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Poison Canyon Mine

Past Producer in McKinley county in New Mexico, United States with commodities Uranium, Vanadium, Selenium
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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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  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. Production statistics
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10072196
MRDS ID W016958
MAS/MILS ID 0350310381
Record type Site
Current site name Poison Canyon Mine
Alternate or previous names Mine: Moe No. 1, Poison Canyon

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.82701, 35.34311 (WGS84)
Elevation 2149
Relative position ABOUT 12.8 MILES N 4 E OF GRANTS, NM.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

McKinley(county)

New Mexico(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Dos Lomas(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Grants(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Albuquerque(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Rio San Jose(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande-Elephant Butte(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande-Elephant Butte(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States New Mexico McKinley

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 013N 009W 19 SW of NE New Mexico

Comments on the location information

  • LATITUDE-LONGITUDE LOCATION IS APPROXIMATELY THE CENTER OF THE BLACK RANGE DISTRICT. THE WINSTON AND IRON MOUNTAIN 7.5 MINUTE TOPOGRAPHIC QUADRANGLES COVER THE EASTERN PART OF THE DISTRICT, THE WESTERN PART IS COVERED BY THE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN 15 MINUTE TOPOGRAPHIC QUADRANGLE. THIS DISTRICT IS ABOUT 24 MILES LONG EXTENDING FROM JUST NORTH OF THE SIERRA COUNTY LINE SOUTHWARD TO MONUMENT CREEK, AND IS 6 TO 12 MILES WIDE WITH THE CREST OF THE BLACK RANGE FORMING THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF THE DISTRICT. ELEVATIONS RANGE FROM 6000 FT. TO 8500 FT.
  • LOCATION IS ACCURATE FOR BUILDINGS AT THE MINE SITE. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary
Vanadium Critical Primary
Selenium Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Carnotite Ore
Coffinite Ore
Tyuyamunite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Morrison
    Rock description Morrison
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -107.82701, 35.34311
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Poison Canyon Fault
Type of structure Local
Structure description The Poison Canyon Fault And A Series Of Smaller Faults And Fractures.

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Thickness 12.19M
    Length 914.4M
    Width 137.16M
    Depth to bottom 15.24M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • A Series Of Faults And Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • IN THIS DISTRICT THE OLDEST ROCKS EXPOSED ARE LIMESTONES, SHALEY SANDSTONES AND SHALES OF THE PENN. MAGDALENA GROUP WHICH ARE OVERLAIN BY RED SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES OF THE PERM. ABO FM.. OUTCROPS OF THESE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS APPEAR ALONG THE LOWER PORTIONS OF SOME FAULT BLOCKS AND IN GENERAL THE BEDS DIP TO THE EAST. TERT. TO LATE CRET. PROPYLITIC ANDESITES ARE MORE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE REGION AND FORM EXTENSIVE FLOWS, TUFFS AND BRECCIAS ALONG THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE BLACK RANGE. RHYOLITE FLOWS AND TUFFS OVERLIE THE ANDESITES BUT ARE LESS EXTENSIVE. TECTONIC SETTING IS CONTINENTAL PLATFORM DISRUPTED BY EXTENSIVE CENOZOIC VULCANISM AND BASIN AND RANGE DEFORMATION.
  • THE DEPOSIT OCCURS IN THE POISON CANYON SANDSTONE OF THE BRUSHY BASIN MEMBER OF THE MORRISON FORMATION.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1951
Discoverer Paddy Martinez, Grants, Nm
Year of first production 1952
Year of last production 1980

Mining district

District name Grants Uranium District: Ambrosia Lake Subdistrict

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Haystack Mtn. Dev. Co.
    Home office New Mexico
    Year 1969
  • Type Operator
    Owner Reserve Oil And Minerals Corp., P. O. Box 546, Grants, Nm
    Home office NM
    Year 1979
  • Type Owner
    Owner Santa Fe Railroad
    First year 1980

Production statistics

  • Year 1970
    Period 1952 To 1970
    Material ORE U
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.23 Percent U3o8
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    U3O8 Ore Uranium Uranium 0wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION TOTALLED 217,066 TONS OF ORE.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 1066.8M

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS CONSIST OF SEVERAL OPEN PITS AND A 3,500-FOOT ADIT.

Comments on development

  • THE POISON CANYON MINE WAS THE FIRST SANDSTONE URANIUM DISCOVERY IN THE GRANTS DISTRICT. A NAVAJO SHEEPHERDER, PADDY MARTINEZ, WAS DRAWN TO THIS SITE THINKING THAT RADIATION IN THE CANYON MIGHT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MYSTERIOUS DEATHS OFHUNDREDS OF SHEEP. ASSAYS OF THE URANIFEROUS ORE SHOWED APPRECIABLE QUANTITIES OF SELENIUM. SEVERAL YEARS LATER HELEN CANNON OF THE USGS GEOBOTANICAL BRANCH PROPOSED THAT THE DEATHS WERE DUE TO THE CONSUMPTION OF THE NOXIOUS PLANT, ASTRAGALUS, WHICH GROWS SELECTIVELY IN THE PRESENCE OF SELENIUM.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    RAPAPORT, I., 1963, NMBMMR MEM 15, P. 121-135

  • Deposit

    HILPERT, L.S., 1969, USGS PP 603, P. 34

  • Deposit

    HOLMQUIST, R.J., 1970, USAEC RME-172, P. 36.

  • Deposit

    MCLEMORE, V.T., 1983, NMBMMR OFR-183, APPENDIX 1

  • Deposit

    NMBMMR GENERAL FILE DATA

  • Deposit

    TESSENDORF, T.N., 1980, NMBMMR MEM 38, P. 226-229

  • Deposit

    ANDERSON, E.C., 1955, OCCURENCES OF URAN ORE IN N.M., NMBMMR CIRC 29

  • Deposit

    NMBMMR MINE FILES

  • Deposit

    GEOLOGIC MAP OF GRANTS URAN REGION, 1979, NMBMMR GEOLOGIC MAP 31

  • Deposit

    NMBMMR RESOURCE MAP 9, 1979.

  • Deposit

    NMBMMR MAP FILE

  • Deposit

    FILE, 1965, NMBM CIRC 77

  • Deposit

    NMSMIR, 1953

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE ORE DEPOSITS OF THIS DISTRICT ARE CHIEFLY FILLED FISSURE VEINS WITH OR WITHOUT SOME REPLACEMENT OF THE WALLROCK. THEY ARE USUALLY SINGLE FISSURES RANGING IN WIDTH FROM 2 FT. TO 8 FT. AND ARE FILLED WITH BANDED AND CRUSTIFIED VEIN MATERIAL. VEIN SYSTEMS TRENDING NORTH-SOUTH ARE VALUABLE FOR GOLD AND SILVER WITH COPPER OCCURRING SPARINGLY IN PLACES. VEIN SYSTEMS TRENDING EAST-WEST OR ROUGHLY RADIAL TRENDS ARE VALUABLE CHIEFLY FOR SILVER AND COPPER. IN THE EXTREME SOUTHERN END OF THE DISTRICT ARE VEINS CONTAINING GALENA, SPHALERITE AND SOME ASSOCIATED GOLD, SILVER AND CHALCOPYRITE.
Deposit CRIB SITES AND RECORD NUMBERS FOR THIS DISTRICT ARE ALASKA GROUP(D002800) ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit THE DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF TWO TABULAR, STRINGLIKE DEPOSITS ASSOCIATED WITH FOSSIL LOGS AND ORGANIC DEBRIS. THERE ISBOTH TREND AND REDISTRIBUTED ORE PRESENT.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-76 Weeks, Robert New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources
Updater 01-FEB-84 Murray, Diane U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 01-NOV-11 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted 10247932 and 10199003.
Reporter 18-NOV-83 New Mexico Bureau Of Mines And Mineral Resources New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources 10247932 and 10199003.

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 06/02/1980
MSHA mine ID2901550
Mine name (MSHA)Poison Canyon
Current operatorReserve Oil & Minerals Corp
Current controller (parent)Reserve Industries Corp
Mine typeUnderground (Metal / non-metal)

MSHA cross-reference per the original MRDS record. Mine status and operator reflect MSHA's last published Mines export (February 2025); MSHA's public bulk feed has been unavailable since, so this may be out of date. See the Mine Data Retrieval System for current status.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

External references

Maps centered on this site