Last Chance Mine

The Last Chance Mine is a silver, lead, and gold mine located in Mineral county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,430 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: Last Chance Mine
Secondary: New York Nine
Secondary: Del Monte Mine

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Lead
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Zinc
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Cadmium

Location

State: Colorado
County: Mineral
District: Creede District

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

Not available

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Minerals Engineering Co. (Meco)
Home Office: Grand Junction, Co.
Years: 1981 -

Owner Name: Harrison-Western Corp.
Years: 1980 -

Production

Year: 1940

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1891
Year Last Production: 1976
Discovery Year: 1891
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

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: San Juan Volcanic Field; La Garita, Creede, And Bachelor Calderas

Type: L
Description: Creede Graben; Amethyst Fault Zone

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Limonite, Hematite, Malachite, Wad, Goslarite; Silicification, Sericitization

Rocks

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Oligocene

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Oligocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: RANGE OF ASSAYS FOR ORE MINED 1903-1906: 0.03 TO 0.08 OZ/TON AU, 21 TO 66.1 OZ/TON AG, 2.9 TO 4.2% PB, 0.4 TO 2% ZN. SEE PRODUCTION TABLE FOR OTHER ORE GRADES. 24-INCH ORE ZONE IN DEL MONTE VEIN REPORTEDLY RAN 60 TO 200 OZ/TON AG.

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Anglesite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Cerargyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Silver
Ore: Tennantite
Ore: Greenockite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Amethyst
Gangue: Chlorite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): PRINCIPAL LODE IS AMETHYST VEIN (ATTITUDE ABOVE). FROM LEVELS 7 TO 11, LODE LIES IN FOOTWALL (WILLOW CR. RHYOLITE). DOWN TO LEVEL 7, MINERALIZATION IN HANGING WALL CUTS BOTH CAMPBELL MTN. AND OVERLYING WINDY GULCH MBRS. DEEP MINERALIZATION CONSISTS OF PRINCIPAL BASE METAL SULFIDES IN CHLORITIC VEIN. MORE ECONOMICAL SHALLOWER MINERALIZATION CONTAINS VEIN SULFIDES AND VERY FINE-GRAINE DISSEMINATED ORE IN CLOSELY SPACED MICROVEINLETS AND INTERGRANULAR PORE FILLING. MAIN MINERALIZED FRACTURES IN HANGING WALL BRANCH AND DIE OUT UPWARD FROM AMETHYST FAULT AT ANGLES FROM STEEPLY SW TO STEEPLY NE. DEL MONTE VEIN IS MAJOR HANGING WALL ANTITHETIC VEIN (SIMILAR TO OH), STRIKING MORE WESTERLY THAN AMETHYST, DIPPING 60 NE, AND JOINING AMETHYST VEIN AT CHANCE CAVE.

Comment (Location): S-T-R, LAT-LONG, AND ELEV DETERMINED FROM EMMONS AND LARSEN'S (1923) TOPO MAP (1:24,000). MINE OR CLAIM LIES ABOVE W. WILLOW CR. ON NE SIDE OF BACHELOR MTN. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Comment (Workings): LAST CHANCE SHAFT ABOUT 1500 FT LONG, INCLINED ABOUT 70 DEG NEAR SURFACE, FLATTENS TO 55 DEG AT 150 FT AND CONTINUES AT 50 TO 55 DEG, MOSTLY WITHIN AMETHYST VEIN BUT NOT ALONG VEIN DIP, RATHER AT 30 DEG ANGLE NORTHWARD. TOTAL DEPTH ABOUT 1190 VERTICAL FT. 12 LEVELS TURNED AT 100- TO 200-FT INTERVALS ON INCLINE. LEVEL 12 IS 37 FT ABOVE NELSON-WOOSTER-HUMPHREYS TUNNEL, WHICH WAS LATER CONNECTED AS LEVEL 13. TOTAL LENGTH OF ALL DRIFTS AND CROSSCUTS NOT DETERMINABLE BUT PROBABLY EXCEEDS 2 MILES. LARGE STOPE OF EXTREMELY FRACTURED ORE DEVELOPED AS "BIG CAVE" OR "CHANCE CAVE" ON LEVELS 3,4,5.

Comment (Development): LAST CHANCE, NEW YORK, AND DEL MONTE CLAIMS OVERLAP EACH OTHER AND EVENTUALLY WERE WORKED THRU THE LAST CHANCE SHAFT AND NELSON TUNNEL. AS PRODUCTION WAS NOT REPORTED FOR INDIVIDUAL MINES, ALL THREE WORKINGS ARE CONSOLIDATED INTO ONE RECORD, WHICH INCLUDES PRODUCTION FROM VOLUNTEER AND PITTSBURGH WORKINGS. IN 1942 THESE, ALONG WITH AMETHYST AND OTHER CONNECTED WORKINGS, WERE ALL CONSOLIDATED UNDER NAME OF EMPERIUS MINE.

Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION HISTORY OF LAST CHANCE, NEW YORK, AND DEL MONTE MINES (INCLUDING VOLUNTEER AND PITTSBURGH). OUTPUT OF METALS FOR 1903-06, 1919-21, 1924, 1928, 1934, 1937-41, 1944 CALCULATED ON BASIS OF REPORTED ORE GRADES. IN 1942 LAST CHANCE, NEW YORK, AND OTHER WORKINGS WERE CONSOLIDATED, AND PRODUCTION REPORTED UNDER NAME OF EMPERIUS MINE.

References

Reference (Deposit): EMMONS, W.H., AND LARSEN, E.S. 1923, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE CREEDE DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 718, 198 P.

Reference (Deposit): STEVEN, T.A., AND RATTE, J.C., 1965, GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURAL CONTROL OF ORE DEPOSITION IN THE CREEDE DISTRICT, SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 487, 90 P.

Reference (Deposit): LINDEMANN, J.W., AND OTHERS, EDS., 1981, FIELD TRIP NOTES, CREEDE MINING DISTRICT, SAN JUAN VOLCANIC PROVINCE, COLORADO: DENVER REGIONAL EXPLORATION GEOLOGISTS SOC. GUIDEBOOK

Reference (Production): EMMONS & LARSEN (1923); CO DIV. MINES ANN. OPERATORS REPTS.

Colorado Mining Photos

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