History · Geology
About Cripple Creek District
Cripple Creek, Colorado is the United States’ most productive gold-telluride district and the type/classic occurrence of calaverite + sylvanite — the two principal gold tellurides. Gold has been produced from Cripple Creek continuously since 1891.
Geology
The deposit is hosted in a Late Tertiary alkalic volcanic diatreme (~30 Ma) — a unique global volcanic-Au setting. Au is carried as Au-Ag-Te tellurides in fluorite-pyrite-rich veins.
Notable Minerals
Calaverite (the type-species locality is California, but Cripple Creek produced the most spectacular crystals), sylvanite, krennerite, native gold (sometimes wire), pyrite, fluorite (purple cubes), tetrahedrite, and other rare tellurides.
Collector Notes
Old Cripple Creek tellurides from the 19th-century mining boom are now prized historical specimens. Pair with Săcărâmb (Romania) and Kalgoorlie (Australia) for the complete Au-telluride collector triad.
Minerals Produced Here
- Calaverite (碲金矿)
- Fluorite (萤石)
- Gold (Native) (自然金)
- Pyrite (黄铁矿)
- Sylvanite (碲金银矿)
- Tetrahedrite (黝铜矿)
