Lordsburg District, Pyramid Mts, Hidalgo Co., New Mexico, USA

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The Lordsburg District is located in the extreme northern part of the Pyramid Mountains. It is an elongate District which trends N-S and is about seven miles long by three miles wide. Latitude-longitude and UTM location is for the Eighty-Five Mine, one of the largest mines in the district.

This is the most important district in Hidalgo County in terms of total production value and the 4th ranking district in New Mexico for copper production. Total value of production from 1870 to 1975 has been estimated at 60 million dollars. Average ore grade at the Eighty-Five Mine was 2.8% Cu, 1.23 oz Ag/ton, and 0.11 oz Au/ton.


The northern part of this district contains deposits of the copper-tourmaline class of veins which are the most productive deposits of this type in the United States. Ore occurs in E- to NE-striking veins but the largest ore bodies are found in the NE-striking veins. The Emerald vein, at the Eighty-Five Mine, has been mined continuously for a strike length of more than 4000 feet and a vertical depth of about 2000 feet. The average width of the Emerald Vein is about 6.5 feet.

Exposed rocks in the district are extrusive and intrusive volcanics ranging in age from Upper Cretaceous to Pliocene but consisting chiefly of basaltic andesite flows intruded by a porphyritic granodiorite stock. Major faults trend N-S along the margins of the Pyramid Mountains.

This district contains some of the deepest workings in New Mexico and includes several well-developed mines which exceed 2000 feet in depth. The most extensive workings are in the Eighty-Five Mine, the Bonney Mine and the Atwood-Henry Clay Mine. Although mainly an underground mining district, some small open pit operations have been attempted.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

Acanthite Actinolite Albite var: Andesine var: Oligoclase 'Albite-Anorthite Series' Amphibole Supergroup var: Uralite Ankerite Anorthite var: Labradorite 'Apatite' Arsenopyrite Augite Aurichalcite Azurite Baryte 'Biotite' Bornite Brochantite Calcite Cerussite Chalcanthite

Chalcocite Chalcopyrite 'Chert' Chlorargyrite 'Chlorite Group' Chrysocolla Copper Covellite Cuprite Descloizite Digenite Dravite Epidote Fluorite Galena Goethite Gold Hematite var: Specularite Hemimorphite Jarosite

Kaolinite Libethenite 'Limonite' Linarite Magnetite Malachite 'Manganese Oxides var: Manganese Dendrites' Massicot Molybdenite Mottramite Muscovite var: Sericite Olivenite 'Olivine' Orthoclase Oxyplumboroméite Powellite Pseudomalachite Pyrite Pyrolusite Pyromorphite Quartz

Quartz var: Chalcedony Rhodochrosite Rosasite Sanidine Saponite Siderite var: Manganoan Siderite Silver Smithsonite Sphalerite Stephanite Tenorite Tetrahedrite Titanite 'Tourmaline' Vanadinite Wulfenite Zircon

94 entries listed. 64 valid minerals.

Localities in this Region

USA New Mexico Hidalgo Co. Pyramid Mts Lordsburg District Lee Peak Pyramid District Campbell Mine Fluorite Group prospect (Kneyer prospect) Last Chance Mine Leitendorf Mine (Venus Mine; Viola Mine) Lone Star Prospect Nellie Bly Mine Robert E Lee Mine Silver Bell Susie Mine Shakespeare Arroyo Virginia District Aberdeen Mine (Morningstar Mine) Ada Etta Mine (Mikesell group) Atwood Mine (Alamo Mine) Battleship Mine BB65 claim Big Three Mine Bluebird Draw prospect Bluebird Mine Bonney Mine (Banner Mine) CC23 claim CC24 claim Century Mine Cerussite prospect Clementine Mine

USA New Mexico Hidalgo Co. Pyramid Mts Lordsburg District Virginia District Cobre Negra Mine (Cobra Negra Mine) Copper Reef Mine Eighty-Five Mine (85 Mine; Superior Mine; Dundee Mine; Jim Crow Mine) Forks prospect Frances Kay Mine (Atlantic Mine; Aberdeen Camp) Gamco Mine (Rosa Mine) Gary Anita Mine General Jerry Boyle Goodsight Mine (Bonnie Jean Mine) Green King Mine (White Cloud Mine) Henry Clay Mine Hilltop East prospect Hilltop prospect Homestake-Needmore Mine Horn Silver Mine (Eldorado Mine) Lady Mary Mine Last Chance Mine Miser's Chest Mine (Lena Mine) Nellie Gray Mine Owl Mine Pole Line prospect Randal prospect Roadside prospect Ruth Mine Schley claim Section 18 prospect Waldo Mine Walker prospect

References