Deposit with commodities rare earth elements, niobium, thorium, uranium, vanadium
More information at and near this site: REE-CO00019
| Feature ID | REE-Mo00286 |
|---|---|
| Other names | Iron Hill Carbonatite, REE-Nb-Th-U |
| Geographic coordinates | -107.063068, 38.254496 |
| Point definition | Approximate center of multipart polygon |
| Polygon definition | Polygon represents the trace of the Carbonatite (Cambrian Or Upper Cambrian) |
| Reference | Hedlund and Olson (1975); GQ-1177; GQ-1178 Date: 1974; 1975; Scale: Medium (1:24,000-1:250,000)
|
| Remarks | Olson (1974) used for the southern portion of the Carbonatite Stock; Polygon represents the southern part of GQ-1177 and the northern portion of GQ-1178 (Carbonatite stock); Figure 23 from Olson and Hedlund (1981) was used to determine the outer boundary |
| Commodities | rare earth elements; niobium; thorium; uranium |
|---|---|
| Valuable materials | fluorapatite; pyrochlore; thorite; rhabdophane; synchisite; monazite; bastnaesite; fluocarbonates; apatite (5); ancylite (5) |
| Associated materials | phlogopite; biotite; barite; pyrite; calcite; pyrolusite; dolomite (1); strontium (1); barium (1); beryllium (1); magnesium (1); zircon (1); ankerite (2); siderite (2); fluorite (2); parisite (2); pyrrhotite (2); chalcopyrite (2); galena (2); sphalerite (2); goethite (2); maghemite (2); rutile (2); aegirine (2); sodic amphibole (2); manganese oxides (4); hematite (4); chalcedonic jasper (4) |
| Mineralization style | disseminated; segregations; lenticles; veins (5); blebs (5) |
| Age of mineralization | Upper Precambrian-Cambrian (2); 553 (plus/minus 12 m.y.) Ma - 573 (plus/minus 19 m.y.) Ma (3) |
| Host rock age | Upper Precambrian-Cambrian (2); 553 (plus/minus 12 m.y.) Ma - 573 (plus/minus 19 m.y.) Ma (3) |
| Host unit name | Iron Hill Carbonatite |
| Host lithologies | carbonatite; dolomitic carbonatite (rauhaugite) |
| Alteration | fenitized; jasperized; metasomatic; silicified (1); hydrothermal (5) |
| Reference | Olson, J.C., and D.C. Hedlund. 1981. Alkalic Rocks and Resources of Thorium an District, Gunnison County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1049-C. |
| Additional references | (1) Staatz and others (1979); (2) Hedlund and Olson (1975); (3) Olson (1974); (4) Van Gosen and Lowers (2007); (5) Erickson (2015) |
“Discrete resistive zones consisting almost entirely of boxwork ankerite and limonite with vugs and veins of fine to coarse euhedral calcite occur as prominent features extending from the sides of Iron Hill. These zones appear to represent the most highly-altered areas of the stock and were observed up to 15 meters-wide by 10 meters-tall. The carbonatite displays foliation and lineation along shear planes. Where the carbonatite intruded the pyroxenite and uncompahgrite, a mixed-rock zone formed. Temple and Grogan (1965) and Nash (1972) presented evidence of melt mixing in this unit, and the mixed zone displays textures and compositions between those of the pyroxenite and carbonatite stock (Lowers, 2005; Van Gosen and Lowers, 2007).”
Erickson, J., 2015, Rare-Earth Element Mineralization and Formation of the Iron Hill Carbonatite Complex, Gunnison County, Colorado, USA: Colorado School of Mines, Master's thesis, 103 p.
“The last intrusive unit in the complex is the carbonatite stock. The carbonatite ranges from coarse to fine-grained, and is dominantly composed of ankeritic dolomite, with lesser aegirine, potassium feldspar, iron oxides and hydroxides, biotite, fluorapatite, rutile, barite, calcite, and quartz. The carbonatite makes up the majority of the prominent hill at Iron Hill. This unit displays a variety of weathering patterns in outcrop. The stock forms a craggy outcrop consisting of massive, coherent, ankeritic-dolomite-dominant carbonatite. This appears to grade into less-resistant zones of carbonatite that has a crumbly, clastic-textured rind of euhedral to subhedral dolomite crystals between 1 mm and 1 cm in width. Beneath this centimeter-thick rind, the carbonatite stock has similar carbonate crystal grain size to the more coherent zones, but contains considerably more iron oxides. This zone also contains abundant euhedral pyrite that has been partially to fully replaced by hematite without destroying the pyrite crystal shape.”
Erickson, J., 2015, Rare-Earth Element Mineralization and Formation of the Iron Hill Carbonatite Complex, Gunnison County, Colorado, USA: Colorado School of Mines, Master's thesis, 103 p.
| Type | Model | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit model | carbonatite deposits | Long, K.R., Van Gosen, B.S., Foley, N.K., and Cordier, Daniel, 2010, The principal rare earth elements deposits of the United States—A summary of domestic deposits and a global perspective: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5220, 96 p. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5220/. |
| Geoenvironmental model | carbonatite | du Bray, E.A., 1995, ed., Preliminary compilation of descriptive geoenvironmental mineral deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-831, 272 p. |
| Date | Description | Class | Type | Material | Contained | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Unclassified | Unclassified | ore | vanadium (V) | 50,000 | tons |
| 1979 | Reserve | Unclassified | ore | uranium oxide (U3O8) | 9,180 | tons |
| 1979 | Reserve | Unclassified | ore | niobium oxide (Nb2O5) | 411,900 | tons |
| 1979 | Resource | Probable Potential | ore | niobium oxide (Nb2O5) | 1,523,000 | tons |
| 1979 | Resource | Probable Potential | ore | uranium oxide (U3O8) | 33,930 | tons |
| 1979 | Reserve | Unclassified | ore | total rare-earth oxide (TREO) | 2,865,000 | tons |
| 1979 | Resource | Probable Potential | ore | thorium oxide (ThO2) | 114,900 | tons |
| 1979 | Resource | Probable Potential | ore | total rare-earth oxide (TREO) | 10,590,000 | tons |
| 1979 | Reserve | Unclassified | ore | thorium oxide (ThO2) | 31,080 | tons |
| 1975: Unclassified, Unclassified | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1975 |
| Resource description | Unclassified |
| Resource classification | Unclassified |
| Material | vanadium (V) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 100,000,000 |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.05 |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 50,000 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 90,700,000(calculated) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.05 |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 45,400(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | V |
| Remarks | This is the current resource; 50,000 tons of vanadium may occur in 100 million tons of magnetite-ilmenite-perovskite rock in the complex of Iron Hill |
| Short reference | Olson and Hedlund (1981)Page 30 |
| Reference | Olson, J.C., and D.C. Hedlund. 1981. Alkalic Rocks and Resources of Thorium an District, Gunnison County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1049-C. |
| 1979: Reserve, Unclassified | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Reserve |
| Resource classification | Unclassified |
| Material | uranium oxide (U3O8) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 722,700,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.001 |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 9,180 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 656,000,000(calculated)(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.001 |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 7,070(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | U |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 30 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |
| 1979: Reserve, Unclassified | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Reserve |
| Resource classification | Unclassified |
| Material | niobium oxide (Nb2O5) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 722,700,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.057 |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 411,900 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 656,000,000(calculated)(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.057 |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 261,000(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | Nb |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 30 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |
| 1979: Resource, Probable Potential | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Resource |
| Resource classification | Probable Potential |
| Material | niobium oxide (Nb2O5) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 2,672,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.057(calculated) |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 1,523,000 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 2,420,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.057(calculated) |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 966,000(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | Nb |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 31 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |
| 1979: Resource, Probable Potential | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Resource |
| Resource classification | Probable Potential |
| Material | uranium oxide (U3O8) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 2,672,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0(calculated) |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 33,930 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 2,420,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0(calculated) |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 26,100(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | U |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 31 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |
| 1979: Reserve, Unclassified | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Reserve |
| Resource classification | Unclassified |
| Material | total rare-earth oxide (TREO) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 722,700,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.397 |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 2,865,000 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 656,000,000(calculated)(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.397 |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 2,600,000(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | TREO |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 30 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |
| 1979: Resource, Probable Potential | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Resource |
| Resource classification | Probable Potential |
| Material | thorium oxide (ThO2) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 2,672,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.004(calculated) |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 114,900 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 2,420,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.004(calculated) |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 91,600(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | Th |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 31 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |
| 1979: Resource, Probable Potential | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Resource |
| Resource classification | Probable Potential |
| Material | total rare-earth oxide (TREO) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 2,672,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.396(calculated) |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 10,590,000 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 2,420,000,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.396(calculated) |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 9,610,000(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | TREO |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 31 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |
| 1979: Reserve, Unclassified | |
|---|---|
| Year of estimate | 1979 |
| Resource description | Reserve |
| Resource classification | Unclassified |
| Material | thorium oxide (ThO2) |
| Material type | ore |
| Material amount | 722,700,000(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Amount units | tons |
| Grade | 0.004 |
| Grade units | percent |
| Contained commodity | 31,080 |
| Contained commodity units | tons |
| Material amount SI | 656,000,000(calculated)(includes amounts of more than one commodity) |
| Material amount SI units | metric tons |
| Grade SI | 0.004 |
| Grade SI units | percent |
| Contained commodity SI | 24,800(calculated) |
| Contained commodity SI units | metric tons |
| Contained commodity element | Th |
| Remarks | This is the current resource |
| Short reference | Staatz and others (1979)Page 30 |
| Reference | Staatz, M.H., Armbrustmacher, T.J., Olson, J.C., Brownfield, I.K., Brock, M.R., Lemons, J.F., Jr., Coppa, L.V., and Clingan, B.V., 1979, Principal thorium resources in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 805, 42 p. |