Green Mountain District

The Green Mountain District is a gold and silver mine located in Gunnison county, Colorado at an elevation of 9,016 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: Green Mountain District  

State:  Colorado

County:  Gunnison

Elevation: 9,016 Feet (2,748 Meters)

Commodity: Gold, Silver

Lat, Long: 38.41694, -106.83028

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 Green Mountain District

Green Mountain District MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Green Mountain District
Secondary: Iris District
Secondary: Patented Claims: Spring Placer, MS 9124
Secondary: Lucky Strike, MS 9125
Secondary: Good Record, MS 9126
Secondary: High Five, MS 9419
Secondary: Owego, MS 10065
Secondary: Valley View, MS 10065
Secondary: Dirigo No. 1, MS 10711
Secondary: Dirigo No. 2, MS 10711
Secondary: Tip Top, MS 10711
Secondary: Mineral Hill Nos. 1-8, MS 10993
Secondary: Iona, MS 11293
Secondary: Veteran, MS 11293
Secondary: North Star, MS 11293
Secondary: St. Joe, MS 11293
Secondary: Denver City, MS 11792
Secondary: Paymaster, MS 11911
Secondary: James J. Corbett, MS 13157
Secondary: Mammoth, MS 13897
Secondary: Belle Valaisane, MS 13897
Secondary: Hill Top No. 1, MS 14457
Secondary: Hill Top No. 2, MS 14457
Secondary: Hill Top No. 3, MS 14457
Secondary: Carrie G., MS 14457
Secondary: Robert H., MS 14457
Secondary: Capital Prize, MS 14457
Secondary: Indiana, MS 14457
Secondary: Amazon, MS 14457
Secondary: E.S., MS 14457
Secondary: Dalore, MS 14457
Secondary: Morning Star, MS 14457
Secondary: Baltimore Boy, MS 14457
Secondary: Gold Dollar, MS 14736
Secondary: Horse Shoe, MS 17122
Secondary: Only Chance, MS 17455
Secondary: Modoc, MS 17455.


Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Zinc
Tertiary: Selenium
Tertiary: Tellurium


Location

State: Colorado
County: Gunnison
District: Green Mountain (Iris) 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: Carl R. Smith (Lucky Strike Mine)
Home Office: Denver, Co.
Years: 1949 -


Production

Not available


Deposit

Record Type: District
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year Last Production: 1934
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

Not available


Structure

Type: R
Description: Gunnison Uplift, San Juan Volcanic Field, West Elk Centers

Type: L
Description: Gunnison Gold Belt, Iris Syncline, Lulu Fault, Gold Basin Stock


Alterations

Not available


Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Ordovician


Analytical Data

Not available


Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Fluorite
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Sericite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Biotite
Gangue: Tourmaline
Gangue: Pyrrhotite
Gangue: Calcite


Comments

Comment (Development): EARLY HISTORY OF DISTRICT LARGELY UNKNOWN. DISCOVERIES AND EARLY MINING IN GUNNISON GOLD BELT AREA LED TO ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL MINING TOWNS OF DUBOIS, SPENCER, VULCAN, MIDWAY, AND CHANCE IN LATE 1880S. POST-1900 RECORDS INDICATE ONLY INTERMITTENT PRODUCTION FROM SEVERAL LARGER MINES, SUCH AS HEADLIGHT, OLD LOT, ANACONDA (GOOSE CREEK DISTRICT), CONTINENTAL (BEAVER CREEK DISTRICT, LUCKY STRIKE AND LULA. CLAIMS IN GREEN MOUNTAIN DISTRICT SURVEYED AND PATENTED BETWEEN 1894 AND 1905. PROBABLY MOST MINES WERE DEVELOPED BY ABOUT 1900. LATEST ACTIVITY REPORTED WAS ORE PRODUCTION FROM LULA MINE IN 1935 AND ORE PRODUCTION FROM LUCKY STRIKE MINE IN 1922 AND 1933-1934.

Comment (Location): DISTRICT LIES IN GREEN MOUNTAIN AREA AND INCLUDES UPPER PORTIONS OF GRAFLIN GULCH, DIRIGO GULCH, DUTCH GULCH, SAGE HEN GULCH, CHANCE GULCH, STUBBS GULCH, MERRY-GO-ROUND GULCH, LONG GULCH, AND COTTONWOOD GULCH. LANDMARKS INCLUDE GREEN MOUNTAIN (ELEV 9442) AND SCHISTO BASIN. DISTRICT ACCESSIBLE VIA ROAD AND TRAIL UP STUBBS GULCH (VIA GOLD BASIN CREEK) SOUTH FROM GUNNISON; VIA TRAILS UP LONG GULCH SOUTH FROM U.S. RTE 50; VIA TRAIL UP COTTONWOOD GULCH WEST FROM COCHETOPA CREEK AND COLORADO RTE 114. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR OLD TOWNSITE OF IRIS ON UNNAMED TRIBUTARY OF LONG GULCH IN S S2 S2 SEC. 14, T48N, R1E. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1976

Comment (Workings): PRINCIPAL MINES DEVELOPED BY VERTICAL AND INCLINED SHAFTS UP TO 200 FT DEEP AND ON AS MANY AS FOUR LEVELS, WITH DRIFTS AND STOPES. NUMEROUS SURFACE PROSPECTS. OLD 5-STAMP MILL AT LUCKY STRIKE MINE.

Comment (Deposit): BLM CLAIM RECORDS ASSIGN DISTRICT NAME OF "GREEN MOUNTAIN" BUT DISTRICT ALSO HAS BEEN KNOWN BY POPULAR NAME OF "IRIS." INDIVIDUAL RECORDS PREPARED FOR PRINCIPAL MINES AND TYPES OF MINERALIZATION: DENVER CITY, GRAFLIN, LUCKY STRIKE, LULA, MINERAL HILL, SHAUNEE NO. 33 PROSPECT. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: (11) HEDLUND, D.C., AND OLSON, J.C., 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE IRIS NW QUADRANGLE, GUNNISON AND SAGUACHE COUNTIES, COLORADO: USGS MAP GQ-1134; (12) HILL, J.M., 1909, NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF SOUTHEASTERN GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 380, P. 21-40; (13) RIESMEYER, W.D., 1978, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE DENVER CITY AREA: UNPUB. MAP. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Deposit): DISTRICT LIES NEAR NE END OF GUNNISON GOLD BELT. COUNTRY ROCK CONSISTS OF THICK SEQUENCE OF DUBOIS GREENSTONE FELSITE UNIT THAT AFIFI (1981) SUBDIVIDED INTO DACITIC, ANDESITIC LAPILLI TUFF, RHYOLITE, BASALTIC, AND ALKALI-FELDSPAR RHYOLITE MEMBERS. UNIT INTRUDED BY METAGABBRO (AMPHIBOLITE) DIKES AND SILLS AND FOLDED ALONG STEEPLY PLUNGING, TIGHT, DISHARMONIC IRIS SYNCLINE, ACTUALLY TWO SYNCLINAL SURFACE SEPARATED BY TIGHT ANTICLINAL FLEXURE. CUTTING SUCCESSIVELY UPSECTION THROUGH FELSITE UNIT IS SUBVERTICAL, GENERALLY N 45 W-TRENDING LULU FAULT, WHICH DISPLACES FELSITE ON NE AGAINST OLDER METASEDIMENTARY SEQUENCE ON SW. LATTER IS CUT BY GOLD BASIN QUARTZ DIORITE STOCK. QUARTZ VEINS AND METARHYOLITE DIKES CUT OLDER METASEDIMENTS, FELSITE, AND AMPHIBOLITE AND POSTDATE LULU FAULT. PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS ARE STRATABOUND MASSIVE SULFIDES CHARACTERIZED BY SPHALERITE-PYRITE-CHALCOPYRITE AND INTERPRETED TO BE SYNGENETIC, SUBMARINE, PREMETAMORPHIC. THIS TYPE IS REPRESENTED IN GRAFLIN AND DENVER

Comment (Deposit): CITY MINES AND SHAUNEE NO. 33 PROSPECT. SECOND MINERALIZATION TYPE IS POSTMETAMORPHIC, EPIGENETIC VEIN ON AND NEAR LULU FAULT AND CONSISTING OF QUARTZ-PYRITE+/-BIOTITE+/-SERICITE+/-TOURMALINE+/-CARBONATE+/-FLUORITE. DEPOSITS ARE SPATIALLY AND PROBABLY GENETICALLY RELATED TO GOLD BASIN STOCK TO SOUTH. THIS TYPE IS REPRESENTED IN LUCKY STRIKE, LULA, AND MINERAL HILL MINES.


References

Reference (Deposit): COLORADO DIV. MINES INF. REPTS. AND ANNUAL OPERATOR REPTS.

Reference (Deposit): BLM MINERAL SURVEYS MS 9124, 9125, 9126, 9419, 10065, 10711, 10993, 11293, 11792, 11911, 13157, 13897, 14457, 14736, 17122, 17455

Reference (Deposit): SCHWARZ, T.E., 1906, REPORT ON THE DENVER CITY PROPERTY, SAGUACHE COUNTY, COLORADO: COLORADO STATE PLAN. COMM. UNPUB. REPT., 5 P.

Reference (Deposit): SHERIDAN, D.M., AND OTHERS, 1981, PRECAMBRIAN SULFIDE DEPOSITS IN THE GUNNISON REGION, COLORADO, IN EPIS, R.C., AND CALLENDER, J.F., EDS., WESTERN SLOPE COLORADO: NEW MEXICO GEOL. SOC. 32D FIELD CONF. GUIDEBOOK, P. 273-277.

Reference (Deposit): AFIFI, A.M., 1981, STRATIGRAPHY, PETROLOGY, AND STRUCTURE OF PRECAMBRIAN METAVOLCANIC ROCKS IN THE IRIS DISTRICT, GUNNISON AND SAGUACHE COUNTIES, COLORADO, IN EPIS, R.C., AND CALLENDER, J.F., EDS., WESTERN SLOPE COLORADO: NEW MEXICO GEOL. SOC. 32D FIELD CONF. GUIDEBOOK, P. 287-292.

Reference (Deposit): AFIFI, A.M., 1981, PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY OF THE IRIS AREA, GUNNISON AND SAGUACHE COUNTIES, COLORADO: COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES M.SC. THESIS T-2302.

Reference (Deposit): DROBECK, P.A., 1979, GEOLOGY AND TRACE ELEMENT GEOCHEMISTRY OF A PART OF THE GUNNISON GOLD BELT, COLORADO: COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES M.SC. THESIS T-2251, P. 22-47.

Reference (Deposit): DROBECK, P.A., 1981, PROTEROZOIC SYNGENETIC MASSIVE SULFIDE DEPOSITS IN THE GUNNISON GOLD BELT, COLORADO, IN EPIS, R.C., AND CALLENDER, J.F., EDS., WESTERN SLOPE COLORADO: NEW MEXICO GEOL. SOC. 32D FIELD CONF. GUIDEBOOK, P. 279-286.

Reference (Deposit): HEDLUND, D.C., AND OLSON, J.C., 1981, PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY ALONG PARTS OF THE GUNNISON UPLIFT OF SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO, IN EPIS, R.C., AND CALLENDER, J.F., EDS., WESTERN SLOPE COLORADO: NEW MEXICO GEOL. SOC, 32D FIELD CONF. GUIDEBOOK, P. 267-272.

Reference (Deposit): OLSON, J.C., 1976, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE IRIS QUADRANGLE, GUNNISON AND SAGUACHE COUNTIES, COLORADO: USGS MAP GQ-1286.


Colorado Mining Photos

Placer mines at Cripple Creek, Colorado ca. 1892

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