Irene Mine (Irene group/vein; Dunkirk & Kentucky claims; Comstock prop.; American Manganese Mine; Liberty dep.; New Doughboy; Old Doughboy), Irene Gulch, Midland City, Globe Hills Mining District, Globe-Miami Mining District, Gila County, Arizona, USAi

Regional Level Types
Irene Mine (Irene group/vein; Dunkirk & Kentucky claims; Comstock prop.; American Manganese Mine; Liberty dep.; New Doughboy; Old Doughboy)	Mine
Irene Gulch	Gulch
Midland City	City
Globe Hills Mining District	Mining Sub-district
Globe-Miami Mining District	Mining District
Gila County	County
Arizona	State
USA	Country

A Pb-Ag-Zn-Cu-V-Mn mine located on the south side of Irene Gulch, about 2 miles NE of Midland City, and about 2½ miles north of Globe, on 9 patented and fourteen unpatented claims in secs. 11, 12, 13 and 14, T1N, R15E. Owned by Mr. Anton Trojanovich, of Globe, for many years; the Comstock Extension Mining Co. was organized, and the various heirs of Trojanovich exchanged their interests for shares in the company; the Irene Mining Co., New York; and the Globe-Miami Copper-Zinc Corp. (1952- ). Produced 1913-1947.

Mineralization is a vein deposit with an irregular ore body hosted in the Martin Limestone. Associated rock units are the Schultze Granite and diabase. It is in a zone of fault breccia that crops out for 4,200 feet. In some places, particularly over the main ore shoot, the cemented breccia has nearly vertical walls and protrudes as much as 25 feet above the surface of the hillside.

The vein fault strike ranges from N.50ºE. at its east end to N.80ºE. at its west end and is roughly parallel to the gulch. The dip, as determined by underground development, ranges from vertical to 75ºN.

Dripping Spring quartzite crops out on the south side of the Irene fault except in one small gulch cutting across the vein, where the underlying Barnes conglomerate and Pioneer formation are exposed. Farther southt the Dripping Spring is overlain by small remnants of the Troy quartzite and Martin limestone, and by a few caps of Escabrosa limestone on the highest points. Diabase crops out along the north side of the fault, except for a short distance at the west end, where the hanging wall is a block of Pioneer formation. This diabase was probably intruded along an old fault. Movement on the fault after the intrusion of diabase was relatively slight but it produced the breccia zone along the diabase-quartzite contact which later became the channel for mineralizing solutions. Slight displacement occurred after mineralization. South of the Irene vein fault, diabase was intruded as a sill at or near the base of the Pioneer formation.

At the west end of the vein outcrop, the Pioneer formation forms the north wall for about 900 feet along the strike, indicating that the north wall has been raised in relation to the footwall. About 1,000 feet east of the No. 1 adit, the vein passes into diabase and cannot be traced for more than a few tens of feet beyond the end of the Dripping Spring quartzite; here the vein is weakly mineralized and the exposures are poor. About 1,000 feet farther to the east and approximately on the projected strike of the Irene vein, a fault, which may be its continuation, crops out and can be followed northeastward for about 1 mile. This fault is weakly mineralized throughout its extent, but the chief minerals along the eastern portion are quartz, calcite, and manganese oxides.

The crosscut driven northwestward from the winze at the 800 level cut several weakly mineralized fractures approximately at the location of the projected vein. From it, the drift to the NE passed through a body of sphalerite ore. Several other such bodies were encountered in the area.

At its west end, the Irene vein is cut off by a cross-fault which brings a block of Martin and Escabrosa limestones into contact with the Pioneer formation and Dripping Spring quartzite that form the walls of the vein.

The Irene vein occupies a zone of fault breccia ranging from 5 to 30 feet in width. The breccia consists of angular fragments of quartzite and diabase. Greenish, stony quartz fills interstices of the breccia and largely replaces the diabase fragments and gouge. Small cavities lined with drusy quartz are common throughout the vein.

The vein is largely oxidized to the depth reached by the workings. The oxidized matter is a soft, porous mass consisting mainly of quartz, chlorite, quartzite fragments, and altered and partly replaced diabase. The chief ore minerals are cerussite, hemimorphite, and willemite.

The base of the oxidized zone appears to be very irregular and in places extends well below the permanent ground-water level. The primary vein matter at the 800 level consists mainly of sphalerite and specularite in a gangue of quartz and partly replaced wallrock.

Workings include a 240 foot shaft with a 330 foot connecting tunnel (1881); two adits known as the Irene tunnels, which give access to drifts, crosscuts, raises, and an 800 foot deep winze from the 270 level. The only known oreshoot is developed by No. 1 adit, which intersects the vein 150 feet below the outcrop.

Production prior to 1931 amounted to 250,000 pounds of Pb and 5,000 ounces of Ag, having a total value of $15,000 (period values).

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10009777

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References