El Plomo District

The El Plomo District is a gold mine located in Costilla 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

Name: El Plomo District  

State:  Colorado

County:  Costilla

Elevation:

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 37.25444, -105.33889

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

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Satelite image of the El Plomo District

El Plomo District MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: El Plomo District
Secondary: Rito Seco district
Secondary: San Luis


Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Molybdenum


Location

State: Colorado
County: Costilla
District: El Plomo District


Land Status

Not available


Holdings

Not available


Workings

Not available


Ownership

Not available


Production

Year: 1996
Time Period: 1991-1996


Deposit

Record Type: District
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N


Physiography

Not available


Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Gold on flat faults
Model Name: Epithermal veins


Orebody

Not available


Structure

Not available


Alterations

Not available


Rocks

Not available


Analytical Data

Not available


Materials

Not available


Comments

Comment (Commodity): See more detailed MRDS entry for San Luis Mine for specific minerals present.

Comment (Geology): See San Luis Mine for details on geology. The large San Luis mine is the only significant producer in the district. It was active from 1991 to 1997.

Comment (Location): About 5 miles northeast of the town of San Luis. Located on the lower western slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The district is dominated by the San Luis Mine, which was operated by Battle Mountain Gold Company from 1991 to 1997.

Comment (Production): Production from 1991 through 1996 was 360,000 ounces of gold. Silver was also produced but the quantity of silver was only about half that og gold. Gold production for final year (1997) of mining and heap leaching at San Luis mine not known.

Comment (Production): The first recorded mining activity in the area started around 1890 near what became known as the "East Ore Zone" at the modern San Luis Mine. Silver and lead were the principal metals mined in the early days. A gold mill with an amalgamation circuit and later a cyanide circuit operated intermittently from 1897 through 1934 (Benson and Jones, 1994).

Comment (Reserve-Resource): San Luis deposit contained 15,430,100 grams (approximately 500,000 oz) of gold before mining. 425,000 ounces were considered recoverable.


References

Reference (Development): WEILKINSON, BRUCE, 1981, GOLD LODE STUDIED IN COSTILLA COUNTY: DENVER POST, 6/14/81, P. 46.

Reference (Development): EPLER, BILL. SAN LUIS GOLD - BMG'S NEW PRODUCER IS UP & RUNNING, PAYDIRT MAG. (ROCKY MT ED), MAY 1991, PP 4A-6A

Reference (Deposit): Vanderwilt, J.W., 1947, Mineral resources of Colorado: State of Colorado Mineral Resources Board, 547 p.

Reference (Deposit): VAN DEIST, E.C., AND VAN DEIST, P.H., 1898, NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY OF THE WESTERN SLOPE OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO RANGE IN COSTILLA COUNTY, COLO.: COLO, SCI. SOC. PROC., V. 5, P. 76-80.

Reference (Deposit): Benson, R.G., and Jones, D.M., 1994, Geology of the San Luis gold deposit: New developments, Costilla County, Colorado: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, SME Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 9 p.

Reference (Deposit): GUNTHER, C.G., 1905, THE GOLD DEPOSITS OF PLOMO, SAN LUIS PARK, COLORADO: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 1, P. 143-154.

Reference (Geology): Kirkham, R.M., Shaver, K.C., Lindsay, N.R., and Wallace, A.R., 2003, Geologic map of the Taylor Ranch quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-15, scale 1:24,000, 30 p.

Reference (Geology): 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 (Geology): GOLD DEPOSIT, COSTILLA CO, COLORADO. GOLD '90 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AIME OF THE GOLD '90 SYMPOSIUM, SALT LAKE CITY,

Reference (Geology): Wallace, A.R., and Soulliere, S.J., 1996, Geologic map of the Ojito Peak quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2312-B, scale 1:24,000.

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.


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