Dripping Springs Mines (Dripping Springs claims; Cocreham and Haywood Mine; Gold Nugget Mine; Gold Queen Mine; Columbia Mine; Roundtop Mine), Dripping Springs, Dripping Spring Wash, Dripping Springs Mining District, Gila County, Arizona, USAi

Regional Level Types
Dripping Springs Mines (Dripping Springs claims; Cocreham and Haywood Mine; Gold Nugget Mine; Gold Queen Mine; Columbia Mine; Roundtop Mine)	Group of Mines
Dripping Springs	Group of Springs
Dripping Spring Wash	Wash
Dripping Springs Mining District	Mining District
Gila County	County
Arizona	State
USA	Country

A former underground Cu-Au-Ag-Zn mine located on approximately 40 claims (which changed hands often) in the NE¼SE¼ sec. 25, T3S, R14E, and in the NW¼NW¼ sec. 30, T3S, R15E, approximately ¼ mile S of Dripping Springs, 2 miles E of Troy, ½ to 1 mile NE of Manhattan Peak, on BLM-administered land. Discovered in 1901 by J.W. Read. Produced 1901-1953. The group includes adits in secs. 24 & 25, T3S, R14E. The point used for UTM is a large group of adits in the NE¼ sec. 25. Another adit and shaft are located in the NW¼ sec. 30 (Columbia shaft & mine). The Gold Queen shaft is in the SW¼NE¼ sec. 25, 1/8 mile W of the UTM point. The Round Top and Gold Nugget shafts are in the SE¼SE¼ sec. 25, and the SW¼SE¼ sec. 25, respectively. Owners and operators included: Dripping Springs Copper Co. (1915); G.H. Gowman Operator-Manager. Round Top and Gold Nugget operators included R.J. Finley, Cal Bywater and Fred Brigger. Gold Queen shaft operators included Steve Cocreham. Columbia shaft operators included Universal Mining and Smelting, W.A. Thompson, E. Castillo, and F. Hayward. The Dripping Springs Copper Co. owned all mines through 1940. Operated by the Amax Exploration, Inc. (1972).

Mineralization is a vein deposit with a linear ore body hosted in the Martin Limestone; Abrigo Formation; and the Mescal Limestone. The ore zone is 396.24 meters long, 2.44 meetrs wide, with a depth-to-top of 0 meters, depth-to-bottom 167.64 meters, at 7.92 meters thick, srtriking N89E, and dipping 75S (70-80S). Most mineralization is along E-W trends. The width of ore bodies varies between a few feet and 26 feet. Ore control was faults and shear zones where they cross Martin-Abrigo contact; also along diabase-Mescal Limestone contacts. Ore concentration was at the bottom of the oxidized zone. Some ore was found in unoxidized and non-leached rock at depth, where fractures intersect limestone-diabase contacts. Alteration was strong oxidation. Associated rock units include diorite and rhyodacite.

Area structures include E-W-trending rhyolite intrusions; E-W faults; Martin and Abrigo beds on the west side are almost flat-lying, with generally northerly strikes, dips of 5-15 degrees east. The dikes are 50 to 150 feet wide. E-W-trending faults are closely spaced, and N-S-trending. Also N-S trending faults. Major N-S fault separates complexly faulted Paleozoic sediments to the west from Precambrian diabase and Mescal Limestone to the east. A body of Cretaceous Rattler Granodiorite lies ½ mile north of the mine.

There were workings throughout the oxidation zone, which was the upper 500 feet. They totalled 2133.6 meters in length and 167.64 meters in depth.

Workings include various tunnels and shafts. The Columbia is 550 feet deep, with a 300 foot cross cut. The Round Top has two tunnels, at 330 feet and 2100 feet. The Gold Queen shafts are 375 feet long. The Gold Nugget shaft is 60 feet deep. Shallow workings generally. The total working length is estimated. Production data for the mine described here is under the Dripping Springs, Columbia, and Round Top in ABGMT-USBM production data.

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Link to USGS MRDS:	10046332

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References