The Small Hope Mine is a gold and silver mine located in La Plata county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,699 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: 10,699 Feet (3,261 Meters)
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Lat, Long: 37.43333, -108.04111
Map: View on Google Maps
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Small Hope Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Small Hope Mine
Secondary: Patented Claim: Small Hope
Secondary: Ms 10349
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Tellurium
Location
State: Colorado
County: La Plata
District: California (La Plata) 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.
Administrative Organization: San Juan N. F.
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1892
Year Last Production: 1919
Discovery Year: 1887
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: Navajo Section
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Polymetallic veins
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Type: R
Description: San Juan Uplift, Four Corners Platform
Type: L
Description: La Plata Dome
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Eocene
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Eocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: ORE IN NORTH DRIFT ASSAYED 0.5 TO 1 OZ/TON AU
Analytical Data: ORE SAMPLES FROM SW DRIFT ASSAYED 1.5 TO 2 OZ/TON AU WITH SOMEWHAT MORE IN AG
Materials
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite
Comments
Comment (Location): (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). ON SE SLOPE OF DIORITE PEAK BETWEEN WILLIAMS GULCH AND SHOEBECK GULCH, 2.65 MILES NE OF LA PLATA TOWNSITE (UNSURVEYED SECTION). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1974
Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. FIGURES UNAVAILABLE FOR LATE 1880S TO 1898. NO PRODUCTION REPORTED FOR 1905-1906, 1909-1916 AND AFTER 1919.
Comment (Deposit): COUNTRY ROCK CONSISTS OF PERMIAN AND TRIASSIC TO JURASSIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS INTRUDED BY DIORITE PEAK STOCK. SMALL HOPE VEIN TRENDS NE, DIPS STEEPLY NW TO VERTICAL. IN OLDER WORKINGS. FRACTURE ZONE WAD 3 FT WIDE WITH 1-FT PAY STREAK ON FOOTWALL (SE) SIDE. ORE SHOOT WAS ABOUT 30 FT LONG BUT EXTENDED TO BOTTOM OF SHAFT. BRECCIA ZONES IN GRASSY HILL TUNNEL RANGED FROM 1 TO 6 FT WIDE AND CHARACTERIZED BY HARD SILICIFIED MEDIAL SHEET WITH PYRITE AND POSSIBLE OTHER METALS FLANKED BY SOFT. ALTERED DIORITE GRADING INTO FRESH DIORITE. VEIN DEVELOPED AT END GRASSY HILL TUNNEL MAY BE PARALLEL VEIN SE OF SMALL HOPE VEIN.
Comment (Workings): MINE DEVELOPED BY 275-FT SHAFT AND SHORT ADIT. VEIN ALSO CUT BY GRASSY HILL TUNNEL, DRIVEN N 42 W FOR APPROX 1770 FT TO VEIN, WITH SW AND NE DRIFTS 400 AND 500 FT LONG, RESPECTIVELY.
Comment (Development): FOLLOWING DISCOVERY IN LATE 1880S OR EARLY 1890S, MINE WAS REGULAR PRODUCER AT LEAST UNTIL 1898. INTERMITTENT PRODUCTION FROM 1903 TO 1919.
Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: LATE 1880S
References
Reference (Deposit): ECKEL, E.B., AND OTHERS, 1949, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE LA PLATA DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 219, P. 73-76, 165-167.
Reference (Deposit): BLM MINERAL SURVEY MS 10349
Reference (Production): ECKEL AND OTHERS, 1949, P. 165 (AS COMPILED FROM USGS AND USBM RECORDS)
Colorado Mining Photos
Check out this collection of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.
