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Contention Mine

Producer in Cochise county in Arizona, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Gold, Copper
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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. Alteration
  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. Reserves and resources
  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 10048228
MRDS ID M800323
Record type Site
Current site name Contention Mine
Alternate or previous names Pump Shaft, Head Center, Flora Morrison, Yellow Jacket, Contention-Grand Central
Related records 10258539

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -110.06288, 31.70152 (WGS84)
Elevation 1442
Relative position 1 MILE S OF TOMBSTONE.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cochise(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Tombstone(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fort Huachuca(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nogales(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper San Pedro(hydrologic unit)

San Pedro-Willcox(hydrologic accounting unit)

Middle Gila(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Arizona Cochise

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 020S 022E 14,11 NE OF NE Arizona

Comments on the location information

  • 3 SHAFTS IN MINE, CENTRAL SHAFT, THE PUMP, USED FOR UTM 1000 FT NORTH OF GRAND CENTRAL SHAFT. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Secondary

Alteration

  • (Local) Bisbee Liemstone Is Recrystallized

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Schiefflin Grandiorite
    Rock description Schiefflin Grandiorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Bisbee Group
    Rock description Bisbee Group
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description In Tombstone Basin, Northerly Dikes, Ne Fissures, Nw Trending Faults. Contention Dike Is Faulted By Series On Nw Trending Normal Faults

Ore body information

  • Length 1005.84M
    Width 304.8M
    Depth to bottom 243.84M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore In Fractured And Faulted Dike Material And In Replacements Of Limestone, Where Intersected By Northeast Trending Fissures

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1885
Year of first production 1885

Mining district

District name Tombstone District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Cowichan Resources Inc.
    First year 1989

Comments on the production information

  • SEE GRAND CENTRAL FOR PRODUCTION AFTER 1885 IN ABGMT-USBM FILE DATA.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1986
    Total resources 45000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Silver Ag 56.471 g/mt Silver Major 1986
    Gold Au 0.564 g/mt Gold Major 1986

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVES ARE FOR OPEN PIT AND DUMP IN 1986, BUT TOTAL TONNAGE IS PROBABLY LARGER.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 10.514HA
    Length 3048M
    Overall depth 243.84M
    Overall length 365.76M
    Overall width 304.8M

Comments on the workings information

  • 10 LEVELS OF WORKINGS - WORKINGS DESCRIBED ARE IN CONTENTION, HEAD CENTER, AND FLORA MORRISON CLAIMS ONLY. SEE GRAND CENTRAL FOR GRAND CENTRAL CLAIM WORKINGS. MAIN WORKINGS IN UPPER 500 FT, 6TH LEVEL IS MOST EXTENSIVE. IN 1989, THIS WAS AN OPENPIT-CYANIDE HEAP LEACHING OPERATION.

Comments on development

  • OPERATORS INCLUDED HEAD CENTER CO, GRAND CENTRAL MINING CO, CONTENTION MINING CO, TOMBSTONE CONSOLIDATED MINES, BUNKER HILL MINES, TOMBSTONE DEVELOPMENT CO., AND COCHISE SILVER MINES INC. (1987). WORKINGS IN 3 CLAIMS DESCRIBED HERE: FLORA MORRISON, CONTENTION, HEAD CENTER. IN 1987, THIS MINE WAS UNDER DEVLOPMENT TO LEACH DUMP AND TAILINGS MATERIAL.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 187, P. 74.

  • Deposit

    ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 143, P. 69-71, PL. 6, 8, 10.

  • Deposit

    ABGMT-USBM FILE DATA

  • Deposit

    NIEMUTH, N.J., 1987, ARIZONA MINERAL DEVELOPMENT 1984-1986: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINESA ND MINERAL RESOURCES DIRECTORY 29, 46 P.

  • Deposit

    ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES, 1989, DIRECTORY OF ACTIVE MINES IN ARIZONA, INCORPORATING SAND AND GRAVEL OPERATIONS--1989-90: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES DIRECTORY 36, 14 P.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Reserve-Resource

    NIEMUTH, 1987.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1880'S
Deposit GRAND CENTRAL MINE IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS PART OF THIS MINE DUE TO COMMON OWNERSHIP. SEE GRAND CENTRAL ENTRY FOR DESCRIPTION OF ADJOINING MINE, SOUTH OF CONTENTION. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT
Deposit MOST PRODUCTIVE ORE ZONE OF DISTRICT WHEN COMBINED WITH GRAND CENTRAL. ABOVE FIGURES DESCRIBE ENTIRE ORE ZONE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-1981 Gest, Don E. Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology
Updater 01-OCT-1992 Orris, Greta J. 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

Authoritative Arizona resources

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