Big Banana Mine

Producer in Pima county in Arizona, United States with commodities Tungsten, Copper, Molybdenum, Fluorine-Fluorite
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. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10039471
MRDS ID M050133
Record type Site
Current site name Big Banana Mine
Alternate or previous names Big Banana Nos. 1, 2, 3, Claims, Maud E Claim
Related records 10186505

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -111.65653, 31.90873 (WGS84)
Elevation 1128
Relative position WESTSIDE BABOQUIVARI MTNS; 1.5 MILES SE OF SAN JUAN SPRING.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pima(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

San Juan Spring(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Sells(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nogales(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

San Simon Wash(hydrologic unit)

Rio Sonoyta(hydrologic accounting unit)

Sonora(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

BIA(Federal land areas administered by BIA)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Arizona Pima

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 017S 007E 32 N OF CENTER Arizona

Comments on the location information

  • UNSURVEYED; TOWNSHIP, RANGE, AND SECTION ARE PROJECTED; LOCATIONS FROM MAP BY USBM.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Tungsten Critical Primary
Copper Tertiary
Molybdenum Tertiary
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Molybdenite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Epidote Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Fluorite Unknown

Alteration

  • (Local) Hydrothermal Alteration Has Affected Scheelite Lenses

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Jurassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Rock unit name Ali Molina Formation
    Rock description Ali Molina Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -111.65653, 31.90873

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Mineralized Zone - S 15 E, 1000 Ft. Or More Long.

Ore body information

  • General form EN ECHELON LENSES
    Strike N 10 TO 20 W
    Dip EAST

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Tensional Shears In Major Northwest Striking Fault Zone.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1954
Discoverer Wm. H. Coplen
Year of first production 1954
Production years D1=1954; D2-1955-56.

Comments on the production information

  • MINE WAS STILL PRODUCING IN 1957. (8) KEITH, S.B., 1974

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 304.8M
    Overall depth 60.96M
    Overall length 48.77M
    Overall width 10.67M

Comments on the workings information

  • 3 MAIN ADITS: LOWER CUT PRODUCED SOME ORE; MIDDLE CUT PRODUCED CONSIDERABLE ORE; UPPER CUT PRODUCED ORE IN 1957; MAIN ADIT WHICH WAS LOWEST WAS MOSTLY IN BARREN ROCK.

Comments on development

  • REPORT CONTAINS MUCH SPECIFIC DATA ON ASSAYS OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF ORE BODIES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    DALE, STEWART, AND MCKINNEY, 1960, TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS OF COCHISE, PIMA, AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES: USBM R.I. 5650.

  • Deposit

    KEITH, S.B., 1974, ABM BULLETIN 189.

  • Deposit

    ABM FILE DATA.

  • Deposit

    PHILLIPS, K.A., 1987, ARIZONA INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES MINERAL REPORT 4, 185 P.

  • Deposit

    DALE, STEWART, AND MCKINNEY, 1960, TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS OF COCHISE, PIMA AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT OF INVESTIGATION 5650.

  • Deposit

    1957 RECON USBM: RI 5650

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Production

    DALE ETAL 1960, USBM RI5650.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS RECORD CONTAINS INFORMATION FROM DUPLICATE RECORD D000785 WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MRDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1972 Johnson, Maureen G. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JAN-1975 Elliot, James E. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-DEC-1992 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Authoritative Arizona resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.