Schwartzwalder Mine

The Schwartzwalder Mine is a uranium mine located in Jefferson county, Colorado at an elevation of 6,749 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

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Site Name

Primary: Schwartzwalder Mine
Secondary: Ralston Creek Mine

Commodity

Primary: Uranium
Secondary: Molybdenum
Tertiary: Bismuth
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Lead
Tertiary: Copper

Location

State: Colorado
County: Jefferson
District: Ralston Buttes

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.

Holdings

Type: Fee Ownership

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Cotter Corp. (Subsidiary Of Commonwealth Edison Corp.)
Home Office: Colorado
Years: 1981 -

Owner Name: Commonwealth Edison Corp.
Home Office: New York
Years: 1981 -

Owner Name: Cotter Corporation (a General Atomics affiliate)
Home Office: Denver, Colorado
Info Year: 2010
Years: 1965 -

Production

Year: 1967
Time Period: through 1966
Mined: 135098.180 mt
Year: 1960
Time Period: 1953 through 1960
Mined: 76432.970 mt

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1953
Year Last Production: 2000
Discovery Year: 1949
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral Not In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Uranium provinces of North America (definition, distribution, models)

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR TO LENTICULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Front Range Uplift, Colorado Mineral Belt, Idaho Springs-Ralston Shear Zone

Type: L
Description: Rogers Fault Zone, Illinois Fault System

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Chloritic And Potassic, Silicic; Replacement By Ankerite

Rocks

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

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

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: COLO. DIV. MINES REPORTS BEFORE 1964 CITE ORE GRADE OF 0.8 TO 1 % U3O8. DOWNS AND BIRD (1965) CITE ORE GRADE SLIGHTLY ABOVE 0.78% U3O8. YOUNG (1977) REPORTS TENOR OF ORE DELIVERED TO MILL AS 0.6% U3O8. NELSON-MOORE AND OTHERS (1978) REPORT 1978 ORE GRADE OF 0.35% U3O8. TRACE AMOUNTS OF AG, NI, V, CO.

Materials

Ore: Coffinite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Uraninite
Ore: Pitchblende
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Marcasite
Gangue: Bornite
Gangue: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Galena
Gangue: Jordisite
Gangue: Niccolite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Ankerite
Gangue: Pyrrhotite
Gangue: Sphalerite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Ownership): Cotter Corp and Commonwealth Edison Corp. had a Company ID of 500791 in the merged and deleted record 10107507. As of July, 2010, Cotter Corporation is a General Atomics (GA) affiliate headquartered in Denver, Colorado (www.cotterusa.com).

Comment (Geology): Rocky Mountain and Intermontane Basins Uranium province of Finch (USGS Bull. 2141). Vein deposits in Proterozoic metamorphic rocks.

Comment (Location): SE/4-sec 25-T2S-R71W, about 7 miles northwest of Golden.

Comment (Production): Since 1960, the mine has continued to be one of the major producers of uranium ore from vein deposits in the U.S. Cumulative production through 1960 yielded 1,188,078 pounds of U3O8; through 1966, 2,166,772 pounds of U3O8 (USGS Prof. Paper 520). As of June 1978, total production is reported to be about 10,500,000 pounds of U3O8, and average grade of ore being mined in 1978 is about 0.35% U3O8 (CGS Bull.40). Total production from the Schwartzwalder has been approximately 17 million pounds U3O8 (6,500 mtU)(info from Cotter web site, accessed 12/02/2005).

Comment (Production): Total production from the Schwartzwalder has been approximately 17 million pounds U3O8 (6,500 mtU), with additional resources of 16 million pounds U3O8 (6,150 mtU) identified. Based on long-term forecasts for a weak uranium market, the decision has been made to place the mine on temporary standby and begin reclamation of the property. (Cotter web site, accessed 12/02/2005).

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Total production from the Schwartzwalder has been approximately 17 million pounds U3O8 (6,500 mtU), with additional resources of 16 million pounds U3O8 (6,150 mtU) identified. (info from Cotter web site, accessed 12/02/2005).

Comment (Geology): Orebody information copied from deleted record 10263998. (ABWilson was unable to determine exactly what this refers to): Area: 2 HA Length: 152 M Width: 9.2 M Depth to Top: 0 M Depth to Bottom: Thickness: 9.2 M Strike: N00S Dip: 55E Plunge: MAS Matrix: Type of Orebody #1 : FISSURE VEIN Shape of Orebody #1 : IRREGULAR Type of Orebody #2 : SHEAR ZONE Shape of Orebody #2 : MASSIVE Type of Orebody #3 : BRECCIA FILL Primary mode of Origin : HYDROTHERMAL Primary Ore Control : FAULTING Secondary Ore Control : LITHOLOGY Degree of Wallrock Alter. : MODERATE Type of Wallrock Alter. #1 : PROPYLITIC Strike And Dip : N00S:55E Minimum Depth to Top : 0 Avg. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. : 10 Min. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. : 0 Total Surface Area (HA) : 2 Date of Last Modification : 800319

Comment (Geology): From deleted record 10263998: ROCK DESCRIPTION RECORD ROCK TYPE 1 IS GARNETIFEROUS BIOTITE ROCK TYPE 2 IS PHYLLITIC SCHIST OR QUARTZ BIOTITE SCHIST ROCK TYPE 3 IS QUARTZ MUSCOVITE SCHI ROCK TYPE 4 IS CHLORITE SCHIST THE MINE HAS PRODUCED AS FOLLOWS - 1953-1958, AVERAGED 60 TO 0.8% U OX, 1960-1964, AV 75 TONS/YR, 0.5% U OX, 250 DAYS DUCTION/YEAR, 1966-1974, AV 300 TONS/YR, 0.5% U OX, 270 D PRODUCTION/YEAR. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN DMEA REPORT, D NO. 4311, DATED 1956 - INCLUDED IN THE DMEA REPORT ARE GE SECTION MINE AND LOCATION MAPS. THE DMEA REPORT APPROVED F EXPLORATION ASSISTANCE.

References

Reference (Deposit): SIMS, P.K., AND SHERIDAN, D.M., 1964, GEOLOGY OF URANIUM DEPOSITS IN THE FRONT RANGE, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1159, P. 87-92.

Reference (Deposit): Stahl, R.L, 1974, Detection and delineation of faults by surface resistivity measurements--Schwartzwalder Mine, Jeffereson County, Colo.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT RI 7975, 27 p.

Reference (Deposit): SHERIDAN, D.M., AND OTHERS, 1967, GEOLOGY AND URANIUM DEPOSITS OF THE RALSTON BUTTES DISTRICT, JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 520.

Reference (Deposit): Sims, P.K., 1963, Geology of uranium and associated ore deposits, central part of the Front Range mineral belt, Colorado: USGS Professional Paper 371, 119 p.

Reference (Deposit): YOUNG, E.J., 1977, GEOLOGIC, RADIOMETRIC, AND MINERALOGIC MAPS AND UNDERGROUND WORKINGS OF THE SCHWARTZWALDER URANIUM MINE AND AREA, JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS OPEN-FILE REPT. 77-725, 38 P.

Reference (Deposit): Soule, J.H., 1960, Mining methods and costs, Schwartzwalder uranium mine, Jefferson County, Colo.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES IC 7963, 24 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cotter Corp. corporate info., accessed from internet on 12/02/2005 [As of 08-JUL-2010 the website is www.cotterusa.com.]

Reference (Deposit): DOWNS, G.R., AND BIRD, A.G., 1965, THE SCHWARTZWALDER URANIUM MINE, JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO: MTN. GEOLOGIST, V. 2, NO. 4, P. 183-191.

Reference (Deposit): NELSON-MOORE, J.L., COLLINS, D.B., AND HORNBAKER, A.L., 1978, RADIOACTIVE MINERAL OCCURRENCES OF COLORADO AND BIBLIOGRAPHY: COLORADO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 40, P. 194-195.

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