Middle Pass District, Dragoon Mts, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA

Ref.: Cederstrom, D.J. (1946a) Geology of the central Dragoon Mountains, Arizona: Tucson, University of Arizona, Ph.D. dissertation, 93 p.

Cederstrom, D.J. (1946b) The structural geology of the Dragoon Mountains, Arizona: American Journal of Science: 244(9): 601-621, 1 sheet, scale 1:31,680.

Wilson, E.D. (1951) Dragoon Mountains, Chap. II, in Arizona zinc and lead deposits, Part II: Arizona Bureau of Mines Bulletin no. 158, p. 10-13.

Gilluly, James (1956) General geology of central Cochise County, Arizona, with sections on age and correlation, by A.R. Palmer, J.S. Williamson, and J.B. Reeside, Jr.: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 281, 169 p., 13 sheets, scale 1:62,500.

Keith, Stanton B. (1973), Arizona Bureau of Geology & Mineral Technology, Geological Survey Branch Bull. 187, Index of Mining Properties in Cochise County, Arizona: 10-11, 67 (Table 4).

This is a Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag-Au-W-Fe mining district located in T.17,18S., R.23,24E. It is principally a copper-tungsten and barite mining area with minor production of lead, zinc, gold and silver. It is located at the southern end of the Dragoon Mts. It is also infrequently called the Southern Dragoon Mountains District, West Pearce District, and North Turquoise District; however, these appelations are too seldomly used to be listed prominently.

Deposits occur as relatively shallow pyrometasomatic mantos and chimneys in Paleozoic limestones just South of a large Laramide intrusive body.

The district contains numerous scattered mines and prospects. Production through 1970 totaled 76,000 tons of ore yielding 75 tons of barite, 1,005 tons of copper, 137 tons of lead, 4,621 tons of zinc, 337 ounces of gold and 147,000 ounces of silver (tungsten = ??).