Homestake Mine

The Homestake Mine is a feldspar mine located in Chaffee county, Colorado at an elevation of 8,862 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: Homestake Mine

Commodity

Primary: Feldspar
Secondary: Mica
Secondary: Beryllium
Secondary: REE

Location

State: Colorado
County: Chaffee
District: Turret 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

Type: Unknown

Ownership

Owner Name: M And S, Inc.
Home Office: Denver, Co.
Years: 1944 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1950
Year Last Production: 1963
Discovery Year: 1944
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

Form: FUNNEL-SHAPED PLUG

Structure

Type: R
Description: Southern Mosquito Range, Thirtynine Mile Volcanic Field, Arkansas Valley Graben

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Quartzite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Quartzite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: MILLED ORE YIELDS 40% ALBITE

Materials

Ore: Beryl
Ore: Albite
Ore: Muscovite
Ore: Apatite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Location): IN RAILROAD GULCH A FEW HUNDRED YARDS NE OF TURRET ROAD, ALONG SHARP RIDGE ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Comment (Development): INACTIVE IN 1944, BUT OPERATED "ON A LARGE SCALE" BETWEEN 1950 AND 1963 FOR SODA SPAR (VAN ALSTINE, R.E., 1969, P. 45)

Comment (Deposit): ZONED: CORE IS ALBITE PEGMATITE, WALL IS QUARTZ-ALBITE-MUSCOVITE-MICROCLINE PEGMATITE

Comment (Workings): LARGE OPEN PIT; BY MARCH 1958, 11 LEVELS OPEN

Comment (Deposit): FOR SEVERAL YEARS THIS WAS THE STATE'S LARGEST FELDSPAR PRODUCER (VAN ALSTINE, R.E., 1969, P. 45) ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

References

Reference (Deposit): HANLEY, J.B., HEINRICH, E.W., PAGE, L.R., 1950, PEGMATITE INVESTIGATIONS IN COLORADO, WYOMING, AND UTAH, 1942-1944: USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 227, P. 23-27

Reference (Deposit): SCOTT, G.R., TAYLOR, R.B., EPIS, R.C. AND WOBUS, R.A., 1978, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE PUEBLO 1 DEG X 2 DEG QUADRANGLE, SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO: USGS MAP I-1022, 1:250,000

Reference (Deposit): VAN ALSTINE, R.E., 1969, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE PONCHA SPRINGS NE QUADRANGLE, CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 626, P. 45

Reference (Deposit): MEEVES, H.C., HARRER, C.M., SALSBURY, M.H., KONSELMAN, A.S., SHANNON, S.S., JR., 1966, RECONNAISSANCE OF BERYLLIUM-BEARING PEGMATITE DEPOSITS IN SIX WESTERN STATES; ARIZONA, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, SOUTH DAKOTA, UTAH, AND WYOMING: USBM INFORMATION CIRCULAR 8298, P. 23

Reference (Deposit): BOARDMAN, S.J., 1976, GEOLOGY OF THE PRECAMBRIAN METAMORPHIC ROCKS OF THE SALIDA AREA, CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO: THE MOUNTAIN GEOLOGIST, V. 13, NO. 3, P. 89-100.

Reference (Deposit): BOARDMAN, S.J., 1971, PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE SALIDA AREA, CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO: PH D THESIS. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 131 P.

Reference (Deposit): VAN DIVER B.B., 1957, GEOLOGY OF THE CALUMET MINING DISTRICT, CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO THESIS, P. 83-84

Reference (Production): VAN ALSTINE, R.E. (1969); VAN DIVER, B.B. (1957)

Colorado Mining Photos

Check out this collection of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.