Cerro Colorado District, Cerro Colorado Mts, Pima Co., Arizona, USA

‡Ref.: Jones, R.D. (1957) Geology of the Cerro Colorado mining district, Pima County, Arizona: Tucson, University of Arizona, M.S. thesis, 59 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:14,080.

Jones, R.D. (195_) Geology of the Cerro Colorado mining district, Pima County, Arizona [abs.]: Arizona Geological Society Digest, v. 1, p. 42-43.

Chaffee, M.A. (1964) Dispersion patterns as a possible guide to ore deposits in the Cerro Colorado district, Pima County, Arizona: Tucson, University of Arizona, M.S. thesis, 69 p.

Keith, Stanton B. (1974), Arizona Bureau of Geology & Mineral Technology, Geological Survey Branch Bull. 189, Index of Mining Properties in Pima County, Arizona: 113 (Table 4).

Anthony, J.W., et al (1995), Mineralogy of Arizona, 3rd. ed.: 423.

Arizona Bureau of Mines file data.

A Ag-Au-Cu-Pb-Zn (Hg) mining area located in T.20S., R.10E. in the Cerro Colorado Mountains.

Mineralization is epithermal quartz-fissure veins with minor base metal sulfides and mercury-bearing tetrahedrite. Silver and gold enrichment occur in oxidized zones. Host rocks are a complex of Cretaceous quartz latite and andesite porphyry flows and tuff with some interbedded sedimentary beds, invaded by Laramide (?) andesite porphyry, rhyolite and dioritic plugs and dikes.

This is one of the oldest producing areas in Arizona with scattered small, and relatively shallow, mines and prospects active intermittently from at least the 1770's to about 1950. Total estimated and recorded production has been some 4,500 tons of ore containing about 376,000 oz. Ag, 460 oz. Au and minor Cu & Pb.