COMANCHE-BIG SOUTH, NEOTA-FLAT TOP, AND NEVER SUMMER WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS, COLORADO.

A mineral-resource assessment was made of three wilderness study areas adjacent to the north and west sides of Rocky Mountain National Park in north-central Colorado. Gold, silver, and uranium prospects in major faults near the Comanche-Big South wilderness study area suggest the possibility that these commodities may also occur along numerous similar faults within the study area, but the lack of evidence for mineralized rock at the surface suggests little chance for deposits along these structures. The Neota-Flat Top wilderness study area shows no evidence of being mineralized and little likelihood for the occurrence of mineral resources. The Never Summer wilderness study area has strong geologic, geochemical, and geophysical evidence indicating probable resource potential for molydenum deposits. The nature of the geologic terrain precludes the occurrence of organic fuels.