1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Cerro La Tiza

Occurrence in Guayama county in Puerto Rico, United States with commodities Kaolin, Aluminum, Potassium, Talc-Soapstone, Copper, Gold, Quartz
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Reserves and resources
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10009296
MRDS ID D002191
Record type Site
Current site name Cerro La Tiza

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -66.18418, 18.24427 (WGS84)
Elevation 488
Relative position 16 MI SSW OF SAN JUAN

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Comerío Municipio(county)

Puerto Rico(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Comerio(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Puerto Rico C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Eastern(hydrologic unit)

Puerto Rico(hydrologic accounting unit)

Puerto Rico(hydrologic subregion)

Caribbean(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Puerto Rico Guayama

Comments on the location information

  • DEPOSIT LIES JUST N OF HIGHWAY 156 BETWEEN RIO DE BAYAMON AND RIO DE LA PLATA. COX AND BRIGGS (1973) GIVE GEODETIC COORDINATES AS LAT. 18-14-35N, LONG. 066-11-00W.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Kaolin Primary
Aluminum Critical Tertiary
Potassium Tertiary
Talc-Soapstone Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Gold Tertiary
Quartz Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • ALUNITE AND QUARTZ OCCUR AS ALTERNATING BANDS IN FINELY BANDED AND CRENULATED ROCK. KAOLINITE AND HALLOYSITE ARE MORE ABUNDANT AT THE SOUTHERN MARGIN OF THE ALTERED ZONE.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Alunite Ore
Halloysite Ore
Kaolinite Ore
Pyrophyllite Ore
Diaspore Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Argillic Or Propylitic

Analytical data

Result ZN = 5000 PPM, AU = 160 PPB

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 154
USGS model code 25e
Deposit model name Epithermal quartz-alunite Au
Mark3 model number 38

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Ucret-Tert Alunitized Zone
    Rock description Ucret-Tert Alunitized Zone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -66.18418, 18.24427
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form ELONGATE IRREGULAR LENS
    Thickness 213.36M
    Length 5181.6M
    Width 426.72M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • East-West Zone = Fault?

Comments on the geologic information

  • HYDROTHERMAL (ACIDIC) ALTERATION EXTENSIVE BUT LACKS WELL DEFINED ZONING PATTERN. SILICA CAP (WITH LARGE BOULDERS) ON AN ADVANCED ARGILLIC ZONE. LIMITED PRECIOUS METAL METS, POSSIBLE CLAY RESOURCE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1952
Discoverer Hildebrand & Smith, Usgs

Mining district

District name Cerro La Tiza Area

Comments on the production information

  • NO KNOWN PRODUCTION OF ALUNITE. BEFORE 1950 THE PUERTO RICO INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CO. REMOVED A REPORTED 500 TONS OF KAOLINITIC CLAY (PEASE AND BRIGGS, 1960).

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1960
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Kaolin Cly_K 15 wt-pct Clays Major 1960
    Aluminum Alunite 20 wt-pct Aluminum Trace 1960
    Talc-Soapstone Talc 15 wt-pct Talc-Soapstone Trace 1960
    Quartz Quartz 35 wt-pct Silica Minor 1960

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ABUNDANT KAOLIN, SERICITE, PYROPHYLLITE IN MAJOR ALT'D ZONES; ALUNITE IS SODIC.

Comments on the workings information

  • SURFICIAL PROSPECTING FOR CLAY, ETC. SMALL DOZER PITS 200 FEET IN LENGTH.

Comments on development

  • SOME SMALL-SCALE SPORADIC MINING FOR KAOLIN CLAYS MAY HAVE BEEN TRIED LOCALLY.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HILDEBRAND, F. A., AND SMITH, R. J., 1959 , OCCURRENCES OF ALUNITE, PYROPHYLLITE, AND CLAYS IN THE CERRO LA TIZA AREA, PUERTO RICO: USGS OPEN-FILE REPT. 469 , 82 P.

  • Deposit

    HILDEBRAND, F. A., 1961 , HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED ROCKS IN EASTERN PUERTO RICO: USGS PROF. PAPER 424 -B, P. 219 - 221

  • Deposit

    COX, DENNIS P., AND BRIGGS, REGINALD P., 1973, METALLOGENIC MAP OF PUERTO RICO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, MISCELLANEOUS GEOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS MAP I-721, ACCOMPANIED BY EXPLANATORY PAMPHLET, 6 P.

  • Deposit

    SOLOMIAC, HENRI, 1972, 1972 ANNUAL OPERATORS REPORT, PUERTO RICO: PARNASSE COMPANY PRIVATE REPORT ON FILE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, PUERTO RICO.

  • Deposit

    HILDEBRAND, F. A., 1960, ZONES OF HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED ROCKS IN EASTERN PUERTO RICO: CARIBBEAN GEOL. CONF., 2D, MAYAGUEZ, PUERTO RICO, 1959, TRANS., P. 130-136.

  • Deposit

    PEASE, M. H., JR., AND BRIGGS, R. P., 1960, GEOLOGY OF THE COMERIO QUADRANGLE, PUERTO RICO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISC. GEOL. INV. MAP I-320.

  • Deposit

    194? DIREXPL UNKNOWN PROSPECTORS

  • Deposit

    1952 GEOLMAP F. A. HILDEBRAND AND R. J. SMITH: OPEN-FILE REPT. NO. 469

  • Production

    HILDEBRAND, F. A., AND SMITH, R. J., 1959 , USGS OPEN-FILE REPT. 469 , 82 P.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit CERRO LA TIZA MINERALIZED ZONE COVERS AN AREA OF APPROXIMATELY 556 ACRES. HOSTED IN VOLCANICS, WITH A POSSIBLE SMALL DIKE.
Deposit THIS DEPOSIT LIES IN AN ALTERED BELT WHICH TRENDS N 70 DEG W ACROSS N CENTRAL PUERTO RICO. THIS BELT SKIRTS THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE SAN LORENZO AND CAGUAS PLUTONS. [PREVIOS UPDATERS AND DATES: STARRITT, BRUCE C., 78 08; MCKELVEY, G. E., 90 07.] ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1976 Hall, Robert B. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1991 Paidakovich, Matthew E. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site