Bluebird Mine

Past Producer in Cochise county in Arizona, United States with commodities Tungsten, Copper, Quartz
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. 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. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  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 10039399
MRDS ID M050028
Record type Site
Current site name Bluebird Mine
Alternate or previous names Bluebird Hill, Primos Mine
Related records 10185472

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -110.08399, 32.06679 (WGS84)
Elevation 1631
Relative position 2 3/4 MILES SW OF TOWN OF JOHNSON ON NORTH SLOPE OF BLUEBIRD HILL. 4 MI. NE OF DRAGOON.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cochise(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Dragoon(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Tucson(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Tucson(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Willcox Playa(hydrologic unit)

San Pedro-Willcox(hydrologic accounting unit)

Middle Gila(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management AZ)

Bureau of Land Management AZ BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Arizona Cochise

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 016S 022E 03,09 Arizona

Comments on the location information

  • INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Tungsten Critical Primary
Copper Secondary
Quartz Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • MINE YIELDED RICH ORE. SOME LOW GRADE MATERIAL REMAINS.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Rock unit name Texas Canyon
    Rock description Texas Canyon
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Tertiary
    Chronological age 53

Nearby scientific data

(1) -110.08399, 32.06679

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Tertiary Block Faulting Trending Nnw ; Reg.Trends: Late Cretaceous Or Early Tertiary N To Nw Trending Folds & Thrust Faults Overriding To Ne

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Width 0.61M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • No Relationship Between Structure And Ore Concentration Is Discernable.

Comments on the geologic information

  • GEOL.DESC: VEINS OCCUR IN FAULT ZONES IN TWO MAIN SETS (A) 60 TO 70 SE DIP AND (B) 35 TO 50 SE. STRIAE INDICATE SEVERAL DIRECTIONS OF MOVEMENT; THE MOST CONSPICUOUS INDICATE REVERSE MOVEMENT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1898

Mining district

District name Bluebird District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Primos Chemical Co.
    First year 1973

Comments on the production information

  • A TOTAL OF SEVERAL HUNDRED TONS OF TUNGSTEN CONCENTRATES PRODUCED FROM 1900 TO 1917 AND MINOR SPORADIC PRODUCTION LATER.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1910M

Comments on the workings information

  • INCLUDED IN WORKINGS ARE DRIFTS, CROSSCUTS, WINZES, RAISES, STOPES.

Comments on development

  • VEIN AREA EXTENDING OVER SEVERAL MILES SW OF JOHNSON INCLUDES NUMEROUS SMALL ADITS, SHAFTS, OPEN PITS AND UNDERHAND STOPES. SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTION CEASED 1918. THIS WAS LARGEST TUNGSTEN MINE IN DRAGOON QUADRANGLE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    COOPER, J. R. AND SILVER, L. T. 1964, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER 416.

  • Deposit

    WILSON, E.D., 1941, ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 148.

  • Deposit

    LEMMON, D.M., UNPUBLISHED DATA.

  • Deposit

    LEMMON, D.M., AND TWETO, O.L., 1962, TUNGSTEN IN THE U.S., USGS MAP, MR-25.

  • Deposit

    5) WILSON, E.D., 1941, ARIZ. UNIV. BULL. VOL. 12, NO. 2. KEITH, S.B., 1973, ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 187, P. 55.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    LIVINGSTON, MAUGER, BENNETT, AND LAUGHLIN, 1967, JGR, V. 72, P. 1361-1375

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    1943 GEOLMAP KRAUSKOPF AND STOPPER, MAPPED MINE.

  • Deposit

    1964 GEOLMAP U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, COOPER AND SILVER, PROF. PAPER 416.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Production

    KEITH, 1973, ARIZ. BUR. OF MINES BULL. 187.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit VEINS ARE NARROW, IRREGULAR IN WIDTH, OFTEN PINCH OUT ALONG STRIKE AND BRANCH OUT INTO SMALL STRINGERS. TWO MAIN SETS OF VEINS. (A) DIP OF 60 TO 70 SE (B) DIP OF 35 TO 50 SE.
Deposit SEE M050208, PRIMOS GROUP.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1972 Bergquist, Joel R. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUN-1993 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

Authoritative Arizona resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.