1. Home
  2. Mines
  3. North America
  4. The United States
  5. Colorado
  6. Mineral
  7. Deposit #25602

Emperius Mine

Creede, Colorado

37.8778°N 106.9336°W

Mine Overview

The Emperius Mine is near Creede, Colorado. Historically the site has been associated with the Creed Mining District which is now part of the Rio Grande National Forest. The site was first discovered in 1884. The Emperius Mine was closed at the time of data entry with no known plans to re-open. Past operations took place from 1942 to 1976. Production size when active was considered to be small. Mine operations consist of 5 distinct surface and underground workings extending 88.23 hectares (218.01 acres). There is one known shaft. Subsurface depth reaches a maximum of 570 meters (1,870 feet) and extends 100,000 meters (328,084 feet) in length. The ore mined is composed of chalcopyrite, tennantite and gold with waste material consisting primarily of amethyst, rhodochrosite and chlorite. As of 1981 there were two known tabular shaped ore bodies one of which extends 4,800 meters (15,748 feet) long, 250 meters (820 feet) wide, and 1 meters (4 feet) thick. Associated rock in this area is rhyolite from the Oligocene epoch 33.90 to 23.03 million years ago. The Southern Rocky Mountains physiographic province of the Rocky Mountain System characterize the geomorphology of the surrounding area.

Site identification and general characteristics. Learn about USGS mines.

  • Copper, Lead, and Silver Primary Commodity
  • Cadmium and Gold Secondary Commodity
  • Antimony and Arsenic Secondary Commodity
  • Site Record Type?
  • Mine Development Status?
  • Underground Operation Type?
  • Overhand Shrinkage Methods Mining Method?
  • Flotation Milling Method?
  • 1884 Year Discovered?
  • Ore Mineral In Place Discovery Method?
  • 1942 to 1976 Last Year of Production
  • 1892 First Year Of Production?
  • 1976 Last Year Of Production?
  • Small Production Size?
  • Significant Significance?
  • Metallic Site Commodity Type?
Emperius Mine Near Creede, Colorado

Emperius Mine Near Creede, Colorado

Click to open an interactive map.

© The Diggings™

Mine Names

  1. Name? Status?
  2. Emperius Mine Current
  3. Emperious Mining Company Current
  4. Chance Mining Company Previous
  5. Creede Mines Previous
  6. Commodore Mining Company Previous
  7. Last Chance & Pittsburg Mine Company Previous
  8. Amethyst Mine Previous
  9. Del Monte Mining Company Previous
  10. Bachelor Mine Previous
  11. New York Mine Previous

Owner Name and Address

Commodore Mining Company

Colorado
Type
Owner

Creede Mines Corporation

Colorado
Type
Owner

Del Monte Mining Company

Colorado
Type
Owner

Emperius Mining Company

Colorado
Type
Owner

Minerals Engineering Company

Colorado
Type
Operator
Stake
Majority

Minerals Engineering Company (Meco)

Grand Junction, Colorado
Type
Owner

Pioneer Nuclear Incorporated

Type
Operator

Commodities

Additional textual information about a site or mine.

  1. Commodity Type Importance
  2. Copper Metallic Primary
  3. Lead Metallic Primary
  4. Silver Metallic Primary
  5. Zinc Metallic Primary
  6. Cadmium Metallic Secondary
  7. Gold Metallic Secondary
  8. Antimony Metallic Tertiary
  9. Arsenic Metallic Tertiary

Deposit

PRINCIPAL LODES ARE IN AMETHYST FAULT (USUALLY AS FAULT CONTACT BETWEEN CAMPBELL MOUNTAIN RHYOLITE IN HANGING WALL AND WILLOW CREEK RHYOLITE IN FOOTWALL ), ANCESTRAL AMETHYST (DEAN) FAULT, AND IN MAJOR HANGING-WALL FRACTURES AND VEINS (OH AND WINCHESTER) SUBPARALLEL TO AND JOINING AMETHYST FAULT AT DEPTH BUT STRIKING FARTHER WEST AND DIPPING VERTICAL TO STEEPLY NE AND DYING OUT UPWARD INTO STRONGLY ALTERED ROCK. DEEP MINERALIZATION IS UNOXIDIZED BASE-METAL VEIN TYPE IN CHLORITE GANGUE WITH LITTLE WALLROCK ALTERATION. CENTRAL AREA SILICIFIED WITH PARTLY OXIDIZED SILVER-BEARING ORES IN IRON-MN-OXIDE-STAINED QUARTZ-AMETHYST-BARITE GANGUE IN VEINS AND DISSEMINATIONS. UPPER OXIDIZED ORE MOSTLY DISSEMINATED IN FRACTURED, STRONGLY ARGILLIZED ROCK.

EMPERIUS MINE RECORD IS CONSOLIDATION OF DATA FROM HAPPY THOUGHT, LAST CHANCE, NEW YORK, DEL MONTE, AMETHYST, COMMODORE, AND BACHELOR MINES; INFORMATION SOURCE: 1 PUBLIC LITERATURE; 2 UNPUBLISHED REPORTS.

MINERALS ENGINEERING CO. MAY 1976, THIS COMPANY IS THE OPERAT THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES: AMETHYST MINE, NEW YORK MINE, LAST R MINE, DEL MONTE, EMPERIOUS MINE AND MILL, CREEDE MINES.

Location Info

  1. Continent Country State County
  2. North America The United States Colorado Mineral

Notes

S-T-R, LAT-LONG, AND ELEV DETERMINED FROM EMMONS AND LARSEN'S (1923) TOPO MAP (1:24, 000 ). MINE OR CLAIM LIES ALONG AMETHYST VEIN FROM BACHELOR TO HAPPY THOUGHT MINES.; INFO FROM LAND. ST : (1976).

Meridian / Township / Range Description

  1. Meridian? Township? Section? Aliquot?
  2. New Mexico Meridian T.42N R.1W Sec. 13 NE
  3. New Mexico Meridian T.42N R.1W Sec. 24 NE
  4. New Mexico Meridian T.42N R.1W Sec. 24 SE
  5. New Mexico Meridian T.42N R.1W Sec. 14 -

Land Status

Land status information.

  1. Land Status? Admin Area?
  2. National Forest -
  3. Private -

Mining Districts

Formal or informal mining district names.

  1. District
  2. Creed Mining District

Development

INDIVIDUAL MINES LOCATED AND DEVELOPED IN EARLY 1890S, CONSOLIDATED INTO EMPERIUS MINING CO. IN 1942, ACQUIRED BY MINERALS ENGINEERING CO. (MECO) IN 1973, PRODUCED THRU 1976. EXPLORATION SINCE THEN CARRIED OUT BY MECO'S OPERATORS, CHEVRON RESOURCES AND HARRISON-WESTERN.

Workings

Workings at the site.

Workings #1

  • Type: Surface and Underground
  • Surface Area: 88.225 Hectares
  • Surface Length: 3218.6 Meters
  • Surface Width: 274.32 Meters
  • Sub Surface Depth: 569.98 Meters

Workings #2

  • Type: Surface and Underground
  • Sub Surface Length: 100000 Meters
  • Sub Surface Depth: 0 Meters
  • Mining Method: Overhand Shrinkage
  • Status of Mining Method: Proposed
  • Percent Recovery: 90
  • Percent Waste Rock: 33.3
  • Capacity: 272 mt ore/day
  • Production Unit Cost: 49.43 $/mt ore
  • Operating Days Per Year: 113
  • Operating Shifts Per Day: 2
  • Year of Information: 1981
  • Swell Factor: 0.77
  • Rock Chars: One System Of Weakness Planes
  • Rock Support Chars: Supporting
  • Mine Support Chars: Post, Headboard, Caps, Roof Bolts
  • Slope of Inclines: 0 meters
  • Length of Inclines: 0 meters
  • Number of Adits: 2
  • Average Length Adits: 6092 meters
  • Condition 1: Open
  • Condition 2: Part Accessible
  • Condition 3: Bad Air

Workings #3

  • Type: Surface and Underground
  • Sub Surface Length: 100000 Meters
  • Sub Surface Depth: 0 Meters
  • Mining Method: Overhand Shrinkage
  • Status of Mining Method: Proposed
  • Percent Recovery: 90
  • Percent Waste Rock: 33.3
  • Capacity: 272 mt ore/day
  • Production Unit Cost: 49.43 $/mt ore
  • Operating Days Per Year: 260
  • Operating Shifts Per Day: 2
  • Year of Information: 1981
  • Swell Factor: 0.77
  • Rock Chars: One System Of Weakness Planes
  • Rock Support Chars: Supporting
  • Mine Support Chars: Post, Headboard, Caps, Roof Bolts
  • Slope of Inclines: 0 meters
  • Length of Inclines: 0 meters
  • Number of Adits: 2
  • Average Length Adits: 6092 meters
  • Condition 1: Open
  • Condition 2: Part Accessible
  • Condition 3: Bad Air

Workings #4

  • Type: Surface and Underground
  • Status of Mining Method: Proposed
  • Capacity: 272 mt ore/day
  • Production Unit Cost: 5.15 $/mt ore
  • Operating Days Per Year: 147
  • Operating Shifts Per Day: 1
  • Year of Information: 1981

Workings #5

  • Type: Surface and Underground
  • Status of Mining Method: Proposed
  • Capacity: 272 mt ore/day
  • Production Unit Cost: 5.15 $/mt ore
  • Operating Days Per Year: 260
  • Operating Shifts Per Day: 1
  • Year of Information: 1981

Workings

INCLUDES ALL WORKINGS ON CENTRAL, MOST OF SOUTHERN, AND PART OF NORTHERN AMETHYST VEIN. SEE DESCRIPTIONS OF INDIVIDUAL MINES LISTED BELOW IN GENERAL COMMENTS.

Concentration Process

Processes that concentrated or enriched the mineralization of the mine.

  1. Concentration Process
  2. Pressure From Stock Beneath Bachelor Caldera Reactivated Creede Keystone Graben And Started A North-To-South-Flowing, Freely Convecting Hydrothermal System Of Sulfate-Rich Solutions That Deposited Ore And Gangue Near Top Of Convecting Cell By Hypogene Enrichment Process. Boiling, With Loss Of Acid Constituents, And Resulting Rise In Ph Caused Precipitation Of Ores And Formation Of Intensely Altered Sericitic Cap Above Ore. Cap Is Actually Coalescence Of Alteration Fans Spreading Upward And Outward Thru Fractured And Porous Rock In Main Fault Zones And Along Parallel And Antithetic Fractures In Hanging Wall.

Materials

Minerals or other materials present in the mine.

  1. Role? Material?
  2. Gangue/Waste Amethyst
  3. Gangue/Waste Barite
  4. Gangue/Waste Chlorite
  5. Gangue/Waste Goslarite
  6. Gangue/Waste Hematite
  7. Gangue/Waste Jarosite
  8. Gangue/Waste Limonite
  9. Gangue/Waste Quartz
  10. Gangue/Waste Rhodochrosite
  11. Gangue/Waste Wad
  12. Ore Acanthite
  13. Ore Anglesite
  14. Ore Cerargyrite
  15. Ore Chalcocite
  16. Ore Chalcopyrite
  17. Ore Galena
  18. Ore Gold
  19. Ore Greenockite
  20. Ore Pyrite
  21. Ore Pyromorphite
  22. Ore Silver
  23. Ore Smithsonite
  24. Ore Sphalerite
  25. Ore Tennantite

Orebody

Characteristics of the ore body.

  • Area: 20.00 hectares (49.42 acres)
  • Length:
  • Width: 250.00 meters (820.21 feet)
  • Top Depth: 100.00 meters (328.08 feet)
  • Thickness: 1.40 meters (4.59 feet)
  • Strike: north 23 west
  • Dip: 70 west
  • Type of Wallrock: advanced argillic, silicification, propylitic
  • Wallrock Alteration: moderate
  • Ore Control: faulting, igneous
  • Ore Record Modified: 1981-05-28

  • Width: 9.14 meters (29.99 feet)
  • Strike: north 15 to 30 west
  • Dip: 55 to 70 southwest

Rocks

Geological materials at the site.

  1. Class? 1st Order Name? 2nd Order Name? 3rd Order Name? 4th Order Name? Most Specific Name? Begin Time End Time Description?
  2. Associated Rock Campbell Mountain Member Of Bachelor Mountain Rhyolite; Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mountain Rhyolite Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) Felsic Volcanic Rock Rhyolite Rhyolite Oligocene Oligocene -
  3. Host Rock Campbell Mountain Member Of Bachelor Mountain Rhyolite; Willow Creek Member Of Bachelor Mountain Rhyolite Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) Felsic Volcanic Rock Rhyolite Rhyolite - - -
  4. Mineralization - - - - - Miocene Miocene -

Structure

Geologic structural features affecting or characterizing the site or mine.

  1. Scale Description
  2. Local Amethyst Fault Zone; Creede Graben
  3. Regional La Garita, Creede, And Bachelor Calderas; San Juan Volcanic Field

Tectonic

Tectonic setting in which the site or deposit is situated.

  1. Setting?
  2. Central Cordillera (Southern Rocky Mountains)

Physiography

Physiographic area where the resource is found.

  1. Division Province? Section
  2. Rocky Mountain System Southern Rocky Mountains -

Alteration

Mineralogical and chemical alteration at or near the site, which may help to indicate the geographic extent of the geological processes producing the mine.

  1. Type? Alterations
  2. Local Chloritization, Silicification, Argillization; Iron-Manganese Oxides, Copper Carbonates

Exploration

DURING 1978, CHEVRON CONDUCTED AN EXTENSIVE UNGRD SAMPLING, GEOLOGIC AND MAPPING PROGRAM WHICH ENCOUNTERED ENCOURAGING SILVER MINERALIZATION IN OLDER WORKINGS AND GENERALLY CONFIRMED PREVIOUS SAMPLING WORK. IN 1979, CHEVRON CONTINUED THE DRILLING PROGRAM STARTED IN 1978. DURING 1980 CHEVRON EXPANDED ITS EXPLORATION EFFORT TO INCLUDE APPROXIMATELY 3450 FEET OF UNDGD DRIFTING AND BULK SAMPLING, WHICH WAS CONDUCTED BY AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. BY END OF JAN 1981, CHEVRON HAD COMPLETED APPROXIMATELY 130 SURF AND UGRD DRILL HOLES TOTALLING OVER 41000 FEET SEVERAL MINE LEVELS HAVE BEEN SAMPLED IN DETAIL AND GEOPHYSICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED OVER MUCH OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE OPTIONED CLAIMS. THE RESULTS INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF WIDESPREAD LOW-GRADE, DISSEMINATED SILVER MINERALIZATION ADJACENT TO THE AMETHYST FAULT. (MINERALS ENGINEERING 1980 FORM 10K, P 3).

Holdings

Mineral rights ownership information.

Notes

CHEVRON RESOURCES (DIV. OF STANDARD OIL OF CALIFORNIA) SIGNED AN OPTION WITH MINERALS ENGINEERING IN 1978 FOR A 5-YR LEASE FOR EXPLORATION IN THE EMPERIUS MINE. CHEVRON WILL PAY $300, 000 IN 1981, AND $500, 000 IN 1982. CHEVRON MAY DISCONTINUE THE PAYMENTS BEFORE END OF 1982, EITHER BY PAYING $6, 000, 000 FOR AN 85% INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY, OR BY GIVING 90 DAYS NOTICE OF TERMINATION. CHEVRON CAN ALSO EXTEND THE OPTION PERIOD BEYOND 1982, BY MAKING ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS THAT CUMULATIVELY REACH $5, 700, 000 BY 1986 OR $9, 855, 000 BY 1987, TO EARN A 65% OR AN 85% WORKING INTEREST, RESPECTFULLY, IN THE PROPERTY (MINERALS ENGINEERING 1980 FORM 10-K, P. 30.).

  1. Type?
  2. Located Claim; Patented; Private Lease

Ore Control

Controls on emplacement of ore such as faults or other structural features.

  1. Text?
  2. Amethyst Fault, Ancestral Amethyst Fault, Subparallel And Antithetic Fractures In Hanging Wall

Reserve-resource

M1C1=R1. MINUS 103900 (2 YRS PRODUCTION ). 1980 RESERVES ADJUSTED FROM JAN 1975 RESERVES BY SUBTRACTING 1975 + 1976 PRODUCTION (103900 MTS ). MINE CLOSED IN OCT 1976, 75% PROB = 1. 5X90% PROB, 50% PROB =2. 0X90% PROB M2C1=R2. QUANT 2 IS 1975 STATED BROKEN RESERVES IN MINE DUMP. M9C4=R1.-103900 M9C5=R2.

Nearby Deposits

Other deposits in the same region.

  1. United Mines Shaft

    • Gold commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.11 miles
    Read More

  2. Wedge Silver Mine

    • Silver commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.25 miles
    Read More

  3. Creede Formation Mine

    • Silver commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.26 miles
    Read More

  4. Chance Silver Mine

    • Silver commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.27 miles
    Read More

  5. Sloan Tunnel

    • Silver commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.32 miles
    Read More

  6. Wooster Gold Mine

    • Gold commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.32 miles
    Read More

  7. Bachelor Mine

    • Gold commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.36 miles
    Read More

  8. Rio Grande Lode

    • Silver commodity Site type Occurrence status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • 0.38 miles
    Read More

  9. Last Chance Mine

    • Gold commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.39 miles
    Read More

  10. Del Monte Mining Company Mine

    • Gold commodity Site type Mine status
    • Mineral, Colorado
    • Underground
    • 0.41 miles
    Read More

Nearby Places

Nearby Mining Districts

Nearby Lands

Footnotes

* Mine bounds on map indicate the general area that a mine occupies. For an detailed map, refer to the overseeing BLM field office.

** The mine central point is based on an average of the mine's bounding box(es) and does not necessarily fall on the claim itself.

1 World-class significance is determined by total endowment of the contained commodity. This includes all past production and remaining reserves. Each commodity is considered separately and commodities cannot be combined to arrive at a significant size. The tonnage thresholds are from the mine model grade-tonnage studies. As of June 2008, many entries were classified as significant under less strict rules.

Mining Claim News From The Diggings™

Learn more about the Bureau of Land Management, Public Land Survey System, and mining claims.

  1. Understanding Mine Ownership

    Understanding Claim Ownership

    We receive lots of emails from people who find their name or a relative’s name on our site and want to know if this means they have some right to the land listed under that name.

  2. open range landscape

    Understanding BLM Administrative Areas

    Whether it is filing a mine or researching one, the administering BLM office is going to be the definitive source.

  3. Public Land Survey System map of the United States of America

    Understanding Location Data

    Mine handled by the Bureau of Land Management are not mapped by latitude and longitude, instead, these mines harken back to the Public Land Survey System.

  4. Historic map of the Ohio Western Reserve

    Understanding Townships

    A “township” can refer to two different things. Both are part of the PLSS measurement system but have different uses.

Browse All Mines
Browse Mines by BLM Administrative Area
Browse By Commodity
Browse Mines by State

Search for owners by first name, last name, company, location, etc.

Browse All Owners
Browse All Help