Rocking Chair Mine

Past Producer in Santa Fe county in New Mexico, United States with commodities Beryllium, Mica
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. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014812
MRDS ID D011779
Record type Site
Current site name Rocking Chair Mine
Alternate or previous names Claims: Rockin' Chair No. 1-19.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -105.81029, 35.99561 (WGS84)
Elevation 2426
Relative position ABOUT 22.8 MILES N 18 E OF SANTA FE, NM.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Santa Fe(county)

New Mexico(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Sierra Mosca(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Santa Fe(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Santa Fe(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Rio Grande(hydrologic unit)

Upper Rio Grande(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande-Elephant Butte(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 Santa Fe

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 020N;021N;021N 011E;011E;010E 06;31;36 New Mexico

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION IS ACCURATE (WITHIN 25 FEET) OF THE COMMON CORNER OF ROCKIN' CHAIR NO. 2,3,15, AND 16 CLAIMS. THERE IS NO UTM GRID IN THIS AREA. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1979

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Beryllium Critical Primary
Mica Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Beryl Ore
Mica Ore
Albite Gangue
Microcline Gangue
Muscovite 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
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite

Nearby scientific data

(1) Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Pegmatite Dike

Ore body information

  • General form OTHER: DIKE
    Strike N 85 E
    Dip STEEPLY SOUTH
    Length 243.84M
    Width 18.29M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Pegmatite Dike

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE PRECAMBRIAN PEGMATITES HAVE NO FORMAL NAME.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1955
Year of first production 1955

Mining district

District name Nambe District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Ray O. Burch And George A. Wirz
    Home office Lubbock, Tx.
    First year 1961

Comments on the production information

  • APPROXIMATELY 600 POUNDS OF BERYL WAS RECOVERED BY HAND-SORTING FROM PEGMATITE AT THE DISCOVERY PIT.

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS CONSISTED OF SEVERAL SURFACE PITS.

Comments on development

  • THE PRESENT CLAIMS WERE LOCATED BY F. CORDOVA, ET AL., OF CORDOVA, NM IN 1955. THE CLAIMS WERE PROBABLY WORKED PREVIOUS TO THAT.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    REDMON, D.E., 1961, USBM IC 8013, P. 58-59

  • Deposit

    USGS, ET AL., 1980, USGS OFR 80-382, P. 99-100

  • Deposit

    NMBMMR GENERAL FILE DATA

  • Deposit

    LESURE, F.G., 1965, NMBMMR BULL 87, P. 288

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE BERYL AND MICA OCCURRED MAINLY AT THE OUTER EDGE OF THE INNER CORE OF A PEGMATITE DIKE THAT INTRUDED PRECAMBRIAN SCHISTS AND GNEISSES. THE MAIN DIKE ON THE PROPERTY RANGES FROM 20 TO 60 FEET IN WIDTH AND IS ABOUT 800 FEET LONG, STRIKING N 85 E AND DIPPING STEEPLY SOUTH. THE OUTER ZONE IS COMPRISED OF FINE TO MEDIUM-GRAINED QUARTZ, MICROCLINE, ALBITE AND MUSCOVITE. THE INNER ZONE IS SIGNIFICANTLY COARSER QUARTZ, MICROCLINE AND PLATY ALBITE. THE QUARTZ IN THE INNER ZONE OCCURS AS IRREGULAR MASSES 2 TO 3 FEET IN DIAMETER. THE MICA RARELY EXCEEDS 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER, IS SUITABLE ONLY FOR SCRAP, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE MORE THAN ABOUT 1 PERCENT OF THE PEGMATITE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1984 Murray, Diane New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

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

External references