Floyd Watters Ranch

The Floyd Watters Ranch is a uranium and vanadium mine located in Custer county, Colorado at an elevation of 8,999 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: Floyd Watters Ranch
Secondary: Mundy Claim
Secondary: Lewis C. Mundy Claim
Secondary: Walter's Ranch

Commodity

Primary: Uranium
Primary: Vanadium
Tertiary: Radium
Tertiary: Thorium
Tertiary: REE
Tertiary: Lead

Location

State: Colorado
County: Custer
District: Wet Mountain 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: Surface

Ownership

Owner Name: Floyd Watters
Home Office: Rosita, Co.
Years: 1954 -

Owner Name: Lewis C. Mundy, 501 So. Locust St., Pueblo, Co.; Eugene Acheson, 702 Wilson Ave., Pueblo, Co.
Years: 1954 -

Production

Year: 1953

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Surface
Year First Production: 1953
Year Last Production: 1953
Discovery Year: 1951
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

Model Name: Thorium-rare-earth veins

Orebody

Form: Tabular

Structure

Type: R
Description: Wet Mountains

Type: L
Description: Dike, Siliceous Vein

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: None; A Limonitic Clay Zone, One Inch Thick, Lies On Both Sides Of Vein

Rocks

Name: Lamprophyre
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Cambrian

Name: Lamprophyre
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: 0.10-0.32% U308, 0.05-0.19% V205, 0.54% TH02, 0.10% EACH OF 6 DIFFERENT RARE EARTHS, 1.43 MG/TON RADIUM
Analytical Data: 0.082% EQUIVALENT U308, 0.002% U308
Analytical Data: 0.04% EQUIVALENT U, 0.10% U, 0.78% EQUIVALENT TH02 (CALCULATED)

Materials

Ore: Thorite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Caliche
Gangue: Fluorite

Comments

Comment (Production): SHIPPED TO BLUEWATER, NM; NO RAE, TH, OR RA RECOVERED

Comment (Location): NORTH OF COLORADO 96 AND SW OF HARDSCRABBLE MTN ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Comment (Development): ORIGINALLY FOUND IN OLD PB PROSPECT PIT

Comment (Workings): TRENCH

Comment (Deposit): ONE SAMPLE SUBMITTED TO ANACONDA COPPER MINING COMPANY AT GRANTS, NM IN 1953 INDICATED THAT THE ORE WAS NOT AMENABLE TO STANDARD URANIUM MILLING PRACTICE AT GRANTS ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

References

Reference (Deposit): NELSON-MOORE, J.L., COLLINS, D.B. AND HORNBAKER, A.L., 1978, RADIOACTIVE MINERAL OCCURRENCES OF COLORADO AND BIBLIOGRAPHY: COLORADO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 40, P. 120

Reference (Deposit): CHRISTMAN, R.A., BROCK, M.R., PEARSON, R.C., AND SINGEWALD, Q.D., 1959, GEOLOGY AND THORIUM DEPOSITS OF THE WET MOUNTAINS, COLORADO, A PROGRESS REPORT: USGS BULLETIN 1072-H, P. 531-532

Reference (Deposit): SCOTT, G.R., TAYLOR, R.B., EPIS, R.C. AND WOBUS, R.A., 1978, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE PUEBLO 10X20 UUADRANGLE, SOUTH CENTRAL, COLORADO: USGS MAP I-1022, 1: 250, 000

Reference (Production): NELSON-MOORE AND OTHER, 1978

Colorado Mining Photos

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