Cuprite Mine

Past Producer in Pima county in Arizona, United States with commodities Copper, Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Molybdenum
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. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  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 10039611
MRDS ID M050490
Record type Site
Current site name Cuprite Mine
Alternate or previous names Copper Collar, Marble Tap, Side Issue, Copper Top, Copper Vision, Copper Chief, Solo
Related records 10137563

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -110.70957, 31.92818 (WGS84)
Elevation 1266
Relative position 7 MI NE OF HELVETIA IN N END OF SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pima(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mount Fagan(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fort Huachuca(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nogales(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Santa Cruz(hydrologic unit)

Santa Cruz(hydrologic accounting unit)

Middle Gila(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Arizona Pima

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 017S 016E 28 NW4 Arizona

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Galena Ore
Malachite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Epidote Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Wollastonite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silication, Pyritization

Analytical data

Result ORE AVERAGED 6% CU, ALSO 4 OZ/T AG, TRACES AU

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -110.70957, 31.92818

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description N45 E-45se And N35 W-35sw Tear Faults. Thrust Faulted And Frac Tured Block Adjacent Intrusive

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR, IRREGULAR
    Dip 30 N&43 SE
    Depth to top 27.43M
    Depth to bottom 36.58M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fault & Fracture Zones In Silicated Limestone At Or Near Quartzite Contact & Quartz Diorite Stock

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1899
Discoverer Louis Ezekiel

Mining district

District name Helvetia-Rosemont District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Louis Ezekiel And F.W. Fish
    First year 1915

Production statistics

  • Year 1915
    Period 1889-1915
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^6% Cu, 0.6 Oz/T Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Silver Silver 17g/mt
    Major Ore Copper Copper 6wt-pct

Reserves and resources

  • Type Dump
    Estimate year 1915
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Copper Cu 2.5 wt-pct Copper Major 1915

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 213.36M
    Overall depth 36.58M

Comments on the workings information

  • 4 SHAFTS UP TO 120 FT DEEP. WATER IN MINE

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SCHRADER, 1915, USGS BULL 582, P. 134-136

  • Deposit

    CREASEY, S.C., 1973, FIELD EXAM

  • Deposit

    KEITH, 1974, ABM BULL 189, P. 125

  • Deposit

    FINNELL, 1971, USGS OPEN FILE REPORT

  • Production

    SCHRADER, 1915

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS REPORT REPRESENTS A MERGER OF ORIGINAL RECORD M050490 WITH RE CORD M000930 OF JAN WILT IN MOLYBDENUM FILE, CONTACT PERSON T.G. THEOD ORE, USGS ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1983 Peterson, Jocelyn A. 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.