Blake (Mirage, Cotton Creek) District

The Blake (Mirage, Cotton Creek) District is a silver, copper, and gold mine located in Saguache county, Colorado at an elevation of 8,799 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: Blake (Mirage, Cotton Creek) District

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Copper
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Lead

Location

State: Colorado
County: Saguache

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Year: 1939
Time Period: 1934-1939
Mined: 160.930 mt
Material type: ore

Deposit

Record Type: District
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Gold on flat faults

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: L
Description: Sangre De Cristo Fault

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Tertiary

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Malachite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Commodity): The Copperhead (Triple-T) mine was the largest mine in this small district.

Comment (Production): There was probably significantly more historic production than is recorded. Benson (1997) states that "extensive" historical mining and milling took place at the Copperhead Mine.

Comment (Production): Lead production not reported for 1935, 1938, 1939. Copper and silver not reported in 1935.

Comment (Location): Small district on the lower western slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, about 10 miles north-northwest of the town of Crestone. District is along the range front near the mouths of Spring Creek and Cotton Creek. The Copperhead, or Triple-T Mine is the most significant deposit.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Sampling by Ellis and others (1983) in the Cotton Creek and Spring Creek area produced grades up to 0.58 oz/ton gold, 2.8 oz/ton silver, and 2% copper from iron- and copper-stained gneissic fault gouge, silicified fault breccia, and quartz veins.

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSITS ARE USUALLY VEINS IN SHEAR ZONES AND IRREGULAR FRACTURES, BUT ALSO INCLUDE ORIENT-TYPE FE REPLACEMENTS

Comment (Geology): Mineralization is associated with a low-angle fault zone similar to that at the large, modern San Luis Mine further south (Benson, 1997). A thick zone of silicified breccia underlies the fault zone. The faulting and mineralization are Tertiary in age and related to Rio Grande rifting.

References

Reference (Deposit): SCOTT, G.R., AND OTHERS, 1978. GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE PUEBLO 1X2 QUADRANGLE, SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO: USGS I-1022.

Reference (Deposit): VANDERWILT, J.W., 1947, MINERAL RESOURCES OF COLORADO: COLORADO MINERAL RESOURCES BOARD, P. 191

Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES MINE MGR. AND INSPECTORS REPTS.

Reference (Deposit): Benson, R.G., 1997, Detachment fault-related mineralization in a rift setting at the San Luis gold deposit and Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Alamosa, Costilla, and Saguache Counties, Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation, 226 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ellis, C.E., Hannigan, B.J., and Thompson, J.R., 1983, Mineral investigation of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Study Area, Alamosa, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, and Saguache Counties, Colorado, U.S. Bureau of Mines MLA 65-83, 190 p.

Reference (Production): VANDERBILT, 1947, P. 191

Reference (Deposit): SCOTT, G.R., AND TAYLOR, R.B., 1974, RECONNAISSANCE GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE ELECTRIC PEAK QUADRANGLE, CUSTER AND SAGUACHE COUNTIES, COLORADO: USGS MF-628.

Colorado Mining Photos

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