Black King Mine

The Black King Mine is a copper, silver, gold, and uranium mine located in San Miguel county, Colorado at an elevation of 7,779 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

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.

Site Name

Primary: Black King Mine
Secondary: Black King No. 5 Claim
Secondary: Evans Claims
Secondary: Weatherly Claims
Secondary: Unpatented Claims: Black King No. 1
Secondary: Black King No. 4
Secondary: Black King No. 5

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Primary: Uranium
Secondary: Vanadium
Tertiary: Chromium
Tertiary: Titanium, Metal
Tertiary: Cobalt
Tertiary: Lead
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Molybdenum

Location

State: Colorado
County: San Miguel
District: Lower San Miguel District

Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
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: G. E. Weatherly
Home Office: New Castle
Years: 1952 -

Owner Name: Bachelor Corp.
Home Office: Placerville
Years: 1952 -

Production

Year: 1902
Material type: ORE CU AG ACC
Description: Ap_Grade: ^14.8% Cu, 3.5 Oz/Ton Ag, 0.11 Oz/Ton Au

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year Last Production: 1952
Discovery Year: 1885
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: Canyon Lands

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: Paradox Basin, Uncompahgre Uplift, San Juan Volcanic Field, San Miguel Mtns

Type: L
Description: Black King Fault

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation Of Cu Sulfide To Carbonate; Oxidation Of Fe Sulfide To Oxide; Wallrock Bleaching

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: MOREHOUSE (1951) TABULATED ANALYSES OF CHANNEL SAMPLES (EACH SET OF VALUES IS RADIOMETRIC AND CHEMICAL U308): 1.07, 0.88
Analytical Data: 0.01, NOT RUN ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE OF 11 SAMPLES SHOWED 0.16% CU, 0.14% U308, 0.04% V205. QUALITATIVE AND SEMIQUANTITATIVE ANALYSES SHOWED 2.5% FE, 24.5 % CAC03, 0.6% S, 0.4% TI02, 0.8 OZ/TON AG, TRACES OF PB, AS, MG, AU, AND PRESENCE OF MN, MO, CO, AND ELEMENTAL C. COLEMAN AND DELEVAUX'S (1957) PYRITE SAMPLE CONTAINED 0.017 % SE.
Analytical Data: 0.02, NOT RUN
Analytical Data: 0.14, 0.08
Analytical Data: 0.22, 0.07
Analytical Data: 0.18, 0.13
Analytical Data: 0.39, 0.19
Analytical Data: 0.52, 0.45

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Coffinite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Limonite
Gangue: Ferrimolybdite
Gangue: Sericite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Skutterudite
Gangue: Calcite
Unknown: Ilsemannite
Unknown: Jordisite

Comments

Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. PRODUCTION OF BASE AND PRECIOUS METALS FOR OTHER YEARS, IF ANY, UNKNOWN BUT CONSIDERED SMALL. 1902 FIGURES REPORTED BY HESS (1913). CUMULATIVE U/V PRODUCTION REPORTED BY NELSON-MOORE AND OTHERS BUT EXACT YEARS OF PRODUCTION UNKNOWN. 1952 URANIUM PRODUCTION CITED BY CDM.

Comment (Location): WORKING LIE AT HEAD OF SMALL UNNAMED TRIBUTARY GULCH NORTH OF SAN MIGUEL RIVER 1.15 MILES NW OF PLACERVILLE. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1975

Comment (Development): CLAIMS PROBABLY LOCATED ORIGINALLY AS CU PROSPECT. ONLY REPORT OF EARLY PRODUCTION WAS CU-AG-AU ORE IN 1902. LAST REPORTED PRODUCTION WAS U ORE IN 1952.

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1880S?

Comment (Deposit): MINE DEVELOPED ON BLACK KING FAULT, ONE OF PRINCIPAL FAULTS IN NW-TRENDING SYSTEM CHARACTERISTIC OF DISTRICT. FAULT TRENDS GENERALLY N 65TO 70 W (DOWNTHROWN ON NE) AND DISPLACES CUTLER FM ON SW AGAINST DOLORES FM ON NE. VEIN CARRIES BASE METAL SULFIDES AND UNUSUAL ASSEMBLAGE OF MO MINERALS, CHROMIUM MICA, AND COBALT-ARSENIC MINERALS. URANIUM OCCURS AS SCATTERED GRAINS OF URANINITE AND COFFINITE AND POSSIBLY AS ORGANIC COMPLEX DISSEMINATED THROUGH HARDENED PETROLIFEROUS HYDROCARBON OR ASPHALTIC MATERIAL (TERMED THUCHOLITE). ASPHALT OCCURS IN FAULT ZONE, AS FRACTURE FILLINGS, AND DISSEMINATION IN SEDIMENTARY ROCK. THREE VARIETIES OF RADIOACTIVE HYDROCARBON IDENTIFIED BY MOREHOUSE (1951): (1) SHINY LOUSTROUS MATERIAL WITH PROBABLE URANINITE SPECKS REPRESENTING EARLIEST STAGE AND MOST STRONGLY RADIOACTIVE; (2) DARKER GRAY SOOTY VARIETY WITH SOME SCATTERED URANINITE; (3) LIGHT GRAY LATE-STAGE BANDED MATERIAL FORMING VEINLETS CUTTING EARLIER TWO STAGES WITH MUCH LESS ABUNDANT URANINITE.

Comment (Deposit): THUCHOLITE FOUND IN LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS SHALE ONLY IN HANGING WALL, ALONG WITH GRAY DISSEMINATED CR MICA IN FE-STAINED SANDSTONE. GENERAL PARAGENESIS (WILMARTH, 1953): CALCITE, BARITE, PYRITE, HYDROCARBONS, SULFIDES (PYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE, BORNITE, ARGENTIFEROUS TETRAHEDRITE, GALENA, SPHALERITE).

Comment (Workings): MINE DEVELOPED BY SEVERAL SMALL SURFACE CUTS, TWO INCLINED SHAFTS, AND TWO DRIFTS, NORTH INCLINED SHAFT IS 42 FT DEEP; SOUTH SHAFT INCLINED ABOUT 30 DEG TO NORTH, INTERSECTING NORTH SHAFT AT DEPTH OF 20 TO 25 FT IN NORTH SHAFT. EAST OF SHAFT IS 135-FT DRIFT DRIVEN ALONG FAULT, WITH STOPES; SECOND DRIFT OF UNKNOWN EXTENT DRIVEN WEST OF SHAFT.

References

Reference (Deposit): HESS, F.L., 1913, NOTES ON THE VANADIUM DEPOSITS NEAR PLACERVILLE, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 530, P. 142-156.

Reference (Deposit): BUSH, A.L., AND OTHERS, 1959, AREAL GEOLOGY OF THE PLACERVILLE QUADRANGLE, SAN MIGUEL COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1072-E.

Reference (Deposit): NELSON-MOORE, J.L., AND OTHERS, 1978, RADIOACTIVE MINERAL OCCURRENCES OF COLORADO AND BIBLIOGRAPHY: CGS BULL. 40, P. 407,447.

Reference (Deposit): GRUNER, J.W., AND GARDINER, LYNN, 1952, MINERAL ASSOCIATIONS IN THE URANIUM DEPOSITS OF THE COLORADO PLATEAU AND ADJACENT REGIONS WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THOSE IN THE SHINARUMP FORMATION: AEC RMO-566, P. 27-28.

Reference (Deposit): KEER, P.F., AND OTHERS, 1951, URANIUM IN BLACK KING PROSPECT, PLACERVILLE, COLORADO, IN ANNUAL REPORT FOR JULY 1, 1950 TO JUNE 30, 1951: AEC RMO-797, P. 24-43.

Reference (Deposit): MOREHOUSE, G.E., 1951, INVESTIGATION OF THUCHOLITE DEPOSITS NEAR PLACERVILLE, COLORADO: AEC RMO-910, 13 P.

Reference (Deposit): WILMARTH, V.R., 1953, PLACERVILLE HYDROCARBONS, COLORADO, IN SEARCH FOR AND GEOLOGY OF RADIOACTIVE DEPOSITS: AEC TEI-330, P. 107-108.

Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPTS. AND ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.

Reference (Deposit): COLEMAN, R.G., AND DELEVAUX, MARYSE, 1957, OCCURRENCE OF SELENIUM IN SULFIDES FROM SOME SEDIMENTARY ROCKS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 52, P. 499-527.

Reference (Deposit): KING, R.U., UNPUBLISHED DATA.

Reference (Production): HESS, 1913; NELSON-MOORE AND OTHERS, 1978, P. 407 COLORADO DIV. MINES ANNUAL OPERATOR REPT.

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