Timberline Tunnel

The Timberline Tunnel is a fluorine-fluorite mine located in El Paso county, Colorado at an elevation of 8,619 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: Timberline Tunnel
Secondary: Cather Springs Deposit
Secondary: Claims: Timberline Nos. 1 and 2, MS 20026

Commodity

Primary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper

Location

State: Colorado
County: El Paso
District: Cheyenne (St. Peters Dome) 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

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Kramer Mines, Inc.
Home Office: Denver, Co.
Years: 1945 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1917
Year Last Production: 1945
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: LENTICULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Front Range Uplift, Pikes Peak Batholith

Type: L
Description: Mt Rosa Intrusive Center, Ute Pass Fault, Manitou Park Half Graben, Emerald Valley Fault

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

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

Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Fluorite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Barite

Comments

Comment (Workings): ONE TUNNEL HEADING NORTH TO NNW POSSIBLY AS LONG AS 800 FT WITH SOUTHERNMOST 320 FT ACCESSIBLE SURFACE CUTS LIE ON VEIN 600 TO 1050 FT NNW OF PORTAL. NUMEROUS PROSPECT PITS AND SURFACE CUTS.

Comment (Deposit): COUNTRY ROCK OF PIKES PEAK GRANITE NORTH OF MINE AREA INTRUDED BY SMALL STOCKS AND PLUGS OF FAYALITE GRANITE AND MT ROSA GRANITE AND CUT BY ARCUATE, NE-TRENDING EMERALD VALLEY FAULT SUBCONCENTRIC ON SOUTH SIDE OF MT ROSA INTRUSIVE CENTER, OVERLAPPING, LENTICULAR VEINS UP TO 7 FT THICK AND 200 FT LONG ARRANGED IN SUBPARALLEL FRACTURES OF NARROW NNW-TRENDING SHEAR ZONE; EXPOSED THROUGH 380-FT VERTICAL RANGE AND APPEAR VERTICALLY DISCONTINUOUS AS WELL AS LATERALLY. HIGHER GRADE FLUORSPAR FOUND IN SECOND-PERIOD VEIN FORMATION BUT IS NARROWER AND MORE SILICEOUS THAN VEINS FORMED BY REPEATED BRECCIATION AND DEPOSITION.

Comment (Commodity): AU AND AG OCCURRENCE AND MINOR RECOVERY ASSUMED ON BASIS OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION FOR DISTRICT.

Comment (Location): JUST NORTH OF CATHER SPRINGS AND NE OF LITTLE FOUNTAIN CREEK 1.25 MILES SSE OF ST. PETERS DOME. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR TUNNEL PORTAL. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1981)

Comment (Production): PART OF TOTAL PRODUCTION BY KRAMER MINES FROM TIMBERLINE, DUFFIELDS, AND MATTIE B. IN 1944-45.

Comment (Development): APPARENTLY FIRST WORKED 1917-18, IDLE UNTIL WW II. REOPENED BY KRAMER MINES AND PRODUCED FROM 1944 TO 1945.

References

Reference (Deposit): OVER, EDWIN, JR., 1929, SOME MINERAL LOCALITIES OF EL PASO COUNTY: ROCKS AND MINERALS, V. 4, NO. 4, P. 106-107.

Reference (Production): STEVEN, 1949

Reference (Deposit): TRIMBLE, D.E., AND MACHETTE, M.N., 1979, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE COLORADO SPRINGS-CASTLE ROCK AREA, FRONT RANGE URBAN CORRIDOR, COLORADO: USGS MAP I-857-F.

Reference (Deposit): FINLAY, G.I., 1916, DESCRIPTION OF THE COLORADO SPRINGS QUADRANGLE: USGS FOLIO 203.

Reference (Deposit): STEVEN, T.A., 1949, GEOLOGY AND FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF THE ST. PETERS DOME DISTRICT, COLORADO: COLORADO SCI. SOC. PROC., V. 15, NO. 6, P. 259-284.

Reference (Deposit): PEARL, R.M., 1965, COLORADO GEM TRAILS AND MINERAL GUIDE: DENVER, SAGE BOOKS, P. 171-180.

Colorado Mining Photos

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