The Silver Cliff District is a silver and gold mine located in Custer county, Colorado.
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
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Silver Cliff District MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Silver Cliff District
Secondary: Hardscrabble district
Commodity
Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Zinc
Location
State: Colorado
County: Custer
District: Silver Cliff
Land Status
Not available
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Not available
Production
Year: 1958
Time Period: 1872-1958
Mined: 500000.000 mt
Material type: approximate amount of ore mined
Deposit
Record Type: District
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Physiography
Not available
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Polymetallic veins
Model Name: Epithermal vein, generic
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Type: L
Description: Silver Cliff volcanic complex and graben
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: argillic; pyritic
Rocks
Name: Granodiorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Oligocene
Name: Granodiorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene
Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Miocene
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Unknown: Gold
Unknown: Stibnite
Unknown: Silver
Unknown: Sphalerite
Unknown: Chalcopyrite
Unknown: Cryptomalene
Unknown: Galena
Unknown: Tetrahedrite
Unknown: Pyrite
Unknown: Stephanite
Comments
Comment (Commodity): Principally a silver and gold district. Some base metal production.
Comment (Geology): Ore hosted in veins and breccia bodies.
Comment (Location): Northwestern base of the Wet Mountains near the Wet Mountain Valley floor.
Comment (Production): Estimated production is for both the Silver Cliff and nearby Rosita Hills districts.
References
Reference (Deposit): Siems, P.L., 1967, Volcanic and economic geology of the Rosita Hills and Silver cliff districts, Custer County, Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, D. Sc. dissertation, 222 p.
Reference (Geology): Sharp, W.N., 1978, Geologic map of the Silver Cliff and Rosita volcanic centers, Custer County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series Map I-1081, scale 1:24,000.
Reference (Deposit): Cappa, J.A., 1998, Alkalic igneous rocks of Colorado and their associated ore deposits: Colorado Geological Survey Resource Series 35, 138 p.
Colorado Mining Photos
Check out this collection of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.
