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Payson District (Green Valley District), Gila Co., Arizona, USA

This is a gold-copper mining area located in T8-11N, R9-11E, around Payson, and encompassing the easternmost foothills of the Mazatzal Mountains, north of the Tonto Basin District, in northern Gila County. It was started in 1875 and worked until 1886, and intermittently thereafter.

This district is near the northern limit of the Mountain Region, within a few miles of the Mogollon escarpment that here marks the southern border of the Plateau Region. Elevation ranges from 3,400 to more than 5,000 feet. The district features broad valleys floored with Pre-Cambrian granite rocks that alternate with mesas capped by lower Paleozoic sandstone, which farther North, continues under the Paleozoic rocks of the plateau. South and West of Payson dissected slopes descend steeply to the valleys of Tonto Creek and the East Verde River. These slopes, which are floored with a faulted complex of schist and diorite, contain the principal gold-bearing quartz veins of the district.

Veins occur within fault zones that generally range in strike from N15W to 65W and dip northeastward. Oxidized portions of veins consist of rather cellular quartz with considerable hematite and limonite. Locally bunches of oxidized copper minerals, accompanied by free gold, are present.

Wall rocks, which are generally diorite, show alteration for several feet on either side of the veins to chlorite, sericite, and secondary quartz. In places kaolinite, probably derived from the sericite, is abundant.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities
Andradite
Azurite
Baryte
Bornite
Calcite
Chalcocite
Chalcopyrite
'Chert'
'Chlorite Group'
Chrysocolla
Chrysotile
Cinnabar
Covellite
Cuprite
Descloizite
var: Cuprian Descloizite
Dioptase
Epidote
Fluorite
Gold
Hematite
'Hornblende'
Kaolinite
Kyanite
Limonite
Malachite
Mottramite
var: Duhamelite

Muscovite
var: Sericite

Pyrite
Pyrolusite
Quartz
var: Agate
var: Amethyst
var: Chalcedony
Stibnite
Wulfenite


44 entries listed. 26 valid minerals.

Localities in this Region

USA
USA

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References

Lausen, C. & E.D. Wilson (1925), Gold and copper deposits near Payson, Arizona, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 120:


Wilson, E.D., et al (1934), Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 137: 182-185.

Pedersen, E.P. (1969) Sedimentology and stratigraphy of basin-fill sediments of the Payson Basin, Gila County, Arizona: Tempe, Arizona State University, M.S. thesis, 136 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:32,000.

Pedersen, E.P., and Royse, C.F. (1970) Late Cenozoic geology of the Payson Basin, Gila County, Arizona: Arizona Academy of Science, Journal: 6(2): 168-178.

Martinsen, R.S. (1975) Geology of a part of the East Verde River Canyon, near Payson, Arizona: Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University, M.S. thesis, 117 p.

Muehlberger, E.W., and Brumbaugh, D.S. (1986) Structural and Stratigraphic analysis of the Payson Basin, Gila County, Arizona [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs: 18(5): 398.

Richards, A.M., and Best, D.M. (1987) Modeling the Payson and Tonto Basins, central Arizona, using gravity data [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs: 19(7): 819.

Muehlberger, E.W. (1988) The structure and general stratigraphy of the western half of the Payson Basin, Gila County, Arizona: Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University, M.S. thesis, 85 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:24,000.

Brumbaugh, D.S. (1990) Stratigraphy and structure of the Payson Basin, in Late Cenozoic stratigraphy and tectonics of the Safford, Tonto, and Payson Basins, southeastern and central Arizona, in Gehrels, G.E., and Spencer, J.E., eds., Geologic excursions through the Sonoran Desert Region, Arizona and Sonora, Geological Society of America, Cordilleran section, 86th Annual Meeting, Tucson Arizona, March 14-16, 1990, Field-Trip Guidebook: Arizona Geological Survey Special Paper 7, p. 28.

Houser, B.B. (1990) Day one: Late Cenozoic stratigraphy and tectonics of the Safford Basin, southeastern Arizona, in Late Cenozoic stratigraphy and tectonics of the Safford, Tonto, and Payson Basins, southeastern and central Arizona, in Gehrels, G.E., and Spencer, J.E., eds., Geologic excursions through the Sonoran Desert Region, Arizona and Sonora, Geological Society of America, Cordilleran section, 86th Annual Meeting, Tucson Ariz., March 14-16, 1990, Field-Trip Guidebook: Arizona Geological Survey Special Paper 7, p. 20-24.

Martin, E.R. (1990) Structural and stratigraphic expression of late Cenozoic extensional tectonism, eastern and northern Payson Basin, central Arizona: Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University, M.S. thesis, 138 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:24,000.

Weitzman, Morley (2002) Geology and hydrology of the Payson-Strawberry-Diamond Rim area, Gila and Coconino Counties, central Arizona: Arizona Geological Survey Contributed Report CR-02-B, 17 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:62,500.

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Copyright © Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau 1993-2013. Site Map. Locality, mineral & photograph data are the copyright of the individuals who submitted them. Further information contact the Site hosted & developed by Jolyon Ralph. Mindat.org is an online information resource dedicated to providing free mineralogical information to all. Mindat relies on the contributions of hundreds of members and supporters. Mindat does not offer minerals for sale. If you would like to add information to improve the quality of our database, then click here to register.
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