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Old Reliable Mine

Past Producer in Pinal county in Arizona, United States with commodities Copper, Silver, Barium-Barite, Molybdenum
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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. 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. Reserves and resources
  19. Workings at the site
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10103740
MRDS ID M050126
Record type Site
Current site name Old Reliable Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -110.48985, 32.75204 (WGS84)
Elevation 1189
Relative position 0.5 MI W OF COPPER CREEK IN GALIURO MOUNTAINS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pinal(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Oak Grove Canyon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Mammoth(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Tucson(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower 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 Pinal

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 008S 018E 10 CENTER Arizona

Comments on the location information

  • INFO FROM LAND.ST :1979

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Silver Secondary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary
Molybdenum Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Atacamite Ore
Bornite Ore
Chalcanthite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Covellite Ore
Malachite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Olivenite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Barite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Jarosite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rutile Gangue
Sericite Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Central Part Of Pipe Is Highly Silicified

Analytical data

Result CU AVERAGE 2.71% (RANGE 2.13-4.06%). CONC ASSAYED 17.81% CU, 17.26% FE, 20.52% S AND 42.10% INSOLUBLES. MIXED OXIDE-SULFIDE ORE FROM 100 LEVEL ASSAYED 3.65% CU. SULFIDE ORE FROM 100 LEVEL ASSAYED 1.20% CU. ORE IN RAISE FROM 100 LEVEL TO SURFACE AVERAGED 0.86% CU (RANGE 0.22-2 .17%)

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Latite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Glory Hole Volcanics;Copper Creek Granodiorite
    Rock description Glory Hole Volcanics;Copper Creek Granodiorite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -110.48985, 32.75204
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Block Faulting Trending Nnw
Type of structure Local
Structure description Most Faults Strike E-W With N60e System Less Developed

Ore body information

  • General form PIPE
    Dip 35 INWARD
    Length 182.88M
    Width 91.44M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Breccia Pipe And Veins Near Contact Of Granodiorite And Andesite Tuff

Comments on the geologic information

  • BRECCIA PIPE CONTAINS ANGULAR TO SUBANGULAR BLOCKS OF VOLCANIC ROCKS RANGING FROM SEVERAL INCHES TO 4 FEET. BIOTITE LATITE PORPHYRY INTRUDES BRECCIA. CONTACT OF BRECCIA AND WALLROCK IS IRREGULAR, STEEPLY DI PPING AND FRACTURED. PIPE DIVIDES INTO 4 SMALLER PIPES ON UPPER LEVEL

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1863
Year of first production 1890
Year of last production 1981
Production years 1973-1981

Mining district

District name Bunker Hill District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Copper States Mining Co.
    First year 1919
  • Type Owner
    Owner Magma Copper Co.
    First year 1988

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1971
    Total resources 1814000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Copper Cu 0.74 wt-pct Copper Major 1971

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 670.56M

Comments on the workings information

  • 2 ADIT LEVELS. 3 WINZES, 1 RAISE TO SURFACE

Comments on development

  • MINE OPERATED INTERMITTENTLY BETWEEN 1908-1919. PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY RANCHERS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT CO. (1976). MINING FROM 1973-1981 WAS IN-SITU LEACHING.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SIMONS, 1964, USGS PP 46.1

  • Deposit

    WEED, 1913, MINING & ENG. WORLD, V. 38, P. 375-378.

  • Deposit

    KUHN, 1941, ECON GEOL, V. 36, NO. 5, P. 52.1

  • Deposit

    GREELEY, 1978, ADMR SPEC. REPT. NO. 2.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    SAWYER, M.B., GURMENDI, A.C., DALEY, M.R., AND HOWELL, S.B., 1992, PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS IN ARIZONA: UNITED STATES BUREAU OF MINES SPECIAL PUBLICATION, 334 P.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Production

    GREELEY, 1976, P. 27; SIMONS, 1964; ABM FILE DATA; SAWYER AND OTHERS, 1992.

  • Reserve-Resource

    SAWYER AND OTHERS, 1992.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1861-1865
Deposit FRAGMENTS ORIENTED. OUTCROPS FAINTLY STAINED BY SUPERGENE COPPER AND IRON MINERALS. A SUBSIDIARY PIPE IS LOCATED SE OF MAIN PIPE.
Deposit THIS REPORT REPRESENTS A MERGER OF ORIGINAL RECORD M050126 WITH RE CORD M030466 OF JAN WILT IN MOLYBDENUM FILE, CONTACT PERSON T.G. THEOD ORE, USGS ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1983 Peterson, Jocelyn A. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-DEC-1992 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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.