Silverton — San Juan County

Source: Tom Ashworth's Prospectors Cache (tomashworth.com / Mike Higbee / 49erMike). Author: Tom Ashworth. Original page: san_juan_co.shtml. State index: https://web.archive.org/web/20040830075749/http://www.tomashworth.com/goldloc.shtml Area: SILVERTON. Map coordinates are an approximate county centroid — not a precise claim site. Northeast of Silverton on U.S. 550, at Animas (district), a belt of rich mines several miles wide along the South rim of the Silverton caldera, with mines along both sides of the Animas River produced lode gold (estimated total production is between 874,000 to 1,000,000 ounces. West of Silverton 3 miles, the area copper mines produced a by-product gold. In Arrastre Basin, Silver Lake Basin, and Cunningham Gulch, such major mines as the Shenandoha-Dives, Aspen, Silver Lake-Nevada, and Highland Mary produced lode gold. In the upper part of Cunningham Gulch, major base metal mines produced a by-product gold. Near mouth of gulch, major mines produced lode gold. Northeast of Silverton 4 miles, the Senorita Mine, copper with a by-product gold was produced. North, at Eureka (Cement Creek, Mineral Creek, and Animas Forks), the Eureka district had a total production of at least 500,000 gold ounces through 1959. The area base metal mines produced by-product gold. Beyond Eureka, the Sunnyside and Cold King mines, 8.1 miles northeast of Silverton produced gold in sulfides. East 19 miles, mostly by trail (50 mi. West Of Creede in Mineral County), at Bear Creek, mines produce gold telluride's.