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Cottonwood Canyon Mining District, San Juan County, Utah, USAi
Regional Level Types
Cottonwood Canyon Mining DistrictMining District
San Juan CountyCounty
UtahState
USACountry

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Neighbouring regions:
Abajo Mountains, San Juan County, Utah, USA
Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, Montezuma County, Colorado, USA
Type:
Mining District
Mindat Locality ID:
37455
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:37455:5
GUID (UUID V4):
0
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Cottonwood Wash Mining District


The Cottonwood Canyon (Cottonwood Wash) district of the Monticello U mining area is in central San Juan County, about 6 mi west of Blanding. The district is a significant U-V producer. The U:V ratio averages 1:10 and the U grade runs just 0.16% U3O8 (Doelling, 1969). Gloyn and others (1995) list production for the Cottonwood Canyon district at 896,000 pounds U3O8 and 5,664,000 pounds V2O5. Total district metal production at modern metal prices is estimated at $61 million. The largest producers are the Royal Flush and Simpatico underground mines.
The Cottonwood Canyon district is geologically situated in the Paradox Basin section of the Colorado Plateau. The U deposits are hosted in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, which is exposed in a north-south band between the Pennsylvanian-cored Monument Uplift to the west and the Blanding Basin to the east. The largest deposits all fall in an east-west-trending belt centered on the confluence of Cottonwood Canyon and Brushy Basin Wash.
The U-V ores are hosted in the 210- to 245-ft-thick Salt Wash Member sandstones. The uranium deposits in the Cottonwood Canyon district average 2 ft thick by 50 ft wide by 100 ft long. Mineralization occurs where permeable sandstone is interbedded with carbonaceous trash and mudstone lenses (USGS Model 30c). The ore deposits are unoxidized below the water table and are dominantly composed of intergranular uraninite and montroseite with an average lime (CaO) content of 6% (Doelling, 1969).

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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.


Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

11 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

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Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Carnotite
Formula: K2(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Localities: Reported from at least 25 localities in this region.
ⓘ Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
ⓘ Coffinite
Formula: U(SiO4) · nH2O
ⓘ Galena
Formula: PbS
ⓘ Malachite
Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
ⓘ Metatyuyamunite
Formula: Ca(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
ⓘ Montroseite
Formula: (V3+,Fe3+)O(OH)
Localities: Reported from at least 6 localities in this region.
ⓘ Pascoite
Formula: Ca2Ca(V10O28) · 17H2O
ⓘ 'Petroleum var. Bitumen'
ⓘ Pyrite
Formula: FeS2
ⓘ Tyuyamunite
Formula: Ca(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 5-8H2O
ⓘ Uraninite
Formula: UO2
Localities: Reported from at least 6 localities in this region.

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘChalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
ⓘGalena2.CD.10PbS
ⓘPyrite2.EB.05aFeS2
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘUraninite4.DL.05UO2
ⓘMontroseite4.FD.10(V3+,Fe3+)O(OH)
ⓘCarnotite4.HB.05K2(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
ⓘMetatyuyamunite4.HB.25Ca(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
ⓘTyuyamunite4.HB.25Ca(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 5-8H2O
ⓘPascoite4.HC.05Ca2Ca(V10O28) · 17H2O
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
ⓘMalachite5.BA.10Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘCoffinite9.AD.30U(SiO4) · nH2O
Unclassified
ⓘ'Petroleum
var. Bitumen'		-

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ CarnotiteK2(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Hⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
Hⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Hⓘ MetatyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Hⓘ Montroseite(V3+,Fe3+)O(OH)
Hⓘ PascoiteCa2Ca(V10O28) · 17H2O
Hⓘ TyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 5-8H2O
CCarbon
Cⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
OOxygen
Oⓘ CarnotiteK2(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Oⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
Oⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Oⓘ MetatyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Oⓘ Montroseite(V3+,Fe3+)O(OH)
Oⓘ PascoiteCa2Ca(V10O28) · 17H2O
Oⓘ TyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 5-8H2O
Oⓘ UraniniteUO2
SiSilicon
Siⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
SSulfur
Sⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Sⓘ GalenaPbS
Sⓘ PyriteFeS2
KPotassium
Kⓘ CarnotiteK2(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
CaCalcium
Caⓘ MetatyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Caⓘ PascoiteCa2Ca(V10O28) · 17H2O
Caⓘ TyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 5-8H2O
VVanadium
Vⓘ CarnotiteK2(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Vⓘ MetatyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Vⓘ Montroseite(V3+,Fe3+)O(OH)
Vⓘ PascoiteCa2Ca(V10O28) · 17H2O
Vⓘ TyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 5-8H2O
FeIron
Feⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Feⓘ Montroseite(V3+,Fe3+)O(OH)
Feⓘ PyriteFeS2
CuCopper
Cuⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Cuⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
PbLead
Pbⓘ GalenaPbS
UUranium
Uⓘ CarnotiteK2(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Uⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
Uⓘ MetatyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 3H2O
Uⓘ TyuyamuniteCa(UO2)2(VO4)2 · 5-8H2O
Uⓘ UraniniteUO2

Fossils

There are 1 fossil locality from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.

These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases. Mindat.org has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.

Occurrences2
Youngest Fossil Listed157 Ma (Jurassic)
Oldest Fossil Listed164 Ma (Middle Jurassic)
Stratigraphic Units
UnitNo. OccurrencesAge
Summerville/Bluff Sandstone2163.5 - 152.1 Ma (Jurassic)
Fossils from RegionClick here to show the list.
Accepted NameHierarchy Age
Megalosauripus
genus		Animalia : Chordata : Saurischia : Eubrontidae : Megalosauripus163.5 - 157.3 Ma
Jurassic
Therangospodus
genus		Animalia : Chordata : Saurischia : Therangospodus163.5 - 157.3 Ma
Jurassic
Fossil LocalitiesClick to show 1 fossil locality

Localities in this Region

USA
USA

Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect

North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
USA

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Doelling, H.H., 1969, Mineral resources, San Juan County, Utah and adjacent areas, Part II—Uranium and other metals in sedimentary host rocks: Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey Special Study 24, 64 p.
Gloyn, R.W., Morgan, C.D., Tabet, D.E., Blackett, R.E., Tripp, B.T., and Lowe, M, 1995, Mineral, energy, and ground-water resources of San Juan County, Utah: Utah Geological Survey Special Study 86, 24 p., 14 plates, scale 1:500,000.
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