Arizona, USA

Refs.: The Resources of Arizona - A Manual of Reliable Information Concerning the Territory, compiled by Patrick Hamilton (1881), Scottsdale, AZ.

Guild, F.N. (1910), The mineralogy of Arizona, The Chemical Publishing Co., Easton, PA.

The History of Arizona, 2nd. state legislature, Chap. X: 135.

DeWolf, W.P. (1916), Tungsten in Arizona, Engineering and Mining Journal: 101: 680.

University of Arizona Bull. 41 (1916-17), Mineralogy of Useful Minerals in Arizona.

Jones, E.L., Jr. & F.L. Ransome (1920), Deposits of manganese ore in Arizona, USGS Bull. 710-D.

Wilson, E.D. (1927), Arizona gold placers, 2nd. Edition (revised), University of Arizona Bull. 124.

Tenney, J.B. (1928), The mineral industries of Arizona, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 125.

Wilson, E.D. & G.M. Butler (1930), Manganese ore deposits of Arizona, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 127.

Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 135 (1933), Arizona gold placers and placering.

Wilson, E.D., Cunningham, J.B., and Butler, G.M. (1934), Arizona Lode Gold Mines and Gold Mining (revised 1967), Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 137.

Wilson, E.D. (1941), Tungsten deposits of Arizona, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 148.

Wilson, E.D. (1944), Arizona nonmetallics: A summary of past production and present operations, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 152.

Galbraith, F.W. (1947), Minerals of Arizona, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 153.

Romslo, T.M. & S.F. Ravitz (1947), Arizona manganese-silver ores, U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation 4097.

Wilson, E.D., et al (1950), Arizona zinc & lead deposits, Part I, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 156.

Wilson, E.D., et al (1951), Arizona zinc and lead deposits, part II, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 158.

Galbraith, F.W. & D.J. Brennan (1959), Minerals of Arizona.

Stewart, L.A. & Pfister (1960), Barite deposits of Arizona, U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigaton 5651.

USGS & Arizona Bureau of Mines, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (1969), Mineral and Water Resources of Arizona, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 180 (USGS Bull.871).

Welty, J.W., Reynolds, S.J., Keith, S.B., Gest, D.E., Trapp, R.A., and DeWitt, Ed (1985) Mine index for metallic mineral districts of Arizona: Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology Bulletin 196, 92 p.

Welty, J.W., Reynolds, S.J., Spencer, J.E., and Trapp, R.A. (1985) Ore grades for metallic mineral districts of Arizona: Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology Open-File Report 85-12, 34 p.

Welty, J.W., Spencer, J.E., Allen, G.B., Reynolds, S.J., and Trapp, R.A. (1985) Geology and production of middle Tertiary mineral districts in Arizona: Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology Open-File Report 85-01, 88 p.

Reynolds, S.J., Welty, J.W., and Spencer, J.E. (1986) Volcanic history of Arizona: Fieldnotes [Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology]: 16(2): 1-5.

Welty, J.W., and Spencer, J.E. (1987) Geology and industrial uses of Arizona's volcanic rocks, in Peirce, H.W., ed., Proceedings of the 21st Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals: Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology Special Paper 4, p. 18-19.

Spencer, J.E., Reynolds, S.J., and Welty, J.W. (1988) Control of mineralization by Mesozoic and Cenozoic low-angle structures in west-central Arizona: Society of Mining Engineers, Inc., Preprint 88-46, 4 p.

Spencer, J.E., Reynolds, S.J., and Welty, J.W., (1988) Control of mineralization by Mesozoic and Cenozoic low-angle structures in west-central Arizona [abs.], in American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers Annual Meeting, 117th, Phoenix, Ariz., January 25-28, 1988, Program: American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, p. 18.

Sutphin, H.B., and Wenrich, K.J. (1988) Maps showing structural control of breccia pipes on the southern Marble Plateau, north-central Arizona [Cameron South, Coconino Point SE, Cameron North, Coconino Point, Shadow Mtn. Well, Blue Spring SE, Blue Spring, Desert View, Willow Springs, Pillow Mtn., Salt Trail Canyon, and Cape Solitude 7.5 minute topo maps]: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1778, 2 sheets, scales 1:50,000 and 1:250,000.

Welty, J.W., Roddy, M.S., Alger, C.S., and Brabb, E.E. (1988) Bibliography of Arizona landslide maps and reports: Arizona Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-14, 13 p.

Wenrich, K.J., Sutphin, H.B., and Van Gosen, B.S. (1988) Distribution of Redwall Limestone-hosted breccia pipes across NW Arizona and the geochemistry and mineralogy of their orebodies [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs: 20(7): A139.

Spencer, J.E., and Welty, J.W. (1989) Mid-Tertiary ore deposits in Arizona, in Jenney, J.P., and Reynolds, S.J., eds., Geologic evolution of Arizona: Arizona Geological Society Digest 17, p. 585-607.

Welty, J.W. (1989) Additions to bibliographies for metallic mineral districts in Arizona: Arizona Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-09, 25 p.

Welty, J.W., Reynolds, S.J., and Spencer, J.E. (1989) AZMIN, a digital database compilation for Arizona's metallic mineral districts [accompanied by floppy diskette(s)]: Arizona Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-08, 42 p., 1 3.5-inch diskette (MS-DOS).

Welty, J.W., Reynolds, S.J., Spencer, J.E., Horstman, K.C., and Trapp, R.A. (1989) List of selected references on the geology and mineral resources of Arizona: Arizona Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-05, 162 p.

Finch, W.I., Sutphin, H.B., Pierson, C.T., McCammon, R.B., and Wenrich, K.J. (1990) The 1987 estimate of undiscovered uranium endowment in the solution-collapse breccia pipes in the Grand Canyon region of northern Arizona and adjacent Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1051, 19 p.

Wenrich, K.J., Van Gosen, B.S., and Sutphin, H.B. (1990) Genesis and distribution of uraninite in solution-collapse breccia pipes, northwestern Arizona, in Carter, L.M.H., ed., USGS research on energy resources--1990, Program and abstracts, Sixth V.E. McKelvey Forum on mineral and energy resources: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1060, p. 86-91.

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

Arizona is truly a mining state. Mineral deposits and occurrences are abundant all over the state. Early mining for silver occurred during the Spanish occupation when monks utilized Indian labor to work rich surficial deposits. Shortly after Arizona became a territory, prospecting in earnest began. Some of the first local governments were formal mining districts organized by the local mine operators to establish rules for, and enforcement of, claims and other issues of common interest, thus, mining districts in Arizona are significant. Descriptions and historical details for the more significant districts are provided under each district's locality file.

A brief primer on terminology for Arizona is in order since the usage of names is confusing at times. A claim can be either patented or unpatented. Patented claims are, in essence, private land. Claim size has been limited by law, usually 200 feet by 2000 feet and claims may have individual names and/or a number. As a result, more than one claim may constitute a mine and a mine may have several sub-names based on individual claims. Often a mine is named after the claim upon which the principal workings, such as the shaft and mill, are located. A mine property may be constituted of patented and/or unpatented claims. Mine shafts are also often named, as well as adits or haulage tunnels. The names applied may correspond with the mine name, the claim name or another designation. Mines often have multiple shafts, either named and/or unnamed. A "property" can be a single claim or a group of claims. A "property" may also be an agricultural site such as a ranch upon which a mineral occurrence was discovered, but this term is usually applied to the aggregate land holdings owned by, or under the control of, an individual or corporation involved in mineral exploitation. A mine is a working on a property or claim(s). A property may have more than one mine on it. A vein is a continuous, or otherwise traceable, mineralized fault or fissure, that may be over one mile (1.6 km) long in some cases. There are often several claims on a single vein which may, or may not, be held by the same claimants. Often the claims staked on major veins are adjacent to the first claims filed and are termed "extensions" using the name of the original mine on the vein. Some mines have several named veins or ore bodies. These veins may have separate shafts (veins) or open pits (ore bodies). New names have been applied to some mines in recent years based on refiling of claims and resumption of mining operations for the retrieval of specimens (Pure Potential Mine, Purple Passion Mine, etc.). Common terms encountered in Arizona place names are "washes" or "dry washes," which are basically dry stream beds that may become violent torrents of water during storm episodes. These washes can run for many miles and have many tributary dry washes. Often the washes are the lower reaches of canyons and may have steep, rocky side walls. Thus, mines may be in washes, that is, in the sides of the wash canyon. Another term is "tanks." These are most often natural basins weathered into rock that might contain water. They might rarely also be shallow mine workings that likewise contain water. Mesas and buttes are natural flat-topped hills or mountains that may, or may not, be capped with a horizontal lava flow. Collapse structures are vertical geological chimneys, often filled with breccia collapse material, and may be mineralized. Paleochannels or "channels" are geological structures wherein ancient streams or rivers eroded a channel into existing rocks and these were subsequently filled with sedimentary matter belonging to a younger rock group, which may also be mineralized.

Early prospecting was principally for gold and silver. Later copper became significant. The world wars drew attention to other critical metals and non-metals alike such as molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, mica and beryllium. Finally, during the cold war, uranium became king. Ultimately Arizona became a state producing a wide range of ores. Many veins and deposits carry at least small amounts of gold and silver.

The History of Arizona, published by the 2nd. state legislature shortly after Arizona achieved statehood (circa 1914), presents the statistics for mining claims, by County, as of 1876: Yavapai - 7,298; Pima - 975 (includes present day Santa Cruz Co.); Maricopa - 200; Yuma - 580 (includes present day La Paz Co.); Pinal Co. - 552; and Mohave Co. - 2,000, for a state total of 11,605 (NOTE: some data by counties apparently missing).

Mining Districts usually, but not always, lie within a single county. A district may constitute a mountain range, part of a range, or several districts may lie within a single range. Several districts have multiple names just as is often the case with mines. Districts may also overlap. Many geographical place names associated with mining activities no longer exist (except as ghost towns). The prime example of this situation is Tiger - it was bulldozed down by subsequent large scale mining interests.

Arizona is substantially a desert and mountain wilderness state and many localities do not have "names" per se. Some localities are best identified using the township and range grid system coordinates and/or the US Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle designations. Both systems specifically and uniquely delineate quadralateral areas of land. Several USGS publications pertaining to specific areas within Arizona, designate specific localities, perhaps named or not, with a numerical designation (e.g., site No. 52, drywasher site 85, collapse structure 201, or channel [paleochannel] 60). These designations are perpetuated for the most remote areas of the state.

The names given to claims and mines were often duplicated by the prospectors and miners since there was no central repository for names, nor were there any restrictions on names. The frequent duplication of names requires diligence to insure that the proper locality is attributed to any given specimen. The prevailing social customs of the time may have allowed for names which are now considered racially or ethnically insensitive. Such names are an unfortunate historical fact and are only presented for historical accuracy with no intent of any offense.

Due to the extremely voluminous list of pertinent references for Arizona, only the most significant (usually state-wide or regional [spanning more than 1 county] references) are listed under this state file. Detailed references are listed under individual locality files up to the mining district and county levels.