Miners & Mining & Mines – Coconino Lapidary Club

All About Copper

Mineral Man Mel — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:12:47 +0000

In this blog post I’ll talk about the ore minerals of copper in Porphyry Copper deposits; major sources of copper; Porphyry Copper Deposits in Arizona; the formation and geology of Porphyry Copper deposits; and am including a gallery of Copper ore minerals; and lastly, discuss Peacock Copper Ore.

Porphyry Copper Deposits

Porphyry Copper deposits are the world’s largest source of copper [Ref 1] and are distributed globally (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Global distribution of Porphyry Copper Deposits

World wide, production by the ten largest producers amounted to 15.4 million tons in 1917 [Ref 2]; of these, the United States ranked fourth in production at 1.27 million tons, of which 68% was produced by mines in Arizona [Ref 3].

Numerous deposits are located in the geological Basin and Range Province of the Southwest, as shown in Figure 2. Among the currently active mines in Arizona are those operated by Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita and Miami mines [Ref 4] and those operated by ASARCO LLC, which are the Silver Bell, Mission complex mines, and the Ray complex mines [Ref 5].

Figure 2. Porphyry Copper Deposits in the Basin and range Province of the Southwest.

Formation of Porphyry Copper Deposits and Ore Minerals

The ore bodies of Porphyry Copper deposits are formed by the intrusion of hydrothermal fluids emanating from a magma chamber several kilometers below the earth’s surface and the deposition of ore minerals as veins in pressure-induced fractures within a granitic porphyry (See figures and text in Ref 6). Chalcopyrite is the major copper mineral deposited [Ref 7, Page 4]. This initial mineralization results in grades of 0.3 to 0.9% copper and almost always less than 1% [Ref 6]. It is by Supergene Enrichment (Slides 6, 7, 8 in Ref 8], a secondary enrichment process, that the deposition and the accumulation of copper ore minerals above and below the water table increases the ore grade. As shown in Slide 8 of [Ref 9], oxidizing conditions in the ore body above the water table result in deposition of copper minerals such as azurite, malachite, and chrysocolla, and the sulfide minerals, chalcocite and bornite, form under a lesser concentration of oxygen below the water table.

The Ore Minerals

Figure 3. Azurite in botryoidal (Grape-like form), Bisbee

Figure 4. Azurite crystals, Morenci

Figure 5. Malachite paeudomorphing (replacing) Azurite in its surface, Bisbee.

Figure 6. Malachite in botryoidal form with Azurite, Morenci

Figure 7. Chrysocolla with chalcedony, Ray Mine, Ray, Arizona

Figure 8. Oxidized Chalcopyrite, Cochise County, Arizona

Figure 9. Chalcopyrite Crystals on Quartz, Grant County, New Mexico

Figure 10. Chalcopyrite with oxidized surface, Ray mine, Ray, Arizona

Figure 11. Bornite , Twinned crystals with copper oxide film on quartz, Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan

Figure 12. Bornite with oxidized surface, Cochise County, Arizona

Figure 13. Chalcocite Crystal, Cochise County, Arizona

Figure 14 Chalcocite with oxidized surface, Cochise County, Arizona

Figure 15. Covellite, Leonard Mine, Butte, Montana

Peacock Ore

Many young mineral collectors, drawn by the brilliant spectrum of colors on their surfaces, have collected specimens of either oxidized Chalcopyrite or Bornite (Figures 10 and 12); these specimens typically are labeled as “Peacock Ore” or ‘Peacock Copper”. The color stems from a thin film formed by the oxidation of the mineral surface. The colors are caused by an optical effect due to light waves reflected by both the underlying surface of the mineral and the surface of the film, which reinforce each other. Reinforcement of the waves depends on the thickness of the film and the wavelength of the light [Ref 8, Equation 4(41)]. In thinner film the reflected light tends to the blue end of the spectrum and in thicker film, to the red end of the visible light spectrum [Ref 8, Equation 4(41)]. The copper sulfides Chalcocite and Covellite can also demonstrate blue to red reflections as seen in Figures 5 and 6.

Reference 1. https://www.geologyforinvestors.com/porphyry-largest-source-copper/

Reference 2. https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/base-metals-investing/copper-investing/copper-production-country/

Reference 3. http://azgs.arizona.edu/minerals/king-copper

Reference 4. https://www.fcx.com/operations/north-america

Reference 5. http://www.asarco.com/about-us/

Reference 6. https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/geology-of-porphyry-copper-deposits

Reference 7. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0ahUKEwiGrK2ouK7aAhVK7IMKHc9lDTsQFghAMAY&url=https%3A%2F%2Fofmpub.epa.gov%2Feims%2Feimscomm.getfile%3Fp_download_id%3D517008&usg=AOvVaw2hyme1RJiqvtz5uQ0dreVM

Reference 8. https://www.slideshare.net/hzharraz/topic-9-supergene-enrichment

Reference 9. http://pages.physics.cornell.edu/p510/w/images/p510/1/14/Ss14_heavens.pdf

Native Silver – Part I

Mineral Man Mel — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:12:47 +0000

This is the first of two Blogs on native silver. In the first I will introduce the mineral, including a gallery of specimens, and in the following blog, “Ancient Silver Jewelry” I’ll present examples of ancient silver jewelry, coinage, and art works, which demonstrate the innovative artisanship of early silversmiths from varied locations around the world.

Among the native elements, silver, [Ref 1], is a favorite among mineral collectors, as it is for me. Silver offers variations in color from metallic silver-white to the optical interference colors of a thin coating film, (such as on copper sulfide minerals – see my earlier Copper Blog), to the sooty black of a thick coating. From locations around the world it occurs in a number of aesthetic and geometrically interesting forms, ranging from groupings of single crystals (Figures 1-2), spectacular fern-like dendritic arrays of crystals (Figures 3 & 4), and striking wire and sheet forms (Figure 5 & 6). The relative arrangement of crystals in, and the shape of, the dendrites has been found to depend on the conditions of the surrounding silver-bearing solution during deposition of the silver, [Ref 2]. Specimens of wires attached to the silver sulfide acanthite, (Ag₂S), grow on oxidation of the sulfide mineral, which liberates the silver, as described below, both by roasting, [Ref 3], or by chemical reactions in solutions within both the oxidized and replacement zones of an ore body, (Slide 9 of [Ref 4]). The wires grow at the interface between the acanthite and silver by continuing the face centered cubic lattice shared by both the acanthite and the silver, [Ref 1]. The sulfur of the acanthite occupies the interstices between the silver atoms. X-Ray diffraction and microscopy have demonstrated the crystallinity of a native silver wire.

In order to share with you these beautiful and intriguing forms of native silver, I’ve included a comprehensive gallery of these forms from around the world, (Figures 3-17). I’ve also taken the liberty of including a favorite specimen from my silver collection in the gallery, (Figure 10).

Because the lore of lost precious metal mines, particularly those in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada fascinate many of us; I’ll begin referencing descriptions and histories of these mines and provide brief excerpts from the references. In this blog, the emphasis will be on lost silver mines and in future blogs on silver minerals. Future blogs on Gold and Gold minerals will also include lore & history of lost Gold mines.

Silver Crystal Forms

Silver belongs to the isometric crystal system, [Ref 1], and crystallizes in cubic and octahedral forms as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The forms reflect the symmetry of the isometric crystal system. Silver crystals form twins on the octahedral surfaces of two crystals resulting in a Spinel-Twin, [Ref 6], with the remainders of each of the octahedrons visible, as seen in Figure 3.

Figure 1. Silver crystal in octahedral form, [Ref 1]

Figure 2. Silver crystal in cubic form, [Ref 1]

Figure 3. Twinned silver octahedrons, a Spinel-Twin, [Ref 1, 7]

GALLERY OF NATIVE SILVER SPECIMENS

Figure 4. Cubic crystals of native silver on calcite, Kongsberg silver mining district, Buskerud, Norway.

Figure 5. Dendritic silver comprising an array of branches twinned on octahedral faces (Spinel twins, [Ref 3]), Batopilas, Andre del Rio District, Mun. de Batopilas, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Figure 6. Dendritic silver in quartz, comprising arrays of silver crystals twinned on octahedral faces (Spinel-Twins), Creede District, Mineral County, Colorado.

Figure 7. Dendritic silver on native arsenic. Pohla Mine Group, Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. The dendrites feature growth of branches from cubic faces to give mutually perpendicular orientation with respect to the central branch, instead of from octahedral faces as in Figure 4.

Figure 8. Dendritic silver in calcite, “The Road Runner” Batopilas, Andre del Rio District, Mun. de Batopilas, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Figure 9. Wire silver growing from acanthite, Reyes mine, Gunaajuato, Mexico. Note the close relationship between the base of the rams-horn-shaped silver wire and its host acanthite crystal.

Figure 10. Wire silver growing from acanthite crystals, Linquiu, Shanxi Province, China. Note the intimate contact between the acanthite crystal and the silver wire.

Figure 11. Wire silver, Himmelsfurst Mine, Brand-Erbisdorf, Freiberg District, Saxony, Germany.

Figure 12. Silver wire with acanthite in calcite, Kongsberg silver mining district, Buskerud, Norway.

Figure 13. Native silver crystals with native copper crystals, White Pine Mine, Ontonagon County, Michigan. An interesting association found at this locality.

Figure 14. Distorted cubic silver crystals on copper. Wolverine Mine, Houghton County, Michigan.

Figure 15. Sheet silver, Morenci Mine, Copper Mountain District, Shannon Mountains, Greenlee County, Arizona. The sheet-like form arises from crystallization of small crystals in a closely confined space.

LOST SILVER MINES

The location of the Lost Duppa Silver Mine in Arizona, [Ref 8], lies in the numerous mines and ore deposits of the heavily mineralized Bradshaw Mountains, (Figures 11-16). When discovered, the deposit was a ledge of silver-bearing quartz located in one of the many steep canyons located on the east side, of the northern Bradshaw Mountains. The ore was native silver. After his initial find, Duppa failed to relocate his original path to the deposit and never found it again.

Figure 16. Bradshaw Mountains as viewed from Cow Creek Road, an access road to the mountains, [Ref 9].

Figure 17. The Tip Top Mine, Bradshaw Mountains, [Ref 10].

The Lost Silver Lode of Carbonate Creek, New Mexico, [Ref 11]

The discovery of lode was in the Kingston Mining District, located in the southern region of the Black Range in Southwestern New Mexico. Located within the range are the Chloride, Kingston, and Hermosa Silver Distracts which have been rich producers of the metal. The lost lode lies in the Kingston Silver Mining District shown in [Ref 12], which eventually produced silver amounting to over Six Million in USD. The lost lode was discovered along Carbonate Creek near the town of Kingston as surface float of acanthite (silver sulfide). The weights of pieces of the float ranged up to 250 pounds. Ultimately float yielding over 80,000 ounces was found, but the source of the float was never discovered.

Silver Part II – A Gallery of Silver Jewelry

Mineral Man Mel — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:12:47 +0000

This gallery of beautiful silver jewelry, coinage, and art works presents works from around the world, and spanning the ages from the 26^th Dynasty of Egypt (664-525 BC) to the Art Deco Era (1909-1941 AD) [Ref 1, 2]. Works have been chosen to demonstrate the artisan’s methods of forming shapes in silver [Ref 3] by casting, engraving, repousse’, embossing, and using silver inlay to adorn other metal objects [Ref 4]

[metaslider id=1788]

References

Ref 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_Dynasty_of_Egypt

Ref 2. https://artdeco.org/what-is-art-deco/early-20th-century-timeline

Ref 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silversmith

Ref 4.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inlay

Ref 5. http://www.busaccagallery.com/catalog.php?catid=141&itemid=5619

Ref 6. http://www.ancientresource.com/lots/ancient_jewelry/diannesommelet/diannesommelet2.html

Ref 7. https://www.secretenergy.com/illustrations/cultures/mesopotamia/

Ref 8. http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/ancient_luxury/

Ref 9. http://www.historyandcivilization.com/Picture-Gallery—Early-Mesopotamia-from-Sumer-to-Assyria—Artifacts–Objects—Sculpture.html

Ref 10. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/354799276868988412/?lp=true

Ref 11. http://www.antiques.com/classified/1112715/Antique-Huge-Roman-Silver-Ring-w–Portrait#

Ref 12. https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/6078/ancient-coins/

Ref 13. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=973486001&objectId=154939&partId=1

Ref 14. https://www.archaeology.org/issues/149-1409/artifact/2388-denmark-viking-figurine

Ref 15. https://art.thewalters.org/detail/40080/signet-ring-2/

Ref 16. http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/ancient_luxury/

Ref 17. https://boylerpf.com/products/antique-victorian-silver-italian-coral-bracelet

Ref 18.https://boylerpf.com/products/vintage-italian-silver-carnelian-art-deco-bracelet

Native Gold – Part 1

Mineral Man Mel — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:12:47 +0000

This is the first of two Blogs on native gold. In the first I introduce the mineral and its properties, including a gallery of specimens exhibiting the crystal forms of gold and the effects of deposition conditions on forms of gold. Having just found out about it, I’ll also describe the deposition of gold by bacteria in alluvial deposits placers. In the following blog, I’ll present examples of ancient gold jewelry and art works from various locations around the world which demonstrate the innovative artisanship of early goldsmiths.

Among the native elements, Gold [Ref 1] because of its beautiful golden color, its rarity, and its aura of wealth and power, is a favorite among collectors and museum-goers [Ref 2] [Ref 3] [Ref 4]. Specimens of electrum, the lighter colored of alloy of gold, containing silver, [Ref 2] are also favorites. Specimens of both native gold and electrum from around the world occur in a variety of aesthetic and interesting forms ranging from single crystals and their groupings (Figs 5-9), twinned crystals (Figures 10-14), intricate dendrites, which are fern-like single crystals (Figures 14-15), and in spectacular sheet forms (Figure 16).

Some Properties of Gold [Ref 1]

With a Mohs hardness in the range 2.5-3 gold is malleable which makes it easy to work into decorative forms by a goldsmiths. It also doesn’t oxidize, which facilitates melting it for casting, and soldering. In thick form, gold exhibits a rich yellow color due to its high reflectance of light in the yellow-red spectral range. In sufficiently thin form, as gold leaf, it transmits blue and green light. Its high specific gravity measures in the range 15-19.3 grams/(cubic centimeter), which allows efficient recovery of gold in placer deposits such as gold panning.

Basic Gold Crystal Forms [Ref 1]

Gold, (and Electrum), crystallize in the isometric crystal system in it’s typical forms, shown in Figures 1-2. Gold forms twinned crystals about an octahedral plane as shown inFigures 3-5 [Ref 5 ]. Dendritic crystals result from repeated Spinel-twinning in a branched structure with branches at 60 degrees relative to each other. A native gold specimen referred to as wire gold, is not a wire in the sense of the native silver wire, (See the Native Silver Blog), but is an extended single group of multiple Spinel-Twinned crystals as shown in the specimens of Figures 12-13. Gold deposited in fractures with the host mineral, when exposed, possesses leaf-like forms as in Figure 15.

Figure 1. Gold Octrahedron

Figure 2. Gold cube

Figure 3. Two crystals forming a Spinel-Twin [Ref 5]

The Spinel-Twin is formed by a rotation of the lattices of each of the two crystals about an axis perpendicular to the octahedral plane, as demonstrated by the model of an octahedral crystal in Figures 4-5 [Ref 5].

Figure 4. Rotation of 180 degrees of the right-lower-most segment of the octahedron about an axis perpendicular to the cut along an octahedral plane in the model results in a Spinel-Twin [Ref 5]

Gallery of Native Gold Specimens

In many gold specimens the crystals do not display the perfection of form typical of some other minerals such as pyrite, but are skeletal with depressions, or [Ref 6], are also referred to as being hoppered [Ref 7]. Gold crystals can also exhibit interesting, complex twinned and dendritic forms. These departures from ideal forms stem from conditions of rapid deposition in absence of thermodynamic equilibrium [Ref 8]. Gold specimens featuring octahedral, cubic, wire, dendritic. and leaf forms, the latter, which in many instances is formed in interstices in fractured quartz [Ref 9].

[metaslider id=1914]

Deposition of Gold By Bacteria

In searching the web, I found recent studies which, surprisingly to me, demonstrated the deposition of particulate gold by the action of specialized bacteria in alluvial deposits [Ref 10] [Ref 11]. In the studies, the presence of toxic gold complexes was shown to initiate the formation of a population of bacteria which excretes enzymes that catalyze the formation of nanoparticles of gold, [Ref 12]. Aggregation of nanoparticles of silver and gold have been shown to participate in crystallization of these metals, which allow growth of gold on a nugget [Ref 13]. Bacteria resident in a biofilm [Ref 12], on the surface of a gold nugget could function as a source of gold which forms a gold coat on the crystal with sustained activity of the bacteria. A scanning electron microscope image of the bacteria in the biofilm on a gold nugget is shown in Figure16. The deposition process takes place for years to decades in order to accrue on a gold grain, suggesting that if the process can be speeded up, bacterial deposition could improve ore-processing [Ref 14].

Figure 16. Enlarged view of gold-depositing bacteria in the enclosing biofilm on a gold nugget. The length of the scale for size comparison is 0.000197 inches.

References

Ref 1. https://www.mindat.org/min-1720.html

Ref 2. https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/gold/

Ref 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Museum,_Bogota

Ref 4. https://adrianhepworth.photoshelter.com/image/I0000f0UBlFQgu3I

Ref 5. https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=3044

Ref 6. https://www.mindat.org/glossary/skeletal_crystal

Ref 7.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopper_crystal

Ref 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_growth

Ref 9. https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/16/6/551/190624

Ref 10. https://phys.org/news/2009-10-bacterium-formation-gold.html

Ref 11. http://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/3/4/367/htm

Ref 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupriavidus_metallidurans

Ref 13. http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/17/23/021/meta

Ref 14. https://phys.org/news/2017-04-role-microorganisms-industrial-gold.html

Who Is That Masked Mineral Man?

Mineral Man Mel — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:12:46 +0000

I’ve been an avid collector of mineral specimens from around the world since my experience, at the age of 13, of finding a beautiful black tourmaline crystal while on a Boy Scout hiking adventure. We were in the upper limits of the gem mining Pala District in San Diego County, California. I’m now 84 and still greatly enjoying my collection and sharing it with friends. In my blog posts, I want to share with you my joy in collecting these beautiful works of the Earth and hope to interest you in collecting them as well. My great pleasure has evolved from their aesthetics – enjoying the beautiful color and crystal forms of minerals, to learning about their geological histories — where and how they formed, their chemistries and crystal forms in relationship to minerals of similar composition, their mining history, and their frequent influence in geopolitics.

In sharing ideas about these subjects I will, because of space limitations, provide short but meaty encapsulations. I will draw abundantly from resources on the web. To complement my input, I will usually provide links to the subject for your further exploration. In a lighter vein, I plan to frequently include the rich lore of mining and of mining men, of prospectors, and of Lost Gold and Silver Mines and of the historic mines, particularly in the Southwest and Mexico.

To begin, what is a mineral? Drawing from the site, Webmineral, I find a number of definitions cited from scientific literature. To synthesize: “a mineral is a naturally occurring homogeneous solid with regularly ordered crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition. They can be distinguished from one another because of these definite characteristics”. Knowledge of these ideas are powerful tools in identifying a mineral specimen. The mineral’s chemical composition leads directly to its color, internal atomic arrangement, and crystal form. For example, the beautiful Rhocochrosite crystal from the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado, shown above, is manganese carbonate, having the chemical formula MnCaCO₃. Its deep red color is due to its manganese content and its rhombohedral form comes from the internal arrangement of atoms.

Because of the importance of chemical and crystallographic relationships in defining a mineral, I’m providing a link to an introductory course to minerology and crystallography offered by the Open University, a long known and excellent United Kingdom source of quality courses offered, at no cost, to world-wide users. I encourage you to open the link and scan the topics offered, as well as the internal links to tools for accessing a comprehensive body of reference material.

I hope you will share your questions and comments with me, submitting them to our “Ask An Expert” feature.

In my next post, I’ll share with you ideas offered by the most senior of collectors on how to build your own collection. Those ideas will include: collecting one mineral species; collecting many; collecting from one locality; collecting worldwide; where to find bargains and much more.

Until then, have fun learning about minerals and collecting.

Copper Mining in Bisbee

Mineral Man Mel — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:12:46 +0000

View of Bisbee

Thanksgiving Day 2017, my son Greg and I traveled to the old copper mining town of Bisbee for a two day exploration of the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, observing the, now non-operational, Lavender Open Pit Copper Mine, and soaking up the ambiance of this charming town perched on the low hills of the Mule Mountains. [Ref 1]

Mines

We found that mining activity in Bisbee began with the staking of mining claims in 1877. It evolved from underground mining at the Copper Queen Mine to operation of the Lavender Pit and its cessation of operation.

The Copper Queen Mine – The Copper Queen was mined over an approximately 100 year period. Beginning with the staking of its claim in 1877 and ending in 1974. [Ref 2] During its operation, the Copper Queen Mine produced over eight billion tons of copper, gold production of almost three million ounces and over seven and a half million ounces of silver. [Ref 3] It has also yielded spectacular specimens of copper minerals.

Azurite crystals from the Copper Queen Mine

Malachite replacing Azurite from the Copper Queen Mine

Entry to the Copper Queen Mine

Early ore transport in the Copper Queen Mine

Support timbering in the Copper Queen Mine

The Lavender Pit – The Lavender Pit was named in honor of Harrison M. Lavender, Vice President and General Manager of the Phelps Dodge Corporation. [Ref 5] He conceived and carried out the open pit plan for continuing the mining activity at the site of the, former high-grade, Sacramento Hill Mine. The open pit mine opened in 1950 and continued until 1974. During this period the mine yielded about 600,000 tons of copper with ancillary production of gold and silver from ore averaging 0.7% copper. During operation about 250 million tons of waste were striped. Mining advanced by dynamiting 50-foot high ledges. Each blast resulted in the removal of about 75,000 tons of rock. Use of the1.2 tons of blasting material was strongly leveraged.

The Lavender Pit from the beginning to the end

Bisbee Blue turquoise with veins

The gem mineral turquoise formed as a secondary mineral through the chemical reaction from the primary copper sulfide and oxide ores. It occurred as stringers up to a few inches wide and small nuggets, were dispersed randomly throughout the ore body, and was recovered as a product of the mining activity by company personnel. [Ref 6] The typically deep blue in color, with red-brown veins or a chocolate brown matrix, is called Bisbee Blue in the trade. This is in recognition of its often deep blue color. [Ref 6]

Bisbee Blue turquoise with matrix

The Bisbee Historical and Mining Museum – The Museum offers exhibits that trace the initial settlement of Bisbee upon the finding of copper and staking of mining claims in 1988, through the closing of mining activity in 1970. [Ref 7] The Museum also houses a world-class collection of copper minerals gathered early in the mining history of Bisbee and features, what must be called awesome, specimens. [Ref 8]

References:

Ref 1 http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/geology-SEAZ/mules/Mules-list.htm

Ref 2 https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2015/06/04/history-of-the-warren-bisbee-mining-district/

Ref 3 http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/students/copper-mine/bisbee.htm

Ref 4 http://geology.byu.edu/Displays/minerals/malachite-after-azurite-37

Ref 5 http://clui.org/ludb/site/lavender-pit

Ref 6 http://www.turquoisemines.com/bisbee-turquoise-mine/

Ref 7 https://bisbeemuseum.org/bm-museum.aspx

Ref 8 http://www.my heraldreview.com/news/bisbee-mining-historical-museum-receives-mineral-donation/article_61b65698-6e44-11e5-b916-0fcc3f025977.html

Gold III – Lost Gold Mines in the Southwest

Mineral Man Mel — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 01:37:55 +0000

Tales of the discovery and loss of rich gold mines such as The Lost Dutchman in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona and the El Naranjal lost gold mine in the Sierra Mountains of Mexico, as popularized by folklorist, J. Frank Dobie, in “Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver” have fascinated many of us. An extensive list of both lost gold and silver mines of the Southwest , each with extensive and entertaining descriptions of their histories, can be found in “Lost Treasure Tales” on the GeoZone Site [Ref 1].

Perhaps the lost mine tale that most of us are aware of, is that of the Lost Dutchman Mine [Ref 2]. One, of 62, hand drawn maps of its supposed location, made available in Reference 3, is shown in Figure 1 and orients it with respect to the prominent geological landmark, Weavers Needle, shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1. Map of the location of the Lot Dutchman Gold Mine [Ref 3]

Figure 2. Weavers Needle, the landmark for the location of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine [Ref 2].

Two roots for the of name of the lost El Naranjal Mine have been attributed to its location near a grove of trees with oranges (naranjas) or to the orange color of the gold in its ore [Ref 3]. It is supposedly located at the bottom of canyon (Barranca) beside a river and near an abandoned hacienda.

Among many of the discussions about this mine, Treasurenet suggests that proof of the its existence lies in an old road sign naming the road to the mine in Sinaloa and in records found in Guadalajara, which were found by a British consul, describing production in the millions in the 17^thCentury [Ref 4]. In another posting,

TreasureNet, [Ref 5], suggests its location fits that of an 1800’s lost, and very rich gold mine, in the region of the lost Tayopa silver mine [Ref 6], and in another post [Ref 7] that its location lies in the state of Durango.

Ref 1. http://www.thegeozone.com/treasure/arizona/index.jsp

Ref 2. http://treasure-hunting-information.com/?page_id=2641

Ref 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naranjal_mine

Ref 4. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tayopa/36414-el-naranjal.html

Ref 5. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tayopa/273860-can-el-naranjal-possibly-found-tayopa-complex.html

Ref 6. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tayopa/36414-el-naranjal.html

Ref 7. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/treasure-legends/487274-update-mine-el-naranjal.html

Native Silver – Part I

Mineral Man Mel — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 18:20:46 +0000