Chlorargyrite

specimen number:
2273013

location:
Weldon Mine, Leadville, Lake Co., Colorado, USA

description:

Excellent crystallized chlorargyrite on matrix. This is excellent for the species and locality. In good condition.

The Weldon mine, situated on Carbonate Hill within the famous Leadville Mining District of Lake County, Colorado, was a notable underground producer of high-grade silver, lead, and iron ores. Geologically, the deposit is part of the extensive Leadville carbonate replacement system, where rich polymetallic sulfide mineralization occurred along faults, fractures, and bedding planes within the Mississippian Leadville Dolomite. Near-surface weathering subsequently converted these primary sulfides into thick, easily mined oxidized ore bodies rich in cerussite, anglesite, and manganese-iron oxides. Developed during the initial Leadville silver boom of the late 1870s, the mine saw its most intense periods of production throughout the 1880s and early 1890s under the management of the Weldon Mining Company. The operation faced severe economic challenges following the Silver Crash of 1893, and while intermittent leasing and secondary ore extraction from the underground workings continued into the early twentieth century, major commercial production at the site ultimately ended by World War I.

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