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Las Vigas

Past Producer in Chihuahua, Mexico with commodities Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold, Barium-Barite
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  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. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10090184
MRDS ID MX02271
Record type Site
Current site name Las Vigas
Alternate or previous names Alicia, Anexas De Alicia, Santa Elena
Related records 10278760

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -104.98384, 29.35023 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 10000(meters)
Relative position 10-15 KM N OF VIGAS (CU) AND 35 KM NW OF GIOCONDA (CU)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Pima(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Redford(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Presidio(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Geographic areas

Country State
Mexico Chihuahua

Comments on the location information

  • ESTIMATED TO NEAREST 15 SECONDS. 20 KM SE OF COYAME, WEST SIDE OF RANGE ALOING N-S RANGE FRONT NORMAL FAULT. 50 KM W OF OJINAGA 3 KM NW OF THE RIO CONCHOS. A GOOD MAP IN PRICE ET AL, 1988.; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = H13-8 OJINAGA 1:250000

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Silver Secondary
Gold Secondary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PB CONTENT: UP TO 10%. CU OCCURS AS CUPRIFEROUS SANDSTONE (CLARK AND DE LA FUENTE, 1978)

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcocite Ore
Cuprite Ore
Malachite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Gypsum Gangue

Analytical data

Result COMPOSITE ORE SAMPLE: 5.2% CU, 41.1 G/MT AG, 17 G/MT AU. HIGH-GRADE ORE UP TO 20-30% CU. 28 ELEMENT ANALYSIS, 9 SAMPLES DATA GIVEN IN PRICE ET AL, 1988.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 197
USGS model code 30b
Deposit model name Sediment-hosted Cu
Mark3 model number 63

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Vigas Formation
    Rock description Vigas Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -104.98384, 29.35023
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Laramide Thrusting Of Cret Rocks Along De Collements Of Underlying Jurasssic Evaporites. Kolds In Mine Area Are Laramide Features.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Cupriferous Layers Faulted In Several Places. Low-Grade Near Faults. Strike Slip Faults At The Las Vigas Mine (Weed, 1902 And De La Fuente, 1973) Probably Formed During Laramide Compression Which Was Dominatly E Ne Perpendicular To Major Fold Axes In Mine Area.

Ore body information

  • General form STRATIFORM
    Thickness 1.5M
    Length 1100M
    Width 350M
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 60.96M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Stratiform

Comments on the geologic information

  • FOLDED LIMESTONE WITH INTERBEDDED SANDSTONE AND SHALE, LOCALLY OVERLAIN BY SPARSELY DISTRIBUTED OUTCROPS OF RHYOLITIC TUFF. TUFA DEPOSITS OCCUR IN THE VICINITY. THE VIGAS CU ORE IN FINE GRAINED SANDSTONE OF THELOWER CRET. LAS VIGAS FM. THE GEOLOGY AND STRATIG REPLY IS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL IN PRICE ET AL, 1988. VOLC. ACTIVITY IN THE REGION SPANS A TIME RANGE FROM MIDDLE EOCENE (CA 48 MY) TO EARLY MIOCENE (CA 17 MY) [ HENRY AND MCDOWELL, 1986 MENRG ET AL , 1986]. COPPER IS CONCENTRATED IN UPPER THIRD OF THE 1200 M THICK LAS VIGAS FORMATION BELOW THE LIMESTONE CAPMARCHING THE TRANSITION TO THE OVERLAYING CUCHILLO FORMATION. THERE ARE 3 MAIN CU BEDS EACH AVERGING 1- 1.5 M THICK AND OCCURING IN FINE SANDY LAYERS. THE VIGAS FM. HAS RED AND DARK GREY SHALE INTERBEDDED WITH RED AND GREY SANDSTONE AND THIN LAYERS OF LIMESTONE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1902
Year of first production 1902
Year of last production 1973

Mining district

District name Las Vigas District/Coyame Area

Production statistics

  • Year 1929
    Material ORE CU PB AG
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^96 G/Mt Ag, 10% Cu, 10% Pb
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Silver Silver 96g/mt
    Ore Lead Lead 10wt-pct
    Ore Copper Copper 10wt-pct

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ASSUMING 25M DOWNDIP, 1.0-1.5 M THICK, 20-30 M WIDE, 1,100M THICK AND 3 SEPERATE LAYERS. COPPER IS 3% OF WHICH 58% IS SULFIDE ORE.

Comments on development

  • PREVALENT THROUGHT TEXAS-CHIHUAHUA AREA, SEE CLARK AND DE LA FUENTE, 1978 FOR DETAILS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    GONZALEZ REYNA, J., 1956, MEMORIA GEOLOGICO-MINERA DEL ESTADO DE CHIHUAHUA: CONGRESO GEOLOGICO INTERNACIONAL, 20TH, DURANGO, MEXICO, 1956, P. 179-181.

  • Deposit

    WEED, W.H., 1902, NOTES ON CERTAIN MINES IN THE STATES OF CHIHUAHUA, SINALOA AND SONORA, MEXICO: AIME TRANS., V. 32, P. 402-404.

  • Deposit

    SOCIEDAD GEOLOGICA MEXICANA A.C., 1985, PLANO GEOLOLGICO MINERO DE CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO: CONSEJO DE RECURSOS MINERALES AND FEDERAL GOVERNEMNT OF MEXICO D.F., 1 SHEET, SCALE 1:500,000

  • Deposit

    SPP, 1983, OJINAGA

  • Deposit

    PRICE, J.T.,ET AL,1988,

  • Deposit

    DE LA FUENTE L., F.E., 1973,

  • Deposit

    GILES, D.A., ET AL, 1973

  • Deposit

    KING, R.E., AND ATKINS,W.S., 1946,

  • Deposit

    WEED, W.H., 1902

  • Deposit

    HENRY, C.D., AND MCDOWELL, F.W., 1986

  • Deposit

    HENRY, C.D., ET AL, 1986

  • Deposit

    CLARK, K.F., AND DE LA FUENTE L., F.E., 1978

  • Production

    GONZALEZ, 1956.;DE LA FUENTE, 1973

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit TH LAS VIGAS DEPOSIT HAS MANY STRUCTURAL AND MINERALOGIC CHARACTERISTICS TYPICAL OF STRATIFORM RED-BEDED COPPER DISTRICTS WORLDWIDE. ORE BODIES HERE OCCUR AS DISCONTINOUS LENSES, OR MANTOS, IN SANDSTONES. ALTHOUGH BEDS ARE NOW VERTICAL ACCCORDING TO PRICE ET AL, 1988 THEY ARE NOT VEINS BUT INSTEAD TYPICAL RED-BED DEPOSIT.HIGHEST GRADE MINERALIZATION IS IN MOST PERMEABLE SEDIMENTS. WEED (1902) VISITED THE MINE WHEN IT WAS ACTIVE AND SAW 3 MANTOS BEING MINED. DE LA FUENTE (1973) NOTES 10 MANTOS, PRICE (1988) HAS MANTOS. COPPER TO SILVER RATIO IS 3,700 BY WEIGHT AND AG/AU 600 BY WEIGHT. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB
Deposit THREE LAYERS OF SANDSTONE AND SHALE IMPREGNATED WITH CARBONATES, OXIDES AND SULFIDES OF CU. 1.65-3.92 M THICK. NODULES AND FILMS OF AZURITE, MALACHITE AND CUPRITE GRADING INTO CHALCOPYRITE AND CHALCOCITE AT DEPTH (35-50 FT). MAIN ORE BEDS CUT BY CROSS FAULTS AND VEINS OF GYPSUM AND CALCITE WITH MINOR CU VALUES. STRATIFORM RED BED COPPER DEPOSIT WITH LOW AG AND INSIGNIFICANT GOLD (PRICE ET AL , 1988). CU BEDS OCCUR AS 4 DISTINCT 1-1.5 M THICK MANTOS IN FINE GRAINED SANDY LAYERS. DE LA FUENTE (1973) DETERMINED THAT OUTCROPPING MANTOS RANGE 20-350 M WIDE, 1,100 M LONG.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-88 Leonard, Kenneth R. (Page, Norman J.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-AUG-91 Kibbe, R.D. (Staude, J-M.G.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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