Caribou Mine

Site Name

Primary: Caribou Mine
Secondary: Caribou Consolidated Group
Secondary: Con. Silver Caribou Mines
Secondary: Consolidated Caribou Silver Mines
Secondary: Consolidated Caribou Silver Mine
Secondary: Caribou Shaft

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Commodity

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

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Location

State: Colorado
County: Boulder
District: Grand Island-Caribou District

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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.

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Holdings

Type: Patented

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Workings

Type: Underground

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Ownership

Owner Name: Consolidated Caribou Silver Mines
Info Year: 1948

Owner Name: Nederland Mines Inc.
Home Office: Colorado
Info Year: 1917

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Production

Year: 1874
Material type: 2570 g/mt silver (Copied from deleted record DC03396 = 10017387, which used Bull. 1030-N, p. 541, as the only citable source). This source says "Value of silver ore shipped from the mine before 1880

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Underground
Discovery Year: 1869
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

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Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Southern Rocky Mountains

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Type: L
Description: ore shoots localized at vein junctions and by changes in dip or strike

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: wall rock is silicified and pyritized

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Rocks

Name: Monzogabbro
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Tertiary

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Acanthite
Ore: Cerargyrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrargyrite
Ore: Silver
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pitchblende
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz

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Comments

Comment (Workings): Mine has 14 levels to a depth of almost 1500 ft.; access via Idaho tunnel on the 500-ft level.

Comment (Geology): URANIUM CONTENT OF SAMPLES FROM THE RADIUM VEIN RANGES FROM 0.01 TO 1.85 PERCENT. (Deleted record DC03292 claimed uranium content ranged from 0.001 to 1.45%, citing "DMEA RECORDS")

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Calais Resources has continued exploration in the Caribou and Cross mines area and reports (2005) a total resource (measured, indicated, and inferred) of: 437,240 oz Au and 12,575,240 oz Ag, contained in 1,058,000 tons of mineralized material for the Caribou/Cross project. The company continued exploration in the district in 2004 and 2005.

Comment (Geology): PRECAMBRIAN METAMORPHIC AND IGNEOUS ROCKS INTRUDED BY TERTIARY PORPHYRITIC MONZONITE AND DIORITE. MONZONITE, IN TURN, IS CUT BY E-W AND NE-TRENDING LEAD-SILVER QUARTZ CARBONATE VEINS.

Comment (Geology): SILVER IS GREATLY ENRICHED IN NEAR-SURFACE OXIDIZED ORE; ORE SHOOTS LOCALIZED AT JUNCTION OF VEINS, AND BY CHANGES IN DIP OR STRIKE; NATIVE SILVER, GALENA, ARGENTITE, CERARGYRITE, GREY COPPER, SPHALERITE AND CHALCOPYRITE IN QTZ GANGUE.

Comment (Production): BY 1883, $2,500,000 TOTAL OUTPUT FROM THE CARIBOU AND NO NAME VEINS; INTERMITTENT OPERATIONS SINCE THEN. CONSOLIDATED CARIBOU SILVER MINES, INC., REOPENED THE MINE IN 1948, VIA THE IDAHO TUNNEL ON THE 500-FOOT LEVEL, AND REPORTED $500,000 IN LEAD-SILVER ORE PRODUCED THROUGH 1951.

Comment (General): Also see record 10214415. This is the same deposit, but the information in the record is so different, that it should be retained.

Comment (Geology): Alternate deleted record called rock type monzonite and age Neoproterozoic.

Comment (Deposit): ORE BODIES (uranium) TOO SMALL TO BE MINED ECONOMICALLY.

Comment (Geology): TITANIFEROUS MAGNETITE IN MASSES OF PYROXENITE THAT ARE SEGREGATIONS IN THE CARIBOU STOCK (DC03391 = 10017384, record has been merged and deleted)

Comment (Commodity): Largest producer in the district, the mine is noted for its very rich silver ore in near-surface vein deposits. Uranium has been found at the Caribou Mine, but production is negligible.

Comment (Location): Location of Caribou shaft, on NE side of Caribou Hill, about 1500 feet west of Caribou.

Comment (Names): PART OF CARIBOU CONSOLIDATED GROUP

Comment (Ownership): Calais Resources (2005)

Comment (Geology): CARIBOU VEIN STRIKES W DIPS 75 N, AVE. 2 FT WIDTH. MOST ORE CONCENTRATED NEAR INTERSECTION WITH NO NAME VEIN. ORE MINERALS ARE GALENA, SPHALERITE, ARGENTITE, PYRARGYRITE, AND NATIVE SILVER. OTHER VEINS INCLUDE POORMAN, SILVER DOLLAR, SHERMAN, COLUMBIA, SPENCER, RADIUM, ELMER, AND NELSON.

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References

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Calais Resources corporate info., accessed from internet on 12/20/2005.

Reference (Deposit): MINE MAP REPO # 401309 408176 408177 408173 408178

Reference (Deposit): DMEA RECORDS

Reference (Deposit): Sunshine Mining Co. Colorado exploration files, unpublished data, Colorado Geological Survey.

Reference (Deposit): HENDERSON, 1929, USBM TECH. PAPER 439.

Reference (Deposit): CONSV. DIV. COMP. DATE, 10,62

Reference (Deposit): Smith, D. A., 2003, Silver saga, the story of Caribou, Colorado (rev. ed.): Boulder, University Press of Colorado, 230 p.

Reference (Deposit): LOVERING AND GODDARD, 1950, USGS PP 223, P. 200-201, AND PL. 3 (NORTH HALF)
Pages: p. 200-201, p. 3 (north)

Reference (Deposit): Moore, F. B., Cavender, W. S., and Kaiser, E. P., 1957, Geology and uranium deposits of the Caribou area, Boulder County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1030-N, pp. 517-552.
Pages: p. 540-541, pls. 35, 36, 37, 40.

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