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Las Cuevas Fluorspar Mine

Producer in San Luis Potosi, Mexico with commodities Fluorine-Fluorite, Arsenic
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  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. Ownership information
  15. Reserves and resources
  16. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10069432
MRDS ID W006963
Record type Site
Current site name Las Cuevas Fluorspar Mine
Alternate or previous names Zaragoza, Minera Las Cuevas

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -101.10038, 22.53382 (WGS84)
Elevation 1878
Relative position ABOUT 40 KM SE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI, SAN LUIS POTOSI. ABOUT 1.5 KM SOUTH OF LA CONSENTIDA FLUORSPAR DEPOSIT. THE MINE AND PLANT ARE AT SALITRERA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pima(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Mexico San Luis Potosi

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION IS CENTER OF MINE AREA AS SHOWN ON INGEGI 1:50,000 SCALE MAP.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Primary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • THE FLUORITE IS MASSIVE ORE FINELY LAYERED, FINE-GRAINED, PINKISH AND GRAY. SOMETIMES IT IS INTERGROWN WITH QUARTZ AND CHALCEDONY.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Fluorite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Chalcedony Gangue
Iron Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Analytical data

Result CAF2 - 65% OR GREATER
Result FLUORITE HAS A HIGH ARSENIC LEVEL, 260-290 PPM AS

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Cuesta Del Cura Limestone;
    Rock description Cuesta Del Cura Limestone;
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Chert

Nearby scientific data

(1) -101.10038, 22.53382
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Sierra Madre Oriental

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR
    Strike N
    Dip 80 DEG E

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Faulted Contact Between Limestone And Extrusive Rhyolite.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Large
Significant No

Mining district

District name Zaragoza District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Cia Minera Las Cuevas Sa De Cv
  • Type Owner
    Owner Cia Minera Las Cuevas Sa De Cv (49% Noranda Sales Corp; 51% Mexican Private Investors)

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1973
    Total resources 3000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Fluorine-Fluorite CaF2 65 wt-pct Fluorine Major 1973
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1993
    Total resources 15000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Fluorine-Fluorite CaF2 84.5 wt-pct Fluorine Major 1993

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 120M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINING LEVELS AT 70 AND 120 M. ORE BODIES HAVE HORIZONTAL DIMENSIONS OF 40 BY 50 M AND ARE SEPARATED BY 30 TO 40 M OF BARREN ROCK. DEPOSIT IS MINED BY A COMBINATION METHOD OF SHRINKAGE AND FORCED CAVING. NARROW SLOPES ARE DEVELOPED AT REGULAR INTERVALS TO ESTABLISH LINES OF VERTICAL PILLARS THROUGHOUT THE WIDTH OF THE OREBODY. NARROW VERTICAL CURTAINS EXTENDING FROM WALL TO WALL AND LEVEL TO LEVEL ARE LEFT BETWEEN THE STOPES TO BE RECOVERED LATER, AFTER THE STOPES HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT ON EITHER SIDE, USING FORCED CAVING. ALL OF THE ORE IS EXTRACTED FROM DRAW HOLES BY MECHANICAL LOADERS, DROPPED THROUGH AN 8 UNCH SCREEN UNDERGROUND INTO 2 HOPPERS, AND HOISTED TO THE SURFACE IN A BUCKET ELEVATOR HAULAGE SYSTEM OPENED IN 1988. A NEW SHAFT WAS COMPLETED IN NOVEMBER, 1987, WHICH WILL ALLOW PRODUCTION EXPANSION.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: NORANDA MARKETS LAS CUEVAS' PRODUCTION OUTSIDE OF MEXICO. LAS CUEVAS ORE IS BLENDED WITH 250 TPM OF ORE PURCHASED FROM SMALL MINERS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    PICKARD, G.W., 1974, GEOLOGY OF MEXICAN FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS, IN HUTCHESON, D.W., ED., A SYMPOSIUM ON THE GEOLOGY OF FLUORSPAR: KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SPECIAL PUBLICATION 22, P. 23-30.

  • Deposit

    VAN ALSTINE, R. E., 1963, INVESTIGATION OF THE PRINCIPAL FLUORSPAR DISTRICTS OF MEXICO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 688, P. 81-84.

  • Deposit

    GRIFFITHS, JOYCE, 1988, MEXICO'S INDUSTRIAL MINERALS--MEETING MANANA'S CHALLENGE: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, NO. 250, P. 19-41.

  • Deposit

    HARBEN, P.W., AND BATES, R.L., 1991, FLUORITE, IN INDUSTRIAL MINERALS--GEOLOGY AND WORLD DEPOSITS: LONDON, INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIVISION, METAL BULLETIN PLC, P. 110-119.

  • Deposit

    SKILLEN, ANDY, 1993, FLUORSPAR PRODUCERS--CRACKS IN THE CHINESE WALL?: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, NO. 307, P. 36-49.

  • Deposit

    PRAST, W.G., 1990, MEXICO, IN NORTH AMERICA: MINING ANNUAL REVIEW 1990, P. 41.

  • Deposit

    CLARKE, G.M., ED., 1987, MEXICO, IN INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIRECTORY--A WORLD GUIDE TO PRODUCERS AND PROCESSORS: PARK HOUSE, ENGLAND, METAL BULLETIN BOOKS LTD., P. 276-293.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Production

    PICKARD, 1974; GRIFFITHS, 1988; SKILLEN, 1993.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ORE BODIES HAVE HORIZONTAL DIMENSIONS OF 40 BY 50 M AND ARE SEPARATED BY 30 TO 40 M OF BARREN ROCK. THE RELATIVELY WEAK CRYPTOCRYSTALLINE ORE OCCURS IN THE CONTACT ZONE BETWEEN TERTIARY ANDESITE AND RHYOLITE BRECCIA AND E. CRETACEOUS LIMESTONE. THE RHYOLITE BRECCIA OVERLIES THE LIMESTONE AND CONSISTS OF HIGHLY ALTERED SUBANGULAR TO ROUNDED RHYOLITE CLASTS IN A CLAY MATRIX. THE FLUORITE BODIES ARE ALSO BRECCIATED AND CONTAIN FLUORITE AND LIMESTONE CLASTS IN A CEMENT OF FLUORITE AND CLACITE. A TOP TO BOTTOM SEQUENCE OF AN ORE BODY IS: RHYOLITE-RHYOLITEBRECCIA; FLUORITE-FLUORITE BRECCIA; FLUORITE-CALCITE BRECCIA; FLUORITE-LIMESTONE BRECCIA; LIMESTONE; CLAY. FLUID INCLUSION WORK SHOWS THAT THE ORE-FORMING SOLUTIONS WERE ESSENTIALLY HEATED METEORIC WATERS AND THAT THE RHYOLITE WAS THE SOURCE OF THE FLUORINE.
Deposit THE HIGH ARSENIC CONTENT OF THE FLUORITE PRESENTS A MARKETING PROBLEM. HOWEVER, LAS CUEVAS SA DE CV HAS BEEN MAKING EFFORTS TO OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM. WHILE IT DOES NOT APPEAR POSSIBLE TO REDUCE THE ARSENIC LEVEL OF THE ACIDSPAR CONCENTRATE BECAUSE OF THE MINERALOGY OF THE DEPOSIT, LAS CUEVAS' WHOLLOY-OWNED HF MANUFACTURING SUBSIDIARY, FLUOREC SA DE CV, IS NOW ABLE TO PRODUCE A LOW ARSENIC-CONTAINING ACID AT ITS PLANT IN CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA. THIS RECORD CONTAINS DATA FROM DUPLICATE RECORD I000098 WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MAIN MRDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1975 Schruben, Paul G. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUN-1990 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-NOV-1993 Staude, John-Mark G. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 04-JAN-1995 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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