Barite with Quartz, Galena

specimen number:
2292124

location:
Black Cloud Mine, Lake Co., Colorado, USA

description:
Small amber colored crystals of barite to 0.3 cm in size across a crystallized quartz and galena matrix. In good condition.

The Black Cloud mine, located in the Leadville mining district of Lake County, Colorado, was a major underground lead, zinc, silver, and gold operation situated on the southeastern flank of Carbonate Hill. Geologically, the deposit consists of complex base-metal replacement bodies and veins hosted primarily within Paleozoic carbonate rocks, particularly the Mississippian Leadville Dolomite, where mineralizing hydrothermal fluids associated with Tertiary igneous intrusions replaced the limestone along faults and breccia zones. The ore body was rich in galena, sphalerite, and pyrite, which occasionally yielded well-crystallized specimens of pyrite, galena, and accessory carbonate minerals within open vugs. The modern operation began development in 1968 under ASARCO, with the sinking of a 1250-foot vertical shaft, and formal production commenced in 1971 to supply the nearby Leadville mill. The mine operated continuously for nearly three decades, standing as the last major active underground mine in the historic Leadville district, until declining metal prices and depleted ore reserves led to its permanent closure and the subsequent reclamation of the site in 1999.

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