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Dulces Nombres

Past Producer in San Luis Potosi, Mexico 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. Production statistics
  16. Reserves and resources
  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 10050451
MRDS ID MX22000
Record type Site
Current site name Dulces Nombres
Alternate or previous names El Abra Mines, Guadalupana

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -101.20038, 22.66715 (WGS84)
Elevation 2000
Relative position 70 KM N OF SAN LUIS POTOSI, 15 KM W OF RAILROAD AT ENRAMADA, OR 20 MI SW OF MOCTEZUMA BY TERRIBLE ROADS

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pima(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Mexico San Luis Potosi

Comments on the location information

  • DULCES NOMBRES IS A NS TRENDING RANGE

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • TERLINGUATE IS FOUND FOR THE FIRST TIME AT DULCES NOMBRES. CALOMEL OCCURS AS COLORLESS CRYSTALS AND EARTHY MASSES; TERLINGUATE AS CANARY YELLOW AND YELLOW-GREEN POWDER.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Metacinnabar Ore
Calcite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Conspicuously Lacking, Except For Supergene Oxidation Resulting In Universal Hg Minerals And Native Hg.

Analytical data

Result HOST ROCK: 46.35% CAO
Result 12.46 % SIO2
Result 1.93% AL2O3
Result 36.42% CO2, 1.3% C
Result FE TRACE. TOTAL: 98.46%

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous

Nearby scientific data

(1) -101.20038, 22.66715
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description 50 Degree Westward Tilt And Contemporaneous Normal (?) Faulting, In Which The Range Was Uplifted Along A Scarp Forming The East Slope. Nappe-Like And Z-Shaped Later Faulted Folds. Direction Of Compression Is Ew.

Ore body information

  • General form POCKETS AND STRINGERS
    Strike NS
    Dip 0 TO 50 W
    Length 400M
    Depth to bottom 100M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ns Trending Nappe-Like And Z-Shaped Folds Verge On Thrust Faults At Depth, With Gouge And Slickensides. Ore Is Localized In The Downward Opening Acute Angles Of These Folds In The Associated Breccia. An Impervious Gouge Cap Envelopes The Breccia.

Comments on the geologic information

  • GEOL.COM: THIS IS AN UNUSUAL DEPOSIT, IN THAT NO CLOSELY ASSOCIATED IGNEOUS ROCKS OR OTHER VALUABLE MINERALS ARE PRESENT. FURTHERMORE, NO SILICA OR SULFUR OR METAL SALTS ARE PRESENT IN THE VEINS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Year of first production 1890
Year of last production 1943

Mining district

District name Moctezuma District

Production statistics

  • Year 1908
    Material HG
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^3.98% Hg Ore
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Mercury Mercury 4wt-pct
  • Year 1909
    Period 1900-1909
    Material HG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^3-15% Hg
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Mercury Mercury 9wt-pct

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1943
    Total resources 1500000fl
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Mercury Hg 0.5 wt-pct Mercury Major 1943

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • HG IN UNSORTED DUMPS, NOT INCLUDING FUTURE DISCOVERIES. IN 1909, THERE WERE 1000 M ALONG STRIKE OF PROMISING UNEXPLORED GROUND. TO THE EAST, INDICATIONS OF FOLDING SUGGESTED NEED FOR EXPLORATION. ORE BODIES MAY BE HIGH GRADE, BUT EXPLORATION COSTS ARE HIGH DUE TO THEIR SCATTERED NATURE. THIS IS MITIGATED BY THE FACT THAT DISTORTED ROCK PROVIDES A GOOD INDICATION OF POSSIBLE ORE BODIES.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Unknown
    Overall depth 100M

Comments on the workings information

  • OPENED IN 1890 BUT NOT CAREFULLY MINED UNTIL AROUND 1909. IN 1909, WORKINGS EXTENDED AROUND 400 M ALONG STRIKE. INTERMITTENT PRODUCTION UNTIL AT LEAST 1943.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BABB, P., 1909, DULCES NOMBRES QUICKSILVER DEPOSIT, MEXICO: ENG. AND MIN. JOUR., V. 88, NO. 14, PP. 684-686.

  • Deposit

    GALLAGHER, D., 1942, MEMO TO MR. HEWITT, RECON. VISIT TO DULCES NOMBRES, USGS.

  • Deposit

    STORM, L.W., 1942, RECON. REPT. ON DULCES NOMBRES-GUADALUPANA MINES, USGS, UNPUBLISHED.

  • Production

    BABB, 1909.

  • Reserve-Resource

    BABB, 1909; GALLAGHER, 1942

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit UNKNOWN WHETHER GUADALUPANA IS SYNONYM OR ADJACENT MINE. LARGEST PRODUCER IN SAN LUIS POTOSI. WATER IS SCARCE. RECOVERY OF VERY PURE HG WAS 90% IN 1909 AND 94% RECOVERY WAS EXPECTED WITH EXPERIENCE. THE HISTORY OF DULCES NOMBRES SUGGESTS CAUSE FOR HOPE: EACH INTENSIVE EXPLORATION EFFORT FOUND MINEABLE ORE BODIES. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT
Deposit WIDELY SHATTERED HIGH GRADE ZONES

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1978 Slagle, Letha P. (Rytuba, J.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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