The Marion Mine is a zinc, silver, copper, and lead mine located in Custer county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,600 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: 10,600 Feet (3,231 Meters)
Commodity: Zinc, Silver, Copper, Lead
Lat, Long: 37.9856, -105.09110
Map: View on Google Maps
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Marion Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Marion Mine
Secondary: Marion Mines Inc.
Commodity
Primary: Zinc
Primary: Silver
Primary: Copper
Primary: Lead
Location
State: Colorado
County: Custer
District: Wet Mountains
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: Past Producer
Operation Type: Underground
Mining Method: Unknown
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: Stratabound Precambrian sulfide, Colorado and Wyoming
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Type: L
Description: NE-striking sulfide lenses
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: calc-silicate host rocks within gneiss.
Rocks
Name: Migmatite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Paleoproterozoic
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Mesoproterozoic
Name: Calc-Silicate Schist
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Paleoproterozoic
Name: Amphibolite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Paleoproterozoic
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Pyroxene
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Cordierite
Gangue: Gahnite
Gangue: Gahnite
Trace: Sapphirine
Unknown: Amphibole
Comments
Comment (Commodity): Mined principally for zinc and copper in the early 1900s. Lead and silver present in locally high concentrations.
Comment (Commodity): The Marion mine is the principal mine of the Wet Mountain district (Davis and Streufert, 1990).
Comment (Geology): Sulfide lenses associated with calc-silicate gneiss layers within larger package ofPaleoproterozoic gneiss that may be a xenolith within San Isabel Granit e.
Comment (Location): Wet Mountains, a few miles west of San Isabel along Amethyst Creek.
Comment (Production): Unknown production from 1906-1916(?). Fairly extensive workings.
Comment (Reserve-Resource): Resource estimate from reports in Sunshine Mining Co. files (Colorado Geological Survey).
References
Reference (Geology): JOHNSON, R. B., 1969, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE TRINIDAD QUADRANGLE, SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO: USGS MAP I-558, 1:250,000.
Reference (Deposit): Sunshine Mining Co. Colorado exploration files, unpublished data, Colorado Geological Survey.
Reference (Deposit): VANDERWILT, J. W., 19478 MINERAL RESOURCES OF COLORADO: COLORADO MINERAL RESOURCES BOARD, P. 473.
Reference (Deposit): Sheridan, D.M., Raymond, W.H., Taylor, R.B., and Hasler, J.W., 1990, Metallogenic map of stratabound exhalative and related occurrences in Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1971, scale 1:1,000,000.
Reference (Deposit): Heinrich, E.W., 1981, Precambrian tungsten and copper-zinc skarn deposits of south-central Colorado: Colorado Geological survey Resource Series 21, 115 p.
Colorado Mining Photos
Check out this collection of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.
