Mineral Resource Potential and Geology of the White River National Forest and the Dillon Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado
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Mineral Resource Potential and Geology of the White River National Forest and the Dillon Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 2035 Mineral Resource Potential and Geology of the White River National Forest and the Dillon Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado By MARGO I. TOTH, ANNA B. WILSON, THERESA M. COOKRO, VIKIBANKEY, GREG K. LEE, and JAMES E. CASE U.S. Geological Survey With a section on SALABLE COMMODITIES By JOHN S. DERSCH U.S. Forest Service U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 2035 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1993 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director For sale by USGS Map Distribution Box 25286, Building 810 Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mineral resource potential and geology of the White River National Forest and the Dillon Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado / by Margo I. Toth ... [et al.]; with a section on Salable commodities by John S. Dersch. p. cm. (U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 2035) Includes bibliographical references. Supt.ofDocs.no.: I 19.3:2035 1. Mines and mineral resources Colorado White River National Forest. 2. Mines and mineral resources Colorado Arapaho National Forest. 3. Geology Colorado White River National Forest. 4. Geology Colorado Arapaho National Forest. I. Toth, Margo I. II. Dersch, John S. HI. Geological Survey (U.S.) IV. Series. QE75.B9 no. 2035 [TN24.C6] 557.3 s <lc20 [553'.09788] 92-21943 CIP USGS BULLETIN 2035: SELECTED RESULTS Undiscovered Metallic Mineral Resources in the White River National Forest and Dillon Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest ("the Forest") Quantitative Probabilistic Mineral Resource Assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) This summary highlights the mineral resources of the Forest and is presented to aid land-use planners and other non-scientific personnel. This study was undertaken at the request of the U.S. Forest Service. The USGS assessment involved a team of six scientists with expertise in geology, geochemistry, geophysics, mineral deposits, and resource analysis. The Forest includes part of the Colorado Mineral Belt, one of the most productive areas of base and precious metals in North America. Mining and mineral exploration have played a central role in the history of the Forest since the early 1800's; several world-class mines are either in or adjacent to the Forest, and smaller mines are abundant throughout the Forest. More than $15 billion in metals (at current-day prices) has been produced in mining areas adjacent to or within the Forest. The last producing mine (Oilman mine) ceased its operations in 1981; current mineral-related activity consists of an nual assessment work on unpatented mining claims, prospecting, and small-scale mining. Large tracts within the Forest, including Wilderness Areas, have abundant direct and indirect indications of the pres ence of metallic mineral deposits. Fourteen metallic mineral-deposit types were identified in the Forest; of these, stockwork molybdenum, polymetallic vein, polymetallic replacement, and placer gold deposits are the most likely to have undiscovered resources. The commodities most likely to occur are molybdenum, zinc, lead, silver, gold, and copper. Estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits were made at three probability levels (90,50, and 10 percent); esti mated tonnages were determined by statistical iteration with tonnages and grades of known deposits worldwide. Favorable tracts are shown in figure 1 of this report. Probabilistic estimates, which do not take into account the cost of recovery, indicate a mean value of $4.05 billion for undiscovered metallic mineral resources in the Forest (shown below). Probabilistic estimates of gross in-place value (GIPV) of estimated undiscovered mineral deposits for four metallic mineral-deposit types in the Forest, in millions of U.S. dollars. [Values are calculated using 5-year average metal prices for the years 1986-1991, data from U.S. Bureau of Mines (1992). Prices are not normalized to account for inflation. Estimates DO NOT imply that these resources would be economic to produce. Such a determination would require a complete analysis of both the costs of discovery and engineering feasibility and would require an economic evaluation of production] Commodity Probability of GIPV (in percent) Mean 90 50 10 GIPV Molybdenum.............. .......... 0 1,725 9,000 3,225 Zinc........................... .......... 0 21 923 370 Lead........................... .......... 0 29 480 204 Silver......................... .......... 0 16 459 191 Gold........................... .......... 0 1 85 52 Copper....................... .......... 0 0 18 9 Total 4,050 CONTENTS Summary............................................................................................................................... 1 Character and Geologic Setting.................................................................................. 1 Mineral Resources...................................................................................................... 3 Mineral Resource Potential......................................................................................... 6 Locatable Commodities........................................................................................ 6 Leasable Commodities.......................................................................................... 10 Salable Commodities............................................................................................ 10 Assessment of Metal Endowment Using Grade-Tonnage Models....................... 10 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 11 Geographic Setting..................................................................................................... 11 Method of Study......................................................................................................... 11 Mineral Resource Potential Classification.................................................................. 12 Acknowledgments...................................................................................................... 13 Geology................................................................................................................................. 13 Tectonic History and Structure................................................................................... 13 Proterozoic............................................................................................................ 14 Paleozoic............................................................................................................... 14 Mesozoic............................................................................................................... 15 Tertiary................................................................................................................. 16 Quaternary............................................................................................................ 16 Colorado Mineral Belt................................................................................................ 16 Description of Rock Units.......................................................................................... 18 Proterozoic Crystalline Rocks .............................................................................. 18 Paleozoic Sedimentary Rocks............................................................................... 19 Mesozoic Sedimentary Rocks .............................................................................. 19 Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary Intrusive Rocks............................................ 20 Middle Tertiary Rocks.......................................................................................... 20 Intrusive Rocks............................................................................................. 20 Volcanic Rocks............................................................................................. 20 Late Tertiary Rocks.............................................................................................. 21 Intrusive Rocks............................................................................................. 21 Bimodal Volcanic Rocks.............................................................................. 21 Basin-Fill Deposits....................................................................................... 21 Late Tertiary and Quaternary Unconsolidated Deposits ...................................... 21 Geochemistry........................................................................................................................ 21 Geochemical Surveys................................................................................................. 21 Methods of Study........................................................................................................ 21 Results......................................................................................................................... 22 Geophysics...........................................................................................................................