Caliche Mine, Arroyo de la Junta, Rancho de la Noria de Lares, Mazocahui, Baviácora Municipality, Sonora, Mexicoi

Regional Level Types
Caliche Mine	Mine
Arroyo de la Junta	- not defined -
Rancho de la Noria de Lares	- not defined -
Mazocahui	- not defined -
Baviácora Municipality	Municipality
Sonora	State
Mexico	Country

The El Caliche mine is at the corrals of the La Noria de Lares ranch, on the west bank of the Arroyo de la Junta, near Mazocahui in eastern Sonora. It can be reached by truck from Nacozari or Hermosillo. The road between Nacozari and Ures crosses the Arroyo de la Junta at a point 58 kilometers north of Ures, and from there a dirt road leads 11 kilometers up the arroyo to the mine. The deposit was mined at intervals during 1942 and 1943 by Francisco Contreras of Hermosillo, at the recommendation of E. M. Stanton. The country rock consists of Tertiary andesite flow breccia. The calcite occupies two fissures, 4 meters apart, varying in width from less than a centimeter to half a meter. It extends for 10 meters along one fissure and for 6 meters along the other. Pits have been dug on both to a depth of 7 meters, where the calcite apparently pinches out. The largest crystals recovered were steep modified rhombohedrons weighing 3 to 5 pounds each. Twin crystals are common, and most of the calcite contains inclusions and cloudy layers. It is reliably reported that 5 pounds of high-grade optical calcite was produced, which was not enough to repay the cost of mining.