Mary Murphy Gold Mine - Chaffee County Colorado

Mineral Collecting and Several Old Mine Buildings to Explore

Mineral Collecting at the Mary Murphy Mine

Of all the abandoned mines I have been to, the Mary Murphy mine remains my favorite location not necessarily because of the mineral collecting opportunities but the all around feel of the site. This Mine has many old buildings to explore and the sheer scope of the mining here plus the high elevation and scenery really give this mine an indescribable feel of how tough it must have been for these miners. Standing at the main mine dump area you can look up into the surrounding mountain peaks and see other mine dumps and old timbers. At many of them the trash and old cans from the mining days are still there and is really a neat experience.

The Mary Murphy mine was a gold producing mine operating from 1870 to 1925 and produced 220,000 ounces of gold. It also produced significant amounts of Lead, Zinc and Silver. On the dumps today you can still find very nice samples of Galena (lead), chalcopyrite, sphalerite (zinc) and some poorer quality rhodochrosite. I have personally collected very nice display specimens of galena and sphalerite with chalcopyrite, pyrite and quartz crystals. On occasion I have found some very light pink rhodochrosite but not very good quality. The better quality stuff may be there, I just haven't found any. These minerals can be found within cavities of the rocks and boulders on the mine dumps. There is a certain type of mine rock to look for. These are the ore rocks that have the galena, sphalerite, pyrite and chalcopyrite and the ones most likely to contain cavities with nice quartz points. It is hard to describe what to look for other than a dull steel gray looking rock. This steel gray color is the galena that has tarnished as it has been exposed to the elements. Once you break open that rock it will be very shiny! To find these nice pieces you may need to "dig" down into the mine dump a little. Once you find a rock to open, look for small crevices that could contain larger cavities inside the rock. It may require quite a bit of effort but the rewards will be worth it.