Neglected Mine

The Neglected Mine is a gold and silver mine located in La Plata county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,400 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: Neglected Mine
Secondary: Patented Claims: Mountain View, MS 15973
Secondary: Neglected, MS 15974
Secondary: Sunnyside, MS 15974
Secondary: Legal Tender, MS 15974
Secondary: Over Sight, MS 15974
Secondary: Monument, MS 15974
Secondary: Bunker Hill, MS 15974
Secondary: Silver Night, MS 15974
Secondary: Little Johney, MS 15974
Secondary: Elkton, MS 15974
Secondary: Maid of Erin, MS 15974

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Mercury
Tertiary: Tellurium
Tertiary: Antimony

Location

State: Colorado
County: La Plata
District: California (La Plata) District)

Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
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.
Administrative Organization: San Juan N. F.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Gus Wilhouse
Home Office: Durango, Co.
Years: 1960 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1901
Year Last Production: 1949
Discovery Year: 1895
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Colorado Plateaus
Physiographic Section: Navajo Section

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: San Juan Uplift, Four Corners Platform

Type: L
Description: La Plata Dome

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Wall Rock Strongly Altered Near Dike. Shale And Porphyry Groundmass Bleached And Silicified 2 To 10 Ft From Fracture Zones. Feldspars In Porphyry And Arkose Altered To Sericite And Halloysite; Hornblende Altered To Chlorite, Epidote, And Carbonate In Partly Altered Porphyry, But In More Thoroughly Altered Rock Closer To Vein Consists Of Intergrown Tourmaline, Sericite, And Chlorite With Disseminated Pyrite.

Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pleistocene

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Paleocene

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Permian

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Paleocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: SMELTER RECEIPTS FOR ORE SHIPPED IN 1905: 1.62 TO 4.36 OZ/TON AU AND 1.72 TO 5.88 OZ/TON AG, WITH HIGHS OF 10.02 OZ/TON AU AND 5.88 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: SMELTER RECEIPTS OF ORE SHIPPED IN 1904: 1.08 TO 6.99 OZ/TON AU AND 0.18 TO 4.88 OZ/TON AU, WITH HIGHS OF 10.05, 13.50, AND 34.91 OZ/TON AU, AND 12.10 AND 17.70 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: SMELTER RECEIPTS FOR ORE SHIPPED IN 1903: 3.02 TO 7.84 OZ/TON AU AND 1.57 TO 4.87 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: SMELTER RECEIPTS FROM ORE SHIPPED IN 1902: 1.94 TO 18.01 OZ/TON AU AND 1.41 TO 6.47 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: SMELTER AND MINT RECEIPTS OF ORE SHIPPED IN 1901: 1.16 TO 8.24 OZ/TON AU AND 1.2 TO 7.05 OZ/TON AG, WITH HIGHS OF 15.31, 17.24, AND 18.37 OZ/TON AU, AND 9.63 AND 11.56 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: ORTS (1933) ASSAY OF SILICEOUS OXIDE ORE WITH AURIFEROUS PYRITE CONTAINED 0.26 OZ/TON AU AND 0.25 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: SMELTER RECEIPTS FOR ORE SHIPPED IN 1911-1912: 1.74 TO 3.36 OZ/TON AU AND 0.73 TO 2.26 OZ/TON AG, WITH HIGHS OF 7.86 OZ/TON AU AND 4.52 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: ASSAYFROM 175 LEVEL: 0.435 OZ/TON AU AND 0.67 OZ/TON AG.
Analytical Data: (F) COMPOSITE ASSAY, 0.85 OZ/TON AU AND 0.62 OZ/TON AG.

Materials

Ore: Krennerite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Petzite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Argentite
Ore: Coloradoite
Ore: Enargite
Ore: Sylvanite
Gangue: Ankerite
Gangue: Dickite
Gangue: Tourmaline
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Halloysite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Epidote

Comments

Comment (Workings): MINE DEVELOPED BY SHAFT AND TWO ADITS. SHAFT IS VERTICAL TO 125 LEVEL, THENCE INCLINED TO 175 LEVEL; LEVELS DEVELOPED AT 35 FT, 65 FT, 85 FT, 125 FT, AND 175 FT. 35 LEVEL DRIVEN GENERALLY ENE FOR 700 FT TO 90-FT WINZE TO 125 LEVEL; RAISE TO SURFACE AT 120 FT FROM SHAFT, WINZE TO STOPED AREA BETWEEN 85 AND 175 LEVELS AT 275 FT FROM SHAFT, TOP OF STOPE FROM 175 LEVEL AT 350 FT FROM SHAFT. 65 LEVEL DEVELOPED BY ADIT DRIVEN N 80 E FOR 170 FT, THENCE SOUTH FOR 50 FT, THENCE GENERALLY EAST FOR 125 FT TO SHAFT, THENCE 50 FT EAST TO INCLINED 30-FT RAISE TO 35 LEVEL. 85 LEVEL DEVELOPED BY DRIFT 170 FT GENERALLY WEST OF SHAFT AND DRIFT 170 FT GENERALLY EAST OF SHAFT. 125 LEVEL DEVELOPED BY DRIFT AT LEAST 165 FT WEST OF SHAFT AND DRIFT DRIVEN 835 FT EAST OF SHAFT WITH NORTH AND SOUTH BRANCHES ON FAULT ZONE SPLITS FROM 0 TO 160 FT FROM SHAFT AND FROM 400 TO 575 FT FROM SHAFT. 175 LEVEL DEVELOPED BY DRIFT AT LEAST 250 FT WEST OF SHAFT AND DRIFT 1080 FT EAST OF SHAFT, WITH NORTH AND SOUTH BRANCHES

Comment (Workings): ON FAULT ZONE SPLITS AT 150 TO 360 FT AND 410 TO 720 FT EAST OF SHAFT. SEVERAL RAISES ON EAST DRIFT TO 125 AND 35 LEVELS. NEW ADIT DRIVEN GENERALLY N 7 E FOR 160 FT, THENCE GENERALLY EAST FOR 520 FT, THENCE GENERALLY S 45 E FOR 190 FT TO VEIN, THENCE AS DRIFT ON VEIN GENERALLY EAST FOR 285 FT TO 6-FT RAISE TO WEST END OF WEST DRIFT ON 175 LEVEL. PRINCIPAL STOPES: (1) BETWEEN 125 AND 65 LEVELS WEST OF SHAFT, (2) BETWEEN 125 AND 85 LEVELS EAST OF SHAFT, (3) ABOVE 175 LEVEL AND BELOW 85 LEVEL (PROJECTED) FROM 150 TO 650 FT EAST OF SHAFT. PRINCIPAL AREA OF BROKEN ORE LIES BETWEEN 175 AND 125 LEVELS FROM 150 TO 650 FT EAST OF SHAFT.

Comment (Deposit): COUNTRY ROCKS CONSIST OF GENERALLY EAST-DIPPING CUTLER FM RED BEDS INTRUDED BY DIORITE-MONZONITE PORPHYRY SILLS AND DIKE. NEGLECTED VEIN OCCUPIES STRONG FAULT ZONE TRENDING GENERALLY EAST, DIPPING STEEPLY SOUTH, WITH UNKNOWN BUT PROBABLY SMALL DISPLACEMENT. NEAR PORPHYRY ON LOWEST LEVELS, FAULT ZONE SPLITS INTO TWO BRANCHES 10 TO 30 FT APART; INTERVENING ROCK IS BROKEN AND SHATTERED. INDIVIDUAL FAULT ZONES ARE 1 TO 16 FT WIDE AND CONSIST OF SHEARED, BRECCIATED, AND SILICIFIED COUNTRY ROCK CUT BY NUMEROUS QUARTZ VEINLETS. NEARLY ALL ORE CAME FROM SINGLE ORE SHOOT CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH PORPHYRY MASS AND PITCHING 15 TO 20 EAST, WITH MOST PROFITABLE ORE BETWEEN 85 AND 175 LEVELS. IN CONTRAST TO OTHER MINES IN DISTRICT, BEST ORE FOUND AT CONTACT BETWEEN PORPHYRY AND SILICIFIED SHALE; SANDSTONE NOT FAVORABLE DUE TO SERICITIZATION OF FELDSPARS AND WEAKENING OF ROCK. MUCH SHIPPING ORE OBTAINED FROM PART OF VEIN IN PORPHYRY DIKE; MILLING GRADE ORE IN ALTERED WEDGE BETWEEN FAULT ZONE SPLITS

Comment (Deposit): BELOW THEIR INTERSECTION. COVELLITE, ARGENTITE, SOME BORNITE, AND SOME NATIVE AU BELIEVED TO BE OF SUPERGENE ORIGIN.

Comment (Development): CLAIMS DISCOVERED BY RICHARD GAINES IN 1895; RELOCATED AS NEGLECTED MINES SEVERAL YEARS LATER. FIRST ORE WAS PRODUCED BY GAINES AND SHIPPED TO AS&R SMELTER IN DURANGO. DENNISON AND BOYLE SHIPPED LARGER AMOUNTS OF ORE IN 1901 BETWEEN SURFACE AND 125-FT LEVEL. NEW MILL BUILT AND OPERATED FROM 1903-1905. BRECKON (1934) REPORTED THAT FLOODING CLOSED MINE IN 1905, BUT ECKEL AND OTHERS (1949) REPORT THAT PERSONAL EXTRAVAGANCE AND DISCORD AMONG OPERATORS ALSO WAS FACTOR; HOWEVER, DIMINISHING ORE RESERVES MAY HAVE BEEN DECIDING FACTOR. SOME ORE PRODUCED IN 1911-1912 BY LA PLATA GOLD MINING CO., BUT MINE LAY IDLE UNTIL 1932, WHEN COLORADO JUNEAU MINES, INC., DID SURFACE DEVELOPMENT WORK AND DROVE 1150-FT DRAINAGE AND TRANSPORTATION TUNNEL IN 1935. SUBSEQUENT SAMPLING INDICATED NO COMMERCIAL ORE. LAST REPORTED PRODUCTION WAS SMALL AMOUNT OF ORE IN 1949.

Comment (Location): (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). CLAIMS LIE ON WEST SIDE OF MONUMENT HILL AT HEAD OF GAINES GULCH, 6.95 MILES NE OF LA PLATA TOWNSITE (UNSURVEYED SECTIONS). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1974; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = DURANGO 1:250000

Comment (Production): PARTIAL PRODUCTION RECORD. FIGURES UNKNOWN BUT CONSIDERED SMALL FOR YEARS PRIOR TO 1901. FIGURES FOR 1901 ARE FROM BRECKON (1934); ORE FIGURE IS TOTAL OF 26 ORE LOTS AND ESTIMATED AU AND AG ARE TOTALS OF CALCULATED CONTENTS BASED ON REPORTED ORE LOT GRADES. ALL FIGURES FOR 1902-1912 FROM ECKEL AND OTHERS (1949). ORE FIGURE FOR 1949 FROM CDM ANNUAL OPERATOR REPT.; ESTIMATED AU AND AG FOR 1949 ARE CALCULATED FROM REPORTED ORE GRADE. CUMULATIVE ORE TOTAL NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO INCONSISTENCY OF REPORTING SEPARATE CRUDE ORE, MILLING ORE, AND CONCENTRATES AND TO DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN ORE FIGURES REPORTED BY ECKEL AND OTHERS (1949) AND BRECKON (1934).

References

Reference (Deposit): ECKEL, E.B., AND OTHERS, 1949, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE LA PLATA DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 219, P. 73-76, 156-158

Reference (Deposit): EMMONS. W.H., 1905, THE NEGLECTED MINE AND NEAR-BY PROPERTIES, DURANGO QUADRANGLE, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 260, P. 121-127.

Reference (Deposit): BRECKON, L.S., 1934, REPORT ON THE COLORADO-JUNEAU MINES, INC., ORO FINO MINING DISTRICT, LA PLATA COUNTY, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: UNPUB. ENG. REPT., 14 P.

Reference (Deposit): EVANS, W.S., (NO DATE), REPORT ON THE NEGLECTED MINES, LA PLATA COUNTY: UNPUB. ENG. REPT., 5 P.

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

Reference (Deposit): BLM MINERAL SURVEYS MS 15973, 15974

Reference (Deposit): ORT, J.C., 1933, REPORT OF TESTS CONDUCTED ON SAMPLE OF ORE FROM COLORADO-JUNEAU MINES, INC.: UNPUB. REPT., 4 P.

Reference (Production): ECKEL AND OTHERS, 1949, P. 156 (AS COMPILED FROM USGS AND USBM RECORDS); BRECKON (1934); COLO. DIV. MINES ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.

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