Three R Mine Group

Producer in Santa Cruz county in Arizona, United States with commodities Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold, Aluminum
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. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10046338
MRDS ID M241337
Record type Site
Current site name Three R Mine Group
Alternate or previous names Colossus, Richardson Property, Evening Star Prospect
Related records 10162214

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -110.76457, 31.48403 (WGS84)
Elevation 1524
Relative position 5.7 MILES NE OF NOGALES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, 5 MI S OF PATAGONIA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Santa Cruz(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cumero Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Nogales(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nogales(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Santa Cruz(hydrologic unit)

Santa Cruz(hydrologic accounting unit)

Middle Gila(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Coronado 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 Arizona Santa Cruz

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 022S 015E 36 NW OF SW OF SE Arizona

Comments on the location information

  • AT HEAD OF THREE R CANYON; 1.5 MILES EAST OF LOOKOUT MINE. INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Lead Secondary
Silver Secondary
Gold Secondary
Aluminum Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • ALUNITE MASSES OCCUR IN FAULT ZONE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Alunite Ore
Bornite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Malachite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Metasomatic Replacement Of Feldspar In Granite By Ore Minerals; Alteration Of Remaining Feldspar Has Resulted In High Alumina Concentration

Analytical data

Result ORE VALUES AVERAGED ABOUT 4% CU WITH MINOR AU, ZN, PB, AND AG

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Mount Wrightson Formation
    Rock description Mount Wrightson Formation
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Granite Of Comoro Canyon
    Rock description Granite Of Comoro Canyon

Nearby scientific data

(1) -110.76457, 31.48403

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description 6 Major N-S Trending, Fractures Appear To Be Regional Control Of Mineralization;3 Major Fracture Systems Trending N-S, N75e, And N30e, Respectively
Type of structure Local
Structure description Each Fault Within System Branches, Causing Small Brecciated Zones That Formed Small Pockets Of Ore Away From Main Orebody

Ore body information

  • General form LENSES
    Strike NNW-SSE
    Dip 60 S
    Thickness 137.16M
    Width 30.48M
  • General form LENSES
    Dip 60 S
  • General form LENSES
    Dip 60 S

Controls for ore emplacement

  • N-S Trending, Roughly Parallel Strong Quartz Fissure Veins In Granite Porphyry; Large, Steeply Dipping Lensing Ore Body Of Disseminated Cupriferous Pyrite In Nnw-Trending Fault Zone; Sparse Copper Mineralization In Quartz-Sericite Veins Around Ore Body

Comments on the geologic information

  • GRANITE IS COARSE GRAINED. SURFACE ROCK ABOVE ENRICHED AREA IS SEMI GOSSANIZED. MINERALIZATION WAS ACCOMPANIED AND FOLLOWED FAULTING AND INTRUSION OF ANDESITE DIKES. SLICKENSIDES INDICATE THAT THE LAST MOVEMENT WAS VERTICAL DOWN PLANE OF FAULT. ALUNITE ZONES RESULTED FROM THE ALTERATION OF ORTHOCLASE FELDSPAR IN PEGMATITIC GRANITE ALONG THE WALL OF A SULFIDE VEIN.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1897
Discoverer R.R. Richardson
Year of first production 1908
Year of last production 1956

Mining district

District name Palmetto District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Taylor And Barclay
    First year 1956
  • Type Owner
    Owner C. A. Pierce And D. Bird
    First year 1937
    Last year 1960

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 6.467HA
    Overall length 269.75M
    Overall width 254.2M

Comments on the workings information

  • MAIN MINE WORKINGS INCLUDED A 3000-FT LOWER ADIT, 1000-FT UPPER ADIT, AND SEVERAL 1000 FT OF CROSSCUTS; 3 TUNNELS ON PROPERTY

Comments on development

  • FORMER OWNERS INCLUDE THE THREE R SYNDICATE (1909), N.L. AMSTER (1912); FORMER OPERATORS INCLUDE OLSON (1908), RICHARDSON (1911), AMSTER (1912-1913), THREE R MINING AND MILLING CO (1916-19), THREE R MINES INC (1929, 1930, 1939-1941), BORDER MINES INC. (1937), D. BIRD (1945-46), W.R. GREEN, CALUMET AND ARIZONA MINING CO., PATAGONIA-SUPERIOR COPPER CO, CONSOLIDATED COPPER MINES CO. (1951), COLOSSAL MINES (1954); PROPERTY CONSISTS OF 21 PATENTED AND 14 UNPATENTED CLAIMS THAT ARE GROUPED IN A CONTIGUOUS UNIT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    KEITH, S.B., 1969, "ALUNITE", IN ABM BULLETIN 180, USGS BULLETIN 871, P. 302-303.

  • Deposit

    HANDVERGER, PAUL A., 1963, GEOLOGY OF THE THREE R MINE, PALMETTO MINING DISTRICT, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA: M.S. THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA.

  • Deposit

    PROBERT, F.H., 1914, THE THREE R MINE, PATAGONIA DISTRICT, ARIZONA: MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS, VOL.109, P. 174-176.

  • Deposit

    USBM FILES, THREE R MINE GROUP.

  • Deposit

    ABGMT CLIPPINGS FILE, THREE R MINE.

  • Deposit

    ADMR FILE DATA, THREE R MINE.

  • Deposit

    USGS BULL 582, P. 282-287.

  • Deposit

    ARIZ BUR MINES BULL 191, P. 74.

  • Deposit

    PEIRCE, H.W., 1990, ARIZONA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY INDUSTRIAL MINERALS CARD FILE.

  • Deposit

    USGS MAP I-762.

  • Deposit

    SCHRADER, F.C., 1914, ALUNITE IN GRANITE PORPHYRY NEAR PATAGONIA, ARIZONA: USGS BULLETIN 540, P. 347-350.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    TENNEY, JAMES B., 1927-29, HISTORY OF MINING IN ARIZONA: ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES, P. 311-312.

  • Deposit

    BLM DISTRICT MINING SHEET 693.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit LARGEST ORE LENS IS ABOUT 200 X 600 FT AND 10 FT IN WIDTH. MAXIMUM WIDTH OF FAULT ZONE IS 100 FT. VEINS EXTEND SEVERAL FT ALONG STRIKE. ALUNITE DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF PINKISH ALUNITE AND QUARTZ. ZONE MAY BE SEVERAL FEET WIDE IN PLACES AND MAY CONTAIN AS MUCH AS 30% ALUNITE. ALUNITE ALSO WAS NOTED IN STRONGLY PYRITIZED ZONES IN SOME AREAS.
Deposit THIS RECORD CONTAINS DATA FROM DUPLICATE RECORD TC10255 OF M. CARBONARO WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MAIN MRDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1982 Laraba, Peter (Calder, Susan R.) Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology
Updater 01-OCT-1992 Carbonaro, Marguerite M. 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.