Bristol Copper Mine
Bristol, Connecticut
41.7205°N 72.9170°W
Mine Overview
The Bristol Copper Mine is in Bristol, Connecticut. Historically the site has been part of the Bristol Mining District. The site was first discovered in 1795 by Theophilus Botsford. The Bristol Copper Mine was closed at the time of data entry with no known plans to re-open. Mine operations consist of surface and underground workings extending 0.63 hectares (1.56 acres). There is one known shaft. Subsurface depth reaches a maximum of 115 meters (378 feet) and extends 128 meters (420 feet) in length. The ore mined is composed of malachite, sphalerite and bornite with waste material consisting primarily of quartz and calcite. The ore body extends 457 meters (1,500 feet) long, 120 meters (393 feet) wide, and 115 meters (377 feet) thick. Associated rock in this area is diorite from the Lopingian epoch (259.80 to 252.17 million years ago) to the Holocene epoch (11,784 years ago to present). The New England Upland Section of the Appalachian Highlands characterize the geomorphology of the surrounding area.
Site identification and general characteristics. Learn about USGS mines.
Bristol Copper Mine In Bristol, Connecticut
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Owner Name and Address
Allen Hearst
- Type
- Operator
Colonel Walter Cutting
- Type
- Owner
Commodities
Additional textual information about a site or mine.
- Commodity Type Importance
- Copper Metallic Primary
- Molybdenum Metallic Primary
- Silver Metallic Primary
- Sulfur Non-Metallic Primary
Deposit
USGS TOPO, 1966, BRISTOL, AT 1:24, 000, SHOWS COLLAPSED MINE WORKING AS SMALL POND. HULBERT HAS EXCELLENT REVIEW OF BRISTOL COPPER MINE HISTORY-ONLY SEEN 7 PAGE COPY, NOT ORIGINAL. USGS, HEYL, A. V ., 1967, ANALYSES OF BRISTOL MINE, REPORT NO. 67-WS-8.
ORE MINED FROM FAULT GOUGE THAT TRENDS N. 65 DEG. EAST, DIP 70 DEG. SE ., AND LATERALLY WEST IN SCHIST AND EAST IN SANDSTONE; STRIKE AND DIP OF EACH MINERALIZATION ZONE DIFFERENT.
USGS TOPO, 1966, BRISTOL, AT 1:24, 000, SHOWS COLLAPSED MINE WORKING AS SMALL POND. HULBERT HAS EXCELLENT REVIEW OF BRISTOL COPPER MINE HISTORY-ONLY SEEN 7 PAGE COPY, NOT ORIGINAL. USGS, HEYL, A. V ., 1967, ANALYSES OF BRISTOL MINE, REPORT NO. 67-WS-88, SAMPLE NOS. ABO-692 TO ABO-696, ABO-698 TO ABO-700; ALSO WEEKS, B ., REPORT NO. HM 3336, SAMPLE NOS. 194 AND 195.; INFORMATION SOURCE: 1 PUB LIT.
ENTRY DATE 6/77 BY DAVID C. UHRIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN REFERENCE REC. 701.
Location Info
- Hartford , Connecticut County / State
- Continent Country State County
- North America The United States Connecticut Hartford
Development
TOTAL$: US; MINE WORKED DURING PERIODS OF HIGH WORLD COPPER PRICES. LAST CLOSED IN 1895 WITH DECLINE IN WORLD COPPER PRICE.
Workings
Workings at the site.
Workings #1
- Type: Surface and Underground
- Surface Area: 0.631 Hectares
- Surface Length: 182.88 Meters
- Surface Width: 36.58 Meters
- Sub Surface Length: 128.02 Meters
- Sub Surface Depth: 115.21 Meters
Workings
MOST WORKINGS CONCENTRATED IN ZONE 500 FEET LONG, 50 FEET WIDE, AND 240 FEET DEEP.
MOST WORKINGS CONCENTRATED IN ZONE 500 FEET LONG, 50 FEET WIDE, AND 240 FEET DEEP.
Geology
NO TRIASSIC DIKES MAPPED IN AREA; THE STRAITS SCHIST AND THE BRISTOL QUARTZ DIORITE; THE THE STRAITS SCHIST LOWER PART OF HARTLAND FORMATION, INTRUDED BY BRISTOL GRANITE CORE, LATER CUT BY PEGMATITES; AREA FAULTED, DEPOSITI.
NO TRIASSIC DIKES MAPPED IN AREA; THE STRAITS SCHIST AND THE BRISTOL QUARTZ DIORITE; THE THE STRAITS SCHIST LOWER PART OF HARTLAND FORMATION, INTRUDED BY BRISTOL GRANITE CORE, LATER CUT BY PEGMATITES; AREA FAULTED, DEPOSITION OF TRIASSIC SEDIMENT; MORE MOVEMENT ALONG FAULT. SEVERAL MINERALIZATION EPISODES, PRE FAULT AND POST FAULTS. (CAMB-ORD, POST CAMB-ORD, POST TRI-MINERALIZATION ); MAJOR FAULT OCCURS IN THE THE STRAITS SCHIST FORMATION.
Orebody
Characteristics of the ore body.
- Length:
- Width: 120.00 meters (393.70 feet)
- Bottom Depth: 115.21 meters (377.99 feet)
- Thickness: 115.21 meters (377.99 feet)
Rocks
Geological materials at the site.
- Class? 1st Order Name? 2nd Order Name? 3rd Order Name? 4th Order Name? Most Specific Name? Begin Time End Time Description?
- Associated Rock Pegmatite Plutonic Rock Mafic Intrusive Rock Diorite Diorite Lopingian Holocene -
- Host Rock New Haven Arkose Metamorphic Rock Schist - Schist - - -
- Host Rock Sedimentary Rock Clastic Sedimentary Rock Arkose - Arkose - - -
- Mineralization - - - - - Upper Ordovician Upper Ordovician -
Physiography
Physiographic area where the resource is found.
- Division Province? Section
- Appalachian Highlands New England Province New England Upland Section
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.
- Type? Alterations
- Local Mineralization Bleaches Arkose Beds
Reserve-resource
INFORMATION LACKING BUT CONTINUATION OF ORE ZONE IN THE THE STRAITS SCHIST FORMATION EXCELLENT POTENTIAL FOR LARGE AMOUNTS OF LOW-GRADE COPPER ORE.
FIGURES LACKING BUT PROBABLY LARGE AMOUNTS OF LOW-GRADE COPPER ORE AVAILABLE FROM THE THE STRAITS SCHIST FORMATION.
FIGURES LACKING BUT PROBABLY LARGE AMOUNTS OF LOW-GRADE COPPER ORE AVAILABLE WITHIN THE THE STRAITS SCHIST FORMATION.
Nearby Deposits
Other deposits in the same region.
-
Unnamed Magnetite Occurrence
- Iron commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Hartford, Connecticut
- 3.63 miles
-
Magnetite Iron Mine
- Iron commodity Site type Mine status
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Surface
- 3.69 miles
-
Sphalerite Vein Quartz Occurrence
- Sulfur commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Hartford, Connecticut
- 4.60 miles
-
Unnamed Lead Mine
- Lead commodity Site type Mine status
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Surface
- 7.21 miles
-
Thomaston Fluorite And Sulfide Occurrence
- Fluorine-Fluorite commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Litchfield, Connecticut
- Metamorphosed Sedimentary
- 7.88 miles
-
Unnamed Copper Mine
- Copper commodity Site type Mine status
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Metamorphosed Sedimentary
- 7.90 miles
-
Dorvel Metallurgical Processing Plant
- Copper commodity Site type Plant status
- Litchfield, Connecticut
- Smelting Plant
- (Smelter-Pyrometallurgy)
- Processing Plant
- 8.12 miles
-
Unnamed Asbestos Mine
- Asbestos commodity Site type Mine status
- Litchfield, Connecticut
- Surface
- 9.07 miles
-
Unnamed Lead Mine
- Lead commodity Site type Mine status
- Litchfield, Connecticut
- Surface
- 9.11 miles
-
Mattabesset River Lead Mine
- Lead commodity Site type Mine status
- Hartford, Connecticut
- 9.45 miles
Nearby Places
- Bristol (3.52 miles away)
- Farmington (4.05 miles away)
- Burlington (4.06 miles away)
- Plainville (4.26 miles away)
- Terryville (5.31 miles away)
- Collinsville (6.28 miles away)
- Canton (7.12 miles away)
- Avon (7.32 miles away)
- Plymouth (7.42 miles away)
- Canton Valley (7.80 miles away)
- Harwinton (7.89 miles away)
- New Britain (7.96 miles away)
- Thomaston (8.32 miles away)
- Wolcott (8.69 miles away)
- Southington (8.78 miles away)
- West Hartford (9.11 miles away)
- Weatogue (9.40 miles away)
- Kensington (9.46 miles away)
- Newington (9.78 miles away)
- West Simsbury (10.77 miles away)
- Berlin (10.99 miles away)
- New Hartford Center (11.41 miles away)
- New Hartford (11.58 miles away)
- Torrington (11.64 miles away)
Nearby Mining Districts
- Bristol Mining District (0 miles away)
- Farmington Mining District (3.99 miles away)
- Canton Mining District (5.93 miles away)
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.
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Notes
FIRST NOTED BY BOTSFORD ABOUT 1795; ASA HOOKE MADE PROSPECT PIT 15 FEET ACROSS ABOUT 1800; LUKE GRIDLEY MADE MORE PROSPECT HOLES FROM 1802 TO 1810; BARTHOLOMEW DUG TRENCH 20 FEET LONG NORTH-SOUTH, TEN FEET WIDE, 17 FEET DEEP IN 1836 AND FORMED BRISTOL MIN.
FIRST NOTED BY BOTSFORD ABOUT 1795; ASA HOOKE MADE PROSPECT PIT 15 FEET ACROSS ABOUT 1800; LUKE GRIDLEY MADE MORE PROSPECT HOLES FROM 1802 TO 1810; BARTHOLOMEW DUG TRENCH 20 FEET LONG NORTH-SOUTH, TEN FEET WIDE, 17 FEET DEEP IN 1836 AND FORMED BRISTOL MINE COMPANY IN 1837 WHICH LASTED UNTIL 1846 AND DUG A SHAFT 240 FEET DEEP; FROM 1846 UNTIL 1855 SEVERAL OWNERS; PROFESSOR SILLIMAN AND JOHN WOOLSEY SPENT FORTUNE FROM 1855 UNTIL 1858; FROM 1858 UNTIL 1888 OWNED BY WOOLSEY HEIRS WHO DID NOTHING; DICK BARRY AND E. G. HUBBELL FORM BRISTOL COPPER AND SILVER MINING COMPANY, EXTENDED UNDERGROUND WORKINGS FROM 1888 TO 1893. COLONEL WALTER CUTTING DUG OLD SHAFT TO 378 FEET, LEAN ORE ONLY, NEW SHAFT 240 FEET IN GOOD COPPER ORE, ADDITIONAL COPPER ORE BED WITH SILVER-BEARING GALENA, AND ALSO SPHALERITE FOUND, LASTED FROM 1893 TO 1895. OWNED BY CUTTER IN 1897 WITH RESULT A TOTAL OF EIGHT PITS AND SHAFTS SUNK, THOUSANDS OF FEET OF DRIFTS, MANY FEET OF DIAMOND DRILL (FROM HULBERT, 1897 ). TOTAL.
HISTORY OF THREE SHAFTS, ONE 378 FEET DEEP, TWO 240 FEET DEEP, THE THIRD 100 FEET DEEP. SMALL POND 100 FEET IN DIAMETER RESULT OF PARTIAL UNDERGROUND COLLAPSE OF WORKINGS.