Sunshine Lode Mine

The Sunshine Lode Mine is a zinc, lead, and silver mine located in Garfield county, Colorado at an elevation of 7,402 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

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Site Name

Primary: Sunshine Lode Mine
Secondary: Grandview Mine

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Lead
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Manganese

Location

State: Colorado
County: Garfield
District: Rifle 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: Underground

Ownership

Not available

Production

Year: 1951
Time Period: 1927-1951
Description: Cp_Grade: ^9.27% Zn, 2.75% Pb, 3.4 Oz/Ton Ag

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1927
Year Last Production: 1951
Discovery Year: 1925
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

Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Structure

Type: R
Description: White River Uplift, Grand Hogback Monocline.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Fe And Mn Oxides; Significant Oxidation Of Sulfide Ores

Rocks

Name: Limestone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Mississippian

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Hydrozincite
Ore: Plumbojarosite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Dolomite
Gangue: Marcasite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Jarosite
Gangue: Selenite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT LIES IN NARROW GRABEN TRENDING N 10 TO 15 W BOUNDED BY NEARLY PARALLEL STEEPLY NE-DIPPING FAULTS AND CONTAINING SHEARED LEADVILLE LIMESTONE BRECCIA UP TO 60 FT WIDE, SOME IN FAULT CONTACT WITH BELDEN FM SHALES. SULFIDES OCCUR AS DISSEMINATED CRYSTALS AND COLLOFORM CRUSTS CEMENT, REPLACE, AND PARTLY FILL VUGGY LIMESTONE BRECCIA. SULFIDES FAIRLY COMPLETELY OXIDIZED. SMITHSONITE BOXWORKS REPLACE CRUSTS AND DISSEMINATED SPHALERITE CRYSTALS. MUCH OF SMITHSONITE THAT REPLACES ADJACENT CALCITE HAS FURTHER ALTERED TO HYDROZINCITE. CERUSSITE LOCALLY REPLACES GALENA; LIMONITE STAINS AND PSEUDOMORPHS AFTER MARCASITE CAVITIES FROM REPLACE SPHALERITE COATED WITH MN OXIDES, POSSIBLE RESIDUE OF MANGANOAN SPHALERITE. SELENITE CRYSTALS IN VUGS SUGGEST SUPERGENE DEPOSITION BY SULFATE-RICH SOLUTIONS FROM OXIDIZING ORES. ABUNDANCE OF HYDROZINCITE AND LATERAL EXTENT OF SULFIDE OXIDATION SUGGEST DEPOSIT IS NEAR LATE PROGRESSIVE STAGE OF OXIDATION. SIMPLE MINERALOGY, LEANNESS OF AG, COLLOFORM

Comment (Deposit): CRUSTS, OPEN VUGS, COARSE DISSEMINATED CRYSTALS, AND ABUNDANT CARBONATE GANGUE INDIGATE LOW-TEMPERATURE EPITHERMAL DEPOSITION SIMILAR TO MISSISSIPPI VALLEY-TYPE ZN DEPOSITS.

Comment (Workings): MINE DEVELOPED BY 3 TUNNELS ON FOUR LEVELS ALL BEARING GENERALLY N 10 TO 15 W. UPPER LEVEL PORTAL ELEV. 7525 FT WITH 50-FT DRIFT AND 25-FT WINZE AT END; MAIN LEVEL PORTAL ELEV. 7400 FT WITH 240-FT TUNNEL AND 90-FT WINZE TO LOWER LEVELS AT 25 FT FROM PORTAL; FIRST LEVEL PORTAL ELEV. 7379 FT WITH 110-FT DRIFT; SECOND LEVEL ELEV. 7331 FT WITH 75-FT DRIFT. MAJOR STOPES (SOUTH, FISHER, AND NORTH) DEVELOPED ON MAIN LEVEL.

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION REPORTED AS RECOVERABLE METALS. INTERVENING YEARS MAY HAVE BEEN LISTED IN USBM AS SHIPMENTS TO SMELTERS, BUT THIS IS UNCONFIRMED. AN NOT REPORTED IN 1927; CU NOT REPORTED IN 1927 AND 1947; TRACE CU REPORTED IN 1951.

Comment (Location): PROBABLY IN CANYON TRIBUTARY TO EAST RIFLE CREEK ABOVE RIFLE FALLS FISH HATCHERY. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1975)

Comment (Development): FIRST OPENED AS GRANDVIEW MINE IN 1925 AND OPERATED UNTIL 1932. REOPENED IN 1940 BY LALE HARMON AND PRODUCED PERIODICALLY UNTIL 1951. ONLY BASE METAL MINE THAT OPERATED IN DISTRICT.

References

Reference (Deposit): HEYL, A.V., 1964, OXIDIZED ZINC DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES, PART 3--COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1135-C, P. 32-33, 53-54, PL. 5.

Reference (Deposit): TWETO, OGDEN, AND OTHERS, 1978, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LEADVILLE 1X2 QUADRANGLE, NORTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS MAP I-999

Reference (Deposit): MICROFILM MINERAL COMMODITY DOC. 3425-3426 (FROM ORIGINAL CRIB RECORD)

Reference (Production): HEYL (1964) AS COMPILED FROM U.S. BUREAU OF MINES MINERAL YEARBOOKS

Colorado Mining Photos

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