Marion Mine

The Marion Mine is a zinc, silver, copper, and lead mine located in Custer county, Colorado at an elevation of 10,600 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: Marion Mine
Secondary: Marion Mines Inc.

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Silver
Primary: Copper
Primary: Lead

Location

State: Colorado
County: Custer
District: Wet Mountains

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.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Underground
Mining Method: Unknown
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: Stratabound Precambrian sulfide, Colorado and Wyoming

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: L
Description: NE-striking sulfide lenses

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: calc-silicate host rocks within gneiss.

Rocks

Name: Migmatite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Paleoproterozoic

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

Name: Calc-Silicate Schist
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Paleoproterozoic

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Pyroxene
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Cordierite
Gangue: Gahnite
Gangue: Gahnite
Trace: Sapphirine
Unknown: Amphibole

Comments

Comment (Commodity): Mined principally for zinc and copper in the early 1900s. Lead and silver present in locally high concentrations.

Comment (Commodity): The Marion mine is the principal mine of the Wet Mountain district (Davis and Streufert, 1990).

Comment (Geology): Sulfide lenses associated with calc-silicate gneiss layers within larger package ofPaleoproterozoic gneiss that may be a xenolith within San Isabel Granit e.

Comment (Location): Wet Mountains, a few miles west of San Isabel along Amethyst Creek.

Comment (Production): Unknown production from 1906-1916(?). Fairly extensive workings.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Resource estimate from reports in Sunshine Mining Co. files (Colorado Geological Survey).

References

Reference (Geology): JOHNSON, R. B., 1969, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE TRINIDAD QUADRANGLE, SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO: USGS MAP I-558, 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Sunshine Mining Co. Colorado exploration files, unpublished data, Colorado Geological Survey.

Reference (Deposit): VANDERWILT, J. W., 19478 MINERAL RESOURCES OF COLORADO: COLORADO MINERAL RESOURCES BOARD, P. 473.

Reference (Deposit): Sheridan, D.M., Raymond, W.H., Taylor, R.B., and Hasler, J.W., 1990, Metallogenic map of stratabound exhalative and related occurrences in Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1971, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Heinrich, E.W., 1981, Precambrian tungsten and copper-zinc skarn deposits of south-central Colorado: Colorado Geological survey Resource Series 21, 115 p.

Colorado Mining Photos

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