Latitude: 31°43'33"N
Longitude: 110°52'49"W
‡Ref.: Schrader, F.C., and Hill, J.M. (1910) Some occurrences of molybdenite in the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains, Arizona, in Contributions to economic geology (short papers and preliminary reports) 1909 - Part I--Metals and nonmetals except fuels: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 430, p. 154-163.
Schrader, F.C. & J.M. Hill (1915), Mineral deposits of the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains, Arizona, USGS Bull. 582: 168, 173-175.
MRDS database Dep. ID #10162135, MAS ID #0040230280.
These prospects are located in the N½N½N½ sec. 2, T20S, R14E, 3 miles south of McCleary Camp and about ½ mile south of White House, in Madera Canyon, in the foothill part of its course, on National Forest land. They range from about 4,500 to 5,000 feet in elevation and trend nearly north along the creek, extending half a mile on each side of the county line (NOTE: Please also see the corresponding file for the Pima County side of deposit/prospects). Owned by Mr. McCleary.
The country rock is Precambrian (?) granite. It has been fractured by dynamic disturbances, and along the more prominent of the resulting joints and fault fissures occur the quartz veins that contain the prospects. These veins range from 1 foot to 12 feet or more in width and are mostly compound veins or stockworks. They are principally associated with intrusive aplite or allied dikes, with which the deposits are probably genetically connected.
The southernmost prospect of note is situated on the west side of the creek at an elevation of 4,990 feet. It is on a small, somewhat iron-stained quartz vein that carries pyrite, chalcopyrite, and flaky molybdenite and dips 70ºN. A 20 foot thick dike of aplitic granite forms the hanging wall.
Just south of the road forks, in the creek bank at an elevation of 4,765 feet, in a fine-grained phase of the granite, a 4-foot vein of iron-stained, honeycombed quartz dipping steeply to the north is observed. On surface the vein exposes a little flaky molybdenite and a very minor amountof pyrite and chalcopyrite.
On the east side of the creek, about 200 feet from the road, at an elevation of 4,675 feet, the granite is traversed by a stockwork several feet in width, composed mainly of veins and massive, iron-stained, dark smoky quartz. It strikes N.60ºE. and the dip is vertical or steep to the north. The quartz is in part drusy or comby. It is concentrated along the north, or hanging wall, side of the fissures, where it is from 6 inches (15 cm) to 2 feet (60 cm) wide and contains a little pyrite and a lesser amount of chalcopyrite. Associated in part with the pyrite and chalcopyrite and occurring also independently of them, exposed at many places on the joint planes, are flakes of molybdenite that are locally concentrated in masses a ¼ inch thick and covering an area of about 1 square inch (6.25 square cm). Flaky aggregates and small bodies of pure molybdenite also occur in the druses and otherwise enclose in the quartz. Associated with the larger masses of the molybdenite and also with limonite on the joints near the surface is a soft, yellowish, earthy material which looks like clay but which, on examination, was found to be ferrous iron sulphate. A steeply dipping (to the SE) dike of fine-grained aplitic granite was exposed in the tunnel and with which the molybdenite is probably genetically connected.
Workings include a reported 40 foot deep shaft
Mineral List
7 entries listed. 5 valid minerals.
The above list contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please
register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
Mineral and Locality Search
