Latitude: 32°52'53"N
Longitude: 109°32'2"W
An underground Cu-Au mine located in secs. 25 & 26, T6S, R27E, 9 miles ENE of Safford, at Sanchez, on BLM-administered land. Lat-long is for approximate central point of the mineralized area - the old shaft in sec. 26 is at 32-52-57N, 109-32-43W; the prospect in sec. 25 is at 32-52-53N, 109-32-02W. Discovered 1899. Produced 1899 to the late 1930's. Owned and operated by the Azco Mining Inc., Lakewood, CO (1988). Also known as / designated: Maravilla Copper Co.; Lone Wolf shaft; Lead Hill; Kirtland Hill group; Iron King; Consolidated Metals MS 4590 claim; Clara; Bear Creek; United Nuclear; Nancy group; Arichise Copper Co.; Bellmon; Bob Carresco; Carpenter; Esperanza Sanchez; AZCO Minintg Inc. project; Kennecott Safford Mine; Carpenter Mine; Safford Inspiration Mine; and McBride. Unpatented mining claims extend into secs. 13-16 & 18-24, 26-28, and 34-36; and secs. 23-36, T5S, R26E.
Mineralization is a pipe-shaped porphyry copper deposit hosted in Safford Volcanics and breccia that is 762 meters long and 762 meters wide and 1066.8 meters thick, hosted in volcanic agglomerate and andesite. Ore centered on oldest of four monzonite porphyry intrusive phases but mostly hosted by andesite. Associated rock unit is the Lone Star pluton (monzonite). Concentration was hydrothermal and oxidation. Ore control was NE-trending shears intruded by dikes. Ore concentration was shearing and fracturing of older andesites, followed by intrusion of later igneous plugs and porphyries alogn shear zones. Shearing and fracturing continued, followed by alteration and iron and copper sulfide mineralization. The deposit later was enriched by formation of a chalcocite enrichment blanket. It was subsequently covered by volcanics. NW block faulting uplifted and tilted the Gila Mountains and further oxidized the deposit.
Alteration involves four hypogene alteration zones: 1) Sericitization & silicification in rhyolite, latite, and quartz latite; 2) Biotization in andesite; 3) Chloritization; and 4) Propylitic alteration. The ore body is in zones 1 & 2. Supergene enrichment has taken place to average dept of 440 feet.
Quartz monzonite is associated with the mineralization. The ore grade is highest in the main stock. The oxide zone extends to 1050 feet depth. Mixed oxide/native copper zone from 1050 to 1200 feet depth, sulfide below 1200 feet depth. A small chalcocite enrichment blanket formed in the breccia pipe but was later oxidized. The oxide zone consists of coatings of chrysocolla, neotocite, tenorite, minor native copper, and trace atacamite on fractures accompanied by goethite, minor hematite, and rare jarosite. Chrysocolla also occurs as disseminations in plagioclase. The mixed zone consists of Chrysocolla, neotocite, native copper, delafossite, cuprite (?), chalcopyrite, bornite, and minor molybdenite. The original total sulfide content averaged 1.5 vol. % with up to 5 vol. % in the breccia pipe. Protore grade was about 0.3% Cu.
Area structures include the Lone Star shear zone 6000 feet wide and 16000 feet long that strikes N50°-65°E, steep to vertical dip.
Workings include a shaft sunk by Carpenter on oxide Cu ore outcrop about 1910. Porphyry Cu potential recognized by Bear Creek Mining Co. (Kennecott) in the 1950's. The first hole cut about 1000 feet of 1% Cu. Subsequently explored bys several uranium, oil and mining companies of which Inspiration did the most work. Inspiration (late 1960's to early 1970's) identified sulphide copper mineralization below the oxide zone, but Azco was not pursuing the sulphide mineralization in 1989. In 1993, BLM approved the project after Azco completed a full environmental impact statement process. A total of 150 holes have been drilled with 190,000 feet of total footage.
Reserves amount to ore for at least 20 years of operation. Reserve-Resources: within the 250,000,000 st oxide reserve (1988) is an open pit minable block of 120,000,000 st at a grade of 0.37% Cu. Proposed open pit-heap leach operation. Development was to have begun in 1995. Plans to leach 100,000 to 150,000 tons/week.
Production: about 50,000 st bulk samples mined from open pits by Inspiration from 1969 to 1972. Azco mined additional bulk samples from the same pits.
References
Weed, W.H. (1912-1913) The Copper Handbook, Vol. XI: 67.
Cook and Robinson (1962) New Mexico Geological Society 13th. Field Conference Guidebook.
Robinson, R.F. & A. Cook (1966), The Safford copper deposit, Lone Star mining district, Graham County, Arizona, in S.R. Titley and C.L. Hicks (editors), Geology of the porphyry copper deposits, southwestern North America, University of Arizona Press, Tucson: 251-266.
Rose, A.W. (1970), Zonal relations of wallrock alteration and sulfide distribution at porphyry copper deposits, Economic Geology: 65: 920-936.
Laine, R.P. (1974) Geological-geochemical relationships between porphyry copper and porphyry molybdenum ore deposits: Tucson, University of Arizona, Ph.D. dissertation, 326 p.
Bolin, D.S. (1976) A geochemical comparison of some barren and mineralized igneous complexes of southern Arizona: Tucson, University of Arizona, M.S. thesis, 186 p.
Dewhurst, J. (1976) Chemical ratios of Laramide igneous rocks and their relation to a paleosubduction zone under Arizona: Tucson, University of Arizona, M.S. thesis, 128 p.
Dunn, P.G. (1978) Geologic structure of the Safford district, Arizona, in Jenney, J.P., and Hauck, H.R., eds., Proceedings of the Porphyry Copper Symposium, Tucson, Arizona, March 18-20, 1976: Arizona Geological Society Digest: 11: 9-15.
Greeley, M.N. (1978) The primary copper industry of Arizona in 1975-1976: Arizona Department of Mineral Resources Special Report no. 2, SR-2, 87 p, 1 sheet.
Horsnail, R.F. (1978) Safford district, Graham County, Arizona, in Lovering, R.G., and McCarthy, J.H., Jr., eds., Conceptual models in exploration geochemistry; the Basin and Range Province of the western United States and northern Mexico: Journal of Geochemical Exploration: 9(2-3): 151-153, 241-243.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management Arizona Mining Claims Lead File #1724 (Jul 1980).
Yarter, W.V. (1981) Geology, geochemistry, alteration, and mass transfer in the Sol prospect, a sub-economic porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit, Safford district, Graham County, Arizona: Tucson, University of Arizona, M.S. thesis, 136 p.
Langton, J.M. and S.A. Williams (1982) Structural, Petrological and Mineralogical Controls for the Dos Pobres Orebody, in Advances in Geology of the Porphyry Copper Deposits, edited by Titley, S.R. Tucson, University of Arizona Press: 335-343.
Niemuth, N.J. (1987), Arizona Mineral Development 1984-1986, Arizona Department of Mines & Mineral Resources Directory 29, 46 pp.
Walenga, Karen (1989) AZCO Reviewing Feasibility Study of Sanchez Copper Project. Southwestern Pay Dirt, Mar 89: 3A.
Niemuth, N.J. & K.A. Phillips (1992), Copper Oxide Resources, Arizona Department Mines & Mineral Resources Open File Report 92-10: 8 (Table 1).
Sawyer, M.B., Gurmendi, A.C., Daley, M.R., and Howell, S.B. (1992) Principal Deposits of Strategic and Critical Minerals in Arizona, U.S. Bureau of Mines Special Publication, 334 pp.
Drier, J.E. (1994) Geology of the Sanchez Porphyry Copper Deposit: AZCO Mining Inc., unpublished report, 15 pp.
Anthony, J.W., et al (1995), Mineralogy of Arizona, 3rd. ed.: 106, 142, 146, 163, 166, 173, 185, 261, 309, 341, 404.
USGS Professional Paper 424-C: 151-153.
USGS & Arizona Bureau of Mines & U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mineral and Water Resources of Arizona, Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 180 (USGS Bull.871): 230-238.
Valentine (19??), MS thesis, University of Utah.
USGS Safford Quadrangle map.
Arizona Department of Mineral Resources Lone Star group file.
Arizona Department of Mineral Resources Sloop project file.
Arizona Department of Mineral Resources Nancy group of claims file.
Arizona Department of Mineral Resources U file.
Arizona Department of Mineral Resources Lone Star-Esperanza project file.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management Mining Claims Lead File #46578 (Jul, 1980).
MRDS database Dep. ID #10026888, MRDS ID #M000791; and Dep. ID #10027031, MRDS ID #M001755; and Dep. ID #10137644, MAS ID #0040090186; and (?) Dep. ID #10209543, MRDS ID #D000319, MAS ID #0040090003 (???); and Dep. ID #10112658, MAS ID #0040090005.
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