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Chisos Mine

Past Producer in Brewster county in Texas, United States with commodity Mercury
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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. Alteration
  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. Mineral rights holdings
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  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 10040391
MRDS ID M055147
MAS/MILS ID 480430016
Record type Site
Current site name Chisos Mine
Alternate or previous names Mc Kinney-Parker, Chisos Quicksilver Mine, Chisos Mining Co., McKinney Parker Claims
Related records 10154446

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -103.62, 29.31806 (WGS84)
Elevation 878
Relative position LOCATED AT TERLINGUA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Brewster(county)

Texas(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Terlingua(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Chisos Mountains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Emory Peak(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Terlingua(hydrologic unit)

Rio Grande-Amistad(hydrologic accounting unit)

Rio Grande-Amistad(hydrologic subregion)

Rio Grande(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Texas Brewster

Comments on the location information

  • IN SEC 295 BLK G-4 AND SEC 70 BLK G-12.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Calcite Gangue
Clay Gangue
Gypsum Gangue
Marcasite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Deuteric Alteration Of Soda Latite? Sills, Kaolinization Of Del Rio Clay

Analytical data

Result 3 TO 30 LB/ST HG ORE
Result ORE GRADE IN 1913 REPORTED TO VARY FROM 0.8 TO 2.5% HG

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Latite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Santa Elena Shale;Del Rio;Buda;Boquillas
    Rock description Santa Elena Shale;Del Rio;Buda;Boquillas
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -103.62, 29.31806
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Asymmetric Terlingua Anticline

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Solution Collapse Along Santa Elena Limestone-Del Rio Clay Contact And Solution Collapse Breccia Pipes; Ne Trending Faults And Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • GEOL.DESC: CRET LIMESTONE AND SHALE IS CUT BY N-W TRENDING NORMAL FAULTS

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1897
Discoverer Local Ranchers
Year of first production 1903
Year of last production 1943
Production years 1903-37, 1943

Mining district

District name Terlingua

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Private Lease

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Terlingua Mining Co.
    Year 1979
  • Type Operator
    Owner Chisos Mining Co. Esperado Mining Co.
    First year 1903
    Last year 1942
  • Type Owner
    Owner Howard E. Perry Esperado Mining Co.
    First year 1901
    Last year 1942
  • Type Unknown
    Owner Esperando Mining Co.
    Year 1965

Production statistics

  • Year 1945
    Period 1904-1945
    Material HG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^3-30 Lb/Ton
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Mercury Mercury 7680g/mt

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ITEM 1 EST TO COME FROM 10 LB HG PER TON ORE.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 64372M
    Overall depth 256.03M
    Overall length 914.4M
    Overall width 762M
  • Type of workings Underground
    Name of workings 23 miles of underground workings
    Length 37014.98M

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKED BY MEANS OF 3 MAIN SHAFTS, SEVERAL SUBSIDIARY AND NUMEROUS EXPLORATION SHAFTS. THERE ARE 17 LEVELS AT 50 FT INTERVALS AND MANY SUBLEVEL. USGS (PP 312) REPORTED 23 MI OF UNDERGROUND WORKINGS WHEREAS CHISOS MINING CO. (MINES REGISTER 1937) REPORTED 40 MILES OF UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.

Comments on development

  • CINNABAR FIRST FOUND 1897 ON MCKINNEY-PARKER PROPERTY WHICH LATER BECAME PART OF CHISOS MINE; CINNABAR FIRST FOUND ON ORIGINAL CHISOS PROPERTY ABOUT 1902 IN THE VICINITY OF THE LAFARELLE SHAFT. ; ECON.COM: A 20 TPD SCOTT FURNACE, INSTALLED 1903, WAS RAZED IN 1943; A 100 TPD ROTARY FURNACE, INSTALLED 1918, BURNED 1942, REBUILT 1942, NEVER OPERATED AT EVEN ONE HALF ITS RATED CAPACITY.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BAILEY, E.H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES.

  • Deposit

    CHESTER, J.W., 1965, MERCURY IN TEXAS: USBM IC 8252

  • Deposit

    USGS PP 312

  • Deposit

    TX BEG MRC-73, P. 19.

  • Deposit

    1943 DIREXPL USBM, ONLY ONE DRILL HOLE PENETRATED LOW GRADE ORE

  • Deposit

    FIELD WORK BY C.P. ROSS AND OTHERS, 1934.

  • Deposit

    FIELD WORK BY R.G. YATES, J.F. MCALLISTER, AND G.A. THOMPSON, 1942-45.

  • Deposit

    Bailey, E.H., 1962, Mercury in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Investigations Resource Map MR-30, 8 p. pamphlet, scale 1:3,168,000.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

  • Production

    (1) USBM DATA (2) CHISOS MINING CO. DATA

  • Reserve-Resource

    BAILEY, E.H., USGS, PERSONAL FILES

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit LARGEST HG PRODUCER IN TEXAS
Deposit CINNABAR REPLACES CLAY MATRIX OF SOLUTION COLLAPSE BRECCIA ALONG LIMESTONE-SHALE CONTACT AND OF SOLUTION-COLLAPSE BRECCIA PIPES. CINNABAR-CALICITE FILL NE TRENDING FAULTS AND FRACTURES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1973-10-01 Bergquist, Joel R. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 1992-09-01 Long, Keith R. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 2012-10-30 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 1983-11-18 Garner U.S. Bureau of Mines MAS 0480430016

Beyond USGS

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

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