Mountain Key Mine

Past Producer in Grant county in New Mexico, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper, Zinc
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. 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. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10087799
MRDS ID D009779
Record type Site
Current site name Mountain Key Mine
Alternate or previous names Claims, Mountain Key, Wild Bill, Lock Vein
Related records 10247464

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -108.25034, 32.86455 (WGS84)
Elevation 2195
Relative position ABOUT 7 MILES N 27 E OF SILVER CITY.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Grant(county)

New Mexico(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Silver City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Silver City(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Silver City(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Mimbres(hydrologic unit)

Mimbres(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande-Mimbres(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States New Mexico Grant

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 017S;017S 013W;014W 06;01 NW (06); NE (01) New Mexico

Comments on the location information

  • ACCURATE LOCATION AS SHOWN ON USGS GEOLOGIC MAP GQ-865.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Lead Secondary
Copper Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Argentite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Sericitization, Pyritization, With Some Alteration To Kaolinite

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -108.25034, 32.86455

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form PINCH AND SWELL
    Strike N 53 E
    Dip 58 NW
    Thickness 0.61M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fault-Fracture Structural Control.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1861
Year of first production 1861
Year of last production 1948

Mining district

District name Pinos Altos District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Mc Dermott, T. C.
    Home office Faywood, N. M.
    First year 1948
  • Type Owner
    Owner Thomas A. Mcdermott
    Home office Box 2604, Oshkosh, Wis. 54903
    First year 1982

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCED ABOUT $500,000 IN ORE BY 1905. AVERAGE GRADE OF ORE IN 1905 WAS APPROXIMATELY 27-48 G/T AU, 377 G/T AG, AND 3.5% CU.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1219.2M
    Overall depth 182.88M

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS REPORTED TO CONSIST OF A 750 FT. INCLINED SHAFT WITH EIGHT LEVELS CONTAINING MORE THAN 4000 FT. OF DRIFTS AND TWO LARGE STOPES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    LINDGREN, W., GRATON, L. C., AND GORDON, C. H., 1910 USGS PP 68, P. 297-300

  • Deposit

    PAIGE, S., 1911 USGS BULL 470, P. 109-119

  • Deposit

    JONES, W. R., MOORE, S. L., AND PRATT, W. P., 1970 USGS GEOLOGIC MAP, GQ-865

  • Deposit

    NMBMMR GENERAL FILE DATA

  • Production

    LINDGREN, W., GRATON, L.C., AND GORDON, C.H., 1910, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 68, P. 299-300.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit VEIN TRENDING NE AND DIPPING 50NW, IN HORNBLENDE QUARTZ MONZONITE PORPHYRY. VEIN IS UP TO 1 M THICK. CU INCREASES WITH DEPTH. ONE CLAIM MINERAL SURVEY NUMBER 1924 AND ONE UNSURVEYED CLAIM.
Deposit THIS RECORD CONTAINS DATA FROM RECORD D011733 BY RON WORL WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MRDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-1982 Menzie, David New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources
Updater 01-AUG-1984 Seanor, Clint E. (Worl, Ron) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references