The Aurora Mine is a silver and gold mine located in La Plata county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,951 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
Elevation: 10,951 Feet (3,338 Meters)
Commodity: Silver, Gold
Lat, Long: 37.43083, -108.00500
Map: View on Google Maps
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Aurora Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Aurora Mine
Secondary: Patented Claims: Jim Smith, MS 1960
Secondary: Aurora, MS 1961
Secondary: Jewel, MS 1962
Secondary: Aurora Claims Group
Commodity
Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Tertiary: Tellurium
Tertiary: Copper
Location
State: Colorado
County: La Plata
District: California (La Plata) District
Land Status
Land ownership: National Forest
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.
Administrative Organization: San Juan N. F.
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1882
Discovery Year: 1882
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Colorado Plateaus
Physiographic Section: Navajo Section
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Polymetallic veins
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Type: R
Description: San Juan Uplift, Four Corners Platform
Type: L
Description: La Plata Dome, Lewis Mtn Diorite Stock
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Kaolinitization
Rocks
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Permian
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Eocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF DUMP ORE CONTAINED 0.16 OZ/TON AU AND 0.36 OZ/TON AG. WAYT'S ASSAY OF VEIN SAMPLE FROM SURFACE CONTAINED 5 OZ/TON AU AND 8 OZ/TON AG.
Materials
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Ankerite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: EARLY 1880S
Comment (Location): (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). ON EAST SLOPE OF LEWIS MTN-SNOWSTORM PEAK ALONG UPPER RUBY GULCH, 3.95 MILES NE OF LA PLATA TOWNSITE (UNSURVEYED SECTION). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1974
Comment (Development): CLAIM GROUP WORKED AS EARLY AS 1882, LATER IN 1900, PRODUCING ONLY SMALL LOTS OF ORE. CLAIMS SURVEYED IN 1884, PATENTED IN 1887.
Comment (Deposit): COUNTRY ROCK CONSISTS OF CUTLER FM RED BEDS INTRUDED BY DIORITE-MONZONITE PORPHYRY SILLS AND BY DIORITE FROM LEWIS MTN STOCK. AT SURFACE, AURORA VEIN TRENDS N 58 TO 72 E, AND MARKED BY NARROW ZONE OF FE-STAINED AND DECOMPOSED ROCK: NEAR ADIT VEIN IS 1 TO 2 FT WIDE AND COMPOSED OF SHEARED DIORITE WITH QUARTZ, PYRITE, SOME BARITE. ORE IN SHAFT WAS 0.5 TO 2 FT WIDE AND COMPOSED OF TELLURIDE-BEARING QUARTZ.
Comment (Workings): MINE DEVELOPED BY 27-FT SHAFT AND TWO TUNNELS. UPPER CROSSCUT ADIT DRIVEN N 65 W FOR 80 FT, THENCE N 50 W FOR 90 FT THROUGH AURORA VEIN, ON WHICH DRIFT DRIVEN S 70 TO 85 W FOR 70 FT TO CAVED AREA. LOWER ADIT LOCATED 340 FT SE OF AND ABOUT 220 FT BELOW UPPER ADIT, DRIVEN N 40 W FOR 450 FT, THENCE N 20 W FOR 50 FT TO VEIN; 160-FT BRANCH TUNNEL AND DRIFTS DRIVEN WEST AND SW AT 245 FT FROM PORTAL.
References
Reference (Deposit): BLM MINERAL SURVEYS MS 1960, 1961, 1962
Reference (Deposit): WAYT, L.M., (NO DATE), STATEMENT CONCERNING THE AURORA GROUP LODE CLAIMS, LA PLATA COUNTY, COLORADO: UNPUB. ENG. REPT., 1 P.
Reference (Deposit): ECKEL, E.B., AND OTHERS, 1949, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE LA PLATA DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 219, P. 73-76, 88-89.
Colorado Mining Photos
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