Beartown District

The Beartown District is a gold and silver mine located in San Juan county, Colorado at an elevation of 11,161 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: Beartown District  

State:  Colorado

County:  San Juan

Elevation: 11,161 Feet (3,402 Meters)

Commodity: Gold, Silver

Lat, Long: 37.72278, -107.50250

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 Beartown District

Beartown District MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Beartown District
Secondary: Bear Creek District
Secondary: Patented Claims: Good Hope, MS 7764
Secondary: Wonder, MS 7764
Secondary: Ferris Heretofore Ptarmigan, MS 8705
Secondary: Little Giant, MS 9145
Secondary: Bonita, MS 11327
Secondary: Repeal, MS 11691a
Secondary: Gold Bug, MS 11691a
Secondary: Gold Nugget, MS 11691a
Secondary: Gold Bug Mill Site, MS 11691b
Secondary: Montezuma, MS 12152
Secondary: Great Western, MS 12152
Secondary: Anaconda, MS 12152
Secondary: Robertson, MS 12224
Secondary: Scott, MS 12224
Secondary: I.X.L., MS 12309
Secondary: J.I.C., MS 12309
Secondary: Kankakee, MS 14205
Secondary: Eclipse, MS 15263
Secondary: El Dorado, MS 16686


Commodity

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


Location

State: Colorado
County: San Juan
District: Beartown (Bear Creek) 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

Not available


Production

Not available


Deposit

Record Type: District
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1892
Year Last Production: 1961
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: Alkaline Au-Te (Au-Ag-Te veins)


Orebody

Not available


Structure

Type: R
Description: San Juan Uplift, San Juan Volcanic Field

Type: L
Description: San Juan Uplift, Unnamed Faults, San Juan Caldera, Unnamed Folds


Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation Of Cu And Fe Sulfides


Rocks

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

Name: Rhyodacite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic


Analytical Data

Analytical Data: LT 25 TO 13000 PPM ZN, LT 2 TO 120 PPM MO, LT 10 TO 150 PPM AS, 1 TO GT 100 PPM SB, 0.02 TO GT 6 PPM HG, UP TO 1400 PPM TE, LT 0.1 TO 2600 PPM AG
Analytical Data: CHEMICAL ANALYSES SHOWED WIDER RANGE OF VALUES: LT 0.02 TO 190 PPM AU, LT 10 TO 24000 PPM CU, LT 25 TO 1400 PPM PB,
Analytical Data: GENERALLY LT 200 TO 500 PPM ZN (1500 TO GT 10000 PPM IN SAMPLES WITH SPHALERITE), LT 1 TO GT 20 PPM FE.
Analytical Data: GENERALLY LT 10 TO 70 PPM SN, LT 10 TO 1000 PPM V, GENERALLY LT 50 PPM W,
Analytical Data: GENERALLY LT 100 TO 500 PPM SB (1000 TO GT 10000 IN SAMPLES WITH TETRAHEDRITE),
Analytical Data: GENERALLY LT 5 TO 100 PPM MO, 2 TO 200 PPM NI, 5 TO 500 PPM PB,
Analytical Data: GENERALLY LT 5 TO 100 PPM CO (HIGH GT 2000 PPM), LT 5 TO 700 PPM CR, UP TO 20000 PPM CU (SAMPLES WITH TETRAHEDRITE OR CHALCOPYRITE),
Analytical Data: GENERALLY LT 10 PPM BI, GENERALLY LT 20 TO 300 PPM CD (HIGH GT 500 PPM),
Analytical Data: GENERALLY LT 200 TO 1500 PPM AS (HIGH 5000 PPM), 15 TO 3000 PPM BA,
Analytical Data: TO 10000 PPM TI, UP TO 5000 PPM MN, LT 0.5 TO 200 PPM AG (HIGHS 1000 TO 5000),
Analytical Data: SEMIQUANTITATIVE SPECTROGRPHIC ANALYSES (STEVEN AND OTHERS, 1969) OF 66 SAMPLES OF QUARTZ VEINS WITH VARIOUS SULFIDES THROUGHOUT DISTRICT SHOWED UP


Materials

Ore: Petzite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Marcasite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sylvanite
Ore: Calaverite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Gangue: Siderite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Kaolinite
Gangue: Vermiculite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite


Comments

Comment (Location): DISTRICT LIES IN HEADWATERS OF BEAR CREEK AND UNNAMED TRIBUTARIES BETWEEN BEARTOWN SITE AND CONTINENTAL DIVIDE 2 MILES UPSTREAM (SW). SOME WORKINGS LIE ON WEST SIDE OF DIVIDE IN HEADWATERS OF ELK CREEK NORTH AND EAST OF ELDORADO LAKE (DRAINAGE AREA 14080104, UPPER COLORADO). DISTRICT ACCESSIBLE BY TRAIL SW UP BEAR CREEK FROM RIO GRANDE RIVER; VIA TRAIL NORTH UP VALLECITO CREEK AND OVER HUNCHBACK PASS; VIA TRAIL EAST UP ELK CREEK; VIA TRAILS ALONG CONTINENTAL DIVIDE SE FROM HOWARDSVILLE. AS AREA IS UNSURVEYED, SECTIONS GIVEN ARE BASED ON FORESHORTENED PROJECTED TOWNSHIP ON BLM SMM MAPS; CLAIM RECORDS CITE DIFFERENT SECTIONS FOR SOME CLAIMS BASED ON NORMAL TOWNSHIP PROJECTION. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR APPROXIMATE BEARTOWN SITE ON TRAIL NORTH OF BEAR CREEK 1.5 MILES NE OF KITE LAKE (PROJECTED NW SEC. 23, T40N, R6W). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977

Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. FIGURES FOR YEARS PRIOR TO 1900 UNAVAILABLE. 1961 WAS LAST YEAR OF PRODUCTION.

Comment (Deposit): FISSURE ZONES AS SINGLE WELL-DEFINED VEIN, AS SERIES OF INTERLOCKING VEINLETS, OR AS BRECCIA CEMENT. SEAMS AND PODS MOSTLY LESS THAN ONE FT THICK BUT ATTAIN MAXIMUM THICKNESS OF 6 FT AS GOLD BUG MINE. ORES ARE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED PYRITE WITH ASSOCIATED AU-AG TELLURIDES. MOST PRODUCTIVE MINES LIE ON GOOD HOPE, GOLD BUG, AND REPEAL VEINS IN CENTRALLY CONCENTRATED ZONE OF DISCONTINUOUS FISSURES FROM WEST OF KITE LAKE 4000 FT NORTH TO AREA OF FAULT CONTACT BETWEEN IRVING AND UNCOMPAHGRE FMS. OTHER MINES DEVELOPED ON SMALL, WIDELY SCATTERED VEINS AND MINOR MINERALIZED FISSURE ZONES. IN HEADWATERS OF ELK CREEK, OTHER VEIN TYPE NOTED. MAFIC POD CONTAINS SHEARED CHLORITIC QUARTZITE, QUARTZ VEINLETS, WITH PYRITE IN SHEARED COUNTRY ROCK. ZONE STRIKES EAST-WEST, DIPS NEAR VERTICAL AND CRUDELY PARALLELS GNEISS FOLIATION. SECOND MAFIC POD IN GRANITIC GNEISS CONTAINS CHLORITIC TO BIOTITIC QUARTZITE, BIOTITE GNEISS, AND VERMICULITE SCHIST. SAMPLES SHOW STRONG CU ANOMALY, WITH AG SLIGHTLY ABOVE

Comment (Deposit): BACKGROUND. FISSURES FORMED SUBSEQUENT TO YOUNGEST PRECAMBRIAN DEFORMATION AND METAMORPHISM BUT NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE SEEN OF MINERALIZED FISSURE ZONES PASSING FROM METAMORPHICS INTO OVERLYING VOLCANICS. FEW LOCAL HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED SHEAR ZONES NOTED IN SAN JUAN FM SUGGEST MINERALIZATION AND PERHAPS FISSURING ARE TERTIARY IN AGE.

Comment (Workings): PROPERTIES DEVELOPED BY SURFACE CUTS: DRIFT TUNNELS ON VEINS; CROSSCUT TUNNELS TO VEINS WITH DRIFTS, RAISES, WINZES, STOPES; SHAFTS. UNDERGROUND WORKINGS DEVELOPED TO DEPTH OF ABOUT 500 FT.

Comment (Development): AREA PROSPECTED AS EARLY AS 1878, BUT FIRST LOCATIONS NOT MADE UNTIL 1892. AT LEAST THREE QUARTERS OF PRODUCTION VALUE FROM DISTRICT CAME BEFORE 1900. RICH TELLURIDE POCKETS ACCESSIBLE FROM SURFACE CUTS AND BY ADITS IN SHALLOW UNDERGROUND WORKINGS. DEVELOPMENT SLOWED BY DIFFICULTY IN HAND STEELING IN HARD QUARTZITE AND BY LACK OF TRANSPORTATION. NEARLY ALL ORE WAS PACKED OUT ON MULE TRAINS. IN EARLY 1900S, GOLD MINES AND POWER CO. ATTEMPTED TO PROVIDE POWER TO AREA BY DAMMING NAVAJO (ELDORADO?) LAKE AND BUILDING POWER HOUSE BELOW. APPARENTLY ONLY SMALL SPORADIC PRODUCTION THROUGH EARLY 1900S AND 1930S. LAST REPORTED PRODUCTION WAS FROM KANKAKEE MINE IN 1940 AND LITTLE GIANT MINE IN 1961.

Comment (Deposit): DISTRICT IS REFERRED TO IN LITERATURE AS BEARTOWN OR BEAR CREEK, BUT BLM CLAIM RECORDS ASSIGN DISTRICT NAME OF "ANIMAS," PROBABLY DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO ANIMAS DISTRICT PROPER AROUND SILVERTON. DUE TO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION BETWEEN AREAS, BEARTOWN IS DESCRIBED SEPARATELY. INDIVIDUAL RECORDS PREPARED FOR ALL APPARENT PRODUCTIVE MINES IN DISTRICT: GOLD BUG, GOLDEN SHEAR, GOOD HOPE, KANKAKEE (CRUSADER), LITTLE GIANT, LITTLE MAY, ROBINSON, SUMMIT, SYLVANITE; ADDITIONAL RECORD FOR ELDORADO CLAIM, SECOND VEIN TYPE IN DISTRICT. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Deposit): AT NORTH END OF NEEDLE MTNS, OLDER GNEISS AND SCHIST OF IRVING FM LIE IN STEEP FAULT CONTACT WITH YOUNGER UNCOMPAHGRE FM QUARTZITES AND SLATES TIGHTLY COMPRESSED INTO EAST-WEST TO WNW-ESE-TRENDING FOLDS AND CUT BY SEVERAL EAST-TRENDING FAULTS. PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS IN NORTH PART OF DISTRICT OVERLAIN BY PRE-SAN JUAN CALDERA VOLCANICLASTICS OF SAN JUAN FM AND NEAR-SOURCE FACIES ANDESITE AND QUARTZ LATITE FLOWS ALONG SOUTH THIN EDGE OF VOLCANIC SEQUENCE WHERE ABUTTED AGAINST HIGHER NEEDLE MTNS TOPOGRAPHY. RIDGE NORTH OF KITE LAKE AND ELDORADO LAKE IS POSITIVE, RESISTANT FAULT BLOCK OF QUARTZITE (MISTAKEN FOR DIKE BY EARLY PROSPECTORS) IN CONTRAST TO MORE EASILY ERODIBLE VALLEY-FORMING SLATES. UNCOMPAHGRE FM QUARTZITE AND SLATE CUT BY NUMEROUS NORTH-TRENDING FISSURES AT APPROXIMATELY RIGHT ANGLES TO GNEISSIC FOLIATION AND EAST-TRENDING FOLDS AND FAULTS. MORE CLEARLY DEFINED VEINS MARKED BY LIMONITE STAINING. VEINS BETTER DEFINED IN QUARTZITE THAN IN SLATE. LOCALLY QUARTZ FILLED OPEN SPACES IN


References

Reference (Deposit): STEVEN, T.A., AND OTHERS, 1969, MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE SAN JUAN PRIMITIVE AREA, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1261-F, P. 67-71, 89-90.

Reference (Deposit): PROSSER, W.C., 1911, THE BEAR CREEK SYLVANITE CAMP, COLORADO: ENG. MINING JOUR., V. 91. 712.

Reference (Deposit): STEVEN, T.A., AND OTHERS, 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE DURANGO QUADRANGLE, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGE MAP I-764.

Reference (Deposit): BARKER, FRED, 1969, PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY OF THE NEEDLE MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 644-A.

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

Reference (Deposit): BLM MINERAL SURVEYS 7764, 8705, 9145, 11327, 11691A&B, 12152, 12224, 12309, 14205, 15263, 16686

Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPTS., ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS., INSPECTOR REPTS., MINE MANAGERS REPTS.

Reference (Production): STEVEN, T.A., AND OTHERS, 1969, P. 89.


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.