Copper Basin placers, Copper Basin Wash, Kirkland area, Copper Basin Mining District, Sierra Prieta Mountains, Yavapai County, Arizona, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
34° 27' 23'' North , 112° 35' 53'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Group of Placers
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wilhoit | 868 (2011) | 3.5km |
| Prescott | 41,899 (2017) | 15.1km |
| Peeples Valley | 428 (2011) | 24.0km |
| Williamson | 5,438 (2011) | 26.5km |
| Yarnell | 649 (2011) | 29.5km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Prescott Gem & Mineral Club | Prescott Valley, Arizona | 31km |
Mindat Locality ID:
46775
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:46775:8
GUID (UUID V4):
04e13d74-1805-4a05-aa83-6a6007dc9721
A placer gold deposit area located North of Copper Basin Wash, between Skull Valley and the Sierra Prieta. Started about the 1880's. Reactivated about 1929. Placers were located all along Copper Basin Wash in the early 1930's.
A plain slopes southwestward from an elevation of 5,500 feet at the base of the Sierra Prieta to 4,000 feet at the junction of Skull Valley and Copper Basin Washes. Most of this plain is floored with extensive deposits of gravel, sand, and clay, locally interbedded and mantles with volcanic tuffs and flows, but its easternmost one to three miles of width is a pediment that has been carved on granite. The whole area is dissected by many southwestward-trending gulches which are tributary to Skull Valley Wash.
The bedrock of the placers generally consists of cemented gravels, but, in certain areas relatively far from the mountains, it is hard clay. The gold-bearing gravels are made up largely of granitic sand together with various amounts of boulders and clay. The gold-bearing gravels form a relatively thin mantle on the ridges, but range in thickness from 3 or 4 feet up to 15, or more, feet in the gulches. The richest streaks are generally near bedrock. The gold is 925 to 950 fine.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Cinnabar Formula: HgS Description: Placer material throughout the SW portion of the field as small particles. |
| ⓘ Gold Formula: Au Description: Placer gold from small specks to nuggets of several ounces weight. Near the mountains the fragments are wiry to angular and coarse. |
| ⓘ 'Gold Amalgam' |
| ⓘ Magnetite Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4 Description: Occurs as magnetic black sand in placers. |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Cinnabar | 2.CD.15a | HgS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Magnetite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Gold Amalgam' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Cinnabar | HgS |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Gold | Au |
| Hg | Mercury | |
| Hg | ⓘ Cinnabar | HgS |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Great Plains DomainDomain
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References
(n.d.) Minerals Availability System (MAS), U.S. Bureau of Mines.file ID #0040250552
