Copperhead Mine

The Copperhead Mine is a gold, silver, and copper mine located in Saguache county, Colorado at an elevation of 8,599 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

Name: Copperhead Mine  

State:  Colorado

County:  Saguache

Elevation: 8,599 Feet (2,621 Meters)

Commodity: Gold, Silver, Copper

Lat, Long: 38.11861, -105.78500

Map: View on Google Maps

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.


Satelite image of the Copperhead Mine

Copperhead Mine MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Copperhead Mine
Secondary: Triple-T Mine


Commodity

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


Location

State: Colorado
County: Saguache
District: Blake (Mirage, Cotton Creek) District


Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
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: Gendev Mining Corp.
Home Office: Colorado Springs, Co.
Years: 1960 -


Production

Not available


Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
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: Gold on flat faults
Model Name: Polymetallic veins


Orebody

Not available


Structure

Type: R
Description: Sawatch Arch, Sangre De Cristo Range, Rio Grande Rift

Type: L
Structure: range front thrust west side of Sangre de Cristo Range
Description: Sangre De Cristo Fault


Alterations

Not available


Rocks

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

Name: Gneiss
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Paleoproterozoic


Analytical Data

Analytical Data: Sampling by Ellis and others (1983) 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.


Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Epidote
Gangue: Specularite


Comments

Comment (Geology): Mineralization is characterized by intense silica replacement of breccia matrix along a low-angle fault (Benson, 1997). The low-angle fault is similar to that at the large, modern san Luis Mine further south.

Comment (Location): Near Spring Creek at the western base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, about 10 miles north-northwest of the town of Crestone. This is the main mine of the Blake district.

Comment (Production): See entry on Blake district for production info.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Sampling by Ellis and others (1983) 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 (Workings): 25-FT-HIGH HILLSIDE CUT

Comment (Development): EPLORATION AND OPEN CUT DEVELOPMENT IN 1958 TO MINE COPPER ORE AN D SMELT IT AT SMELTER UNDER CONSTRUCTION BELOW MINE.


References

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 (Deposit): COLORADO DIVISION OF MINES, 1958, SUMMARY OF MINERAL INDUSTRY ACTIV ITIES IN COLORADO: COLO. DIV. MINES ANN. REPT.

Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPT.

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


Colorado Mining Photos

Placer mines at Cripple Creek, Colorado ca. 1892

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