCTION REPORTED FOR 1930-32, 1949-60, OR AFTER 1971. THIS YEAR (1990), GALACTIC PLANS TO MINE ABOUT 1 MT (1.2 MILLION ST) OF ORE AT AN ESTIMATED HEADGRADE OF 1.7 G/T (0.05 OZ PER ST). THE PRESENT MINE'S KNOWN RESERVES ARE EXPECTED TO LAST ONLY ANOTHER TWO YEARS (1990). TO DATE, 24 MILLION TONS OF ROCKS AND MATERIAL, INCLUDING 8 MILLION TONS OF ORE, HAVE BEEN REMOVED. IN 1988, ITS LAST FULL YEAR OF MINING OPERATIONS, THE MINE WAS THE LARGEST GOLD PRODUCER IN THE STATE.

Comment (Development): REYNOLDS TUNNEL DRIVEN 1897-1906 BY DAN KIRBY AND A.E. REYNOLDS (ONE OF CONTROLLING PRINCIPALS IN DISTRICT IN EARLY 1900S) AS CROSSCUT TUNNEL AND AS DRIFT ON VEINS AT DEPTH AND TO CONNECT WORKINGS ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF CLAIMS. IN 1915, REYNOLDS MERGED HIS PROPERTIES WITH THOSE OF CONSOLIDATED GOLD MINING CO. OF NEW YORK TO FORM SUMMITVILLE GOLD MINES, INC., WHICH LEASED PROPERTIES AND PRODUCED SMALL AMOUNT OF ORE UNTIL 1925. IN 1934, MOST OF DISTRICT'S PROPERTIES CAME UNDER CONTROL OF SUMMITVILLE CONSOLIDATED MINES, INC. AND REYNOLDS-MORSE CORP., WHICH BEGAN MOST PRODUCTIVE PERIOD OF OPERATION. PROPERTIES RELINQUISHED TO GOLD LINKS MINING CO. IN 1942, THEN TRANSFERRED TO SUMMITVILLE MINING CO. IN 1946, AND OPERATED UNDER SEVERAL CONCERNS FROM 1948-1971.

Comment (Location): AT NE BASE OF SOUTH MTN. PORTAL ELEV FROM STEVEN AND RATTE (1960, PL. 4) ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1975

Comment (Deposit): TUNNEL DRIVEN BELOW WORKINGS ON MOST OF DISTRICT'S PRINCIPAL VEIN ZONES: NORTH TEWKSBURY, HIDDEN, COPPER HILL-ESMOND, AND LITTLE ANNIE. VEIN ZONES ARE GENERALLY STEEPLY DIPPING TO VERTICAL, IRREGULARLY TABULAR AND ELONGATE MASSES AND PIPES OF HIGHLY SILICIFIED ROCK, VUGGY AND COMPACT QUARTZ IN QUARTZ-ALUNITE ALTERATION ZONE. THIS LEVEL IS GENERALLYBELOW ZONE OF OXIDIZED ORE SUCH AS AURIFEROUS LIMONITE AND INTERSECTS UNOXIDIZED ZONE OF AU- AND AG-BEARING PYRITE AND CU SULFIDES. CONTINUITY OF ORE AT THIS DEPTH IS NOT KNOWN. SEE RECORDS OF REPRESENTATIVE MINES FOR DESCRIPTIONS OF PRINCIPAL VEIN ZONES.

Comment (Workings): DEEP TUNNEL DRIVEN S 35 W FOR 2080 FT THROUGH SW END OF HIDDEN VEIN ZONE, CONTINUING 430 FT TO NORTH TEWKSBURY VEIN ZONE. 600 FT OF DRIFT DEVELOPED NW INTO HIDDEN VEIN ZONE WITH 250-FT CROSSCUT DRIVEN WSW TO TUNNEL ON EXTENSION OF TEWKSBURY AND AZTEC-BLACK WONDER VEIN ZONES. AT TEWKSBURY VEIN, 280-FT DRIFT DRIVEN SE. TUNNEL CONTINUES GENERALLY N 12 TO 25 W FOR 1680 FT TO FACE. HIDDEN VEIN CROSSCUT INTERSECTS THIS INTERVAL AT 400 FT NORTH OF TEWKSBURY INTERSECTION. AT FACE, 120-FT BRANCH DRIVEN WEST AND 140-FT BRANCH DRIVEN ENE THROUGH LITTLE ANNIE VEIN ZONE. AT 75 FT ON THIS BRANCH, 520-FT DRIFT DRIVEN NW ON VEIN. TUNNEL IS LOWEST LEVEL IN DISTRICT. TOTAL EXTENT EXCLUDES RAISES TO DEVELOP ORE ABOVE LEVEL AND RAISES TO CHANDLER, COPPER HILL, IOWA, AND POSSIBLY OTHER LEVELS. MILL AT PORTAL. OPEN-PIT AND HEAP LEACHING OPERATION (1988).

Comment (Deposit): MRDS RECORD D002369 WAS MERGED WITH THIS RECORD. D002369 HAS BEEN DELETED. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

References

Reference (Deposit): PATTON, H.B., 1917, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE PLATORO-SUMMITVILLE MINING DISTRICT, COLORADO: CGS BULL. 13.

Reference (Deposit): STEVEN, T.A., AND RATTE, J.C., 1960, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE SUMMITVILLE DISTRICT, SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 343

Reference (Deposit): LIPMAN, P.W., 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE PLATORO CALDERA AREA, SOUTHEASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-828.

Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPTS. AND ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.

Reference (Deposit): MINING ENGINEERING, JULY 1990.

Reference (Deposit): ENGINEERING & MINING JOURNAL, JUNE 1988, PP. 46.

Reference (Production): COLORADO DIV. MINES ANN. OPERATOR REPTS. ; MINING ENGINEERING, JULY 1990.; ENGINEERING & MINING JOURNAL, JUNE 1988. DENVER POST, MAY 14, 1990.

Reference (Deposit): STOFFREGEN, R.E., 1987, GENESIS OF ACID-SULPHATE ALTERATION AND AU-CU-AG MINERALIZATION AT SUMMITVILLE, COLORADO: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 82, PP. 1575, 1591.

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