Law Dredge Mine

The Law Dredge Mine is a gold mine located in Moffat county, Colorado at an elevation of 6,401 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: Law Dredge Mine
Secondary: Boothe and Nelson Placers

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Colorado
County: Moffat
District: Fourmile (Timberlake Creek) District

Land Status

Land ownership: Federal
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: B. W. Law
Years: 1904 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Placer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1900
Year Last Production: 1904
Discovery Year: 1897
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Wyoming Basin

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: Washakie Basin

Type: L
Description: Washakie Basin

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Sand and Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene

Name: Sand and Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Holocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Workings): DREDGE OPERATION AND GROUND SLUICING

Comment (Development): ACCORDING TO MARKS (1915), B.W. LAW BUILT WATER DIVERSION DITCH FROM FOURMILE DIVIDE (POSSIBLY THE DIVIDE BETWEEN FOURMILE DRAINAGE AND SLATER CREEK) TO WILLOW CREEK, LET WATER RUN DOWN STREAM BED FOR SEVERAL MILES, THEN DIVERTED IT TO HIS DREDGE SITE. WHEN HE PURCHASED IT, LAW'S DREDGE WAS A SECONDHAND OPEN-CHAIN TYPE BUILT BY URIE CO. OF KANSAS CITY, MO, WITH 600-TO 700-YD/DAY CAPACITY. MACHINE WAS FUELED BY COAL THAT WAS HAULED IN BY WAGON ABOUT 19 MILES FROM MINE AT SAVERY, WY. DREDGE PROCESSED GROUND THAT RAN ABOUT $0.25/YD (OLD AU PRICE). IT IS ESTIMATED THAT LAW RECOVERED $115000 WORTH OF AU BY DREDGING AND $25000 BY SLUICING. EXCESS WATER FROM DREDGE WAS USED TO IRRIGATE LAW'S GRAIN AND HAY FIELDS NEARBY. DREDGE WAS ABANDONED ON SITE AFTER TERMINATION OF OPERATION.

Comment (Deposit): FARNSWORTH'S ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION STATED THAT THE HIGHER PAYING ZONES IN AREA LIE IN SLIGHTLY CONSOLIDATED GRAVELS BENEATH IRON OXIDE-CEMENTED CONGLOMERATE AND ABOVE LAYER OF "BLUE CLAY," (NOW INTERPRETED AS EOCENE BEDROCK). AU CONCENTRATIONS IN TERRACE AND MANTLE DEPOSITS APPEAR LIMITED TO LEVEL BELOW THE PROMINENT CONGLOMERATE OR "CAP ROCK," WHICH WAS INTERPRETED BY PARKER (1974) AND THEOBALD AS A DELTAIC FAN IN EITHER THE TIPTON TONGUE OF GREEN RIVER FM (EOCENE) OR CATHEDRAL BLUFFS MEMBER OF WASATCH FM (EOCENE). MODERN PLACERS THUS WERE DERIVED FROM EOCENE FOSSIL BEACH AND ALLUVIAL PLACERS AND PROBABLY BEGAN FORMING IN LATE PLIOCENE OR PLEISTOCENE TIME. AGE OF MINERALIZATION CITED FOR DEPOSIT DEPENDS ON UNIT WORKED--EOCENE FOR BEDROCK OPERATIONS OR QUATERNARY FOR TERRACE, STREAM BED, AND MANTLE OPERATIONS. THIS DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF SAND AND GRAVEL IN STREAM BOTTOM AND LOW TERRACES, UP TO 12 FT THICK, AVERAGING 6 FT.

Comment (Location): ALONG EAST SIDE OF TIMBERLAKE CREEK 3.5 MILES ABOVE CONFLUENCE WITH FOURMILE CREEK. LAT-LONG GIVEN IS SOUTH CORNER SW SE 05 ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1974)

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: LATE 1890'S

References

Reference (Deposit): PARKER, B.H., JR., 1974, THE PLACERS OF MOFFAT COUNTY, IN GOLD PLACERS OF COLORADO: COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES QUART., V. 69, NO. 4, P. 150-168.

Reference (Deposit): TWETO, OGDEN, 1976, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE CRAIG 1X2 QUADRANGLE, NORTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-972

Reference (Deposit): SNOW, E.P., 1895, THE FOURMILE PLACER FIELDS OF (MOFFAT COUNTY), COLORADO AND WYOMING: ENG. MINING JOUR., V. 60, P. 102-105

Reference (Deposit): HOOVER, HERBERT C., 1897, GEOLOGY OF THE FOUR-MILE PLACER MINING DISTRICT (MOFFAT COUNTY), COLORADO: ENG. MINING JOUR., V. 63, P. 510 &&

Reference (Deposit): MARKS, J.H., 1915, PRELIMINARY REPORT, THE TIMBERLAKE OR FOURMILE PLACER DISTRICT, MOFFAT COUNTY: COLORADO STATE PLAN. COMM. UNPUB. REPT., 9 P.

Colorado Mining Photos

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