Huahuaxtla Mine

Past Producer in Guerrero, Mexico with commodity Mercury
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Alteration
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Workings at the site
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10050115
MRDS ID MX11000
Record type Site
Current site name Huahuaxtla Mine
Alternate or previous names San Luis, Esperanza, Aurora

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -99.60033, 18.40067 (WGS84)
Elevation 1120
Relative position 14 KM NW OF IGUALA (24 KM BY ROAD)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pima(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Mexico Guerrero

Comments on the location information

  • ROAD IS IN FAIR CONDITION, HAS STEEP GRADES PAVED WITH ROCK, AND CAN BE USED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR (1941).
  • TIAPEHUALA WAS APPARENTLY IN THE STATE OF MICHOACAN WHEN MACTEAR WROTE HIS ARTICLE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • CINABRIO NEGRO (BLACK CINNABAR) IS INVERTED METACINNABAR AND MAY HAVE PROTECTIVE PYRITE COATING.

Alteration

  • (Local) Ore Mineral Depends On Oxygen Availability As Indicated By Fe Mineralogy And Pyrite-Marcasite.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -99.60033, 18.40067

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Normal Faults With Strike-Slip Component. Very Little Evidence Of Compression.

Ore body information

  • General form SERIES OF PODLIKE SHOOTS BETWEEN MULLIONS
    Strike NW
    Dip 50W
    Plunge direction W
    Thickness 0.5M
    Length 30M
    Width 15M
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Huahuaxtla Fault; Breccia; Tenor And Form Strongly Controlled By Long Mullions. Best Ore Down Dip Of Mullions In Limestone Footwall Breccia. Also In The Finer Shale Breccia Which Offers Max. Specific Surface.

Comments on the geologic information

  • BEDDING ATTITUDE IS STRIKE: NW; DIP 25 NE. FAULT ATTITUDES ARE SHALLOW NORMAL EW SET DIPPING S AND NE-SW SET, STEEPLY DIPPING.
  • SOMETIMES DEPOSITS ARE BELOW SMALL MOUNDS OF PROBABLE HOT SPRING ORIGIN.
  • POSSIBLY TWO PERIODS: EARLY ALONG HUAHUAXTLA FAULT AND LATER ALONG YOUNGER FAULTS ALSO. CONTROLLING FAULTS APPEAR VERY YOUNG. ORE NOT EROSIONAL LOCI. METACINNABAR AND CINABRIO NEGRO FOUND ONLY IN EARLIER DEPOSITS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Year of first production 1925

Mining district

District name Huahuaxtla District

Comments on the production information

  • THE ANOMALOUS PRODUCTION CITED FOR 1944 RESULTS FROM GUILLERMINA. ACCORDING TO CAREAGA, 1974, THE WHOLE STATE OF GUERRERO PRODUCED ONLY 5 TONS OF HG IN 1971 AND NONE IN 1970. IT IS INFERRED THAT PRODUCTION AT HUAHUATLA MUST BE VERY LOW.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 500M
    Overall depth 45M

Comments on the workings information

  • THE ORIGINAL 3 WORKINGS (AURORA, ESPERANZA, AND SAN LUIS) ARE NOW CONNECTED. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER VERY SMALL DEPOSITS. GUILLERMINA, 1 KM TO THE NW, IS THE LARGEST OF THESE. IT LIES AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE ALICIA FAULT AND THE SHALE LIMESTONE CONTACT. IT WAS RICHLY MINED IN 1944 AND THPOSSIBLY TWO PERIODS: EARLY ALONG HUAHUAXTLA FAULT AND LATER ALONG YOUNGER FAULTS ALSO. CONTROLLING FAULTS APPEAR VERY YOUNG. ORE NOT EROSIONAL LOCI. METACINNABAR AND CINABRIO NEGRO FOUND ONLY IN EARLIER DEPOSITS.EN CLOSED BECAUSE BLOCKED OUT ORE HAD BEEN EXTRACTED. THE ANOMALOUS PRODUCTION CITED FOR 1944 RESULTS FROM GUILLERMINA.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    GALLAGHER, D., AND SILICEO, R.P., 1948, GEOLOGY OF THE HAUHUAXTLA MERCURY DISTRICT, STATE OF GUERRERO, MEXICO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 960-E, PP. 149-175.

  • Deposit

    CAREAGA, J., 1974, LA SITUACION DE LA MINERIA DEL MERCURIO EN MEXICO: CONGR. INT. MERCURIO (TRABAJOS) 1, P. 425-427.

  • Deposit

    GALLAGHER, D., AND SILICEO, R.P., 1942, GEOLOGIC INVESTIGATION AT HUAHUAXTLA, MEMO TO DIRECTOR OF INST. GEOL. DE MEX.

  • Deposit

    ANON., 1927, EL MINERAL DE HUAHUAXTLA, GUERRERO, BOL. MINERO, V. 24, PP. 10-16.

  • Deposit

    MINING JOURNAL, 1932, V. 16, NO. 6, P. 25.

  • Deposit

    GALLAGHER, D., 1941, PRELIMINARY REPORT ON MERCURY DEPOSITS IN THE STATE OF GUERRERO, MEXICO: UNPUBLISHED REPORT.

  • Production

    GALLAGHER AND SILICEO; GALLAGHER, D., 1941.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit BOTTOM NOT REACHED.
Deposit IN 1948, GALLAGHER AND SILICEO SAID THE PRINCIPAL DEPOSIT LOOKED PROMISING, BUT THERE WAS LITTLE HOPE OF FINDING ANOTHER DEPOSIT. NW AND DOWNWARD EXTENSIONS OF WORKINGS SHOULD BE MADE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT
Deposit ALL DATA TAKEN FROM A FEW BRIEF PARAGRAPHS IN MACTEAR, 1897. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1978 Slagle, Letha P. (Rytuba, J.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1991 Bolm, Karen S. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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