The Belle of the West Mine is a silver and gold mine located in Hinsdale county, Colorado at an elevation of 9,701 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: 9,701 Feet (2,957 Meters)
Commodity: Silver, Gold
Lat, Long: 38.00167, -107.28500
Map: View on Google Maps
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Belle of the West Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Belle of the West Mine
Secondary: Patented Claims: Belle of the West, MS 357
Secondary: Extension, MS 358
Secondary: Malter Placer, MS 588
Secondary: Western Belle, MS 1049
Secondary: Delphos, MS 6952
Secondary: Trenton, MS 6967
Commodity
Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Antimony
Location
State: Colorado
County: Hinsdale
District: Lake (Lake City) 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
Not available
Ownership
Owner Name: Ted Buder
Home Office: Lake City, Co.
Years: 1965 -
Owner Name: 32-36 Development Co.
Home Office: Lake City, CO
Years: 1965 -
Production
Year: 1915
Description: Ap_Grade: ^110 Oz/Ton Ag
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year Last Production: 1959
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
Not available
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Type: R
Description: San Juan Volcanic Field, San Juan Depression
Type: L
Description: San Juan-Uncompahgre Calderas, Lake City Caldera
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Oligocene
Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Oligocene
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Bournonite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. FIGURES UNAVAILABLE FOR YEARS PRIOR TO 1911. TONNAGES AND GRADES FOR 1919 AND 1922-1924 ARE FROM CDM RECORDS. PRODUCTION FOR OTHER YEARS (CITED IN USGS/USBM DOCUMENTS) NOT REPORTED SEPARATELY BUT COMBINED WITH OTHER LAKE DISTRICT MINES. AND IS CONSIDERED TO BE SMALL FOR EACH YEAR LISTED. PRODUCTION FIGURE FOR 1940 FROM USBM MINERAL YEARBOOK, WHICH ALSO CITES 1959 AS LAST YEAR OF PRODUCTION, EVEN THOUGH CDM RECORDS REPORT PRODUCTION ONLY THROUGH 1924.
Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT LIES IN THICK, HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED RHYOLITE FLOWS AND DOMES OCCUPYING EAST PART OF UNCOMPAHGRE CALDERA'S MOAT-FILL. BROWN (1926) DESCRIBED NE-TRENDING VEIN AS PARALLEL TO ABOUT 150 FT SE OF BELLE OF THE EAST VEIN. APPROX ORDER OF ORE DEPOSITION WAS PYRITE, SPHALERITE, TETRAHEDRITE, GALENA, CHALCOPYRITE. ONE SECTION SHOWED APPARENT SIMULTANEOUS DEPOSITION OF SPHALERITE, TETRAHEDRITE, AND GALENA. VEIN OCCUPIES RADIAL FRACTURE/FAULT NE OF LAKE CITY CALDERA AND LIES IN SLACK'S (1980) BARITE/PRECIOUS METALS ASSEMBLAGE, ON APPROX BOUNDARY BETWEEN OUTER RHODOCHROSITE-TETRAHEDRITE ZONE AND INNER QUARTZ-SPHALERITE ZONE.
Comment (Workings): TUNNEL NO. 1 (UPPER), ABANDONED, EXTENT UNKNOWN; TUNNEL 2 DRIVEN 600 FT GENERALLY SE; TUNNEL 3 DRIVEN 600 FT GENERALLY SE; TUNNEL 4 (LOWER) DRIVEN 800 FT GENERALLY SE; 200-FT SHAFT.
Comment (Location): CLAIMS LIE ALONG LAKE FORK AND ON HILLSIDE EAST OF LAKE FORK BETWEEN DEADMAN GULCH AND SLUMGULLION CREEK. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR TUNNEL PORTAL ON HILLSIDE ABOVE DEADMAN GULCH, IN NW SW SE NE SEC. 10. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1977
References
Reference (Deposit): LIPMAN, P.W., 1976, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LAKE CITY CALDERA AREA, WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-962.
Reference (Deposit): LIPMAN, P.W., AND OTHERS, 1976, MULTIPLE AGES OF MID-TERTIARY MINERALIZATION AND ALTERATION IN THE WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 71, NO. 3, P. 571-588.
Reference (Deposit): SLACK, J.F., 1980, MULTISTAGE VEIN ORES OF THE LAKE CITY DISTRICT, WESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 75, NO. 7, P. 963-9919
Reference (Deposit): BROWN, W.H., 1926, THE MINERAL ZONES OF THE WHITE CROSS DISTRICT AND NEIGHBORING DEPOSITS IN HINSDALE COUNTY, COLORADO: MINES MAG., V. 15, NO. 11, P. 5-15.
Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPTS. AND ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.
Reference (Deposit): BLM MINERAL SURVEYS MS 357, 358, 588, 1049, 6952, 6967
Reference (Production): COLORADO DIV. MINES ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.; USBM/USGS MINERAL RESOURCES OF U.S.; USBM MINERAL YEARBOOKS
Reference (Deposit): IRVING, J.D., AND BANCROFT, HOWLAND, 1911, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS NEAR LAKE CITY, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 478.
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