Sparks - Stone Mine

Past Producer in San Miguel county in New Mexico, United States with commodities Uranium, Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10009172
MRDS ID D001881
Record type Site
Current site name Sparks - Stone Mine
Alternate or previous names Mine: Sparks-Stone No. 1
Related records 10175048

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -105.49584, 35.6495 (WGS84)
Elevation 2859
Location accuracy 250(meters)
Relative position ABOUT 16.0 MILES N 75 W OF LAS VEGAS, NM

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

San Miguel(county)

New Mexico(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

El Porvenir(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Santa Fe(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Santa Fe(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Pecos Headwaters(hydrologic unit)

Upper Pecos(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Pecos(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Santa Fe National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States New Mexico San Miguel

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 016N 014E 05,06 New Mexico

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION IS ESTIMATED FROM ANDERSON (1980). ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical Tertiary
Tantalum Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Euxenite Ore
Uranophane Ore
Biotite Gangue
Feldspar Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss

Nearby scientific data

(1) -105.49584, 35.6495

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form OTHER: DIKE

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Pegmatite Dike

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE PRECAMBRIAN IN THIS AREA HAS NO FORMAL NAME.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1955
Discoverer Sam Stone, Las Vegas, Nm (1961)
Year of first production 1955
Year of last production 1956

Mining district

District name Elk Mountain District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Sparks-Stone Mining Co.
    Home office Las Vegas, Nm.
    First year 1961
  • Type Owner
    Owner J. M. T. Sparks And Margaret Sparks
    Home office Las Vegas, Nm.
    First year 1961

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION TOTALED 32 LBS (0.11%) U308 AND 13 LBS V2O5 FROM 15 TONS OF ORE.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall depth 3.05M
    Overall length 15.24M
    Overall width 6.1M

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS CONSIST OF A PIT 20 FEET WIDE, 50 FEET LONG, AND 10 FEET DEEP.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    PARKER, R. L., 1963, NIOBIUM AND TANTALUM IN THE U. S., U. S. G. S. MINERAL INVESTIGATIONS RESOURCE MAP MR - 36

  • Deposit

    REDMON, D.E., 1961, USBM IC 8013, P. 75-76

  • Deposit

    ANDERSON, O.J., 1980, NMBMMR OFR-148

  • Deposit

    MCLEMORE, V.T., 1982, NMBMMR OFR-182, P. 1-513

  • Deposit

    NMBMMR GENERAL FILE DATA

  • Production

    MCLEMORE, V.T., 1983, NMBMMR OFR-183, P. 1-513

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE ORE OCCURS IN A MASS OF WEATHERED AND SHATTERED GRANITE PEGMATITE THAT IS ENCLOSED BY GRANITE AND GNEISS. THE PEGMATITE IS FLAT-LYING AND APPARENTLY UNZONED. IT CONSISTS OF COARSE QUARTZ, PINK FELDSPAR AND MINOR BIOTITE. THE PEGMATITE IS ABNORMALLY RADIOACTIVE (THREE TIMES THE BACKGROUND COUNT) AT TWO PLACES IN THE DISCOVERY PIT. AUTENITE FLAKES, AS LARGE AS 1/16 INCH IN DIAMETER ARE PRESENT IN IRON-STAINED FRACTURES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-75 Parker, Raymond L. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUN-84 Murray, Diane U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

External references