Bachelor Mine

Past Producer in Mineral county in Colorado, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold, Copper, Antimony, Manganese

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10012366
MRDS ID D007966
Record type Site
Current site name Bachelor Mine
Related records 10264234

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.93312, 37.87307 (WGS84)
Elevation 3094
Relative position 1.4 MILES N12W FROM CREEDE (B.M. 8853 AT NORTH END OF TOWN)
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Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Mineral

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 042N 001W 24 NE OF NE OF SW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • S-T-R, LAT-LONG, AND ELEV DETERMINED FROM EMMONS AND LARSEN'S (1923) TOPO MAP (1:24,000). MINE OR CLAIM LIES ON SE SIDE OF BACHELOR MTN. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1976)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Secondary
Gold Secondary
Copper Secondary
Antimony Tertiary
Manganese Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Amethyst Gangue
Barite Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rhodochrosite Gangue
Smithsonite Gangue
Wad Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Chloritization, Silicification, Argillization; Fe-Mn Oxides

Analytical data

Result SEE ORE GRADES REPORTED IN PRODUCTION TABLE

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Campbell Mtn. Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Rock description Campbell Mtn. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Cr. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Campbell Mtn. Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite
    Rock description Campbell Mtn. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite;Willow Cr. Mbr. Of Bachelor Mtn. Rhyolite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.93312, 37.87307

Geologic structures

Type Description Terms
Regional San Juan Volcanic Field; La Garita, Creede, And Bachelor Calderas
Local Creede Graben; Amethyst Fault Zone

Ore body information

  • Strike N 15 TO 25 W
    Dip 60 SW
    Width 9.14M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Amethyst Fault, Ancestral Amethyst Fault; Steep, Subparallel Hanging Wall Fractures

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1884
Discoverer J.C. Mackenzie, H.M. Bennett, J.A. Wilson
Discovery method Ore-Mineral In Place
Year of first production 1884

Mining district

District name Creede District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Harrison-Western Corp.
    First year 1980
  • Type Owner
    Owner Minerals Engineering Co. (Meco)
    Home office Grand Junction, Co.
    First year 1981

Production statistics

  • Year 1920
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Silver Silver 482g/mt
    Major Ore Lead Lead 2wt-pct
  • Year 1920
    Accuracy Estimate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Silver Silver 1694g/mt
    Minor Gold Gold 1g/mt
    Major Lead Lead 2wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • AMTS. OF METALS CALCULATED FROM REPORTED ORE GRADES

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 457.2M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE DEVELOPED BY 4 TUNNELS AND NELSON-WOOSTER-HUMPHREYS TUNNEL (LOWEST) OVER 1175-FT VERTICAL INTERVAL. TUNNEL 4 IS 445 FT ABOVE NELSON TUNNEL; TUNNEL 3 IS 401 FT ABOVE TUNNEL 4; TUNNEL 1 IS 330 FT ABOVE TUNNEL 3. TUNNEL 2 (INACCESSIBLE) POSITION UNKNOWN. BACHELOR SHAFT (WITH SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET OF DRIFTS) SUNK TO 125 FT BELOW NELSON TUNNEL. TOTAL EXTENT OF WORKINGS UNKNOWN BUT EXCEEDS 10,000 FT ON 4 MAIN LEVELS.

Comments on development

  • LOW-GRADE ORE MINED SOON AFTER DISCOVERY, TREATED WITHOUT SUCCESS AT SUNNYSIDE. WORK RENEWED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER LARGE LODE DISCOVERIES IN 1891.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS D007966
U.S. Bureau of Mines Minerals Availability System MAS 0080790013

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    EMMONS, W.H., AND LARSEN, E.S. 1923, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE CREEDE DISTRICT, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 718, 198 P.

  • Deposit

    STEVEN, T.A., AND RATTE, J.C., 1965, GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURAL CONTROL OF ORE DEPOSITION IN THE CREEDE DISTRICT, SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO: USGS PROF. PAPER 487, 90 P.

  • Deposit

    LINDEMANN, J.W., AND OTHERS, EDS., 1981, FIELD TRIP NOTES, CREEDE MINING DISTRICT, SAN JUAN VOLCANIC PROVINCE, COLORADO: DENVER REGIONAL EXPLORATION GEOLOGISTS SOC. GUIDEBOOK

  • Production

    1902-06 (EMMONS & LARSEN, 1923); 1916-25 (CO. DIV. MINES ANN. OPERATORS REPTS.)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PRINCIPAL LODE IS AMETHYST FAULT (ATTITUDE ABOVE). MINE ALSO DEVELOPS ANCESTRAL AMETHYST FAULT (DEAN FAULT) WHICH LIES IN AMETHYST HANGING WALL BUT STRIKES MORE NORTHERLY (N 5 TO 10 W) AND DIPS MORE STEEPLY (70 TO 80 SW). LATER MINERALIZED FRACTURES OCCUPY HORSE BETWEEN THE TWO FAULTS. ANOTHER MAJOR FRACTURE SUBPARALLELS AND LIES JUST WEST OF DEAN FAULT BUT DIPS STEEPLY NE. SOUTHERN AMETHYST FAULT MINERALIZATION IS VEIN-TYPE AND DISSEMINATED, BOTH CONFINED TO DENSELY FRACTURED AND BRECCIATED CAMPBELL MTN. RHYOLITE IN HANGING WALL BUT IN SOME PLACES ALSO IN FOOTWALL. TWO-STAGE PARAGENESIS INCLUDES 1) STAGE 1, QUARTZ, BARITE, RHODOCHROSITE, NO AG; 2) STAGE 2, SUBSTAGE A, QUARTZ, AMETHYST, BASE-METAL SULFIDES, NO AG; SUBSTAGE B, AMETHYST, BARITE, BASE-METAL SULFIDES, AG-BEARING CU SULFIDES (ECONOMIC); SUBSTAGE C, QUARTZ, AMETHYST, CU AND BASE-METALS SULFIDES, FE-MN OXIDES, TETRAHEDRITE, ACANTHITE AND NATIVE AG ECONOMIC, ALSO PROBABLE DISSEMINATED MINERALIZATION IN CLOSELY
Deposit SPACED MICROVEINLETS AND INTERGRANULAR PORE FILLING.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1981 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey