The Vera Breccia Pipe is a mine located in Conejos county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,200 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: 10,200 Feet (3,109 Meters)
Commodity:
Lat, Long: 37.34444, -106.56250
Map: View on Google Maps
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Vera Breccia Pipe MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Vera Breccia Pipe
Commodity
Tertiary: Gold
Tertiary: Copper
Location
State: Colorado
County: Conejos
District: Ute (Platoro) 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.
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1971
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
Model Name: Epithermal quartz-alunite Au
Orebody
Form: CIRCULAR
Structure
Type: R
Description: San Juan Volcanic Field
Type: L
Description: Platoro Caldera, Platoro Fault Zone
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Pervasive Chloritic Alteration; Hematite Staining
Rocks
Name: Andesite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age in Years: 29.450000+-0.350000
Dating Method: K-Ar
Age Young: Oligocene
Name: Andesite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age in Years: 29.450000+-0.350000
Dating Method: K-Ar
Age Young: Oligocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: FIRE ASSAY AND X-RAY FLUORESCENCE OF 15 SAMPLES BY BIRD (1973) YIELDED FOLLOWING HIGH METAL VALUES: 0.002 TO 6.775 OZ/TON AU (238 PPM), 1.28 OZ/TON AG (45 PPM), 140 PPM CU, 43 PPM MO, 260 PPM ZN, 400 PPM PB, 35 PPM TE, 190 PPM I.
Materials
Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Marcasite
Gangue: Chalcedony
Gangue: Chlorite
Comments
Comment (Location): ON NW SIDE OF PLATORO RESERVOIR (SECTION PROJECTED INTO UNSURVEYED AREA). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1975
Comment (Deposit): VERA PIPE IS VERTICAL, ROUGHLY CIRCULAR, CHLORITICALLY ALTERED STRUCTURE CONSISTING OF TWO MAIN VERTICAL COLUMNS AND SEVERAL SMALLER LENSES OF ALTERED BRECCIA SEPARATED BY AND IN SHARP CONTACT WITH FRACTURED SUMMITVILLE ANDESITE. LOW-TEMPERATURE CHLORITIC ALTERATION AFFECTS BOTH FRAGMENTS AND MATRIX. HEMATITE COMPLETELY INUNDATES ONE MAJOR COLUMN. CALCITE-CHALCEDONY VEINLETS CONTAIN SOME SULFIDE GRAINS BUT NO AU. NATIVE AU OCCURS AS DISSEMINATED GRAINS ONLY IN BRECCIA. FLUIDIZED OR GAS-DRILLED ORIGIN INTERPRETED BY BIRD ON BASIS OF (1) LOW-TEMP ALTERATION AND MINERALIZATION WITH ARSENIC AND HALOGENS; (2) SUBROUNDED POORLY SORTED BRECCIA FRAGMENTS AND SMOOTH CLOSELY JOINTED WALLS. VERA PIPE AND ASSOCIATED BRECCIA BODIES IMPLY VOLCANIC VENT ACTIVITY ON BASIS OF (1) CHANGE IN FLOW STRUCTURE DIP OF SUMMITVILLE ANDESITE FROM VERTICAL AT EAST PIPE EDGE TO GENTLY WESTWARD; (2) LOCAL THICK SEQUENCE OF PALEOLACUSTRINE SEDIMENTS AND ASH DEPOSITS TO SW, INTERPRETED AS DEPOSITION ON CRATER FLOOR
Comment (Deposit): AND ON CRATER WALLS. VENT IS JUST WEST OF WHAT BIRD (1973) CLASSIFIES AS RESURGENT RADIAL FAULT (WITH RESPECT TO CALDERA RIM) TRENDING N 12 W.
References
Reference (Deposit): BIRD, W.H., 1973, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE PLATORO CALDERA COMPLEX AND ITS RELATED MINERAL DEPOSITS, SOUTHEAST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES THESIS T-1440.
Reference (Deposit): LIPMAN, P.W., 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE PLATORO CALDERA AREA, SOUTHEASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-828.
Reference (Deposit): BIRD, W.H., 1972, MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE PLATORO CALDERA COMPLEX, SOUTHEAST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: MTN. GEOLOGIST, V. 9, NO. 4, P. 379-387.
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