The Durango Girl Mine is a gold and silver mine located in La Plata county, Colorado at an elevation of 9,879 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: 9,879 Feet (3,011 Meters)
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Lat, Long: 37.41722, -107.99806
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Durango Girl Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Durango Girl Mine
Secondary: Patented Claims: Durango Boy, MS 16438
Secondary: Durango Girl, MS 16525
Secondary: New Hope, MS 16525
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Mercury
Tertiary: Tellurium
Tertiary: Vanadium
Tertiary: Antimony
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
Type: Underground
Ownership
Owner Name: Durango Girl Gold Mining And Milling Co.
Years: 1921 -
Production
Year: 1920
Description: Ap_Grade: ^9.45 Oz/Ton Au, 63 Oz/Ton Ag
Year: 1919
Description: Ap_Grade: ^6.04 Oz/Ton Au, 66.60 Oz/Ton Ag
Year: 1919
Description: Ap_Grade: ^1.92 To 7.62 Oz/Ton Au, 57.50 To 94.25 Oz/Ton Ag
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1893
Year Last Production: 1939
Discovery Year: 1893
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
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification
Rocks
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Paleocene
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Permian
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pleistocene
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Paleocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: RITTER (1924?) TABULATED INDIVIDUAL ORE LOTS AND GRADES FROM 1893 TO 1921. LARGER SINGLE SHIPMENTS OF "LOWER" HIGH-GRADE ORE CONTAINED 0.41 TO 17.90 OZ/TON AU AND 4.6 TO 184.95 OZ/TON AG, WITH THE FOLLOWING VERY HIGH ASSAYS: 313.10 OZ/TON AU AND 574.40 OZ/TON AG, 134.03 OZ/TON AU AND 695.55 OZ/TON AG, 416.35 OZ/TON AU AND 1698.96 OZ/TON AG, 204.63 OZ/TON AU AND 834.22 OZ/TON AG, 181.25 OZ/TON AU AND 378.27 OZ/TON AG.
Materials
Ore: Petzite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Hessite
Ore: Cinnabar
Ore: Coloradoite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Dickite
Gangue: Roscoelite
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Development): VEIN LOCATED IN 1893 AND MINE PRODUCED CONTINUOUSLY FROM 1893 TO 1899 AND INTERMITTENTLY FROM 1902 TO 1926, WITH LAST PRODUCTION REPORTED IN 1939. MINE PRODUCED RICH HAND-SORTED ORE, BUT VANDERBERGE (1908) CITED HISTORY OF DISCORDANT OWNERSHIP AND WRETCHED MANAGEMENT; ORE WAS HIGH-GRADED WITH MUCH LOWER GRADE ORE DUMPED IN STOPES.
Comment (Workings): MINE DEVELOPED BY THREE TUNNELS. TUNNEL NO. 1 (INACCESSIBLE) DRIVEN PRESUMABLY WNW FOR 105 FT ON VEIN. TUNNEL NO. 2 (UPPER TUNNEL) DRIVEN N 70 TO 85 W FOR 970 FT ALONG VEIN TO FACE; WINZES AT 79 FT, 280 FT, AND 390 FT FROM PORTAL; RAISES AT 740 FT AND 830 FT FROM PORTAL. TUNNEL NO. 3 (LOWER TUNNEL) LOCATED 70 FT NE OF AND ABOUT 45 FT BELOW TUNNEL NO. 2, DRIVEN GENERALLY N 70 W AT LEAST 520 FT TO STOPED AND CAVED AREA; RAISES TO UPPER LEVEL AT 120 FT, 330 FT, AND 450 FT FROM PORTAL. PRINCIPAL STOPES DEVELOPED ABOVE UPPER LEVEL FROM PORTAL TO 370 FT AND FROM 410 TO 530 FT FROM PORTAL.
Comment (Deposit): COUNTRY ROCKS CONSIST OF VARIABLY DIPPING, RELATIVELY UNALTERED CUTLER FM RED BEDS INTRUDED BY DIORITE-MONZNITE PORPHYRY SILLS AND DIKES. VEIN, WHICH FOLLOWS NORMAL FAULT TRENDING N 75 W, 54 TO 78 NE, VARIES IN THICKNESS FROM FRACTION OF INCH TO 5 FT AND GENERALLY IS WIDER IN PORPHYRY AND SANDSTONE THAN IN SHALE. WALL ROCK IS ALTERED, BLEACHED, AND SILICIFIED FROM 2 INCHES TO 6 FT BEYOND VEIN AND CONTAINS DISSEMINATED PYRITE. VEIN IS BELT OF QUARTZ STRINGERS UP TO 3 FT WIDE, AVERAGING ONE FT. PYRITE ABUNDANT IN VEIN ZONE BUT RARE IN HIGH-GRADE VEIN QUARTZ. TELLURIDES, TETRAHEDRITE, AND FREE GOLD INTERGROWN WITH QUARTZ. RICHEST ORE FOUND BETWEEN SANDSTONE WALLS, BUT MOST SHIPPING ORE LAY BETWEEN PORPHYRY WALLS; LITTLE OR NO ORE IN SHALE.
Comment (Production): COMPLETE PRODUCTION RECORD EXCEPT FOR MISSING ORE FIGURE FOR 1926. GRADES GIVEN FOR 1893-1921 ARE RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL ORE LOT GRADES TABULATED BY RITTER (1924?). ESTIMATED CUMULATIVE ORE FIGURE EXCLUDES UNREPORTED FIGURE FOR 1926.
Comment (Location): (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). CLAIMS LIE ON LOWER SE SLOPE OF LE IS MTN ALONG UPPER WALLS GULCH, 3.8 MILES NE OF LA PLATA TOWNSITE (UNSURVEYED SECTIONS). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1974; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = DURANGO 1:250000
References
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, 115-117.
Reference (Deposit): EMMONS, W.H., 1905, THE NEGLECTED MINE AND NEAR-BY PROPERTIES, DURANGO QUADRANGLE, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 260, P. 121-127.
Reference (Deposit): VANDERBERGE, J.H., 1908, REPORT OF THE DURANGO GIRL, LA PLATA COUNTY: UNPUB. ENG. REPT., 7 P.
Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPT.
Reference (Deposit): BLM MINERAL SURVEYS 16438, 16525
Reference (Deposit): RITTER, E.A., 1924?, REPORT ON THE DURANGO GIRL MINE OF THE DURANGO MINING AND MILLING COMPANY CONTAINED IN A PROSPECTUS OF THE COMPANY, LA PLATA COUNTY: UNPUB. ENG. REPT., 5 P.
Reference (Production): ECKEL AND OTHERS, 1949, P. 115 (AS COMPILED FROM COMPANY, USGS, AND USBM RECORDS); RITTER, 1924?
Colorado Mining Photos
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