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Alta Mine

Past Producer in Santa Cruz county in Arizona, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Gold, Fluorine-Fluorite
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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. 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. Land status
  17. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10048359
MRDS ID M899948
Record type Site
Current site name Alta Mine
Related records 10210677

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -110.71845, 31.46125 (WGS84)
Elevation 1539
Relative position 6.0 MILES SE OF PATAGONIA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Santa Cruz(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Harshaw(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Nogales(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)

Federal lands

Coronado National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Arizona Santa Cruz

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 023S 016E 04;03 CENTER Arizona

Comments on the location information

  • 1/3 MILE NNW OF HARDSHELL MNE, IN MOUTH OF SW TRIBUTARY OF HARDSHELL GULCH. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Copper Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary
Gold Secondary
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • MINOR AMOUNTS OF CHALCOPYRITE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Embolite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrargyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Specularite Ore
Limonite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Quartz-Fluorite Gouge Replaces Rhyolite; Surface Oxidation To Unknown Depths

Analytical data

Result AT 250 FT DEPTH, HIGH GRADE ORE BODY 2-3 FT WIDE CONTAINS VALUES OF 37% PB WITH 2 OZ. AU, 1% CU, 15 OZ/TON AG

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -110.71845, 31.46125
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description 300-400 Ft Thick Lava Flows Of Hardshell-Hardshaw Creek Area
Type of structure Local
Structure description Normal Faulting; Slickensides Indicate Post-Vein Movement

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Dip 40NNE
    Length 402.34M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Hanging-Wall Side Of Rhyolite Dike And Adjoining Portion Of Wall-Rock Diorite

Comments on the geologic information

  • RHYOLITE DIKE DIPS 40 NNE, AND WEATHERS YELLOWISH BROWN WITH LIMONITE STAIN; MINERALIZATION EXTENDS SOME 200 FT FROM DIKE INTO DIORITE COUNTRYROCK; RHYOLITE LOCALLY MUCH ALTERED TO SERICITE, EPIDOTE, CARBONATE, CHLORITE

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1875
Year of first production 1877
Year of last production 1952

Mining district

District name Harshaw District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION ESTIMATED AT 3500 TONS OF ORE (17,500 OZ. AG; 2,590,000 LBS PB)

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Area 0.001HA
    Length 1219.2M
    Overall depth 91.44M

Comments on the workings information

  • DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDED A SHAFT INCLINED TO N; SHAFT PRESENTLY CAVED IN AND WORKINGS ARE INACCESSIBLE; WORKINGS AT 250 FT EXPOSED 45 FT LONG, 3 FT WIDE ORE SHOOT OF LEAD; WORKINGS AT 300 FT EXPOSED 4 INCH VEIN OF PYRARGYRITE

Comments on development

  • WORKED INTERMITTENTLY IN LATE 1870'S, EARLY 1880'S AND TO MINOR DEGREE IN 1900'S; OPERATORS INCLUDED MELBA MINING CO. (ACQUIRED PROPERTY IN 1897 AND WORKED FOR A FEW YEARS); MINE IS PATENTED

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SCHRADER, FRANK C.,1915, MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE SANTA RITA AND PATAGONIA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA: USGS BULLETIN 582, P. 264-265.

  • Deposit

    KEITH, STANTON B., 1975, INDEX OF MINING AND PROPERTIES IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA: ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 191, P. 56.

  • Deposit

    ABGMT FILE DATA, STANTON B. KEITH.

  • Deposit

    MOORES, RICHARD C., 1972, THE GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF APORTION OF THE HARSHAW DISTRICT, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA: M.S. THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, P. 73.

  • Deposit

    SIMONS, FRANK S., 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP AND SECTIONS OF THE NOGALES AND LOCHIEL QUADRANGLES, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA: USGS MAP I-762, SCALE 1:48000.

  • Deposit

    SIMONS, FRANK S., 1972, MESOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY OF THE PATAGONIA MOUNTAINS AND ADJOINING AREAS, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA: USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 658-E.

  • Deposit

    USBM FILES, ALTA MINE.

  • Deposit

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

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1870'S
Deposit MINERALIZATION OCCURS ALONG HANGING-WALL SIDE OF RHYOLITE DIKE EMPLACED IN FAULT FISSURE; LENSING ORE SHOOTS AT GREATER DEPTHS; HIGH GRADE SILVER HALIDES IN OXIDIZED SURFACE ZONE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1982 Calder, Susan R. Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology
Updater 01-DEC-1992 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

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Arizona resources

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