Uranium in the Copper King Mine, Black Hawk No. 1 Claim, Larimer County, Colorado

Abstract

Radioactive rock was discovered on the dump of the Copper King mine, sec. 8, T. 10 N., R. 72 W., Larirrier County, Colo., in the summer of 1949. The mine had been prospected intermittently for copper and zinc since 1,916, but there is no record that ore was produced. The country rock is pre-Cambrian granite containing many schist inclusions and narrow pegmatite dikes. Pitchblende disseminated in chlorite and sulfides was deposited in an obscure vein system during an intermediate stage of mineralization. This stage was preceded by biotitic alteration of amphiboles and sulfide deposition. The latest stage of mineralization is represented-by the limonitic dense quartz vein followed during mining. The uranium-bearing vein is about 2-3 feet wide and the dense quartz vein is less than 6 inches wide. Both veins are bordered by 1-3 feet of biotite- and sulfide-bearing granite and arriphibole schist. The uranium content of 26 samples taken in the mine and on the dump ranges from 0.002 to 1.40 percent. These samples contained as much as 2.97 percent copper and 5.96 percent zinc. The general outlook for further prospecting near the Copper King shaft is not favorable, because much of the 'immediately surrounding area has been thoroughly investigated without finding abnormal radioactivity. The most favorable environment for concentration of uranium minerals appears to have been in or near schist inclusions in granite, and further exploration in nearby prospects may result in the discovery of other uranium-bearing deposits. In the Copper King mine, additional exploration would aid in determining the extent of the uranium-bearing material.