Verde District, Black Hills (Black Hill Range), Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA

‡Ref.: Lindgren, W. (1926), Ore deposits of the Jerome and Bradshaw Mountains quadrangles, Arizona, USGS Bull. 782: 54-60.

Anthony, J.W., et al (1995), Mineralogy of Arizona, 3rd. ed.: 235.

This district lies on the eastern slope of the Black Hills, extends NNW, and occupies an area about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. This area lies about parallel to the broad valley of the Verde River. The principal town is Jerome.

The summit of the Black Hills is covered by a thick flow of Tertiary basalt, which on the flat Mingus Mountain reached an altitude of 7,720 feet, or 4,500 feet above the Verde River. The basalt rests on horizontal Paleozoic limestones, here about 1,000 feet thick and having a sandstone layer at the base (Tapeats sandstone). Below the Paleozoic succession, which is barren of ore deposits, are the Pre-Cambrain peneplaned rocks, which contain the mineral wealth of the district.

The greatest single structural feature of the district is the Verde fault, which is traceable with a NNW-ly direction across the whole northwestern part of the Jerome quadrangle. This fault, by exposing the Pre-Cambrain rocks, has made possible the exploitation of the ore bodies.

This is a copper mining area with accessory gold and silver. Production from 1883 to about 1926 has been $126,000,000 in copper; $12 million in silver and $9 million in gold.