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Lydia

Past Producer in Sonora, Mexico with commodities Molybdenum, Tungsten
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Ownership information
  14. Production statistics
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10104180
MRDS ID MX00271
Record type Site
Current site name Lydia
Related records 10230537

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -109.33395, 28.68356 (WGS84)
Relative position 1 KM SE OF EL ENCINAL.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pima(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Mexico Sonora

Comments on the location information

  • BAD ACCESS

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Molybdenum Primary
Tungsten Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PARAGENESIS: 1ST WAVE QUARTZ FOLLOWED BY QUARTZ AND CINNABAR; HYDROTHERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF CINNABAR TO NATIVE MERCURY; FORMATION OF CALOMEL

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Molybdenite Ore
Scheelite Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 45
USGS model code 15
Deposit model name W pegmatite

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -109.33395, 28.68356
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Thickness 2M
    Length 30M
    Width 20M
    Depth to bottom 20M

Comments on the geologic information

  • PROPERTY IS A FEW HUNDRED METERS INSIDE THE MARGIN OF THE GRANITE INTRUSIVE.
  • DEPOSITS ARE IN NE-SW TRENDING "CRESTONES" OR SILICIFIED ZONES WHICH STAND ABOVE TERRAIN PERHAPS PARTLY DUE TO NORMAL FAULTING.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name El Encinal

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Compania Minera De Sonora, S. A.
    First year 1945

Production statistics

  • Year 1914
    Period 1914-
    Material ORE MO
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^10% Molybdenite
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Molybdenum Molybdenum 10wt-pct
  • Year 1914
    Period 1914-
    Material ORE MO
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^30% Molybdenite
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Molybdenum Molybdenum 30wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • NO SCHEELITE MINED.
  • EL MORAL CO. DEVELOPED ORDERLY WORKINGS, STARTING AROUND 1910, AND PRODUCED 10 FL/WK. SOMETIME BEFORE 1940, THE MINES PASSES TO AN INEFFICIENT OPERATOR, LUIS MARTINEZ.

Comments on the workings information

  • ZONE FOLLOWED TO DEPTH OF 20 M BY INCLINED SHAFT, INTERSECTED BY ADIT ON THE 10-METER LEVEL. KNOWN POCKETS OF MOLYBDENITE HAD ALL BEEN REMOVED BY 1943. NONE OF THE SCHEELITE STRINGERS LARGE ENOUGH TO BE MINED BY OTHER THAN GAMBUSINO METHODS.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: THE MANY MINES COULD BE MINED PROFITABLY ONLY IF OPERATED BY A SINGLE COMPANY. WITH A GOOD FURNACE, PRODUCTION COULD RISE TO 1500 KG/MO HG, BASED ON 0.3% ORE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    WIESE, JOHN H., AND CARDENAS, SALVADOR, 1945, TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS OF THE SOUTHERN PART OF SONORA, MEXICO: USGS BULL 946, P. 103-130

  • Production

    WIESE AND CARDENAS, 1945.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ZONE OF TABULAR LENSES OF PEGMATITE IN GRANITE. INDIVIDUAL LENSES ARE A FEW M LONG AND LESS THAN A M THICK IN NE-TRENDING ZONE 30 M LONG AND UP TO 2 M WIDE. MOLYBDENITE PRESENT THROUGHOUT ZONE TO DEPTH OF 20 M, BUT SCHEELITE FOUND ONLY BETWEEN 5-METER AND 15-METER LEVELS IN THE SHAFT AND FOR A DISTANCE OF 15 M ALONG THE DRIFT AT THE 10-METER LEVEL.
Deposit MAIN DEPOSIT IS JESUS MARIA VEIN, 0.4 - 0.65 M WIDE AND WELL DEFINED. SHALLOW.
Deposit WOOD IS ABUNDANT. WATER IS ABUNDANT IN TWO RIVERS, BUT THE DEPOSITS LIE 400 M ABOVE THEM. EXPERIENCED MINERS ARE FOUND IN EL MORAL, EL MARCO, MASCOTA, ETC. UNDERGROUND EXPLORATION MIGHT ENCOUNTER POCKETS OR SHOOTS IN LARGER FRACTURES, IF THEY ARE ADEQUATELY SEALED. IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ORE WILL BE FOUND IN THE POROUS, WEATHERED DIORITE UNDERLYING THE RHYOLITE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit BETWEEN THE TOWN OF EL ENCINAL AND THE LYDIA MINE ARE A DOZEN OR SO SMALL SURFACE WORKINGS IN DISCONTINUOUS PEGMATITE LENSES. ALL THE EXPOSED LENSES ARE LESS THAN 10 M LONG AND 0.5 M WIDE; MOST ARE LESS THAN 10 CM WIDE. SCHEELITE SPARSELY DISSEMINATED IN THE LENSES, BUT NOWHERE ABUNDANT ENOUGH TO BE EXPLOITED. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1987 Staude, John-Mark G. (Page, Norman J.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-1987 Leonard, Kenneth R. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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