61sT CONGRESS \

1st Session (

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / DOCUMENT 

1 No. 96

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR

BULLETIN 397

MINERAL DEPOSITS

OF THE

CERBAT RANGE, BLACK MOUNTAINS, 

AND.GRAND WASH CLIFFS

MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZOiNA

BY

F. C. SCHRADER

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1909

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction ______________________________________ 11

Field work and acknowledgments ____________________ 11

Previous work__________________________________ 13

Geographic relations________________________________ 14

Location ___________________________________ 14

Climate and vegetation__________________________ 15

Settlement and means of communication.__________________ 16

Physiographic features_____________________________ 17

Colorado Plateau_______________________ 17

Great Basin province__________...______________ 17

Drainage ___________________________________ 17

Belief _.______________'__________________-____ 18

Mountains ____________________________ 18

Grand Wash Cliffs_________________________ 18

Cerbat Range.___________________________ 19

Cerbat Mountains______________________ 19

White Hills__________________________ 20

Hualpai Mountains______________________ 20

Peacock Mountains ______________________ 21

Black Mountains, or Colorado Range____________ 21

Eldorado Range____________________________ 23

Valleys _____________________.__.___________ 24

Detrital-Sacramento Valley___________________ 24

Hualpai Valley.____________________________ 24

Big Sandy Valley____________________________ 25

Great trough of the Colorado__________________ 26

Location and character.____________________ 26

Black Canyon__________________________ 26

Cottouwood Valley_______________________ 26

Pyramid Canyon_______________________ 26

Mohave Valley__________________________ 27

Geology _.________________ _ _ 27

Principal rock groups ____________ _____ _____ 27

Pre-Cambrian rocks_________________________ _ __ 27

Character and distribution______________________ 27

Petrography _________ ._ __ 28

Structure _.__________________ ______ 29

Paleozoic sediments__ __ _ __ _ 29

IntrusiA'e rocks __________ 30

Granite porphyry and micropegmatite_________________ 30

Lamprophyric dike rocks ______ 31.

Diabase ____ _ _ 33

3
4 CONTENTS.

Geology Continued. Page.

Tertiary volcanic rocks__________________:__________ 34

General features________________------_______ 34

Basal andesite_______________-_____ 34

Green chloritic andesite--______ _________ 34 <

Undifferentiated volcanic rocks_____________ _ 37

Rhyolite series______ _-__________ __ 40

Younger andesite.____ ___ __ 41

Olivine basalt.____________ _ - __ ' 42

Tertiary (?) and Quaternary detrital rocks_________ 42

Mineral deposits._________________________ __ 43

Discovery, history, and present condition_________ __ .___ 44

Mining districts._____________ ______.____ ___ 45

Production of Mohave County._____________ 47

General character of deposits-______________________ 47

Mineralogy ______________________________________ 49

Cerbat Range__________________,.___________'_ 49

Introduction _______________________________ 49

Chloride district-______________________________ 51

I vocation ______________._______..._____ 51

History and conditions__________________ ______ 51

Geology___________ __________._________ 52

General character of deposits__________________ 53

Tennessee mine _____________________._ 54'

Schuylkill mine____________________________ 57

Elkhart mine _______: __________________ 57

Distaff mine ______________________________. 60

Mollie Gibson mine________________________ 60

Hercules mine ________________________ 60

Badger mine______________________________ 61

Empire mine__________________________ 61

Pay Roll mine___________-______._________ 62

Redemption mine________________________ 63

Lucky Boy mine______________.___..______. 63

Kainbow mine__ _ __ - __ 64

Samoa mine_____________________- 67

Minnesota-Conner mine _______________________ 69

Altata mine____________________________ 71

Emerson and other mines____________________ 72

Towne mine____ _____________________ 72

Pinkham mine___________________________ 74

Midnight mine___________________________ 76

Silver Hill vein__________________________ 77

Juno mine_____ _ ______________ 78

Merrimac mine___ ______________..________ 78

Tuckahoe mine____________________________ 79

Tintic mine ___________________________ 79

Other mines_____________________________ 79

Mineral Park district__________________________ SO

General description________________________ 80

Geology ___ ______________ 81

Ore deposits__________________....___.____ SI

Keystone mine ____________________________ 81
CONTENTS. 5

Mineral deposits Continued.

Cerbat Range Continued. Mineral Park district Continued. Page.

Tyler mine 82

Lady Bug niine__ 83

Rural and Buckeye mines .. 83

Windy Point mine _ - 84

Golden Star mine_______ - 85

Standard mine ______ _ 86

Queen Bee mine _____ 86

Ark and San Antonio mines______ 86

Metallic-Accident mine___ 88

Fairfield mine______ 88

Wood Chopper's Relief mine________ _____ _ 88

Katie mine_ _ _ , 89

Other properties______ ___ 89

Cerbat district_____ 91

General outline______________________ 91

Location and history________,._____________ 91

Topography _________ 91

Geology __:_____________________________ 91

The. deposits _________________^____ 92

Mines near Cerbat Wash drainage on the north_________ 92

Golden Gem mine_____________________ 92

Vauderbilt group______________________ 94

Robert Emmet mine_____________________ 95

Flores mine ________________ __________ 96

Esmeralda mine___'. ___________________ 97

Cerbat mine_________1________________ 97

Bunker Hill miue________________________ 98

Mines in Union Basin_________________ _____:_ 98

Paymaster mine_______________________ __ 98

Alexander group________________i_______ 99

Other mines ___________________________ 99

Mines in Todd Basin__________________________ 100

Oro Plata mine________________________ 100

Prosperity mine_________________________ 102

Primrose mine_________________________ 102

Blackfoot mine__________________________ 102

Success mine_____________:_____________ 102

Mexican mine_________________^_______ 102

Mines in Lane Springs Basin__________________ 102

Alpha mine____________________________ 103

Night Hawk and Rip Van Winkle mines______;___ 103

Mines south of Cerbat Wash__________________ 103

 Champion mine_________________________ 104

New London miue__________________ ______ 105

Twins mine___ _ ___ _ _ ____________ 105

St. Louis mine_____________________,_____ 105

Blanket vein property ______________:_____ 106

Stocktpn Hill district_______________________ ___ 107

General outline____________________________ 107

Location and history.____________________ 107
6 CONTENTS.

Mineral deposits Continued. 

Cerbat Range Continued.

Stockton Hill district Continued.

General outline Continued. Page.

Topography and geology_________________ 107

Ore deposits and mines____________ _ 107

Mines on Stockton Hill Wash__________________1 108

Banner Group mine______ _ _______ 109

Cupel mine ____________ _ _ _ 110

Prince George mine_________________ __ 111

Little Chief mine________________________ 112

De La Fontaine mine_________________ _ 113

Mines on Treasure Hill Wash_______________ 114

Treasure Hill mine_______ ______ 114

Sixty-Three mine_____________________ 115

Mines in I. X. L. Basin_______________________ 115

K. P. mine ____________ _ _ ___ 115

J. F. T. mine___________________________ 116

Mines in C. O. D. Wash_______________________ 116

C. O. D. mine___________________________ 116

Mines of Canyon Station Wash__________________ 118

Mines in " Top of Stockton Hill " area_____________ 118

Gold Basin district ____________________________ 118

General features__________________________ 118

Eldorado mine_____________________________ 120

O. K. and Excelsior mines_____________________ "121

Mascot mine_____________________________ 122

Never-Get-Left mine ________-______________ 123

Golden Rule mine_____________ ______ _ 123

Cyclopic mine____ _______________________ 124

Gold Belt mine.____________________________ 126

Senator mine______________ ______ 126

Deposits at Salt Springs__________1___________ 127

White Hills district___________________________ 127

General description______________________ 127

Location and history______________________ 127

Developments _________________________ 128

Topography and geology____________________ 128

Deposits ____ ______________________ 129

Production ___ ______________________ 130

The mines_______ _______________________ 130

Grand Army of the Republic mine____________ 130

West Treasure mine_____________________ 131

Hidden Treasure mine____________________ 131

Norrna mine__________________________ 132

African mine_________________________ 132 

Prince Albert mine______________________. 132

Daisy mine____________________________ 133

Garfleld mine_________________________ 133

Bryan mine _ _ ______: 134

Chief of the Hills mine___________________ 134

Good Luck mine__________ ___________ __ 134

Excelsior mine__ ____ _ ___ 134

Occident and Horn Silver mines ______ _ 334
CONTENTS. 7

Mineral deposits Continued.

Cerbat Range Continued. Page.

McConnico district____:________________:_______ 135

General description_________________________ 135

Bi-Metal mine ___1______________________ 136

McKesson group __'- ____________ ___ _ ___ 137

Boulder Creek group____________________ 138

Maynard district ________________________._____ 139

General description__________L ____________________ 139

American Flag mine______________________ 140

Great Eastern group,_______________________ 140

Enterprise mine__________________________ 140

Old Hackberry mine_________________________ 141

Siamese group_____________________________ 141

Grand Wash Cliffs__'.________________________________________ 142

Music Mountaiu district_______________________ 142

General description_____'___________________ 142

Ellen Jane mine._________________________ 144

Contention vein_________________ _-_ _ 148

Marie E. vein______________________________ 148

Lucky Cuss vein____________________________ 149

Southwick vein_________________________ 149

Lost Basin district___________________________ 150

Black Mountains___________________ ___ _.. 151

Introduction_______________________________ 151

Gold Road district__________________________ 152

General outline___________________________ 152

Gold Road mine_________________________ 153

Billy Bryan mine_______________ _ _ 164

West Gold Road mine_______________________ 166

Pasadena mine____________________,._____ 167

Moss Back mine.___________________________ 168

Moss mine________________________________ 170

Rattan mine______________________________ 172

Golden Star group___________________________ 173

Venture prospects_____ _____________________ 175

Meals ledge______'_____________________ 175

Miller mine_______________________________ 176

Jack Pot mine_________ -___________________ 178

Homestake mine______.____________________ 178

Navy Group mine_________-. ________________ 178

Gaddis-Perry and Angle lodes-________________ 179

Vivian district________________________________ 180

General description____________ ____________ 180

Leland mine______________________________ 183

German-American mine.____________________ 186

Victor-Virgin mine__'. ___________________________________ 190

Tom Reed rnine_ _________ __ __________ 192

Midnight mine___________ ___ _________ 194

Vivian mine______________ _ __________ 195

Swiss-American mine___ ______ ____________ 196

Roosevelt shaft____________________________ 198
8 CONTENTS.

Mineral deposits Continued.

Black Mountains Continued. Page.

. Boundary Cone district_________'_______________ 198

General description_____.___________________ 198

Iowa mine________________________________ 200

Lazy Boy group__________'.______________________ 201

Highland Chief and Mountain Beauty properties______ 201

Krauss and Golden Era properties_______________- 202

Deposits at the audesite-rhyolite contact____________ 202

Union Pass district________.__________________ 203

General description__________________________ 203

Mines in the western part____________________ 204

Sheep Trail and Boulevard mines_____. . _______ 204

Catherine mine_______________________ 205

Pyramid mine___________________________ 206

Tyro group____________________________ 207

Mines in the eastern part__.-_______ _________ 207

San Diego group_________________.._______ 207

O. K. group________.___________________ 209

Expansion group____________ _______-_ 209

Tragedy group __ __ _________ 210

Union Pass group________.. __ _____ __ 211

Other properties_______ __ _____-___ 212

Pilgrim district____ _ _ __ 214

Virginia district_____-__ ___ _,- _-___-___ 214

Mocking Bird district___________________________ 215

General outline_ 215

Mocking Bird mine _ - _ _ _ 216

Hall mine____________ __________ 216

Great West mine______ _ _ _'_ 216

Pocahontas mine__ - 216

Gold Bug district_______ __ 217

Eldorado Pass district .: 218

Nonmetallic mineral resources-- __ __..__...._ 218

Water supply_______ - ___ _ __.. 220

Index ______r____ - -, 221
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Geologic reconnaissance map of a part of western Arizona 11

II. Psendomorphic quartz after calcite__!_____ : 48

III. Claims in Chloride district_______________________- 52

IV. A, Part of lava mesa surrounding Kingman; B, Chloride and part

of Cerbat Range from Silver Hill________________- 54

V. A, Elkhart mine and mill; B, Tennessee mine and mill_____ 56

VI. A, Pinkbam mine and side slope of Sacramento Valley; B, Midnight mine____________________________ 74

VII. A, Ark mine and mill and Turquoise Mountain; B, Banner group

mine and mill__________________________ __ . 86

VIII. Claims in the Stockton Hill district_______________ 108

I.. Gold Road mine, mill, and camp__________________- 152

X. Mines and veins in the Gold Road and Vivian districts___'_ 154

XI. A, Gold Road mine with silicified lode croppings on both sides;

B, Gold Road Gulch_________________________ 158 

XII. A, Golden Star mine and fault block; B, Gold Road vein at east

of Line Road claim__________________________ 174

XIII. A, Tom Reed (formerly Blue Ridge) mine and mill; B, Foothills

of green chloritic andesite_____________________ 180

XIV. A, Leland mine; B, Contact of chloritic andesite with the lightercolored, older, underlying audesite________________ 182

XV. A, Victor-Virgin mine; B, German-American mine________ 190

XVI. A, Topography of andesite in northeastern part of Boundary 

Cone district; B, Topography of andesite flows in southern 

part of Boundary Cone district_______________-__ 198 

FIGURE 1. Index map showing position of area covered___________ 12

2. Generalized section across Black Mountains_____.._..___ 35

3. Map showing mining camps in a part of western Arizona___ 46

4. Diagram showing trend and relative position of the principal

veins in the Chloride district___________________ 53

5. Plan showing course of Tennessee vein______________ 54

6. Longitudinal section along Tennessee vein ____________ 55

7. Plan of Elkhart mine ________________________ 58

8. Plan and longitudinal section of Rainbow mine__________ 65

9. Plan of Minnesota-Connor lode___________________ 70

10. Plan and longitudinal section of the Pinkham. vein______ 75

11. Diagram showing intrusions near Midnight shaft________ 77

12. Sketch showing relations of Ark and San Antonio veins____ 87

13. Longitudinal section showing developments of Golden Gem

mine___________________________________ 93

9.
10 ILLUSTEATIONS.

Page.

FIGURE 14. Sketch showing relations of veins at Oro Plata mine___1__ 101

15. Section of Champion vein________________________ 106

16. Sketch map of Stockton Hill district and adjoining part of

Cerbat district ___________________________ 108

17. Sketch showing relations of veins on Cupel claims______ 111

18. Sketch map of Gold Basin district__________________ 119

19. Longitudinal section of Eldorado mine, showing stopes___ 120

20. Longitudinal section of O. K. mine, showing stopes______ 122

21. Sketch map of White Hills district____________-___ 129

22. Longitudinal section of G. A. R. mine______________ 131

23. Longitudinal section of Nor ma mine_________________ 133

24. Longitudinal section of Occident and Horn Silver mines___ 135

25. Sketch map of Music Mountain district_______________ 143

26. Longitudinal section of Ellen Jane mine, showing stopes___ 147

27. Section of Ellen Jane vein at bottom of main shaft______ 145

28. Longitudinal section of workings on the vein of the Gold Road

claim, Gold Road mine_______________________ 155

29. Cross section of workings of West Gold Road mine______ 166

30. Map showing location of principal claims in Vivian district_ 182

31. Longitudinal section of workings of Vivian mine_______ 195

32. Sketch map of Union Pass mining district____________ 203

33. Section across Black Mountains at Secret Pass_________ 204

34. Cross section of San Diego vein at San Diego mine_____ 208

35. Cross section of part of Tragedy vein______________ 210

36. Sketch map of Mocking Bird district________________ 215

37. Cross section of rocks at Mocking Bird mine_______ _ 216
U.S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH , DIRECTOR BULLETIN 397 PLATE I

^n^^v $t&-$^&-^

15 1IVOO'

45'

!I3'30

Reconnaissance topography 

by U.S.Geological Survey GEOLOGIC RECONNAISSANCE MAP OF A PART OF WESTERN ARIZONA

Scale 25o,oof)

Geotog"y sketched by F C.Schrader from persona' 

observario-is and from data by Willis T. Lee and 

The Wheeler Survey

012

LEGEND

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

«

Conglomerates and gravel

Undivided. AnbTey, 

RedwaH,and Tonto

IGNEOUS ROCKS

Basalt

ITiidifferentiated andesites 

trachytes.i-hyolites. arid lathes

Chloritio aiidesite

Granite porphyry

Quartz iituiizonite

Undifferentiated. principally 

pre-Cambrian granitoid series 

-with local ai-eas of Tertiary 

volcanics (andesites,trachytes, 

rhyolites.etc i and some Quaternary ? hasalts.

(iranite sjiieiss tmd.schi.sl

Area in which (lie granite porphyry 

intruded into live prr-Oiunbririu. 

complex is ^eiiernlly tilmudaiit

Mine

r

Prospect

fi

Shaft

Well

r

Section comer

Bml diiies

Fault

Strike and dip

Contour interval 250 feet 

1908
MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE CERBAT RANGE, 

MOUNTAINS, AND GRAND WASH CUFFS, MOHATE 

COUNTY, ARIZONA.

By F. C. SCHRADER.

INTRODUCTION.

FIELD WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

The field work forming the basis of this paper is a reconnaissance 

made by the writer, under the direction of Mr. Waldemar Lindgren, 

during the period extending from October, 1906, to February, 1907. 

The purpose of the paper is to furnish a general idea of the character, occurrence, distribution, and development of the mineral resources of a part of western Arizona (see fig. 1) concerning which 

little has hitherto been known. The reconnaissance covered almost 

the whole of Mohave County, except some smaller camps in the extreme north and in the southern part of the county, which could not 

be reached in the time allotted to the work.

Owing to the desert conditions of the region the scarcity of grass 

and water a camp outfit was dispensed with and subsistence was 

obtained from the mining camps and prospectors.

The general method of work employed was to make hasty sketch 

maps and sections of the various camps or mines, using a box compass 

and aneroid for determination of bearings and elevations, and tying 

the work wherever practicable to Land Office section or toAvnship 

corners, railroads, other surveys, and mining-claim monuments.

The early reconnaissance maps of the Geological Survey, especially 

the Camp Mohave and Diamond Creek contour sheets, though for 

the most part too crude for. local use, were found to be of material 

service in general. In a broad sense they represent fairly well the 

physical features of the region and are used as the base of the geologic 

map (PI. I) in the present report.

Wherever available, the geology of portions of the area not visited 

by the writer has been compiled from the maps and reports of the

11
12 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

earlier surveys, notably tho'se of Newberry, Gilbert, Marvine, and 

Ho well, and the later ones of Lee and Ransome, of which a fuller 

account appears on subsequent pages.

To the various mining companies, prospectors, and mining men 

throughout the field grateful acknowledgments are due for courtesies, 

hospitality, transportation, and other assistance, which was extended

 50 75 100 miles

FIGURE 1. Index map showing position of area covered in this report.

with unusual generosity. Especially important aid was received from 

the companies in the Gold Road, Silver Creek, Pyramid, Mocking 

Bird, Stockton Hills, Cerbat, Chloride, Gold Basin, and Music Mountain districts.

Among the individuals to whom the writer wishes to express his 

sincere thanks for assistance rendered are superintendents S. R.
INTRODUCTION. 13

Porter,-J. W. Moore, O. F. Kuencer, C. V. Turner, W. C. Howard, 

F. L. Garrison, W. H. Gushing, Leonard Hoffman, H. L. McCarn, 

and J. D. Jordan, and Messrs. Daniel Bosqui, Levi Suthers, J. de 

Sallmarde, A. M. McDuffee, Robert Brannack, C. J. Hutchinson, 

C. J. Rhodes, George Aitken, John Barry, A. W. Braettlund, Daniel 

McFarland, Thomas Patterson. C. E. Heimer, and R. C. Jacobs. In 

the office the microscopic determinations of the rock and ore sections 

were made by Mr. Lindgren and Mr. B. S. Butler, and the chemical 

analyses by Messrs. George Steiger and E. C. Sullivan.

PREVIOUS WORK.

Probably no other region in the United States of equal importance 

in respect to mineral resources has received so little attention as 

western Arizona. No official report has treated the mining geology 

of this area, though its general geologic and geographic features 

have been known for some time through the earlier explorations. 

In 1853-54 Jules Marcou, as geologist of the Pacific Railroad route 

expedition, visited the southeast corner of the area, and his notes, 

published in the reports of the expedition,* include a preliminary 

description and map of the geology of this section. In a later work & 

the same author, referring to the same region, gave the principal 

formations composing the Cerbat Mountains, and showed on his 

geologic map of North America the geology of the entire region, but 

only in the most general manner.

A more complete account of the region was later given by Newberry, who, as geologist with the Ives expedition 0 in 185T-58, 

ascended Colorado River to the mouth of the Virgin and later traversed the area in a northeasterly direction from Camp Mohave, on 

the Colorado, to Music Mountain, at the edge of the Colorado Plateau. 

He very ably describes the geology and geography of the country 

along his route of travel, and includes in his description some notes 

on the mineral deposits of the Cerbat Range.

Further contributions on the mineral deposits of this region were 

later published by Silliman, who, entering from the west by way of 

Camp Mohave, visited the Silver Creek and other regions in the 

San Francisco mining district in 1864.d

In 1871 to 18T3 the northern and eastern portions of the area were 

visited and mapped by Gilbert, Marvine, and Howell, geologists with 

the Wheeler Survey. 6

0 Pacific Railroad Reports, vol. 3, 1856, pp. 156-158.

6 Marcou, Jules, Geology of North America, 1858, p. 24.

c Newberry, J. S., in Lieut. J. C. Ives's report on the Colorado River of the West, 

1861, pt. 3, pp. 29-54.

a Silliman, Benjamin, jr., On some of the mining districts of Arizona : Am. Jour. Sci. 

2d ser., vol. 41, 1866, pp. 289-308.

8 U. S. Geog. Surveys W. 100th Mer., vol. 3, pts. 1, 2, 3, and 5, and atlas sheets 66, 

67, and 75.
14 MINEKAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

In 1900 Comstock, whose experience with the mines and veins of 

Arizona and adjoining regions had been extensive, published a 

paper* in which he sketched the stratigraphy and mineral deposits 

of Arizona, presented a sketch map showing three systems of structure lines related to ore deposits, and cited portions of the Cerbat 

Range in discussing the persistence of his so-called latitudinal gold 

belts of the primary uplift.

About 1902 detailed topographic work by the Reclamation Service 

on the lower part of the Colorado was extended northward to a point 

above Round Island, at about the middle of the western edge of the 

area here discussed.

During the seasons of 1903 and 1904 a more complete geologic 

reconnaissance of the area than that of the Wheeler Survey was made 

by W. T. Lee,6 who traversed the area in various directions, mapped 

the geology, and made a collection of igneous rocks that have been 

determined by Albert Johannsen.

More recently, in 1906, F. L. Ransome made a reconnaissance of 

the mineral deposits and mines of the Searchlight and Eldorado districts c in southern Nevada, bordering the Mohave area on the west, 

and, in connection with his report on the mines and formations, published a sketch map of the districts, a part of which has been used in 

the present report.

GEOGRAPHIC RELATIONS.

LOCATION.

The region herein described lies in the western part of Mohave 

County, Ariz., bordering California and Nevada on the west and 

north. (See PL I, in pocket.) It extends from the thirty-sixth 

parallel near the Big Bend of Colorado River, on the north, to the

south end of the Bl'ack Mountains, near latitude 34° 40', on the south, 

and from Hackberry and the Grand Wash Cliffs at the edge of the 

Colorado Plateau, near the 113° 30' meridian, on the east, to Colorado 

River, near longitude 114° 45', on the west. Its longer diameter 

trends north and south, in which direction it has an extent of about 

95 miles; its width is about 75 miles and its area about 7,100 square 

miles.

The region is composed of naked desert ranges of mountains and 

broad, desolate, detritus-filled valleys, the southern extension of the 

topography of the Great Basin. It is best reached by way of the 

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the only railroad line 

traversing it. Near Seligman the railroad begins to descend rapidly

a Comstock, Theodore B., Geology and vein phenomena of Arizona: Trans. Am. Inst. 

Min. Eng., vol. 30, 1900, pp. 1038-1102.

6 Lee, W. T., Geologic reconnaissance of a part of western Arizona: Bull. U. S. Geol. 

Survey No. 352, 1908. Mr. Lee kindly gave the present writer access to his unpublished 

maps.

e Ransome, F. L., Bull. U. S, Geol. Survey No. 303, 1907, pp. 63-79,
GEOGKAPHIC EELATIONS. 15

to the southwest. Passing through picturesque canyons and washes, 

in the course of 60 miles it descends 2,000 feet to .Hackberry, at the 

eastern edge of the area described. Picking its grade by detours 

around the mountains, the railroad continues its descent to Mellen, 

in the southwestern part of the area, where it crosses Colorado River 

at an elevation of 500 feet, or about 5,000 feet below its position on 

the edge of the plateau at Seligman. Near the middle of its course 

across the area it passes through a gap in the Cerbat Range, a partial 

break of erosion known to the early explorers as " Railroad Pass." 

Near its middle this pass widens into a sort of basin in which is 

situated Kingman, the county seat of Mohave County and the metropolis and distributing point for nearly all the mining regions of 

northwestern Arizona. Kingman is reached in thirteen hours from

Los Angeles.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION.

The climate of the region is arid, with hot summers and mild winters. The temperature of June, July, and August averages high, but 

the intensity of the heat is mollified by the dryness of the atmosphere, 

a more or less constant breeze, and cool nights. The hottest belt 

follows Colorado River. The climate ranks among the most healthful in the United States.

The annual precipitation, according to E. C. Murphy, of the 

United States Geological Survey, is about 5 inches very much less 

than the evaporation. During hot weather it is largely concentrated 

in cloud-bursts, and the country is subject to sudden and violent 

winds, which in the valleys are often accompanied by sand storms. 

Most of the mountains as well as the valleys are free of snow during 

winter, and the highest mountains become free of it in early summer.

Portions of the Hualpai Mountains are forested with timber and 

contain areas of excellent pine suitable for lumbering and mining 

purposes, and there are a few open groves of scrub pinon or cedar, 

such as occur at Mineral Park, but otherwise the area is timberless. 

The vegetation is of the desert type and is confined mostly to the valleys, mesas, and lower slopes of the mountains. It consists mainly 

of cacti, greasewood, yuccas, soapweed, sage, and cat-tails. The tree 

yucca (T. arborescens] , or " Joshua tree," grows in open groves in 

portions of the White Hills, and during the activity in the White 

Hills and Gold Basin camps it supplied the fuel used in operating 

the hoists. Many species of cactus are represented, but the Sahuaro, 

or giant cactus, so common in southern Arizona, does not appear. 

The branching prickly pear, attaining a height of 4 or 5 feet, is 

abundant in the Hualpai and Detrital-Sacramento valleys, as is 

also the greasewood or creosote brush.

White sage is present throughout the area. Grass is usually of 

scanty growth, but burros live on it, in connection with sagebrush,
16 MINEKAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

the year round, and a few. horses and cattle are kept in the Hualpai 

and Detrital-Sacr.amento valleys, where also a small amount of wheat 

and other cereals is grown. On some of the irrigable bottom lands 

along the Colorado, notably in the southwestern part of the area, six 

crops of alfalfa a year are reported to be raised. The greater part of 

the Hualpai and Detrital-Sacramento valleys, if supplied with water 

for irrigation, would also prove excellent for agriculture.

SETTLEMENT AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

The principal settlements, whose locations are shown on the accompanying map, are Kingman, with a population of about 1,000; Chloride, with 500; Goldroad, with 300; and Hackberry, with 200. In 

respect to churches, mail privileges, newspapers, mercantile and other 

business houses, fraternal orders, schools, telegraph and cable service, 

and other social and business facilities, these places compare favorably with any others of their size. The population consists essentially of enterprising, law-abiding Americans and includes representatives from nearly every State in the Union.

Chloride, situated at the terminus of the Arizona and Utah Railroad, about 20 miles north of Kingman, where it connects with the 

main line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, is the 

subdistributing point for the camps in the northwestern part of the 

area, and even as far as Eldorado Canyon,. Nevada. Hackberry, 

about 30 miles east of Kingman, on the main line of the Santa Fe, is 

the distributing point for camps in the eastern-part of the area, including Lost Basin, Gold Basin, and Music Mountain.

The settlements and camps are nearly all connected by wagon road, 

stage line, mail, and telephone, with their distributing points and 

Kingman, and most of them with one another. The distances of the 

more important camps from their distributing points are as follows":

Distances of the more important camps from their distributing points.

From Kingman to Miles.

Stockton Hill_________ 11

C. 0. D. mine________ 16

Gold Road__________ 24

Vivian via Gold Road___ 28

Silver Creek via Gold.Road_ '28

Todd Basin__________ 16

Cerbat_____^______ 14

Layne Springs _____ 17

Mineral Park________ 20

Chloride___________ ' 26

White Hills__________ 49

Gold Basin__________ 66

Cedar via Yucca______ 51

Eldorado Canyon, Nev___ 74

Virginia Camp________ 40

Sheeptrail Mines______ 28

From Kingman to 

Pyramid__:_________

Hardy vi lie_____>:___

Fort Mohave___.__. 

From Chloride to 

Mineral Park_____.

Todd Basin______.

Cerbat___'_____.

White Hills_l___.

Eldorado Canyon, Nev.

Virginia Camp___. _. 

From Hackberry to 

Music Mountain____.

Gold Basin________.

Lost Basin_______.

Scanlan Ferry____.

Signal __ - _.

Miles. 

36 

30 

44
PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES. 17

Stage lines run from Kingman to Gold Eoad and to Cerbat daily 

except Sunday. Semiweekly service is maintained from Hackberry. 

via Big Sandy, to Signal and to Gold Basin; also from Chloride to 

White Hills and Eldorado Canyon.

PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES.

COLORADO PLATEAU.

As shown by Gilbert, Marvine, and others, northwestern Arizona 

lies mainly in two well-known' provinces, the high Colorado Plateau 

on the east and the Great Basin on the west.- These provinces, which 

reach their best development and are best known in Nevada and 

Utah, maintain in their southern extension into Arizona the relation which they have farther north. This relation is well expressed 

in the northern part' of the area delineated on Plate I, where the 

Grand Wash Cliffs, extending from Music Mountain in a northwesterly direction across Colorado Kiver, form for the most part a 

sharp boundary line between the Grand Canyon country, or Colorado 

Plateau province, on the east and the Great Basin on the west. Along 

this line descent is made from the plateau, at an elevation of 6,500 

feet, by steep, rocky cliffs, bluffs, and finally talus slopes, into the 

basin 3,000 feet below. The dominant features of the plateau in this 

portion of Arizona are benched mesas or table-lands, composed of 

generally horizontal stratified rocks. Through this table-land 'area 

the deep trench of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado has been cut.

GREAT BASIN PROVINCE.

The chief features of the Great Basin portion of the area the 

portion with which this paper is principally concerned consist of 

ranges of mountains trending nearly north and south and separated 

by broad, plain-like, detritus-filled valleys.* On the west lies the 

great trough of Colorado River, which has cut through these desert 

ranges without greatly modifying the general physiography of the 

country.

DRAINAGE.

The. entire area drains into Colorado River. In most of the northern portion, that which extends westward from the Colorado Plateau, 

the drainage flows northward, chiefly by way of Hualpai Wash and 

Detrital Valley, to the Colorado below the mouth of the Grand 

Canyon, just beyond the northern edge of the area. The drainage 

of the southern portion of the area finds its way to the Colorado

a For a single map showing comprehensively the great number and distribution of 

these ranges in the adjoining States of Nevada and California, see Bull. U. S. Geol. 

Survey No. 208, 1903, PI. I.

88171 Bull. 397 09 2 
18 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

chiefly by way of Big Sandy Wash, a tributary of Williams Kiver, 

on the southeast and Sacramento Wash on the southwest.

RELIEF.

The altitude of the area ranges from 500 feet in the southwestern 

part to nearly 8,300 feet on Hualpai Peak, the highest mountain, the 

total vertical range being thus about 7,800 feet. The mountains collectively average somewhat less than 5,000 feet in elevation, the 

valleys about 2,500 feet, and the land mass of the area as a whole 

about 4,000 feet. The general slope of the area is southwestward 

toward Colorado River.

MOUNTAINS.

The mountain ranges trend north-northwest, nearly parallel with 

the edge of the plateau. They seem in general to be due to erosion, 

but some are, in part at least, deformational ranges or fault blocks. 

They exhibit considerable variation in height, but for the most part 

rise about 3,000 feet above the neighboring valleys and are generally 

rugged. Like the valleys, they average 10 or 12 miles in width, and 

their aggregate area is about equal to that of the valleys. They are 

composed in the main of pre-Cambrian granitoid and metamorphic 

rocks, flanked or overlain by younger rocks-of volcanic origin. The 

sedimentary deposits of the Colorado Plateau, which at one time 

must have covered this entire area and which, according to Spurr,0 

as folded strata compose the mountains in the Nevada- and Utah 

portion of the Great Basin, have here been completely removed by 

erosion.

The ranges west of the Grand Wash Cliffs, as represented on the 

map, are three in number the Cerbat Range, the Black Mountains, 

and, west of Colorado River, the Eldorado Range. This paper deals 

chiefly with the Cerbat Range and the Black Mountains.

GRAND WASH CLIFFS.

The Grand Wash Cliffs constitute the great break of the Colorado 

Plateau into the Great Basin. They undoubtedly represent a fault 

line, as has been described by previous writers, and are so shown on 

the accompanying map (PI. I).6 Button c describes the Grand Wash 

fault as a gigantic displacement in which the whole country to the 

west has dropped down 6,000 or 7,000 feet. This fault is best 

developed along the edge of the plateau, extending from the mouth 

of the Grand Canyon southeastward to Music Mountain, a distance 

of .about 50 miles, with a height of escarpment of about 3,000 feet

a Spurr, J. E., Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 208, 19Q3, p. 133.

6 The faults here shown are copied from Lee, W. T., Geologic reconnaissance of a part 

of western Arizona: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 352, 1908, PI. I. 

c Button, C. E., Second Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1882, p. 126.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES. 19

and an average width of about 3 miles. The regularity of its course 

is locally interrupted by embayments or short, deep canyons cut 

back into the plateau, the most marked example being that at Clay 

Spring, north of Music Mountain camp.

From the edge of the plateau the general trend of the slope is westsouthwest into Hualpai Valley. Typically this slope is made up of 

 three topographic elements; these are, in descending order, (1) an 

upper; more or less precipitous cliff or scarp, a-bout 1,500 feet in 

height, composed of the nearly horizontal strata of the Grand Canyon 

section; (2) an intermediate mountainous belt, in many places steep 

and rugged, composed of pre-Cambrian rocks having a vertical range 

of 1,000 or more feet and a breadth of about 2 miles; (3) a less steep 

foothill belt of irregular hills and ridges, consisting of similar granitoid rocks, which, with immense local deposits or fans of steep-lying 

talus or coarse, mostly granitoid, debris, descend from 600 to 1,000 

feet to the edge of the valley.

At Music Mountain the Grand Wash Cliffs divide, the upper or 

sedimentary portion extending eastward under the name of Yampai 

Cliffs, and the lower or crystalline portion continuing southward 

under the names of Cottonwood Cliffs and Aquarius Cliffs, forming 

the edge of the Truxton Plateau.

CERBAT RANGE.

The Cerbat Eange extends nearly north and south through the 

middle of the area. In the latitude of Music Mountain it lies about 

16 miles west of the Grand Wash Cliffs, which it in general parallels 

and from which it is separated in the northern part of the area by 

Hualpai Valley, 15 miles wide, and in the southern part by Big 

Sandy Valley, 10 or 12 miles wide.

The Cerbat is a broken range. As originally used by Lieutenant 

Whipple the term includes the Cerbat Mountains, the Hualpai Mountains on the south, and the White Hills on the north. Lee includes, 

in addition, the Aubrey Hills, a small group of low mountains to 

the south of the Hualpais. The range is the direct southerly extension of the Virgin Mountains, across Colorado Eiver, in Nevada.

Cerbat Mountains. The most important part of the range, so far 

as the present discussion is concerned, is the group known as the 

Cerbat Mountains, which lie in the central part of the area, between 

the Hualpai Valley on the east and the Detrital-Sacramento Valley 

on the west. On the north they are separated from the White Hills 

 by a very low, detritus-filled pass, directly connecting the detrital 

deposits of the Hualpai Valley with those of the Detrital Valley. 

On the south, however, the Cerbat Mountains are somewhat loosely 

connected with the Hualpai Mountains by an intervening low, dis-
20 MINEEAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

sected volcanic mesa, whose surface lies but a few hundred feet above 

Kingman, situated near its center, and which for convenience of reference may be designated the Kingman Mesa. (See PI. IV, A.)

The Cerbat Mountains have a length of about 30 miles and an 

average width of about 10 miles. They attain their maximum 

width about 12 miles just north of Chloride, which is situated 

near the middle of their western border. They are high and rugged, 

and seem to be essentially of erosional origin.

The most important valleys, so far as mining interests are concerned, are those in which lie Cerbat, Todd Basin, Mineral Park, 

and Tennessee washes on the west and Stockton Hill, I. X. L. Basin, 

and the C. 0. D. washes on the east. These valleys head near the 

axis of the mountains and debouch on the plains at right angles to 

its trend. The mountains are composed of pre-Cambrian granitic 

rocks, with their edges locally flanked on the west and south by Tertiary volcanic rocks and on the east by younger basalts. The crest 

line lies at about 6,000 feet, or 3,000 feet above the adjacent valleys. 

The culminating peaks are Cherums Peak, near Chloride, and Mount 

Tipton, at the north end of the group, both of which reach altitudes 

of about 7,000 feet.

White Hills. The White Hills are situated in the north-central 

part of the area, north of the Cerbat Mountains, between Hualpai 

Wash on the east and the Detrital Valley on the west. They consist 

of a belt of low hills about 15 miles in width, extending northward 

for 25 miles to Colorado River. Here the Virgin Canyon separates 

them from the Virgin Mountains on the north. They rise from 100 

to 2,000 feet above the valleys on either side, but nowhere do they 

attain an elevation of 5,000 feet, and their topography is in the main 

of a gentle type. The White Hills are .composed of pre-Cambrian 

granitoid rocks, covered locally with Tertiary volcanic rocks or 

younger basalt and patches of Quaternary conglomerate and gravels.

Hualpai Mountains. The Hualpai Mountains lie in the southeastern part of the area, southeast of the Cerbat Mountains, south 

of Hualpai Wash, and between the Big Sandy Valley on the east and 

the Sacramento Valley on the west. They extend from the latitude 

of Kingman southward a few miles beyond the limits of the area 

shown on the map (PL I, in pocket), in which direction they have 

a length of about 40 miles. On the north they have a width of 

about 16 miles, which, however, diminishes somewhat within a short 

distance to the south. Their average height, as given by Lee, is 7,000 

feet. Their culminating point is Hualpai Peak, which is situated in 

the northern part of the group, 11 miles southeast of Kingman, and 

attains the altitude of 8,266 feet.

These mountains are composed of pre-Cambrian granitic rocks and 

seem to be a fault block tilted eastward. The precipitous western
PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES. 21 

 »

slope, according to Lee, meets the detrital plain of the Sacramento 

Valley at high angles. Its base is flanked on the north by the Kingman Mesa, and similar flat lava-topped buttes and hills, rising a few 

hundred feet above the surrounding plain, extend southward nearly 

to the south end of the range.

The eastern slope of the mountains, according to Lee,a is not so 

precipitous as the western. He says:

At altitudes of nearly 6,000 feet the crystalline rocks begin to disappear 

beneath a corrugated detrital slope of comparatively low gradient, which extends eastward to Big Sandy Wash, a distance of 10 to 15 miles. In this distance the descent is about the same as that attained in the western slope in a 

much less distance.

At the southern end of the range the mountains cease rather abruptly, giving place to low isolated hills separated by broad passes occupied by the 

detrital accumulation 'of the plains. To the east are several comparatively 

small spurs and detached mountain groups.

Peacock Mountains. Northeast of the Hualpai Mountains, lying 

betAveen them and the Cottonwood Cliffs and interrupting the continuity between the Hualpai and Big Sandy valleys, are the Peacock 

Mountains, an outlying group having a length of 20 miles and a 

width of 6 or 7 miles. Like the Hualpai Mountains, they are composed of pre-Cambrian granitic rocks and have their steeper slope 

on the west. They culminate in Peacock Peak, a .few miles southeast of Hackberry, near the middle of the group, at an altitude of 

6,268 feet.

BLACK MOUNTAINS, OR COLORADO RANGE.

In the western part of the area and the extreme western part of 

Arizona, lying between the Detrital-Sacramento Valley on the east 

and the great trough of Colorado River on the west, are the Black 

Mountains, known by the early writers as the Blue Range and on 

the Wheeler maps and in a still later report by Spurr as the Colorado Range. At present this range is often called the River Range, 

but it is more generally known as the Black Mountains, and this 

name has been adopted for it by the United States Geographic Board.

This range is the southern extension of the Muddy Range in 

southeastern Nevada, from which it is separated on the north by 

Boulder Canyon, situated east of the Great Bend of the Colorado. 

It extends from Boulder Canyon for 100 miles southward, to the 

valley of Sacramento Wash, or nearly to the southern edge of the 

mapped area, east of Needles. Though continuous throughout, it is 

more or less irregular in height and width. It varies in width locally 

from 5 or 6 miles in the northern and middle parts to 10 miles or 

more in the southern part; and the crest line varies in altitude from

" Lee, W. T., Geologic reconnaissance of a part of western Arizona: Bull. U. S. Geol. 

Survey No. 352, 1908, p. 24.
22 MINEKAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AKIZONA.

?

5,500 feet in Mount Perldns and Mount Wilson to about 3,000 feet 

in Eldorado Pass, west of the White Hills.

The topography is, in the main, that typical of a mass of volcanic 

flows eroded into rugged peaks, ridges, cliffs, canyons, and gorges. 

In some regions, however, where erosion has been less intense, the 

original type of table-land and mesas is still preserved. As shown 

in figure 2, the usually short eastern slope meets the plain of 

the Detrital-Sacramento Valley at an average elevation of about 

2,000 feet; the long western slope descends to Colorado River, which 

here flows at an average elevation of about 540 feet.

Much of the northern portion of the range, however, lies close to 

the river, where its rocks form the walls of the Black Canyon of the 

Colorado. According to Newberry,0 a magnificent exposure of volcanic rocks is displayed at this locality. Toward the south, however, 

broad, gravel-covered, inclined, graded planes or mesas, 2 to 5 miles 

in width, intervene between the mountains and the river or the alluvial flats which locally border it.

The range is essentially composed of the pre-Cambrian granitoid 

complex, flanked or overlain, and in the so'uthern part deeply buried, 

by extensive areas of Tertiary volcanics. A few smaller batholiths 

of granite porphyry or quartz monzonite of intermediate age are intruded into the pre-Cambrian rocks.

Topographically the range consists of five groups of mountains 

the Mount Wilson, Perldns, Detrital-Sacramento, Mount Nutt, and 

Black Mesa groups, named in order from north to south.

The Mount Wilson group, named from its highest peak, which is 

situated toward its northern part and has an altitude of 5,500 feet, 

extends from Boulder Canyon southward to Eldorado Pass, a distance of about 25 miles. From Mount Wilson the altitude diminishes 

to about 3,000 feet at Boulder Canyon on the north and at Eldorado 

Pass on the south. The rugged western slope presents a view which 

for " wild, savage grandeur " Newberry describes as scarcely equaled 

by anything he had seen elsewhere.

The Mount Perkins group, an elongated ridge, extends from Eldorado Pass southward to Union Pass, a distance of 40 miles. It 

culminates in Mount Perkins, 5,500 feet high, situated near the center 

of the group. From this peak southward the altitude diminishes to 

o,500 feet at Union Pass. The southern lava-covered portion of this 

group is, in part, of a mesa type.

The Detrital-Sacramento group occupies an area about 8 miles in 

diameter and extends eastward from the southern part of the 

Mount Perkins group nearly across the Detrital-Sacramento Valley 

southeast of Chloride, forming for the most part the divide between

"Newberry, J- S., Geological report (Ives, J. C., Report upon the Colorado River of the 

West, pt. 3), 1861, p. 40.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES. 23

the Detrital Valley on the north and the Sacramento Valley on the 

south. It is composed of many small, irregular hills of basaltic rock.

The Mount Nutt group, of which Mount Nutt, 5,000 feet high, situated south of the center, is the culminating peak, extends from 

Union Pass southward to Gold Road (formerly Sitgreaves) Pass. 

It is a rugged group, composed of volcanic rocks with precipitous 

fault scarps along most of its southern and western portions. At 

Gold Road Pass the altitude of the crest line diminishes to 3,550 

feet. In the latitude of Secret Pass (elevation 3,400 feet) the range 

is tripartite, being composed of three well-defined, north-south ridges, 

situated 2 or 3 miles apart.

The Black Mesa group extends from Gold Road Pass southward to 

the end of the range at Sacramento Wash, which is traversed by the 

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It has a length of 20 miles, 

a width of about 10 miles, and an average elevation of about 4,000 

feet. It diminishes in altitude toward the south. Its topographic 

form is the result of deep dissection of a huge volcanic plateau 

known as Black Mesa, whose rocks are about 3,000 feet in thickness 

and which formerly had a much wider extent. At the eastern portion the mountains form a relatively regular escarpment, rising about 

1,000 feet above the Sacramento Valley; the western border is more 

deeply eroded and irregular, with projecting ridges and peaks, of 

which Boundary Cone and Leland and Hardy mountains are 

examples.

The mountains shown at the lower edge of the map, extending 

south of the railway along Colorado River, are a part of the Mohave 

Mountains on the east and of the group known as the Needles on 

the west. They are composed essentially of Tertiary volcanic rocks, 

and 8 or 10 miles southeast of Mellen connect with the Chemehuevis 

Mountains, which are made up of the pre-Cambrian complex.

ELDORADO RANGE.

Rising from the great trough of the Colorado on the west is the 

Eldorado Range, whose eastern slope only is represented on the 

accompanying map. This range is topographically and geologically 

similar to the Black Mountains, from Avhich Colorado River separates 

it on the east, being composed of the same classes of rocks, with a 

somewhat greater proportion of monzonite and syenite. The Tertiary volcanic rocks predominate in the northern part and the preCambrian crystalline complex in the southern part. The highest 

point is Dead Mountain, which has an altitude of nearly 6,000 feet 

and is situated near the middle of the range. Although the range 

does not properly form a part of the area here described, this brief 

sketch of it is given because it has close geographic, geologic, and
24 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

economic relations with this area. It contains the Searchlight, Eldorado Canyon, and other producing mining camps.

VALJLEYS.

DETRITAL-SACRAMENTO VALLEY.

The principal valleys of the area, apart from the great trough of 

the Colorado, are the Detrital-Sacramento and the Hualpai. The 

former lies between the Cerbat Range on the east and the Black

° jj-J>S*

Mountains on the west. As denned by Lee,° it extends from Colorado^ 

River on the north to Williams River, 30 miles beyond the area 

mapped in Plate I, on the south, and between these points has a 

length of 130 miles and a width of 5 to 15 miles.

In the region of Chloride the valley is traversed by a low divide 

separating the drainage of the northern part from that 'of the sou£ 

ern part. The portion north of this divide, known as the Detritai 

Valley, drains northward by way of Detritai Wash, which empties 

into the Colorado between Virgin and Boulder canyons. The central 

portion, known as the Sacramento Valley, drains southward via 

Sacramento Wash, which joins the Colorado at Mellen. The portion 

south of Sacramento Wash has no distinctive name.

As noted by Newberry, Lee, and others, the Detrital-Sacramento 

Valley seems to be due mainly to erosion and must have been at one 

time occupied by a large river. The depth to which it was eroded is 

estimated by Lee, who has examined it on the north and on the south, 

as probably more than 2,500 feet; the amount of filling it contains, 

consisting of detrital deposits of conglomerate, sand, gravel, wash, 

clay, and intercalated sheets of basalt, is not known. Since the infilling, however, considerable erosion has taken place.

IIUALPAT VALLEY.

The Hualpai Valley is-situated northeast of the central part of the 

area, between the Grand Wash Cliffs on the east and northeast, the 

Cerbat Mountains and White Hills on the west, and the Peacock and 

Hualpai mountains on the south. It is about 75 miles long and 25 

miles wide. It is for the most part an undrained basin; the lower 

portion, which has an elevation of about 3,000 feet and is about 16 

miles in length by 10 miles in width, is known as Red Lake. This 

" lake," however, is a playa, or dry, barren, mud flat most of the 

time, owing to the evaporation of the flood waters or their absorption 

by the underlying filling of the valley. The principal drainage 

entering the basin comes through Truxton Creek, the bed of which is 

usually dry.

« Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 352, 1908, p. 52.
PHYSIOGBAPHIC FEATUEES. 25

The Hualpai Valley is a structural trough situated in direct alignment with the Grand Wash fault extending southward from the 

mouth of the Grand Canyon, where, according to Dutton, the throw 

is from 6,000 to 7,000 feet. According to Gilbert ° it occupies a pseudomonocline formed by the fault. As suggested by Lee, this fault 

probably extends through the valley and is continuous with that west 

of the Hualpai Mountains.

Other evidences of deformation are tilted basalt sheets exposed in 

b" tt,es and ridges dipping eastward beneath the floor of the valley 

.ilong its western edge, and according to Lee the sedimentary rocks 

at the north end of the valley are also tilted to the east.

The thickness of the filling contained in the valley is unknown. A 

well TOO feet deep near the head of Hualpai Wash does not go 

through it.

.lie northern part of the valley, known as Hualpai Wash, is very

much narrower than the main valley and has a length of 25 miles; it 

drains northward into the Colorado at Scanlon 'Ferry. It is a structural depression, and in its lower part contracts almost to a canyon. 

The divide at its head, which separates it from the undrained portion of the valley, rises but 300 feet above Red Lake and in time will 

probably be lowered by back cutting so that the lake will be drained 

by the wash.

BIG SANDY VALLEY.

*

The Big Sandy Valley is situated in the southeastern part of the 

area, between the Cottonwood and Aquarius cliffs on the east and 

the Hualpai Mountains and Aubrey Hills on the west. It extends 

from Hackberry southward to Bill Williams River, a distance of 

75 miles, and has a width of 10 or 12 miles. The lowest portion of 

the valley occurring within the area here described is Big Sandy 

Wash, whose principal tributaries from the plateau region on the east 

are White Cliff, Trout, and Sycamore creeks. According to Lee, 

these streams enter the Big Sandy through deep, narrow canyons. 

He continues: 6

That portion of the valley between the Hualpai Mountains and Big Sandy 

Wash consists of a long, graded detrital slope, more or less deeply cut by 

parallel washes, such as Deluge Wash. This highly inclined detrital slope, the 

western fault scarp of the Hualpai Mountains, and the fault scarp to the east 

(Aquarius Cliffs) all terminate at the south in practically the same latitude.

Big Sandy Valley, as defined by Lee,c is a fault trough formed 

by the downthrow of the Hualpai Mountain block on the east, as 

marked by the fault extending southward along the Cottonwood and 

Aquarius cliffs. The overlying Tertiary volcanic rocks, having been

« Gilbert, G. K., U. S. Geog. and Geol. Surveys W. 100th Mer., vol. 3, 1875, p. 60. 

"Lee, W. T., Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 352, 1908, p. 50. 

0 Idem, pp. 50-51.
26 MINERAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

dropped from the level of the plateau on the east, now floor the 

valley and abut against the underlying granite along the fault plane 

at the base of the cliffs. The detrital filling of the valley, according 

to Lee, consists of several formations of sand, gravel, clay, tufa, etc., 

that are unconformable with one another. They represent different 

periods of deposition and aggregate 1.000 feet or more in thickness.

GKEAT TROUGH OF THE COLORADO.

Location and character. A most striking feature of the area is 

the great trough of Colorado River, extending north and south along 

its western border between the Black Mountains on the east and the 

Eldorado Range on the west. Its great sides, sloping from the 

crests of the ranges, 5,000 to 6,000 feet in altitude, meet in the bed 

of the river, which here flows at an altitude of about 540 feet. The 

floor of the stream is in some places bed rock; in others it consists 

of deposits of infilled debris of unknown thickness. The bottom of 

the trough consists mainly of stretches of open valley alternating 

with usually shorter canyons, whose steep walls rise precipitously 

above the river, locally to heights of more than 1,000 feet. Of these 

the most important are Black and Pyramid canyons.

The principal features of the trough were early described by 

Newberry, who, in association with the Ives expedition in 1857-58, 

ascended the river to Fortification Rock, situated above Black Canyon in the big bend of the river.

Black Canyon. Black Canyon is situated in the northwest corner 

of the area, between the Detrital basin on the north and the basin of 

Cottonwood Valley, heading a few miles above Eldorado Ferry on 

the south. It has a length of about 18 miles and consists of a deep, 

narrow rock gorge, with few interruptions and no open valleys or

alluvial deposits. The nearly perpendicular walls on either side of 

the water's edge rise to heights of 1,000 feet or more. According to 

Lee and Newberry, they are composed mainly of massive rhyolite, 

with pre-Cambrian granite in places outcropping at the base.

Cottonwood Valley. Between Black Canyon on the north and 

Pyramid Canyon on the south the Colorado flows through an open 

basin-like area 30 miles long. It is the northernmost of a series of 

similar areas which extend southward to the Gulf of California. 

Its central part is known as Cottonwood Valley. Its flood plain 

bordering the river is in turn bordered by gravel bluffs between 

which and the foot of the mountains, 4 or 5 miles distant on either 

side, " are long corrugated slopes covered with angular rock debris or 

wash from the mountains " and local areas of basalt sheets.

Pyramid Canyon. Pyramid Canyon lies about west of Union 

Pass, between the basin of Cottonwood Valley on the north and 

Mohave Valley on the south, Pyramid being located at its head. It
GEOLOGY. 27

has a length of about 8 miles. Its depth is only 300 feet, but it is 

steep walled and is cut in the pre-Cambrian granitoid rocks, which 

here form a low neck extending from Dead Mountain eastward across 

the bottom of the trough to the base of the Black Mountains. Surmounting the granite cliffs on either., side at 250 to 300 feet above the 

river are deposits of stratified gravel, similar to and continuous with 

those occurring above and below the canyon.

Mo have Valley. Mohave Valley is the largest of the basin-like 

areas along the lower Colorado. It is elliptical in outline, being 

about 35 miles long and 15 miles broad. It extends from the foot of 

Pyramid Canyon southward to the Needles and Mohave mountains 

and is practically surrounded by ranges of rugged and picturesque 

desert mountains.

From the bases of the mountains long debris-covered slopes extend 

toward the river, giving way to gravel-covered mesas that descend in

a succession of half a dozen terraces to the alluvial flood plain, about 

80 square miles in area, bordering the river in the center of the valley.

GEOLOGY.

PRINCIPAL ROCK GROUPS.

The principal rocks of the region, beginning with the oldest, are 

the pre-Cambrian crystalline complex, the Paleozoic sediments, the 

post-Paleozoic intrusive rocks, the Tertiary lavas, and the Quaternary 

and recent sediments. They are approximately outlined on Plate I 

(in pocket). As detailed descriptions of them will be given under 

the heads of the camps in which they occur, only a general sketch is 

here attempted. With reference to the mineral deposits the first and 

third of the divisions mentioned are the most important.

PRE-CAMBRIAN ROCKS. 

CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION.

The fundamental and oldest rocks of the area are those of the preCambrian crystalline complex, which consists essentially of coarse, 

more or less porphyritic and roughly gneissoid granitic rocks, with 

gneiss and schist of various kinds. Altered sedimentary rocks may 

possibly be present in the complex, but of this there is little evidence. 

It contains numerous quartz veins or lodes in which occur the mineral 

deposits mined in the Cerbat Range and Grand Wash Cliffs and in 

part in the Black Mountains.

Though locally concealed, the pre-Cambrian complex underlies the 

area as a whole and constitutes the uneven floor upon which all the 

other rocks rest. It, forms the larger part of the Grand Wash Cliffs, 

and extends eastward beneath the Paleozoic rocks of the Grand 

Canyon district. As shown by its outcrop area on the accompanying
28 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

map (PI. I), it composes the greater portion of the White Hills and 

practically the whole of the Cerbat, Hualpai, and Peacock mountains. 

It is also the principal rock mass in the northern part of the Black 

Mountains. On the west side of the region it outcrops along the 

Colorado near Black and Pyramid canyons and beyond the river in 

the vicinity of Eldorado Canyon, Dead Mountain, and at other points 

in the Eldorado Eange.

Outlying knobs and isolated outcrops, together with borings and 

exposures in washes and canyons, show that the pre-Cambrian complex extends from range to range beneath the detrital deposits of 

Hualpai and Detrital-Sacramento valleys, and thus continuously 

underlies the entire area.

PETROGRAPHY.

As a whole, the pre-Cambrian rocks consist of gneissoid granites, 

which are of varying degrees of schistosity, but which always preserve 

indications of their igneous origin. They are coarse grained and 

usually gray or reddish in color and consist of quartz, microcline, 

orthoclase, microperthite, oligoclase, and small amounts of biotite. 

The original structure is eugranitic. With increasing schistosity the 

crushing of the constituents becomes more apparent and muscovite 

develops from feldspar and biotite, while chlorite forms from the 

biotite. Garnet of pale reddish color is present in some of the rocks. 

Pegmatites and aplites are noted from many places and are evidently 

merely facies or products of differentiation of the prevailing rock.

At Stockton Hill, in the Cerbat Range, the gneisses are in places 

more schistose with accompanying development of chlorite. There 

also occurs an amphibolite, containing brown hornblende, labradorite, 

and magnetite; this rock is a pressed diorite. Other similar rocks 

contain hornblende, orthoclase, andesine (?), titanite, and magnetite.

Entirely similar rocks were observed in the Chloride and Cerbat districts. In the White Hills, at the north end of the Cerbat Range, the 

gneisses are decidedly schistese with strong development of sillimanite 

and sericite. There, are also amphibolites composed of light-green 

hornblende, brown mica, and sericitized feldspar.

In the Gold Basin district a quartz-sericite schist was found in 

addition to the usual gneisses, but it probably represents only an 

extreme schistose development of the granite. Coarse microcline 

granite showing some evidence of pressure appears at the base of the 

Grand Wash Cliffs; but along with it are found massive quartz 

monzonites which are probably post-Cambrian in age. The normal 

coarse gneissoid -microcline granites prevail in the Union Pass district of the Black Mountains, toward the Colorado River side. Some 

of these are unusually schistose with remaining " augen " of microcline.
GEOLOGY. 29

Of the specimens of gneisses and schists examined none indicated 

a sedimentary origin, except possibly a graphite schist from the 

Cerbat Kange between Mineral Park and Stockton Hill.

STRUCTURE.

A schistose structure is characteristic of the pre-Cambrian granitic 

rocks in this region. The trend of the schistosity is, in general, 

about N. 30° E., with the dip vertical or eastward at usually steep 

angles; the dominant jointing strikes north-northwest, with the dip 

vertical or steeply to the east-northeast. This latter direction is 

also approximately the trend of most of the fissures containing the 

quartz lodes above referred to.

Besides the general structure above stated, the rocks have suffered 

material alteration in regions of intensity of movement, such as fault 

planes or shear zones, the otherwise massive granites being locally 

converted almost beyond recognition into fissile mica schist, hornblende schist, and other schists.

PALEOZOIC SEDIMENTS.

About the only Paleozoic sediments of the area are those of the 

Grand Canyon section, forming the upper part or cliff-making portion of the Grand Wash Cliffs and the adjacent portion of the Colorado Plateau. As they have no material bearing on the subject of 

this paper they may be dismissed with the following brief notice:

The series, taken in ascending order, consists apparently of a basal 

quartzite and greenish shale, the two constituting what in the Grand 

Canyon district is called the Tonto group, of Middle Cambrian age, 

about 1,000 feet in thickness, and resting, as seen at Music Mountain 

camp, almost horizontally upon the base-leveled surface of the preCambrian crystalline complex above described.

Above the Tonto is 1,000 feet or more of Carboniferous limestone, 

the Red Wall (lower Pennsylvanian and upper Mississippian), which 

rises to the adjacent summit of the plateau. It is mostly heavy 

bedded, is the principal cliff maker of the Grand Wash Cliffs, and 

seems to be the northwest extension of the great belt of Carboniferous 

limestone which, extending northwest and southeast across Arizona, 

has in association with it many of the Territory's mineral deposits;

Above the Red Wall limestone lies an undetermined thickness of 

the Aubrey group, of Carboniferous (upper Pennsylvanian) age.

These Paleozoic rocks must have formerly extended entirely across 

the area here described and covered it much the same as they now 

cover the Grand Canyon district to the northeast, but they have since 

been largely removed by erosion. The only other localities at which 

traces of sediments probably belonging to this series were encountered are Silver Creek and Kingman.
30 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

Along the road which leads from Silver Creek to the Moss mine, 

at a point about three-fourths of a mile south of the mine, where the 

covering of Tertiary volcanic rocks has been more or less removed by 

erosion, occur a few inconspicuous outcrops of purplish, dark irongray, and blackish metamorphosed shale, which seems to rest upon the 

pre-Cambrian granite exposed near by and probably represents unremoved remnants of the basal portion of the Paleozoic series of the 

Grand Canyon.

At Kingman material excavated from a well on'the ground of 

Judge Metcalf, in the northwestern part of the town> contains limestone bearing organic remains, and may be related to the Paleozoic 

rocks above described.

INTRUSIVE ROCKS.

The pre-Cambrian gneisses and schists are in places intruded by 

igneous masses and dikes which are considerably older than the 

Tertiary volcanic rocks, next to be described, but whose exact age is 

unknown. Very likely they are of late Jurassic or early Cretaceous 

age and of the same period of intrusion as the batholiths of California and western Nevada. The most important of these intrusives 

are granite porphyries of varying types and dark lamprophyric dike 

rocks such as minettes and vogesites. Being similar in composition 

to the pre-Cambrian granites, the younger granites and porphyries 

are in places difficult to distinguish and separate, especially as they 

show here and there a certain close jointing or schistosity and are 

nearly everywhere strongly sheeted. The larger stocks of granite 

porphyry are accompanied by dikes of the same material and by characteristic complementary dikes of minette or vogesite. These intrusives are found in the more important mining districts and are 

probably connected with the genesis of the ore deposits. Many of the 

lamprophyric dikes are followed by fissure veins.

GRANITE PORPHYRY AND MICROPEGMATITE.

Granite porphyry occurs mainly in the Cerbat Mountains, where 

it extends with interruptions from Stockton Hill to Chloride. It is 

practically coextensive with the mineral belt of the mountains. The 

principal masses, however, occur in the Mineral Park district, where 

the granite porphyry forms the upper part of the prominent knob 

on the northwest known as " Niggerhead." It also constitutes a considerable portion of the mountains on the opposite side of the wash 

to the south, and extends with interruptions throughout the greater 

portion of the basin eastward for a distance of 1^ miles into the slope 

of the range. Its sheeting or jointing, well shown across the northern part of the Mineral Park district, dips westward at angles of 

about 35°,
GEOLOGY. 31

In a fresh specimen the rock is light gray to white and of medium 

to fine grain. Thin sections show it to be a coarse granite porphyry 

with phenocrysts of quartz and orthoclase in a microcrystalline 

groundmass. The rock contains some secondary sericite and is greatly 

crushed. There are many types of this rock in the Music Mountain 

district, and particularly in the dikes of the Cerbat Range. A specimen from Charcoal Canyon shows large phenocrysts of quartz, oligoclase (?), biotite, and hornblende, the latter two largely converted 

into chlorite. The groundmass is microgranular and consists of 

quartz and orthoclase.

A dike from the Lucky Boy mine in the Chloride district approaches a syenite porphyry, but contains no biotite or hornblende. 

Others look very much like aplites in thin section.

An allied rock occurs in two masses in the Black Mountains. One 

of these makes up the Hardy Mountains, an outlying group several miles in diameter, about 2-| miles west of Gold Road. The other 

occupies an area embracing the hills near the Moss mine, 4 miles 

northwest of Gold Road. The rock is pinkish, is of medium to 

coarse grain, and is composed of quartz, orthoclase, and microperthite, in micropegmatitic intergrowth. The accessor}^ minerals consist of a few crystals of iron ore, biotite, sphene, zircon, and apatite. 

The feldspars are clouded with kaolinite, and a little calcite is also 

present. The quartz contains numerous fluid inclusions and negative crystals. These usually contain a bubble of gas and some of 

them a colorless crystal of a double refracting mineral.

A partial analysis, by E. C. Sullivan, of a specimen from the 

Navy group mine, 4 miles northwest of Gold Road, gave: Si02 , 

73.16; CaO, 1.35; Na 2 0, 3.71; K2 0, 5.21. This rock is perhaps best 

termed a micropegmatite. Some .varieties range toward a quartz 

syenite porphyry.

Quartz monzonites and hornblende granites occur in the Music 

Mountain district, as later intrusives in the pre-Cambrian gneisses.

LAMPROPHYR1C DIKE ROCKS.

Manjr acidic intrusive masses are accompanied by narrow dikes of 

a basic character and peculiar structure. In the Cerbat Mountains a 

number of these dikes were noted. They are found at the MinnesotaConnor and Towne mines in the Chloride district, at the Champion 

and Windy Point mines in the Cerbat and Mineral Park districts, 

and at many other places.

The rock is black when fresh, but in many places- appears altered 

and has a brownish or greenish earthy aspect. It usually contains 

phenocrysts of brown biotite and, in thin section, shows a panidiomorphic structure.
32 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

According to their mineral composition the rocks are termed 

minette, kersantite, or vogesite. A characteristic specimen from the 

Champion mine (No. 46) was analyzed. It has porphyritic structure, with abundant phenocrysts of biotrte and a few of augite. The 

panidiomorphic groundmass is composed of andesine, augite, orthoclase, iron ore, and apatite. Named in the order of their relative 

abundance, the constituent minerals are andesine, biotite, augite, 

orthoclase, iron ore, and apatite. In general the order of crystallization may be stated as follows: Apatite, iron ore, augite, andesine, 

biotite, and orthoclase. Exceptions to this order will be noted later. 

The andesine occurs mainly in fine lath-shaped crystals. It contains 

inclusions of apatite and iron ore, but rarely biotite, and it is only 

exceptionally that the plagioclase is included in the latter mineral. 

The light-brown biotite occurs in foils and well-formed crystals containing abundant inclusions of the earlier minerals as noted. The 

pale-green augite is usually in granules, though here and there it 

shows crystal forms. Orthoclase was the latest mineral to crystallize, 

and usually fills the space between the other constituents, though 

some small crystals appear to have formed earlier. Iron ore forms 

several per cent of the rock. The analysis indicates a titaniferous 

magnetite. Apatite, as calculated from the analysis, forms 2.02 per 

cent. The minerals for the most part show little alteration. Some 

of the feldspar has been replaced by carbonate. A green fibrous 

chloritic mineral frequently associated with biotite is plentiful. 

Needle-like crystals of a highly refracting character are abundant 

in nearly all the minerals. The rock stands between a minette arid 

a kersantite.

Analyses of minette and vogesite.

[George Steiger, analyst.]

A] 2O3 . ..................................................................................

Fe2 03 ... ................................................................................

FeO...... ..............................................................................

MgO.. .................................................................................

CaO. ....................................................................................

Na20. ...................................................................................

K20...... ..............................................................................

H»O...... .............................................................................

HiO+... ......... ......................................................................

TiOj.... ................................................................................

Zr02 ....................................................................................

COa......... ............................................................................

PaOs.......... ...........................................................................

S.. ......................................................................................

MnO.. ..................................................................................

BaO ....................................................................................

SrO. ....................................................................................

.

1.

49.59

15.30

5.01

4.19

4.50

5.51

2.24

3.80

2.98

3.59

1.50

.05

.94

.09

.11

.21

.12

99.73

2.

48.36

5.35

7.47

3.15

2.17

1.16

1. Dike rock (No. 46-) from Champion mine, Cerbat district.

2. Dike rock (No. 100) from Minnesota-Connor mine, Chloride district,
GEOLOGY. 33

The calculation of the norm of No. \ is unsatisfactory on account 

of the' large amount of water, which is not taken into consideration 

in the quantitative system of rock classification. It leads, however, 

to the placing of the rock as a shoshonose.0

The analysis indicates clearly that the rock is a product of differentiation ; the high percentages of phosphorus, titanium, barium, and 

strontium are noteworthy. Still more peculiar is the high percentage 

of water driven off above 110°. The rock is fresh, on the whole, and 

the small amount of chlorite can not account for the water. It is 

difficult to avoid the belief that the rock contains some analcite that 

is so hidden as to be scarcely detectable under the microscope.

The dike rock from the Minnesota-Connor mine (No. 2) is a rather 

fine-grained rock with a few phenocrysts of feldspar. The primary 

minerals are, in order of abundance, orthoclase, plagioclase, and 

basaltic hornblende; the accessories, biotite, iron ore, and apatite. 

The secondary minerals are chlorite, sericite, calcite, epidote, kaolinite, zoisite, green amphibole, and pyrite. A brown hornblende was 

the earliest of the essential minerals to crystallize, following the apatite and iron ore; orthoclase crystallized last, though this was in part 

contemporaneous with the plagioclase. The feldspars are highly 

altered, making accurate determinations uncertain. Orthoclase is 

probably slightly more abundant than plagioclase. Several crystals 

of plagioclase were determined as andesine and one as labradorite. 

Probably most of it is andesine. Sericite, epidote, calcite, chlorite, 

kaolinite, and zoisite were all recognized as alteration minerals in 

the feldspar. Many of the hornblende crystals show an alteration 

around the margins to green amphibole, and some have been replaced 

by chlorite and epidote. Only a few crystals of biotite were recognized. This rock, has the mineral composition of vogesite though it 

is close to the line between vogesite and camptonite.

DIABASE.

Dikes of normal though locally chloritized diabase were noted at 

the Ellen Jane mine in the Music Mountain district and at the Champion, Hercules, Treasure Hill, Gem, and Midnight mines in the Cerbat Range. They probably belong to the older (Mesozoic ?) intrusive 

rocks. Other dikes in the Black Mountains are more likely holocrystalline facies of Tertiary basalts.

<* Washington, H. S., Chemical analyses of Igneous rocks, published from 1884 to 1900, 

with a critical discussion of the character and use of analyses: Prof. Paper U. Sf. Geol. 

Survey No. 14, 1903, p. 266.

§§171 Bull. 39T 09 3
34 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA. 

TERTIARY VOLCANIC ROCKS. 

GENERAL FEATURES.

The great event that took place after the erosion of the Paleozoic 

sediments from the Great Basin portion of the area was the eruption and effusion of a mass of Tertiary volcanic lavas which more 

or less completely flooded the region. As shown on the map, the 

present areas of these rocks, which vary from local outcrops to mountain masses several hundred square miles in extent and several thousand feet in thickness, are mere remnants of the former vast lava field 

which extended over the entire region.

The rocks consist of andesites, trachytes, rhyelites, latites,, and 

basalts, lying in broad superimposed sheets or flows with intercalated 

beds of ash, tuff, and breccia. They are best developed in the Black 

Mountains, particularly in the southern part, contain most of the 

mineral deposits of the range, and probably played an important 

part in the genesis of these deposits.

Similar effusive rocks are shown b}^ the Wheeler Survey and by 

Spurr, Ransome, and Ball to continue interruptedly far northward 

into Nevada and California.

These volcanic rocks have not been differentiated on the accompanying map (PL I), but their order of succession is shown in the generalized section (fig. 2) extending across the southern part of the 

Black Mountains in the vicinity of Gold Road. They rest upon the 

eroded surface of the pre-Cambrian complex.

BASAL ANDESITE.

The oldest or basal formation of the Tertiary volcanics, as well 

exposed in the Vivian region, is a light-gray, purple, or pale-green 

andesite. It has a thickness of at least several hundred feet and occupies the border of the foothills from the vicinity of the Vivian and 

Leland mines southwestward to the gravel mesas of Colorado River. 

It is designated No. 9 in figure 2. It consists of flows, tuffs, and 

breccias. It is more or less chloritic, calcitic, and locally silicified, 

and is not known to contain mineral deposits of commercial value. 

It shows a northeasterly sheeting not observed in the overlying rocks 

and is intruded by the green chloritic andesite to be next described 

and by rhyolite dikes. Thin sections of specimens obtained near 

Vivian indicate that this rock is an andesite, though its alteration 

hardly permits exact determinations.

GREEN CHLORITIC ANDESITE.

Overlying the above-described andesite, and roughly differentiated 

on the map as green chloritic andesite, is another series of flows of 

andesite which contains an important part of the. mineral-bearing
GEOLOGY. 35

lodes in the Gold Road region. 

It is known locally as " antique 

porphyry." At Secret Pass it rests 

directly on the pre-Cambrian granite, and in the Hardy Mountains 

on the granite porphyry or micropegmatite. It occupies an area of 

35 or 40 square miles and has a 

maximum thickness of about 800 

feet. It is disposed in heavy beds 

or flows inclining gently eastward 

into the range. (See fig. 2.) In 

places it is associated with or 

grades into black latite, which 

could not be differentiated in the 

field; hence the general use of the 

term " green chloritic andesite " in 

this report does not imply that 

latite may not also be present. 

' The rock consists mainly of a 

dark greenish to olive or lightgreen fine-grained groundmass containing numerous whitish feldspar 

phenocrysts, which in certain localities constitute about 40 per cent of 

the volume of the rock and show 

some degree of parallel disposition 

due to flow. The phenocrysts vary 

in appearance from fresh and 

glassy to dull and are of all shapes 

and sizes, ranging from minute 

slender laths to stout, approximately equidimensional prisms having a maximum length of about 

one-half inch. In the fresh, unaltered rock, irregular black bodies 

of which occur inclosed in the 

greenish portion above described, 

well exposed at the Pasadena mine, 

the groundmass is black and the 

phenocrysts are fresh and glassy.

Under the microscope the rock .is 

generally, found to be decidedly 

chloritic and calcitic and in some 

sections pyritic; in others it con-

- crs O

- |i r f

^^'$L*i-PASADENA MINE

-. /iJ*- \

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

PUMP'PLANT

Peak south of saddle

-fST- END OF ff.

I ROAD MINE

 GOLD ROAD MINE

, -NAVY GROUP MINE

Hardy Mtn.

4 miles east of Mohave 

and 'Colorado River
36 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

tains magnetite, but no pyrite, and in others it is silicified. In some 

localities it is so decomposed that no bisilicates remain. Some slides 

show characteristic propylitic alteration zones, particularly along 

veins. The rock is traversed by numerous mineral-bearing veins or 

lodes, particularly in the Vivian region.

The most important intrusive into this rock is rhyolite in the form 

of large dikes and rounded pluglike or stocklike masses. The following partial analyses have been made:

Partial analyses of yreen chloritio andesite. 

[Analyst, E. C. Sullivan.]

SiOi... ...................................................................................

CaO. .....................................................:...................... ........

NajO.. ..................................................................................

KsO.. ...................................................................................

1.

5.60

2.62

3.14

2.

CQ -to

7.96

2.43

3.13

1. West Gold Road mine, Black Mountains (No. 369).

2. Pasadena mine, Black Mountains (No. 437).

No. 1 is a highly altered greenish porphyritic rock, with abundant 

phenocrysts of orthoclase and acidic plagioclase, in a groundmass 

of fine laths of andesine and oligoclase with abundant orthoclase. 

The accessory minerals are iron ore and apatite, neither being plentiful. The secondary minerals, which form a high percentage of the 

rock, are, in the order of abundance, chlorite, calcite, epidote, and 

pyrite. Quartz also occurs, with chlorite and calcite, as filling of 

small cavities. Though the rock is andesite in character, the mineral composition shows it to be an intermediate rock, and it may be 

classed as trachytic andesite,

The dark-green andesitic rock (No. 2) contains phenocrysts up 

to 7 or 8 millimeters in length, of labradorite with a few of orthoclase 

and an unstriated feldspar with index above Canada balsam. The 

fine trachytic groundmass is composed of andesine and orthoclase, 

the latter being but slightly less abundant than the plagioclase feldspar ; small crystals of magnetite are abundant. Secondary minerals 

are chlorite and carbonate, with a little epidote, and form a large 

percentage of the groundmass. The phenocrysts show less alteration, 

though all are partly and some entirely replaced by chlorite and 

carbonate, with sericite in some places. A small vein crossing the 

slide is filled with quartz, calcite, and adularia.

Like No. 1, this type of the green chloride andesite is really an 

intermediate rock standing between the andesites and the trachytes.

At Vivian the rock cuts the earlier andesite as dikes. A specimen 

of it collected from the Leland mine proved to be latite, as follows:
GEOLOGY. ' 37

Partial analysis of latite from lower east tunnel of Leland mine, at Vivian,

. Black Mountains.

[Analyst, B. C. Sullivan.]

SiO2 ____________________________________ 56.33 

CaO ___________________________________ 4 

NasO__________ _______________________ 2.60 

K,O ___________________________________ 5.19

This is a black, fresh-looking rock with phenocrysts of orthoclase 

and acidic plagioclase, albite, and oligoclase. The groundmass is 

composed of the same feldspars, orthoclase being more abundant than 

plagioclase. Some quartz is present, but very little if any is primary. 

The accessory minerals are iron ore and apatite, the latter being 

rather abundant. The secondary minerals are clilorite, calcite, 

quartz, sericite, and pyrite. Chlorite is abundant throughout the 

rock. Calcite and quartz occur principally as filling of Cavities, 

though the altered feldspars contain considerable carbonate.

^^DIFFERENTIATED VOLCANIC ROCKS.

Overlying the above-described green chloritic andesite in the Gold 

Road region are about 2,000 feet of undifferentiated volcanic rocks, 

consisting of andesites, trachytes, rhyolites, and lati'tes. They compose the bulk of tjie range in this locality and are important economically, as they contain the Gold Road vein now worked and neighboring prospects. They extend from the region of the Gold Road mine 

nearly to the summit of the range, and present the rugged cliff, steep 

slope, and deep gulch topography shown in Plate XL

Like the andesite just described, these rocks lie in heavy beds 

slightly tilted and dipping gently eastward into the range, and are 

cut by several systems of sheeting, the most important of which 

trends in a northwesterly direction, and has an approximately vertical dip. Like the basal andesite, they consist of flows, tuffs, and 

breccias. The upper part of the section is essentially-rhyolitic.

These rocks are all represented in the Gold Road mine. The andesites are usually green or dark greenish-gray, generally porphyritic, 

and in some places much resemble the green chloritic andesite. They 

are locally pyritic. The trachytes are light greenish gray, purple, or 

red, very porphyritic, and differ markedly from the andesites .microscopically and chemically, as may be seen by comparison of the 

analyses on page 39. The rhyolites range from dense reddish, ironstained silicified rocks, with banded or platy structure due to flow, to 

pale greenish, yellowish, pinkish, and whitish porous or massive tuffs.

Microscropic and chemical analyses of the more important of 

these rocks show that what were called andesites in the field are
38 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ABIZOETA.

really intermediate rocks approaching latite. Some of the members 

of the series are true trachytes. So far as shown by the analyses 

even the rocks which would be called andesite from a study of thin 

sections would show on analysis a high percentage of potassium.

Partial analysis of latite near Mocking Bird mine, Black Mountains. 

[Analyst, E. C. Sullivan.]

SiOo______________________________-_________ 59.50 

CaO___________________________-L_______ 5.60 

Na2O____________________________________ 3.37 

K20______________________________________ 4. 33

This is a purplish-gray rock containing phenocrysts of labradorite 

and bytownite, as well as foils of biotite, in a fine groundmass composed largely of orthoclase with abundant iron ore. Apatite is plentiful. All the biotite crystals show strong resorption bands of iron ore 

and the smaller crystals have been entirely resolved. Probably much 

of the iron ore of the groundmass has resulted from the magmatic 

alteration of biotite. A number of crystals entirely replaced by 

carbonate, or carbonate and quartz, appear to be pseudomorphs after 

pyroxene. Calcite is the most important secondary mineral.

Among the undifferentiated volcanic flows later examinations disclosed some normal trachytes, rocks which are rather uncommon 

among the Tertiary effusives of the West. These rocks were principally identified from the vicinity of the Gold Road mine. In the 

field they are not easily distinguished from the andesites and latites, 

especially as all the rocks are in an altered condition. Their extent 

is probably great, but can be ascertained only by detailed petrographic field work. The rocks are greenish, partly altered, and 

locally pyritic, and contain abundant white phenocrysts of sanidine.
GEOLOGY.

The following analyses have been made:

Analyses of trachytes from Black Mountains. 

[Analyst, George Steiger.]

39

Si02 . ...........................................................................

FenOa.. .........................................................................

FeO.... ........................................................................

MgO. ...........................................................................

CaO..................... :......................................................

NajO......... :.................................................................

K*0. ...........................................................................

HtO-.. ........................................................................

H2O+ ..........................................................................

TiO2 . ...........................................................................

Zr02 ... . ........................................................................

C02.. ...........................................................................

p.r>.

o

MnO.............................................. ..............

BaO. ...........................................................................

SrO.. ...........................................................................

1.

58.74

15.09

4. GO

84.

2.75

2.C8

.25

8.05

2.08

3.09

.98

.02

.61

.40

None.

.09

.07

100 44

2.

CO. 40

14.14

4.07

.40

.07

.78

1.20

9.20

.78

1.28

.83

.05

.25

None.

.03

.06

.03

100.35

3.

05.12

1. Gold Road mine, face of 80-foot crosscut on 700-foot level (No. 483).

2. Gold Koad mine, Billy Bryan drift (No. 414). 

a. Line Koad tunnel, Gold Road mine (No. 420).

No. 1 is of light greenish-gray color with abundant phenocrysts of 

tabular sanidine. There are also biotite foils and possibly also prisms 

of hornblende, but both are altered to chlorite, epidote, serpentine, 

and very fine grained quartz. The groundmass is of very fine grain, 

in part probably devitrified glass. The rock has been subjected to 

propylitic alteration, but this has probably not greatly changed its 

composition, except that some of the soda is likely to have been leached 

and that some secondary adularia has formed, with consequent enrichment of potassium. The rock appears to be a normal trachyte.

No. 2 is a brecciated dark purplish-gray rock containing small 

phenocrysts of orthoclase, albite, also some of biotite, in a fine groundmass composed largely of orthoclase with a little quartz, though this 

mineral does not appear nearly as abundantly in the section as the 

chemical analyses would indicate.

The accessory minerals are iron ore, apatite, and a few zircon 

crystals. The secondary minerals include quartz, iron ore, serpentine, 

epidote, and sericite. The dark-brown biotite is largely altered. Some 

crystals are filled with iron ore and have a rim of the same mineral; 

other crystals have the rim of iron ore, while the center is largely 

serpentine; and still others have a center of secondary quartz usually 

accompanied by some serpentine. Quartz occurs in veinlets as well 

as replacing the mica, and it is probable that most of the free silica 

shown by the analysis is from these sources. Most of the iron ore 

appears in the zones of crushing between the breccia fragments and
40 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

is probably introduced during the alteration of the rock. Sericite 

and epidote are present in the feldspar crystals, but neither is abundant. Much of the quartz is secondary, and the rock is without much 

doubt a trachyte, somewhat affected by propylitic alteration.

Norm of trachyte from Billy Bryan drift, Gold Road mine.

Quartz __________________________________ 22. 

Orthoclase ____________________ -__________ 55. 04 

Albite________________________.________ 9.96 

Anorthite __________________________.___ 1.39 

Corundum _ __________ __ ___________._._ 1.53

Hematite___________________. ________ 4.16 

Ilmeuite______________________.________ .91 

Titanite __________________________^-___ .78 

Apatite ___ _ ________ _____________ ___ . 50

Eastatite ___________________-____________ 1.60

98. 01

In the quantitative system this rock is designated as omeose.0 

No. 3 is a porphyritic rock with phenocrysts of orthoclase and a 

few of biotite in a cryptocrystalline groundmass composed largely 

of orthoclase filled with minute specks of a mineral which shows 

rather strong double refraction and which is probably leucoxene.

The accessory minerals are iron ore, apatite, and a few crystals of 

zircon and sphene. The secondary minerals are quartz, leucoxene (?) j 

limonite, and serpentine. The mica is a reddish-brown, highly 

pleochroic variety. Many of the crystals show a rim of iron ore, and 

some are entirely replaced by iron ore, serpentine, and quartz. The 

rock is filled with minute veinlets of quartz, and this mineral has 

partly replaced some of the feldspar crystals. The rock has the mineral composition of trachyte, though the secondary quartz makes it 

appear high in silica (65.12 per cent).

RHYOLITE SERIES.

The above-described undifferentiated rocks are overlain by a series 

of rhyolites composed of tuffs, flows, and breccias. In some localities this series attains a thickness of 1,000 feet or more. It extends 

interruptedly throughout the length of the Black Mountains, and is 

known as the " water rock," from springs that occur, in it. In the 

Cerbat Range it essentially composes the Kingman Mesa, situated 

between the Cerbat and Hualpai mountains, where the tuffs seem, in 

part at least, to be water-laid, and it borders a considerable portion 

of the Cerbat Mountains on the west. Rhyolite dikes cut nearly all 

the underlying volcanic rocks as well as the pre-Cambrian complex, 

and the rhyolite in turn is cut' by the younger andesite and basalt.

a Washington, H. S., Chemical analyses of igneous rocks, 1884-1900: Prof. Paper 

U. S. Geol. Survey No. 14, 1903, p. 145.
GEOLOGY. 41

The rhyolites are as a rule light-colored reddish or pink rocks, with 

small phenocrysts of biotite, feldspar, and quartz; but they also 

assume many other aspects and colors, such as dark brown and black. 

They are normal, rocks of their type, as shown by the following 

analyses and description. The groundmass is felsitic, rarely coarser 

and microcrystalline.

Analyses of rhyolites from northivestern Arizona. 

[Analyst, E. C. .Sullivan.]

Si02 . ...........................................................................

CaO .......................:....................................................

Na2 0.............................. :............................................

KjO................................................ .............................

1.

72.64

1.42

.46

9.06

2.

67.03

.66

2.68

5.36

3.

79.30

.16

1.42

6.12

.1. Mocking Bird mine, Black Mountains (No. 160).

2. Cement rock near Kingman (No. 267).

8. Union Pass, near Hutchinson Camp, Black Mountains (No. 284).

No. 1 is a light-colored rhyolite of tuffaceous aspect. It contains 

phenocrysts and spherulites of orthoclase, with a few scattering crystals of quartz and biotite in a cryptocrystalline groundmass that is 

too fine for definite determination of the minerals, but is probably 

orthoclase and quartz, as indicated by the chemical analyses. The 

accessory minerals include iron ore, apatite, and zircon. Calcite is 

rather abundant through the groundmass.

No. 2 is a glassy cellular rock containing scattered crystals of 

quartz, orthoclase, microperthite, and biotite. There is a little iron 

ore and a few small highly refracting crystals, probably .zircon. 

Many of the cavities are partly and some entirely filled with amorphous silica. The rock is low in silica and approaches a trachyte.

No. 3 is a pinkish-gray dense rock containing phenocrysts of orthoclase and albite in -a microcrystalline groundmass of orthoclase and 

quartz. It contains a few small apatite crystals. The secondary 

minerals are confined to small clouded masses, probably carbonate, 

and altered pyrite crystals.

YOUNGER ANDESITE.

Overlying the rhyolites and locally cutting them as dikes are local 

flows of dark-reddish andesite which, compared with the andesites 

already described, has a relatively fresh appearance and is free from 

the structures that traverse the older rocks. It occurs in the Black 

Mountains in the Gold Road and Silver Creek regions, and in the 

Cerbat Mountains north and northwest of Kingman. It is locally 

amygdaloidal.
42 MINERAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY,, ARIZONA.

OLIVINE BASALT.

The youngest of the effusive rocks is olivine basalt. It occurs in 

sheets covering the older rocks, including the Quaternary gravels, 

and cuts them as dikes. It ranges from black to dark iron gray and 

reddish brown in color, is fine to medium grained, and is locally 

vesicular or amygdaloidal. At many places its sheets form a series 

of cliffs or scarps, exhibiting very perfect columnar structure. It 

originated in two or more periods of eruption separated by intervals 

of erosion. The thin sections show little that is HCAV or interesting. 

A basalt from a point 5 miles northwest of Chloride contains some 

hypersthene, a mineral elsewhere generally absent.

In the Black Mountains both hypocrystalline (glassy) and holocrystalline (diabase) structures occur. The latter development is 

shown by a basalt from Gold Koad Pass.

TERTIARY, (?) AND QUATERNARY DETRITAL ROCKS.

Greggs breccia is a name given by Lee a to a Tertiary (?) detrital 

formation filling Grand Wash Trough. Lee describes it as having 

a thickness of 1,400 feet and being composed of coarse, unassorted, 

poorly stratified, mostly granitic material, cemented toward the top 

with lime carbonate, and containing local deposits of travertine.

Temple Bar conglomerate is a name applied by Lee 6 to a Quaternary formation of slightly consolidated sand and gravel which rests 

unconformably upon the Greggs breccia and older" formations and 

has a wide distribution in southern Arizona. Locally it contains also 

sheets of basalt, and thus far has yielded no fossils. It occurs in the 

Colorado and other valleys, filling the low places to elevations of 

about 3,000 feet. Along the Colorado it is a river deposit, but grades 

laterally into angular mountain wash. It is regarded as equivalent 

in age to the detrital accumulations filling the low plains of the 

Southwest generally and forming the deserts of Arizona and a part 

of southern California. It is similar to the Gila conglomerate described by Gilbert, Ransome, and Lindgren, and resembles the Lake 

Bonneville beds described by Gilbert.

The term Chemehuevis gravel is applied by Lee c to the series of 

Quaternary gravels resting unconformably upon the Temple Bar 

conglomerate and forming terraced bluffs from the mouth of the 

Grand Canyon to the Gulf. They have a thickness of about TOO feet 

and are confined to a relatively narrow belt, having been deposited 

during an aggrading stage of the river.

"Lee, W. T., Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 352, p. 17. 

"Op. cit, p. 17. 

«0p. cit., p. 18.
DISCOVERY AND HISTORY OF MINING DEVELOPMENT. 43

MINERAL DEPOSITS.

DISCOVERY, HISTORY OF MINING DEVELOPMENT, AND PRESENT

CONDITIONS.

. The discovery of mineral deposits in this area dates from very 

early in the sixties, when prospectors from the gold mines of California found rich ore on what has since been known as the Moss vein 

and mine.'1 The Moss mine is situated about 25 miles southwest of 

Kingman and a few miles north of the old government Camp Mohave trail in the long, sloping belt of country lying between Colorado 

River on the west and the Black Mountains on the east. It is about 

10 miles southeast by east of Hardyville, 12 miles northeast by east 

of Mohave, 4 miles northwest of Gold Road, and a few miles west of 

the base of the range, which at that time was known as the Blue 

Range.

Some of the ore shipped to San Francisco is reported to have been 

of extremely high value. The report of this rich find brought a 

rush to the region which, in the years that followed, resulted in extending explorations into the mountains to the east by prospectors 

from California and Nevada. Owing to the hostility of the Hualpai 

and Paiute Indians, explorations were for some time confined to 

the Black Mountains and Cerbat Range, until early in the seventies 

the inrush from Nevada overawed the savage tribes and made the 

life of the pioneer less perilous. In 1872 hundreds of men came in 

from Pioche, Nev., and the gold regions of California, and the rich 

veins of the Cerbat and Hualpai mountains were discovered. The 

ores from these veins were so rich that they yielded large profits, 

although the expense of freight and treatment ran into hundreds of 

dollars a ton, owing to the fact that the ores had to be packed long distances on burros (there being no roads in the county at the time) to 

Colorado River, thence by river steamer to Port Isabel, down the 

gulf to Point Arena, and up the coast to San Francisco, whence they 

were shipped to England for treatment. Later a small 10-stamp 

mill was erected at Hardyville to handle the ore from the old Moss 

mine, but it was not a success, and although one small custom mill 

was erected at Mineral Park in the later seventies, the above-described 

method of marketing ores was followed until the advent of the railway in 1882.

0 At the time of the discovery of the Moss mine this part of Arizona was a part of 

Dona Ana County, N. Mex. In 1864 Arizona Territory was created, and Mohave County 

became one of the four political divisions into which the Territory was divided. The 

county seat was located at Callville, but in 1865, when the State of Nevada was created, 

that part of Mohave County west of Colorado River, which took in the Vegas and part of 

the Muddy country, was annexed to the new State, and the county seat was removed to 

Hardyville. With the influx of people the seat of county government was soon established at Cerbat, where it remained hut a few'years, being then taken to Mineral Park. 

In 1887, after the completion of the Santa Fe Railway, the county seat was established 

at Kingman.
44 MINERAL DEPOSITS O'F MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The pioneers suffered untold hardships in the opening of the new 

country. Supplies had to be brought in by way of the Gulf of California and Colorado River or be freighted over 400 miles of sand and' 

alkali deserts, which made the cost abnormally high. The miners 

had to pay as high as $2 a pound for black powder. Bacon cost from 

35 cents to $1 a pound, sugar 3 pounds for $1, flour 15 to 50 cents a 

pound, and other things in proportion.

The discovery of silver-gold ores in the mountains of the Cerbat 

and Hualpai ranges in the early seventies drew the attention of prospectors from the gold mines of the River Range, and for some time 

the area was classed as a silver-producing region; but a few years ago 

the low market value of silver stimulated the prospecting for gold. 

Under the new conditions the first important mine to be opened was 

the Snowball, near Vivian. This mine showed ore that ran as high 

as 40 ounces of gold to the ton. It is now embraced in the GermanAmerican group of mines. Later the Sheeptrail group, in the upper 

end of San Francisco district, was opened. One of these mines 

yielded ore that ran thousands of dollars to the ton. Still later the 

deposits at the Gold Road mines were found, and it is to these mines 

that the San Francisco district owes its present prosperity.

For years the country was isolated owing to the lack of railroad 

connections and was without mining machinery, in consequence of 

which, up to the eighties, there were very few shafts more than 150 

feet deep, although the production of high-grade ores ran well up 

into the millions, and it was only after the completion of the railroad 

that the mining era began and practically the first development work 

below water level was begun. After some years the mining industry' 

drooped again, owing to the further depreciation of silver and to the 

fact that lower-grade ores were found in depth.

During the last few years, owing to the increase in the price of base 

metals and the general search for gold deposits, the mining industry 

has taken on new life, and many properties of well-known merit are 

being exploited and opened. Abandoned mines are being looked over 

and their dumps tested and cyanided or milled. The old mines are 

pumped out and put in shape, and with deeper and more systematic 

mining new ore shoots are found, and the once so-called " low-grade " 

bodies of ore are utilized by treatment in the latest milling and valuesaving apparatus. In fact, the camps seem to be starting on a new 

era of prosperity. Naturally, speculators have invaded the area and 

floated many companies with properties of no or doubtful value; but 

this seems to be an inevitable accompaniment of any period of intense 

mining activity.

The establishment of the Arizona-Mexican smelter at Needles, on 

Colorado River, has provided an outlet for formerly unprofitable 

ores. The completion, of the smelter of the Arizona Smelting Com-
MINING DISTRICTS. 45

pany, at Humboldt, Yavapai County, near Prescott, added to the 

facilities for disposing of the ores, but these reduction works were 

closed during the panic of 1907 and had not been reopened up to the 

fall of 1908.

The Santa Fe Railway Company has made the following rates on 

ore shipments from Chloride: Chloride to Needles, from $4.30 a ton 

for $100 ore to $1.10 a ton for $15 ore; Chloride to Humboldt, from 

$5.90 a ton for $100 ore to $2 a ton for $15 ore. Rates on shipments 

of ore or concentrates where the valuation is over $100 and not 

exceeding $300 are 130 per cent of the $100 rate. These rates are the 

same as from Kingman, and are the lowest established since the building of the railroad through the county. In general, $20 shipping 

ore can now be mined at a profit.

MINING DISTRICTS."

\

The most important legal mining districts in the area here treated 

are the Wallapai (Hualpai), San Francisco, Weaver, White Hills, 

Gold Basin, Music Mountain, and Maynard districts. Elsewhere in 

this report the term " district" will be used in a more general way, 

without restriction to legal organization at miners' meetings. The 

term " mining camp " is employed to designate subdivisions of a district. The boundaries of the districts are for the most part uncertain.

The Wallapai district extends from the vicinity of Kingman on 

the south a little beyond Chloride on the north, a distance of 25 

miles. It has a width of 8 or 10 miles and embraces somewhat more 

than the southern half of the Cerbat Mountains. It contains Cerbat., 

Chloride, and other important camps.

The San Francisco district lies in the southwestern part of the area, 

in the Black Mountains. It extends from a point a few miles below 

Boundary Cone on the south about 25 miles northward to a point 

above Union Pass and Pyramid on the north, and from the east base 

of the range westward to Colorado River. On the north it has a 

width of about 15 miles and on the south of about 20 miles. It contains the Gold Road, Vivian, Silver Creek, Union Pass, Pyramid, and 

other important camps.

The Weaver district also lies in the Black Mountains, and may be 

regarded as extending from a point about opposite Chloride northward 30 miles or more beyond Eldorado Pass and the White Hills. 

It contains the Mocking Bird, Hall, Virginia, and other camps.

The White Hills district is situated in the western edge of the 

White Hills, opposite the north end of Weaver district, the Detrital 

Valley intervening. It is a small district, about 4 miles in length

a The relatively meager treatment of certain districts and properties is in most cases 

attributable to temporary suspension of operations, inaccessibility, or want of adequate 

information rather than to relative unimportance of the deposits,
46 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

and less than 3 miles in width, being confined to the granitic area 

shown on the map.

The Gold Basin district lies about 14 miles northeast of the White 

Hills district, in the western edge of the White Hills or Cerbat

3o miles

FIGURE 3. Map showing mining camps in a part of western Arizona.

Eange and west of Hualpai Wash. It consists of a somewhat irregular area about 5 miles in diameter.

The Lost Basin district lies northeast of the Gold Basin district, 

between Hualpai Wash on the west and Pierce Mill Canyon on the 

east. It extends from Colorado River southward to' a point about 12
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE DEPOSITS. 47

miles distant from Scanlon Ferry, embracing the Grand Wash Cliffs 

and adjacent country east of Hualpai Wash.

A part of the Greenwood district is situated in the southeastern 

portion of the area, principally in the Aquarius Mountains. It extends from Big Sandy Wash eastward beyond the limits of the area 

mapped and southward to Williams Eiver.

The Maynard district, of whose extent little that is definite is 

known, embraces the Hualpai Mountains.

The Music Mountain district is situated toward the eastern edge of 

the area near its middle part, east of Hualpai Valley, and extends from 

the vicinity of Music Mountain, which lies 12 miles north of Hackberry, about 16 miles northwestward along the Grand Wash Cliffs, 

and from the base of the cliffs eastward a distance of several miles.

The Hackberry district is supposed to cover an indefinite area 

containing the deposits about Hackberry.

The Cedar Valley district lies along the western base of the 

Hualpai Mountains.

PRODUCTION OF MOHAVE COUNTY.

Although the early reports of the Director of the Mint contain 

many valuable notes on the mining industry of Mohave County, no 

detailed statistics for this area are available. The output since 1903, 

as ascertained by the United States Geological Survey, is as follows:

Production of Mohave County, Aris., 190Ji-J.907. a

Year.

1903..............

1904..............

1905..............

1900..............

1907..............

1908.....:........

Gold.

Ounces.

15,859 

27, 275 

26,272 

31,010 

28, 307. 90 

14,306.23

Dollars.

327,806 

563, 824 

543, 090 

641,034 

5S5, 383 

295,736

Silver.

Ounces.

54, 169 

86, 782 

73, 536 

145,179 

80, 897 

39,427

Dollars.

28, 931 

49, 083 

44,416 

97,270 

53, 392 

20,896

Copper.

Pounds.

1,480 

30,399 

315, 992 

601,210 

345,491

Dollars.

185 

4,742 

60, 986 

120, 242 

45, 605

Lead.

Pounds.

6,036 

112, 266 

904, 399 

1, 229, 654 

254,013

Dollars.

264 

5,277 

51,551 

65, 171 

10,668

a Mineral Resources U. S., 1903-190S. In addition 30,666 pounds of zinc, having a value 

of $1,809, were reported in 1907, and 505,133 pounds, valued at $23,74.1, in 1.908.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE DEPOSITS.

The metallic deposits of the ranges here described are chiefly fissure veins containing gold, silver, lead, copper, and zinc, quartz 

being the principal gangue mineral. They exhibit considerable diversity in character and occurrence, but naturally fall into two very 

distinct and sharply contrasted groups (1) the veins of the Cerbat 

Eange and (2) those of the Black Mountain Eange. The nonmetallic mineral resources are less important and consist mainly of turquoise, cement rock, and building stones.

The veins of the Cerbat Range consist of quartz-filledo fissures with 

a general northerly or northwesterly strike, which is also that of the
48 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

prevailing jointing of the country rock, and with commonly steep 

dip. The quartz contains pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, zinc blende, 

and arsenopyrite, carrying principally silver but also gold. Free 

gold is scarce. Many of the veins are regular and persistent, with 

well-defined walls. They occur, chiefly in pre-Cambrian granitic 

rocks, but are associated with post-Cambrian intrusions of granite 

porphyry and in places follow basic (lamprophyric) dikes. Many 

of the pay shoots coincide with intersections of fissures. Oxidation has altered the upper part to a depth ranging from 50 to 300 

feet, and this oxidized zone changes to the primary ore within a vertical range of 10 to 40 feet. At the present time the sulphide ores. 

are principally utilized, but the rich secondary ores, containing 

horn silver, native silver, and in some places ruby silver, furnished 

the bulk of the heavy production of the early days. The water 

level is found at 400 feet below the surface, but in some localities 

stands higher. The number of the deposits is very large and, owing 

to the fact that work was generally abandoned when the leaner primary ore was encountered, the area contains a large number of small 

mines which may be capable of future production. The deposition 

of these veins took place after the intrusion of the granite porphyry 

and the lamprophyric dikes and is probably an " after effect" of this 

igneous activity. The veins haA^e suffered great erosion, and their 

mode of occurrence leads to the belief that they were deposited at 

comparatively great depths by hot waters.

The second group comprises the veins of the Black Mountains. 

These also are filled fissure veins with a general northerly or northwesterly strike and steep dip. The fissure filling is quartz, adularia, 

and calcite, and in many places there is evidence that the first two 

minerals have replaced the calcite, probably through the medium of 

hot solutions. (See PL II.) The values are almost exclusively in 

gold, which, as a rule, is very finely divided and can best be recovered by the cyanide process. The veins are fairly regular, but the 

walls are usually rough and broken and full of stringers from the 

main vein. The quartz filling contains many inclusions of the country rock. The veins cut through the great mass of Tertiary volcanic 

rocks which characterize the range, but undoubtedly continue in 

depth into the underlying pre-Cambrian granitic rocks. The most 

favorable ore horizon seems to be formed by the green chloritic andesite, and in the. underlying older andesite the veins are barren. 

Profitable ore is, however, often found in the upper rhyolitic members of the series. The alteration of the country rock is of a propylitic character. The oxidation extends to a depth of 600 or 700 feet, 

and, as a rule, no sulphides are found. The water level is at least 

700 feet below the surface. Compared with the veins of the Cerbat, 

Range these deposits have suffered comparatively little erosion since.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE II

PSEUDOMORPHIC QUARTZ AFTER CALCITE. 

Characteristic of veins in the San Francisco district, particularly of the Gold Road and Hardy veins.
CEEBAT KANGE. 49

their deposition. They bear evidence of having been formed rather 

close to the surface by hot waters which ascended through the lavas 

at the close of igneous activity.

' MINERALOGY.

The region is not characterized by a great variety of minerals. 

The Black Mountains are especially poor in this respect.

The gangue minerals in the Cerbat Range consist of quartz, with 

some calcite, dolomitic carbonates, and siderite. Those of the Black 

Mountains are quartz, calcite, adularia, and pale-green fluorite. 

Limonite and hematite are common in both ranges as products of 

oxidation. The absence or scarcity of barite is remarkable.

The ore minerals of the Cerbat Range include silver, gold, pyrite, 

chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, stibnite, galena, zinc blende, molybdenite, 

argentite, bornite, chalcocite, and ruby silver. Vanadinite and wolframite are known from the Gold Basin district. Among the oxidized 

minerals horn silver, cerusite, azurite, and malachite are the more 

important. The ore minerals of the Black Mountains are confined 

to native gold, pyrite, malachite, and a little argentite. Tellurides 

have lately been reported from several mines in the Gold Road, 

^irivian, and Union Pass districts, but none were found during the 

field work for the present report. Copper stains are present in 

places, indicating chalcopyrite or tetrahedrite. Vanadinite and galena are reported from the Gold Bug district.

CERBAT RANGE. 

INTRODUCTION.

The principal districts in the Cerbat Range, named in order from 

north to south, are the Gold Basin, White Hills, Chloride, Mineral 

Park, Cerbat, Stockton Hill, McConnico, and Maynard. Of these 

the four most important are the Chloride, Mineral Park, Cerbat, and 

Stockton Hill districts, and these are often spoken of collectively as 

the Hualpai or Wallapai district. They are located in the middle 

part of the Cerbat Mountains, extending from a point just south of 

Stockton Hill and Cerbat to a point north of Chloride, a distance of 

about 12 miles, and they have certain features in common.

The rocks of this portion.of the mountains are essentially of the 

pre-Cambrian complex, and consist of gray granite, gneissoid granite, and dark schists, including hornblende, mica, and garnet schists. 

They are flanked on the west in the Cerbat district by local areas of 

rhyolite and other Tertiary volcanic rocks. To the north, through 

Mineral Park and toward Chloride, they are intruded by distinctly 

younger masses of granite porphyry. Furthermore, they are -locally 

88171 Bull. 397 09 4
50 MINEKAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY/ ABIZONA.

cut by dikes of pegmatite, aplitic granite, diabase, vogesite, minette, 

and rhyolite..

The deposits are well-defined fissure veins, of which there are two 

main sets, one striking about N. 10° to 30° W. and the other N. 45° 

to 70° W., usually with steep dips. According to Comstock a there is 

also a not generally recognized but important older latitudinal or 

east-west auriferous .vein system, whose veins, usually not prominent 

or not apparent at the surface, have been encountered mainly in some 

of the deeper mines and have contributed handsomely toward the 

enrichment of the ores of these mines. The Elkhart and Tennessee 

mines at Chloride are given as examples. Veins of the same strike 

usually occur in two " conjugated systems " that is, dipping in opposite directions, indicating that a compressive stress has originated 

the fissures. The dips are usually steep. The veins are more or less 

clearly associated with younger intrusions of granite porphyry, and 

some of them follow dikes of vogesite, minette, or aplite. The croppings, which are generally prominent, consist of dark reddish-brown 

quartz and altered country rock stained by the oxides of iron and 

manganese. The veins are straight and some are long. The walls 

are usually good and marked by soft gouge, although many veins 

are "frozen ".to the walls. The gangue is quartz, in many places 

shattered and recemented by a later generation of calcite. Among 

the primary ores the most important are pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, and zinc blende, more rarely molybdenite and stibnite. 

Silver and lead predominate in the Chloride, Mineral Park, and 

Stockton Hill districts; gold and silver in the Cerbat district. This 

primary ore is leaner in gold and silver than the oxidized ore, and 

many mines, notably in the Chloride and Mineral Park districts, 

which near the surface were silver mines, with increase in depth carried more lead, and at still greater depths seemed to become cupriferous. The so-called " copper belt" of the area extends from Mineral 

Park northwestward toward Chloricle for a distance of several miles.

The water level is found at a maximum depth of 400 feet, but in 

some places lies considerably nearer the surface. In general the ores 

above the water level are oxidized, but the line between the two 

classes is not always sharply marked. In many places (e. g., in the 

Tennessee vein) galena, and locally, also, pyrite, appears near the 

surface in association with oxidized ores. In the Towne mine and a 

few others oxidized ores are found below water level, but not to any 

great depth, so far as known. The secondary or oxidized ores consist chiefly of native silver, probably also some native gold, hornsilver, and cerusite. Ruby silver and argentite are also present with 

oxidized ore, but do not seem to occupy any well-defined zone between 

the oxidized and primary ores.

a Comstock, Theodore B., Geology and vein phenomena of Arizona : Trans. Am. Inst. 

Min. Eng., vol. 30, 1900, pp. 1044-1054.
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 51

Many of the ore shoots coincide with intersections or forking of 

veins. Good examples are mentioned in the description of the Pinkham, Elkhart, Rainbow, Pay Roll, and Tennessee mines.

CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 

LOCATION.

The Chloride district, the most important in the Cerbat Range, is 

situated about 20 miles north-northwest from Kingman, in the northern part of the Hualpai district, near the western slope of the Cerbat 

Mountains. It is comprised in an irregular area about 6 miles in 

diameter. As shown on the accompanying map, the principal mining 

locations are disposed roughly in two broad, irregular belts, intersecting each other near their middle points, one, about a mile in width,

extending from the Samoa mines, at the crest of the range on the east,

for about 6 miles to the west, terminating in the foothills or adjacent 

part of the Sacramento Valley plain about 2 miles west of Chloride. 

Its western half parallels the base of the mountains, which here depart from their normal nearly north-south course and extend several 

miles to the west, and its eastern half lies between the crest and the 

base of the mountain range on its western slope. The other belt 

parallels the north-south base of the range and lies mainly in its 

lower slope and the adjacent part of the Sacramento Valley. It 

diminishes in width from about 2 miles on the south to less than a 

mile on the north.

Chloride, the shipping and distributing point of the district, is 

situated a trifle northwest of its center, at the northern terminus of 

a branch of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, connecting 

with the main line at Kingman. It is favorably located at an altitude of 4,000 feet on an open gentle slope near the base of the mountains. It is also the distributing point for the Weaver, Minnesota, 

and White Hills districts and for Eldorado Canyon, Nevada.

H1STOKY AND CONDITIONS.

Chloride, so named from the character of its rich silver ore, was 

the first settlement laid out in this part of the area. As a camp it 

dates from the early sixties, when the first mineral discoveries were 

made, and as a town from the early seventies. The decline in the 

price of silver affected the district unfavorably^ of course, but it 

has continued fairly active up to the present time. In 1900 it is 

said to have had a population of 2,000. For the last four or five 

years the district has been quiet. Several of the more important 

mines, however, are in active operation and considerable work on a 

moderate scale is being done on a score or more properties of wellknown merit.
52 MIFEKAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The following are the depths reached by the principal mines: 

Depths of mines in Chloride district.

Juno_____________^____ 600

Elkhart _._______________ 500 

Tennessee ______________ 600 

Schuylkill _.______________ 500 

Minnesota-Connor _________ 530 

Lucky Boy______________ 400 

Samoan _______________ 300

Pinkham ____.___________ 230 

Midnight ______._________ 200 

Altata ________________ 200 

Payroll _______________ 400 

Mollie Gibson_____._______ 200 

Distaff ______.__________ 180

The early prospectors were several times driven out by the Indians, 

and seven of them are said to have been killed. Owing to the prominent vein croppings, all the principal mines were located at about 

the same time.

Among the first locations made were the mines now known as the 

Silver Hill properties, just southwest of Chloride, and the Golden 

Fleece, Tintic, Independence, and others. Some of the ores were 

of too low grade for shipment to San Francisco and to Swansea. 

England, but later, when a mill was built at Mineral Park, they were 

reduced there. Others, however, were so rich that when shipped 

abroad they netted their owners large sums. The district has produced a very large amount of lead and several million dollars' worth 

of gold and silver. It is not possible to obtain even approximate 

figures of the production. The lack of water has -been one of the 

chief drawbacks of the camp, but with deep sinking plenty will be 

obtained.

Plate III is a map of the mining claims in this district, and 

Plate IV gives views showing the topography.

GEOLOGY.

The eastern part of the district is in part rugged, the topography 

being of the type produced by erosion and weathering of granite. 

In a distance of about 2 miles the surface descends from the altitude 

of 6,000 feet at the crest of the range to about 4,000 feet at its base, 

where it meets the plain of the Sacramento Valley. This plain is 

composed of detritus and wash derived from the range and contains 

deposits of caliche(?). (See p. 219.) The mountain slope is dissected 

by several main gulches, among which Samoa, Windmill, and Tennessee gulches are the chief. These drain southwestward into the Sacramento Valley. On the northwest the mountains are lower. Southward-sloping foothills, with no sharp line of demarcation, separate 

them from the adjacent plain of the valley.

The rocks are chiefly those of the pre-Cambrian complex. In the 

westward extension of the mountains, immediately north of Chloride, 

is an area of younger granitic rock, which is intruded into the pre-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE

600O 8000 IOOOO FEET

MINING CLAIMS NEAR CHLORIDE.
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 53

Cambrian, and at first glance is difficult to distinguish from the older 

granitic gneisses, especially as it also has a distinct schistosity. It is 

a medium-grained granitoid rock, much resembling the granite porphyry of the Mineral Park batholith. It breaks down easily and 

weathers greenish or yellowish brown, and seems to impart the latter 

color to about all but the upper portion of the front of the range from 

Chloride northward. It is moderately schistose in a north-south 

direction, the dip of the schistosity being vertical, and it is sliced by 

a northwesterly sheeting which dips 70° NE.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF DEPOSITS.

The deposits occur in two systems of well-defined fissure veins. 

One strikes a little west of north and stands nearly vertical, another

FIGUKH 4. Diagram showing trend and relative position of the principal veins in the

Chloride district.

strikes about due northwest and dips steeply either to the northeast 

or to the southwest. (See fig. 4.) Many of the ore shoots are located 

at points where spurs or feeders join the vein in an oblique direction. 

The ores principally contain silver and lead with some gold and copper. The gangue is quartz with some calcite and other carbonates. 

The primary ore minerals include pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite. 

galena, zinc blende, molybdenite, and probably bornite. The secondary minerals are silver, hornsilver, argentite, -ruby silver, and 

chalcocite, together with various oxidized lead and copper minerals. 

In a reconnaissance report, like this one, only some of the more important properties can be described to convey an idea of the deposits 

and developments of the region.
54 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

\SCHUYLKILL 

MINE.

TENNESSEE MINE.

The Tennessee mine is 1 mile east of Chloride, at the foot of the 

mountains, on the east side of Tennessee Wash, at an elevation of 

about 4,050 feet. (See PL V, B.) It is owned by the Tennessee 

Mining Company, of Chloride.

The Tennessee is an old mine and has been worked for more than 

fifteen years. It has produced hundreds of thousands of dollars in 

ore. Among the earliest owners were A. M. MacDuffee, and later Mr. 

Botsford, who held the property for eight or nine years and is still 

part owner with the present company, which took it over in 1906. 

For the six years ending in 1903 the Hualpai Mining and Development Company, with headquarters 

at Los Angeles, operated the mine 

and took out chiefly lead ore. For 

a long time during this period the 

production was a carload of concentrates a day, or sometimes 50 carloads 

a month, besides a large amount of 

high-grade ore that was constantly 

being shipped. From 1904 to the 

middle of 1905 the mill was shut 

down, but since then the present company has been running the mine and 

jmiie mj]| almost steadily, and the property is now being developed for handling on a larger scale.

The country rock at the mine is a 

gneiss with granite and schist occurring near by. The gneiss is composed chiefly of sericitized feldspar 

and crushed quartz with streaks of 

chlorite. The granite is a pinkishgray medium - grained microcline 

rock, somewhat crushed, and contains very little biotite. The schist 

is the fine-grained, black, typical amphibolite variety and is composed 

essentially of brown hornblende, sharply defined feldspars, mostly 

triclinic, and a little pyroxene.

The mine is situated on the Tennessee vein (see fig. 5) and is 

developed by two inclined shafts and six levels. The shafts are 

located 280 feet apart. The main or northern shaft is 600 feet 

deep and the southern shaft 400 feet. The levels are spaced 100 feet 

apart vertically, the first level being 100 feet below the surface, as 

shown in the accompanying vertical section of underground workings

TENNESSEE 

M/NE

FIGURE 5. Plan showing course of 

Tennessee vein.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE IV

.4. PART OF LAVA MESA SURROUNDING KINGMAN, LOOKING NORTHWEST FROM 

WEST SIDE OF TOWN.

B. CHLORIDE AND PART OF CERBAT RANGE, LOOKING EAST FROM SILVER HILL.
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 55

(fig. 6), which also shows the amount of drifting on the various 

levels.

The vein croppings, rising locally several feet above the surface, 

are reddish, brownish, yellowish, and blackish quartz and galena 

stained with iron and manganese. The vein is regarded as a part of 

the great lead-bearing " lode " on which the Schuylkill and Elkhart 

mines to the north are situated. At the surface the vein strikes 

N. 8° W. and dips about 68° E.

The main or north shaft starts on the vein, its slope at. first coinciding with the dip of the vein. With increasing depth, however, 

the dip gradually diminishes until on the 400-foot level the vein lies 

30 feet east of the shaft, and in the 200-foot drift on the 600-foot 

level the strike of the vein is N. 10° E. This change in strike, however, on this level may be occasioned by what seems to be a spur vein

FIGURE 6. Longitudinal section along Tennessee vein.

or feeder coming in from the west, as shown in figure 5, as there is 

a considerable body of rock, probably 5 or 6 feet in thickness, between the ore zone in the drift and that in the stope above, and as 

the structure in the crosscut from shaft to drift and main vein suggests the presence of such a spur vein which dips toward the main 

vein.

The walls for the most part are hard, smooth, and fairly regular. 

On the 600-foot level three systems of slickensides are shown, whose 

component direction indicates relative vein movement downward and 

northward at angles of about 40°. Slickensiding is also shown to a 

marked degree in some of the ore.

The Tennessee is a lead mine, and one of the most prominent leadbearing properties of the Territory. The ore contains mainly galena, 

zinc blende, and pyrite, and also carries good silver values and some
56 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

gold and copper. Specimens collected from the 600-foot level consist 

of a medium to fine grained mixture of bright crystalline galena and 

dull resinous sphalerite in about equal amounts, and contain about 5 

or 6 per cent of irregularly disseminated iron and copper pyrites. 

The galena locally exhibits an imperfectly banded structure, due to 

pressure.

The average run of mine ore, omitting the zinc, is about as follows: 

Lead, 20 to TO per cent (concentrates, 75 per cent) ; silver, 8 ounces 

(concentrates, 25 ounces) ; gold, small amount; copper, some in deep 

part of mine, increasing in amount with depth.

Gold occurs only in small amount and is found in the pyrite. Of 

the total ore Output about one-third is high-grade shipping ore; the 

remaining two-thirds is milled.

The mine has been productive from the surface down. From the 

ground between the surface and the 400-foot level thousands of tons 

of rich galena ore have been shipped to the smelter. The ore shoot 

had a horizontal extent of about 250 feet, and contained some bodies 

15 feet in width. Extraction was easy with a small amount of timbering, but it is reported that owing to the extravagant management 

of the property the profits realized were^ small. There is said to be 

good ore still remaining in this part of the mine, but on account of 

caving of the stopes it will be difficult to extract.

On the 400-foot level a vein 21 feet thick, with 5 inches of solid 

galena, was mined for about 40 feet horizontally. From the fourth to 

the fifth level there was a decrease in the value of the ore, due to the 

predominance of zinc blende, but from the fifth to the sixth level 

galena increased to the proportion shown in the upper part of the 

mine.

The 500-foot level contained good ore for a distance of 800 feet, and 

the upraise from it showed 12J feet of almost solid galena. In the

200-foot drift of the 600-foot level, toward the end of the drift, the 

vein showed about as follows: Good ore, with quartz coming in 

toward right, 2 feet 9 inches; milling quartz, 8 inches; fair ore, with 

bunches of quartz, 7 feet.

According to Comstock" the mine, about 1899, in its new workings 

encountered one of the buried older east-west auriferous veins or cross 

belts of mineralization, which increased the gold value of the mine 

product from $4 to $10 a ton.

No effort has ever been made to handle the zinc as a by-product, it 

being allowed to go into the tailings dump at the mill, which also 

contains values of the other, metals^ silver and gold. In addition, 

large .bodies of good zinc ore, some 12 feet in width, on the 200-foot 

and 500-foot levels, have been left standing in the mine. The avail-

" Comstock, Theodore B., Geology and vein phenomena of Arizona: Trans. Am. Inst. 

Min. Eng., vol. 30, 1900, p. 1048.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE V

ELKHART MINE AND MILL, LOOKING NORTHWEST.

H, TENNESSEE MINE AND MILL, LOOKING SOUTHEAST.
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 57

able tailings in the dump are estimated by H. L. McCarn at 12,000 

tons, and they will concentrate about 60 per cent, or about 1 ton of 

zinc in 4 or 5, and will besides carry $ to 10 per cent of lead and some 

silver and gold. Of zinc alone, by fine grinding and proper treatment, they are expected to yield about 300 tons of concentrates. 

There seems to be little doubt that the zinc, which heretofore has been 

regarded as a detriment, can be marketed at a good profit. In January, 1908, after the foregoing was written, Mr. McCarn informed 

the writer that the tailings were being worked over.Avith jigs, tables, 

and electrostatic separators.

The most important of the surface improvements at the mine are 

a well-equipped steam concentrating mill, having a capacity of 100 

tons in twenty-four hours, and tAvo substantial steam hoists, that to 

the south having a capacity for a 1,000-foot shaft.

SCHTJYLKILL 'Ml NIC.

The Schuylkill mine, one of the oldest in the district, is about 1 

mile northeast by east of Chloride, on a patented fractional claim adjoining the Tennessee on the north. It is on the west side of Tennessee Wash, and 100 f£et above it, at an elevation of about 4,300 feet 

It is owned by the Southwestern Mining and Smelting Company, a 

Pittsburg corporation.

The mine in early days was worked by Monroe Salisbury, who 

operated the Benson smelter, to which much of the ore was shipped. 

Later it was sold to the present company, which did the deep development work planned to extend to a depth of 1,0'QO feet, and is said 

to have blocked out much good ore ready for stoping when, about 

three years ago, work was suspended.

It is situated in alignment with the Tennessee and Elkhart mines 

and is supposed to be on the Tennessee vein (fig. 5); the country 

rock and ore are similar to those of the Tennessee mine. The vein 

here strikes N. 9° W. The large dump shows that much work 

has been done. The 'isvelopments consist of a steam hoist, an 

excellent shaft 500 feet deep, two long crosscut tunnels, and considerable drifting and additional crosscutting. The mine has produced 

much good ore and has much more in sight reported to carry good 

copper and gold values. /.Chat from the surface workings was mostly 

of high grade. Rich silver-lead ore is also reported to occur on the 

400-foot level, and on this and the lower levels are ores with native 

silver, running $100 a ton. The mine was closed at the time of the 

writer's visit.

ELKHART MINE.

>

The Elkhart mine (PL V, A) is situated a little more than a mile 

northeast of Chloride, west of Tennessee Wash, and adjoins the
r*

58 MINERAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

Schuylkill mine on the 

north. Its property embraces four claims, the 

Elkhart, Argyle, Dumferlin, and Bullion, as shown 

in figure 7.

The Slkhart is one of 

the older mines of the region. . It was located in 

the early eighties and produced ' several thousand 

tons of rich ore from the 

surface down. Later it 

was worked by Ohio peopeople and still later sold 

to a Scotch company, of 

which Theodore Comstock 

was the general manager. 

He put up the mill and 

installed the machinery 

about 1895-96. In 1902 

another company bought 

it from Mr. Comstock and 

later it passed into the 

hands of J. H. O'Neill, of 

Los Angeles. In 1906 it 

was acquired by the present company. The mill 

closed in April, 1906, but 

started later and ran until October 15. A large 

amount of money has been 

spent on the mine, for 

which it has returned but 

little. It is owned by a 

corporation of Glasgow 

and Los Angeles capitalists, with headquarters at 

Los Angeles. It is located 

on the northern part of the 

Tennessee or "big lead" 

vein, or a similar vein lying 

. in its trend, and has associated with-it one or two
CHLOKIDE DISTRICT. 59

parallel veins or supposed feeders or spurs. The country rock is 

pre-Cambrian granite and gneiss similar to that at the Tennessee 

mine. Some diabasic rock is present near by, but was not observed in 

association with the vein. The zone of oxidation extends to a depth 

of about 80 feet.

The mine is developed by shafts and levels. . The main shaft is 

on the vein and*is sunk to a depth of 500 feet; another is down 200 

feet, and a third 80 feet. There are six levels, but they are some- 

-what irregular and there is reported to be about 400 feet of drifting 

on each level, not including numerous stopes and crosscuts. The 

principal surf ace* equipments consist of a steam hoist with a capacity 

for a shaft 1,000 feet deep and a dry-crushing concentrator mill having a capacity of 100 tons in twenty-four hours. The mill is in good 

condition and formerly turned out a carload of concentrates a day. 

Both mine and mill are accessible by a good wagon road of easy 

grade.

The ore contains galena and carries gold and silver, the gold being 

contained mostly in the pyrite, as at the Tennessee mine; but the 

ore differs from that of the Tennessee mine in the absence or scarcity 

of zinc blende. Tihe sulphide ore is reported to approximate as 

follows: Lead, 63 per cent; silver, 25 ounces per ton; gold, $10 

 per ton.

The ore is reported to be much the same in quality from the surface 

down, and to favor the hanging wall. The ore bodies are said to be 

15 feet in width in some places.

According to Comstock a a parallel vein struck on the 200-foot level 

yielded $20 in gold to the ton, and on the same level prolonged northward a cross vein of similar type belonging to the old latitudinal 

series was worked, carrying ore plentifully sprinkled with yellow 

pyrites running well in gold, the gangue being entirely different from 

that of the main vein. This new vein is also present on the 300-foot 

'level. On the 400-foot level white orthoclase feldspar dikes, which 

are probably aplite, are reported to be closely associated with the vein 

series to which it belongs.

In portions of the mine refractory clay or kaolin-like deposits of 

considerable extent, derived from kaolinization of the feldspar in the 

country rock, form the walls of the vein.

With the exception of some ore on the second level, the ore in sight 

is about all worked out down to the fourth level, and new ore bodies 

will have to be -opened before the mine can produce much. The vein 

splits between the fourth and fifth levels, and above this split the ore, 

though principally lead, carries $8 to the ton in gold. The best ore

0 Comstock, Theodore B., Geology and vein phenomena of Arizona: Trans. Am. Inst. Min. 

Eng., .vol. 30, 1900, pp. 1048-1049.
60 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF. MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

encountered thus far has been taken from the 500-foot level. Here 

the vein is reported to be 14 feet thick and to contain some very 

high-grade ore. The dumps, which are large, contain much ore and 

are all to be milled.

DISTAFF MINE.

Three-quarters of a mile east of Chloride and about one-fifth of a 

mile west of the Tennessee vein and about parallel with it, lies, the 

Distaff-Mollie Gibson vein, on which are situated the Distaff, Mollie 

Gibson, and other properties.

The Distaff mine is located on a patented claim in the foothills 

just north of Tennessee Wash, at an elevation of 4,100 to 4,400 feet. 

It is owned by Charles E. Sherman, of Mineral Park. The country 

rock is the younger medium-grained granite described under 

" Geology " as characteristic of the region lying north of Chloride. 

Hornblende and mica schist also occur, notably on the east side of the 

claim. The granite is roughly schistose and the vein is about parallel 

with the schistosity. The vein strikes north with vertical dip and 

has a known extent of about a mile. It is but 2 or 3 feet in width 

and is easily worked, but pinches on the northern part of the Distaff 

ground.

The principal developments consist of about 2,000 feet of underground workings, including a 240-foot shaft and drifts. Recent shipments of what was formerly considered low-grade ore from the old 

dumps of the Distaff are reported to have netted several hundred 

dollars per carload. The production' has been about $50,000, the 

ore being chiefly chloride or horn silver, with much native silver 

occurring in slabs or chunks many pounds in weight in the deeper 

part of the workings.

MOLLIE GIBSON MINE.

The Mollie Gibson is situated south of the Distaff and beyond 

Chloride Wash, the Bullion-Beck claim intervening. It is on the 

same vein as the Distaff. It is credited with .developments 200 feet 

in depth and with having produced considerable lead-silver ore, some 

being of high grade.

HERCULES MINE.

The Hercules is a small mine, situated about 2 miles northeast 

of Chloride and about one-half mile east of Tennessee Wash, at an 

elevation of about 4,700 feet. It is close to the wagon road leading 

to the Lucky Boy and Samoa mines.

The Hercules was discovered about 1899 and held by Comstock & 

Ferguson until 1903. They drove a 60-foot tunnel from the canyon 

side and sunk four shafts to the depth of 20 feet, with no material 

results. In 1903 F. H. Kraft, the present manager and part owner
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 61

of the property, sunk a little deeper and struck good $30 ore, and 

the mine has been a steady though small producer ever since.

The country rock is the usual pre-Cambrian gneiss. The vein is 

25 to 30 feet in thickness. It trends N. 54° W. and dips about 70° 

SW.j with porphyritic granitoid gneiss on the hanging wall arid 

black hornblende-m-ica schist on the foot wall. A neighboring vein 

trends N. 80° W. and dips 80° N. .It occurs in the dark foliated 

schist, and the mine is probably on a chimney or ore body enriched 

by the intersection of this vein with the Hercules.

The principal developments are a 90-foot shaft sunk on the vein 

and some drifting, notably on the 50-foot level. The bottom of the 

shaft shows a pay shoot of very good ore 1^ feet thick.. The mine 

yields a plentiful supply of excellent potable water. The ore is 

galena, running high in silver and containing good values in gold.

BADGER MINE.

Two miles northeast of Chloride and one-eighth mile north of the 

Hercules mine, on what is known as the Badger ground, occurs a 

large 20-foot vein known as the " Big vein." It strikes N. 40° W. 

and dips 80° SW. ' It has produced considerable ore. Tests from 

surface pits sunk on it show $16 ore, of which $12 is in gold. In a 

canyon one-eighth mile east of the Hercules the vein is cut by a close 

sheeting or cleavage structure trending N. 80° E.

At about 250 feet*northeast of the " Big vein " and parallel Avith 

it, but dipping 80° NE., lies the well-known Badger A^ein. It has 

been mined to a considerable extent at. several points to the northwest and has produced considerable ore;.

Among the properties situated on it are the Badger group and the 

Badger and Woodchuck mines, located on eastern tributaries of Tennessee Wash. The tAvo latter, OAvned by S. L. Chadwick, have produced considerable rich lead ore, AA^hich occurs in large bodies, but 

some of the ore is said to contain much zinc. The'Badger group 

property is reported to have produced several hundred tons of good 

ore, chiefly in gold and silver, from a 300-foot tunnel 150 feet deep 

at the face.

EMPIRE MINK.

The Empire mine is situated about 2 miles north-northeast of 

Chloride, in a northeast gulch of Tennessee Wash, on a large A^ein 

which is supposed to be the northAvestward extension of the Badger 

vein. It is one of the oldest and first patented properties in the district. It is developed principally by a shaft 200 feet deep. The 

values are principally in silver, which is very soft and very rich, and 

the yield has been good from the surface down. The production has 

been about $70,000. The mine was owned by William Raymond, one
62 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AKIZONA.

of the discoverers of Pioche, and was worked by lessees with good 

profit. Later E. F. Thompson' sank the shaft to greater depth and 

shipped ore of good grade.

PAY KOIX MINE.

The Pay Eoll mine is about 1-| miles east of Chloride, near the 

middle of the west slope of the Cerbat Range. It is situated on Pay 

Roll Gulch near its head, at an elevation of about 4,400 feet, whence 

the surface rises steeply to about 5,200 feet in Rainbow Mountain 

on the northeast. The mine is approached by a good wagon road of 

easy grade.

The property, aggregating 40 acres, consists of two claims, known 

as the Pay Roll and Black Prince quartz. It is owned by Mrs. Mary 

Murphy, of Kingman, and Judge J. J. H'awkins, of Prescott. It was 

located in March, 1887, by J. W. Murphy.

The country rock consists of the usual pre-Cambrian crystalline 

schists, with granitoid rock predominating in the hanging wall and 

schist on the foot-wall side. A diabase dike is locally associated 

with the vein, which is cut off on the northwest by a raised fault 

block of black hornblende schist. In the gulch just below the mine 

the schists are cut by dikes of relatively young light-colored garnetbearing aplitic granite.

The principal development work, all on the Pay Roll claim, consists of three shafts, aggregating about 500 feet in depth, over 600 

feet of tunnels, about 400 feet of drifts, and some crosscuts and 

stopes. Shaft No. 1, the main working shaft, sunk off the vein, is 

225 feet deep, and contains water in the sump. Shafts Nos. 2 and 3 

are sunk oh the vein to depths of 100 and 60 feet, respectively. The 

main drift is about 500 feet in length and the main crosscut tunnel

about 130 feet. Where the latter intersects the vein a winze about 

50 feet deep is sunk on the vein.

The mine is situated on the Pay Roll vein or lode, which strikes 

about N. 30° W. and dips steeply to the northeast; the structure in 

the adjacent rocks trends about N. 40° W., with the dip approximately 

vertical. The Pay Roll is one of the large veins in the Chloride region. As shown by its persistent croppings it has a horizontal extent 

of nearly a mile, but is reported to be somewhat broken in the bottom 

of the mine. It varies from 6 to nearly 100 feet in thickness, 10 feet 

being perhaps a fair average, and contains in places a fair grade of 

concentrating ore. The gangue is mainly quartz, and the vein is in 

places separated from the wall rock by a thick sheet of argillaceous 

or talcose gouge.

Near the mine, as shown in figure 4, the vein is joined by the Redemption Clyde vein, which probably enriches the Pay Roll ore shoots.
CHLOEIDE DISTBICT. 63

The ore in the persistent pay shoots consists of lead carbonates and 

galena, with some pyrite and chalcopyrite; it contains both gold and 

silver. The total production of the mine was not learned, but it is 

reported to include many carloads of rich shipping ore that run 

about $80 a ton, mostly in gold, derived principally from the surface 

workings, excellent values being found in the south shaft. So far 

as can be judged at present the deposit is a good-sized body of lowgrade ore.

REDEMPTION MINE.

The Redemptionlmine, also known as the Ferguson, is a new property situated 2 miles east of Chloride and half a mile east of the Pay 

Eoll mine. It is working on the Redemption Clyde vein, which lies 

east of the Pay Roll vein and joins that vein at the Pay Roll mine. 

The Eedemption Clyde vein strikes N, 60° W. and dips 85° NE., and

is known to have an extent on the surface equal to the length of at 

least four claims. Where opened on the Redemption property it 

attains an elevation of about 5,000 feet. Like the Pay Roll vein, it 

lies in the pre-Cambrian crystalline schists. It is opened by tunnels and winzes. The vein is about 4 feet thick, and the ore shoot is 

about 18 inches thick. The ore contains chalcopyrite in quartz and 

carries about 8 per cent of copper, 1 to 2 ounces of silver to the ton, 

and some gold. The production amounts to 200 tons of ore.

LUCKY BOY .MINE.

The Lucky Boy mine is about 3 miles east of Chloride and about a 

mile east of the Redemption mine. It is near the crest of the Cerbat 

Range, at an elevation of about 5,750 feet,'in the head of a gulch 

which is tributary to Windmill Wash. The property embraces four 

claims, tl>e Lucky Boy, Brighter Days, Queen, and Baldwin. The 

total output is said to have had a value of about $150,000.

The Lucky Boy mine is an old property, located in 1892. It has 

been producing more or Jess all along and has been operated steadily 

for the last seven years. For some time it was owned by the Scott 

Lucky Boy Consolidated Mining Company, of Norfolk, Va., and was 

leased and worked by a.company composed of Kingman men, Fred 

Stull being superintendent. Early in 1907 it was reported that the 

property had just been sold to an English company. In 1908 it was 

Worked only on a small scale by lessees.

The principal rock is a medium-grained biotite granite, in which 

biotite, quartz, orthoclase, and much oligoclase are the essential minerals. This rock may possibly be of post-Cambrian age. It is intruded by a light-colored, fine-grained granite porphyry.

The mine is worked by shafts, crosscuts, tunnels, drifts, and stopes, 

the underground workings aggregating somewhat more than 4,000
64 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AE1.,,-4A.

feet. The developments consist essentially of five or s; ~ levels spaced 

50 feet apart, with 500 to 600 feet of drifting on ,ch level. The 

main shaft is 300,feet in depth. The shafts are equipped with gasoline hoist and a pump.

There are two principal veins, which strike northjnorthwest and 

dip about vertically. They are parallel and are 64 feet apart. They 

range from 3 inches to 6 feet in width in shipping ore, a width of a 

foot being an average, and $100 a ton an average value for the ore. 

The veins are said to be regular in character and the ore fairly constant in value. Under the microscope a section of the ore shows 

native silver, silver chloride, pyrite, and quartz, itie ore in the front 

or southeast vein runs 3 ounces of gold and 125 ounces of silver to 

the ton; that from the " back " vein 5 ounces of gold and 80 ounces 

of silver. The superintendent, Mr. Stn.ll, states that^in the lower part 

of the mine there is a heavy, brassy-looking sulphide" ore whose assay 

values in carload lots are 5 ounces of gold and 130 to 140 ounces 

of silver to the ton. i

In their southeastward extension the veins pass to the northeast of 

the Samoa mine and do not occur on the Samoa claims, but if driven 

far enough the Samoa workings will cut them in the depths of the 

mountain.

RAINBOW MINE. 

The Rainbow mining property, comprising nine claims, is situated 

about 2| miles east of Chl'oride, at an elevatioA of about 5,500 feet, 

near the summit of the Cerbat Range. All the claims contain veins 

of more or less promise.

The production is about $75,000, the bulk of which about $60,000 

was made prior to 1891 by chloriders.. Since then, according to Mr. 

MacDuffee, who became interested in the property about that time,

the shipments, mostly for the years 1891 to 1901 inclusive, aggregated 

about 210 tons, with an average value of $72.55 a ton, amounting to 

over $15,000.

The Rainbow mine was discovered and loqated in 1883 by Erin 

Sherman and was worked intermittently until 1890. Recently it has 

been taken over .and is now being operated by the Rainbow Mining 

Company, of Chloride.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian' gmy gneissoid granite considerably altered and silicified along the veirts and containing some 

of the usual acidic and basic intrusives. The principal workings are 

those of the Rainbow mine, near the middle of the group, and of the 

Rainbow claim, on the Rainbow vein.

The Rainbow vein is not large, but occupies a definite walled 

fissure extending throughout the length of the claim. It strikes

» In the preparation of this statement on the Rainbow mine the writer has freely 

drawn on an unpublished report hy H. L. McCarn.
PLAN

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

FIGDRB 8. Plan and longitudinal section of Rainbow m
66 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

north-northwest with vertical dip and is joined by several spur veins 

or feeders which come in at acute angles and materially enrich the 

ore shoots at junction. The ore streaks are persistent and easily 

followed and range from 6 inches to 3 feet in width, while in some 

parts of the old stopes there is said to have been 6 feet of solid ore, 

presumably situated where the vein is joined by feeders.

The principal developments (see fig. 8) are the Windsail shaft, 

125 feet deep, and about 1,000 feet of drifts, crosscuts, stopes, etc., 

but owing to caving below the 50-foot level the lower part of the 

mine is not now accessible. No stoping has been done below the 100- 

foot level, and but little below the 50-foot. A wagon road of heavy 

grade crosses the northern part of the group and connects with the 

mine, about a mile distant, by a trail over which supplies and ore are 

now packed on burros.

Even the shallow depths reached by the mine show ore of good 

grade. Sulphide ore begins at a depth of about 100 feet below the 

surface. There are three main ore shoots, known as the North, 

Windsail, and South shoots. The North shoot is situated near the 

north end of the claim, 300 feet above the main part of the mine. It 

was extensively worked by chloriders in early times, and so far as 

known is a silver-lead shoot, containing fair values in gold.

The Windsail ore shoot is at the principal workings of the mine, 

near the middle, of .the claim. Here a streak of ore consisting of 

quartz and carbonate of lead of about equal width, and aggregating 

12 to 15 inches in width, is exposed for 25 feet. Assays of the carbonate collected along a length of 25 feet show values of 2£ ounces 

of gold and 2 ounces of silver to the ton, and by estimate 12 per cent 

of lead a total value of about $70 a ton. In the 50-foot level north

the streak is pinched and lean, being disturbed by a dike, but it carries 4 inches of $40 ore, and just below this level excellent ore ($60 

to $70) is said to have been taken from a streak 6 to 18 inches thick. 

A small stope above the 50-foot level south is reported to have produced more than 100 tons of $60 to $75 ore, and the block of virgin 

ground extending from this stope down to the 125-foot level, where 

a foot or more of good ore occurs in the roof of the drift, should 

produce a considerable quantity of good-grade ore.

The South ore shoot, situated 200 feet from the Windsail and 

worked by tunnel D, seems to be the principal ore shoot on the 

property and furnished the bulk of the ore shipped in early days. 

It is developed by a 260-foot drift, stopes, and winzes, and the ore 

has been mostly worked out down to the sulphide zone. Remaining 

portions of oxidized ore show good gold, silver, and lead values. 

The sulphide ore in the south end of the workings varies from 6 to 

15 inches in width and averages about $42 to the ton in gold and 

silver. The sulphide ore in general is closely but not sharply banded
.CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 67

and finer grained toward the outer sides of the shoot, and coarser 

and more imperfectly banded inwardly. The microscopic section 

shows the ore consist essentially of pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, and 

quartz. The ore shoot has an average width of about 12 inches of 

clean ore and a length of 150 feet along the shoot. There is considerable low-grade ore in the filling of the old stopes.

The average of about forty-five assays made from various parts of 

the Rainbow workings is reported as follows: Gold, about 2 ounces; 

silver, about 20 ounces; lead, about $5 (12 per cent); or an average 

value of about $65 a ton. The gold amounts to about three-fourths 

of the value.

Nearly all the other eight claims of the Rainbow group have veins 

of more or less promise, but on most of them but little work has been 

done. Considerable work, however, was done on the Old Timer 

years ago, when only high-grade ore would pay to work, and it is

reported that a large quantity of such ore was shipped. There is a 

15-inch shoot of good ore in the bottom of the 70-foot shaft, and ore 

carrying over $30 a ton in gold, silver, and lead now lies on the 

dumps. The Lindgren-Kemp is also a large fissure vein Avith definite 

walls, yielding assays of $6 to $25 a ton.

SAMOA MINE.

Location. The Samoa mine is 3£ miles east by about half a mile 

south of Chloride, just north of Cherum Peak and about one-third 

of a mile south of the Lucky Boy mine. It lies at an elevation of 

about 5,900 feet, in the steep crestal slope of the Cerbat Range, at the 

head of a gulch which drains westward into Samoa Wash.

History and production. The Samoa is one of the early locations 

and for many years has been the most active and constant producer 

of good-grade gold and silver ore in the district. The property comprises a group of four claims and a fraction, the Samoa, Samoa No. 1, 

Samoa No. 2, Fourth of March, and Mountain Dew. The property 

is owned by the Chloride Gold Mining Company, with headquarters 

at Pueblo, Colo.

The total production of the Samoa mine has been about $180,000. 

Approximately $70,000 was produced in early times, the remainder 

being obtained by the present management under Leonard HofFman, 

which took effect in November, 1903. The mine has a record of being 

a steady producer. The present output is about 90 tons a month. 

The ore is shipped principally to the Needles smelter. Advices received early in 1908 report that the mine was then being worked on a 

small scale only by lessees.

Geology. The vein is contained in the pre-Cambrian granitoid 

series; the predominating gray or dark-gray granitic rock is much
68 MINEEAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AEIZONA.

the same as that at the Lucky Boy mine. A distinct sheeting trends 

about north and south and dips at about 80° E.

The series is intruded by a large dike of fine-grained, schistose 

microcline granite, which a short distance below the mine along the 

trail is in turn cut by a 100-foot rhyolite dike trending northward 

toward the Lucky Boy mine.

Veins and ore. There are six parallel veins which strike about 

N. 10° W. and stand nearly vertical or dip steeply to the east at 

angles of about 80°. Named in consecutive order, beginning on the 

east, they are vein No. 1 or Samoa No. 1; vein No. iy2 ; vein No. 2 or 

Samoa No. 2; vein No. 3; Fourth of March or Samoa vein (on which 

are located the Fourth of March and Samoa claims) ; vein No. 3% 

or " Blind " vein; vein No. 4 or Mountain Dew. . Vein No. 3% does 

not, like all the other veins, outcrop at the surface, but was encountered in driving the crosscut tunnel. Nos. 1 and 2 are situated 

551 feet apart and Nos. 2 and 3 are 138 feet apart.

The principal producing vein, the one on which nearly all the work 

h'as been done, is No. 3, the Fourth of March. Its average thickness 

is about 4 feet, and the ore shoot is up to 30 inches wide. The ore 

holds to the foot wall and is overlain by several inches to 1 foot of 

gouge or altered granite. The ore contains pj^rite, galena, and zinc 

blende in quartz gangue; occasionally a little molybdenum is found 

in cross veinlets of spar. There is no copper. The principal value, 

however, is in the gold and silver contained in the sulphides. The ore 

now shipped, as shown by the smelter return sheets for 1903 to 1906, 

inclusive, runs about as follows: Gold, iy2 ounces .per ton; silver, 15 

ounces per ton; lead, 8 per cent; and zinc, 5 to 8 per cent.

The levels on this vein have been considerably extended since the 

field work for this paper was done. The most noteworthy feature of 

the ore is its constancy in good gold values. Some specimens show 

portions of the ore, especially the zinc blende, heavily coated with 

secondary enrichment or growth of the black silver sulphide, which, 

at 600 feet below the surface, seems to speak well for the mine. Some 

specimens also show considerable native silver. The first ore in shipping quantities was taken from tunnel level No. 1. The ore shoot at 

this point was about 65 feet long, and in tunnel level No. 2 the same 

shoot is reported to have had an extent of 400 feet.

The other veins and their ore are in most respects similar to No. 3. 

As yet but little more than development work has been done on them. 

Veins Nos. 1, 2, 3-J, and 4 are leased to the Arizona Birmingham 

[Alabama] Gold Mining Company, which is now drifting on vein 

No. 1. This vein, thought by some to be probably one of the Lucky 

Boy veins, has produced some ore. When visited by the writer early 

in February, 1907, a new " strike " had just been made on this vein
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 69

on the 200-foot level, where the breast of the drift 80 feet south of the 

crosscut tunnel showed 20 inches of clean, good-looking ore.

Developments. The principal developments consist of three tunnels, 350, 900, and 1,200 feet in length, a main working shaft 335 feet 

deep on vein No. 3, and various drifts and stopes mostly along this 

vein north and south of the main shaft. There are over 3,000 feet of 

underground workings on vein No. 3 alone. It has three levels 

spaced 100 feet apart vertically. Tunnel No. 1 is 140 feet above 

tunnel No. 2, which is 50 feet above the first, or 100-foot level, and 

runs southeast. Tunnel No. 3 is a 1,200-foot crosscut tunnel in the 

plane of the second level; it runs N. 75° E., strikes the main 

producing vein 350 feet in from the entrance, at a point a few feet 

north of the shaft, and extends a feAv feet beyond vein No. 1. On the 

first level the vein is drifted on for 300 feet to the north and 650 feet

to the south; on the second level, 300 feet north and 434 feet south.

A large amount of ore has been stoped and shipped from vein No. 

3 from the ground immediately above tunnel No. 2, and from the 

vicinity of the shaft just above the first level. Present shipments 

are from the second and third levels. On the third level but little 

stoping has been done, and most of the ground between the second 

and third levels still remains intact. The ore on the whole is opened 

for a length of more than 800 feet along the vein.

Two plants well equipped with gasoline engines/are located at 

the collar of the main shaft and the entrance of the crosscut tunnel. 

A wagon road connects the mine with the railroad at Chloride, but 

as yet the ore is packed to the railroad more directly on burros. 

'Thirty men were emploj^ed in 1907.

The Samoa mine'is undoubtedly a promising property, but although it seems in all respects <to have been honestly, and for the 

most part, ably managed, and although the Avorkings have been in 

ore all the time, so far as could be learned, it has not paid much 

more than expenses. It is well to note that the mine as a whole is 

rather a loAv-grade than a high-grade property, and that therefore 

the ore should be handled with a vieAv to the greatest economy. The 

support and operation of a large pack train entails in itself a very 

heavy expense. Furthermore, the mine has neA^er had an underground survey. Up to the present time the Avork has been carried on 

without plats, plans, or records of any kind, a very unusual procedure for so large a mine and one Avith such a system of veins.

Recent reports state that the Samoa and Lucky Boy mines are to 

be Avorked jointly on a large scale through a main tunnel opening 

on Lucky Boy ground.

MINNESOTA-CONNOR MINE.

Location. The Minnesota-Connor mine, one of the more important properties of the district, is about If miles southeast of Chloride
70 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

and half a mile south of the Pay Roll mine, at an elevation of about 

4,400 feet. It lies at the head of an open gulch which drains southwestward into Sacramento Valley. It is reached by good wagon 

roads of easy grade from the northwest and the southwest.

History and ownership. The property is owned by the Philadelphia and Arizona Mining Company, of Philadelphia, to which it 

was sold by John Barry about 1902. It consists of two claims, the 

Minnesota and the Connor, joining each other end on. The property 

was located in the early eighties, since which time it has been a good 

producer, having yielded several hundred thousand dollars' worth 

of rich ore. In the early days the surface ores were worked by chloriders with handsome returns. Later the mine was leased to Messrs. 

Kelley and McKennon, under whom also it was a prolific producer. 

During the. last, few years the property has been leased to a new 

organization, the Lehigh-Arizona Mining Company.

Vein and ore. The country rock is the usual pre-Cambrian complex, which here consists mainly of pressed microcline-biotite schist, 

hornblende schist, gneiss, and syenite. It is cut by dikes of vogesite 

or kersantite, which locally occur on either wall, by dikes of pale pinkish pegmatite or aplite, and by seams of epidote one-eighth to onequarter inch thick.

FIGURE 9. Plan of Minnesota-Connor lode.

The vein strikes N. 30° to 50° W. and dips 60° to 80° SW. It is 

known to extend through a horizontal distance of 2,400 feet and 

varies from 5 to 20 feet in width. Where exposed on the surface 

and in the shallow shaft southeast of the mill it stands about vertical 

and is 5 feet in width, but it is reported to flatten and widen as it
CHLOHIDE DISTRICT. 71

goes down and in the deeper part of the mine it has in places a width 

of 20 feet of good ore.

The gangue is quartz, with some calcite, which locally seems to 

replace the quartz. The ore contains pyrite and arsenopyrite, as well 

as some chalcopyrite. The principal value is in silver, which in 

part is in the form of ruby silver, but the ore also contains some 

gold. Part of it is very rich, some large bodies running $200 or 

more to the ton. The production is reported to be about $100,000.

The property is developed to the maximum depth of 570 feet by 

four shafts and four levels, containing about 2,500 feet of drifts and 

other work approximately as shown in figure 9. The principal equipments are a very complete mill and hoists.

Owing to suspension of operations and the presence of water, the 

mine was not accessible at the time of visit, except the Connor shaft, 

northeast of the main workings, Here on the 50-foot level fair bodies 

of rich ore were found for a distance of 360 feet to the southeast of 

the shaft.

ALTATA MINE.

The Altata mine, one of the principal copper mines and one of 

the first mines worked in the district, is situated at the base of the 

mountains about 2 miles southeast of Chloride and about 100 feet 

above it and is easy of access. It is owned by the Altata Mining 

Company, of Chicago, and is steadily producing at a moderate rate.

The mine is developed principally by a main shaft and drifts to the 

depth of 180 feet. A large dump shows that considerable work has 

been done. The production is reported to have been about $200,000.

The country rock is pre-Cambrian schist, striking N. 23° E. with 

vertical dip. The vein strikes- N. 40° W. and dips about 75° NE. Surface exposures indicate that it is not more than 2 or 3 feet thick, but 

it is reported to widen downward and to have contained a large 

body of good-grade ore near the surface, and also a similar one extending from the 130-foot level to a point below the 160-foot level.

The ore contains copper and silver in a quartz gangue, the copper 

occurring chiefly as bornite and being locally enriched by secondary 

chalcocite. Smelter returns show 32 carloads of the ore shipped 

some years ago to have averaged about $100 a ton, of which 20 

per cent was copper and the rest silver. In the crosscut in the 

bottom of the mine a new vein, 20 feet thick, has recently been encountered with an 18-inch ore shoot on the hanging wall and a 24-inch 

shoot on the foot wall. The assay value of the ore varies from $12 

to $15 a ton in gold, silver, and copper, and some similar ore is 

 scattered across the intervening width of the vein.
72 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

EMERSON AND OTHER MINES.

The Emerson mine is nearly 3 miles southeast of Chloride and 

about 400 feet above it, in the lower slope of the range. The property comprises five adjoining claims. It is owned by Stephen Smith 

and Henry Schafer, of Chloride, and is producing on a small scale. >

The topography is rough. The country rock is the pre-Cambrian 

complex. The vein is one of the strongest of the camp.. It dips 

northeast at angles of about 77°. It is well defined and is reported 

to extend to the crest of the range, about 2 miles distant on the 

southeast. It is held by some to be the northwest extension of the 

Hidden Treasure vein and has the same characteristics. It is from 

5 to 15 feet in width, 3 to 8 feet of which is mainly fresh hard 

quartz. The vein has been opened to a depth of about 200 feet, and 

three levels have been turned.

The valuable metal is gold associated with pyrite and chalcopyrite 

in a quartz gangue. The ore is ideal for concentrating and much of it 

is good grade shipping ore. The values are reported to continue the 

same in the sulphide zone as in the oxidized zone. An ore shoot 

2 feet thick is said to average about $80 a ton.

In the vicinity of the Emerson mine are several other smaller 

properties, of which the most important are the Hidden Treasure, 

New Jersey, Manzanita, Good Eoad, and Mother Lode. The ores in 

these properties usually contain gold, silver, pyrite and galena.

The Hidden Treasure is reported to contain five parallel veins 

ranging from 2 to 8 feet in width, and is developed by several shafts, 

of which the deepest is 118 feet deep. The ore contains gold, silver, 

and lead, of which select lots run 3 ounces of gold and 10 ounces of 

silver to the ton, and 10 per cent of lead.

The New Jersey mine is developed by a 90-foot shaft and about 

500 feet of drift. The vein strikes northwest. The face of the 

drift shows 16 inches of ore, with pyrite and galena, carrying good 

gold and silver values. Some of the ore has been shipped to the 

smelter.

The Manzanita property is developed by a shaft and is equipped 

; with a steam hoist. The vein dips steeply southwest.

The Gladstone property lies, about a mile southeast of the Emerson, in the first gulch south of Samoa Gulch. It is developed by tunnels and winzes and is bonded to persons who have recently begun 

deep sinking. The ore contains pyrite and chalcopyrite carrying 

gold and silver values.

TOWNE MINE.

i

Location. The Towne mine islj miles south of Chloride and about 

half a mile from the base of the mountains, on open ground in the 

Sacramento Valley.
CHLOEIDE DISTRICT. 73

History. The mine is reported to be the first property located in 

the Chloride district. It received favorable comment in the Wheeler 

Survey report as early as 1872. It was discovered and located as the 

" Porter and Black Smoke " in 1871, and immediately became a producer. It was first owned by a Mr. Parker, who took out considerable 

money, and later by W. H. Palmer, under whom it was known as the 

" Sunlight." Still later it was owned by F. H. McLaughlin until 

1882, and since then it has been owned and operated by John Barry, 

a well-known pioneer and leading mining man of western Arizona. 

The mine is now producing in a small way. It is developed principally by six shafts, four levels, drifts, and stopes, the deepest shaft, 

No. 2, being 230 feet deep, and most of the others between 100 and 200 

feet. The workings have a horizontal extent of about 400 feet. The 

mine has a considerable influx of water.

The production during the first decade of the mine's existence, 

which is reported to be considerable, was not learned. The production from 1882 to 1906 was about $1,000,000, and was derived mostly 

from the 70-foot level. The ore has been shipped to Socorro, Denver, 

Pueblo, and El Paso; it is now shipped to Needles.

Geology; The country rock is pre-Cambrian amphibolite schist 

and biotite gneiss, with some bodies of pegmatite. The schistosity 

strikes N. 30° E. and dips steeply to the east. The rock is cut by 

vogesite dikes, which trend northwesterly. The one at the mine is 

about 200 feet in width.

Mineral deposits. The mineral deposits consist of two veins about 

40 feet apart. They lie nearly parallel and in places seem to be separated by the vogesite dike rock only. The one on the north, which is 

known as the " old vein," strikes N. 77° W. The other, and at present 

more important one, known as the " new vein," is the one now worked. 

It strikes N. 70° W. and dips about 70° NNE. It is about 3 feet in 

average and 8 feet in maximum width and is wider in the deeper 

part of the mine than near the surface. It is well defined and easily 

worked. The hanging wall is principally biotite gneiss and the foot 

wall the vogesite dike rock. Pronounced slickensides between the 

walls and the vein descend steeply east-southeast. At a point 108 

feet east of shaft No. 3 the veins are abruptly cut off by a small 

fault, beyond which, so far as the work extends, the dip flattens to 

about 45°.

The gangue is quartz, much of which is shattered and pinched 

and the ore contains principally silver and gold, with some pyrite, 

zinc blende, and galena. It runs about $200 a ton, with nearly 200 

ounces of silver, and 5 to 7 ounces of gold. Smelter returns show 

some carload lots averaging as high as 7 ounces of gold and 600 

ounces of silver to the ton. Some of the richest ore shoots occurred on
74 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

the 100-foot level and east of shaft No. 3, where the ore averaged 

10.4 ounces of gold and 240 ounces of silver, and some assays, it is 

stated, gave returns as high as 18 ounces of gold.

The ore shoots range from 3 to 18 inches in width, with an average of about 5 inches, depending on the quartz. The ore occurs 

almost wholly on the foot-wall or vogesite-dike side of the vein, with 

usually a small seam of talc intervening.

PINKHAM MINE.

The Pinkham. mine (PI. VI, A], perhaps the most important 

copper mine of the region, is about 2 miles southeast of Chloride and 

about three-fourths mile east of the Towne mine. It is located in the 

open border of Sacramento Valley, near the foot of the range, at 

about the same elevation as Chloride.

The mine was located about 1896, but production began only recently. It is owned by Skee Brothers, of Santa Monica, Cal. It was 

recently bonded to the Union Smelting and Kefining Company, of 

Los Angeles. The company began operations in March, 1906, and installed a 60-ton oil smelter and a coke smelter, both of which, it is 

stated, owing to improper processes and fluxes, failed to successfully 

extract the ore. The matte, however, is reported to have averaged 

40 per cent of copper from 2-| per cent raw ore.

The company then proceeded to mine and ship the ore, which ran 

about $300 per car, and the property is now producing on a moderate 

scale. The mine is developed principally by, a main 240-foot shaft 

and five levels, aggregating about 1,200 feet of underground work. 

It contains some water. The levels are located at about 50, 85, 110, 

140, and 230 feet below the surface. The work is distributed approximately as shown in figure 10, which has been prepared and kindly 

furnished by Mr. H. L. McCarn.,

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian complex, and it is intruded 

by microcline granite and diabase dikes near by. The vein strikes 

N. 40° W., but varies as shown in figure 10, and dips at angles ranging from 65° SW. to vertical. It is reported to be.the same vein that 

starts from the east side of Congress " ledge " in Mineral Park Wash, 

near Mineral Park, nearly 2 miles distant, and to be traceable by its 

croppings all the way from this point to the Pinkham mine.

The croppings consist of rust-brown, iron-stained, crushed and recemented quartz and silicified rock about 3 feet in width, rising 

2 or 3 feet above the surface. Underground the vein is on the average about 12 feet in width, with a local maximum width of about 30 

feet. It is composed principally of a gangue of crushed quartz and 

crushed and altered granite, with locally some irregular streaked or 

banded ore.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. PINKHAM MINE AND SLOPE OF SACRAMENTO VALLEY, LOOKING SOUTH-SOUTHWEST.

Ji. MIDNIGHT MINE, LOOKING NORTHEAST.
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 75

The ore contains principally copper and silver, with some gold and 

a little zinc. In the oxidized zone near the surface carbonates and 

oxides prevail, but in the deeper part of the mine sulphide ore begins, 

with a quartz and calcite gahgue. This ore is said to average about 

3 per cent of copper and 18 ounces of silver per ton and contains 

about 8 per cent of lime. The ore minerals are pyrite and chalcopyrite, with some bornite. Some of the ore shows a secondary growth 

or enrichment of chalcocite.

The ore occurs in lenses or elongated kidneys and in chimneys. 

The principal source of the ore thus far mined is a large chimney 

extending from a point near the shaft westward on the first and

200 feet

FIGURE 10. Plan and longitudinal section of the Finkham vein.

second levels. It has a width of 14 feet. A sample taken across it, 

including everything, is reported to have given a total assay value of 

$24 a ton. Much ore of this kind appears to be in sight here. The 

enlargement and enrichment of the vein at this locality seem to be 

due to the Midnight vein coming in obliquely from the northwest, as 

shown in figure 10.

Where work Avas being done on the second or 85-foot level at the 

time of the writer's visit in 1906, the stopes showed a width of 3£ 

feet of rich ore, mostly chalcocite and bornite, extending horizontally 

for a distance of about 40 feet, and the face of the drift at about 200 

feet north of the shaft showed 5 feet of good ore, some of which 

averaged about $100 a ton and showed secondary deposition or enrich-
76 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

ment of chalcocite on the pyrite and chalcopyrite. The vein at this 

point stands about vertical or dips very steeply northeast instead of 

southwest, its normal direction.

Later a fine body of high-grade copper sulphide ore, 18 to 24 inches 

in width, was opened in extending the drift northwestward on the 

fourth or 140-foot level. This ore averaged about 9 per cent of 

copper and 60 ounces of silver to the ton.

On the fifth or 230-foot level, which is practically- the bottom of the 

mine, the vein dips about 70° SW. and is from 4 to 6 feet in width. 

The face of the drift, 100 feet northwest of the shaft, shows a width 

of 8 feet with the foot wall not yet in sight. Here the vein consists 

of coarsely streaked or .irregularly banded ore,,crushed quartz, and 

altered country rock, all pretty soft and containing 4 to 6 inch gouge 

seams.

South of the shaft the vein is mineralized for a width of 20 feet 

or more, and at the end of a 40-foot crosscut into the hanging wall 

there is a good looking small vein 1^ feet wide, which dips steeply 

to the northeast.

MIDNIGHT MINE.

The claim of the Midnight mine practically joins that of the Pinkham mine on the northwest, as shown in Plate III, and, like the 

Pinkham, is situated on open, gently sloping ground. (See PL 

VI, B.) The mine was discovered prior to 1866. The original owner 

was a pioneer named Carpenter, who in early times hauled some of 

the ore to the Mineral Park mill. Later the mine was owned by 

Heimrods, McDuffee & Gilleland, and still later by the partners 

Darius Brown, Kobert Gibson, James Bo}^d, and John St. Charles. 

Finally, about 1898, John St. Charles and his brother Keene became 

the Sole owners. They alone have done most of the development, and 

have shipped ore from the deeper levels.

The mine is developed principally by inclined shafts, drifts, and 

crosscuts, and is equipped with a gasoline hoist. The main shaft is 

200 feet deep, and the drifts, crosscuts, and stopes aggregate several 

hundred feet of workings.

The same country rocks prevail as in the Pinkham vein, being 

principally pressed and crushed micr<5clme-biotite granite, and this is 

also intruded by the same classes of diabase and granitic dikes in or 

near the mine, the diabase apparently being the later of the intrusives (fig. 11). The vein or lode is less well defined than the vein 

in the Pinkham mine. As shown in figure 10, it strikes in general 

about N. 65° W. and on the southeast seems to join the Pinkham vein. 

It has a width of 50 to 75 feet and contains much low-grade ore. As 

seen in the mine, it contains two main veins or ore bodies, of which 

the principal or south one strikes about northwest and dips irregu-
CHLOEIDE DISTRICT. 77

larly southwest at angles of 35° or more. The second vein strikes 

about N. 80° W. and dips steeply to the north.

A large amount of good ore is shown in the mine, but it contains 

much, zinc, and considerable disturbance, including lateral faulting, 

has taken place, by reason of which further development is needed 

before the structure can be worked out. The ore contains silver, 

copper, gold, zinc, and iron. The silver occurs mostly in chalcopyrite, the rule being the more chalcopyrite the more silver. Some 

bornite is present. The gold is found principally in the pyrite. The 

zinc blende, though more or less mixed with the ore, occurs also in 

a relatively pure 3-inch shoot on the hanging wall in the northeastern part of the mine.

For some years past the mine has been shipping copper ore in a 

small way. This ore was rich and averaged about $1,500 a ton, but 

some of it contained 5 or 6 per cent more of zinc than the 10 per cent 

allowed by the smelters and was accordingly penalized. It seems 

probable that by the 

use of a suitable sw 

magnetic separator 

the zinc could be extracted and profitably marketed as zinc 

ore. In certain parts 

of the mine the ore 

contains 30 to 40 per 

cent of zinc, and is 

so low in other values

that it will be shipped FIGURE ll. Diagram showing intrusions near Midnight shaft. 

. a, Aplite ; ft, diabase, intrusive into aplite ; c. granite.

as zinc ore. A recent

carload shipment of the ore averaged 66 ounces in silver and $2.50 in 

gold to the ton and 4.5 per cent of copper. Under the present management the mine has produced about 300 tons of ore, with a total 

value of about $7,000. The ore is reported to mill about 5 to 1.

SILVER HILL VEIN.

The Silver Hill vein is located on Silver Hill, a prominent elongated ridge just southwest of Chloride and rising about 150 feet 

above it. It extends southward nearly to the railroad station. 

The ridge trends about north and south, is about three-fourths of a 

mile long and one-eighth of a mile broad, and is composed almost 

wholly of dark amphibolite schist. A coarse granititic rock appears 

to be intruded in its western base, and it is locally traversed by dikes 

and stringers of the garnet-bearing aplitic granite and also by a coarse 

pegmatitic granite. The schist dips about 60° E. and is cut by a 

well-marked sheeting that dips about 35° W.
78 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AKIZONA.

As shown by openings and croppings, the northern or main half 

of the ridge is traversed longitudinally just west of the crest by a 

well-marked vein or mineral zone, varying from 2 to 12 feet or more 

in width, whose croppings, hardly rising above the surface, consist of 

brownish, yellowish, or greenish stained quartz, and seemingly altered dike material^ which in places is calcareous and brecciated. 

The foot wall consists of a bowlclery or brecciated schist.

The vein strikes N. 7° W. and dips steeply east. It is opened at 

intervals along its extent by five or six inclined shafts, some of which 

attain a maximum depth of about 100 feet. The work was done 

mostly in pioneer times, as this was among the first veins worked in 

the district. The ore contains silver, lead, and gold and is reported 

to carry about 2 ounces of gold to the ton, but the principal production is stated to be a small amount of lead.

JUNO MINE.

The Juno mine is situated in the low foothills about three-fourths 

of a mile northwest of Chloride, and is supposed to be located on the 

northward continuation of the Silver Hill vein. It is one of the early 

locations and was worked intermittently until about five years ago, 

when the shaft caved in, since which time work has been suspended. 

It was developed to the depth of 600 feet and equipped with a steam 

hoist. It is owned by E. T. Lloyd and B. Miller.

The vein dips steeply to the northeast. It is said to have been 

large on the surface, and the ore on the whole is rich. The surface 

ore was treated by a leaching process. The mine is stated to have 

produced much good ore and is regarded as a good property. Several operators have derived good returns from it.

MERBIMA'C MINE. »

.The Merrimac mine is situated about a mile west of Chloride, at 

the border of the foothills and the Sacramento Valley, on open 

ground. It is one of the early discoveries and is owned by the 

Minnesota-Connor Mining Company. It is developed to the depth 

of about 200 feet and is equipped with a hoist and concentrating mill, 

but has not been worked for some time. The concentrating tables 

have been removed from the mill, and the mine has the appearance 

of being abandoned.

The country rock is pre-Cambrian coarse porphyritic gneiss. It is 

traversed by numerous veins or stringers, which are opened by prospect pits and shallow workings. The vein on. which the mine is 

located seems to trend about N. 60° W. and dips to the northeast. 

The gangue is hard quartz and the ore contains silver and gold 

associated with pyrite. Much of the ore is banded and hard. The
CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 79

high-grade ore contains ruby silver with a small amount of gold. 

Difficulty is said to have been encountered in concentrating the lowgrade ore. A large dump shows that much work has been clone, and 

the mine is reported to have produced considerable good ore.

TUCKAHOE MINE.

The Tuckahoe mine, one of the early discoveries, is ! £ miles west 

of Chloride, on the main road to White Hills. It is located on open 

ground, like the Merrimac mine, at an elevation of about 3,900 feet 

and in about the same class of porphyritic pre-Cambrian granite, 

which a few hundred yards east of the mine is cut by a diabase dike. 

Some basalt debris is strewn upon the surface. The mine is developed by a 45° inclined shaft, 200 feet deep, sunk upon the vein, and is 

equipped with a windmill hoist. It is owned by John Barry.

The vein strikes about N. 25° W. and dips about 45° NE. Certain

irregularities suggest that other associated veins or stringers may 

be present near by, as at the Merrimac mine. The gangue is hard 

quartz and a mixture of quartz and country rock, locally crushed and 

recemented in the form of a breccia or conglomeratic mass, with 

many of -the rock fragments rounded or pebble-shaped. The ore 

contains principally silver values, but some gold and galena are also 

present, all in association with iron pyrite.

The mine has produced a considerable amount of good ore. It was 

worked some years ago by the hyposulphite leaching process and 

$10,000 is said to have been extracted in one year. The latest ore 

shipped is stated to have averaged $10 in gold and 75 ounces of silver 

to the ton, and 17 per cent of lead. The mine is now producing in a 

small way.

TINTIC MINE.

The Tintic mine is situated on open ground in Sacramento Valley, 

about 1£ miles west of Chloride and half a mile south of the Tuckahoe mine. It is said to be located on a nearly flat-lying .vein, which 

dips to the northeast and is from 2 to 10 feet thick. Water is said to 

be encountered at a depth of 40 feet below the surface.

The ore values are almost exclusively in gold and are said to average about $150 a ton in carload lots. The production is reported to be 

many thousand dollars, most of which has been obtained within a 

distance of about 200 feet, extending horizontally along the vein.

OTHER MINES.

Besides the mines already described there are in the district probably a score or more of small mines and promising veins, such as 

the Century group, Bobby Burns, Roger Boy, Goldback, and others, 

concerning whose locations and character data adequate for descrip-
80 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ABIZONA.

tion are not at hand. Some of these properties are -reported to be 

developed to the depth of 200 feet or more and contain several hundred feet of drift.

MINERAL PARK DISTRICT. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The Mineral Park district practically joins the Chloride district on 

the south. Mineral Park, the main camp and post-office, situated near 

the middle of the district at an elevation of 4,200 feet, is about 4 

miles from Chloride. The district trends about north and south, with 

a length of about 5 miles, which but slightly exceeds its width. It 

lies mainly in a basin several miles in diameter between the elevations 

of 4,000 and 5,000 feet. Some of the deposits on the north, however, 

extend nearly to the top of Cherum Peak, whose elevation is about 

7,000 feet. The topography surrounding the basin is mountainous, 

but for the most part not rugged. The drainage issues westward into 

Sacramento Valley, mainly through Mineral Park Wash. Open 

groves of scrub pine and cedar occur in the hills.

The principal supply point is Chloride, but ore and heavy freight 

are hauled direct to the railroad, 3 miles to the west. The first location made in the district was the Mayflower, in 1870. It was soon 

followed by the Keystone No. 1 and No. 2, and then by the Lone 

Star. Considerable ore was soon taken out and shipped to the 

Selby smelter at San Francisco at a cost for freight of $125 a ton. 

Some ore was also freighted eastward by oxen over the old government trail to New Mexico.

The Keystone mill, which is still standing, was built at a reported 

cost of $125,000 and started in 1876. Operations continued more or 

less actively until the price of silver began to decline in 1882, and

during that time the district was one of the heaviest producers and

shippers of rich gold and silver ore in the Cerbat Mountains. Since 

1882, however, the production has been small, only a few of the mines 

being worked. One of the reasons seems to be the fact that many of 

the mines are owned by the original locators or men who have not the 

means to work them below water level, which in a greater portion 

of the district is encountered at a comparatively shallow depth. Several springs occur in the district.

The Keystone mill contains a crusher, five 1,000-pound stamps, with 

pans, a Bruckner revolving reverberatory furnace, and a 25-horsepower engine. In the early days it received most of the ore from the 

Cerbat Mountain region, including the Chloride, Cerbat, and Stockton Hill camps. The treatment charges are reported to have been 

very heavy, but, on the other hand, the operators found it difficult to 

extract the values from the ore.
MINERAL PARK DISTRICT. 81

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian complex, and comprises 

gneisses and schists as well as gneissoid granite. The structure or 

schistosity strikes a little west of north, with nearly vertical dip. 

The complex is extensively intruded or broken through by masses of 

the later, probably post-Carboniferous coarse granite porphyry, and 

is cut by dikes of rhyolite, diabase, and minette. In the northeastern 

part of the district, on the slope of the range between Mineral Park 

and Cherum Peak, the schistosity and sheeting in the pre-Cambrian 

rocks trend N. 65° E., with vertical dip, and a secondary sheeting 

trends N. 20° W. and dips about 80° E.

The district on the whole is well mineralized, and its mineralization seems to be largely due to the porphyry. Remote from the intrusive masses this granite porphyry is locally associated with the 

veins as dikes. It forms the upper part of a prominent foothill OF 

knob on the northwest, known as Niggerhead. It also constitutes a 

considerable portion of the mountains on the opposite side of the 

wash, to the south, and extends interruptedly throughout the greater 

portion of the basin eastward for 1-J miles into the slope of the 

range. Its structure or jointing, which also penetrates the underlying pre-Cambrian rocks, is well shown across the northern part of 

Mineral Park district. It dips westward at angles of about 35°.

ORE DEPOSITS.

The deposits contain gold, silver, lead, and copper in fissure veins 

or lodes, some of which are unusually large. The strike of the veins 

is N. 37° to 60° W., and the dip is steep to the northeast or the 

southwest. There are also a few cross veins striking northeast or 

east and west. The gangue is quartz, with pyrite, chalcopyrite, 

arsenopyrite, galena, and zinc blende as the principal ore minerals. 

Especially in the upper levels there are also secondary argentite, 

native silver, copper, horn silver, and cerusite. The oxidized zone 

does not extend to a great depth.

The mines, numbering about twenty, are small, few of them 

exceeding 300 feet in depth or containing more than 1,000 feet of 

underground work. The principal ones are the Rural, Buckeye, Ark, 

Queen Bee, Tyler, Keystone, Fairchild, Metallic, Accident, Lady 

Bug, Standard, and Golden Star. They are nearly all reached by 

wagon road. The most important producers at present are the Keystone, Tyler, and Queen Bee.

KEYSTONE MINE.

The Keystone mine is situated on open ground about one-fourth of 

a mile east of Mineral Park and about 200 feet higher. It was located 

88171 Bull. 397 09 6
82 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

by Charles E. Sherman, a well-known pioneer, in 18TO. Its surface ores -were very rich and carried high values in gold as well as in 

silver, by reason of which it soon became the first important producer, 

its ores being shipped to Swansea, Wales. It was later worked by 

the Mineral Park Mining Company, and the ore was locally milled in 

the Keystone mill. Later it was owned by James TJncapher, of 

Mineral Park, by whom it was sold to the present owner, the Keystone Mining Company, of Greensburg, Pa. The production of the 

mine to date is reported to be about $50,000.

The mine is developed mainly by a shaft 450 feet deep and 500 feet 

of drifts, mostly down to the 150-foot level, above which the greater 

part of the ore is worked out. The principal surface equipments are 

a steam hoist and a 5-stamp mill.

The principal rock at the mine is the granite porphyry. There 

are two veins. The vein on which the mine is located strikes N. 60° 

W. and dips about 80° NE. The gangue is quartz in which the ore 

shoots occur mainly in the form of lenticular streaks about a foot 

thick. The ore contains pyrite, chalcopyrite, and zinc blende, with 

silver and some gold.. The silver is present as argentite, in part. The 

better grade of ore runs about 200 ounces of silver to the ton, 2-| per 

cent of copper, 8 to 10 per cent of zinc, and 12 per cent of iron. 

Toward the outside of the lenses it is irregularly and closely banded. 

It is richest where the vein pinches. Elsewhere it may be distributed 

in a thickness of 3 feet of quartz gangue, but it is good concentrating 

ore and is said to average $12 to $15 a ton, and by reason of its 

low grade should be milled on the ground. Some of the ore, however, runs considerably higher. That averaging $20 or more a ton 

is now shipped to the Humboldt smelter. None lower than $20 ore 

is now handled. The present rate of output is about 20 tons a month.

About 50 feet northeast of the vein on which the mine is situated 

and lying about parallel with it is a second or smaller vein, which 

looks well and whose ore is reported to be nearly all of shipping 

grade.

TYLER MINE.

The Tyler mine is situated in the southeastern part of the district, 

2f miles southeast of Mineral Park, near the summit of the range, 

on a steep northeastern slope, at an elevation of about 5,300 feet, or 

about 1,200 feet above Mineral Park. A good wagon road extends 

nearly to the mine, with which connection is made by a good trail 

of easy grade. The mine was discovered by Stephen A. Tyler, the 

owner, in 1901. It began to ship ore in 1905, but only necessary 

assessment work is now done.
MINERAL PAEK DISTRICT. 83

The mine is developed mainly by two crosscut tunnels and drifts, 

mostly situated within a vertical range of 100 feet, principally on 

the Gold Eagle claim.

The country rock is pre-Cambrian medium-grained gneissoid biotite 

granite. The vein strikes N. 37° W. and dips about 75° 'SW., into 

the mountains. It has a width of about 40 feet and seems to consist 

mainly of an altered and partly replaced crushed and recemented 

aplitic dike. The entire Avidth is claimed to be low-grade ore, but 

the values occur chiefly in the first 6 or 7 feet of the hanging-wall 

side of the dike and are best near its contact with the granite. The 

hanging wall also carries 6 inches to 2 feet of slickensided gouge, 

between which and the country rock occurs quartz breccia containing 

some ore.

The mine produces gold-silver-lead ore. The principal ore minerals consist of galena and cerusite. The last carload shipped at the

time of the writer's visit averaged gold 3.16 ounces to the ton, silver 

8 ounces to the ton, and lead 17.5 per cent. At last accounts the mine 

is reported to be sold to a Los Angeles company.

LADY BUG MINE.

The Lady Bug, an old mine, is about half a mile southeast of the 

Tyler mine, close to the Tyler camp, at an elevation of about 5,000 

feet. It was located in 1886 by Isaac Conkey, the owner, now residing at Mineral Park. It is developed principally by a 63-foot shaft, 

100 or more feet of drifts, and a number of surface openings on the 

vein.

The country rock is pre-Cambrian biotite granite, the same as at 

the Tyler mine, and it is to a considerable extent intruded by the 

granite porphyry of Mineral Park. The vein is reported to be 7 to 

8 feet thick. It lies nearly parallel with the Tyler vein, but differs 

from it in being composed of a gangue which is mainly quartz. The 

ore contains principally silver chloride and gold with a little galena. 

A considerable portion of the ore mined is reported to have averaged 

$300 to $500 a ton. The production is reported to be $6,000.

BUBAL AND BUCKEYE MINES.

The Rural and Buckeye mines are in the northeastern part of the 

district, 1£ miles northeast of Mineral Park, near the south base of 

Cherum Peak, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet. They are reached 

by wagon road. They are situated but a few hundred feet apart on 

the same vein, the Rural being on the west and the Buckeye on the 

east side of the same gulch. The Rural is owned by E. F. Thompson, of Kingman, and the Buckeye by C. E. Lovett and others, of 

Denver, Colo.
84 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The Rural is developed principally by a 200-foot shaft, about 100 

feet of drift, and a winze. The drift extends westward, its face 

being about 110 feet distant from the shaft. The shaft contains some 

water. The Buckeye is developed principally by about 750 feet of 

drift, extending in an easterly direction. Toward the face of the 

drift the vein is faulted off to the northeast by a lateral throw of 

about 75 feet.

The country rock is medium-grained gneissoid biotite granite and 

associated schist. It is intruded by dikes of granite porphyry. The 

deposits occur in a fissure vein which is 2 to 4 feet in width in the 

Rural and attains a maximum of 8 feet in the Buckeye. In the Rural 

it dips about 80° S. and in the Buckeye about 70° N. In both mines 

it is associated with a dike of the granite porphyry, masses of which 

occur to the northeast near by. The gangue is quartz and is generally 

" frozen " to the walls. It shows ore shoots ranging from 4 to 20 feet 

in width, which consist mostly of pyrite and chalcopyrite, with parallel 

streaks of arsenopyrite, black oxide of manganese, gray chert, and 

quartz, the quartz being more prominent in the Buckeye than in the 

Rural mine.

The ore contains silver, gold, and copper, with high silver and gold 

values. The display of ores from these mines, containing masses of 

solid silver and beautiful specimens of wire silver, is said to have 

been awarded the silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

The production, exact figures of which are not available, is reported 

to mount well into thousands of dollars in silver and gold, and much 

good ore is said to be available in the mines.

WINDY POINT MINE.

The Windy Point mine is in the northeastern part of the district, 

about a mile northeast of Mineral Park, on open sloping or hilly 

ground, at an elevation of about 4,800 feet. It is owned by the 

Arizona Gold Mining and Metallurgical Company, with headquarters 

at Kingman. It is developed mainly by a 105-foot shaft and a small 

amount of drift. The shaft starts in gneiss, but soon enters the 

granite. The mine is newly equipped with a gasoline' hoist and electric drills.

The country rock is the pre-Carnbrian gneissoid biotite granite and 

black amphibolite schist. The granite is less dark and micaceous 

than at the Rural and Buckeye mines. The structure or sheeting 

strikes N. 85° W. and dips about 75° S. Both the granite and the 

schist are more or less sericitized and impregnated with pyrite and 

arsenopyrite near the vein. About 50 feet from the vein, on its
MINERAL PAEK DISTRICT. 85

foot-wall side, the country rocks are cut by a peculiar greenish-gray 

porphyritic dike rock, which seems to be minette, and is apparently 

younger than the intrusive granite porphyry. The latter is also 

present in outcrops near by, and some of it was recognized in the 

dump debris derived from the mine.

The deposits occur in a fissure vein which strikes N. 42° W. and 

dips about 77° NE. It is 2 to 4 feet wide, and the pay streak or ore 

shoot ranges from 3 to 24 inches in width and favors the hangingwall side. The values are in silver, gold, and copper. The minerals 

are principally pyrite, arsenopyrite, and chalcopyrite. The last shipment of the ore is reported to have averaged 3 ounces of gold and 486 

ounces of silver to the ton and 2^ per cent of copper.

GOLDEN STAR MINE.

The Golden Star (formerly Lone Star) mine is in the northeastern 

part of the district, about a mile northeast of Mineral Park, a short 

distance below the Windy Point mine,, at an elevation of about 4,700 

feet. It is situated on open, sloping, somewhat hilly ground. The 

mine was located in 1870 and soon became an important producer of 

rich ore. It continued to be prominent till 1902, when the ore seems 

to have fallen off in grade. The mine is now dismantled of all surface 

equipments. Its output during much of this period is said to have 

been the largest in the region.

The mine was first owned by W. F. Grounds, now of Hackberry, 

who took out much rich ore. It was later owned by Fred Harter and 

Isaac Conkey, of Mineral Park. The present owners, besides Mr. 

Conkey, are W. G. Blakely, C. D. M. Gaddis, and Doc. Hamilton, all 

of Kingman.

The mine is developed principally by a 300-foot shaft and two 

levels, each containing about 300 feet of drift, and the ore is said to 

be stoped out from the surface down to the first level.

The country rock is principally black amphibolite schist, mica 

schist, and gneissoid biotite granite. The fissure containing the 

deposits is 2 to 4 feet in width, all of which is said to consist of lowgrade ore. It strikes in general west northwest and dips about 65° S. 

At the shaft the strike is east and west, but a short distance east of 

the shaft the vein curves to the north and is said to split. At the 

surface west of the shaft it is 2-| to 3 feet thick, is dark and ironstained, is parallel streaked or banded, and, like the Windy Point 

vein, is very arsenical.

The ore, like that of the Windy Point, is sulphide ore. It contains argentite, ruby silver, native silver, gold, and a trace of lead, 

all in association with arsenopyrite and pyrite. The ore shoot ranges 

from a few inches to 20 inches in thickness. The ore is mostly of
86 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

high grade, but that in the deeper part of the mine is. reported to be 

too base or refractory to be handled advantageously with methods 

employed a decade ago. In former times some of the ore was shipped 

to Swansea, Wales.

STANDARD MINE.

The Standard (formerly Blue Bird) mine is about 200 feet southwest of the Golden Star mine. It is owned by Gaddis, Perry & Co., 

of Kingman. It is developed principally by a 100-foot shaft and two 

levels containing about 200 feet of drift.

The country rock is pre-Cambrian gneissoid granite and schist. 

The vein strikes N. 80° E. and dips about 70° S. The ore contains

silver and gold.

QUEEN BEE MINE.

The Queen Bee mine is in the northwestern part of the district, in 

the foothills just north of Niggerhead, at the head of a gulch that 

drains westward into Sacramento Valley. It is close to the cut-off 

trail leading from the Chloride road across the foothills to Mineral 

Park.

The mine was discovered in 1876 and worked by chloriders. It 

has been leased intermittently, mostly at a royalty of 25 per cent. 

Surface improvements, including a hoist, were installed in 1904, 

after which steady work, including sinking and drifting, was carried on for some time., .Early in 1905 the mine was leased to the 

Queen Bee Mining Company, of Philadelphia. It is now owned by 

James Uncapher. The production is estimated to have been $35,000, 

mostly in high-grade ore. The mine is developed by a 435-foot shaft 

and about 900 feet of drifts.

The country rock is altered pre-Cambrian mica schist. It is intruded by the granite porphyry, a dike of which 200 feet thick is 

associated with the vein on the hanging-wall side. The deposit occurs in a fissure vein about 4 feet in width. It strikes about N. 40° 

W. and is nearly vertical or dips to the east at angles of about 80°. It 

seems to extend southward to Mineral Park Wash, about half a mile 

distant. The pay streak is reported to average about a foot in width 

and is located mainly on the foot-wall side of the vein. The ore 

contains gold and silver in pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, and chalcopyrite. The best ore yields 200 ounces of silver and 2 ounces of gold to 

the ton and contains native silver, hornsilver, or argentite.

ARK AND SAN ANTONIO MINES.

General statement. The Ark and San Antonio mines (PL VII, A) 

are located in the southwestern part of the district, about two miles
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE Vll

A. ARK MINE AND MILL AND TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN, LOOKING NORTHEAST.

. BANNER GROUP MINE AND MILL. LOOKING NORTH.
MINERAL PARK DISTRICT. 87

N CORNER 

MINE

southwest of Mineral Park, in low foothills at the western base of 

the range and the border of Sacramento Valley, at an elevation of 

about 3,800 feet, in what is commonly known as Ark Basin. The 

mines are on adjoining claims, but oil separate.veins. (See fig. 12.) 

They are owned by the Ark and San Antonio Mining Company and 

have been worked for many years. Many of the owners are Mexicans residing in Mohave county. Much of the ore produced was 

rich and was shipped to mills and smelters.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian gneissoid complex.

Ark mine. The Ark mine is developed mainly by a 250-foot shaft, 

three levels, drifts, stopes, and winzes, aggregating about 1,500 feet 

of underground work. The levels are located at 50, 110, and 210 

feet below the surface. ______________'_________ 

They contain, respectively, 380, 400, and 500 

feet of drifts. The mine 

is stoped from the surface 

to the 210-foot level. It 

produces considerable water. The principal surface 

equipments are a steam 

hoist and a Dodge pulverizer octagon revolving 

mill having a capacity of 

40 tons of soft ore or 16 

tons of hard ore a day.

The deposits occur in a 

fissure vein, which, as 

ishown in figure 12, strikes 

about N. 50° W. and dips 

about 78 b .NE. It is 5 to 

6 feet in width, is locally 

accompanied by 6 inches to 1 foot of gouge, in which are said to occur 

native copper nuggets as large as a man's hand. The foot wall is 

pre-Cambrian (?) medium-grained biotite-microcline granite. The 

gangue is quartz and somewhat silicified, crushed, and recemented 

granite. The sulphide ore contains pyrite and chalcopyrite with 

silver and gold, and the best yields about 175 ounces of silver and 

several ounces of gold to the ton. A 30-inch ore streak is reported to 

have netted $600 a ton. The production of the mine is reported to be 

about $150,000.

San Antonio mine. The San Antonio mine is developed by a shaft 

210 feet deep and by drifts. At the 60-foot level the drift extends 

70 feet from the shaft to the northwest, and from this point up to 

the surface the vein was stoped out by O. F. Kuencer.

500 1000 feet

FIGURE 12. Sketch showing relations of Ark and San 

Antonio veins.
88 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The deposits occur in a fissure vein, which is about 4 feet thick. 

As shown in figure 12, it strikes about N. 35° >V W. and dips about 80° 

SW. The gangue is quartz, and the ore occurs in shoots near the 

foot-wall side. The oxidized portion of the vein resembles crushed 

and recemented altered quartz and rock. It is stained brown and 

black by iron and manganese. The unoxidized portion consists 

mainly of dull-gray quartz imperfectly banded and locally with comb 

structure. It is porous or honeycombed and in places carries bands 

of pyrite an inch or more in width. The values are in silver and 

gold. No copper seems to be present. Of the ore mined by Mr. 

Kuencer 114 tons are stated to have averaged 174 ounces of silver and 

3.15 ounces of gold to the ton. The production of the mine is reported to be about $75,000.

Cross vein. About 300 feet southeast of the Ark and San Antonio 

mines, as shown in figure 12, is a third vein, which might well be referred to as the cross vein, for, roughly speaking, it lies nearly at 

right angles to the Ark and San Antonio veins. It strikes about 

N. 30° E. and dips about 65° NW. It extends from the San Antonio 

vein beyond the Ark vein and seems to be younger than the Ark vein, 

which does not cut it. It is a shear zone from 2 to 50 feet in width 

and is reported to carry low-grade gold ore with a trace of copper.

METALLIC-ACCIDENT MINE.

The Metallic-Accident mine is in the northern part of the district 

three-fourths of a mile north of Mineral Park. It was discovered by 

T. J. Christy, under whose ownership it produced handsomely. It 

is now owned by Henry Lovin, of Kingman. It is an old mine on 

which relatively only a small amount of work has been done, the 

developments not extending below a depth of 60 feet, where the 

vein is reported to become broken and to contain some copper.

The production is said to be about $54,000, all in ore containing 

chiefly chloride of silver with some gold; much of this ore was very 

rich.

FAIBFIELD MINE.

The Fairfield mine is about half a mile northeast of Mineral Park, 

on open, sloping hilly ground. It is reported to be developed principally by an 80-foot shaft and a tunnel nearly 1,700 feet long, known 

as the Hardy tunnel. The ore is reported to be principally of low 

grade.

WOOD CHOPPER'S BELIEF MINE.

The Wood Chopper's Relief mine, owned by J. W. Haas, of Mineral Park, is about 1£ miles southeast of Mineral Park on the south
MINERAL PARK DISTRICT. . 89

side of the valley, in a steep northeastern slope of the mountain, at 

an elevation of about 4,500 to 4,700 feet. The country rock is the 

dark pre-Cambrian granite porphyry, extensively intruded by a light 

aplitic granite. The vein strikes nearly east and west and dips about 

75° N. The mine is developed mainly by two tunnels, aggregating 

500 feet in length and 200 feet of drift. The tunnels are situated 

100 feet apart vertically; the lower one trends S. 16° E. for a distance 

of 350 feet to the vein. Here in the face of a 33-foot drift to the east 

the vein contains 2 feet of quartz with pyrite, intrusive aplitic granite 

on the hanging wall. The vein looks well, but is said to carry only 

a little gold, with a trace of copper and silver.

The upper tunnel, situated on the same vein as the lower, lies 

mostly in the granite porphyry and in the oxidized zone. It contains 

160 feet of drift that runs toward the west. Here the vein is 4 to C 

feet wide and consists mainly of iron-stained, streaked, and banded 

brecciated material. It has yielded considerable good ore, some of 

which averaged $500 in silver chloride and $4 in gold to the ton.

KATIE MINE.

The Katie mine, owned by C. E. Sherman, of Mineral Park, is reported to have been a producer of rich silver ore since pioneer times.

OTHER PROPERTIES.

Among the other properties in the district are the Annie, Blue 

Martin, Kenney, Estella, Estella-Bronco, Flora, and Congress. They 

are all in the prospect stage; all but the last named are east or southeast of Mineral Park and are owned by J. W. Haas.

The Annie prospect is one-eighth mile northeast of Mineral Park. 

 It is developed by a 25-foot shaft and smaller openings. The deposits 

consist of a " ledge," or mineralized zone; from 10 to 50 feet in width, 

It trends N. 70° W. and is located on the southwest contact of a 

rhyolite dike several hundred feet wide, erupted through the preCambrian amphibolite schist and granite. The schist is traverse^, by 

numerous veinlets of fresh iron pyrites. The deposit, however is 

oxidized. It is reported to carry silver, gold, and copper.

The vein of the Blue Martin prospect strikes N. 60° W. arid dips 

about 75° SW. It is about 3 feet thick and is composed mainly of 

crushed quartz, containing principally dark manganese-stained chalcopyrite ore with some malachite, the ore being reported to run about 

$30 in copper to the ton. The country rock is a medium-grained gray 

granite, sparingly impregnated with small crystals of chalcopyrite.

The Kenney prospect vein consists of 2£ feet of crushed or partly 

brecciated iron-stained quartz and rock, which contains lead values. 

The country rock is the dark granite.
90 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The Estella prospect has six veins, which are mostly small, some 

of the larger being about 2 feet thick. They strike mostly about 

N. 60° to 70° W. and dip steeply southwest. They consist principally 

of quartz and other oxidized material and are said to have produced 

good silver chloride ore, and some that contained values of $25 in 

gold Dto the ton.

The Estella-Bronco vein, to judge from the croppings, is about 

4 feet thick and has an extent of at least 200 feet. It dips northeast, 

at angles of about 80°. Its ore contains iron pyrites and green silver 

chloride. The vein of the Flora prospect is 20 to 30 inches wide. It 

dips about 30° NE., and contains two 3 to 5 inch streaks of oxidized 

galena ore, which is reported to average about $30 in lead to the ton. 

The deposit is associated with the contact of the aplitic intrusive 

with the older granitic rocks.

The Congress prospect, also known as the " Great Bronco," is situated in Mineral Park Wash, about three-eighths of a mile west of 

Mineral Park, mainly on the south side of the wash. It is owned 

by James Uncapher. It is a mineralized shear zone, or a fault zone, 

with an observed width of 300 feet and a reported width elsewhere 

of 600 feet. It trends N. 50° W., is in alignment with Ithaca Peak 

and Niggerhead, and is reported to be the same " ledge" on which 

the Queen Bee mine is located. It is probable that the Queen Bee 

and Pinkham veins and the Congress ledge are all associated in this 

locality, but their direct connection was not traced. The deposit occurs mainly in the granite porphyry at or near its contact with the 

pre-Cambrian complex. It consists of more or less silicified and in 

part altered and iron-stained gray porphyritic granite, with pyrite 

and chalcopyrite forming the principal part of the ore, disseminated 

more or less throughout. The deposit, where best exposed and opened 

in the wash by shallow workings extending more or less across it, is 

reported to average about $5 a ton in copper, silver, .and gold. Here 

conspicuous patches and areas of malachite and azurite resulting from 

recent oxidation occur on the surface and basal slopes of the workings, 

and much of the surface diggings is stained yellowish and greenish. 

The deposit has received the' consideration of some of the largest 

companies in the Southwest. Whether values will be found in depth 

seems doubtful.

The McDonald prospect, situated within a few hundred feet of the 

top of Cherum Peak on the south side, is on a ledge that dips steeply 

north and is reported to contain tungsten ore.

The Argo prospect, said to be located at an elevation of about 6,000 

feet, is. reported to have shipped some high-grade ore running from 

200 ounces up in silver and containing good lead values.

The Swift claim is said to have produced and shipped some ore 

containing good values in gold, silver, and lead.
CERBAT DISTEICT. 91

The ore shoot of the Sabbath Bell vein, opened by a 90-foot shaft, 

is reported to contain about 2 ounces of gold and 40 to 50 ounces of 

silver to the ton.

CERBAT DISTRICT.

GENERAL OUTLINE.

LOCATION AND HISTORY.

The Cerbat district extends southward from the Mineral Park 

district for about 4-| miles and from the border of Sacramento Valley 

on the west to the crest of the range on the east, with a maximum 

width of about 3 miles in the southern part.

Cerbat, the principal camp and post-office, is situated on Cerbat 

Wash in the foothills at an elevation of about 4,000 feet, 3 miles from 

the nearest station of the Arizona and Utah Railroad on the west and 

14 miles north of Kingman. Its origin dates from the early sixties, 

when the Golden Gem, Cerbat, Idaho, Twins, Champion, Vanderbilt, 

Eureka, Flores, Esmeralda, and Columbus mines were discovered 

or opened. It has always been a producer of high-grade ore and is 

reported to have produced more than $2,000,000.

A small smelter was operated here in the so-called Indian days, in 

the middle of the sixties, but for want of proper fluxes, for which tin 

cans and scrap iron were substituted, the process was not very successful, the lead being turned out in an extremely crude state.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The district ranges in elevation from 3,000 feet in the foothills 

on the west to 5,000 feet on the east. Stockton Hill, on the opposite 

slope of the range, is reached by trail only. (See fig. 16.)

The southern part of the district is drained mainly by Cerbat Wash, 

which leads westward across the district into Sacramento Valley. 

Its principal tributary from the south is Charcoal Canyon, which is 

several miles long and joins it just below Cerbat.

The northern part of the district is drained principally by Long 

Wash, which leads northward and westward into Sacramento Valley. 

The nearest railroad station to this j)art of the district is Mineral, 

about 3 miles to the west. Several small depressions which open into 

Long Wash from the east are known as Union Basin, Todd Basin, 

arid Lane Springs Basin.

GEOLOGY.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian granite, gneiss, and schist 

complex. It is intruded by dikes of minette, granite porphyry, diabase, rhyolite, basalt, and other rocks, some of which are associated 

with workable veins and are too greatly sericitized for determination. Ihe complex is also, flanked on the west by masses- of the 

Tertiary volcanic rocks, principally rhyolite.
92 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

Probably the best exposure in the Cerbat Range is in Charcoal 

Canyon southeast of Cerbat. The canyon cuts across the beds diagonally and exposes most of the pre-Cambrian rocks, including granite, 

gneiss, pegmatite, schists, and syenite, together with veins and dikes 

occurring in the complex. The series is cut by faults, some of which 

now contain ore bodies.

The schistosity strikes north-northeast, with dip mainly westnorthwest, varying from 70° to vertical, and the jointing trends 

west-northwest, with steep dip to the northeast.

Prominent among the dikes is the well-known " great white dike," 

so called from the fact that it weathers light buff. It extends 

throughout the greater part of the canyon and is associated with 

workable ore deposits. It is 40 feet or more thick. It crosses Cerbat 

Wash near the mouth of Charcoal Canyon, underlies the Gross ranch 

to the northwest, and is reported to extend much farther. It is a 

dark greenish basic rock, which is now altered and sericitized beyond 

adequate determination. Though profusely jointed and sheared, it 

seems to be younger than the granite porphyry intrusives with which 

it comes into contact.

THE DEPOSITS.

The ore deposits of this district contain principally gold, silver, and 

lead. They occur in fissure veins, which in general have a northwesterly trend and a steep northeasterly or southwesterly dip. Those 

situated north of Cerbat Wash are chiefly gold-bearing; those to the 

south contain principally silver and lead. The gangue is mainly 

quartz and the values usually favor the hanging wall. The principal 

minerals are pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, zinc blende, stibnite, and 

native gold. Near the surface native silver, horn silver, argentite, 

and ruby silver appear, but the water level is only about 80 feet deep, 

and consequently primary sulphide ore comes in at relatively slight 

depth.

The deposits are opened by about thirty mines, a sketch of some of 

which follows. The most important mines, nearly all of which are 

now producing, are the Golden Gem, Vanderbilt, Champion, Oro 

Plata, Paymaster, New London, Idaho, Cerbat, St. Louis,. Flores, 

Twins, Columbus, Alpha, Night Hawk, and Rip Van Winkle,

MINES NEAR CERBAT WASH DRAINAGE ON THE NORTH.

GOLDEN GEM MINE.

Location, history, and production. The Golden Gem mine is 

located at Cerbat, on the hillside which slopes to the west. The mine 

was discovered and began to ship ore in 1871. Subsequently it lay 

idle for some time until it was acquired by T. L. Ayers, wh.i shipped 

a very large amount ($200,000 reported) of rich (5-ounce) gold ore. 

He also hauled some of the ore to the C. O. D. mill, and left over
CEKBAT DISTRICT. 93

2,000 tons of second-grade ($24) ore on the dump, much of which 

still remains. Later the property was bonded to the Golden Gem 

Mining Company, of New York, of which Senator Warner Miller 

was president. This company sunk the shaft deeper and drifted, 

but as the ore on the 300-foot level fell off in grade, the mine was 

closed in 1904. It remained idle until 1906, when it was sold for 

$75,000, and is now owned by the Golden Star Mining and Milling 

Company.

A 40-ton mill with four Nissen stamps, recently installed, is now 

daily turning out .about $350 worth of concentrates 'from the ore 

formerly left on the dump. Twenty per cent of the gold is collected 

on the plates. Preparations are being made to unwater and retimber

FIGURE 13. Longitudinal section showing development of Golden Gem mine.

the old shaft of the mine, which at the time of visit was filled with 

water to the 200-foot level. This mine has produced good ore from 

the surface down, and the total production is said to have amounted to 

$190,000.

Development. The mine is developed principally by a two-compartment shaft, 435 feet deep, and four levels containing about 1,200 

feet of drift, winzes, and stopes. The levels are located at 130, 230, 

330, and 400 feet below the surface. The first level contains 350 feet 

of drift north and 135 south from the shaft; the second level 200 

north and 355 south, the third level 200 north and 200 south, and 

the fourth level 246 north and 140 south. (See fig. 13.) The only 

stopes are on the 130-foot level. They extend 66 feet horizontally 

and from 62 to 81 feet vertically.
94 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The principal surface equipments are the'40-ton mill above mentioned, a 34-horsepower hoist, and distillate engines, aggregating 79 

horsepower, for operating the plant.

Geology and ore deposits.- The country rock is the pre-Cambrian 

granite, gneiss, and schist complex. Fine-grained iron-gray gneissoid schist usually forms the hanging wall of the vein. The structure trends north-northeast and the rocks are intruded near by by diabase and granite porphyry or monzonite porphyry dikes. The muchaltered diabase occurs in association with the vein.

.The vein strikes about N. 40° W. and dips about 78° NE. It 

ranges from 6 to 14 feet in width and usually carries from 2 to 6£ 

feet of pay ore running from $10 to the ton upward. The ore shoots 

are reported to be more regular in the deeper part of the mine than 

near the surface.

The gangue is chiefly quartz and altered rock and is imperfectly 

banded. Some of the quartz .is similar to the Gold Road type 

described on page 158. The ore contains chiefly gold, but carries also 

silver in places as high as 60 ounces a ton. The ore minerals are 

galena (5 or 6 per cent), zinc blende, pyrite, and stibnite. The vein 

is banded and shows evidence of intradepositional faulting. The 

values usually favor the foot wall, but vary in position, and locally 

rich ore streaks 2 feet wide occur on both sides of the vein.

Southeast of the mine the vein is about 6 feet in width and, as 

shown by croppings, extends about one-fifth of a mile to Cerbat 

Wash, where there are some indications that it may be split. So far 

as opened in the mine and two surface prospects beyond., the ore is 

reported to run about $20 to the ton.

On the 130-foot level, 270 feet northwest of the shaft, the vein is 

faulted off diagonally along the schistosity on the south or foot-wall 

side of a 4-foot band of dark schist.' The ore shoot from the shaft to 

this point looks well and is reported to average high in gold.

The face of the drift extending south of the shaft on this level is 

reported by the foreman who had charge when the mine was suspended to contain a 24-inch streak of $48 ore.

VANDERBILT GROUP.

General description. The Vanderbilt group comprises the Vanderbilt, Idaho, and Columbus mines, situated near together in the foothills at Cerbat, just north of the Golden Gem mine. The group is 

owned by the Cerbat Mining Company, with headquarters at St. 

Louis. At the time of visit the company was installing a 25-ton mill 

to treat the low-grade ore from the upper part of the mines by calcination and amalgamation of the concentrates, there being a large
CERBAT DISTRICT. 95

amount of low-grade ore, especially in the Vanderbilt. The ore from 

the lower levels, owing to its richness, is shipped direct to the smelter.

Vanderbilt mine. The principal mine of the group is the Vanderbilt mine, located about half a mile northwest of the Golden Gem 

and a little above it, near the head of Flores Gulch, which drains 

westward into Sacramento Valley. The Vanderbilt is one of the 

oldest mines in the camp. It was located early in the sixties and is 

now producing. It is developed principally by a 300-foot shaft and 

800 feet of drift and crosscuts.

The country rock (locally called syenite) is pre-Cambrian finegrained gneissoid chloritic schist, and is probably derived from a 

diorite which has been greatly sericitized and otherwise altered. 

Associated with the vein on the foot-wall side is a " porphyry dike," 

which may represent the intrusive granite porphyry.

The deposits occur in a fissure vein, which, like the Golden Gem 

vein, dips about 80° NE. and is supposed to represent the northwestward continuation of the Golden Gem and 'Idaho veins beyond their 

point of junction.

The ore, as in the Golden Gem mine, contains chiefly gold values, 

but -carries silver also. The ore minerals are pyrite, zinc blende, and 

stibnite. The ore occurs mainly on the hanging-wall side. The best 

grade is reported to average about $500 or more to the ton. Galena 

occurs from the surface down to the 200-foot level, below which no 

lead ore has yet been found.

From the upper levels the mine is reported to have produced 

$150,000, and it has also yielded considerable ore to the present company.

Idaho mine. The Idaho mine is located at Cerbat, near the Golden 

Gem mine, on slightly lower ground in a gulch on the west. It is 

one of the early discoveries of the camp, its ore being worked by 

Mexicans in arrastres during pioneer days, and it has been worked in 

a small way since 1871. It is developed principally by a 110-foot 

shaft sunk on the vein and 275 feet of drift. The shaft is reported 

to be wholly in ore and to show in the bottom a width of 5 feet of 

solid ore, which averages about $20 to the ton.

The geology and the ore are similar to those of the Golden Gem 

mine. The vein strikes N. 20° E. and dips 80° E. It averages about 

4 feet in width and its ore shoot about 2 feet. The ore contains principally gold, with some sulphide of silver, galena, pyrite, and a little 

chalcopyrite. The production is reported to be $250,000.

Columbus 'mine. The Columbus mine is about one-fourth mile 

northwest of the Vanderbilt mine, near the upper side of Flores 

Wash. The deposits are contained in a fissure vein, which has been 

opened principally by two shafts reported to be 175 and 200 feet 

deep and by 500 feet of drift. The production is said to be several 

hundred tons of rich ore.
96 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

ROBERT EMMET MINE.

The Robert Emmet mine, situated north of the Vanderbilt mine, 

is reported to be on a large vein, <which is said to contain good values 

in gold and to have been a producer of rich gold ore.

FLORES MINE.

The Flores mine is located in the foothills on the upper part of 

Flores Wash, a short distance below the Vanderbilt and Columbus 

mines, northwest of Cerbat, and about TOO feet above Sacramento 

Valley. The property comprises a group of four mining claims.

The mine was first located in 1871 by a party of prospectors from 

Nevada, but owing to the hostility of the Indians actual mining did 

not begin until 1875 or 1876. At one time the-mine was known as 

the Five Forks mine, from the ramification of the north end of the 

vein into five parts.

One of the early operators was Charles M. Gross, sr., a resident 

of Mineral Park, who afterwards became owner of the mine. In 

1888 it was acquired by the Flores Mining Company, of Philadelphia. 

This company at once installed a 14-ton double-rocker mill, hoist, and 

other machinery and worked the mine until 1893, when, owing to 

financial difficulties, the mine was closed and sold for taxes. It was 

bought by W. N. Gurley, whose widow still owns it. The mine has 

not been operated since 1893, and is now filled with water to the 

100-foot level.

The mine is reported to be developed to a depth of about 300 feet, 

with but little stoping. The principal surface equipments are a 

5-stamp mill and a steam hoist. The mill is equipped for fine crushing and amalgamating, as the ore contains free gold.

The production is reported to have been considerably more than

$200,000.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian granitoid schist, and the 

intrusive granite porphyry seems to be present near by. The deposit 

is in a fissure vein about 4 feet thick, which dips 80° to 85° NE., but 

at the surface, where the vein is crosscut by Flores Gulch, it locally 

dips in an opposite direction. The croppings are chiefly reddish and 

brown iron-stained quartz and crushed or brecciated rock.

Though some ore averaging as high as $1,000 to the ton has been

.produced, the ore is mostly of too low grade to ship., It is contained

in an oxidized gangue, composed chiefly of quartz and altered rock.

The ore contains gold, w'ith silver sulphide, some zinc blende, and 

galena. It favors the hanging-wall side of the A^ein. Mr. Gross is 

reported to have handled ore averaging $60 or more only, but the 

Flores Company, with the mill now on the ground, profitably handled 

ore ranging as low as $6 a ton.
CERBAT DISTRICT. 97

ESMERALDA MINE.

The Esmeralda mine is located in low, gently rolling foothills 

about a mile west-northwest of Cerbat, at an elevation of about 3,750 

feet. It is owned by the Ark and San Antonio Mining and Milling 

Company, of St. Louis. It is developed principally by a 200-foot 

shaft and two levels containing about 250 feet of drift, with some 

stoping near the surface. The 110-foot level extends 90 feet south 

and 30 feet north of the shaft. At the time of visit the shaft contained water. The principal equipment is a 10-horsepower steam 

hoist.

The production is reported to be $90,000.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian complex, with schistose 

structure trending about N. 35° W. The rock is intruded near the 

mine on the northeast by a fine-grained granite porphyry dike, several 

hundred feet in width.

The deposit is a fissure vein, which strikes N. 35° W., parallel with 

the schistosity in the country rock, and dips about 75° SW. The vein 

is from 4 to 5 feet in width. Its gangue consists mainly of quartz and 

crushed and more or less altered country rock. Oxidation extends to 

the depth of 90 feet below the surface, below which the ore consists 

of sulphides and contains chiefly pyrite and chalcopyrite, with gold 

and silver. A carload of the concentrates that was shipped is reported to have averaged 13.42 ounces of gold and 40 ounces of silver 

to the ton. The ore usually shows a crude banding about parallel 

with the vein.

.CERBAT MINE.

The Cerbat mine is about a mile northeast of Cerbat, and the 

Golden Gem mine, in the foothills, on a side gulch of Cerbat Wash 

and near the top of the ridge separating it from Long Gulch on the 

north, at an elevation of about 4,600 feet. This mine is one of the 

early discoveries. Two operators were killed in it by the Indians in 

pioneer days. It was opened in 1869 and was worked by a whim in 

1875. About 1880 a large mill was installed in the gulch below the 

mine, but operations have now been suspended for some time. The 

mine is owned by the Cerbat Mining and Milling Company, of Minneapolis. It is credited with a production of about $300,000.

The mine is developed principally by a 180-foot shaft, drifts, and 

stopes. The principal surface equipment is the large mill above 

mentioned.

The deposit forms a fissure vein 4 to 10 feet wide, contained in the 

pre-Cambrian complex. The vein strikes north-northwest, with bold 

croppings locally rising 8 or 10 feet above the surface. The gangue 

is mostly quartz, with some crushed-and recemented rock. The ore

SS171 Bull. 397 09 7
98 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

contains chiefly gold, with silver and copper also. The copper occurs 

mainly in the form of chalcopyrite and carbonates. A conspicuous 

coating of malachite is now forming on the ore walls and surface of 

the workings in the mine. Most of the rich ore seems to have been 

taken out, but the mine is reported to contain a large amount of good 

milling ore.

BTJNKEB HILL MINE.

The Bunker Hill mine is located in the mountains, a short distance 

east of the Cerbat mine. It is owned by John Mulligan. It is said to 

contain two veins situated close together. The ore, some of which 

has been shipped to the Needles smelter, is said to contain high values 

in gold and copper.

MINES IN UNION BASIN.

Union Basin, comprising an area about 1 mile in diameter, is located northeast of the Cerbat mine, in the upper part of Long Wash, 

which heads to the north of the upper part of Cerbat Wash. The 

nearest railroad station is Mineral, 5 miles distant, reached by wagon 

road descending Long Wash. The basin contains about a dozen small 

mines and prospects, not all of which were visited. The most important are described in the following paragraphs.

PAYMASTER MINE.

The Paymaster mine is located in the southern part of Union 

Basin, at the head of Long Wash, about half a mile north of the 

Cerbat mine, at an elevation of about 4,500 feet. It is an old mine 

and was profitably worked in the seventies, when the cost of mining 

supplies and of the reduction of ore was many times what it is now. 

It is owned by the Victor-Paymaster Mining Company, of Los

Angeles, and is now producing. The total production is reported to 

be about $200,000.

The mine is developed principally by a 230-foot 60° inclined shaft 

and about 1,200 feet of drift, with upraises and stopes. It produces 

considerable water. The principal surface equipments are a steam 

hoist and a pump. At the time of visit a gasoline hoist and new 

machinery were being installed for more expeditious work.

The vein is contained in the pre-Cambrian complex, strikes N. 70° 

W., and dips 75° NNE. Locally it attains a width of about 15 feet. 

The gangue is chiefly mineralized quartz, in which the ore occurs 

principally in shoots, ranging from 16 to 24 inches in width.

The quartz contains principally silver values, with some gold. 

Much of the silver is in the form of ruby silver. The ore is said to 

range from $50 a ton upward. Some of it contains about 500 ounces 

di silver to the ton.
CEEBAT DISTRICT. 99

ALEXANDER GROUP.

The Alexander group of mines is located just northeast of the Paymaster mine, on northwestward slopes between 4,400 and 5,000 feet in 

elevation. It comprises four claims, the Alexander Nos. 1 and 2, 

Lazy Man, and Granfield. The two former are situated on the 

same vein and the two latter on separate veins. The veins were discovered in 1880 by Captain Lane, of Lane Springs Basin, and located 

in 1890 by James Dundon, of Cerbat, who is the present owner. The 

production of the property is reputed to exceed $5,000, the main part 

being derived from Alexander No. 1 claim.

The Alexander No. 1 is developed by three shafts and drifts. The 

shafts are 60, 80, and 230 feet deep. The shaft of the Alexander No. 2 

is 100 feet deep. The Lazy Man contains a tunnel 125 feet in length, 

and two small shafts, On the Granfield claim the vein is opened by

two inclined shafts, 35 and 100 feet deep and 500 feet apart.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian gneiss complex. The "veins 

strike northwesterly and dip northeasterly at angles of 60° to 80°. 

They range from 2 to 4 feet in thickness and are oxidized down to 

water level, which lies at about 80 feet below the surface.

The gangue is mainly kaolin, with some quartz. It is hard in the 

oxidized zone, but soft below water level. The ore usually favors the 

hanging wall and is said to occur in a nearly continuous shoot, about 

18 inches in width. It contains silver, gold, iron, and lead. In the 

oxidized zone it contains principally soft horn silver and gold, with 

a little oxide of iron and carbonate of lead, the silver in places averaging about 500 ounces to the ton. Below water level the ore is chiefly 

sulphide, the lead occurring in the form of galena and the iron as 

pyrite, and there is reported to be an increase in the amount of silver, 

with little or no decrease in the amount of gold.

OTHER MINES.

The Climax mine is located on rough ground in the eastern part or 

head of Union Basin. It formerly belonged to James Dundon, of 

Cerbat, who recently sold it to a stock company of Denver. It is developed by several shallow shafts and drifts. The vein dips steeply 

southwest or is nearly vertical. The sulphide ore contains gold, silver, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and galena. The values are chiefly in gold 

and silver.

The Silver, Eddy, and Tub mines are said to be located on the same 

vein or lode, which in the Silver mine attains a width of about 100 

feet. The Silver mine, owned by James Mulligan, is said to be developed mainly by'shallow shafts and several hundred feet of drift. 

The ore is of low grade, containing principally gold and silver values, 

and is said to concentrate well.
100 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

According to reports the Tub mine is developed principally by 

shafts and crosscuts. Here the vein varies from 30 to 80 feet in 

width and widens downward. It is reported to show at a depth of 40 

feet a 4-foot streak of galena, containing values in gold and silver, 

and at 60 feet below the surface an ore body about 20 feet in width, 

which averages about $10 in gold and 20 ounces in silver to the ton, 

and contains zinc, copper, and lead. The mine is known to have 

produced several hundred tons of lead carbonate ore, most of which 

averaged about 40 per cent of lead.

The Big Bethel mine is reported to be situated on a large vein containing a shoot of high-grade ore and is credited with a production 

of $10,000.

The Golconda mine, owned by E. F. Thompson and E. B. Smith, is 

opened by shaft, tunnel, and adit drift. It is reported to have produced from essentially surface workings several hundred tons of rich 

ore containing chiefly gold, silver, and lead values, with some copper 

and zinc. Some of the ore was treated at the old Empire mill in 

Todd Basin with good results. Eecently the 300-foot level is reported to have been driven 200 feet on a 4-foot ore shoot that assays 

50 per cent of zinc.

The Green Linnet mine is said to be opened principally by a 100- 

foot shaft and about 500 feet of drift and to have a good showing of 

ore.

Some of the mines of Union Basin are now said to be shipping 

ore to lola, Kans., and Oklahoma for treatment. The ore is reported 

to average about 50 per cent of zinc, and to contain good values in 

gold and silver.

MINES IN TODD BASIN.

Todd Basin, a valley about 2 miles long, is situated immediately 

north of Union Basin and, like it, drains westward into Long Wash. 

The topography is generally rugged. The mines described in the 

following notes are the most important in this locality.

"oRO PLATA MINE.

The Oro Plata mine, one of the heaviest and most continuous producers, is located in the eastern part of the district near the axis of 

the range and the head of the main gulch, at an elevation of about 

4,300 feet. It is reached by wagon road. The mine was first located 

and owned by Mexicans, under whom it began to be worked early 

in the seventies. It was next owned by J. P. Lane, whom the tailings 

are said to have netted $70,000, but who, in 1882, sold it to a party of 

ranchers under the lead of H. Wilsoni These men worked it and 

shipped ore to the smelters in Colorado, and finally sold the mine 

to J. W. Garret in 1895. In 1897 and 1898 the mine produced 

$150,000. Recently it has been purchased by the Oro Plata Mining" 

Company, of St. Louis.
OBBBAT DISTRICT. 101

The mine is developed to a depth of 280 feet, principally by shafts, 

drifts, adit drifts, tunnels, and stopes, aggregating, it is said, about 

7,000 feet of underground work distributed on three levels. The 

mine produces considerable water, ample for all milling purposes. 

The principal surface equipments are a 20-horsepower steam hoist 

and an air compressor. At the time of visit ground was being broken 

. for a new mill.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian gneiss, extensively intruded 

by coarse granite porphyry, a large dike of which crosses the gulch 

just below the mine. In the mine the granite porphyry seems to be 

associated with the vein, as does also a large 40-foot dike of finergrained granite porphyry.

The vein, about 4 feet in width, 

normally dips about 80° NE. It 

is locally enriched by intersection

with another vein. (See fig. 14.) 

The ore, which occurs chiefly 

in a banded quartz gangue, contains principally gold and silver. 

There are small amounts of chalcopyrite, zinc blende, pyrite, and 

galena. The ore shoots are said 

to be richer and more regular 

in the deeper part of the mine 

than near the surface. The ore 

' averages in gold 3 ounces and in 

silver 25 ounces to the ton, and in 

lead about 6 per cent. There is 

said to be good ore in the bottom 

of the mine, which carries about 

7 per cent of lead. The value of 

the output of the mine from July 

14.1896, to February 18, 1901, as shown by the sheets of the Arizona 

Sampler Company, which bought the ore at Kingman, was approximately $206,000 (2,527 tons of ore, averaging $80 to the ton), of 

which about 75 per cent was in gold and the balance in silver and 

lead. The price paid in the recent purchase of the mine was based 

on the assumption that the ore on the whole averages $37 to the ton, 

including the large bodies of moderate-grade ore left in the mine 

above the 280-foot level during earlier work.

The total production is reported to be about $500,000, and about 

5,000 tons of second-class ore, said to average about $20 a ton, lie 

on the dump.

80°

TO TREASURC\X 

HILL -s\

FIGURE 14. Sketch showing relation of 

veins at Oro Plata mine.
102 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ABIZONA.

FROSPERITY MINE.

The Prosperity mine adjoins the Oro Plata mine, being located on 

the same vein where it ascends the mountain slope on the southeast. 

It was formerly owned by Cal. Wright and J. P. Lane, but is now 

owned by Owen McNally. It is said to be developed by about 700 

feet of drift, mostly adit. The ore contains principally silver. Near 

the surface an ore body 9 feet in width is reported to have been a 

large producer and to have yielded considerable ore, which averaged 

$220 to the ton.

PRIMROSE MINE.

The Primrose mine almost adjoins the Prosperity mine on the 

southeast. It is owned by G. M. Bowers and T. E. Pollock. It is 

developed mainly by an adit drift, the breast of which is said to be 

in good ore, containing gold, silver, and copper. The mine produces much water and will require the installation of machinery for 

deep sinking.

BI.ACKFOOT MINE.

The Blackfoot mine, said to have been a good producer, is southeast of the Primrose mine, near the head of the gulch. It is owned 

by Byron Collins and Owen McNally. It is said to be developed 

principally by tunnels and shafts to the depth of several hundred 

feet. A proposed lower tunnel would ciit the ore bodies at about 100 

feet below the present workings. The vein is said to pinch in places, 

but in general increases in width with depth, and the ore shoot varies 

from 6 to 24 inches in width. The ore is reported to contain gold, 

silver, and copper, some of it running 180 ounces of silver and 3 

ounces of gold to the ton and about 15 per cent of copper.

SUCCESS MINE. 

The Success mine, located near the Oro Plata, is said to be opened 

by tunnels, drifts, and shafts on the vein. The ore is said to be sulphide and contains gold, silver, and lead. A lot treated years ago in 

the old mill in Todd Basin is said to have netted $27 a ton.

MEXICAN MINE.

The Mexican mine, located in the eastern part of the basin, is 

reported to have produced considerable ore that averaged about 9 

ounces of gold and 312 ounces of silver to the ton.

MINES IN LANE SPRINGS BASIN.

Lane Springs Basin is a short, deeply cut side valley situated northeast of Todd Basin, from which it is separated by a prominent spur-
CEEBAT DISTRICT. 103

like ridge extending northwestward from the axis of the range. The 

basin contains six or eight mines, of which those described below are 

the most important.

ALPHA MINE.

The Alpha mine is located in the eastern part of the basin, at an 

elevation of about 5,000 feet. It is owned by Peter Cooper, Oscar 

F. Dennis, and Mrs. Smith. It is developed principally by two 

drifts, the upper one 400 feet and the lower one 200 feet in length, 

both of which trend about S. 30° E. along the vein, almost directly 

across the strike of the pre-Cambrian gneiss complex. The croppings 

are a prominent reef of black, iron and manganese stained quartz. 

The vein varies from 4 to nearly 20 feet in width, and consists principally of a gangue of imperfectly banded, fine-grained, sulphidebearing quartz, in which the ore occurs. The ore contains silver 

sulphide, pyrite, galena, zinc blende, and chalcopyrite.

The mine is reported to have been a good producer. A consignment of 400 tons of ore is reported to have netted $125 a ton.

NIGHT HAWK AND KIP VAN WINKLE MINES.

The Night Hawk and Rip Van Winkle, two adjoining mines, are 

situated about half a mile southeast of the Alpha mine, both on the 

same vein in the steep northwest slope of the mountain, at an elevation 

of about 5,000 feet. The country rock is pre-Cambrian gneiss. The 

vein strikes northwesterly. In the Night Hawk it is reported to be 

developed principally by a drift 1,400 feet in length, whose face is 

located about TOO feet beneath the apex of the vein. The vein is said 

to be large and to contain a " pay streak " of sulphide ore ranging 

from 6 to 18 inches in width. The ore shooti in two localities has 

feathered out, and in both has been recovered with its usual values 

by cross-cutting into the foot wall. Much of the ore is rich; some of 

it is reported to have averaged $2,000 a ton in carload lots. According to record sheets of the Sampler Company, who bought most of 

the output from April, 188Y, to January 20, 1900, the ore averages 

about 3 ounces of gold and 300 ounces of silver to the ton; the production during this period was 464 tons, containing values of about $244 

a ton, amounting to about $113,000. The total output of the mine 

is reported to be $150,000, and was produced at intervals during the 

last seventeen years.

MINES SOUTH OF CERBAT WASH.

The principal mines situated south of Cerbat Wash are the Champion, New London, St. Louis, and Twins. As stated elsewhere, they 

contain chiefly silver and lead.
104 MINERAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY, ABIZONA.

CHAMPION MINE.

The Champion mine is 1£ miles southwest of Cerbat, on the west 

front of the range, 600 feet above and about three-fourths of a mile 

distant from Sacramento Valley, at an elevation of about 4,100 feet, 

near the head of a short wash that leads westward into the valley. 

It is reached by wagon road from the west. This mine is one of the 

early discoveries. It was fromerly worked by James Dundon, but 

is now owned by the Arizona-Mexican Mining and Smelting Company, of Needles, Cal. It is producing at a moderate rate. The 

mine is developed mainly by shafts and about 600 feet of drift to a 

depth of TO feet, and it produces a little water.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian gneiss, and it is intruded 

near the mine by granite porphyry and by diabase and minette dikes.

N E sw

FIGURE 15. Section of Champion vein. See text for explanation of letters.

One or more dikes are associated with the vein, which is about 12 

feet in width and dips steeply to the northeast. A cross section of 

the vein, as sketched at the mine near the surface, is shown in figure 

15. In this figure A represents country rock, consisting of alternately 

dark, and light streaked granitic schist forming the hanging wall; 

B is gouge consisting principally of crushed granitic rock; C is 

brown, iron-stained ore; D is dark, earth-colored, fresh dike rock, 

which seems to be minette and contains biotite, augite, orthoclase, 

and andesine; E is a stringer of quartz and brown, iron-stained carbonate ore material, which widens at about 60 feet back from the 

face and is reported to have carried an ore shoot 1 foot in width, 

which, in the deeper part of the mine, becomes the main vein; F is 

reddish, coarse granite, or pegmatite, composed mainly of feldspar,
CEB'BAT DISTRICT. 105

and toward D is sheared and cut by parallel lines produced by movement ; A' is dark granitoid schist, about ..the same as A, forming the 

foot wall. The ore is composed mainly of sulphides and contains 

principally lead, gold, and silver, the gold in some of it running 

about an ounce to the ton.

The mine has produced a large amount of ore, a considerable portion of which was high-grade surface ore. It now produces about 6 

tons of ore a day, four-fifths of which is shipping ore. Only the best 

ore is mined. A large amount of milling ore is left in the mine and 

a considerable amount also lies on the dump.

NEW LONDON MINE.

The New London mine is located at the west base of the range, 

about one-fourth mile, southwest of the Champion mine, at an elevation of about 3,800 feet, in an open wash, but little above the level of

the neighboring Sacramento Valley. The mine was Avorked during 

the middle eighties, at Avhich period it produced much good ore. It 

was'closed about 1893 and is now dismantled of all surface equipments, but is regarded as a good property. The owners are Skee 

Brothers, of Santa Monica, Cal.

The mine is reported to be developed principally by two inclined 

shafts, drifts, and stopes. Though the deepest shaft is 150 feet in 

depth, the work is nearly all comprised between the 75-foot level and 

the surface and in a horizontal extent, of 400 feet.

The vein containing the deposits is said to be similar to that of- the 

Champion mine, but stronger, and to contain large bodies of ore. It 

strikes about N. 60° W. and dips 55° NE. The ore is said to average 

high in silver and gold, as well as in lead.

TWINS MINE.

The Twins mine is about one-fourth of a mile east of the Champion 

mine, in Twin Gulch, which trends northward and joins Cerbat Wash 

below the mouth of Charcoal Canyon. It is owned by the same company as the Champion mine, described above. It is opened by shafts 

and drifts to a moderate extent. It may develop into a zinc mine, for 

in the bottom of the mine the vein contains a shoot of zinc blende 

about 5 feet in width, which also contains from $7 to $8 a ton in gold. 

The mine is reported to have produced 300 tons of ore, aggregating a 

value of $10,000.

ST. LOUIS MINE.

The St. Louis mine is about half a mile east of Cerbat and the 

Gem mine and the same distance southeast of Cerbat Wash and several hundred feet above it. It is accessible by wagon road. The 

mine was discovered about 1865. It has been a producer on a
106 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

moderate scale, and is now producing under the present owner, the 

St. Louis Consolidated Mining and Milling Company, with headquarters at Los Angeles. This company acquired it in 1905. The 

property comprises 19 claims, but the developments are chiefly on 

the St. Louis Claim.

The mine is developed principally by adit drifts and tunnels, 

mostly within a vertical range of 340 feet, and contains about 1,000 

feet of underground work. The shaft on the Knocker' claim, however, is reported to be 110 feet deep.

Five distinct veins are reported to occur in pre-Cambrian gneiss. 

Several of the veins are said to converge near the southeast end of 

the St. Louis claim. Three of the veins trend .northwest and dip 

80° NE., and two trend about north and south and dip 85° E. The 

hanging wall of all the veins is said to be gneiss. The north-south 

veins are reported to have in most places a " porphyry " foot wall. 

These veins average about 5 feet in width and are said to be richer 

than the northwest-southeast veins and to contain more silver. The 

richest ore they contain is said to be steel galena. The ore oc.curs 

in shoots or bunches varying from 2 to 16 inches in width. It contains about $3 in gold and 12 ounces of silver to the ton and 55 to 

75 per cent of lead.

The northwest-southeast veins are said to have a dark rock on the 

foot wall, with gneiss occurring locally on each wall. The largest of 

these veins is said to be 4 feet in average width, but it carries less ore 

than the smaller veins.

The two veins now being worked are known as Nos. 2 and 3. They 

are about 3 feet wide and the ore varies from 4 to 16 inches in width. 

In carload lots the ore is said to average about 60 per cent of lead and 

$2 in gold and 14 ounces in silver to the ton. Most of the ore thus far 

produced has been obtained within 40 feet of the surface. The

management is now taking out shipping ore only and doing development work.

BLANKET VEIN PROPERTY.

The Blanket Vein property is about half a mile southwest of the 

Gem mine, just below the mouth, of Charcoal Canyon. It is principally owned by the Golden Star Mining and Milling Company. 

The deposit is a gold-bearing quartz vein, resting on pre-Cambrian 

granite. It dips northeasterly at the low angle of about 30°, and is 

unique in being now bared, the granite having been completely removed from the upper surface by erosion over a nearly equidimensional area of about 500,000 square feet.

The vein is about 1 foot in average thickness and is said to contain 

about $8 in gold to the ton, or a total value of more than $90,000 for 

the area of the deposit thought to be in sight. Homings and assays
STOCKTON HILL DISTRICT. 107

show portions of the deposit to contain as high as $20 in gold to the 

ton. .The gold is mostly free milling. The quartz also contains some 

iron, principally hematite and limonite, derived from pyrite by 

oxidation.

STOCKTON HILL DISTRICT.

GENERAL OUTLINE. 

LOCATION AND HISTOBY.

The Stockton Hill district joins the Cerbat district on the east, and 

is about parallel and coextensive with it north and south, being situated on the opposite slope of the mountains. It is about 4 miles in 

width and but little more in length. It ranges in elevation from 3,500 

feet at the edge of Hualpai Valley on the east to 5,500 feet at the crest 

of the range.

The principal and oldest camp is Stockton Hill, situated in the

foothills in the eastern part of the district, 10 miles north of Kingman, at an elevation of about 4,800 feet. It dates from early in the 

sixties, when the principal veins were first discovered and began to 

produce. In former days much of the ore was shipped to Swansea, 

Wales, but later it was treated in the Mineral Park and Cerbat mills 

and shipped to the smelters in San Francisco and to New Mexico. 

At present the ore is hauled by wagon to Barry or Kingman, whence 

it is shipped, mostly to Needles. The district is reported to have, 

produced many million dollars' worth of ore.

TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.

The topography, shown in part in the sketch map (fig. 16), is 

generally rough, but the mines are nearly all accessible by wagon 

roads, mostly of easy grade. The drainage issues eastward into 

Hualpai Valley, mainly through several short side valleys or transverse washes the Canyon Station, C. 0. D., I. X. L. (known as 

I. X. L. Basin from the width and open character of its middle 

part), Cupel, Treasure Hill, and May well. In their upper parts most 

of the washes contract into V-shaped gulches.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian gneiss and schist complex. 

It is reddish brown and iron stained and is intruded by dikes of 

granite porphyry, diabase, and other rocks, mostly of basic character. 

The schistosity trends about N. 30° E. and dips usually vertically or 

at steep angles to the northwest. The dominant jointing or sheeting 

strikes northwest.

OBE DEPOSITS AND MINES.

The deposits occur in pre-Cambrian gneiss or schist, intruded in 

places by a later aplitic granite or by basic dikes. They are fissure
108 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

veins, which in general strike northwesterly and are vertical or dip 

at steep angles to the northeast. The gangue is quartz and the ores 

contain chiefly silver, with some gold, lead, and copper. Primary 

sulphide minerals are galena, zinc blende, chalcopyrite, and pyrite, 

but the district owes its reputation to the rich silver ores, such as 

native silver, cerargyrite, argentite, and ruby silver, Avhich were 

found in large quantities in the upper levels. The water level is about 

100 feet below the surface. Galena is often found above it, while 

rich silver minerals descend to a considerable distance below it. The 

greatest depth attained is 400 feet.

LAVA MtSA Contour interval approxnnatelg 100 feet

\ Alexander 4 Climax ? Oe 1a Fontaine 10 Cupel

2 Flores S Cerbat . 8 St. Louis 11 Prince <5eorge

3 Gem 6 Bunker Hill 9 Banner 12_ Treasure Hill

13 New VOrV

0 i a miles

FIGUKB 16. Sketch map of Stockton Hill district and adjoining part of Cerbat district.

The district contains about 10 mines, of which the principal are the 

Banner Group, Treasure Hill, Little Chief, Cupel, Prince George, 

De La Fontaine, C. O. D., and Sixty-three. Their general distribution is shown on the accompanying sketch map (fig. 16). The principal locations made in the district are indicated on the claim map 

(PI. VIII).

MINES ON STOCKTON HILL WASH.

The principal mines on or near Stockton Hill Wash are the Banner 

Group, Cupel, and De La Fontaine. Their situation in alignment 

on a nearly east-west line about iy2 miles in extent has led to the
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE VIII

CLAIMS IN STOCKTON HILL DISTRICT.
STOCKTON HILL, DISTRICT. 109

current belief that they are all on the same vein. They are perhaps 

in a general way in the same mineral zone, but as the strike of the 

veins at the different mines does not coincide with the trend of the 

mines and the veins have not been traced and do not seem to connect 

from mine to mine the single-vein theory remains to be proved.

BANNKK GROUP MINE.

Location. The Banner Group mine (PL VII, B) is about half a 

mile west of Stockton Hill, near the center of the district, toward 

the upper or gulch part of Cupel Wash at a point where it widens 

into a small basin at about 4,800 feet elevation. The property is said 

to comprise six adjoining claims, of which the most important are the 

Infallible (formerly Indian Boy) and the Star Spangled Banner. 

The principal mine openings are on the former, whence the workings

extend northwestward into the latter. The property is Owned and 

operated by the Arizona-Mexican Mining and Smelting Company, of 

Needles, Cal., where the large smelter owned and operated by this 

company is located.

Developments. The mine is developed principally by adit drifts, 

stopes, winzes, and shafts, aggregating about 2,500 feet of underground work, including the tunnel or adit drift, 1,600 feet in length, 

on the vein. This drift has a greatest depth of 230 feet below the 

surface. Several shafts, mostly shallow ones, are located up to 1,050 

feet from the mouth of the drift. At 800 feet from the mouth of the 

drift is a gasoline hoist and a 60-foot winze, reported to be sunk all 

the way in good ore. The property is equipped with a nearly new 

40-ton mill supplied with concentrating tables.

The production is reported to be many thousand dollars in gold, 

silver, and lead, the zinc thus far being culled and left on the dump. 

The dumps also contain much second-class ore, which is said to be 

suitable for concentration. The mine now works about 20 men and 

produces about 30 tram-car loads of ore a day, of which one-fourth 

is shipping ore and three-fourths milling ore. The ore is shipped 

to the Needles smelter.

Geology and ore deposits. The country rock is light to iron-gray 

fine-grained gneiss, in which the structure trends about N. 30° E. 

and dips steeply to the north-northwest. Toward the veins on the 

foot-wall side the rock is red from oxidized pyrite.

The fissure vein strikes N. 40° W. and dips about 80° NE. The 

croppings consist principally of leached reddish-brown quartz. The 

vein averages about 7 or 8 feet in width; the ore varies from about 

1 foot to 3 feet in width and usually occurs on the foot-wall side of 

the vein. In the face of the drift at the time of visit it was 2 feet
110 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

wide, and associated with it on the hanging-wall side was a foot or 

more of soft gangue composed principally of crushed and altered 

granitic material, which, on being removed by blasting, leaves the 

intact ore bared in fine condition for loading on the cars. The shoot 

contains parallel seams of light-colored material, which emphasizes 

the roughly banded character of the ore.

The ore consists in places of pure galena, but usually it contains 

also zinc blende, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. The gold in some of it 

amounts to several ounces a ton. The silver occurs in part as sulphide and native, as masses and wire silver, which locally interlaces 

adjacent parts of the ore shoot. The amount of zinc increases in the 

deeper, northern portion of the mine. Toward the northwest end of 

the surface workings occurs a large amount of reddish quartz ore, 

which seems to contain- chiefly gold values. This probably represents 

the body of rich gold ore reported to have been found in the surface 

openings of the mine. A short distance north of this locality galena 

and zinc-blende ore with comb quartz and chalcopyrite seem to 

prevail.

CUPEL MINE.

The Cupel mine is situated in the foothills at Stockton Hill camp, 

on the south side of Cupel Wash. This mine is regarded as probably 

the oldest on Stockton Hill. It was located about 1863, and was 

worked intermittently from that date to 1891, being constantly a 

heavy producer. It is said to have yielded handsome returns to lessees in the seventies, and in the eighties it was opened up by an inclined shaft to the 400-foot level by Spruance, Stanley & Co., of San 

Francisco. From this shaft nearly half a million dollars in silver 

and gold ore is reported to have been taken.

The principal equipments are a steam hoist and an excellent 200- 

ton mill and plant of the Joplin type, recently installed. The mine 

is owned by the Stockton Hill Mining Company, with headquarters 

at Topeka, Kans. The mine is developed principally by a shaft 400 

feet deep, a three-compartment shaft 150 feet deep, drifts, and stopes 

to a depth of about 400 feet, the workings being nearly all situated 

within 300 feet of the main shaft. The mine is said to produce about 

25,000 gallons of water a- day.

The production of the mine is conservatively reported to exceed 

$500,000, and is variously estimated at one to one and a half million 

dollars. From September 3, 1885, to May 1, 1890, according to the 

smelter sheets, the output was $131,405, and averaged approximately 

150 ounces of silver to the ton and 20 per cent of lead, silver at that 

time being worth about $1 an ounce. It is stated that the mine contains much ore in sight and.that the dumps contain about 2,000 tons 

of ore that is estimated to mill $6 or $7 net per ton.
STOCKTON HILL DISTRICT. Ill

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian gneiss and schist complex. 

Three veins, which strike northwesterly, but are not quite parallel, 

contain the ore. They are known as the Cupel, Edward Everett, and 

Tiger veins. Several diagonal or cross veins or stringers are also 

present. (See fig. IT.)

The ore contains ruby silver and horn silver, together with argentite, but in places is rich in high-grade galena and carries about $5 a 

ton in gold. The bulk of the ore produced contains ruby silver, and 

some of it is said to have averaged 3,000 ounces of silver to the ton 

and gave to Stockton Hill and the Cerbat Mountains their early reputation. Most of the rich ore thus far produced is said to have been 

taken out within a horizontal distance of about 250 feet, extending 

principally from the shaft northwestward and from the surface to 

the bottom of the mine. Beyond 

this portion of the mine to the 

northwest the ore is said to contain 

principally galena and some gold.

PRINCE GEORGE MINE.

600 feet

Location and history. The 

Prince George Mine is located at CUPEL MIL 

Stockton Hill, about one-fourth 

mile southeast of the Cupel mine, 

at an elevation of about 4,600 feet. 

It is situated on steeply westwardsloping ground, near the head of 

a deep gulch that trends southward into Treasure Hill Wash.

The mine was worked principally in the eighties. After the installation of machinery the mine 

was operated by Mr. McKay, who soon suspended operations, since 

which time but little work has been done. It is now owned by the 

Stockton Hill Mining Company.

Production. The production is reported to be $100,000, of which 

$90,000 was taken out in about ninety days, mostly from the large 

ore chamber.

Developments. The principal developments are a 180-foot shaft 

and about 250 feet of drifts and stopes. The principal equipments 

are a coal or oil fuel hoist and pumps. The mine is said to produce 

about 20,000 gallons of water per day.

FIGURE 17. Sketch showing relations of 

veins on Cupel claim.
112 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

Geology. The country rock is the pre-Cambrian complex, the prevailing phase being a medium-grained light gneiss, but next to the 

vein the rock is a coarse granite or pegmatite, some of which resembles 

graphic granite. The schistosity trends N. 30° E. and is paralleled 

by many small quartz stringers, none of which, however, are known 

to carry ore. Slickensiding in the mine indicates a nearly vertical 

movement.

Veins and ores. The principal vein Strikes N. 65° W. and dips 

about 80° NE. As shown in the mine at about 60 feet in from the 

mouth of the adit drift, the main vein is joined from the northwest 

by a second vein, which near the junction is 12 or 15 feet thick. At 

their junction the two veins seem to have formed an ore body 60 to 

80 feet in diameter and extending to a depth of at least 50 or 60 feet 

below the surface. The upper portion of this ore body, particularly 

that in the oxidized zone, has been mined, leaving a large chamber 

where the ore has been removed.

The gangue is quartz and altered rock, and the ore in the unoxidized zone or lower part of the mine contains chiefly galena, argentite, 

and pyrite. The bulk of the ore mined from the chamber is reported 

to have averaged 60 per cent of lead and 300 ounces of silver to the 

ton, and the remainder 20 per cent of lead and 20 ounces of silver to 

the ton. The ore as a whole is reported to have averaged about $200 

per carload, and most of the richest to have come from an ore shoot 

13 feet wide.

The walls of the main vein are, as a rule, ragged, but the hanging 

wall of the second vein is well defined and smooth and contains a 

streak of ore 4 to 6 inches wide, reported to average about $600 a ton, 

on which the operators are now sinking. A rich 1-foot ore shoot is 

also reported to occur on the hanging-wall side of the'main vein.

LITTLE CHIEF MINE.

The Little Chief mine is located about one-fourth mile southwest 

of Stockton Hill camp and about 80 feet above it, close to the main 

road. The mine has been worked on a small scale since the middle 

seventies, and has produced only high-grade shipping ore from the 

surface down. It is owned by the C. O. D. Mining Company. The 

production is reported to be more than $25,000.

The mine is developed to a depth of about 100 feet and contains 

about 1,000 feet of underground work, which includes a 400-foot 

crosscut tunnel, two 80-foot shafts, and 300 feet of drifting, the drift 

extending about 75 feet on either side of the two main shafts.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian complex. To judge from 

talus debris on the surface at the mine, it seems to be intruded by 

diabase near by, and portions of a light-colored altered rock, which
STOCKTON HILL DISTRICT. 113

seems to be the intrusive granite porphyry, are associated with the 

vein.

The vein trends N. 40° W. and dips steeply northeast. It is about 

6 feet in width and is supposed to be the Banner vein of the Treasure 

Hill mine, described later. The gangue is quartz and crushed and 

altered silicified rock. The ore shoot locally coincides in width with 

the vein and is stained throughout with copper carbonate. The ore 

contains principally green horn silver, galena, and gold, is all of 

shipping grade, and is said to average about as follows: Silver, 350 

ounces to the ton; gold, $5 to $10 a ton; and lead, 8 to 40 per cent.

DE LA FONTAINE MINE.

The De La Fontaine'mine is situated at the west side of the district on the narrow crest of the range, at about 5,100 feet elevation, 

where the surface falls off steeply into Cerbat Wash on the west and

Stockton Hill Wash on the east, the mouth of the adit drift or tunnel 

and shaft being located on the Cerbat side. The mine is owned by 

the Stockton Hill Mining Company. It is developed principally by 

a shaft 400 feet in depth and two levels comprising about 1,400 feet 

of drifts.

1 The country rock is principally a reddish fine-grained gneiss. 

Black amphibolite schist outcrops near by and is also present in the 

mine, particularly in the foot wall near the shaft on the 100-foot 

level. Back of the superintendent's house, a few hundred feet south 

of the vein, are prominent croppings of dark speckled medium - 

grained diorite from which the amphibolite schist has probably been 

derived.

The vein, which strikes-N. 70° W. and dips about 80° NNE., is 

about 7 to 10 feet in width. The gangue is principally quartz, with 

some partly altered coarse granitic rock, but locally the fissure is occupied by greenish or reddish slickensiding gouge. The croppings 

consists of a 6-foot reef of quartz, stained by iron and manganese, 

and rising boldly 10 or 12 feet above the surface. The ore shoot is 

from 1 to about 4 feet in width. Good ore bodies of this width and 

of considerable extent are blocked out in the lower 300 feet of the 

mine.

The ore contains principally galena and zinc blende and a very 

little pyrite; it contains locally about $2 to the ton in gold, but the 

ore recently blocked out in the lower part of the mine is probably of 

a somewhat higher grade. The ore in sight in the mine is said to contain good values.

The company plans to treat such part of the ore as may be suitable 

in its mill recently installed at the Cupel mine and ship the balance 

to smelters.

88171 Bull. 397 09 8
114 MINERAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA. 

MINES ON TREASURE HILL WASH.

The principal mines on Treasure Hill Wash are the Treasure Hill, 

Mocking Bird, and Sixty-three.

TREASURE HILL MINE.

Locaton and history. The Treasure Hill mine is situated in the 

southeastern part of the district, in southward-sloping foothills at 

about 4,200 feet elevation. It was discovered late in the seventies 

and was worked on a small scale. From 1890 to 1900 it was owned 

by Lehorean Moore, who sunk five or six shafts to water level, about 

65 feet below the surface, and is said to have stoped out very rich ore, 

some of which contained 15,000 ounces of silver to the ton. In 19Q2 

the mine was acquired by the present owner, the Treasure Hill Mining Company, which has since sunk several shafts to the depth of 

about 110 feet and drifted on some of the veins, notably on veins Nos. 

1 and 3. The property comprises four principal contiguous claims 

having a common corner and two extension claims on the southeast. 

The production is reported to be $100,000, of which one-half was 

high-grade silver 1 ore from surface workings.

Developments -The developments consist of a 140-foot tunnel, a 

120-foot double-compartment 62° 30' inclined shaft at the distant 

end of the tunnel, and a double-compartment 200-foot shaft, with 

drifts and crosscuts to nearly all the veins, in all aggregating about 

1,000 feet of underground work. The principal equipments are a 

gasoline hoist, a Cornish pump with a capacity of 2,000. gallons, and 

engines. Heavier machinery is soon to be installed.

Geology. The country rock is principally dark-bluish granite 

gneiss of pre-Cambrian age. The schistosity dips about 80° NW. 

The rock is intruded by a small stock of the granite porphyry. It 

constitutes the principal mass and upper part of the rough knob 

situated back of the mine and locally known as the Bronco, and it is 

in places associated with the veins in the mine. A schistosity is superimposed and is also older than the veins.

Veins and ores. The veins are six in number. Beginning with 

No. 1, they are numbered consecutively from southwest to northeast. 

They average about 5 feet in width at the surface. In the southeastern part of the property they lie about parallel, strike northwest, and, except No. 4, dip for the most part steeply to the northeast. Northwest of the mine vein No. 1 curves to the left and outcrops on the southwest side of the intrusive aplitic mass, while the 

others lie to the east and northeast of the mass, the near ones curving out " to get past it," as the miners express it. Only the veins 

next to the intrusive rock are now being worked.

The gangue is principally quartz, in which the ore occurs in streaks 

or shoots from 100 to 200 feet long. The shoots usually favor the
STOCKTON HILL DISTEICT. 115

hanging wall and are associated with clay gouge. The ore contains 

galena, with some pyrite and a little chalcopyrite. No zinc has yet 

been found on the property. The ore, so far as the experience of 

the present management goes, is said to average about 100 ounces of 

silver and $5 to $16 in gold to the ton, and from T to 10 per cent of 

lead, in both the oxidized and unoxidized zones.

According to reports of later (1908) work, 85 feet of drift run in 

the lower part of the mine, contains good milling values throughout 

its extent and width, and an unbroken small streak of high-grade ore.

SIXTY-THREE MINE.

The Sixty-three mine is located in the southern part of the district, 

about half a mile southwest of the Treasure Hill mine and several 

hundred feet above it, in the steep south side of a gulch which drains

southward into Maywell Wash. The mine, which is one of the first 

discoveries, was found in 1863, from which date it is named. It at 

once became a heavy producer of very rich silver ore. After Avorking 

the mine a few years, the first owners sold it to a San Francisco 

company, which worked it with good results and still owns it. Later 

it was also profitably worked by lessees. Subsequently the decline 

in the market value of silver and disagreement in the owning company are said to have led to discontinuance of work. The production 

is reported to be $500,000.

The mine is developed principally by adit drifts and tunnels to 

a depth of about 200 feet below the apex of the vein. The deposit 

is a nearly vertical fissure vein, about 3 feet in average width, in 

which the ore streaks average about 15 inches in width. The ore 

contains principally silver chloride and is mostly of high grade. 

Much of it is said to have averaged 3,000 ounces of silver to the ton. 

A considerable portion of the ore is said to have been treated in the 

Cerbat and Mineral Park mills and the rest was shipped to San 

Francisco.. As there are no base metals in the ore, the mills are said 

to have extracted the values to a very high degree without roasting.

MINES IN I. X. L. BASIN.

I. X. L. Basin is an open basin-like area situated in the upper 

part of I. X. L. Wash, about 1£ miles north of Stockton Hill. It 

contains several small mines and prospects,. about all of which are 

situated on the same vein or lode. The principal mines are the K. P. 

and the J. F. T.

K. P. MINIS.

The K. P. mine is located in the southern part of the basin on 

open ground at about 4,700 feet elevation. The mine is new. It
116 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

is owned by Messrs. Kimberly and Potts, of Kingman. As the water 

level is at about 40 feet below the surface, the developments consist 

principally of shallow shafts and surface openings.

The country rock is the pre-Cambrian gneiss complex. The 

deposit forms a vein or lode about 65 feet in width, which dips 

about 75° NE.j and is reported to have a horizontal extent of nearly 

2 miles, many locations being made on it. The gangue or filling of 

the fissure consists essentially of crushed or brecciated vein quartz 

and crushed and altered coarse granitic quartz and feldspar. The 

croppings consist of similar material, locally silicified and stained 

reddish brown and black by iron and manganese oxides. The lode 

carries a width of about 7 feet of concentrating ore.

The ore is of low grade. It contains principally galena and is 

said to average about 60 per cent of lead. It contains also some gold, 

silver, and copper, the copper occurring as bornite and chalcopyrite.

J. F. T. MINE.

The J. F. T. mine, located in the upper or northwestern part of the 

basin, is said to be developed to a depth of about 200 feet. It is 

reported to have been a good producer, and its ore is said to contain 

copper, silver, and gold.

MINES IN C. O. D. WASH.

C. O. D. Wash is located about a mile north .of I. X. L. Basin. Its 

principal mine is the C. O. D. mine.

. C. O. D. MINE.

Location and history. The C. O. D. mine is about 2^ miles north

of Stockton Hill, in the upper or gulch part of C. 0. D. Wash, at 

about 4,900 feet elevation. It is easily reached by a good wagon 

road. The mine was located about 1878 and was worked in a desultory manner until 1885, when active work was begun on the property. 

About 4,000 tons of ore was produced in the next seven years. Activities were renewed about 1900, with an output of several hundred tons 

of concentrates. In 1902 machinery and a mill were installed, immediately after which the mine and mill were operated for a period of 

six months, when, owing to decline in the market value of silver 

and, it is said, mismanagement and lack of proper machinery, the 

plant was closed. Later the Fletcher Mining Company leased the 

mine under bond and worked it for a short time, shipping the ore to 

Needles, but is said to have soon stopped operations for want of funds. 

The mine was closed again November 19, 1904, and operations have 

not yet been resumed.
STOCKTON HILL DISTRICT. 117

The property is reported to comprise eight claims. It is now 

owned by the Taggart Mercantile and Mining Company, of Kingman. The mine is filled with water up to the first level.

Developments. The mine is developed principally by a main shaft 

(No. 1) about 400 feet deep and by drifts and stopes on and between 

two main and two subordinate levels, aggregating about 2,500 feet 

of underground work.

From the second or 300-foot level to the surface the ore, except 

some of low grade, has been mostly stoped out for a distance of about 

400 feet on either side of the shaft, especially on the east side, beyond 

which good ore is reported. The second level extends to a point 900 

feet west of the main shaft, where connection with the surface is 

contemplated by a new double-compartment shaft (No. 2), which 

is now 96 feet in depth and on completion is to be used as a main 

working shaft of the mine. At about 1,200 feet west of this shaft

a third shaft (No. 3) is sunk to the depth of 60 fleet.

The principal surface equipments are a 50-ton concentrating mill 

containing rolls and three Bartlett concentrating tables, a 50-horsepower engine and boiler, and two rock crushers; a steam hoist with 

a 40-horsepower engine; a gasoline fan with, a 10-horsepower engine, 

and a pump. The principal source of the power used is fuel oil. 

The mine is reported to yield sufficient water for operating the plant.

Geology. The country rock is mainly dark-gray coarsely porphyritic gneissoid microcline granite. It is the dominant rock from 

Stockton Hill to a point beyond C. 0. D. Gulch. Locally it is associated with dark fine-grained chlorite schist, in which the 60-foot 

shaft on the west is located. The rocks are cut by dikes of a greenstone or altered basalt. Schistosity and jointing strike N. 20° W., 

with vertical dip. A secondary system of joints trend N. 70° W. 

and dips about 80° S. and seems to be parallel with the C. O. D. 

vein, whose fissure probably belongs to the system.

Veins and ores. The vein is well known as the " C. O. D." vein; 

it strikes N. 85° W. and dips about 80° N., and is reported to be more 

than a mile in length and about 6 feet in average width. The gangue 

is mainly quartz, in which the ore occurs in shoots and lenses which 

vary from 1 to 7 feet in width and are mostly of considerable extent. 

The narrow shoots are said to be usually rich, and the wider ones 

contain large bodies of milling and concentrating ore. At the 250- 

foot level the ore shoot is reported to vary from 3 to 7 feet in Avidth 

and its ore to have averaged about $250 to the ton.

The ore contains principally silver sulphide and gold, with some 

galena, zinc blende, and below the 250-foot level a little chalcopy-
118 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

rite.*1 It is said to be less rich in the sulphide zone in the lower part 

of the mine than in the oxide zone near the surface. Its run of mine, 

roughly computed from a record of the output from October 10, 

1885, .to March 6, 1901; is about as follows: Silver 160 ounces and 

gold 2 ounces to the ton; lead, 12 to 20 per cent.

Production. The production is reported to be $1,300,000, that of 

silver alone amounting to about $1,000,000; and several thousand 

dollars' worth of medium-grade ore are said to now lie on the clump. 

The output was mostly made between the autumns of 1885 and 1892. 

During this period 3,687 tons of ore are reported, according to smelter return sheets, to have contained about 402,000 ounces of silver, 

1,180 ounces of gold, and 515,760 pounds of lead. Later, about 1900 

to 1902, about 17,550 ounces of silver, 180 ounces of gold, and 114,360 

pounds of lead are said to have been obtained from 330 tons of concentrates.

MINES OF CANYON STATION WASH.

In Canyon Station Wash, about a mile north of C. O. D. Wash, 

there are reported -to be several small mines, of which the most important seem to be the Baden-Baden, King, and Queen mines, said 

to be owned by Lewis Davidson, of Kingman.

MINES IN "TOP OF STOCKTON HILL". AREA.

The " top of Stockton Hill" is situated in the northwestern part 

of the district, at the crest of the range, between the northern part 

of.the Cerbat district on the west and the heads of I. X. L. and 

C. 0. D. washes on the east. The mines include the Cincinnati, 

Miner's Hope, Blue Bell, Fountain Head, Brown, and others, the 

most important of which seems to be the Cincinnati. It is situated

near the crest of the range about midway between Lane Springs and

I. X. L. basins. It has not been worked for many years, but is 

regarded as a good property.

GOLD BASIN DISTRICT. 

GENERAL FEATURES.

The Gold Basin mining district, of which Basin is the post-office, 

is situated in the eastern part of the White Hills (fig. 18). It extends over a hilly area about 6 miles in diameter, sloping to Hualpai 

Wash on the east, and ranges from 2,900 to 5,000 feet in elevation. 

The northeastern portion, where most of the mines are situated, is 

rugged, being marked by longitudinal fault scarps and scored by

0 The mine is said to contain no copper above the 200-foot level, but in an opening 

about half a mile west of the mine and about 500 feet above it, on what is thought to be 

the same C. O. D. vein, the ore, which here occurs in a milk-white quartz gangue, contains chiefly bornite and chalcopyrite, with some zinc blende,.and about $20 in gold to 

the ton.
GOLD BASIN DISTRICT. 119

several deep transverse washes, of which the principal ones are 

Banker, 0. K., and Cyclopic, situated about 2 miles apart. The 

nearest railway station is Hackberry, 40 miles to the south, with 

which connection is made by stage line. Colorado River lies 16 miles 

to the north. Mineral was first discovered here early in the seventies, 

but remoteness from the base of supplies, together with scarcity 

of fuel and water, renders operations expensive and has materially 

retarded developments. Nevertheless, considerable progress has been 

made and much ore has been produced and worked in arrastres and 

mills.

CONTOUR INTERVAL APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET

FIGURE 18. Sketch map of Gold Basin district.

The deposits occur mainly in fissure veins in the pre-Cambrian 

crystalline rocks. The veins dip southeastward or northwestward, 

mainly at angles of 40° or 70°. The gangue is quartz, in places with 

siderite, and the metal is gold, mostly free milling, but it is associated with lead or copper ores, copper stain being a good indication 

of the gold values. Pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, molybdenite, and 

wolframite are found, but the ore is largely oxidized, the water level 

not having been reached. Among the oxidized products are limonite, 

malachite, cerusite, and vanadinite.
120 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MO HAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The district contains about half a dozen small mines and about an 

equal number of good-looking prospects. The relative location of 

the most important is shown in the small sketch map (fig. 18). The 

principal mines are the Eldorado, Excelsior, Golden Rule, Jim 

Blaine, Never-get-left, 0. K., and Cyclopic. The production of the 

district is given as more than $100,000, most of which came from the 

Eldorado mine.

ELDORADO MINE.

Location and history. The Eldorado mine is located in the high 

foothills in the eastern part of the district, at about 4,000 feet elevation and 1,000 feet above Hualpai Wash, which is about 2 miles distant. The mine is reached by wagon road, over which most of the 

ore was hauled to the Basin or 0. K. mill, 4 miles distant in Hualpai 

Valley. This mill, which was burnt while in operation in August, 

1906, contained 10 stamps and a cyanide plant.

sw NE

SCALE: /N FEET 

/oo zoo

FIGURE 19. Longitudinal section of Eldorado mine, showing stopes.

The mine was discovered late in the seventies and produced the

first bullion taken from the district, much'of its ore being at first 

worked in arrastres. It is owned by the Arizona-Minnesota Gold 

Mining Company, of Minneapolis. The production is reported to be 

$65,000, of which $5,000 was produced prior to 1902.

Developments. The mine is developed principally by about 2,000 

feet of tunnels and drifts and 40,000 cubic feet of stopes on three 

levels, aggregating probably about 90,000 cubic feet of underground 

work and distributed approximately as shown in the accompanying 

diagram (fig. 19). The lower tunnel trends about N. 33° E. and 

strikes the vein at about 200 feet in from the mouth. From this point 

the drift extends about 200 feet to the northeast.

Geology. The country rock is a reddish schistose medium-grained 

granite. On the northeast, however, as shown at the surface and in 

the bottom of the mine, this rock gives way to a dark friable biotite 

granite. The contact between the two rocks dips about 30° "W. It
GOLD BASIN DISTRICT. 121

is usually sharp and is probably a fault plane, which ssems to cut off 

the vein on the northeast.

Veins and ores. The deposit is a fissure vein, which strikes about 

N. 50° E. and dips 65° SE. It is continuous from the apex at the 

crest of the ridge to the contact in the lower tunnel of the mine and 

is stoped out through most of this extent. The walls are fair, but 

not regular. The vein averages several feet and the ore shoot about 

20 inches in width. It contains iron-stained, free-milling goldquartz ore, and is reported to average from $12 to $15 a ton in gold. 

The other associated minerals are malachite, lead carbonate, and 

. vanadinite, the last occurring locally as incrustations of crystals onefourth inch in maximum length. The principal mill treatment given 

to the ore was crushing, plate amalgamation, and cyanidation.

Just northwest of the apex of the vein above described and about

80 feet above it is the blanket vein, which is exposed for a length of

600 feet and a width of about 100 feet and which has contributed 

largely to the output of the mine. It dips about 25° E.

0. K. AND EXCELSIOR MINES.

The O. K. and Excelsior mines were discovered and located by 

three prospectors, Patterson, Eowe, and Fox, early in the eighties. 

They worked the ores in arrastres and hauled some to the 4-stamp 

mill at Grass Springs. In 1886 the 0. K. was sold to a Kansas City 

company, which at once put up the 0. K. mill in Hualpai Valley 

and ran it intermittently from 1887 to 1890. The mill burned down 

in 1893, but was rebuilt in 1896 and operated by lessees for a time, 

and then again shut down. It started once more early in 1902 and 

ran intermittently until 1906, when it burned down while in operation. The water used at the mills was piped from the springs or 

water tunnels in the upper part of Grand Wash Cliffs, 7 miles to the 

northeast. The mines are now owned by the Arizona-Minnesota 

Gold Mining Company.

0. K. mine. The O. K. mine is about half a mile south of the 

Eldorado mine and about 100 feet below it, on the opposite side of 

O. K. Wash. The mine is developed mainly by adit drifts, winzes, 

and stopes on four levels. There is about 1,600 feet of underground 

work, distributed approximately as shown in the section (fig. 20). 

The production is reported to be about $25,000.

The country rock is a dark biotite granite, about the same as that 

which occurs in the bottom of the Eldorado mine. The strike is 

N. 30° E., with dip vertical. Slickensides pitch northeast-east toward 

the mouth of the drifts at angles of about 35°.

The vein trends N. 65° E., but curves to the north in its course and 

dips about 75° NW. It averages about 18 inches in width and is
122 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

composed mainly of seamed, gold-bearing limonite-stained quartz, 

said to average about $10 in gold to the ton. The hanging wall of 

the fissure is regular, but rough. Small faults .2 to 6 feet in throw 

occur, locally accompanied by overlap and enlargement of the vein. 

The ore favors the hanging wall, but where the vein overturns on 

the third level and the hanging wall becomes the foot wall the ore, 

nearly 1 foot.thick, occurs in the foot-wall side.

The ore is free milling, but not so much so as the Eldorado ore, 

the gold being associated with cerusite. The principal other associated minerals are limonite, hematite, siderite, galena, molybdenite, 

and wolframite.

FIGURE 20. Longitudinal section of O. K. mine, showing stopes.

Excelsior mine. The Excelsior mine is about a mile northeast of 

the Eldorado and O. K. mines, in the low foothills near the edge of 

Hualpai Valley and about 500 feet above it, on the north side of 

O. K. Wash. The mine is developed to a depth of about 100 feet, 

principally by inclined shafts, drifts, and stopes, aggregating 500

feet of underground work. The production is reported to be $5,000.

The country rock is a coarse reddish granite associated with black 

amphibolite schist. The vein dips about 45° NW. It is from 1 to 4 

feet in width and is locally occupied by gouge only. The ore shoot 

contains deeply iron-stained gold-bearing quartz or.ore. It varies 

from three-fourths to 1 foot in width and occurs mainly on the hanging wall. The ore is said to be cyaniding ore, only a small percentage 

of the values yielding to amalgamation.

MASCOT MINE.

The Mascot, formerly the Old Homestake mine, is situated north 

of the Excelsior mine in the foothills at the edge of Hualpai Wash, 

and is said to contain a vein only 3 inches in width, which, however, 

is reported to be very rich. It is owned by the Arizona-Minnesota 

Gold Mining Company.
GOLD BASIN DISTRICT. 123

NEVER-OKT-JJSFT MINE.

The Never-get-left mine is located in the upper part of a cliff or 

fault scarp that overlooks the Eldorado mine on the east, from which 

it is but a few hundred yards distant. It is situated at about 4,500 

feet elevation, or 1,600 feet above Hualpai Valley. It is owned by 

Henry Paully, of Basin, and is developed principally by an adit 

drift, shallow shafts, and open cuts, aggregating several hundred feet 

of work.

The country rock is dark gneissoid schist. The structure dips 

about 50° W., but the principal deposit dips about 80° N. It has a 

width of 6 or 8 feet and contains mainly iron-stained or copperstained crushed gold-bearing quartz. The country rock is greatly 

disturbed by jointing, fracturing, and-faulting, and its true character

is somewhat doubtful. The mine has been a small producer for some

years and was shipping ore in April, 190C.

GOLDEN RULE MINE.

Location and history. The Golden Eule mine is about 1 mile west 

of the Never-get-left -mine, at the extreme head of 0. K. Wash, at 

about 4,550 feet elevation. It was discovered in the early eighties by 

Robert Patterson and Saul Rowe, who hauled some of the ore to the 

Grass Springs mill. Subsequently they leased the mine to Mr. 

Quackenback, and in 1900 sold it to the present owner, the ArizonaMinnesota Gold Mining Company. This company did but little 

development work on it till 1906. From May 15 to November 1 it 

was operated with a force of ten men, but was closed on the latter 

date. The production of the mine is estimated to be about $5,000, 

most of which came from the blanket vein.

Development. The mine is developed by a 75-foot shaft, about 300 

feet of drift, stopes, and a 25° incline about 100 feet long and 20 to 

40 feet in width, the incline being on the south, where the deposits 

occur in the form of a blanket vein. The workings are contained 

within a horizontal distance of about 700 feet and' a vertical distance 

of about 100 feet. The mine is handicapped by lack of water, which 

has to be hauled from the Cyclopic mine or from Basin, in Hualpai 

Valley.

Geology and ore deposits. The country rock is the pre-Cambrian 

gneiss and schist. The fissure vein containing the principal part of 

the deposits strikes N. 20° E. and dips about 70° ESE. The croppings, which in part are prominent, form a reef of iron-stained, 

firmly cemented quartz breccia. The vein is best exposed in the north 

drift. It is about 2-| feet in average width and contains gold-bearing 

normal vein' quartz, locally crushed, recemented, and iron-stained. 

Associated with \t on either side is a sheet of pale grayish or whitish
124 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ABIZONA.

gouge. The vein is said to yield good values throughout, the average 

being about $10 in gold to the ton, but the honeycombed quartz is the 

richest part of it.

At 120 feet in from the mouth of the drift the vein is abruptly cut 

off by a fault, immediately beyond which occurs a dark schistose rock 

that may be an intrusive. Near the fault the vein enlarges to about 

12 feet in width, the enlargement being mainly on the foot-wall side 

and containing much honeycombed quartz, and the ore, greatly increased in quantity, is said to contain higher values. Some of it 

averaged about $100 a ton in a large chamber, from which much ore 

has been removed.

The fault hades north at an angle of about 10°. It is a normal one 

and the lost portion of the vein has risen toward the southeast. The 

amount of throw was not determined, but it is probably not very 

great. Beyond the fault the drift extends about 100 feet on the 

projected course of the vein which, however, has not been found.

On the south the deposits occur in a blanket vein, which is 3 to 5 

feet thick, dips about 25° SE., and is probably a portion of the vein 

in the north drift, for it straightens up in that direction toward the 

top of the hill. The blanket portion has been mined OA^er an area of 

about 100 feet along the strike and a breadth of 35 feet down the 

dip, and it probably produced good values.

MINE.

Location and history. The Cyclopic mine is located in the southeastern part of the district, about 5 miles southwest of the Eldorado 

mine, near the head of Cyclopic Wash, at about 4,500 feet elevation, 

on open ground. It was discovered in the early eighties by Patterson, Rowe, and Glen, and about 1896 it was leased to a Seattle company. In 1901, with the Golden Rule mine, it was sold to Bobbins & 

Walker, of Minneapolis, who milled some ore. The coarse tailings 

still on the ground are said to contain about $7 in gold to the ton. 

Since 1904 the mine has been owned by the Cyclopic Gold Mining 

Company, of Denver. A considerable amount of bullion is said to 

have been produced, but the exact amount was not ascertained.

Developments. The mine is developed mainly by shallow, mostly 

inclined shafts, drifts, and crosscuts to a maximum depth of about 

70 feet, but most of the workings do not extend below 30 feet. The 

developments probably aggregate about 1,000 feet of work.

As the mine is located in a broad wash, some of the workings have 

become filled with wash debris at times of flood. The principal 

equipments are an Ellspass mill, operated by a ,26-horsepower engine, and a cyanide plant. The water supply is pbnped by a small 

gasoline plant from the west si'de of the range, several miles distant.
GOLD BASIN DISTRICT. 125

Geology. The country rock is a medium-grained coarsely porphyritic granite. It outcrops in association with the deposits and forms 

the foothills immediately on the southwest. Paralleling this rock, 

the wash, and the deposits on the northeast, and constituting the ridge 

on which the office and other buildings stand, is a fine-grained reddish 

granitic rock, with which is associated some of the same biotite granite 

that underlies the Eldorado mine. In contact with the deposits, particularly to the northwest, there is also a coarse red pegmatite.

Deposits. The deposits are ill defined and not well understood. 

They consist of gold-bearing iron-stained breccias and sands of vein 

quartz, in a few places somewhat resembling conglomerate. This 

material is cemented by silica and iron oxide, but is in part loosely 

coherent. It trends from a point near the mill N. 57° W. up the wash 

and is contained in, and for the most part seems to occupy, an area 

three-fourths of a mile in length by about 200 feet or more in width.

Prominent reefs of silicified iron-stained breccia several or more feet 

in width outcrop several feet above the surface. They are in practically all respects identical with the croppings of the Golden Rule 

and other veins that have been described. They do not, however, 

as a rule, continue in depth in the manner of a fissure vein, nor 

seem to have any definite fissure wall, but usually at a short distance 

below the surface give way to less firm material having an imperfect 

synclinal structure." In the northern part, the pseudovein croppings 

dip toward each other and their attitude suggests that they may be 

synclinal limbs of the same vein deposit.

From the principal openings near the mill in the southeastern 

part of the deposit the croppings representing the main or Cyclopic 

vein extend 1ST. 57° W. They are continuous for the first 400 feet and 

are accompanied by some underlying vein quartz or ore and show ore 

in sight at both ends of the 400-foot excavation. Between this vicinity, however, and the northwest limits of the deposits, the croppings of 

the vein are interrupted, and some pits and cuts have failed to find 

ore there.

The croppings of the other vein extend without interruption from 

a point about one-fourth of a mile northwest of the principal opening for a distance of 350 feet to the northwest. They are nearly 

parallel with the main vein, from which they are about 350 feet 

distant.

The ore thus far has been derived mostly from these veins, but 

crosscuts 80 feet or more in length have been run in a considerable 

portion of the deposits between them and report fair values, which, 

however, seem to occur in lines or zones paralleling the deposit. 

Practically no mining has been done below a depth of about 30 feet. 

Near this level there is reported to occur a bed of red clay or gouge, 

which was formerly supposed to mark the lower limit of the ore, but
126 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY/ ARIZONA.

ore is said to have been found below it. The altered granite for a 

width of 100 feet or more bordering the deposit is also said to contain $2 to $4 a ton in gold.

The ore is of low grade, .and is said to mill on the average from 

$7 to $8 a ton in gold, and to cyanide well. It contains also a little 

silver and a trace of copper, the latter occurring chiefly as malachite 

and not in sufficient amount to interfere with the cyanidation. The 

company is reported to have recently computed about 1,000,000 tons

of ore in sight.

GOLD BELT MINE.

The .Gold Belt mine is located on the southeast side of Banker 

Wash, at about 5,000 feet elevation. It is owned by Henry Paully. 

The country rock is an amphibolite schist, dipping about 30° W. At 

the western of the two principal openings the deposits are contained 

in a blanket vein of quartz 15 feet thick, inclining gently eastward, 

but thinning out in a distance of about 30 feet. The e'astern opening 

shows tAvo quartz blanket veins, each 2 to 6 feet in thickness, dipping 

gently westward and separated by a 4-foot dike of some volcanic rock 

that seems to be basalt, but is altered beyond identification.

The ore is said to be of two grades, the lower grade yielding from 

$4 to $7 in gold to the ton and the better grade from $16 to $20 to 

the ton and some as high as several hundred dollars a ton, that occurring in the porous or honeycombed quartz being the best. The deposit 

is reported to have produced a few hundred dollars' worth of ore.

SENATOK MINE.

The Senator mine is located some distance beyond the border of the 

Gold Basin district, about 7 miles northwest of the Eldorado and 

Golden Rule mines cand about 7 miles south of Colorado River, on a

low round hill at the southeast base of a prominent landmark known 

as " Senator Mountain." The mine was discovered late in the eighties 

by John Burnett, who in 1892 sold it for $14,000 to Senator Page, of 

Los Angeles, who in turn sold it to a Colorado company. The company at once installed a 10-stamp mill on Colorado River, 2 miles 

below Salt Springs, operated the mine and mill for about six months, 

and then suspended. Later the property was acquired by or leased to 

the Salt Springs Mining Company, which operated it about a month 

in 1903 and shut down, the ore being of too low grade to pay for its 

haulage to the mill, 7 miles distant, and for bringing supplies from 

Hackberry and Kingman, 50 and 60 miles distant, respectively. The 

mine is reported to have been abandoned since then.

The mine is developed principally by open work, cuts, and adit 

drifts. The deposits are said to be nearly flat lying and similar in 

character to those of the Cyclopic mine (p. 125), but they form a
WHITE HILLS DISTRICT. 127

larger body. The ore is said to be similarly low in grade, averaging 

about $3 in gold to the ton. According to Comstock,® the deposits 

exhibit structural features resembling those of " brecciated fusion " 

and " cooling lamination " and in origin seem to be associated with 

igneous intrusion.

DEPOSITS AT SALT SPRINGS.

The Salt Springs mine is about 7 miles northeast of the Senator 

mine and several miles south of Colorado River, in the first canyon 

west of Hualpai Wash. It is owned by the Salt Springs Mining 

Company, which is said to include members of the Arizona-Minnesota Gold Mining Company. The country rock is granite. The gold 

ore is .said to occur sporadically in quartz bodies, and its downward 

limit is usually indicated by copper-staine.d quartz.

Other properties in this district are the Smuggler-Union group, 

the Eureka mine, and the Lutley group.

WHITE HILLS DISTRICT. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

LOCATION AND HISTORY.

The White Hills district is located about 28 miles north of Chloride, in the Avestern border of the White Hills, at about 3,000 feet elevation. It comprises an area about 2 miles in diameter and is a part 

of the Indian Secret mining district, so named because the knowledge 

of the presence of its mineral was for a long time withheld from the 

whites by the Indians.

The first discovery of mineral in the district by white men was 

made by Henry Shaffer in May, 1892, through the aid of an Indian 

known as Hualpai Jeff, who exhibited a piece of rich silver ore at Gold 

Basin and showed Shaffer its source, where the Indians procured 

the supply of red iron oxide AAdth which they adorned their faces. 

The locality is at the site of the Hidden Treasure mine.

After making several locations, Shaffer reported the discovery at 

Gold Basin and was soon joined by John Burnett and John Sullivan, 

who also located what later proved to be some of the best mines. The 

trio began work and Avere soon shipping very rich ore, some averaging $1,000 a ton. The camp soon became the largest in the region 

and reached its zenith in 1894, Avith a population of 1,200. Within 

a short time the camp Avas oAvned by one company, the White Hills 

Mining Company, of Avhich the chief men were R. T. Root and D. H. 

Moffatt, of Denver. A 10-stamp mill Avas built early in 1904; in

0 Comstock, Theodore B., Geology and vein phenomena of Arizona : Trans. Am. Inst. Min. 

Eng., vol. 30, 1900, pp. 1048-1049.
128 MINERAL, DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

large part, it is stated, to work the dumps, which had grown huge. 

It was a complete success.

About 1895 the property was sold for $1,500,000, according to reports, to the White Hills Mining and Milling Company, an English 

concern, with headquarters at London and Colorado Springs. With 

only a moderate amount of ore in sight, this company installed a new, 

fully equipped 40-stamp mill, which was never worked to its full 

capacity and is still standing in good condition at the edge of the 

hills about one-fourth of a mile south of town; an electric-light system, and an elaborate water-supply system, including 7 miles of 

7-inch wooden pipe line; a large reservoir and iron hydrants of city 

style, at a total cost said to exceed $150,000. As the company failed 

to make its final payment the property was put up at sheriff's sale 

and bought in by the former owners, Root and Moffatt, who are said 

to still own it.

DEVELOPMENTS.

The developments in the district, some of which extend nearly 

1.000 feet in depth, consist principally of inclines, shafts, and drifts, 

aggregating probably considerably more than 10,000 feet of underground work. A plentiful supply of excellent potable water, ample 

for milling purposes, is usually reached at a depth of 400 to 600 feet 

and is now present in four of the mines.

While in operation the source of power used in the mills was coal 

hauled from Kingman, and the Joshua trees, or yucca palms, supplied 

fuel for the steam hoists at the mines. The principal surface equipments of the camp now on the ground, besides the mill, hoists, trams, 

etc., at the mines, are a large concrete reservoir and numerous, mostly 

vacant, frame buildings, including offices, stores, dwellings, a church,

and a schoolhouse in all but a remnant of the former town, These

are situated in the southern part of the district on White Hills Wash 

and mostly on Main street, which trends nearly east and west, as 

shown in the sketch map (fig. 21). The place now contains a store 

and the White Hills post-office, and regularly operates a stage and 

mail service with Chloride and with Eldorado Canyon, Nev., with 

which points it also has telephone connections.

TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.

The surface is hilly but, except on the east, not rugged, and the 

district drains westward into Detrital Valley, mostly by small washes 

and their tributaries.

The country rock is principally light medium-grained gneissoid 

granite containing garnet with some associated dark amphibolite 

schist. The schistosity dips to the northwest but varies greatly, the
WHITE HILLS DISTRICT. 129

rock being folded and faulted. It is overlain on the east by the Tertiary volcanic rocks, which in turn are capped by younger basalt.

The gneissoid granite, in which all the deposits occur, contains 

principally orthoclase, quartz, microcline, and garnet. In many 

places the garnet is abundant, some of it occurring as large phenocrysts, and locally the rock is traversed by 2^-foot bands or zones, 

fully two-thirds of 

which are composed 

of garnets about onefourth of an inch in 

average diameter.

The Tertiary volcanic rocks on the 

east consist principally of. gray vesicular altered hornblende-augite andesite, or possibly latite, as they seem to 

contain much orthoclase and have a trachytic groundmass. 

They occur principally in an elongated 

ridge overlying the 

gneiss on the east 

and are about 600 

feet in thickness. 

The upper 100 feet 

is. principally a volcanic agglomerate. 

This rock is capped 

by dark vesicular ' : ' '

normal olivine ba- FIGURE 21. Sketch map of White Hills district.

salt, about 20 feet in thickness, which seems to cap also Senator 

Mountain, Squaw Peak, and other buttes in the vicinity.

DEPOSITS.

The deposits are principally quartz veins, some of which are 

blanket veins or have a low dip. They average about 3 feet in width 

and in general dip to the northeast at angles of 20° to 80°. Associated with them localty are considerable manganese and iron oxide. 

The'ore, which seems to be oxidized to the bottom of the mines, 

88171 Bull. 397 09 9

2 miles
130 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AEIZONA.

contains chiefly chloride of silver with local values in gold, and is usually rich, being reported to average about $200 in silver to the ton. 

A 19-ton carload of the ore shipped to the smelter in 1894 is reported 

to have contained 29,000 ounces of silver and 80 ounces of gold. 

The miners report the best ore to occur in the " white porphyry," 

which seems to mean the light phase of the granitic gneiss.

The presence of yellow and brown material resembling the altered 

igneous rock in or associated with the veins suggests that the fissures, 

which the veins now fill, may formerly have been occupied by dikes 

of minette or vogesite that the veins have replaced. It is possible 

that these dikes may belong to the same period as the Tertiary volcanic rocks on the east, which at One time must have deeply buried 

the entire district, but it is more probable that they are very much 

older.

PRODUCTION.

The production of the district, which is known to be large, is reported to be about $3,000,000. Prior to the acquisition of the property 

by the White Hills Mining Company many lessees are reported to 

have made fortunes ranging from a few thousand dollars to $25,000, 

each from surface workings. During the first fourteen months of 

its ownership the White Hills Mining Company is reported to have 

shipped ore that netted at the Denver smelters $242,000, and throughout the period in which it operated the property large shipments of 

bullion are reported to have been regularly made.

MINES.

The district contains about 15 mines, of which the most important 

are the Prince Albert, Norma, Grand Army of the Republic, Occident, Horn Silver, Hidden Treasure, Good Luck, Excelsior, Garfield, 

Daisy, Bryan, Chief of the Hills, West Treasure, African, and Grand 

Central. They are nearly all situated within three-fourths of a mile 

of the camp (fig. 21) and were all discovered about the same time. 

A brief sketch of some of them follows. Only a few of the smaller 

ones in the northern part" of the district are now being worked. The 

Occident and Horn Silver mines are situated in the hills south of 

town and the remainder are to the north of it.

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC MINE.

The Grand Army of the Republic mine is located on Grand Army 

Wash, on open ground about three-fourths of a mile north of Main 

street. It is extensively developed to a depth of TOO feet, mainly by 

inclines, drifts, stopes, and shafts distributed on five levels, in part 

approximately as shown in fig. 22, the inclines being descended by 

tram tracks, which, together with the hoists, are still in place. Water 

level is reached at a depth of about 600 feet. The immense dumps 

indicate that much work has been done.
WHITE HILLS DISTEICT. 131

The country rock is gneissoid granite and schist. It is very highly 

altered and iron stained. The deposits are contained in two nearly 

parallel veins, situated about 30 feet apart, the main one being the 

lower. At the mine the veins strike N. 62° W. and dip. about 23° 

NE., and the country rock seems to dip with them, but is much disturbed. At a point 150 j^ards southeast of the mine, however, the 

dip of the veins increases to about 75°, and farther on, about onefourth of a mile from the mine, the veins appear in the West 

Treasure shaft, to which openings show that they are continuous 

from the G. A. E. mine.

In the G. A. E. mine the ore is free-milling, and much of it is very 

rich, some being said to average 6,000 to 7,000 ounces of silver to the 

ton. The mine is reported to have produced much rich ore from all 

its five levels. During a considerable portion of the Eoot-Moffatt 

regime the main force of the miners worked here, sometimes more 

than 100 men stoping at once.

FIGOKE 22. Longitudinal section of G. A. R. mine. 

WEST TREASURE MINE.

The West Treasure mine is located near the head of Grand Army 

Wash on the G. A. E. veins, especially on the upper vein, which is 

here about 20 feet distant horizontally from the lower vein and dips 

65° N., while the dip of the lower vein is about 55° in the same direction. The veins seem to join each other at no great depth, and their 

junction has probably enriched the ore body in this mine. A large 

dump shows that much work has been done and the mine is reported 

to have been productive.

HIDDEN TREASURE MINE.

The Hidden Treasure mine is northeast of the West Treasure 

mine, immediately north of White Hills Wash and the upper part 

of town, in the east slope of the ridge, on the same G. A. E. vein. 

Here the vein strikes N. 80° E. and dips about 70° N. It is about 

3 feet thick and is accompanied by 2 inches of reddish-brown oxidized 

gouge, between which and the rock wall of the fissure is an inch or 

two of greenish crushed rock gouge. The oxidized reddish-brown
132 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

iron-stained croppings were the source of the Indian face paint that 

led to the discovery of the district.

The country rock is amphibolite schist, which near the mine is 

greenish from the presence of epidote. It dips 20° NW.

The mine is equipped with a large steam hoist and a shaft house 

and has a deep shaft, 'but as the ore, according to report, is too base 

and refractory to be handled by the White Hills mill, the mine has 

not been extensively developed.

NORMA MINE.

The Norma mine is located in the same east-west ridge as the Hidden Treasure mine, immediately north of the town in the south side 

of the ridge, toward its east end. It is developed principally by 

shafts, drifts, and stopes to a reported depth of 600 feet. Its works, 

especially the tunnel, are said to extend through the ridge, coming 

out on the north side. In fact, a considerable portion of the ridge 

has been so undermined by the .workings that it is said to stand on 

" stilts." The distribution of a part of the Norma workings is shown 

in the accompanying diagram (fig. 23). The dumps are large.

The country rock dips 35° N. The vein containing the deposits 

strikes N. 80° W. and dips about 70° N. It widens from 3 feet at 

the surface to 8 feet in the deeper part of the mine and contains 

much gouge or crushed and altered granite. The hanging wall is 

well defined and smooth. The production of the mine is reported to 

be large, but exact figures are not available.

AFEICAN MINE.

The African mine is north of the Norma mine, in the north side 

of the same ridge and seemingly on the same vein. It is said to be 

but a few hundred feet in depth and has not been extensively worked.

PRINCE ALBERT MINE.

The Prince Albert mine is immediately north of the town, in the 

western part of the ridge containing the Norma mine. It is developed 

to a depth of 300 feet or more, principally by inclines opened on the 

two sides and the west end of the ridge. It contains three productive, 

nearly flat-lying yeins, which dip about 30° NNE. The two upper 

veins are about'75 feet apart and the lowest is 25 feet below the 

middle one. They lie in a dish or shallow syncline and are thought 

to connect with the Norma vein on the east. The veins, especially 

the two lower ones, descend nearly to the edge of the wash, and seem 

to converge on the African claim and near the Daisy mine.

The mine? was a heavy producer in the hands of lessees. Its 

royalties of 20 per cent are reported to have amounted to $30,000 in
WHITE HILLS DISTRICT. 133

a short period. It seems to be mostly -worked out so far as the oxidized zone is concerned, 

but is reported to contain much good ore 

still.

DAISY MINE.

The Daisy mine is 

located northeast of the 

Prince Albert mine, of 

which it is almost a 

continuation, in a flat 

of Grand Army Wash, 

where the convergingPrince Albert veins 

seem to unite in a sag' 

in the slope of the hill, 

with the Norma and 

the African situated 

just to the east. The 

vein strikes about east 

and west and is developed to a reported 

depth of 500 feet by 

shafts and other workings, which 'incline at 

angles of about 45° 

with the vein. There 

is a large dump of 

highly oxidized material. The production is 

said to be large and 

came in part from a 

very rich $300,000 ore 

shoot.

GAKFIELD MINE.

The Garfield mine is 

located near the head 

of Grand Army Wash. 

Its workings are said 

to extend inward 150 

feet. It was worked 

principally by lessees, 

who operated from the 

gulch and stoped upward. The production is reported to be about $60,000.
134 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AEIZONA.

BRYAN MINE.

The Bryan mine is about a mile northwest of town. It is said to 

be developed to a depth of 240 feet. It has produced considerable 

rich surface ore and is reported to contain good milling ore all the 

way down.

CHIEF OF THE HILLS MINE.

The Chief of the Hills mine is northwest of the G. A. R. mine, 

near the head of the first wash north of G. A. R. Wash. It is said to 

be worked to a depth of about 200 feet, and has produced rich surface 

ore.

GOOD LUCK MINE.

The Good Luck mine, owned by A. L. McKesson, in the western 

part of the district, is said to have produced considerable ore. A 

few tons shipped in May, 1906, are reported to have averaged several 

hundred dollars a ton in silver and gold.

EXCELSIOR MINE.

The Excelsior, formerly the T. W. mine, is located in the northern 

part of the district, about !-£ miles north of the town, on open ground. 

It is one of a group of eight small mines or claims recently acquired 

by the Mohave Gold-Silver Company, with headquarters at Los 

Angeles. The mine is developed by a 185-foot shaft and drifts, but 

as the shaft had caved a new shaft 40 feet deep was being sunk at 

the, time of visit. The dumps show considerable old work done, 

mostly of chloriders, who left much good ore.

The country rock is the gneissoid granite, deeply oxidized and 

iron stained. The vein containing the deposits is 3 to 4 feet thick, 

dips very steeply north or is about vertical, and seems to be about 

one-fourth of a mile in length. The ore usually occurs in a shoot 

about 7 inches in width and contains silver chloride and gold. It is 

all good milling ore and at the time of visit the company was planning to install a 10-stamp mill.

OCCIDENT AND HORN SILVER MINES.

The Occident and Horn Silver mines are about one-fourth of a 

mile south of town just east of the mill, mainly in the south side of 

an east-west ridge. They are situated near together on overlapping 

claims. They are both seemingly on the same vein, which is 2 to 

4 feet in width, and contains chiefly reddish-brown iron-stained 

crushed and brecciated quartz or ore. It is steeper than the veins
*O £-. a-:

00 ~ fe

, I eS G)

o ro

CJ O a s

ft ~

O G 

o 

03 

o

03 o

g 03

03 OS

FIGURE 24. Longitudinal section of Occident and Horn Silver mines. The 

OS 
136 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AEIZONA.

zones, cutting the granite in a northerly direction and, in some places, 

are associated with later basic intrusives. The principal deposits 

are those of the Bi-Metal mine, the McKesson group, and the Boulder 

Creek group.

A good spring, Boulder Spring, occurs in the southern part of the 

district and water can probably be reached almost anywhere at the 

depth of a few hundred feet below the surface.

Specular iron occurs a short distance south of the McKesson mines. 

Titanite is reported in the country rock granite southwest of the 

Bi-Metal mine. Amethyst, associated with some stibnite and galena, 

is found about one-fourth of a mile northeast of Boulder Spring, in 

the foothills, probably as a vein pegmatite dike. This amethystbearing property is owned by Kinsman & Solomon. It is developed 

by a 65-foot shaft and has produced some good stones.

BI-METAL MINE.

Location and development. The Bi-Metal mine, also known as the 

McGuire mine, from the name of its owner, who lives near by, is in 

the northern part of the district, about 3-| miles from Kingman, close 

to the railroad, in the basal west slope of Kingman Mesa. The mine 

is developed principally by about 250 feet of open cut, 130 feet of tunneling, and a shaft 80 feet in depth. From the mouth of the tunnel 

the slope of the surface is about 30°.

Geology. The country rock containing the deposits is an altered 

and mineralized pre-Cambrian microcline granite: It occupies an 

area about 300 feet in diameter and locally seems to change into 

detrital masses, containing pebbles, cobbles, and bowlders of very 

dark to very light gray granite and schist ranging up to 2 feet or 

more in maximum diameter.

The structure, consisting of sheeting and cleavage, dips about 

45° N., and has for the most part obliterated or obscured an older 

and more general north-south sheeting. Another system of jointing 

also 'dips westward about parallel with the surface slope, as shown 

in both the tunnel and the cut.

On the south the boundary of the mineralized area is marked by 

a dark-gray intrusive dike rock, which cuts the granite, contains 

inclusions or fragments of it, dips about 45° N. beneath the deposit, 

and is encountered in the bottom of the shaft. This dike rock is 

medium grained and consists essentially. of a groundmass of plagioclase prisms containing pale-greenish hornblende phenocrysts, 

of which the largest are about three-fourths of an inch in length. 

The solutions which mineralized the deposits may have accompanied 

or closely followed the intrusion of this rock. On the west, toward
McCONNICO DISTRICT. 137

the railroad, the deposit is obscured by wash and debris. On the east 

the deposit seems to terminate above the mine at a point about where 

the slope steepens with overburden talus, but it may extend beneath 

this talus upward toward the top of the mesa and may possibly 

connect with a similar deposit about half a mile to the northeast.

Deposits. The values contained in the deposits consist essentially 

of fine-grained free gold. As seen in the face of the tunnel and the 

bottom of the shaft, both the granite and the dark dike rock carry 

considerable iron pyrites and, according to reports, but very little 

gold. The same is true of the mineralized granite on the surface to 

the north and south of the deposit. In the oxidized and mineralized 

zone, however, this pyrite, particularly in the granite, has weathered 

out and given rise to the hematite and other forms of iron that so 

brilliantly stain the rock, and has left cavities or receptacles in which 

the gold now contained in the deposit seems to have become concentrated. Wherever this oxidized rock is crushed and panned or 

horned it yields a long string of fine, bright gold, and in some small 

gullies or lines of drainage within or at the border of the a-rea, where 

further concentration by flowing water has taken place, several 

tablespoonfuls of mostly coarse gold, of which some of the largest 

nuggets contained about half a dollar each in gold value, are 

reported to' have been panned. The gold is said to be of high grade, 

worth $19.50 an ounce.

The free gold to which the deposits owe their value seems to have 

been derived from a considerable thickness of overlying mineralized 

rock. As this overlying rock became disintegrated and was removed 

by erosion the fine gold liberated from it gradually worked into the 

underlying rocks in which it is now found. Below or outside of 

the oxidized zone of mechanical concentration probably only very 

low-grade ore occurs.

The mine is reported to have produced some gold, more than 

enough to pay for development, the gold being won principally by 

the use of-rockers.

M'KESSON GROUP.

The McKesson group of mines is located near the middle of the 

district, toward its west side, on open ground in the border of 

Sacramento Valley, at about 2,800 feet elevation. The group cornprise's five or six openings situated on as many different claims within 

an area half a mile in diameter. The properties are all in the prospect 

stage and are developed principally by shallow shafts to a maximum 

depth of about 50 feet. They are practically all on pegmatite dikes 

that cut the pre-Cambrian granite. The dikes in general trend 

northerly, are from 2 to 10 or 12 feet in width, and contain gold in 

places. They also contain small bodies or stringers of quartz, some
138 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

of which is porous where its iron content has dissolved out. Whether 

the pegmatite, however, is primarily gold bearing or whether the 

gold has accumulated in its porous oxidized zone in the manner 

described in the Bi-Metal mine has not been satisfactorily determined. 

That such concentration of gold may represent the principal part 

of the values contained in the surface part' of the deposits seems 

probable.

The principal deposits of the group are the McKesson " Ledge," 

the Santa Fe vein, and the Spot Cash prospect.

BOULDER CREEK GROUP.

The Boulder Creek group, consisting of eight claims, is situated in 

the foothills in the southern part of the district, at about 3,200 feet 

elevation. The topography is gentle and all the properties are accessible by wagon road of easy grade.

Traces of gold have been known in the region for many years and 

this property was discovered and located by A. L. McKesson about 

April, 1906, by dry washing or panning. It is now owned by the 

Grand Consolidated Gold and Silver Mining Company, of San Francisco. The property is developed principally by several shallow 

shafts and pits. Boulder Spring is located near by on the north.

The country rock is a pegmatitic granite, which is somewhat 

schistose and weathers into bowlders up to 60 or 80 feet in diameter. 

About half a mile to the southeast, 200 feet above the mine, the rock 

is capped by the dark lavas of Kingman Mesa.

The deposits are contained principally in two ledges, which are 

probably dikes, but may be merely mineralized zones in the pegmatitic granite. They lie at nearly right angles to each other and 

form a T-square, of which the top trends northwest-southeast and 

the stem extends to the southwest. The latter varies from about 100 

to 1,000 feet in width, and has a known length of about one-fourth 

of a mile. Where opened on the northeast in the Baby Mine shaft 

to a depth of 30 feet it consists almost wholly of red oxidized pegmatite and is in" places porous or honeycombed, where seemingly iron 

pyrites has been dissolved. More than half of all the material excavated from the shaft is piled up as ore and is said to contain from 

$3 to $100 in gold to the ton.

The northwest-southeast ledge likewise has a maximum width of 

about 1,000 feet and is reported to have a known extent of about a 

mile. It is composed of coarse granite similar to that in the Baby 

mine shaft. A considerable portion is stated to be ore. That from 

the openings on Baby Mine claim No. 2 is reported to average about 

$12 in gold and 20 ounces in silver to the ton, and contains also some 

galena and chalcopyrite.
MINERAL DEPOSITS OF CERBAT RANGE. 139

MAYNARD DISTRICT."

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The Maynard district is a large indefinite area in the Hualpai 

Mountains. The district is said to be easily reached from Kingman 

by a good road crossing the summit of the range via Wheeler Pass;' 

Water can be derived from most of the mines, and pine timber suitable for mining purposes grows near by.

The first important discovery of mineral in the district was made 

about 1865 by a party of prospectors headed by John Moss. They 

located the mines known as the Pride of the Pines and the Florence, 

and named the district Wauba Yuma district. Soon after beginning 

operations they were driven from the mountains by the Hualpai Indians, then on the warpath, who continued hostile for several years 

following.

In 1871 Lieutenant Wheeler's party, of the War Department, in 

making a reconnaissance in the Territory, camped on what is now 

known as Wheeler Wash, on the east side of the mountains. A 

large party of prospectors from San Francisco soon camped near by, 

made locations, named the district the Maynard district after Lafayette Maynard, one of its pioneer members, and elected a recorder. 

The first location made was named the Wheeler lode. For a decade 

or more, beginning in the early seventies, the district furnished a livelihood to a considerable number of people, whose operations were confined to the rich surface ores in the oxidized zone.

The country rock is mainly pre-Cambrian red granite, said to be 

intruded by porphyry dikes. The zone of mineralization in which 

most of the deposits occur lies on the northern and eastern slopes of 

the mountain. In this zone the deposits are contained in strong and 

persistent fissure veins similar to those in the Cerbat Mountains. 

The width of the ore ranges from 1 inch to 3 feet. It contains principally horn silver and is usually rich, especially so where the green 

horn silver (bromyrite?) is present. Some of the deposits also contain copper. Among the most important of the veins are those of 

the American Flag, Enterprise, Great Eastern group, and Siamese 

group. They are mostly situated in alignment with the principal 

system of the Cerbat veins, agree with them in strike, and are probably contemporaneous with them in age and of the same general 

origin. The production of the district is reported to be fairly large.

Other metals reported to occur in the Hualpai Mountains are 

molybdenite, found in association with copper, and native quicksilver, associated with lead carbonate, the latter being on a claim owned

0 Owing to lack of time this district was not visited by the writer. The account of it 

is compiled principally from statements found in the Mohave County Miner, verified and 

supplemented by verbal reports of pioneer citizens "and men who have worked in the 

mines.
140 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

by Mr. Jackman. Just beyond, in the Aquarius Range, about 50 

miles from Kingman, is a tungsten mine which annually produces 

25 tons of tungsten ore, worth $400 a ton at Kingman, whence it is 

shipped.

AMERICAN FLAG MINE.

The American Flag mine is about 16 miles southeast of Kingman, 

on the eastern slope of the mountains, at about 5,000 feet elevation. 

It is reached from the wagon road near the summit by a 2-mile trail. 

The mine was discovered in 1874 by W. M. Shoulters, who is said 

to have sold it, after working it a short time, to John Pemberthy, 

William Richard, John Corin, and Joe Prisk for $25,000. These 

men developed it principally by adit drifts. The water level is said 

to lie at about 700 feet below the surface. The mine is now owned 

by a company of which John Pemberthy and H. H. Watkins, of 

Kingman, are members.

The country rock is granite. The main vein is from 1 to 4 feet in 

width, and the ore shoot is said to be relatively large. The ore contains principally antimonial silver, some gold, and a little zinc. 

Much of it is rich.

The production is reported to be about $400,000, sold from the 

mine, in ore that averaged more than $100 a ton. For 21 tons of the 

ore from the lower part of the mine shipped to Swansea, Wales, a 

net return of $11,500 is said to have been received.

GREAT EASTERN GROUP.

The Great Eastern mine is about 16 miles fr^om Kingman, on the 

eastern slope of the mountains, about 3 miles north of the American 

Flag mine. It was discovered in the early seventies,va^d is owned by 

the Great Eastern Mining Company. < "X^

The deposits occur in several strong fissure veins, which strike 

northwesterly and are associated with a contact between _the granite 

and " porphyry." The most important is known-as the Great Eastern 

vein. It is opened by about 300 feet of tunnel and drifts with good 

results, the ore shoot being continuous for an extent of about 130 

feet. The ore contains principally silver and galena, with small 

values in gold and copper. \

ENTERPRISE MINE.

The Enterprise mine is located about east of Kingman, in me 

northeastern slope of the mountains a few miles north of the Grjat 

Eastern mine. The property comprises a group of six claims. It is 

owned by the Enterprise Mining Reduction and Improvement 

Company,
MAYNABD DISTKICT. 141

The mine is developed to a depth of 300 feet by a vertical shaft, 

drifts, and crosscuts, aggregating about 600 feet of underground 

work. The principal equipment is a steam hoist, capable of sinking 

to a depth of 1,000 feet. Water, and wood at $2 a cord, are available 

near by and timber suitable for mining purposes can be had about 3 

miles distant.

The country rock is granite. It is intruded by " porphyry," which 

is also associated with the veins. The deposits are contained in several veins which strike northwestward. The principal vein dips 

steeply to the northeast, is from 6 to 14 feet or more in width, has 

well-defined walls, and, to judge from its crpppings, which are 

prominent, and prospects, has a length of more than a mile. The ore 

shoots are strong and persistent. The ore contains principally 

galena, pyrite, and chalcopyrite, with good values in gold and silver. 

Small lots of about 1 ton each of sulphide ore treated at the Llewellyn test plant in Los Angeles, were concentrated 6 into 1 and gave 

values of $81.37, $62.29, and $57.08 a ton.

OLD HACKBERRY MINE.

In the northeastern part of the district are a number of mines of 

which the best known is probably the famous Old Hackberry mine. 

It is about 14 miles northeast of the Enterprise mine, in the eastern 

slope of the Peacock Mountains, an outlying range of the Hualpai 

Mountains, near the old town of Hackberry. It was for many years 

a heavy producer and is credited with a production of $1,000,000. 

The ores are said to have been treated by the chlorination process.

SIAMESE GROUP.

The Siamese Group mine is situated on the southern part of the 

east slope of the Hualpai Mountains, in the Cedar Valley district, at 

about 5,000 feet elevation. It is best reached from Yucca, from 

which it is 23 miles distant in a southeasterly direction. A wagon 

road extends to a point within 5 miles of the mine, with which connection is made by trail.

The property comprises nine claims. It is reported to make a very 

good surface showing and to be promising in copper. Since 1907 it 

has been owned by the Arizona-Southwestern Copper Company, with 

headquarters at Kingman.

The property is in the prospect stage and is developed principally 

by two 15-foot shafts, cuts, and surface pits. Water is present on 

the property, and water level is believed to lie at about 100 feet below 

the surface.

The country rock seems to be the pre-Cambrian granitoid complex. 

It is intruded by " porphyry " near by. The deposits are contained
142 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

principally in a large fissure vein, which strikes north-northwest, and 

the quartz croppings have a length of nearly 2 miles.

The gangue is principally quartz, and the ore contains copper, lead, 

silver, and gold. Average samples of the ore collected from an ore 

shoot about 4 feet in width in the lower part of the two shafts on 

Siamese claims Nos. 1 and 2 gave assay returns about as follows: 

Silver, 14 ounces to the ton; copper, 4 per cent; lead, 9 per cent; 

zinc, 2 per cent. Another test, made of a presumably select sample 

from the same shaft, though the manner of collection is not stated, 

is said to have given 10.5 per cent of copper, 16 per cent of lead, and 

35 ounces silver and $1.60 in gold to the ton. The ore is said to be 

good concentrating ore.

GRAND WASH CLIFFS.

MUSIC MOUNTAIN DISTRICT.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

Location and history. The Music Mountain district lies about 25 

miles north of Hackberry, in the foothills of the Grand Wash Cliffs. 

It comprises principally an area about 3 miles in diameter, ranging 

in elevation from about 3,000 feet at the border of the valley to 4,000 

feet on the east. The camp is located toward the southeastern part 

of the district, near the'head of Camp Wash, at about 3,400 feet 

elevation.

Mineral was discovered here in 1879 or 1880, some of the discoverers and locators being Dave Southwick, Ed Burk, Bill Hatch, and 

Joe Prisk. Many of the claims began at once to produce. Most of 

the early work was done by lessees, the ore being treated in arrastres 

or shipped; later much of it was milled on the ground. The recent 

history of the camp is practically synonymous with that of the Ellen 

Jane mine. A chief drawback to the camp has been lack of water.

Production. Concerning the production of the camp, figures of 

which are not available, the following data were gathered. Much 

rich ore was produced by lessees in pioneer times from nearly all 

the principal veins. At that time the Burk claim, now called the 

Golden Serpent, produced considerable ore that averaged from $300 

to $400 a ton in gold and at present some of its ore contains 7 to 8 

ounces of gold to the ton. The Ellen Jane mine in 1892 produced 165 

tons of $32 ore, and later a smaller lot of $42 ore. The Lucky Cuss 

vein and the Marie E. vein are known to have produced considerable, 

all of which, together with what has been produced by the other 

veins, probably considerably exceeds $20,000.

Topography and. geology. The surface of the district in general 

slopes westward into Hualpai Valley (fig. 25). The topography is 

mostly rough, with several longitudinal ridges locally studded by
GRAND WASH CLIFFS. 143

cliffs and separated by washes or gulches, some of which head several 

miles to the east near the summit of the cliffs and the Colorado 

Plateau.

The country rock is principally granite, which in part belongs 

to the pre-Cambrian gneiss and schist complex, while the greater 

portion seems to be younger. The pre-Cambrian rocks are best 

exposed where they form the core of the ridge just south of the 

camp. The supposed younger or post-Cambrian granite prevails 

throughout the greater portion of the district and is especially 

prominent in North Ridge, northwest of Camp Wash, where it

25. Sketch map of Music Mountain district.

extends to the old mill at the border of the valley on the west. In 

the northern part of the district it is a relatively fresh-looking 

medium-grained gray biotite granite, allied to quartz monzonite. 

In the southern part Avhat is thought to be the same rock is coarse 

or pegmatitic.

The older or pre-Cambrian country rocks have a well-marked 

schistosity, which trends about N. 30° E. and dips about 65° SE., 

and both classes of rocks are cut by a well-marked sheeting that 

strikes about N. 60° W. with dip about vertical and seems to be 

decidedly later than the schistosity.
144 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The country rocks are intruded by dikes and masses, both basic 

and acidic. The most important of the basic rocks is a medium 

to coarse grained basaltic diabase, which weathers in coarse pieces 

and nodules and may be of two periods in age. As dikes it is associated with the veins, and as a mass, or possibly a sheet, about 150 

feet in thickness, from which the dikes seem to be given off; it 

trends in a north-south direction across the middle portion of the 

eastern part of the district and dips eastward into the mountains 

at angles of about 25°. Remnants of it also in part cap the northeastern part of North Ridge and dip gently to the west.

The diabase-basalt is not affected by schistose structure but is 

older than the veins and probably also older than the sheeting. It 

contains fragmentary inclusions of granite and exhibits the other 

phenomena usually characteristic of an intrusive.

The most important of the acidic intrusives are a coarse granular granite containing much orthoclase, no bisilicates, and no microcline; a fine-grained microcline granite; and a medium-grained purplish-gray granite porphyry. The coarse granular granite is not 

affected by schistosity and is older than the diabase, probably also 

than the sheeting. The fine-grained granite is in part schistose, and 

is earlier than the sheeting, the veins, and the diabase. It may be 

pre-Cambrian. The granite porphyry is associated with the Lucky 

Cuss and South wick veins. It has a micropoikilitic groundmass of 

quartz and orthoclase and contains phenocrysts of oligoclase, andesine, and biotite. It has no schistose structure and is earlier than the 

diabase. At the Lucky Cuss mine it seems to be earlier and at the 

Southwick mine later than the vein deposits.

Deposits. The deposits are chiefly quartz fissure veins, which in 

the main dip steeply to the northeast. The principal ones are the 

Ellen Jane, Lucky Cuss, and Southwick. The Ellen Jane vein lies 

in the eastern part of the district and has a length of about a mile 

and a known vertical range of about 600 feet. (See fig. 25.) Its 

croppings range in elevation from about 3,430 feet in the head of 

Camp Wash to about 4,000 feet on North Ridge. The vein is best 

developed in the Ellen Jane mine. Some of the veins may be found 

to continue in a northwesterly direction underneath the heavy wash 

of the valley.

About 6 miles east of Music Mountain Camp, at the head of Clay 

Springs Wash, near the summit of the Grand Wash Cliffs and the 

Colorado Plateau, deposits of iron ore of considerable extent are reported to occur. The iron ore is locally stained by copper. These 

deposits seem to lie in the Carboniferous limestone.

ELLEN JANE MINE.

Location and history. The Ellen Jane mine practically coincides 

in horizontal extent with the Ellen Jane vein; the main shaft is
MUSIC MOUNTAIN DISTEICT. 145

situated on the southeastern part of the vein at the head of Camp 

Wash, about one-eighth of a mile east of Camp, at an elevation of 

about 3,440 feet. The Ellen Jane claim, on which the main shaft is 

situated, was discovered and located in 1879 or 1880 by Joe Frisk. 

It soon became a producer, being at first worked by lessees, and a 

little later it was owned by W. F. Grounds, of Hackberry, who about 

1886 sold it, together with the Tomonotta adjoining it on the west, 

to the Gold Mining Company, of Washington, D. C., of which General Rosecrans was a member. The company at once became the 

moving spirit of the camp and installed a 4-roller 8-ton mill, Avhich 

still stands at the foot of the mountains about 1^ miles west of the 

camp. The mill is stated to have saved about three-fourths of the 

gold, but left about $9 a ton in .the tailings, owing to the fact that 

some of the ore was not free milling. About TOO tons of ore were

NW SE

FIGURE 2G. Longitudinal section of Ellen Jane mine, showing stopes.

put through this mill and a considerable amount through the 4-stamp 

mill later installed by Mr. Grounds at Clay Springs, 2-| miles north 

of Camp. This mill is supplied with water from springs in the upper 

part of the cliffs.

Later the company was reorganized as the Washington-Meridian 

Company, repaired and improved the mill, mined some ore, and then 

temporarily closed in the spring of 1903. In the spring of 1904 operations were resumed, but as the water supply failed the company 

ran in debt, and the mine was sold to William Grant, of Hackberry, 

who in the spring of 1906 bonded the property, including seven of 

the most important contiguous claims of the camp, nearly all situated 

on the Ellen Jane vein, to P. C. Friend, of Philadelphia. Some gold 

has been produced during the last few years by lessees.

Developments. The mine has about 1,500 feet of work (fig. 26). 

On the Ellen Jane claim it is developed to a depth of 200 feet, prin88171 Bull. 397 09 10
146 MINEEAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

cipally by a main shaft and two levels containing about 300 feet of 

drifts; to the northwest, on the Tomonotta, Cleveland, and World's 

Fair claims, it is developed principally by adit drifts, shafts, winzes, 

and stopes, aggregating about 700 feet of work. The southern drift 

on the Cleveland is 300 feet long and the northern one on the same 

claim about 200 feet, its face being within 200 feet of that of the 

southern drift, but at a considerably lower level.

At about 400 feet below the top of North Kidge where the vein outcrops and the Cleveland workings occur, at the edge of the wash, a 

crosscut tunnel, known as the Wilsie tunnel, has been started to tap 

the vein at greater depth. This tunnel now has a length of 150 feet 

in solid granite and will have to be driven about 300 feet farther to 

reach the vein.

The main shaft near camp now contains water up to about the 

180-foot level, and produces about 5 barrels of good potable water 

a day. Before water was encountered in the mine the supply for the 

camp had to be hauled, and during part of the time was brought from 

springs situated near the head of Clay Springs Wash, about 6 miles 

distant.

Deposits. The Ellen Jane vein lies in granite, chiefly in the supposed post-Cambrian granite. It strikes about northwest and dips 

to the northeast at angles of about 80°. It varies from 2 to 7 feet in 

width, the average being about 4 feet, and is usually separated from 

the walls by a few inches to a foot or more of red and green, much 

slickensided gouge. A diabase dike is associated with the vein and 

shares its fissure.

The gangue is principally normal vein quartz, crushed and in 

part brecciated, together with highly crushed and altered granite 

and diabase, locally banded and all oxidized and iron stained to the 

bottom of the mine.

The ore is up to 3 feet and averages about 5 inches in width. It 

holds fairly constantly to the hanging-wall side of the vein and by 

mill runs is said to average from $10 to $42 in gold to the ton; the 

shipping ore runs as high as $500 a ton. A microscopic section of 

it shows principally granular quartz, iron, and limonite.

At the .main shaft on the Ellen Jane claim the development is 

principally on the 100-foot level, on which the drifts extend about 

130 feet to the southeast of the shaft and about the same distance to 

the northwest. The vein contains from 1 to 2 feet of breccia and a 

mixture of crushed granite and some diabasic material and quartz, 

all mashed together, on the foot-wall.side, and about the same thickness of material, mostly of granitic origin, with some quartz, on the 

.hanging-wall side, between which and the granite wall itself is from 

3 inches to a foot of intervening gouge.
MUSIC MOUNTAIN DISTRICT. 147

The diabase dike which, at the surface just southeast of the shaft, 

is associated with the vein on the hanging-wall side, is on this level 

on the foot-wall side and for the most part forms the foot wall with 

1 foot or more of highly slickensided gouge intervening between it 

and the vein.

On the second or 200- foot level but little work has yet been done, 

probably o\ving to the fact that sulphide ore appears here ; northwest 

of the shaft occurs a foot of ore that contains considerable galena 

and iron pj^rites. This is the only base ore found in the vein. It 

averages about $18 a ton. About 10 feet above the floor of this level, 

in a small stope, the vein is about 3^ feet thick and is marked near 

its middle by a sharp line denoting the contact plane of its two facing halves, and along this line and locally diverging from it at sharp 

angles are £-inch to 2-inch seams of 

red ore, said to average $300 to $400 

in gold to the ton.

On the whole the vein,- so far as 

seen in the bottom of this part of the 

mine, does not look very promising. 

A generalized section of it is shown 

in figure 27. Q . . . , jfeet

To the northwest, on the Tomo-

 , -i f-i-i ill- j.i FIGURE 27. Section of Ellen Jane vein notta and Cleveland claims ^the at bottom of main snaft ^ Gouge>

SOllth drift has a length of 300 feet. red, brown, and green stained ; 1}, ore 

 »« i ,1 i i ,i , , slioot, dark-red or light-gray carbon- More or less throughout this extent !lte . Cj vein material of .chiefly granltk.

the Vein is associated with the dia- origin ar-J some quartz; (I, vein combase dike, which, just outsifle the

drift in the CUt along the tram etc. ; e, diabase dike, foot wall ; g, 

track, lies for about 330 feet on the granite' country rock> 

foot-wall side of the vein and is about a foot in width, but which enlarges in the drift. In the mouth of the drift the dike obscurely 

works across the vein to the hanging-wall side or vice versa. Locally, 

the dike and vein interlace and fine seams or stringers of ore occur 

in the dike overhead. The face of the drift, which is about 200 feet 

below the surface, is occupied largely by the diabase dike, which is 

here 2-| feet thick. On its hanging-wall side 1 foot of crushed or 

brecciated dike material carries the ore. This material is probably 

composed of crushed and altered granite and diabase with but little 

quartz, all altered almost beyond recognition.

Similar material, but with quartz disposed in narrow bands or 

stringers, also occurs on the foot wall, but, although it appears to be 

an important part of the vein, it does not carry much pay.
148 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

A cross section of the vein at the mouth of the drift, from foot wall 

to hanging wall, is as follows:

Gross section of Ellen Jane vein at mouth of drift.

Ft. in. 

Brecciated gouge, composed of granitoid material, some

quartz, and possibly altered diabase, all stained yellowish 

and reddish; it seems to carry the ore__________ 9 

Bands and stringers of material similar to the above, but 

less stained; at 4 inches from hanging-wall side a median seam, containing comb quartz_____________ 1 6 

Diabase dike, sheeted longitudinally into slices \ to 2

inches thick___________________________ 1 

Dull-greenish altered diabase________________ 1 

Impure quartz___________________________ 1 

Sheared material at granite and diabase contact, more or 

less heavily stained______________________ 1-2

On the northern part of the Cleveland claim, near the top of the 

ridge, the Ellen Jane vein is joined by the Contention vein, which 

comes in from the south at an angle of about 30°. Although the 

Contention has not here its normal size, being wavy and locally 

pinched, it nevertheless very materially enriches the ore at the junction.

On the Tomonotta claim the ore mined in late years by lessees 

averages about 8 ounces in gold to the ton, while higher up in the 

upper part of the North Ridge portion of the Ellen Jane vein, including the Contention vein, the ore on the whole averages $100 in 

gold to the ton. Common shipping ore from the Ellen Jane vein 

now runs about $30 a ton, and it costs about $6 a ton to deliver it to 

the railroad at Hackberry.

CONTENTION VEIN.

The Contention vein is situated on the east top of the North Ridge, 

where it joins the Ellen Jane mine. It strikes about N. 30° W. and 

dips steeply to the west-southwest. It has been worked by shallow 

shafts on the Contention claim. Its surface workings are principally 

in a remnant of the diabase sheet, which is here 8 or 10 feet thick 

and in part caps the ridge.

MARIE E.' VEIN.

The Marie E. vein is a small vein or stringer which lies about 200 

yards northeast of and nearly parallel with the Ellen Jane A^ein and 

stands about vertical. It has been worked to a considerable extent, 

principally in the diabase, by cuts and drifts, to a depth of 150 feet. 

It consists for the most part of a thin sheet of reddish dense crushed 

and altered rock material, seemingly diabase, and a little quartz 5 or 

6 inches in width filling a narrow fault fissure and containing $300
MUSIC MOUNTAIN DISTRICT. 149

in gold to the ton. It is usually frozen to the walls of the countryrock diabase, where it leaves a ragged wall surface when broken off. 

It has been worked downward through the diabase and has about the 

same width and carries about the same values in the granite as in the 

diabase. The associated minerals are iron oxide and a small amount 

of calcite occurring in crystalline incrustations. The production of 

this small vein is considerable. At a point toward the west a claim 

worked by windlass produced several carloads of good ore.

LUCKY CUSS VEIN.

The Lucky Cuss vein lies southwest of and nearly parallel with 

the Ellen Jane vein. It is exposed on the Lucky Cuss claim,'situated 

just southeast of the Ellen Jane vein, where it has been developed 

interruptedly for about one-eighth of a mile and locally to a depth 

of 150 feet. It lies chiefly in the red pegmatitic granite and seems 

to be stronger there than in the diabase, which it cuts in places on 

the southwest. On the north end of the claim the granite is intruded 

by a granite porphyry dike 8 or 10 feet in width, which is in contact 

with the vein or what ma}' be a spur or stringer given off by it. The 

dike seems to be older than the vein. The vein strikes about 

N. 52° W., with dip steeply to the northeast or vertical, and is disturbed by a fault of about 25 feet lateral throw. It is 2 to 2£ feet 

thick and is composed principally of granitic material and quartz 

stained by iron and manganese, all more or less closely banded. The 

quartz shows comb structure.

The ore contains principally silver and some gold and is mostly of 

high grade. The production has been considerable on the Lucky 

Cuss claim, where the oxidized portion of the vein seems to be mostly 

worked out but is reported to contain still some good ore.

To the northwest the vein is supposed to cross Camp Wash beneath 

the camp, beyond which and where it ascends the south face of North 

Ridge it has been opened by a series of adit drifts and cuts. Here 

also it has produced low-grade ore containing considerable galena.

SOUTH WICK VEIN.

The Southwick vein is about half a mile southwest of the Ellen 

Jane vein. It strikes northwest and seems to extend about a mile. 

It is developed principally to the north of Camp Wash in the south 

slope of North Ridge, interruptedly for about one-fourth of a mile 

and locally to a depth of 100 feet within a vertical range of about 

400 feet, extending from 3,100 to 3,500 feet in elevation. It lies in 

the granite and is associated with the granite porphyry and younger 

diabase dikes described on page 144. The vein appears best where 

adjoined by the diabase dike.
150 MINEEAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY, AEIZONA.

The gangue is usually iron-stained quartz and the ore contains 

gold, some silver, oxide of manganese, and considerable hematite.

LOST BASIN DISTRICT.

The Lost Basin district is situated in the most northern part of 

the region examined. It comprises the belt lying between Hualpai 

Wash on the west and Pierce Mill Canyon on the east, and extending 

from Colorado River at the mouth of the Grand Canyon southward 

through the Grand Wash Cliffs to a point 12 miles beyond Scanlon 

Ferry, near the latitude of Gold Basin. It has a length of 20 miles 

and a \vidth of about 9 miles. It is reached by wagon road descending Hualpai Wash from Gold Basin to Colorado River at Scanlon 

Ferry.

The principal veins occur south of the middle of the belt, about 7 

miles northeast of Gold Basin, where, between elevations of about 

2,000 feet on the west and 5,000 feet on the east, they trend about east 

and west across the district for a distance of 6 miles.

They were discovered about 1886, and considerable ore has been 

taken out from time to time and treated in arrastres or milled, but 

the ground on the whole is but little more than prospected. This is 

probably due to the lack' of water. The nearest water supply is Colorado River at Scanlon Ferry, 8 miles to the north, whence water is 

now hauled at a cost of $2 a barrel. The two points, however, could 

be readily connected by pipe line.

The ore could without difficulty be hauled to the river, with which 

the area is said to be connected by a good wagon road, but its transportation by water down the river, advocated by some, does not seem 

feasible, owing to the dangerous rapids that would be encountered 

and the impracticability of bringing barges or bottoms of any kind 

up the river and the great cost of bringing them overland.

The deposits are mostly owned by about half a dozen men. They 

occur mainly in the pre Cambrian granitic rocks in well-defined, 

strong quartz fissure veins, of which there are two sets. Those on the 

west strike northward with dips vertical or steep to the east and are 

chiefly gold bearing; those on the east strike west-northwest and are 

chiefly copper bearing. The relative age of the two sets of veins has 

not been determined., but it is possible that the copper deposits may 

be in part pre-Cambrian.

The principal gold properties are known as the Scanlon-Childers 

mines and are owned chiefly by Mike Scanlon, of Basin, and Cy 

Childers, of Kingman. The veins average from 4 to 6 feet in width. 

Several of them are reported to be from 10 to 14 feet in width and 

from 1 to 2 miles in length. The croppings are principally brown 

and green iron and copper-stained quartz and are in part prominent.
BLACK MOUNTAINS.- 151

Some of the veins are said to be exposed in the canyons to a depth of 

200 feet or more and yield good shipping ore from the surface down 

to this depth. The ore contains principally gold and silver and a 

little copper, but no copper of commercial value and not enough to 

interfere Avith cyaniding.

The ore on the whole is fine in texture. It has been sampled and 

tested by Denver men and was found to be excellent cyaniding ore, 

and is reported to contain on the average $8 or upward in gold to 

the ton.

The copper deposits are said to extend from a point near the middle 

of the belt nearly to the summit of the Grand Wash Cliffs and Colorado Plateau on the east. They are owned chiefly by James Burrows 

and J. W. Mouat, of White Hills. Other owners are Messrs. Grant, 

Fielding, and Eoseborough, of Hackberry. The pre-Cambrian complex is here more schistose than on the gold-bearing side of the belt, 

and s.ome of the deposits on the extreme east are said to be associated 

with limestone. The copper-bearing veins, as indicated, strike westnorthwest at nearly right angles to the gold-bearing veins. The croppings are large, and, as seen by the writer, consist principally of 

oxidized masses of brown and black quartz, with some malachite and 

ozurite. The ore contains principally copper and carries also some 

gold and silver. Some of it is reported to have assayed from 17 to 

20 per cent of copper.

The. production of the district is reported to be many thousand 

dollars, chiefly in gold.

BLACK MOUNTAINS. 

INTRODUCTION.

The deposits of the Black Mountains differ in most respects very 

markedly from those of the Cerbat Range. They occur chiefly in the 

Tertiary volcanic rocks. Their trend is west-northwest to northwest, 

the dip steep. Their gangue is mainly calcite and dolomitic carbonates, but these minerals have largely been. replaced by quartz and 

adularia, a variety of orthoclase free from sodium and with characteristic crystal form. They are deeply oxidized and, as a rule, contain no sulphides, and their values are almost exclusively in gold, 

there being usually no base metals present. There is a general absence of fluccan or gouge, the veins being usually frozen fast to the 

country rock.

The districts in the Black Mountains, named in order from north 

to south, are the Eldorado Pass, Gold Bug, Mocking Bird, Virginia, 

Pilgrim, Union Pass, Gold Road, Vivian, and Boundary Cone. Of 

these the most important is the Gold Road district. The two first
152 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY; ARIZONA.

named are in the Eldorado Pass mining district, the two next are in 

the Weaver mining district, and the Gold Road and Vivian in the San 

Francisco mining district.

GOLD ROAD DISTRICT. 

GENERAL OUTLINE.

Location. The Gold Road district lies about 24 miles southwest of 

Kingman, mainly on the west slope of the mountains. It extends 

from Meadows, on Meadow Creek, at the east base of the range, 

northwestward to the Moss and Golden Star mines, about 6 miles 

beyond the crest. It has a length of about 10 miles and a width of 

about 4 miles. The principal camp, local supply point, and center of 

activity is Gold Road, situated on the western slope of the range, 

about 1 mile from the crest, at about 2,900 feet elevation and at the 

head of Silver Creek. It is 16 miles northeast of Needles, Cal., and 

is reached by wagon road from Kingman, via Gold Road (formerly 

Sitgreaves) Pass. Gold Road (PL IX) has a population of about 

350. It is equipped with modern improvements, is well kept, and is 

plentifully supplied with excellent water pumped from Meadows.

History. Mineral was first discovered in the district early in the 

sixties by John Moss and party, who found rich gold ore at what 

has since been known as the Moss mine, 4 miles northwest of Gold 

Road, near the old Camp Mohave trail. About the same time, or a 

little later, the Miller mine, formerly known as the Parsons mine, and 

especially as the Hardy mine, 2 miles northwest-west of Gold Road, 

was discovered, and for a long time these two mines were the principal properties in the district. They were at once worked and soon 

began to produce, the ore being at first shipped or milled in arrastres, 

and a little later some of it was treated in the Moss mill, which was 

built on the Colorado at the mouth of Silver Creek, about 7 miles 

west of the Moss mine.

A decade later, owing to the discovery of rich silver-gold ore in 

the Cerbat Range, the district became and for a long time remained 

quiet, until the decline in the market value of silver stimulated gold 

mining. The present activities began with the opening of the Gold 

Road mine and vein about 1902.

Topography and drainage. The district ranges in elevation from 

2,000 feet on the west and about 3,000 feet on the east to 4,500 feet at 

the top of the range. The range portion, which is about 3 miles in 

width, is rugged, particularly on the west, being marked by precipitous fault scarps, deep gulches, and canyons. Here in a horizontal 

distance of about 1^ miles the surface falls off from 4,500 feet elevation at the crest to 2,500 feet on Silver Creek just below Gold Road. 

The remainder of the area consists mainly of low, rounded, outlying
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GOLD ROAD MINE, MILL, AND CAMP, LOOKING SOU
GOLD ROAD DISTRICT. 153

mountains or hills, open washes, and gravel-covered gentle slopes or 

mesas.

The principal outliers are the Hardy Mountains, a low group 

situated on the southwest about 3 miles west of Gold Road, to the 

south of Silver Creek. They are about 3 miles in diameter and rise 

about 600 feet above the surrounding country. Two miles north of 

the Hardy Mountains and Silver Creek is a much smaller group 

the Moss Hills. On the east the drainage flows principally by way 

of Meadow Creek into Sacramento Valley, and on the west through 

Silver Creek into the Colorado.

Geology. Tertiary volcanic rocks prevail, particularly in the 

eastern .or range portion of the district. They practically constitute the range, and are in places covered by rhyolite and younger 

basalt. On the west occur also local areas of the pre-Cambrian 

gneisses, syenite, granite porphyry and micropegmatite, greenstone 

agglomerate, and overlying sheets of supposed Tertiary conglomerate 

and younger gravel and lava flows.

Deposits. The deposits, which number about a dozen, are chiefly 

gold-bearing fissure veins or lodes. They occur in the lower part of 

the undifferentiated volcanic series, the green chloride andesite, and 

the granite porphyry and micropegmatite described on page 31, 

and also along certain of their contacts, where rhyolite is usually 

the intrusive. They consist of two main types those in which the 

gangue is chiefly quartz and adularia and those in which it is chiefly 

calcite. The former, which seem to be the older and carry the best 

values, occur mostly in the undifferentiated volcanic rocks and in 

granite porphyry and have a general northwesterly or northwestwesterly trend; the latter occur mainly in the green chloritic andesite 

and trend nearly north. The most important of the former type is 

the Gold Koad vein; of the latter, the Pasadena and Mossback veins. 

(See PI. X.)

The veins in the green chloritic andesite in both the Gold Road 

and Vivian districts occur mostly in fissures, which seem to be 

peculiar to this formation and do not as a rule penetrate the underlying older andesite. The origin of the metallic contents was due 

to thermo-aqueous processes. In general the quartz and values favor 

the hanging wall, where the quartz feeds in by oblique stringers, and 

the spar or calcite favors the foot wall.

GOLD KOAD MINE.

Location and history. The Gold Road mine, the most important 

in the district, is situated at Gold Road, on the western rugged slope 

of the range about 1 mile'below the crest, at an elevation of about 

2,900 feet, on the western part of the Gold Road vein. From its
154 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

croppings the Gold Road vein has long been known, but the discovery of mineral values and the locations which resulted in the 

mine were made about 1902 by Joe Jeneres, a Mexican prospector, 

w'ho was grubstaked to the amount of $13 by Henry Lovin, of Kingman. The discovery is reported to have been accidental. Jeneres 

in searching for his burros, which had strayed from camp, happened 

to pick up, near the present site of the Gold Road mine, a piece of 

quartz showing free gold, which led him to set up a monument and 

stake the Gold Road claim. Reports in Kingman that the specimen 

found by Jeneres and the croppings assayed 40 ounces in gold to the 

ton brought about a stampede to the district and the staking of 

many claims. Jeneres and Lovin did their assessment work and, 

with developments confined to a shaft 15 feet deep on the Gold 

Road claim, bonded the property to Los Angeles men for $50,000. 

Later the property was sold to Joseph Burkhardt, who worked it for 

some time and then sold it to Posey, Bailey, and McCormick for 

$275,000. Posey soon capitalized the property, enlisting the money 

of a French syndicate, which is currently reported to have paid half 

a million dollars for one-fourth of the stock. Work has been carried 

on systematically by this company, and the mill has been in operation about three years. The property, now including 12 or more 

claims, covering practically the entire known length of the Gold 

Road vein and distributed approximately as shown in Plate X, is 

now owned by the Gold Road Mining and Explorations Company, 

and is reported to have paid .dividends of 5 per cent on a capitalization of $1,500,000. The company is incorporated under1 the laws of 

Arizona, with headquarters at Los. Angeles and Paris. The company's annual reports are printed in parallel columns in English 

and French. It employs 180 men, of whom 75 to 80 work underground in three eight-hour shifts. Miners are paid $3.50 and machine men $4 a day. The company's pay roll is about $16,000 a 

month.

Developments md equipment. The mine is developed to a depth 

of 800 feet by a main shaft and eight (1908) levels aggregating about 

3,000 feet of drifts. Most of the ore has been mined for a distance 

of about 240 feet to the east and 640 feet to the west of the shaft, 

about as shown in the accompanying section of the underground 

workings (fig. 28). From the surface to the 300-foot level the shaft 

inclines at an angle of 85°, below which it is vertical and ends in a 

sump 35 feet below the 800-foot level. The.levels are spaced 100 feet 

apart. The method employed in mining is a system of overhead 

stoping. The entire vein between the two levels is mined and the 

broken ore left in the stopes, from which it can be drawn as desired 

through chutes located 12 feet apart,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE X

MINES AND VEINS IN THE GOLD ROAD AND VIVIAN DISTRICTS.
GOLD EOAD DISTRICT. 155

The mine produces about 12 gallons of water a minute. The water 

was first encountered on the 200-foot level in about the same amount 

it now occurs in the mine.

The principal surface equipments are a 50-horsepower steam hoist 

and a 200-ton gyratory crusher, located at the mine and run by 

separate engines; and a very complete milling plant, consisting essentially of six Huntington mills equipped with rollers, settling tanks, 

vats, laundries, filter presses, etc., and having a capacity of more 

than 200 tons of ore a day. The mill plant engines, including those 

that run the mills, compressors, and mine pump, and generate electricity for lighting the town and mine, aggregate about 500 horse200 400 GOOfeet

FIGURE 28. Longitudinal section of workings on vein of Gold Road claim, Gold Road mine.

power. The mills and the pump are run by electric motors, with 

power transmitted from the generating plant in the engine room. 

In all, the engines of the mine and mill aggregate about TOO horsepower.

The principal source of the power, especially in the generators, is 

California fuel oil, freighted by wagon from Kingman and delivered 

at a cost of about $3.50 a barrel. Eefined oil and gasoline used in 

some of the smaller engines are proportionately more expensive. The 

company's fuel bill for the year 1906 was $96,000.

The mine was closed at the end of 1907 on account of the high 

cost of power and the low grade of the ore. It was decided to open 

the east part of the property and connect it with the Gold Koad 

claim by a drift on the 500-foot level. This drift has been extended 

1,000 feet east of shaft No. 1. Shaft No. 2, to connect with this
156 MINEKAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

drift, is being sunk at the junction of the Billy Bryan and Line Road 

claims. The total depth of this shaft will be 750 feet. It was lately 

reported that the Gold Road mines are being supplied with electric 

power by a large plant recently installed at Kingman, and that a 

40-stamp 300-ton cyanide mill is being erected.

Ore treatment. The ore is nearly all of milling quality, averaging 

about $10 in gold to the ton. The gold is extracted in the plant 

which has been described, the method of treatment being by Huntington mills and the cyanide process. Of the six mills five readily 

handle 180 tons of ore a day, one mill being usually held in reserve.

The ore is first crushed to less than 1% inches in size in the gyratory 

crusher at the mine, whence it is conveyed by tram cars to the mill 

plant. Here it is further reduced by rolls to ^-inch mesh or less 

before it goes to the Huntington mills, where it is ground in cyanide 

solution to less than 50 mesh, about two-thirds of the product being 

sand and one-third slimes, the slimes resulting chiefly from the calcite content of the ore. The sands are settled in vats and tanks and 

the slimes are filter pressed. The gold is precipitated on zinc shavings and refined at the mine.

The ore is easily milled and treated, although fine crushing is 

necessary as the gold is so finely disseminated in the quartz. Twentyfive per cent of the gold is liberated in two or three hours, and 85 

per cent in ten days percolation. It is stated that by fine grinding 

98 per cent of the gold can be extracted. The usual saving is said 

to be 91^ per cent of the assay value. The small residue left in the 

tailings is not entirely lost, for in the gulch below from $30 to $50 

worth of gold is daily collected by precipitation from the seepage 

of the tailings dump. The output is shipped bimonthly in gold 

bricks worth about $45,000 each.

The ore is now said to be mined at a cost of $2.50 to $3 a ton and 

mined and milled at a cost of about $5 a ton, allowing $8 ore to be 

handled with a good profit. With the installation of cheaper power 

and a more efficient mill ore of much lower grade might be worked. 

The management hopes to reduce the cost eventually to about $3.50 

a ton. Plate amalgamation was tried, but without much success.

The cheaper power might be supplied from a large electric plant 

at Kingman or by the installation of a large steam-power plant with 

engines of high efficiency, now considered by the Gold Road Company 

on its own ground. In this latter event the fuel oil now freighted by 

wagon from Kingman could be pumped from Meadows over the 

range much more cheaply than it is now freighted over.

The water used in operating the mill, besides that produced by the 

mine, is derived from the company's well at Meadows, on the east 

slope of the range, whence it is pumped by a 12-horsepower gasoline 

engine to the camp and mine. A small spring has been known at
GOLD BO AD DISTRICT. 157

Meadows since pioneer times, when the place was used as a station 

for the government's desert camel pack train, but the presence of 

water in copious amount was first discovered by the Gold Road Company by sinking a shallow well in the rhyolite where the Meadow 

Creek valley is crossed by a strong diabase dike. This seems to form 

a subterranean dam and raises the underground water to the surface 

as it percolates down the slope of the range through the rhyolite 

tuffs, producing in this locality a large supply.

About the only loss of water in milling is that which is hauled out 

in the tailings on the cars. The remainder, having brought the ore 

in solution through its several stages of treatment, is pumped back 

to the mill, whence it starts out with a new charge of fresh ore and 

thus moves in a cycle, being used on different charges of ore over and 

over again.

Production. The production of the Gold Road property, including the Billy Bryan claim, to the end of 1907 is reported to be about 

$2,250,000, most of which Avas produced during 1905 and 1906. The 

production includes 110 tons of shipping ore, amounting to $110,000, 

derived mostly from the Billy Bryan claim. It was reported late 

in 1909 that there were in sight on the property 50,000 tons of ore 

averaging about $12 a ton.

Topography and geology. -The rough topographic features of the 

district are those characteristic of rapid erosion of heavy volcanic 

sheets. They consist in the .main of broad and rugged westwardsloping, cliff-studded or stepped ridges separated by deep gulches 

that form the head of the Silver Creek drainage. The camp is situated mainly on one of these ridges and the Gold Road vein lies in the. 

gulch adjoining it on the south.

The country surrounding the mine is occupied by heavy sheets of 

volcanic flows. The series comprises andesite, trachyte, latite, rhyolite, and dacite, and is nearly 2,000 feet in thickness. This aggregation is difficult to separate and has been referred to above as the "undifferentiated " flows. It extends from a point about 1,000 feet west 

of the Gold Road mine eastward nearly to the crest of the range. On 

the west it gives way to the underlying green chloritic andesite, which 

in the West Gold Road mine, situated near the contact, has been penetrated to a depth of 455 feet. On the east it is overlain by the upper 

rhyolite. The contact on the west is probably a fault contact, as 

some of the green chloritic andesite occurs in the Gold Road mine. 

The structure is a very pronounced close sheeting, which strikes 

N. 40° W., with vertical dip. The series is intruded by dikes 

of rhyolite and the younger dark andesite. Much of the rhyolite 

carries gold values. A dike of it, varying from 12 to 50 feet in 

width, located about 600 feet south of the mine, is staked and much 

of it is said to average from $5 to $6 in gold to the ton, the values
158 MINEKAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ABIZONA.

occurring chiefly in stringers of quartz and calcite contained in the 

dike. Near by a portion of the dike is faulted laterally by a throw 

of 80 feet, which seems.to affect the Gold Road vein also. Nearly a 

mile southeast of the mine, on the Kailroad claim, what seems to be 

this same dike is in association with the vein, its cropping here forming a wall 20 or 30 feet high.

Deposits. The Gold Road vein extends from a point about TOO feet 

west of the mine beyond the crest of the range, a distance of nearly 

1| miles.

The vein strikes about N. 50° W. and dips about 80° N., approximately parallel with the close sheeting in the country rock. It varies 

in width from a maximum of 22 feet on the west to less than a foot 

on the east, where it seems to pinch. Between the bottom of the Gold 

Road mine and the crest of the mountains it has a known vertical 

range of about 1,850 feet, and its croppings, which, as noted, He 

principally in the deeply cut Gold Road gulch, have a vertical range 

of about 1,300 feet. They consist essentially of iron and manganese 

stained quartz, silicified rock, and calcite. They are usually prominent, and in places form conspicuous buttes or knobs rising 20 or 30 

feet above the surface, as at the Gold Road mine (PL XI). Here 

the hard silicified croppings on both sides of the vein have a lateral 

extent of 20 to 60 feet. The best ore usually underlies these prominent croppings, which seem to represent courses along which mineralbearing solutions circulated more freely than elsewhere. The operators also report an intimate association of the ore and the present 

watercourses in the Gold Road mine. Where the croppings weaken 

. or break down the underlying portion of the vein on all levels tends 

to become lean or barren, though the fissure and its walls and fillings

continue unchanged. An exception to the rule, however, that the

strongest croppings indicate the richest ore beneath them, occurs on 

the middle part of the Billy Bryan claim, described on page 165.

The vein consists essentially of quartz and adularia, with some 

calcite and brecciated rock, and is more or less banded. With small 

exceptions it is all good milling ore from wall to wall. The amount 

of waste, as shown by the small dump at the mine, is almost nothing. 

The gold, as seen microscopically, and in places by the naked eye, 

is very finely disseminated, principally in the quartz and adularia. 

The free gold is said to occur chiefly from the Line Road shaft 

eastward. The vein is strongest on the west, where, as developed 

in the Gold Road mine, it is uniformly about 10 feet in width. 

It is usually in sharp contact with Avell-defined firm walls of the 

country rock, consisting of andesite, trachyte, latite, or rhyolite. It 

is in general frozen to the walls and is locally enriched by oblique 

stringers that join it at acute angles from the northwest on the
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE XI

A. GOLD ROAD MINE: LOOKING SOUTH. 

Silicified lode croppmgs on both sides.

E. GOLD ROAD GULCH, LOOKING SOUTHEAST FROM UNITED STATES MINERAL MONUMENT. 

Vein croppings in shade to the right.
GOLD BOAD DISTRICT. 159

hanging-wall side. As a rule hard and rough walls in this mine 

indicate good ore, and conversely soft and smooth walls are apt to 

correspond with lean ore. The ore consists chiefly of fine-grained, 

light-greenish quartz, much of it bladed or hackly and with 'a 

peculiar chalcedonic or drusy appearance (PL II). Many of the 

blades of pseudomorphic quartz are thickly covered with minute 

quartz crystals. Microscopic adularia is commonly intergrown 

with the quartz. Much of the quartz is clearly pseudomorphic after 

calcite. The quartz and adularia are locally present in equal amount, 

but more commonly in the ratio of about 2 to 1. As a rule no sulphides are present and but little limonite. Some pyrite occurs inthe wall rock in the lower part of the mine, but no sulphides save 

that on the 600-foot level (see p. 162) have been found in the ore, 

nor are there indications that they were ever present.

In recent years the work in the Gold Road mine has mostly been 

below the 300-foot level. When the Gold Road Company acquired 

the property the shaft had been sunk to this level, but, except a -few 

sacks of high-grade ore which had been shipped, no ore to speak 

of ha'd been stoped. The lowest-grade ore yet taken out of the 

mine was obtained between the surface and the 300-foot level, where 

it fell to $5 a ton. The ordinary mill run, it is said, rarely falls 

below $8 or $9 and ranges from that up to $22 a ton. It averages 

about $10 a ton, but $100 ore and upward is occasionally encountered on the hanging wall, where all the high-grade ore occurs. The 

pinching of the vein on the 300-foot level about 1903 led to the 

apprehension that the mine was worked out and would have to be 

abandoned. A dry-crusher mill was accordingly installed to work 

out the ore then .in sight to this depth. In the mean time, however, 

the shaft was sunk 100 feet deeper. The ore not only continued down, 

but improved with depth. Then came the demand for a better mill, 

and the present Huntington mills were installed because the dry 

crusher could be used in connection with them and the immediate 

demands more readily and cheaply met. A sketch'of some of the 

more important features of the deposits noted- on the principal levels 

follows.

On the 300-foot level the walls in the main are firm and the country 

rock is an andesite, that on the hanging wall being the more-altered 

variety. In both walls a younger intrusive andesite appears in 

places. This is also considerably decomposed and contains chlorite 

and calcite. Locally the foot wall is softened and the soft spots are 

mineralized and carry low values, while the firm walls are barren. 

On this level the vein contracts, and between this and the 400-foot 

level it pinches to but 2 feet in width and is not workable. The 

striations on the walls dip 65° SE. About 400 feet west of the shaft, 

at the upraise from the fourth level to this level, the vein is composite,
160 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AKIZONA.

about 8 feet in width, and is constant and continuous from this point 

down to the sixth level. A section of the vein sketched on this level, 

in which the best ore-bearing portion is the green quartz, follows:

Section of 'vein on 300-foot level, Gold Road mine.

Ft. in. 

Hanging wall, gray andesite with dip slightly abnormal.

Crushed greenish quartz ore__________________ 2 6

Fine-grained dark andesite, dike (?)__________'. ______ 1 6

Andesite with stringers of quartz ore___ _________ 1

Quartz ore containing strips of audesite___________ 1

Good quartz ore with some crushed andesite________:_ 2 

Foot wall, gray andesite, partly mineralized with some quartz.

On the 400-foot level the country rock is altered and shattered 

chloritic andesite and, as shown in the hanging wall in the crosscut 

at the pump just north of the shaft, is cut by a network of stringers 

and veinlets of quartz. The hanging wall, as seen 300 feet west of the 

shaft, consists in part of more or less silicified, banded, altered reddish lithoidal rhyolite containing parallel veinlets of chalcedonic 

quartz and is typical of the rock that usually occurs in the hanging 

wall in association with high-grade ore throughout the mine. At 400 

feet west of the shaft the foot wall includes an altered andesite containing epidote, chlorite, and pyrite, resembling that found in the bottom of the mine on the 700-foot level, above which, as currently believed and reported, no sulphides had ever been found. The pyrite 

is very fine grained and is profusely and evenly disseminated throughout the rock. On this level the vein is similar to that on the 300-foot 

level above described. To the west it is reported to contain three distinct shoots, and, as elsewhere in the mine, it is the greenish quartz 

and not the spar (calcite) which carries the gold. The calcite prevails 

toward the foot wall, and the quartz and consequently the values 

associated with it favor the hanging wall. Wherever the hanging 

wall straightens up or is slightly overturned and dips to the southwest or toward the foot wall it does not carry any values.

On the 500-foot level at the shaft the following partial cross section 

is shown:

Cross section on 500-foot level, Gold Road mine.

Feet.

Andesite _ 15 

Quartz-calcite vein dipping northeast._ 7 

Andesite _ ; 5 

Vein_____________1_____-______________ 8 

Hanging wall containing rhyolite.

At 75 feet west of the shaft the walls are vertical or slightly overturned, and the foot wall contains reddish-brown, brecciated, mineralized rhyolite similar to that described on the 400-foot level, but 

coarser and less banded.
GOLD ROAD DISTRICT. 161

At about 100 feet west from the shaft the 7-foot stringer exposed 

at the shaft landing gradually joins the vein at a sharp angle on the 

foot-wall side and doubles the values in the vein, and the walls and 

the vein here gradually assume their normal dip of 86°. Just beyond 

this locality the vein increases to 10 feet in width, and at about 200 

feet west from the shaft it is about 22 feet wide, the entire vein being 

good ore. The width diminishes somewhat upward toward the 

400-foot level.

At about 200 feet west of the shaft a 4-foot stringer leads off at a 

sharp angle to the'west, and both stringer and intervening mineralized rock wedge are worked with vein to a point where the wedge 

becomes several or more feet in thickness. Here the stringer affected 

the values of the vein but little, but just beyond the junction of the 

stringer the ore gradually enriches to $80 a ton, and this value for the 

full 8-foot average width of the vein continues 100 feet westward to a

fault or break, and with but slight decrease extends upward to the 

400-foot level. On the whole the enrichment seems due principally 

to stringers feeding in from the ragged hanging wall at acute angles 

from the northwest along the structure or sheeting. In this rich $80 

ore shoot, at 275 feet west of the shaft, the hanging wall is an altered 

pyritic bluish-green andesite, similar to that described on the fourth 

level, but it is extremely dense, and the pyrites are similarly so fine as 

to be almost invisible. The foot wall at this locality seems to be the 

altered red and brown stained lithoidal rhyolite.

At 400 feet west of the shaft the values cease, and the vein soon 

pinches down to 3 or 4 feet in width and presently disappears, the 

two fissure walls lying together for a distance of 90 feet. The rock 

in the hanging wall, notably at 400 feet west of the shaft, is the 

shattered chloritic andesite and contains veinlets of adularia and 

quartz, while the lithoidal rhyolite continues in the foot wall, and at 

450 feet west of the shaft the two walls are separated by a 1-inch seam 

or dike parting of the rhyolite.

At about 500 feet west of the shaft ore again comes in and continues for 162 feet beneath the silicified rock and quartz butte croppings to a point beneath the Tozier shaft or extension winze. At 660 

feet west of the shaft the vein rapidly splits up or gives way to 

country rock and continues barren, except for a small stringer. The 

vein matter and the walls are loose arid barren and continue so to the 

end of the drift 300 feet distant at a point within 200 feet of the 

west Gold Road mine. Where the veinrbreaks up at 660 feet west of 

the shaft the hanging-wall rock is the andesite and the foot wall the 

rhyolite whose normal position is regarded as the hanging wall.

East of the main shaft the vein is 12 feet in width, and the rock 

Avedge between the vein and the stringer is 10 feet thick. At 150 

88171 Bull. 397 09 11
162 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, AKIZONA.

feet east of the shaft the stringer bears off to the south-southeast at 

an angle of about 40° with the vein, and vein, foot wall, and stringer, 

are all worked for a distance of about 12 feet, beyond which the vein 

pinches down to 3 or 4 feet in width, with the ore running $16 to the 

ton. The walls are good. The hanging wall contains both the green 

chloritic andesite and the red rhyolite, while the foot wall consists 

principally of the silicified red rhyolite. Striations on the hanging 

wall dip 35° SE. At 200 feet east of the shaft occurs a break or 

faulting of the vein, the dip of the fault plane being 65° W. On 

looking southeast-east along the drift the vein is seen to have slid 

downhill about 40 feet, as shown also by surface croppings, and beyond this the vein is cut off and the drift or tunnel continues in 

" county rock," which is chloritic trachyte on the hanging wall and 

relatively fresh andesite on the foot wall.

On the 600-foot level the vein contains much more spar or calcite 

than on any other level and the ore shoot is reported to have an uninterrupted extent of 1,100 feet. Some sulphide ore containing pyrite, 

the first encountered in the mine, was found here, and it is reported to 

have contained higher values than the overlying oxidized ore. At 

the landing the foot-wall stringer described as occurring on the 500- 

foot level lies near the shaft. The walls are reddish oxidized andesite (?) and, as shown in the, hoist station, the hanging wall is 

mineralized for a distance of 30 feet or more laterally from the vein. 

At 100 feet west of the shaft the ore consists principally of greenish 

quartz with adularia and calcite, and carries good values, and at 120 

feet west the foot-wall stringer from the shaft, here about 20 feet 

wide and all good low-grade ore, comes in and joins the vein. A 

crosscut 30 feet in length from the hanging wall of the vein has not 

yet reached the foot wall of the stringer. The hanging wall of the 

vein1 here is coarse breccia, probably of andesite tuff, more or less 

soft, and is coated with downward-facing comb quartz and spar. 

Fresh striations on the hanging wall decline 55° NNW. The movement has produced 2 feet of fault breccia, which is cemented by 

quartz and spar. In the hanging-wall face of the crosscut the rock 

seems to be the lithoidal rhyolite and the rock in association with the 

stringer andesite. At 204 feet west of the shaft the foot-wall stringer, 

which from the shaft to this point is fairly good only and contains 

much spar, comes into the vein and greatly enriches it from this point 

westward, and the foot-wall rock carries some sulphides. At 312 

feet west of the shaft the hanging wall is in places gash veined and 

partly mineralized, and the foot wall contains hard andesite breccia 

with some quartz-spar ore in large'bunches frozen to it. Where the 

ore is thus frozen to the walls in the mine the Avail has usually to be 

broken to get the ore. At 400 feet west of the shaft the vein is cut 

off abruptly by the same fault that cuts off the ore shoot on the 500-
GOLD ROAD DISTRICT. 163

foot level. Here the break is about 12 feet west of the point it occupies on the 500-fo.ot level and the hanging wall is cross sheeted into 

slices1 from 4 inches to 1 foot in thickness, while on the 500-foot level 

it is smooth and the foot wall is brecciated rhyolite. Farther west the 

vein is represented by a barren stringer 1 foot or more thick, which 

seems to extend for a distance of 40 feet to a point where good stoping 

ore, consisting mostly of quartz with some spar and some brecciated 

angular fragments of country-rock andesite, comes in and continues 

westward for a distance of 162 feet. The maximum thickness of this 

162-foot ore shoot is 16 feet, and here it carries the richest ore.

At 500 feet west of the shaft a 4-foot spur,, vein, or stringer goes 

off at a short angle from the vein to the southeast-east in the foot 

wall. It dips about parallel with the vein and does not seem to affect 

its ore values. It has been mined for a distance of 15 feet. The face 

of the drift in it shows a gold-bearing black band, several inches in

width, containing principally oxide of manganese. At 600 feet west 

of the shaft, in the face of the drift and beyond, the vein has pinched 

to a width of 2 feet and seems to narrow with depth.

East of the shaft the country rock is the reddish silicified andesite. 

The vein is split or composite and consists of alternating bands of 

stringers of quartz, calcite, and country rock. At 80 feet east of 

the shaft the vein pinches and almost entirely gives way to country 

rock. There is no sign of a fault, but the walls are rough and some 

barren vein material extends on to the face of the drift. At 140 feet 

east of shaft, where the vein is 4 feet wide, occurs the cross fault of 

the fifth level, which cuts the vein nearly at right angles. The country rock is a greenish-gray epidotized porphyritic andesite.

At the time of visit the 700-foot level was just being opened. 

About 35 feet northeast of the shaft a stringer or vein 2£ feet in width 

was cut, Avhose position, attitude, and other characteristics correspond 

to those of the Gold Road vein. Numerous small stringers and veinlets lie on either side, and the rock, which from the shaft to the face 

of the crosscut is in general massive, is here for a width of 6 or 7 

feet on either side of the. vein sheeted into slices down to 3 or 4 

inches in width. Just above this locality, on the 600-foot level, the 

vein is reported to have split into three parts. The vein is frozen 

to the walls and composed of greenish quartz and calcite; it is imperfectly banded, brecciated, and in part iron stained and oxidized. 

It contains, according to assay returns, $11 in gold to the ton. In 

contact with the vein is greenish, dense, very hard andesitic rock, 

traversed by numerous veinlets of chalcedonic quartz and adularia. 

On the foot wall the rock is less dense and looks like an agglomerate.

Near the face of the crosscut occurs a 2^ to 3 inch stringer, Avhich 

consists of nearly all quartz with a little associated dark calcite and 

is said to contain about $16 in gold to the ton. Its strike is more
164

northerly than that of the vein, with which it makes an angle of about 

30° and which it probably joins a short distance to the east. The 

face of the crosscut is a medium to coarse grained dull-greenish propylitic trachyte. (See analysis, p. 39.) It is a totally different rock 

from the green chloritic andesite described on pages 34-37, which 

occurs elsewhere in the mine. It is intruded by a fine-grained reddish and greenish rock, probably andesite. In the landing and crosscut as a whole, however, particularly in the southern half, the "prevailing rock is the massive dark sulphide-bearing green chloritic 

andesite, which seems to be the principal country rock and apparently indicates that the bottom of the mine, so far as the country 

rock is concerned, has practically reached the sulphide zone, although 

no sulphides have as yet appeared in the vein. Late in February, 

1907, this level was reported to be showing good ore bodies, the values 

of which are said to be comparable to those on the sixth level.

The Tozier shaft, also called the west winze, is 600 feet west of the 

main shaft and starts on lower ground; it was being sunk at the time 

of visit and was then 90 feet in depth, having penetrated nearly to 

the projection of the 200-foot level in the main part of the mine. It 

here shows a good-looking 5-foot vein of ore said to run about $11 

to the ton. The company expects, in case the ore body extends to the 

west, to connect its workings with the West Gold Road mine, 400 feet 

distant..

BILLY BRYAN MINE.

Location and development. The Billy Bryan mine (see PL X) 

is located nearly half a mile southeast of the Gold Road mine, on the 

Billy Bryan claim in Gold Road Gulch, on the Gold Road vein, at 

about 3,300 feet elevation. Before it was acquired by the Gold Road 

Company, which now owns it, the mine was worked to a considerable extent by lessees. As shown in the section of underground workings, it is developed by about 2,500 feet of work, consisting principally of an adit drift'1,200 feet long and three shafts from 100 to 150 

feet in depth. The adit drift, commonly known as the " Line Road 

tunnel," starts on the Line Road claim, lying between the Gold Road 

and Billy Bry'an claims at about 3,200 feet elevation and extends to 

the southeast, where its face on the eastern part of the Billy Bryan 

claim lies about 250 feet below the surface. Beyond this point important surface workings extend interruptedly nearly to the east 

end of the Railroad claim, which joins the Billy Bryan on the east.

Geology. The geology is essentially similar to that of the Gold 

Road mine. The country rock is the group of undifferentiated volcanic rocks, whose variations and phases are well shown in the large 

dump at the mouth of the drift. The principal rock corresponds more 

closely to trachyte than to da cite or rhyolite, and is in general con-
GOLD ROAD DISTRICT. 165

siderably altered. The rocks are locally faulted and are intruded by 

rhyolite and dikes of the young reddish-brown andesite.

The croppings of the Gold Koad vein at the Billy Bryan mine are 

prominent and wall-like, but they probably do not represent the 

whole of the deposit. It is believed that the vein is split throughout 

the Line Road claim, the beginning of the split being at the mouth 

of the main drift. A stringer diverges here to the left, or north, and 

within a short distance enlarges to a side vein of fairly well-banded 

good-looking quartz 3 to 4 feet in width and carrying moderate 

values. After nearly paralleling the vein for 1,200 feet at a distance 

of about 100 feet, this stringer reunites with the vein near the east 

end of the deep works on the Billy Bryan claim, where good ore 

occurs at the junction.and beyond. The area contained between the 

two veins is traversed by numerous parallel quartz stringers and 

veinlets. Just beyond, the point of junction a similar side vein, not 

shown on the surface, is said to have been encountered by a deep 

crosscut 80 feet north of the vein.

The vein on the Billy Bryan claim varies from 1 to 20 feet in width 

and dips, in general, steeply to the southwest instead of normally to the 

northeast. It consists mostly of spar or calcite, which contains bands 

of greenish quartz; in places, however, quartz forms the principal part 

of the vein. Farther southeast,, beyond the limits of the Billy Bryan 

claim, and in fact to the end of the Railroad claim, quartz prevails and 

carries good values. The quartz is greenish with glassy luster and 

locally is very brittle and finely ribboned or banded, wavy, and crenulated, its structure resembling the fine flow structure of certain lavas.

In the Billy Bryan shaft the ore for the first 25 feet in depth is 

reported to be of small value. From 25 to 80 feet the values were good, 

but below 80 feet they are said to decrease. On the Line Road and 

Billy Bryan claims the gold occurs chiefly along the contact of the 

red jasper or jasperoid brown quartz and white or green quartz and 

along the bands in the glassy quartz that may be present. In the eastern part of the Line Road claim and in a considerable portion of the 

Billy Bryan and Railroad claims the vein has produced very rich 

shipping ore in the surface workings, and it is under these workings, 

notably on the Billy Bryan and Railroad claims, that the Gold Road 

Company expects favorable results. Advices from the mine in June, 

1908, stated that the company was sinking two shafts on the Billy 

Bryan claim to connect by drift with the Gold Road shaft and had 

encountered good ore as deep as the shafts extended.

In its extension eastward across the Last Chance claim and the crest 

of the range the vein contains some good croppings and openings, but 

it is split by horses at one or two points and locally narrows to unworkable dimensions. It may, however, be found to widen in depth 

as it descends in horizon in the Gold Road and Billy Bryan mines.
166 MINEKAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY, ABIZOSTA.

WEST GOLD ROAD MINE.

The West Gold Road mine is located in Gold Road Gulch, about 600 

feet west of the main shaft of the Gold Road mine and oh the projected course of the Gold Road vein; it has an elevation of about 2,800 

feet, or 100 feet below the collar of the Gold Road shaft. Work was 

begun on the West Gold Road property in 1905. The property is 

owned by the West Gold Road Mining Company, with headquarters 

at San Francisco. The mine is developed principally by a shaft 455

sw

DarH..

andesite \ 

dike \

\ This X- cut coincides in

\ elevation with 600-ft/evel

* of Gotcf Road mine

200 feet

FIGDRE 29.-^Cross section of workings of West Gold Road mine.

feet deep and about 200 feet of crosscuts (fig. 29). On the 240-foot 

level the crosscut extends 45 feet to the southwest and on the 440-foot 

level, which corresponds to the 600-foot level of the Gold Road mine, 

the crosscut is driven 65 feet to the southwest and 100 feet to the 

northeast.

The country rock, and about the only rock encountered in the mine, 

is the green chloritic andesite. It is pyritic and contains quartz 

and chalcedony-pyrite veinlets. In the lower, southwestern part of
GOLD KOAD DISTRICT. 167

the mine the rock is less altered and is cut by a dike of younger dark 

andesite about 7 feet in 'width, dipping steeply to the northeast, nearly 

parallel with the vein, and encountered principally at the end of the 

crosscut to the southwest on the lower level.

The developments above cited were made in the hope of finding 

workable ore on the northwestern extension of the Gold Road vein, 

but the only deposit encountered is a ledge or vein of mixed bluish 

and drusy quartz and altered, slightly pyritiferous rock. This vein 

occurs in the crosscut to the southwest on the 240'foot level and probably represents the Gold Road vein; it is 5 feet wide and dips 86° 

NE. It is said to average about $2 in gold to the ton and the deposit 

is not workable at this point.

PASADENA MINE.

Location and history. The Pasadena mine (see PI. X) is about 1£ 

miles west of Gold Road, on open, gently sloping ground that drains 

northward into Silver Creek, at about 2,550 feet elevation. The mine 

Avas located about 1900 and had been working about two years at the 

time of visit. It is still in the development stage. The property 

comprises seven mineral claims, five being continuous along the vein 

and two being side claims. It is owned by the Pasadena Consolidated 

Mines Company, with headquarters at Pasadena, Cal.

Developments. The mine is developed mainly on the Rhine Gold 

claim, principally by a shaft 318 feet deep, three levels containing 

about 100 feet of drifts and crosscuts, and by surface openings. A 

small shaft 55 feet deep is located 820 feet south of the main shaft. .

The principal equipments are a gasoline hoist and a 2-stamp prospecting mill for testing the ore bodies in development work. The 

Avater supply is piped by gravity from Cottonwood Springs, 3 miles 

to the northeast, at Battle Mountain.

Geology. The country rock is the green chloritic andesite, which 

here, particularly in the side of the gulch to the west of the mine and 

in the dump, is shown to vary in a very short distance, even in a hand 

specimen, from the soft, altered greenish chloritic phase to the fresh, 

hard black rock. A fuller description of the rock appears on pages 

34-37. The rock shows characteristic propylitic alteration along the 

vein. Angular blocks of the rock a foot in diameter and many 

smaller fragments are inclosed in the vein.

The rock is intruded by dikes and masses of rhyolite and by dikes 

of a basic but quartz-bearing greenstone porphyry. One of these 

dikes, of greenish color, 20 feet in width, and trending east and west, 

is cut by the vein about 3,000 feet south of the hoist. The dike is 

here prominently cross sheeted parallel with the vein.

Veins and ore. The Pasadena vein or lode varies from 10 to 140 

feet in width. It strikes about N. 10° W. and dips about 70° W.
168 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

It is reported to extend throughout the length of 19 claims and to 

be continuous with the vein of the Tom Reed or Blue Ridge mine 

on the southeast; if this is correct it has a length of several miles.

To the north the vein does not seem to retain its development 

more than a few hundred yards beyond the mine and hoist. To the 

northwest, however, where the gulch from the south enters Pasadena Wash, a vein of calcite 2£ feet wide and striking northward is 

prospected, but is not proved to be a part of the Pasadena vein, which 

it may, however, join farther north.

The croppings consist essentially of reefs of iron and manganese 

stained quartz and some gray calcite. They show polished faces with 

horizontal striation. In the Pasadena mine the walls are reported to 

be firm, well defined, and regular and to stand well.

The vein consists essentially of calcite and quartz, the quartz increasing in amount with depth. Some of it is of the- greenish Gold 

Road type and this carries the best values. The calcite or spar portion of the ore is said to contain its best gold values in the minute 

black specks and dendritic bodies of iron and manganese, which it 

carries Avidely disseminated.

The average values of the ore are reported to be about $10.50 a 

ton and the ore is said to be suitable for the cyanide process. In 

the main shaft, which is on the west spur of the vein, the ore is 

said to average $11.20 in gold to the ton from the surface down, 

the ore shoot varying from 4 to 10 feet in width. At a smaller shaft 

55 feet deep mill runs of ore are reported to have given results as 

follows: Surface, $5.56; at depth of 25 feet, $12.45; and at 55 feet, 

$24 in gold to the ton. The ore at these depths is reported to extend 

the entire width of the shaft, with only one wall in sight.

MOSS BACK MINE.

Location and history. The Moss Back mine is situated 3 miles by 

trail northwest of Gold Road, in open country near the foot of the 

range, at about 2,400 feet elevation. It is near the upper edge of a 

bluff about 80 feet high overlooking a wash on the northeast. The 

property comprises three claims. It is reached by wagon from Gold 

Road in a distance of 7 or 8 miles by descending Silver Creek nearly 

to the Moss mine road forks.

The deposit was first located about 1863 by the Barry Mining Com-, 

pany as the Blanco ledge, so-called from the whiteness of its croppings and ore. It was relocated in 1864 and thereafter abandoned 

and finally it was again relocated in 1901 by Charles H. Burlock arid 

wife, of San Diego, Cal., who still own a four-fifths interest in it, 

the remaining fifth being owned by the Moss Back Mining Company, 

of Los Angeles.
GOLD KOAD DISTRICT. 169

There has been no production, but about 900 tons of what is said 

to be good milling ore lies on the dump.

Development. The mine is developed principally by a main shaft, 

drifts, and crosscuts to a depth of 330 feet. The workings also inclufle a crosscut tunnel 150 feet in length on the southAvest. The mine 

is said to produce a plentiful supply of water for ordinary milling 

purposes. The water rises within 1TO feet of the surface. The mine 

is now dismantled of its hoist and surface equipments and the ladders 

have been drawn from the shaft. Besides the water produced by the 

mine a never-failing source of supply is a constant spring located at 

the foot of the range about a mile northwest of the mine and about 

400 feet above it, with which there are pipe-line connections.

Geology. The Moss Back deposit is geologically and mineralogically very similar to that of the Pasadena mine. The country rock

is the green chloritic andesite; it is locally pyritic and is intruded

by rhyolite dikes and masses and by fresh black basalt or basaltic 

andesite. The structure or sheeting trends about N. 80° E.

The rhyolite is also in part mineralized and is reported to assay 

from $2 to $3 a .ton all over the surface; it contains veins or reefs 

of silicified rock, and is cut by diabasic basalt dikes. In the small 

hill east of the mine it contains a 1 to 2 inch rich gold-bearing 

stringer with much hematite.

Veins and ore. The Moss Back vein or lode dips about 80° SW. 

and has a knoAvn extent of nearly half a mile; the Avidth at the surface is at least 23 feet, and it is said to widen to 40 feet in the bottom 

of the mine. The vein consists essentially of a mixture of goldbearing, medium to coarsely crystalline calcite, with a small percentage of fine-grained silica or quartz and probably adularia, Avhich has 

seemingly replaced calcite. It also contains a considerable amount of 

the greenish mineralized counti^-rock andesite, Avhich occurs in 

streaks or small bodies and carries low-grade values.

The croppings are more or less silicified portions of the vein above 

described, for the most part stained by iron and manganese oxides, 

and contain in places masses or clusters of quartz blades representing 

the replacement of calcite by the quartz along its crystal faces and 

cleavage planes. There is but a small amount of gouge, but the Avail 

rock next the vein is usuall sheared, silicified, and veined by quart/ 

or calcite.

The principal portion of the vein or main ore shoot, the part best 

defined at the surface, has a width of 12 to 15 feet and contains from 

4 to 6 inches of gouge material consisting of sheared and crushed 

rock, calcite, and quartz on its foot-Avail side.

The ore almost everyAvhere contains disseminated minute blackish 

specks of hematite, and these, particularly in the spar, are reported 

to carry the gold in very finely divided particles. The values rise
170 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

with increase in the amount of silica in the spar, the best ore being 

in association with the silica. Some small pockets of yellowish-brown 

"sugar quartz," which consists principally of colored spar, with an 

admixture of silica and limonite, are said to have contained up to 

$2,000 in gold to the ton.

A IT-foot crosscut from the main shaft to the southwest at a depth 

of 200 feet below the surface, which has not yet reached the hanging 

wall, is said to show good ore throughout its extent, running from $6 

to $9 to the ton. In the shallow workings on the southeast a 10-foot 

w^dth of the vein, is reported to average $31 in gold to the ton.

MOSS MINE.

Location and history. The Moss mine is about 4 miles northwest 

of Gold Road and 2| miles west of the Moss Back mine, to the north 

of Silver Creek. It lies in a well-mineralized area on the southeast 

slope of a group of outlying hills, the Moss Hills, which trend west 

to a point about 1^ miles beyond the mine. This mine, the original 

discovery in the country here discussed, was located in 1863 or 1864 

by John Moss, who found much free visible gold exposed in the 

croppings about where the shaft is now sunk. On this spot, from 

a hole about 10 feet in diameter and depth, he took out $240,000 in 

gold, all of which he immediately spent in development work, much 

of which was ill advised. Moss died later in poverty.

The rich ore was contained in reddish-brown hematite or ironstained quartz croppings, which Silliman ° aptly describes as having 

the appearance of sulphide-bearing quartz that had been roasted. 

Much of it was covered with flakes, incrustations, and beads of gold 

from the size of shot or .pea to that of a hazelnut. Two tons of ore 

taken from the outcrop of the vein is said to have netted $114,000 in

San Francisco, and the exhibition of this rich ore led many men to 

brave the dangers of the desert and the "Indians to reach the district,.

The mine was worked principally in pioneer times, at first by the 

Moss Brothers. After the rich find a 10-stamp mill was built on 

Silver Creek just below the Holmes camp, where some of the ore 

may still be seen. Dahlgreen Black is said to have enlisted eastern 

capital and operated the mine after the Moss Brothers. The property, 

including several patented claims, is now owned by the Gold Giant 

Mining and Milling Company, with headquarters at Los Angeles. 

Some development work was done on the property in 1906. The total 

production is $500,000.

Developments. The developments consist principally of a 230- 

foot double-compartment shaft and about 600 feet of tunnels and 

crosscuts. The shaft starts on the hanging-wall side of the vein

0 Silliman, Benjamin, jr., Am. ..Tour. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 41, 1866, pp. 289-308.
GOLD ROAD DISTRICT. 171

and now contains some water. Much of the horizontal underground 

work is 8 by 10 feet or more in cross section and was done in the 

pioneer black-powder days at great cost.

The tunnel starts in a gulch about 100 feet south and 60 feet below 

the collar of the shaft, whence it extends diagonally to the northeast 

for a distance of about 250 feet, following a stringer in part nearly 

to the vein. It then parallels the vein westward as far as the shaft, 

with which it connects by a crosscut. Other crosscuts open the vein 

. at intervals and extend into the foot wall on the north. Several 

shorter crosscuts also extend to the south on good-looking spur veins 

or stringers, but in no case more than about 30 feet, which seems to 

indicate that the values were too low to pay.

The principal equipments are a good gasoline hoist and a small 

mill at Hardyville, near the mouth of Silver Creek, on Colorado 

Eiver, 7 miles distant.

Geology. The country rock is a quartz syenite porphyry phase of 

the granite porphyry and micropegmatite described on page 30, but 

contains more hornblende and biotite. It forms a considerable part 

of the Moss Hills and underlies the younger volcanic rocks in the 

vicinity. Northward it extends for a distance of half a mile or more 

to a point about one-fourth of a mile beyond the Moss mine saddle 

and southward nearly to Silver Creek and the Holmes camp, probably connecting locally with the same rock in the Hardy Mountains. It weathers reddish brown.

Veins and ore. The Moss vein as seen underground has a width 

of about 22 feet and a known extent of more than half a mile and a 

reported extent of about 4 miles, being held by some to connect with 

the Moss Back vein. It dips steeply to the south and is associated 

with considerable fault breccia on its foot-wall side. Both sides of 

the vein are frozen to the walls, and in consequence of this the walls 

are torn and ragged where the vein has been mined.

The-croppings, which in large part are prominent and of the Gold 

Road type, consist principally of a surficially iron-stained mixture of 

quartz and crystalline calcite and probably adularia and silicified 

rock, which-in part is porous or honeycombed and is cut by a cross 

sheeting or slickensiding.

In the underground and less-oxidized vein fche quartz and calcite 

are present in about equal amount and the quartz seems to have replaced calcite, both minerals being usually fine grained and very intimately intermixed or intergrown. The quartz is mainly of a greenish hue, like that of the Gold Road vein, but a considerable portion 

is also pale rose-red, from which the vein has commonly come to be 

known as the rose-quartz vein.

Under the microscope a section of the ore shows coarse granular 

quartz,-with coarse calcite grains, also acicular calcite in triangular
172 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

pattern and intervening finer-grained quartz; the quartz appears 

divided in sectors through the distribution of radial inclusions, probably mostly fluid. No adularia was seen in the section, but it is probably present in the ore.

East of the mine, at the wagon-road gap, where a good surface 

opening has lately been made, the vein has narrowed to a few feet 

in width, and in the most easterly crosscut on the level of the tunnel 

in.the mine, about 100 feet east of the shaft, it is split into several 

parts or stringers by horses and inclusions of the country rock.

Nearly the whole production seems to have been obtained from 

very rich pockets or concentrates in the croppings and highly oxidized ore near the surface, for deeper work shows the deposit to consist principally of a large body of low-grade ore, much of it averaging about $4 in gold to the ton. Several tons of the ore are reported to have averaged $6,800; two tons $42,500 each in San Francisco ; and a lot of about 100 tons, which was treated at the small mill 

at Hardyville, about $42 a ton.

Lying near the Moss vein on either side are one or more small veins 

or ledges, on which assessment work is kept up. The principal one 

on the north is about parallel1 with and 500 feet distant from the Moss 

vein, and contains much fluorspar.

RATTAN MINE.

The Rattan mine is 4 miles northwest of Gold Road and about' 

one-fifth of a mile south of the Moss mine, in the south base of the 

Moss Hills. The property comprises two claims, the Rattan and 

Ruth, which have been patented since 1894, but it has not been worked 

for some time. It is owned by the Rattan Mining Company of 

Kingman.

The mine is developed principally by a 200-foot shaft, about 

200 feet of drift, and considerable stoping on the 100-foot level. The 

principal equipments are a gasoline hoist and a 10-stamp mill; the 

latter being located 7 miles distant, on Colorado River at Hardyville. Several hundred tons of the ore were treated in this mill.

The country rock is a quartz syenite porphyry phase of the granite 

porphyry and micropegmatite, the same as at the Moss mine, except 

that here it is finer grained and contains considerable iron pyrite. 

It exhibits two structures which are variable, one trends N". 15° E. 

with dips steeply to the east and the other trends about east and west 

with dips steeply to the north.

The Rattan vein dips about 80° N. Openings on it extend interruptedly for about three-fourths of a mile to the east. So far as 

seen at the surface the vein is 2 or 3 feet wide, and the ore body is 

said to be up to 2 feet in width. It consists principally of calcite or 

spar, quartz, and crushed rock, and contains green fluorspar.
GOLD KOAD DISTRICT. 173

The vein in the bottom of the mine is said to be about a foot in 

width and to contain a shoot of $300 ore 1 inch wide. The ore differs 

from the Moss ore principally in containing pyrites. Some good ore 

has been shipped and a considerable amount has been milled. Several hundred tons were treated in the company's mill at Hardyville, 

but owing to its sulphide content a high extraction was not obtained.

GOLDEN STAR GROUP.

The Golden Star group of mines comprises seven or eight properties, mainly in the prospect stage, situated in the northwest corner of 

the district about 2 miles northwest of the Moss mine. They extend 

from the north slope of the Moss Hills northward mostly on open 

ground to Cottonwood Wash, a distance of about 2 miles.

The camp is located in the northern part of the area at about 2,200 

feet elevation, just south of Cottonwood Wash and about 140 feet

above it, near the point where the wash passes from open country 

into a canyon. It is reached by wagon road leading from the Moss 

mine northward, thence westward down Cottomvood Wash.

The group is owned by the Golden Star Mining and Milling Company, of Pasadena, Cal. The principal openings of the group are 

on the Golden Star, West Point, American Boy, and Red Bluff 

claims.

West Point prospect. The West Point prospect is located in the 

lower west slope of the Moss Hills, on the West Point claim, about 

half a mile south and 100 feet above the camp, in gray andesite, which 

here contains considerable breccia. The vein is about 3-| feet in 

width. It strikes N. 65° W. and dips about 80° NE. It has very 

much the appearance of a finely sheeted or cleaved dike, subsequently 

silicified, and is said to contain the highest-grade ore in the camp. 

The ore is of the quartz-adularia type and its values are in gold. A 

microscopic section shows it to consist of quartz of variable grain, 

limonite, and a small amount of adularia.

American Boy mine. The American Boy mine is about a mile 

south of the camp and 800 feet above it, in the upper north slope of 

the Moss Hills. It is developed by a 110-foot crosscut tunnel, 200 feet 

of drift, and a 60-foot shaft sunk to a level with the drift and tunnel.

The country rock is a medium-grained bluish-gray rock, which 

seems to be an andesite and is locally pyritic. It is cut by a cross 

sheeting that dips steeply north'and a jointing that trends northnorthwest. An east-west dike of coarse, porphyritic andesite crosses 

the mouth of the tunnel.

The vein dips steeply to the northeast. It varies from 6 inches to 2 

feet in width and contains chiefly impure gray and dark, coarsely 

crystalline calcite with local bodies of dense greenish quartz about an 

inch in maximum diameter. It is tightly frozen to both walls. The
174 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

croppings are silicified country rock and spar, and some of the surface 

ore is said to have averaged about $100 in gold to the ton.

Golden Star mine. The Golden Star mine is about a mile southeast 

of the camp, in the lower north slope of the hills, in a gulch that 

trends to the northwest (PI. XII, A). The country rock is darkgray pyritic andesite, which near by rests upon an older coarsely 

porphyritic green rock and locally upon the pre-Cambrian pegmatitic 

granite which here forms the core of the hills. The vein is composed 

of calcite and quartz, the croppings of which are stained by iron and 

manganese oxide. It varies from 1 to 14 feet in width, dips 65° to 

70° N., has a known -extent of about a mile, and is cut by the Meals 

Ledge (see p. 176) on the east. On the hill slope west of the mine the 

vein is associated with thin, dense green porphyry dikes which 

parallel it.

The mine is developed by a 90-foot shaft. The vein here contains 

about 3 feet of good-looking calcite or spar, but is of too low grade to 

be workable.

Red Bluff prospect. The Red Bluff prospect is just north of the 

camp, on the sides of a long, narrow north-south fault block, where 

it is crossed by Cotton wood Canyon, whose floor here lies about 140 

feet below the neighboring surface. The fault block is about 50 feet 

wide. It dips 70° E. and extends into the Moss Hills, a distance of 

more than a mile.

The country rock is a gray andesite, which rests upon the pre-Cambrian coarse granite or pegmatite that floors the canyon. These rocks 

are intruded by a granite porphyry dike 40 feet wide at right angles 

to the trend of the fault block. After the intrusion of the granite 

porphyry the dike was cross faulted, and the country rock on the 

west or foot-wall side of the fault block, including the dike, was carried by lateral throw about 150 feet to the south, to a point about west 

of the camp. The amount of movement along the fault plane of the 

fault block has been considerable and has produced from 1 to 14 feet 

of fault breccia, crushed rock gouge, etc., and here mineralization has 

taken place.

The best values occur in red, oxidized streaks, principally on the 

hanging wall, but also on the foot-wall faujt plane, and are usually 

associated with or near by the granite porphyry.

The granite^ porphyry is a pink or reddish rock with a medium 

or fine grained grouridmass containing phenocrysts of quartz. It 

contains no ferromagnesian silicates, and under the microscope shows 

some silicification and secondary growth of adularia.

The property is developed principally by a 45-foot drift and a 

50-foot crosscut. The drift, starting near the bottom of the canyon, 

extends to the south on the hanging-wall fault plane, principally in 

fault breccia and pre-Cambrian granite, with granite porphyry on
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE XII

A. GOLDEN STAR MINE AND FAULT BLOCK, LOOKING SOUTH.

Ji. GOLD ROAD VEIN AT EAST OF LINE ROAD CLAIM, LOOKING NOR I i
GOLD EOAD DISTRICT. ' 175

its hanging-wall side. From its face the crosscut has been driven 

through the fault block to the foot wall, without encountering much 

ore. This deposit appears to warrant further prospecting.

VENTURE PROSPECTS.

The Venture prospects, owned by Thomas Patterson, of Gold Road, 

are situated in open, gulch-scored ground, just north of Cottonwood 

Wash. The country rock is a gray medium toiine grained fresh biotite andesite closely related to that in the Moss Hills on the south; 

on the north are old greenstone tuffs in which the sheeting dips 

steeply to the south-southwest.

The principal exposure occurs on Venture claim No. 2. Here the 

vein or ledge containing the deposits is vertical or dips steeply to the 

north-northeast, and, where open to the depth of about 8 feet, presents the following section, beginning on the hanging-wall side:

Section of vein on Venture claim No. 2.

Ft. in. 

Country rock, somewhat crushed along face of hanging

wall. 

Chiefly impure calcite with but little quartz, stained and

mottled orange and greenish (principal part of the vein) _ 1 6 

Yellowish-green talcose gouge________________ 2£ 

Brecciated greenish rock spar and gouge material_____ 1 

Foot wall, containing 1 to 3 feet of crushed country rock.

The values, said to be fair, are contained principally in the firmest 

portion of the vein and in the heavy red or red-brown iron-stained 

rock along its sides. The croppings are mostly weathered calcite, 

some of which, as well as the surface ore, yield $6 in gold to the ton.

MEALS LEDGE.

The Meals ledge, a large gold-bearing calcite vein or lode of lowgrade ore, is located east of the Golden Star group. With certain 

interruptions, it extends from the saddle in the Moss Hills near the 

Moss mine northward for a distance of nearly 2 miles, its general 

strike being N. 30° W. It is best developed in the open mesa country 

betAveen Cottonwood Wash and the Moss Hills, where the principal 

locations are owned by W. H. Meals, of Gold Road. Here it varies 

from 10 to 60 feet in width, with an average width of perhaps about 

40 feet, and dips in general about 65° ENE. It is composed principally of coarsely crystalline calcite, with usually a small amount of 

quartz, and locally contains, particularly in the croppings, much 

angular crushed andesite, quartz porphyry, and other rock.

The country rock forming the hanging wall of the vein for a considerable distance south of Cottonwood Wash is greenstone (altered 

andesite?) containing bowldery inclusions of the pre-Cambrian gran-
176 - MINERAL'DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

ite; the corresponding foot wall on the west is the normal countryrock gray andesite.

Southward toward Meals camp, which is located on the vein about 

midway between Cottonwood Wash and the Moss Hills, the vein 

seems to lie largely in the pre-Cambrian granite, with the countryrock andesite continuing for the most part as the foot wall; and 

slickenside grooves clipping 20° to 60° SSE. show considerable movement to have taken place. At Meals camp the granite continues on 

the east and the porphyritic andesite on the west. The principal 

claims in this vicinity are the W. H. Hearst, Jupiter, Rancon, Hot 

Times, and Yellow Spar Extension. Here the vein is 16 feet in width 

and is opened by 20-foot shafts on either side of the camp. It is composed principally of calcite or spar with a small amount of quartz 

and is reported to average from $6 to $8 in gold to the ton, the values 

occurring principally in association with the quartz and the firmer" 

portions of the spar.

Near by the vein is joined by the Golden Star vein, here pinched 

to a mere stringer coming in from the west. South of the junction a 

porphyritic greenstone (andesite?) forms the hanging wall. Farther 

south, in the lower slope of the Moss Hills, about one-fourth of a mile 

north of the Moss mine saddle, the underlying quartz syenite porphyry 

of the Moss mine becomes the country rock, and in this rock the vein 

seems to pinch. In this syenite rock, however, which extends from 

this point beyond the Moss mine on the south, in the east side of the 

Moss mine saddle, along the course of the vein, occur several stringers, ranging from a few inches to a foot in width and contained 

within a width of 18 or 20 feet, which are commonly referred to as 

the Meals " ledge," but on neither the north nor the south slope of the 

hills was any exposure of the vein observed.

MILLER MINE.

Location and history. The Miller (formerly the Parsons and the 

Hardy) mine is 2 miles southwest of Gold Road, on the south side 

of Silver Creek, mostly in a hill on the northeast slope of Hardy 

Mountains, an outlying group of the range, at about 2,200 to 2,400 

feet elevation. The mine was discovered early in the sixties. It 

was worked by adit drifts, and some of its ore was shipped to San 

Francisco, some was treated in arrastre, and some in the old Moss 

mill on Silver Creek. W. H. Hardy, of Kingman, a former owner, 

states that he took out $80,000 worth of ore after a considerable 

amount had been mined and shipped by earlier owners. Later Frank 

Holmes became interested in the mine and soon began shipping ore; 

still later the mine was taken over by Col. Thomas Ewing, of Vivian, 

who sunk a 200-foot shaft on it, and drifted and crosscut the vein
GOLD EOAD DISTRICT. 177

with good results. The property is now owned by George Miller, 

of Gold Road, who has been connected with it since about 1892. It 

comprises six claims. The production to date is reported to be 

$100,000, of which $80,000 was stoped from a comparatively small 

space.

Developments. The mine is developed to a depth of about 300 

feet, principally by three shafts aggregating 500 feet, three tunnels 

and a drift amounting to nearly 1,000 feet, and about 200 feet of 

crosscuts. The principal surface equipment is a gasoline hoist. Good 

potable water, said to be plentiful for domestic and milling purposes, 

is derived from a well near the mine.

Geology. The country rock is the granite porphyry and micropegmatite described on page 30. It is a medium to coarse grained 

rock and weathers pale purplish and brown; it contains many finegrained magmatic inclusions or " schlieren," and, as at the Rattan 

mine, above described, it is, locally at least, pyritic, though no pyrite 

has yet appeared in the veins. It is sheeted about vertically northsouth and east-west. It is intruded and in part overlain on the north 

by micropegmatite, which is to some extent altered and mineral bearing, and it is seemingly intruded by rhyolite on the east. It is also 

intruded by dikes of a dark greenish altered rock, probably a 

diabase.

Vein and ore. The Hardy vein is reported to have a length of 4 

miles. It strikes about N. 80° W. and dips about 75° N. Toward the 

west the Jack Pot, Homestake, and Navy Group mines and other 

openings are situated on it. (See PL X.)

The Miller mine is located on the east end of the Hardy vein, which 

here has an averge width of about 15 feet and a maximum width 

of about 30 feet, as shown by cuts and croppings at the east shaft. 

The croppings consist of quartz and silicified rock-stained by iron 

and manganese. The vein is composed principally of quartz, a small 

amount of calcite, and some altered rock, which seems to be the 

younger micropegmatite. Much of the quartz, as shown in the deep 

workings and in the croppings, has replaced calcite, after which it 

is pseudomorphic. Plate II, reproduced from a photograph of a 

specimen collected in the main drift about 600 feet from the mouth 

and 200 feet below the surface, represents this ore. Some of the 

quartz is drusy, many of the vugs containing slender brittle quartz 

needles. The vein contains also. considerable greenish crystalline 

fluorspar, which faces slabs of quartz a foot or more in diameter 

with incrustations one-half inch thick. Adularia is also present 

in the vein, along with the quartz of variable grain which replaces 

calcite. The occurrence .of what seems to be altered micropegmatite 

in association with the vein suggests that the fissure now occupied 

88171 Bull. 397 09 12
178 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

by the vein may formerly have been occupied by a dike of the micropegmatite, which the vein later replaced.

Beside the main vein above described there are also several smaller 

veins. In the middle east slope of the hill in which the mine is 

located the vein near its east end is intersected by a smaller northsouth vein. This cross vein varies from 6 inches to about 3 feet in 

width and is younger than the main vein, which it cuts. It is otherwise similar to -the main vein and has received considerable development in the mine, mostly to the north of the main vein, and has 

contributed materially to the production.

Also paralleling the Hardy vein and situated about 450 feet distant 

from it on the north is a small vein or stringer known as the McCullough ledge. It lies in the granite porphyry and micropegmatite, 

stands about vertical, and extends from Hardy Wash westward to a 

point beyond the Homestake mine, a distance of about a mile. It is 

prospected at several points and is said to carry good values in gold 

and silver.

The ore of the Miller mine contains chiefly gold, but carries also 

considerable silver more silver, it is said, than any other ore in the 

district or southern part of the Black Mountains. The ore is reported 

to average about $6 a ton, but some very rich ore is also present.

JACK POT MINE.

The Jack Pot mine, owned by Maj. R. J. Holmes, of Gold Road, is 

about one-fourth of a mile west of the Miller mine, in the upper 

north slope of the mountain, at about 2,500 feet elevation. It is on the 

Hardy vein and in country rock of granite porphyry and micropegmatite. It is developed principally by a 160-foot shaft and drifts and is 

equipped with an 8-horsepower gasoline hoist.

I-IOMESTAKE MINE.

The Homestake mine, also owned by Maj. R. J. Holmes, is nearly a 

mile west of the Miller mine, in the upper north slope of the mountains, at about 2,450 feet elevation. It is on the Hardy vein in the 

granite porphyry and micropegmatite. It was formerly worked by 

Col. Thomas Ewing and is now bonded to the Gold Road Company. 

It is developed principally by drifts and shafts, the drift to the east 

being about 240 feet in extent, and is equipped with an 8-horsepower 

gasoline hoist. The vein varies from 2 to 20 feet in width, looks well, 

and is said to carry good values.

NAVY GROUP MINE.

The Navy Group mine (see P1..X) is about 1^ miles west of the 

Miller mine, on the east slope of a north spur of the Hardy Moun-
GOLD KOAD DISTEICT. 179

tains, at about 2,300 feet elevation. This also is on the Hardy vein in 

the granite porphyr.y and micropegmatite.

It was located by R. E. Zuver, of Gold Koad, by whom and his associate, Maj. R. J. Holmes, it was formerly owned. It is now owned by 

the Navy Group Mining Company,, of Los Angeles. The croppings 

all the way up the mountain slope, several hundred feet in extent, are 

strong and are reported to continue so for a mile or more westward to 

the locality where the mountains fall off into the mesa country on the 

west.

The mine is developed principally by an adit drift 900 feet in 

length trending N. 82° W. At 500 feet in from the mouth of the 

drift the vein is cut off by a north-northwest fault, Avhich should be 

worked out with care before deep and expensive Avorkings are undertaken. Some seemingly useless work has been done, including 400 

feet of drifting, on the projected course of the vein beyond the fault.

The principal part of the vein is from 2 to 4 feet in width and 

consists principally of quartz with bunches of white and gray crystalline calcite and green and red fluorspar. The ore contains principally 'gold with a very little silver. It is reported to range in- value 

from $8 to $30 a ton, the best grade being associated with iron-stained 

quartz.

GADDJS-PERKY AND ANGLE LODES.

From Hardy Camp and the mouth of Hardy Wash on Silver Creek 

just north of the Miller mine a large dike or belt of micropegmatite, 

about one-tenth of a mile in width, described under the Miller mine, 

extends N. 75° W. about parallel with the Hardy vein for a reported 

distance of 3 miles. It seems to be intruded between volcanic greenstone agglomerate on the north and the granite porphyry and micropegmatite of the Hardy Mountains on the south. The contacts on 

both sides are zones of mineralization containing lodes dipping about 

70° N.

The south contact zone is here called the Gaddis-Perry ledge, from 

the principal prospect on it, situated at its east end, and the north 

contact the Angle ledge, from its principal opening. The croppings 

of the ledges are iron and manganese stained quartz and silicified 

micropegmatite. They are in part porous and honeycombed, and 

both the croppings and the subsurface portion of the ledges carry 

good gold values.

The Gaddis-Perry ledge is simply a zone of quartz and silicified 

rock, principally micropegmatite, from 60 to 80 feet in width, with 

granite porphyry and micropegmatite forming the foot wall and 

micropegmatite the hanging wall. It contains several prospects, of 

which1 the principal one is that on the east end, owned by Gaddis & 

Perry, of Kingman. This prospect has several openings, of which
180 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

the roost extensive at the time of visit was a crosscut driven to the 

length of 40 feet, showing good-looking gold-bearang quartz.

The Angle ledge is similar to the Gaddis-Perry ledge and several 

prospects are located on it, the most important of which seems to be 

the one owned by Mr. Angle, of Gold Road, situated about one-fourth 

of a mile northwest of the Gaddis-Perry prospect. Here the ledge is 

about 20 feet in width and is bounded by greenstone agglomerate on 

the hanging wall and micropegmatite on the foot wall, from both of 

which it is separated by. 2 or 3 inches of whitish and reddish talcose 

gouge. It is opened principally by a 40-foot shaft and shows some 

good looking quartz, said to carry fair values in gold.

That the origin of the gold in these deposits is in some way connected with the micropegmatite seems very probable. Further support of this view is found in a somewhat similar occurrence to the 

north of Silver Creek, in the gulch just north of Holmes Camp. 

Here the country rock, volcanic greenstone agglomerate, is cut by an 

east-west 1 to 2 foot dike of the micropegmatite, which, like the 

ledges just described, dips steeply to the north. This dike has been 

prospected to a depth of 5 or 6 feet, and is reported to contain from 

$1 to $18 in gold to the ton. When followed eastward for about oneeighth of a mile the dike is found to narrow to 2-| inches in width, 

to lose its feldspar or rock character, and to become almost pure 

quartz. Parallel lines resembling flow, structure traceable from the 

feldspathic-rock phase over into the quartz-vein phase in the same 

fissure.

VIVIAN DISTRICT.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The Vivian district lies in the southwestern part of the region and 

adjoins the Gold Road district on the south, extending southward 

with a breadth of about 4 miles to a broad east-west wash, just north 

of Boundary Cone, a prominent landmark rising boldly 1,500 feet 

above the adjacent open country on the west. This wash may here 

be referred to as Boundary Cone Wash. In length the district extends from the crest of the range westward for a distance of about 5 

miles, to the locality where the foothills give way to the open mesa 

country that slopes to the Colorado. Vivian, the principal camp, 

situated west of the center of the district in Vivian Wash at about 

2,250 feet elevation, with a population of about 50 (formerly 150), 

is about 3 miles southwest of Gold Road and 14 miles northeast of 

Needles (Pis. X and XIII, B). Its water supply is piped by gravity, 

principally from Cottonwood Springs, located at Battle Mountain, 

2 miles northwest of Gold Road. ;
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 387 PLATE XIII

A. TOM REED (FORMERLY BLUE RIDGE) MINE AND MILL, LOOKING NORTHEAST. 

Dark volcanic rocks of range In background, intruded by light-colored rhyolite.

H. KuOTHILLS OF GREEN CHLORITIC ANQESITE, LOOKING EAST FROM LELAND MINE. 

Mines of Vivian district in foreground; main range in background,
VIVIAN DISTRICT. .181

Tho district lies in the broad belt of eroded foothills between 2,000 

and 3,000 feet elevation. . The topography is hilly, but usually not 

rough (PI. XIII, A, B). Nearly everywhere the washes form avenues 

of approach by wagon. The drainage is principally to the south, by 

Blue Kidge, German American, Vivian, and Leland washes into 

Boundary Cone Wash, whence it issues southwestward into the 

Colorado.

But little was learned concerning the history of the district, which 

seems principally to date from the discovery of very rich gold ore 

about a decade ago in the Snow Ball mine, now included in the 

German-American group of properties.

Geologically and mineralogically the district is essentially a southward continuation of the Gold Road district. The country rock is 

principally the green chloride andesite or latite (see p. 30), which on 

the southwest, below Vivian, gives way to the underlying older 

andesite, the basal member of the volcanic series. The intrusive character of 'the green chloritic andesite is well shown at the head of 

Leland Wash, just west of the Leland mine, where dikes from 2 to 

20 feet in width given off from the main mass, extend one-eighth of 

a mile or more westward into the older andesite. The principal effect 

of the intrusion here seems to be silicification and hardening of the 

andesite along the contact.

So far as learned the older andesite as a rule does not contain workable mineral deposits, except along lines where the latite has erupted 

through it. The deposits occur in fissures, which are peculiarly well 

developed in the chloritic andesite, but as a rule are not productive 

in the underlying andesite. The ability to differentiate these two 

formations is, therefore, of great importance to the mine operator. 

They are best studied by observing the rocks along their zone of contact, which is well exposed crossing the ridge just southwest of the 

Vivian mine, beyond which it ascends Leland Wash northward to 

the west of the Leland mine and the west base of Leland Monument 

Butte, the high, dome-shaped knob about 2,000 feet in diameter situated just west of Vivian and rising nearly TOO feet above it, on which 

the Leland United States mineral monument No. 1679 is located.

The deposits occur in the chloritic andesite as fissure veins or lodes 

from 5 to TO feet in Avidth, composed principally of calcite, quartz, 

adularia, and country-rock breccia, and in general, as in the Gold 

Road district, those of more nearly westerly trend are of the quartzadularia or Gold Road vein type and seem to contain the best values. 

The croppings consist principally of stained quartz and calcite and 

silicified rock.

The principal mines in which the deposits have been worked are 

the Leland, German American, Tom Reed, Victor Virgin, Midnight,
182 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY IULLETIN 397 PLATE XIV

A. LELAND MINE, EAST SIDE, LOOKING WEST.

B. CONTACT OF CHLORITIC ANDESITE WITH THE LIGHTER-COLORED, OLDER, 

UNDERLYING ANDESITE.

Ridge southwest of Vivian mine, Leland mine, and butte to the right, looking northwest.
VIVIAN DISTKICT. 183

and Vivian. Their general distribution is shown on the mine map 

(PL X), and the distribution of the most important claims on the 

claim plat (fig. 30), which also shows the position of the United 

States mineral monuments by which the properties are located.

LELAND MINE.

Location. The Leland mine (Pis. XIII, B; XIV) is located just 

west of Vivian, on the western part of the Leland vein, in the upper 

part of Leland Monument Butte. The elevations vary between 2,400 

and 3,000 feet.

History and developments. The Leland property is reported to 

have been purchased from earlier owners in 1902 by Col. Thomas 

Ewing, who in 1903 sold it to the present company, the Mohave Gold 

Mining Company (which until January, 1907, was known as the 

Mount Mohave Gold Mining Company). Common reports give the 

price as $550,000. The property comprises a group of eight patented 

claims, of which the Leland and the Mitchell are the most important.

Immediately after the acquisition of the property the company 

began developments and operations on an unusually large scale. It 

installed a 12-chute ore bin at the mine at a ost of over $26,000 and a 

4-0-stamp mill at a point which later became known as Milltown, 11 

miles southeast of the mine, about 5 miles from the river, in the open, 

flat valley of the Colorado 6 miles from Spears Lake. It also 

installed a large pumping plant on the Colorado 2 miles below 

Needles, where, with a large. Corliss engine, water was pumped 

through an 8-inch pipe line to the mill. In conjunction with these 

developments 17 miles of narrow.-gage railway, the Mohave and Milltown Railroad, was built by an auxiliary company, it is said, at a 

cost of $268,000, from the east bank of the Colorado opposite Needles 

via Milltown to the niine. . The freight and ore were taken across 

the river by ferry at Needles, where connection was made with the 

Santa Fe Railway.

With these equipments, installed at a cost exceeding $400,000, the 

company operated for a period of two years, principally during 1903 

and 1904, and then closed down, mainly, it is stated, on account of 

failure to save the gold values in the ore at the mill. However, the 

company plans to resume operations in the near future, particularly 

in case the Midnight mine, which is now producing, continues to yield 

well.

The equipments above described remain at the mine. Of the 6 or 

7 miles of railroad between Milltown and Needles, all but about 2 

miles is said to be washed out by the flood water of the Colorado.

During the two years of operation a large amount of work was 

done in the mine and about 4,500 tons of ore was milled. The mine is
184 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

developed by adit drifts, tunnels, shafts, winzes, and stopes, aggregating about 3,000 feet of underground workings, distributed within 

a horizontal distance of about 3,500 feet and a vertical range of about 

700 feet.

The most extensive part of the work is in the east side of Monument Butte, where the principal engines, ore bin, and railroad terminus are located. Here the tunnels or drifts on the lowerMunnels 

exceed 800 and 700 feet in length and have tram connections wiJi 

the ore bin. On the upper levels, toward the crest of the butte, in a 

vertical range of about 200 to 300 feet, extensive open-cut mining 

has been done and here the vein contains a width of 4 to 5 feet of very 

good-looking greenish quartz ore.

From the west side of the butte work on the two lower levels extends in about 600 and 500 feet, and this work is said to lack but 

about 125 feet to connect with that projected from the east. The 

portion of the vein contained between a level situated about 25 feet 

above the farthest 40 feet of the lower drift and the surface about 

170 feet above it has been stoped out. The stoping apparently followed the richest ore only, much of which is reported to have averaged 

.from $50 to $60 in gold to the ton.

The production of the mine was not learned, but .of the 4,500 tons 

of ore milled a considerable amount is reported to have averaged 

$15 a ton and some from $50 to $60 a ton. Owing, it is said, to inefficient handling in milling a considerable amount of the gold values 

put through the mill was not saved.

Geology. The country rock is the green chloritic andesite and 

latite, which in some parts of the mine is allied to quartz monzonite 

porphyry. A microscopic slide of a fresh black specimen collected in 

the lower east tunnel consists of a microcrystalline fine-grained

groundmass of feldspar and a little quartz in which are embedded 

phenocrysts of orthoclase and plagioclase. In tHe lower part of the 

mine on the extreme west the chloritic andesite gives way to the underlying older andesite and is here intruded into it in the form of dikes, 

as has been described. A close sheeting, which seems to be the dominant structure, strikes N. 70° W. and dips 70° N. xV secondary 

coarser sheeting or jointing strikes N. 22° E. and dips 70° E:

The black phase of the rock seems to contain considerable iron, 

which in some places on the upper northeast shoulder of Leland 

Butte renders the compass unserviceable.

Veins and ores. The mine is located on the western part of a 

well-marked fissure vein, known as the Leland vein. This vein has 

a known extent of about a mile, strikes about N. 70° W., and dips 

about 75° S. At the mine it ranges from about 5 feet in width on the 

east to about 25 feet on the west. It is of the Gold Road type, being
VIVIAN -DISTRICT. 185

composed essentially of pale-greenish quartz and microscopic adularia, locally accompanied by calcite or spar and country-rock fault 

breccia, and it is usually frozen to the fissure walls.

The vein is reported to contain more or less regularly throughout 

the mine a large amount of good ore averaging from $5 to $10 in gold 

to the ton. Locally the vein contains vugs lined with quartz crystals 

anc1 Mj,ck pulverulent oxide of manganese; many of these vugs carry 

n.jch fine free gold.

The croppings of the vein consist of stained quartz and country 

rock containing stringers and veinlets of quartz and calcite; they are 

usually prominent, rising from 5 to 20 feet above the surface, and at 

the top of tlie butte they attain a width of about 40 feet, where they 

are locally split by a horse of the more or less silicified country rock 

25 or 30 feet wide, which is traversed by stringers and veinlets of 

quartz and calcite and bounded on either side by 3 feet of vein' quartz 

representing the vein, the portion on the hanging-wall side being the 

stronger and more persistent and direct in course. On a considerable 

portion of the western slope of the butte the hanging-wall side of 

the vein rises almost perpendicularly 60 to 80 feet above the surface 

and the vein is about 25 feet in width. At the west base of the butte, 

however, where it encounters the contact of the green chloritic-andesite with the older andesite, this great vein almost abruptly ends, and 

it is not represented in its projected course or elsewhere in the older 

andesite beyond the contact. The contact, however, seems to be in 

part a fault contact as well as an eruptive one, as is shown where it 

is crossed by the lower tunnel on the west at about 100 feet in from 

its mouth.

East of the mine, particularly where the vein crosses the ridge on 

which the residence buildings stand, on the eastern part of the Boston claim, the croppings are 10 or 12 feet in width. They rise 5 or 6 

feet above the surface and consist mostly of light-colored, more or 

less coarsely crystalline calcite or spar and quartz.

Another important vein at the Leland mine is the Mitchell vein. 

It is located about 400 feet south of the Leland vein, as shown in 

figure 30, and lies about parallel with it, but dips steeply to the north. 

It is opened at the south base of Leland Butte at about the same elevation as the lower drifts on the Leland vein by a 100-foot shaft and 

a 60-foot tunnel connected by tramway with the large ore bin. At 

the time of visit the shaft contained about 40 feet of water. The 

croppings at this point consist of a dark-stained " iron cap " of 

quartz, calcite, and rock several feet in thickness, resting like a detached cover on the underlying portion of the vein.

The principal opening is the shaft, but the tunnel shows some 

excellent examples of pseudomorphic quartz, which has replaced 

calcite. The vein consists of 7 feet of crushed and brecciated quartz, 

calcite, and country rock. The quartz is relatively pure toward the
186 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

hanging wall, but grades into a breccia of calcite, quartz, and seamed 

country rock. This vein, where sampled 60 feet below the surface, 

is reported to average about $8.50 in gold to .the ton, or about the 

same as the Leland vein, while the rich streak of quartz on the hanging-wall side is claimed to average about $100 a ton.

Though no trace of the Leland vein occurs in the older andesite 

beyond the contact of the country rocks on the west, the Mitchell 

ledge seems to be represented there by sporadic croppings of impure 

dark-stained quartz or silicified rock and a little calcite, the quartz 

possibly being a replacement of calcite. Other croppings of a similar character occur near by, and most of them are associated with the 

intrusive green chloritic andesite dikes.

Although no sinking has been done to exploit the Leland ground 

below the lower workings above described, the ore on both the Leland 

and Mitchell veins, except in the extreme western part of the mine, 

very probably continues in depth coextensive with the green chloritic 

andesite to a level about 230 feet below the present lower level of the 

mine, or the drift commonly known as " Tunnel No. 3."

In the light of this conclusion the widely held theory that by sinking to a depth of 1,200 or 1,500 feet at a point midway between the 

Leland and Mitchell veins a large body of ore will be encountered 

at their junction should be accepted with caution, for the lower limit 

of the green chloritic andesite seems beyond doubt to lie at too shallow 

a depth for the veins to meet in this formation.

GERMAN-AMERICAN MINE.

Location. The German-American mine (PI. XV, B] is located 

in the southern part of the district about three-fourths of a mile east 

of Vivian and about 150 feet above it, in part on the German-American Wash and in part on the Vivian Wash drainage.

History. The mine was discovered about 1896 and has been owned 

by the German-American Mining Company, of Los Angeles, since 

about 1900. The Gold Koad Company, which had a bond on the 

property in 1902, drove the Thirty-fifth Parallel tunnel and did considerable work at the Thirty-fifth Parallel and Treadwell shafts, but 

most of the development was done during the years 1905 and 1906. 

The mine was still making weekly shipments of bullion in June, 

1906, but was closed soon thereafter for lack of sufficient water to 

run the mill on a double shift, as it was not able to operate on a single 

shift with profit. The water at the time was piped from the Tom 

Keed mine. As the supply decreased, the mill was operated by twohour runs only and at last shut down, but some of the property is 

still worked by lease. The mine produces only about 500 gallons of 

water a day, not nearly enough to supply the mill. For a long time 

before the plant was closed it was kept in operation without sinking 

by simply stoping from the surface and shooting the ore by gravity
VIVIAN DISTKICT. 187

to this drift and tunnel far below, as shown in the .open works at the 

Thirty-fifth Parallel shaft.

The property comprises 12 claims, known as the Treadwell group 

(see fig. 30), aggregating about 200 acres, and extends through the 

length of about five claims nearly 1-| miles, the trend being a little 

west of north.

The production of the mine is about 2,700 tons of ore, which is 

reported and in part verified by mill records and United States Mint 

returns to average about $10 in gold to the ton. About 1,000 tons 

of the ore was produced in 1905 and 1,700 tons in 1906. A large 

dump at the mouth of the Thirty-fifth Parallel tunnel is reported to 

consist of good milling ore.

Developments. The property is developed at various points, principally by shafts, drifts, and tunnels, to a maximum depth of about 

300 feet and contains probably about 3,000 feet of underground work. 

The most important of the workings are at the Treadwell and Thirtyfifth Parallel shafts, Avhich are situated about 1,200 feet apart on the 

vein and are connected with the mill by tramwa}\

From the Thirtj^-fifth Parallel shaft, which is 235 feet deep, and is 

intersected by a crosscut tunnel from the east at 170 feet below the 

surface, the drifts and \vorkings extend laterally for 100 feet to the 

south and 120 feet to the north. From the Treadwell shaft (PL 

XV, .Z?), which is 260 feet deep and sunk on the hanging-wall side of 

the vein, and in which the water rises to the 200-foot level, the drift 

on the 100-foot level extends for 160 feet to the south and 200 feet 

to the north; and that on the 200-foot level extends for 200 feet each 

way.

Pioneer shaft No. 1, the northern of the two shafts on the Pioneer 

claim, situated about 1,600 feet north of Treadwell shaft, is 240 feet 

in depth and contains several hundred feet of drifts and crosscuts on 

its two levels.

The principal surface equipments are a 10-stamp mill of 900- 

pound stamps, a cyanide plant, three steam or gasoline hoists distributed at the principal shafts, tramways, offices, and other buildings.

Geology. The country rock is the green chloritic andesite, which 

in the southern part of the property, west of the vein on the foot-wall 

side near the tramway, is in contact with the older underlying andesite. The vein appears to lie on an eruptive fault contact of these 

two rocks. This older andesite extends from, a point near the Thirtyfifth Parallel shaft northward to the North Pioneer shaft and the 

Snow Ball vein, and essentially constitutes the portion of the hills 

between the Germ an-American vein on the east and Vivian Wash on 

the west, with small columnar cappings of the otherwise dominant 

country rock on the highest points. This rock does not seem to 

contain important deposits. At the contact of the green chloritic
188 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

andesite and the older andesite the transition zone from the unaltered 

stage of the one rock to that of the other is about a foot wide, the 

chloritic andesite being here dense, hard, and variously intruded into 

joint planes and fractures of the older andesite.

On the south faulting seems also to have taken place along the 

contact, as the eruptive rock occurs in the north face, of the Thirtyfifth Parallel drift in the bottom of the mine, where it forms both 

walls.

The green chloritic andesite also occurs in the bottom of the Treadwell shaft, where'it is somewhat altered, soft, pyritic, and traversed 

by calcite veinlets. The black, unaltered phase is also present, as 

shown in the dumps.

Veins and ores. The German-American vein or lode extends pra|ctically continuously throughout the length of the Thirty-fifth Parallel, Treadwell, and Pioneer claims, a distance of nearly a mile, and 

contains free gold practically throughout its extent. Assays of $1.5 

are said to be common and many samples yield up to $30 a ton.

The general strike of the vein is about N. 12° W. and the dip is 

about 85° E. The vein ranges from 1 to 60 feet in width and consists essentially of calcite, quartz, and adularia, with some brecciated 

country rock. The calcite is in part replaced by quartz.

The values favor the hanging wall and the best values are mostly 

associated with the quartz. A microscopic section of the ore shows 

it to be typical quartz, adularia, and calcite ore. According to a 

series of analyses of the ore throughout the vein, made by the company, the amount of quartz or silica present is about 17 per cent and 

calcium oxide (CaO) 27.9 per cent. Like the Gold Road ore this ore 

is easily mined and milled. An extraction of 92 per cent is reported 

to have been obtained by cyanidation. It is said that with electricity

as power the ore could be mined and milled at a cost of about $2.50 

a ton.

The croppings are prominent and where silicified locally rise 20 

or 30 feet above the surface, as shown at the Treadwell shaft (PI. XV,. 

B}. The following is a cross section of the vein north of the Thirtyfifth Parallel shaft, looking south:

Cross section of German-American vein north of Thirty-fifth Parallel shaft.

Feet.

Smooth, glossy, slickensided hanging wall, of mottled, firmly 

cemented, and silicified fault breccia, 3 feet or more in

Q

width, composed of, crushed country-rock andesite, quartz, 

and calcite ore; contains $2 or $3 in gold to the ton.

Impregnated country-rock quartz and calcite ore; contains as 

a whole $4 to $6 in gold to the ton_______________ 8

Main vein chiefly calcite and quartz, somewhat banded toward 

center; contains $10 a ton_____________________' 3^1

Greenish porphyritic andesite foot wall, rather freely traversed by stringers and veinlets of calcite and quartz.
VIVIAN DISTRICT. ' 189

At the Thirty-fifth Parallel shaft the foot wall is usually well 

defined, solid, smooth, and slickensided. The vein is nearly everywhere frozen to the wall, which consists either of the solid country 

rock or of 6 inches to 2 feet or more of hard fault breccia composed 

of crushed rock, spar, and quartz. The hanging wall, on the other 

hand, is ragged, ill defined, and loose or less firm than the foot wall, 

and for 20 or 30 feet back from the vein is composed mostly of 

loosely cemented crushed rock containing veinlets of calcite.

On the 170-foot level, in the north face of the drift, about 200 feet 

distant from the shaft, the vein pinches to less than 1 foot in width 

and is not workable.

On the surface south of the shaft it splits or is shattered. A small 

stringer continues southward on the course of the vein, while the 

main portion of the vein is turned eastward at an angle of 20° to 30°

from its normal course by a fold or small fault; prospects are opened

on both parts on claims to the south.

At the Treadwell shaft the vein widens to a lode about TO feet in 

width, which it maintains for a distance of about 600 feet. The lode 

is composed of rock, calcite, and quartz, and although it carries $2 

or $3 a ton all the way across and contains several veins 3 to 12 feet 

wide, only an 8-foot vein on the hanging-wall side is workable. As 

exposed in a pit 160 feet south of the shaft, this 8 feet of pay ore 

consists essentially of coarsely crystalline or massive calcite, kidneys 

or small horses of red country rock, and a little quartz, and runs $9 

or $10 a ton, retaining these values to the bottom of the mine. The 

quartz is of the pale-greenish Gold Eoad variety and carries the best 

values. Next to it in value comes the red or reddish iron-stained 

streaks in the spar. In the Treadwell shaft the vein gradually narroAvs in depth, the workable portion being only 2. feet in width in the 

bottom of the mine, 260 feet below the surface.

In Pioneer shaft No. 1, which is 240 feet in depth, the vein, 10 

to 12 feet in width, is said to contain 1£ feet of $10 to $14 ore and 

about 5 feet of low-grade ore. This shaft is now being worked by 

lessees, who are shipping the ore to Needles. The shaft produces 

more water than the Treadwell shaft.

Just beyond a small gulch north of Pioneer shaft No. 1 the vein 

forks; the main or hanging-wall portion continues northward and 

seems to pinch out near the middle of the Trio claim, while the lesser 

or foot-wall portion curves to the left, extends northwestward, and 

forms the Snow Ball vein. In the Snow Ball shaft, which is 100 feet 

deep, it is said to contain a width of about 1| feet of $25 to $30 ore 

and to have produced in pioneer days much very rich ore, some 

averaging 40 ounces of gold to the ton.

The Hidden Treasure vein, opened on the Hidden Treasure claim, 

is reported to be about 50 feet in width and to carry a streak of pay
190 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

ore on either wall and one in the middle; the latter is about 2 feet in 

width and is said to contain $60 ore.

VICTOB-VIBGIN MINE.

Location and history. The Victor-Virgin mine (PL XV, A; fig. 

30) is situated in the southeastern part of the district, 2 miles southeast of Vivian, and a mile east of the German-American mine. The 

elevations range from 2,500 to 2,700 feet. The mine was discovered 

early in the sixties by Ben Speare, about the time that other mines in 

this part of the country A\? ere staked by the California volunteers then 

stationed at Camp Mohave on the Colorado. The property comprises two claims, the Victor and the Virgin,, both patented. It was 

formerly owned by Charles Goodchild and is now owned by the 

Victor Gold Mining Company, of Denver. A small amount of rich 

ore has been shipped and much milling ore lies on the dump.

Developments. At the time of visit (January, 1907) the mine was 

developed to a depth of nearly 300 feet, principally by two shafts 

and drifts. The shafts are known as the Victor and Virgin and are 

situated about 850 feet apart on the vein, the collar of the Virgin 

being about 100 feet above that of the Victor. Each shaft contains 

more than 300 feet of drifts. The Victor shaft produces some water, 

which was encountered in crosscutting to the vein 14 feet distant from 

the shaft on the 200-foot level.

At a point midway between the Victor and Virgin shafts, however, a new double-compartment shaft had just been started, and at 

present writing (June 22, 1908) is reported to have reached a depth 

of 500 feet; at this level the management is crosscutting to tap the 

vein.

The principal surface equipments at the time of visit were gasoline hoists at the Victor and Virgin shafts. Elaborate equipments, 

however, were then being added, including the installation of a 650- 

horsepower steam plant at Needles, 16 miles distant, the erection of a 

20-stamp mill near the new shaft at the mine, and pipe-line connections between Colorado River and the mine and mill. The plant 

seems rather extensive for a mine of this size, in which the deposits 

have not yet been shown to extend to any great depth. The power 

plant at Needles will supply power and pump the water from the 

river to the mine and mill. It is expected that the power can be 

supplied at a cost of $6 per horsepower per month.

Country rock and veins. The country rock is principally the green 

chloritic andesite, with the underlying older andesite occurring near 

by on the west. A little pyrite was observed locally in the green 

chloritic andesite, but none in the vein.

The Victor-Virgin vein lies chiefly in the green chloritic andesite 

and possibly in part on the contact between this rock and the older
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE XV

A. VICTOR-VIRGIN MINE, LOOKING NORTH. 

Victor shaft to the left, Virgin to the right.

B. GERMAN-AMERICAN MINE, LOOKING SOUTH. 

Treadwell shaft to the right; Thirty-fifth Parallel shaft left of center. Boundary Cone shows through gap.
VIVIAN DISTRICT. 191

andesite. The vein strikes N. 47° W. and dips 80° NE. to 90°. 

It is reported to be more than 3,000 feet in length, varies from 1 to 

about 18 feet in width, and is locally associated with silicified country 

rock or breccia 100 feet or more wide.

The vein is of the Gold Eoad type, being composed principally of 

quartz and microscopic adularia with a small percentage of calcite 

and crushed rock. As seen in the Victor shaft and vicinity the calcite is usually best developed on the foot-wall side of the vein, where 

in places it is a foot or more in width.

The croppings are usually prominent and consist of the common 

dark-stained quartz, calcite, and silicified country rock, of which a 

cross section .northwest of the Victor shaft follows:

Cross section of Victor-Virgin croppings northwest of Victor shaft.

Feet. 

(a) Dull greenish and purplish porphyritic hanging-wall green chloritic

andesite, bearing amygdules and crystals of calcite and scattered 

amygdules of quartz; in the last 5 or 6 feet to the right stringers 

of chiefly calcite and some quartz, -fa inch to 4 inches thick, 

trending nearly parallel with vein and feeding downward gradually 

into it ____________________________________ _ 100+ 

(l>) Silicified rock and impure quartz, brownish and greenish chloritic 

andesite, etc., traversed by some of the above-noted calcite-quartz 

stringers ___________________________.___________ 3

(c) Breccia of greenish and reddish stained quartz, crushed and firmly

recemented __________________________________ 1

(d) Andesite same as «, with crossing calcite veinlets i to 1 inch thick__ 2-3

(e) Silicifled calcite and fragments of country rock a or d and quartz

frozen to foot wall____________________________ 1^-2

(/) Country rock same as a; near vein is more silicified and finer grained 

and locally crushed and recemented; at 10 feet distant from vein 

carries a calcite-quartz stringer 1 foot thick and two smaller ones_ 100-)-

The section in the face of the west drift on the 200-foot level of 

the Victor shaft consists of about a foot of dull greenish-gray 

crushed and recemented quartz-and calcite and 9 inches of brecciated 

gouge; it is usually frozen to the hard walls, the hanging wall containing stringers or veinlets of calcite that feed downward into the 

vein.

On the 100-foot level the vein is about 7 feet in width west of the 

shaft, while east of the shaft it is about 4 feet in width, and the 

hanging wall shows horizontal slickensides.

The ore shoots are reported to dip steeply to the southeast. The 

ore contains gold and locally shows copper stain, but no pyrite was 

observed in it. In the thin section the ore is seen to be a typical 

quartz-adularia ore with a few calcite grains present.

The ore is said to be mostly of medium grade, but it ranges from 

$9 to about $60 a ton. Some of the greenish quartz croppings near 

the Victor shaft are reported to have assayed $100 a ton.
192 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

TOM REED MINE.

Location and history. The Tom Keed (formerly Blue Eidge) 

mine (PI. XIII, A) is situated in the eastern part of the district, 

about a mile south of the Gold Road mine and about 200 feet below 

it and nearly a mile northeast of the Victor-Virgin mine. It lies on 

open ground in Blue Ridge wash near the base of the central part 

of the range, at an elevation of 2,700 feet.

The mine was discovered about 1900 and was soon after owned by 

Ely Hilty, Walter Fellows, Walter Hawkins, Jacob Anderson, and 

others. About 1901 the Gold Road Company sunk the two principal 

shafts on the property, the Ben Harrison and the Tom Reed, each to 

a depth of about 100 feet. The ore in the first 30 feet of the Ben 

Harrison shaft averaged $25 a ton and for the rest of the depth $12 

a ton. About 1904 the mine was purchased from the Hilty party by 

the Blue Ridge Gold Mines Company, which installed a mill and 

operated the mine and mill for about a year and a half with about 

eighteen men, and milled on an average about 30 tons of $7 ore a day. 

As considerable gold remains in the tailings produced during this 

period the ore should be treated by cyanidation. In 1906 the Blue 

Ridge Company was succeeded by the present owner, the Tom Reed 

Gold Mines Company, with headquarters at Pasadena, Cal. In 1908 

the mine was reported to be working steadily, sinking, and producing 

gold bricks regularly. More recently a body of $12 ore 12 feet wide 

is said to have been encountered on the 300-foot level.

The property comprises a group of eleven claims, adjoining one 

another end on and extending along the vein for a distance of about 

3 miles. The production is reported to considerably exceed $120,000.

Developments. The mine is located near the middle of the claim 

group on the Ben Harrison and Tom Reed claims and is developed to 

a depth of 185 feet, principally by the Ben Harrison and Tom Reed 

shafts. The developments aggregate about 600 feet of underground 

work, done mostly in 1904 to 1906. The shafts are located about 600 

feet apart, on or close to the vein. The Ben Harrison shaft, whose 

workings practically constitute the mine, contains about 400 feet of 

drift, distributed on three levels 50,100, and 150 feet below the surface.

The mine is said to produce about 5,000 gallons of good water a 

day, ample for operating the mill. The water level lies about 100 

feet below the surface. A never-failing spring, the Olla Oatman, is 

said to occur on the property.

The principal surface equipments are a 40-ton lO'-stamp mill (of 

1,050 pounds per stamp), with an 85-horsepower Corliss oil-fuel 

engine and a 100-horsepower boiler, a 15-horsepower gasoline hoist, 

tramways, and necessary buildings. It was lately reported that 20 

new stamps have been added and that the mine is being supplied with 

power from the plant at Kingman.
VIVIAN DISTRICT. 193

Geology and veins. The country rock is the green chloritic andesite 

containing amygdules of calcite. The Blue Ridge vein strikes about 

N. 50° W. and dips about 70° NE. It lies nearly parallel with the 

Gold Road vein on the north and with the Victor-Virgin vein on the 

southwest, to both of which it is geologically and mineralogically 

similar. On the Tom Reed property it has an extent of about 3 

miles, and it is said to continue as the Pasadena vein on the northwest, in which event it has a total length of about 4£ miles, being 

probably the longest vein in the district. At the Tom Reed mine 

it ranges from about 16 or 20 feet in width in the Ben Harrison 

shaft to about 35 feet in the Tom Reed shaft, with the fissure walls 

usually ill defined. It outcrops boldly for the length of two claims. 

The croppings consist principally of the usual dark iron and manganese stained quartz and silicified rock, calcite, and chert. On the 

foot-wall side they are markedly cross sheeted.

The vein is mainly of the Gold Road quartz-adularia type, witli 

but little calcite present in the principal part of the mine. A considerable portion of it is reported to have run $25 in gold to the ton 

for the first 30 feet in depth and about $12 from that point down. 

Although gold only is produced, the ore contains also a little silver.

In the Ben Harrison shaft the vein shows a total width of 16 to 

22 feet, and the only well-defined wall is the foot wall on the 50-foot 

level. This wall has about 1 foot of crushed rock and quartz as 

gouge and a H-inch band of silicified brown or red rock between 

it and the vein, which shows a thickness of about 3 feet of quartz 

ore and 3 to 4 feet more of intermingled crushed rock and quartz.

On the 100-foot level the vein consists of 16 feet of crushed quartz 

and rock with' neither wall at all defined; but toward the hangingwall side of the vein there is 6 feet of good-looking, more or less 

porous, clear quartz ore, as shown in the accompanying section.

Section of portion of Blue Ridge vein in Ben Harrison shaft on 100-foot level.

Crushed rock with some frozen 'quartz, but no foot wall. Feet. 

Massive quartz _________________-__________ 24 

Rock horse, reddish brown_____________________ 14 

Crushed rock _____________________________ 2 

Crushed rock with quartz stringers._..______________ 2£ 

Partly crushed, porous, and honeycombed quartz ore, which

somewhat resembles Gold Road ore______________ 6 ' 

 Crushed rock.

On the 150-foot level the vein consists mainly of crushed rock, but 

the foot-wall side of the drift is in quartz; the hanging wall carries 

some vugs 6 inches to 1 foot in diameter, containing blackish, porous, 

and oxidized quartz ore.

In the crosscut at the bottom of the Tom Reed shaft, situated on 

the hanging-wall side of the vein, the following section is shown: 

88171 Bull. 397 09 13
194 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

Section in crosscut at bottom, of Tom Reed shaft.

Feet. 

Silicifled andesite foot wall represented on the surface by the

bold, dark croppings. 

Reddish-stained quartz and crushed rock containing, it is said,

about $80 in gold to the ton__________________ 6 

Crushed rock and spar________________________ 20+ 

Crushed andesite 'country rock and some spar with no definite 

hanging wall.

A fine body of ore is reported to have been recently opened near 

the Tom Eeed mine, on the Shuck & Darling property.

MIDNIGHT MINE.

The Midnight mine is situated in the hills 1-| miles northwest of 

Vivian, at an elevation of 2,500 feet, and is accessible by wagon road. 

It is owned by the Mohave Gold Mining Company, and has been 

producing moderately since about 1900. For some time it paid the 

running expenses of the Leland mine, which were large.

The mine is developed to a depth of 50 feet by inclined shaft, drifts, 

and stopes and is equipped with a gasoline hoist; the management has 

just begun sinking the shaft 300 feet deeper.

The country rock is the green chloritic andesite. It is intruded by 

basic and acidic dikes near by and is cut by a marked sheeting which 

trends N. 10° W. and dips 75° W. and by a close cross sheeting which 

dips steeply to the north. One of the basic dikes, a fine-grained 

greenish rock, about 40 feet in width, forms the foot wall. About 

300 feet northeast of the mine, on higher ground, occurs a closely 

banded bluish to light-gray and greenish mottled 2 to 3 foot vein 

composed of fine-grained siderite containing some lime and manganese. It resembles rhyolite with banded or flow structure and may 

have replaced a dike in the fissure it now occupies.

The Midnight vein, which is the foot-wall member of a northsouth lode, 100 feet wide, strikes N. 15° W. and dips 30° to 40° W. 

It is about 3^ feet in width- and consists principally of quartz, with 

some calcite, fluorite, and adularia. Its foot-wall, portion, for a 

Avidth of 3 or 4 inches, contains crudely banded red and green fluorspar, and toward the foot wall the.quartz becomes dark and dense, of 

a flinty nature, and contains a few crystals of pyrite.

The vein has been worked from the surface almost to the bottom 

of the mine and longitudinally for a distance of about 120 feet, 

mainly on the south side of the shaft, and in this extent has averaged 

about $18 a ton in gold. The production has been considerable for a 

mine of its size, that on one side of the shaft alone amounting to 

$18,000. Where now worked in the bottom of the mine the ore is 

of low grade, running about $7 in gold to the ton, and consists of a 

mixture of partly altered soft country rock traversed by stringers and 

veinlets of calcite and quartz.
VIVIAN DISTRICT. 195

VIVIAN MINE.

Location and history. The Vivian mine is located on the Vivian 

claim about one- fourth of a 

mile below Vivian. It is 

west of Vivian Wash, on 

the Mohave and Milltown 

Eailroad, at an elevation of 

about 2,200 feet. .Its position and topography are 

shown in Plate X.

The mine was discovered 

about 1902 by Ben Paddock, 

a half - breed Mohave Indian, who in riding over 5 

the trail at the locality ob- g 

served glittering free gold " 

in rich cf oppings which had ^

O

been disturbed by a recently &

passing wagon. He at once |

located a claim, later known §

as the Vivian, and took »

with him to Camp Mohave g

that day as much of the g,

croppings as "he could con- I

veniently pack on his pony, i

CTQ

from which it is said that "

he obtained about $500 in ^

gold. Soon afterward a $

considerable amount of gold B

was extracted from the rich §

croppings and surface ore

found on the claim. In

1903 the mine was purchased by Judge E. M. Ross

and Col. Thomas Ewing,

who developed it to some

extent, and in 1905 sold it

to the Vivian Mining Company, with headquarters at

Los Angeles. The company

continued to develop the

property and installed a mill whose completion in the spring of 1906

JACKS SHAFT
196 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

was followed by a run of forty days, after which the plant and mine 

were closed in July, it is said, for lack of water. The production is 

small.

Developments. The mine is developed principally by three shafts 

and drifts to a depth of about 270 feet (fig. 31). The principal 

equipments, which, unfortunately, seem to have been prematurely 

installed, are new, of the best modern type, and very complete, and 

include an automatic 40-ton 10-stamp mill and cyanide plant, with a 

200-horsepower Scotch marine boiler, Hamilton-Corliss engine, hoist 

with double engine, air compressor, ore crusher, bullion furnace, and 

commensurate attachments, to all of which may be added the advantageous location of the property on the railroad already mentioned.

Geology. The country rock is the green chloritic andesite, which 

in the gulch just west of the mine gives way to the older andesite. 

The green chloritic andesite is probably intrusive in the older andesite, but the contact at the mine seems to be in part a fault plane. 

The older andesite rises about 40 feet above the gulch and extends 

from a point 200 feet above the mine to a point several hundred feet 

below it. The green chloritic andesite in the mine is pyritic and in 

part brecciated and somewhat altered.

Veins. The Vivian vein strikes N. 75° W. and dips about 80° to 

85° S. It has a known extent of about half a mile. It is 3 feet in 

average width, which is less than that of most of the veins in the 

district, and "west of the mine it narrows to a mere stringer. It consists essentially of coarsely crystalline dark calcite and a little quartz.

The croppings have a thickness of up to 2-| feet of stained red and 

black quartz, rising to a maximum of 3 feet above the surface. A 

considerable amount of the quartz is pseudomorphic after calcite. 

The walls, especially the foot wall, are not well defined and contain 

coarsely crystalline calcite in the fractures and joints. A lack of 

continuity of vein and ore, which is said to be characteristic, is an 

unfortunate feature of the deposit. It is, however, very rich in spots.

The gold contained in the vein varies from very fine to coarse colors, 

wire gold, and small clumps, and occurs chiefly in pockets or bunches 

ranging from low to very high in value, as high as $9,500 a ton being 

reported. The higher values occur in the quartz and are best in the 

quartz that is associated with the dark spar.

The principal dumps show that the older and site has been encountered, from which it seems doubtful whether workable ore will be 

found at greater depths.

SWISS-AMERICAN MINE.

History and developments. The Swiss-American mine is located at 

Vivian, in the base of the hills on the east side of Vivian Wash. The
VIVIAN DISTRICT. 197

mine was acquired from the locators by its present owner in 1891. 

Masses and fantastic forms of free gold are reported to have been 

found plentifully in its croppings and surface ore at the time of discovery and caused a considerable sensation. It is owned by the SwissAmerican Mining Company, of Fremont, Ohio. This company is said 

to operate also a large silver mine and smelter in Sonora, Mexico. 

The production is probably small and has been obtained chiefly from 

the Bonanza shaft.

The principal developments are two shafts, the Ben Doran and 

the Bonanza. The former is 100 feet in depth and contains two 

20-foot crosscuts to the north and to the south at the bottom. The 

Bonanza, situated 40 feet to the north of the Ben Doran, is but 1G 

feet deep. The principal equipments are a gasoline hoist.

Country rock and vein. The principal country rock is the green

chloritic and pyritic andesite, but the older andesite is also present.

The deposits are contained in what seems to be the eastward extension of the Leland vein, on whose course the mine and croppings 

are located, but at this locality the vein partakes more of the nature 

of a lode, shear, or compound fracture zone than of a simple fissure 

vein. To judge from the croppings the lode, is about 200 feet in 

maximum width. It strikes N. 65° W., dips about 65° N., and is cut 

by a sheeting that dips steeply to the west and also a closer sheeting 

resembling cleavage that dips steeply to the east.

The lode is, in places, divided in two parts by faulting along its 

median line; for example, just south of the Ben Doran shaft the 

smooth slickensided hanging-wall side of the southern half of the 

lode, exposed for about 50 feet, contains 1-| to 2 feet of impure quartz 

and crushed rock.

The croppings of the lode consist principally of silicified rock and 

stained quartz. The most prominent of the croppings are comprised 

in a width of about 50 feet on the north or hanging-wall side. This 

portion rises about 20 feet above the surface of the wash and contains 

bodies of unaltered as well as silicified rock with stringers and veinlets of quartz and calcite, principally in the silicified rock. It contains also the workable and in part rich portion of the vein, which is 

reported to be about 13 feet in width, with principally quartz gangue 

frozen to the walls.

At a short distance east of the mine the lode is cut by a cross fault, 

which has seemingly carried the eastern portion 100 feet or more to 

the south and downward. Longitudinally, however, the croppings in 

general continue interruptedly eastward up the gulch and hill slope 

toward the German-American mine.

As the shaft was boarded up from the surface nearly to the bottom, underground observation was here restricted to the crosscuts 

at the bottom of the shaft, which lie in the older underlying ancle-
198 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

site. A horizontal contact is reported between this rock and the 

green chloritic andesite 60 feet below the surface.

The only representation of the great Leland vein found here in 

the bottom of the mine is a stringer of partly vuggy quartz and calcite 1| feet wide, containing very low values only, in the south crosscut and a 1 to 2 inch quartz stringer in the north crosscut, from which 

on the whole it seems probable that no workable-ore occurs at greater 

depth. As stated on page 187, in the description of the GermanAmerican mine, there seems to be little prospect of any deep or important ore deposits being found between Vivian Wash on the west 

and the German-American vein on the east.

The Bonanza shaft, at the north or hanging-wall edge of the lode, 

is located on a small east-west shear zone, fault vein, or stringer, 

about a foot in width, consisting of altered silicified rock, impure 

iron-stained quartz, and calcite, and is associated with a parallel 

10-inch dark dike rock. The ore of this little "vein" is reported 

to have contained free .coarse gold in abundance, the richest being 

found in the iron-stained portion of the vein, but, as in the Ben 

Doran shaft and others, owing to the proximity of the older underlying andesite, it seems probable that the ore does not continue to 

great depths.

ROOSEVELT SHAFT.

The Roosevelt shaft is about three-fourths of a mile north of 

Vivian, in the hills on the upper drainage of Vivian Wash, on the 

Roosevelt claim, at an elevation of about 2,500 feet. The country 

rock is the green chloritic andesite. The deposits are contained in a 

calcite and quartz vein, which strikes N. 25° W., dips about 60° 

WSW., and is reported to be at least 30 feet in width where it is 

crosscut on the 100-foot and 200-foot levels. The vein is separated 

from the fissure walls by a well-marked sheet of talcose gouge. It is 

developed by a shaft 200 feet in depth. Both the country rock and 

the vein contain pyrite, which in the rock is finely disseminated, 

while in the vein it occurs in coarse sporadic crystals.

BOUNDARY CONE DISTRICT. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The Boundary Cone district lies in the southwestern part of the 

region, just south of the Vivian district, from which it is separated 

by Boundary Cone Wash. It extends from the edge of the mountains at Boundary Cone (Pis. X, XVI) on the west, 3 miles eastward, nearly to the crest of the range, and from Boundary Cone Wash 

southward nearly to McHeffy Butte, about 4 miles distant.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 397 PLATE XVI

A. TOPOGRAPHY OF ANDESITE IN NORTHEASTERN PART OF BOUNDARY CONE DISTRICT, 

LOOKING NORTH FROM POINT NEAR HIGHLAND CHIEF MINE.

Krayss camp and mine in foreground.

JS. TOPOGRAPHY OF ANDESITE FLOWS IN SOUTHERN PART OF BOUNDARY CONE 

DISTRICT, LOOKING SOUTHEAST FROM BOUNDARY CONE.
BOUNDARY CONE DISTRICT. 199

The deposits occur principally in the northern part of the district. 

Here the topography is mostly rugged, of the type of eroded volcanic 

flows, with the mountains rising 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the intervening washes, through which the drainage issues northwestward into 

Boundary Cone Wash and thence westward to the Colorado (PL I). 

By means of the washes, which serve as highways, the properties are 

nearly all reached without difficulty, most of them by Avagon.

The country rock is mainly a dense dark reddish-brown or purple 

andesite, locally known as " phonolite " from its metallic ring when 

struck, and is underlain principally by the earlier tuffaceous andesite 

containing agglomerates and breccias, below which the pre-Cambrian 

granite is exposed on the extreme west. These rocks are all intruded 

by rhyolite in the form of plugs and dikes, of which Boundary Cone 

is a typical example. The outer basal portion of the cone is composed

of andesite tuff; the inner, upper portion, rising to a height of several hundred feet above the andesite, is a huge rhyolite plug, from 

whose periphery dikes radiate into the surrounding andesite, a good 

example being on the northwest slope, where a siliceous dike about 

15 feet in width extends for three-fourths of a mile to the wash on 

the west. The andesite for a width of a few inches or a foot along 

the contact is altered and iron stained. The andesite is also cut by 

dikes of a younger andesite, derived from a magma the same as or 

similar to that of the country rock.

The structure in the country-rock andesite varies. In Mount 

Tucker, at the Iowa mine, in the northeastern part of the district, 

it consists principally of a sheeting which dips steepy to the south, a 

secondary sheeting Avhich dips about 70° ESE., and a very marked 

cleavage, locally amounting to schistosity, which trends about N. 60° 

E. and inclines with low variable dips to the south-southeast.

The microscope shows the country rock to be a greatly altered 

andesite, composed principally of a fine-grained groundmass varying 

from trachytic to cryptocrystalline and containing small glassy or 

whitish feldspar phenocrysts. Fresh augite andesite was noted from 

the Highland Chief property.

The principal needs of the district are water and fuel. The chief 

source of the water supply at present is a few small springs located 

near the core or crest of the range.

The deposits are gold bearing and occur in two distinct types as 

fissure veins in the purple andesite and as deposits on the contact 

of the rhyolite intruded into the andesite, andesite tuff, and granite. 

The gangue consists principally of fine-grained quartz with adularia 

and calcite.

The principal veins, five or six in number, occur in the northeastern part of the district. They strike in general west-northwest and
200 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

have steep dips. Some of the important properties or openings 

located on them are the Iowa, Lazy Boy, Krauss, Highland Chief, 

and Mountain Beauty.

IOWA MINE.

The Iowa mine, which is the most extensively developed, is situated in the northeastern part of the district at about 2,670 feet 

elevation, near the top of a nearly east-west ridge-, about 140 feet 

above a tributary gulch on the northeast that leads northward into 

Boundary Cone Wash. It is about 3^ miles southeast of Vivian, 

the principal supply point, with which it has good wagon-road 

connections.

The property comprises three principal claims, the Iowa, Gold 

Cup, and Gold Nugget, known as the Iowa group. It was located in 

1902 by Moore, Eoberts, and Hunt, who still own it. Since 1904 it 

has been bonded to C. E. Hymer and S. W. Wood. It is developed 

principally by a 200-foot shaft and about 100 feet of drifts and crosscuts, distributed on three levels, and is equipped with a 6-horsepower 

gasoline hoist.

The country rock is the dense, reddish-brown, porphyritic andesite.

The deposits are contained in a fissure vein, which dips steeply to 

the south and is exposed by the croppings for more than half a mile. 

It ranges from 3 to 8 feet or more in width and consists principally of 

greenish brecciated quartz and a little calcite, with locally some rock 

breccia, and is traversed by veinlets of secondary quartz and calcite. 

The values, said to range from about $3 to $14 in gold to the ton, are 

found mostly within 3 feet of the hanging wall. Some faulting or 

displacement has occurred along the vein, where pronounced slickensiding shows the movement to have been normal.

On the 100-foot level at a point 10 feet west of the shaft the drift, 

including the 16-foot crosscut to the south in the hanging wall, shows 

the following section:

.Section on 100-foot level in Iowa mine.

Feet.

Andesite, crushed and sheared, forming foot wall.

Crushed and brecciated quartz and andesite with veinlets, containing from $5 to $6 in gold to the ton________:___ 6

Horse of coarsely porphyritic andesite_____________ 9

Partly crushed and relatively clear quartz, probably with 

adularia,. running about $3.50 in gold to the tou___ _ 7

Hanging wall of country-rock andesite.
BOUNDARY CONE DISTRICT. 201

On the 200-foot level the crosscut, extending 12 feet to the south 

in the hanging wall, exposes the following sections:

Section on 200-foot level in Iowa mine.

Andesite foot wall. Ft- lnFinely comminuted andesite and quartz containing $2 in

gold to the ton_______________________ 1.0 

Crushed quartz and andesite, which is similar to the above,

but on its hanging-wall side becomes a coarser and purer

quartz and contains $14 in gold to the ton________ 2 

Partly crushed and sheared silicified andesite with fine

stringers and veinlets of calcite and quartz_______ 9

- LAZY BOY GROUP.

The Lazy Boy group, comprising four claims owned by F. L. 

Hunt and J. H. Moore, is on the opposite sjde of the ridge and about 

one-fourth of a mile southeast from the Iowa mine, at an elevation 

of 2,600 feet. It is reached by trail from the Iowa mine or from a 

tributary of Krauss Wash on the southwest. The property is now 

bonded to S. W. Wood. It is developed principally by a 43-foot 

shaft and an open cut.

The country rock is the dense, reddish-brown andesite characteristic of the district. The vein strikes N. 85° W. and dips about 80° S., 

nearly parallel with the Iowa vein. The cut exposes a width of about 

6 feet of vein material, composed mostly of brecciated andesite and 

quartz, said to contain fair values in gold; in the shaft the vein contains several feet of excellent-looking greenish and iron-stained 

quartz or, which is in part brecciated, contains a little calcite, and 

probably adularia, and is said to average about $9 in gold to the 

ton.

HIGHLAND CHIEF AND MOUNTAIN BEAUTY PROPERTIES.

The Highland Chief property is located in the eastern part of 

the district, about 1£ miles south of the Iowa mine, in the heart of 

the range, at about 2,850 feet elevation, at the head of Krauss Wash, 

which drains northwestward into Boundary Cone Wash. It is owned 

by the Heck Mining Company, of which Casper Heck, of Vivian, is 

a leading member.

The country rock is andesite, and it is intruded by a similar somewhat younger rock. The vein strikes northwest and stands about 

vertical, but locally exposes a good foot wall dipping to the southwest at angles of about 70°.

The croppings are strong and bold, particularly to the southeast 

of the mine. They consist of stained, crushed, and greatly sheared 

quartz, The property is developed principally by a 70-foot drift,
202 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

in which the vein contains some good-looking greenish quartz ore, 

said to carry fair values in gold.

The Mountain Beauty property, owned by the same company as 

the Highland Chief, is located about half a mile northwest of the 

Highland Chief, at about 2,650 feet elevation, 1,000 feet above the 

main wash that issues westward south of Boundary Cone. The place 

is difficult of access. The vein, where examined at the head of a 

tributary wash on the north, strikes N. 80° W., is 12 to 15 feet in 

width, and consists principally of yellowish and brown iron-stained 

crushed or brecciated rock and quartz reported to contain fair gold 

values. -

KBAUSS AND GOLDEN ERA PROPERTIES.

The Krauss and Golden Era properties, not visited in this work, 

seem from oral reports to be similar to most of those just described. 

The Krauss property, owned by Joseph Krauss, of Vivian, is about 

half a mile southwest of the Iowa mine, on Krauss Wash and the adjoining hill slope to the northeast, where the dumps Show considerable work done. The Golden Era property is about 4 miles southeast of Boundary Cone, at about 2,500 feet elevation.

DEPOSITS AT THE ANDESITE-RHYOLITE CONTACT.

The deposits at the contact occur chiefly in the western part of the 

district. They are best exposed along the upper edge of the andesite 

collar encircling the rhyolite plug that forms the upper part of 

Boundary Cone. They occur mainly on the west and south sides of 

the cone, where at about 2,400 feet elevation they extend interruptedly 

for about a mile and are not usually accessible by wagon.

The deposits occur chiefly in a zone of greenish quartz located 

principally on the rhyolite side of the contact. The quartz zone is 

6 to 10 feet in width. It locally contains from $3 tc $17 in gold to 

the ton, with some $200 values reported, and some of the quartz shows 

free gold. The rhyolite for a width of 2 or 3 feet next to the quartz 

also contains values.

The Kyle property, opened-to a depth of 10 feet on the west side 

of the cone, exposes a width of 6 feet of good-looking rhyolite and 

iron-stained, greenish, crushed or in part brecciated quartz with some 

 intermingled rhyolite. Here the deposit dips inward toward tjie 

center of the cone at an angle of about 60° and is said to average $17 

in gold to the ton. Similar openings also extend around the west 

and south sides of the cone.

The Warner prospect, reported to contain good values, is about 

.half a mile southwest of Boundary Cone, in association with what
UNION PASS DISTRICT. 203

seems to be a rhyolite dike cutting the pre-Cambrian granitoid complex and remnants of 

overlying rocks.

UNION PASS DISTRICT. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The Union Pass district (fig. 32) lies about 

30 miles west of Kingman, mainly on the 

west slope of the range. 

It extends from Sacramento Valley and

Union Pass westward 

to Colorado River at 

Pyramid, a distance of 

about 14 miles, and has 

a width of about 3 

miles. It ranges in elevation from 4,000 feet 

on the east to 500 feet 

on the west. On the 

east the topography is 

rough and mountainous, of the type of dissected volcanic flows, 

with local fault scarps 

and deep gulches. On 

the west the district is 

composed of low hills, 

broad, open washes, 

and gravel - covered 

areas sloping toward 

the river. Important 

well-known landmarks 

are Union Pass on 

the northeast; Thumb 

Butte, a rhyolite needle, on the south, to 

which most of the 

claims of the district 

are tied; and Pyramid Rock, a survey benchmark at the river, on the west. A cross
204 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

section of the range at Secret Pass, southeast of Thumb Butte, is 

given in figure 33.

The water supply is scanty, except near the river. On the .east it 

consists of a few springs or shallow wells in the mountains. The 

country rock on the northwest and on the south is the pre-Cambrian 

granitic complex, but in the remainder of the district, especially on 

the east, it is more or less deeply buried by heavy deposits of the 

Tertiary volcanic rocks, here consisting principally of rhyolite.

On the west the deposits occur in fissure veins in the pre-Cambrian 

granite. On the east they occur also as blanket veins, lodes, and irregular bodies and are found chiefly on or near the contact of the 

rhyolite and granite associated with diabase, a later intrusive, and in 

conjunction with one or more of these intrusives on fault planes.

The most important of the deposits on the west trend northeastward, those on the east northwestward, and those intermediate in position about midway between these two directions. The prevailing 

gangue is calcite, which is locally replaced by quartz and adularia.

4 miles

FIGURE 33. Section across Black Mountains at Secret Pass, a, Granite ; 6, biotite andesite ; c, andesite ; d, andesite tuff ; e, rhyolite ; f, rhyolite and andesite (undifferentiated.)

The metal contained is gold. The deposits were probably formed by

circulating thermal solutions, which accompanied and followed the 

invasion of the intrusives, especially the rhyolite.

MINES IN THE WESTERN PART.

The principal properties in the western part of the district are the 

Sheep Trail, Boulevard, Catherine, Pyramid, and Tyro. This part 

of the district has produced considerable ore, most of which has come 

from the Sheep Trail,.Boulevard, and Catherine mines.

SHEEP TRAIL AND BOULEVARD MINES.

The Sheep Trail and Boulevard mines, a property comprising five 

patented claims and a mill site at the river, are situated near the 

middle of the district, about 7 miles east of the river, at an elevation 

of about 2,400 feet, in a group of outlying hills. The Sheep Trail 

mine was discovered in 1865 by Jack Mellen, a steamboat captain 

running on Colorado River. The group was later acquired by the
UNION PASS DISTRICT. 205

New Comstock Mining Company, which improved the property, 

installed a 20-stamp mill at the river, and milled about 2,000 tons of 

ore. In 1904 the Arizona-Pyramid Gold Mining Company, of San 

Francisco, took hold of the property and has recently milled much 

ore from the property, principally from the Boulevard mine.

The Sheep Trail mine is developed to a depth of 428 feet by drifts, 

tunnels, and shafts, aggregating, it is said, more than 5,000 feet of 

underground work, the lower tunnel being about 750 feet long. Its 

vein lies in a nearly east-west ridge of pre-Cambrian granite, rising 

several hundred feet above the adjacent open washes, with intrusive 

rhyolite near by. The vein dips about 60° S. The ore contains 

chiefly quartz and hematite as gangue, and is said to be rich. It is 

hauled to the Sheep Trail 20-stamp mill and cyanide plant, originally 

built for this mine at Pyramid. Several thousand tons of ore are 

reported to have been milled.

The ore of the Boulevard mine, whose production is considerable, 

is also reported to be very rich, some of it containing, it is said, 

about $50 in gold to the ton. The mine was a producer in 1906.

CATHERINE MINE.

The Catherine mineois about If miles east of the river and about 

450 feet above it, on an open, gravel-covered slope about threefourths of a mile from the hills to the south at an elevation of 950 feet. 

The mine was discovered by S. C. Baggs in September, 1900, and 

soon afterward some development work was done in taking out surface ores, mostly in the 60-foot incline. It was operated by the New 

Comstock Mining Company, under whose management it is said to 

have produced about 2,000 tons of ore, which was milled in the 

Sheep Trail mill at Pyramid. In 1904 the present owner, the 

Arizona-Pyramid Gold Mining Company, acquired the property, 

together with the mill at the river, and at once began more extensive 

development work. It installed a 22-horsepower gasoline hoist, compressor, and fan ventilator, deepened the shaft, and was soon mining 

and milling systematically. The source of power used is fuel oil 

freighted from Kingman.

The mine is developed principally by a shaft 225 feet in depth, 

several hundred feet of drifts and crosscuts, and about 20,000 cubic 

feet of surface work. The principal equipments are the Sheep Trail 

mill at the river and the gasoline hoist already mentioned, together 

with shops, offices, buildings, etc. The camp is at the river, where 

an ample water supply is available for all purposes.

The country rock is red, coarse pre-Cambrian gneiss or pressed 

granite and consists essentially of orthoclase, quartz, biotite, and 

microcline. The vein or lode containing the deposits strikes N. 64° E. 

At the mine it is about 75 feet in width at the surface, but gradually
206 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

narrows downward to 50 and 40 feet on the 100-foot and 200-foot 

.levels, respectively. By reason of the overlying gravels, the vein is 

exposed for a length of only 150 feet. However, it is in alignment 

with and is probably a continuation of the Pyramid vein, which, 

beyond the edge of the gravel sheet, extends southwestward for a distance of several miles, a portion of it lying beyond the river about 

where the Homestake mill is located. The occurrence of similar ore 

in alignment on the northeast suggests that the vein may have an 

extent of nearly 5 miles. In the mine the vein is faulted in places 

and the fault planes are slickensided.

The vein consists mainly of quartz, mostly replacing caleite; the 

ore on the whole resembles that of the Gold Road mine, and consists 

of fine-grained quartz and adularia. Much of the quartz is of the 

bladed or hackly form characteristic of replacement after caleite.

A microscopic section of the ore shows quartz with comb structure deposited on a mass of granular quartz and adularia containing 

residual caleite. There are also grains of a black mineral which is 

probably argentite.

The croppings, which are in part prominent, consist of dark-brown 

or black iron and manganese stained quartz. Some of the ore is 

irregularly banded and cut by close sheeting0 striking N. 20° E. and 

dipping about 50° NW.

The greater portion of the ore is of low grade, ranging in value 

from $6 to $7 in gold and silver to the ton, but toward the north side 

the vein contains a streak of high-grade ore said to run from 4 to 5 

ounces of gold and from 200 to 400 ounces of silver to the ton.

The ore is treated at the Sheep Trail mill at Pyramid. It is 

believed that under economical conditions the ore can be mined and 

milled at a cost of about $3 a ton. About 5,000 tons of ore have been 

milled.

PYRAMID MINE.

The Pyramid mine is near the river, about a mile southeast of 

Pyramid and about a mile southwest of the Catherine mine. It lies 

in an open country of low hills of pre-Cambrian granite, at about 700 

feet elevation. It was discovered early in the sixties and a 30-foot 

shaft was sunk on it at that time, but little attention was afterwards 

paid to it until the discovery of the Catherine mine in 1900. It is 

owned by the Arizona-Pyramid Gold Mining Company. It is developed principally by a crosscut tunnel, a 60-foot drift, and several 

shafts. , 

At the apex of the croppings, which is considerably above the 

workings, the vein is 35 feet in width. It strikes about N. 70° E., 

being about in alignment with the vein of the Catherine mine, of 

which it is supposed to be a continuation, and is reported to have
UNION PASS DISTRICT. 207

been traced southwestward to a point 2 miles beyond the river, where 

it passes under the wash-covered mesa in the" east slope of the Eldorado Range.

The croppings are similar to those of the Catherine mine and consist of dark iron-stained quartz and calcite. Dikes of rhyolite follow 

the croppings.

TYRO GROUP.

The Tyro group is located about 7 miles east of the river, just north 

of the Sheep Trail and Boulevard mines, in the same group of hills, 

at about 2,700 feet elevation. It comprises two and a half claims 

adjoining each other end on. Though the mine had previously been 

several times located, the first work on it was done by the present 

owners in March, 1902, about the time they located it. The owners 

are J. R. Russell, P. F. White, S. R. Davis, and S. W, Basanko, all of 

Kingman.

The property is developed principally by a 50-foot shaft, a 135,-foot 

crosscut tunnel, and a smaller amount of drift and crosscuts. Water 

is scarce. The country rock is the pre-Cambrian red biotite-microcline gneissoid granite. It is intruded- by rhyolitic dikes near by, 

which seem to be older than the vein, and the ore is reported to be 

better in value where the vein crosses the dikes.

The Tyro vein extends throughout the length of the claim group, 

a distance of nearly 4,000 feet, and dips steeply to the east. It 

varies from 15 to about 100 feet in width, the average Avidth being 

about 30 feet. It is joined throughout its extent by imbricating 

stringers from the northwest and the southeast.

The veins contain principally calcite and a relatively small amount 

of quartz, which has replaced calcite. Some of the blades or plates 

of quartz replacing the calcite along the vein are 3 or 4 inches in 

diameter and occur in laminated masses 6 to 8 inches thick.

The vein on the average contains about $6 in gold to the ton and 

a little silver; some localities, however, are said to have yielded 11 

ounces of gold and 53 ounces of silver. Owing to its general low 

grade, the ore could be worked only on a large scale.

MINES IN THE EASTERN PART.

The eastern part of the district, being relatively new, is yet for the 

most part in the prospect or development stage. It is being rapidly 

developed, however, and several mills are being installed. The deposits here, as already stated, are practically all associated with 

the contact of the rhyolite intruded into pre-Cambrian granite, with 

values occurring on both the granite and the rhyolite sides of the 

contact. The deposits locally form prominent hogback ridges, paral-
208 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

lei with the contact, and are associated with the faulting of the 

country rock.

The principal properties in the eastern and southeastern parts of 

the district are the San Diego, 0. K., Expansion, Tragedy, and 

Union Pass groups. They are situated on the western slope of the 

range and are easy of access, being on or near the wagon road leading from Union Pass to Pyramid or Harpers. The deposits occur 

mainly near the contacts of the rhyolite, andesite, and diabase 

intruded into the pre-Cambrian granitic complex.

SAN DIEGO GROUP.

The San Diego, O. K., and Expansion groups are all located on 

what is commonly known as the " mammoth ledge." Starting from 

the crest of the range at a point about 2 miles southeast of Union 

Pass, at an elevation of about 3,700 feet, this " ledge " extends to the 

west-northwest for a distance of about 4 miles. It dips steeply to 

the northeast and is more or less prominently marked throughout the

greater part of its course by southssw /f&^ NNE westward-facing scarps or hog-back

ridges several hundred feet in maximum height (fig. 34). To the southwest the country rock is the preached Cambrian granite complex; to the 

FIGURE 34.-ci-oss section of San northeast it is the Tertiary rhyolite.

Diego vein at San Diego mine, a, . . ,

Granite ; I, diabase; c, mammoth 1 he ban DiegO group IS Situated

ledge of silicifled gold-bearing rhy- about a mjle wegt Qf -Qnion pass on

ohte ; d, rhyolite older than c. '

the upper steep slope of the range, at

3,400 feet elevation. The property, which comprises about a dozen 

claims, was located about 1893 by F. J. Todd, from whom it was purchased in 1896 by the present owner, the San Diego Mining and 

Milling Company, of San Diego, Cal. The underground developments were small and consisted mainly of tunnels and crosscuts to 

the amount of 200 feet. There is also a shaft 75 feet deep.

At the time of visit a 10-ton mill was being installed.

A cross section showing the relation and attitude of the rhyolite 

and diabase intruded into the country-rock granite is shown in figure 

34. The sequence of events that took place here seems to be as follows: Faulting of the country-rock granite (a) and its intrusion 

and flooding by the older rhyolite (d) ; faulting and intrusion of the 

diabase (5) along the contacts of a and d; faulting and intrusion 

of the younger rhyolite (<?), which is akin to granite porphyry along 

the contacts of a, 6, and c.

The intrusions were accompanied by crushing of the rocks and 

appear to have been followed by deposition of ores by solutions that
.UNION PASS DISTRICT. ' 209

resulted.in silicification of the rocks, particularly the younger rhyolite (c). The values favor the contacts, especially those of the 

younger rhyolite, but they occur also in the rocks themselves, in 

stringers and veinlets in the crushed diabase and the granite. They 

are contained in a quartz and adularia gangue, with a calcite residue. 

This gangue, in part, at least, is of the Gold Road type. It is also 

probable that values may be associated with the pyrites which occur 

in small stringers and disseminated grains in the diabase.

A large amount of ore is claimed to average from $12 to $15 a ton 

in gold and to contain a little silver. A shipment of a thousand 

pounds made to the Needles smelter in October, 1906, is reported to 

have averaged $56 a ton. Some bunches are said to run very high in 

values. The ore is believed to be suitable for the cyanide process.

o. K. GROUP.

The 0. K. group lies about 2 miles west of Union Pass, at an elevation of 3,600 feet. It almost joins the San Diego group on the northwest, being situated on the continuation of the same hogback ridge, 

which here is several hundred feet high. At the time of visit it was 

owned by J. D. Eichardson and heirs, of Kingman, but it is reported 

to have been acquired since by the Gold Pass Mining Company, of 

Los Angeles.

The property is developed mainly on the northwest, at the end of 

the ridge, which here falls off in steep slopes into a deep valley, beyond which the deposits have not been traced. The developments 

consist mainly of two tunnels driven on or near the contact of the 

intrusive rhyolite with the granite. The drifts are situated about 50 

feet apart vertically. The upper has a length of 150 feet and the 

lower of about 250 feet. From the upper a winze descends to or near 

a crosscut in the lower.

The ore consists of iron-stained and pyrite-bearing quartz and 

altered rock, and locally contains also some galena. It is irregularly 

distributed or pockety. That taken from the upper drift, which looks 

better than the lower drift, is said to have averaged about $20 a ton 

in gold, and samples of the foot-wall granite taken 10 feet apart 

throughout the length of the drift are reported to have assayed from 

$1 to $4 a ton. Some high-grade ore occurs in small bodies of fine 

sandy material inclosed by the iron-stained loAver-grade ore, quartz, 

and rock.

EXPANSION GROUP.

The Expansion group is situated about a mile southwest of Union 

Pass, at an elevation of 3,200 to 3,600 feet. It is owned by the Expansion Gold Mining Company, of Kingman, which acquired the 

property in October, 1905, and has operated it since April, 1906. 

88171 Bull. 397 09 14
210 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The property comprises six or more claims, situated along the contact 

zone. It is crossed near its middle point by a prominent gulch that 

heads near the pass and affords good exposures of the relations of the 

intrusive rocks to the pre-Cambrian granite. The portion to the 

southeast of the gulch lies along a contact scarp. That to. the northwest is located on a prominent hogback. The camp is located on this 

gulch just above the hogback, and is amply supplied with good well 

water confined by an andesite dike intruded into the rhyolite.

The developments at the time of visit were a 220-foot tunnel near 

the crest of the hogback and a crosscut. Since then, however, it is 

reported that much work has been done and a 60-ton mill has been 

installed.

There are two lodes on the property. The more westerly is on the 

contact of the rhyolite porphyry and the pfe-Cambrian gneissoid 

granite. Its silicified zone is about 200 feet wide and is traceable for a 

considerable distance in a northwesterly direction. It contains bands 

or belts of ore of varying width. The samples from the surface are 

stated to have given assays ranging from a few cents up to $90 a ton 

in gold, and contain also a little silver. The eastern lode is on the

SSE _____,

fvr&&Zg*^&Sgg^rr£<.

500 |000 feet

FIGCBE 35. Cross section of part of Tragedy vein, a, Rhyolite ; b, older rhyolite porphyry

and quartz; c, granite.

contact of andesite and rhyolite. Its surface values range up to $11 

a ton, and the mineralization extends laterally a considerable distance 

into the rhyolite:

[n the southeastern part of the property, which was being developen by a tunnel at 100 feet below-the croppings of the rhyolitegranite contact on the granite side of the contact, moderate values 

were reported in the granite. In the older orange-colored altered 

rhyolite that floors the valley just north of the camp fair erold values 

are said to occur over an area of 10 acres or more. This rhyolite is 

in part silicified and vuggy. All the Expansion ore is cyaniding ore.

TRAGEDY GROUP.

The Tragedy group is about 2 miles west-southwest of Union Pass 

and about a mile southwest of the San Diego group and " mammoth 

ledge," at an elevation of about 3,200 to 3,400 feet. It was discovered 

in 1900 and was first worked in 1903. It is owned by W. E. Sauls, 

O. D. M. Gaddes, and G. B. Ayres, of Kingman. It is located in a 

detached elongated foothill. A section of the rocks and the deposit 

is shown in figure 35. The exposures seem to represent the southern
 UNION PASS DISTRICT. 211

limb of an eroded anticline of rhyolite flows, of which the section at 

the San Diego and 0. K. groups, figure 33, is the northern limb. The 

structure is monoclinal, with the dip gently to the south.-

The capping rhyolite is massive and white, but its lower 3 or 4 

feet are streaked reddish. The older rhyolite porphyry is a highly 

altered reddish-brown iron-stained rock. It contains lime carbonate 

and much quartz, and in places it .completely gives way to quartz. 

Its upper 3 or 4 feet is silicified and banded parallel with its contact 

with the rhyolite above.

The vein or ore bed, consisting of quartz and iron-stained altered 

and silicified rock containing the values, occurs in the upper 30 or 40 

feet of the older rhyolite porphyry. The ore may have originally 

been deposited in this rock, but was probably subsequently enriched 

by circulation of thermal solutions that attended and followed the 

eruption of the younger rhyolite.

The developments consist of several tunnels or inclines and shafts 

driven 30 or 40 feet into this ore bed. Several hundred tons of 

good milling ore and some ore averaging $76 a ton are reported to 

have been produced.

UNION PASS GROUP.

The Union Pass group, better known as the Union Pass mine, is 

located about 3^ miles southwest of Union Pass, about 2 miles from 

the Tragedy group, and 5 miles east of Colorado River. It is situated 

on open ground at an elevation of about 2,400 feet, on the Harpers 

road about one-half mile below its junction with the Union Pass and 

Pyramid road. It was discovered about 1886 and is owned by the 

Union Pass Mining Company, of Philadelphia.

It is situated on a lode which follows a great fault plane between 

the pre-Cambrian country-rock granite on the west or foot-wall side 

and intrusive and effusive rhyolite on the east or hanging-wall side. 

The fault strikes N. 30° E. and hades to the east at angles of about 

20°. It is normal with the upthrow on the west. The hanging-Avail 

side of the lode is deeply slickensided.

The granite, a coarse porphyritic rock, is sheeted and made schistose 

along the zone of contact. The rhyolite is mostly agglomeratic and 

contains many bowlders or bowlder-like masses 2 to 3 feet in diameter. 

It is cut by a coarse jointing which approximately parallels the fault 

plane,, and by a later sheeting having a southerly dip. Along the 

planes of the sheeting occur dikes of intrusive andesite and diabase 

or basalt and thin lentils or tabular bodies of a gray rock, apparently 

a limestone.

The lode, which in general is about 100 feet or more in width, 

consists mainly of a tabular body of fault breccia or agglomerate 

composed of rhyolite, andesite, granite, and quartz, and contains
212 MINEBAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE' COUNTY, ABIZONA.

veins of quartz and adularia, calcite, and silicified rock and lentils 

or tabular bodies of the gray rock resembling limestone, the latter 

being about 30 feet in maximum diameter and 7 or 8 feet in maximum 

thickness. Thin dikes or stringers of a later dark intrusive andesite 

are also present. The quartz and adularia and spar or calcite favor 

the hanging-wall or rhyolite side of the lode, and here in association 

with these minerals the values mostly occur. The croppings consist 

of brown and dark iron and manganese stained, silicified breccia and 

quartz, which in places is greatly crushed.

The property is opened at the foot of a fault scarp, rising steeply 

to a height of about 80 feet, forming the face of low hills on the west 

and overlooking a broad wash on the east. It is developed by a 

tunnel 120 feet long, a 100-foot incline winze or shaft, starting at 20 

feet in from the mouth of the tunnel, and a 60-foot crosscut extending from the bottom of the shaft to the southeast under the wash. 

At the time of visit the shaft was said to contain 26 feet of water. 

It was reported that a 12-stamp mill and a pump were to be immediately installed. >

Samples taken across the lode from the entrance to the face of the 

100-foot tunnel are said to have given an average assay of about $4 

a ton in gold. The best ore, however, occurs at the shaft in a 5-foot 

tabular vein composed of fairly pure quartz and adularia. It is said 

to average about $25 in gold to the ton.

To the south of the mine the croppings of the lode are prominent, 

and are said to continue so for a distance of 2-| miles from the mine, 

disappearing beneath a wash-covered mesa on the southwest.

A partial cross section of the lode as exposed at a point about onethird of a mile south of the mine, in the face of a prominent chimneyshaped cropping rising 25 or 30 feet high, is as follows:

Partial cross section of Union Pass mine lode exposed m croppings one-third 

mile south of Union Pass mine.

Feet.

1. Rbyolite-andesite breccia, containing gold-bearing reddishstained quartz ____________________ _ 20

2. Breccia consisting of coarse bowldery agglomeratic rhyolite, granite, and quartz _ ___ _ _ 15

3. Breccia, less coarse than No. 2, mostly granitoid and 

limy and containing veins of calcite and quart/ with 

adularia ________________________ :__

4. Breccia, granitoid, finer than No, 3________________

5. Metamorphosed semicrystalline ' limestone "____ 

6. Coarse porphyritic granite, country-rock foot wall.

OTHER PROPERTIES.

Other properties in the district are the Monarch, New Chance, 

Sunlight, Coleman, Colorado, Miller, and Golden Eagle.
UNION PASS DISTRICT. 213

Monarch property. The Monarch property comprises a group of 

six claims situated about 3 miles southeast of Union Pass, on or near 

the crest of the range, on open ground, at elevations of 3,600 to 3,700 

feet. It is owned by J. S. Withers and Robert Brannack, of Kingman. It was discovered in 1904. The developments consist mainly 

of a shaft 60 feet deep, about all in granite.

The property lies just south of the point where the mineralized 

contact zone extending eastward from the Expansion property reaches 

the crest of the range and, curving to the south, loses its regularity 

and unity and is less well defined, portions of it occurring on either 

side of the crest. The country rock is the pre-Cambrian granite, 

with the usual intrusive irregularly present.

The shaft is sunk on a lode which seems to be a southward extension of a part of the Mammoth lode. Its upper 30 feet exposes a 

10-foot vein composed mostly of quartz and light-colored clayey

gouge with altered rock and calcite. It is stained in spots with 

malachite. The vein dips steeply to the east, \vith quartz forming 

the " foot wall," from which it is separated by 5' inches of red clay 

gouge, and granite forming the hanging wall. The ore is in streaks 

but a few inches in width, contained in the vein. It is reported to 

average about $40 in gold and $10 in silver to the ton, and contains 

a trace of copper. Below a depth of 30 feet, however, though calcite 

and quartz continue on the hanging-wall side, the vein becomes lean 

and consists mostly of argillaceous material.

New Chance property.- The New Chance property is located about 

4 miles southeast of Union Pass, about a mile south of the Monarch 

mine, on the upper west slope of the range near the crest, between 

3,600 and 3,900 feet in elevation. It was discovered about 1900 and is 

owned by Mike Redman, of Kingman. The developments are slight.

The general country rock is the pre-Cambrian granite, cut by a 

sheeting that dips steeply to the north.

The deposits occur in a lode contained in granite, rhyolite, and 

andesite and are reported to range from 20 to 30 feet in width. The 

strike is about N. 18° W. To the south of the gulch the lode stands 

about vertical, but to the north it dips steeply to the west. It is exposed for a horizontal distance of nearly half a mile and through a 

vertical range of 200 or more feet. The croppings, which are in part 

prominent, are dark iron and manganese stained quartz and silicified 

rock, which is chiefly rhyolite.

The ore is mostly contained in a vein about 2 feet thick, composed 

of quartz, calcitic brecciated rhyolite and andesite, and green fluorite. 

The ore streak in this vein, as shown in the shaft on the upper or 

south end of the property, where the vein is in rhyolite, with a 

greenish porphyritic rock similar to the andesite of the Vivian close 

by, is 8 to 10 inches in width, and is reported to average about $64 in
214 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

gold and 2 ounces of _silver to the ton. The values are found mostly 

in the quartz-adularia portion of the vein, and are said to be best 

where associated with the fluorspar.

To the north of the gulch the ore, here also contained in a quartzspar gangue, is fairly well developed along the rhyolite-granite contact, and at a point where the rhyolite is faulted off the ore continues 

for a distance of 200 feet in an extension of the fissure into the 

granite.

Sunlight property. The Sunlight property, owned by J. D. Richardson, of Kingman, is about 1^ miles south of Union Pass and 3 miles 

west of the New Chance, on open ground, at an elevation of about 

3,100 feet. The deposit is a 2^-foot vein of greenish quartz, adularia, 

and calcite, with some intermingled greenish or brecciated rock, and 

contains fair gold values. It dips about 60° E. and lies entirely in 

granite. It is opened by a 53-foot shaft and several smaller excavations. Near the bottom of the shaft the gangue becomes mostly 

altered granite, of which 1 foot on the hanging-wall side carries from 

$1 to $5 in gold to the ton, and is separated from the wall rock by 

several inches of clayey gouge.

PILGRIM DISTRICT.

The Pilgrim district, which is about 2 miles in length and trends 

northwestward, lies 9 miles west of Chloride, in the eastern foothills 

of the range, at an elevation of about 3,600 feet. The country rock 

is principally rhyolite and granite porphyry. The main opening is 

the Pilgrim mine, on the northwest. It was discovered March, 1904, 

by two prospectors, Dempsey and O'Dea, of Kingman, who still own 

it. Soon after it was bonded to Brockman, who developed it. It has 

a 12-horsepower gasoline hoist. THis mine is situated on a contact

vein between rhyolite breccia, with trachytic rhyolite, forming the 

hanging wall and granite porphyry in the foot wall. It is developed 

by inclined shafts, two levels, and drifts to a depth of 360 feet, and 

oxidation extends to the bottom of the mine. The vein is about 20 

feet thick and about half a mile in length. It dips about 30° W. The 

gangue consists of quartz, with a little adularia and calcite. The ore 

is reported to average about $8 in gold to the ton, the gold occurring 

free. Twelve tons of $100 ore are reported to have been shipped, and 

about 1,000 tons of what is stated to be $6 to $7 ore lie on the dumps.

VIRGINIA DISTRICT.

The Virginia district, about 3 'miles in diameter, lies 25 miles westnorthwest of Chloride, near the middle of the west slope of the 

Black Mountains, 5 miles east of Colorado River and nearly opposite
MOCKING BIRD DISTRICT.

the Searchlight district, Nevada, at an elevation of about 1,500 

feet.

The country rock consists of the Tertiary volcanic rocks, with rhyol ite and green chloritic andesite most abundant. The veins dip southwestward, usually have a calcite gangue, and locally grade into the 

country rock. The Red Gap vein, however, consists of more or less 

brecciated quartz, probably with adularia, It is similar to that in the 

Gold Road mine and 

carries good values.

The ore of the district is' mostly freemilling gold. It averages about $7 to $8 a 

ton, and the best values 

are associated with 

specks of hematite distributed throughout the 

gangue, as in much of 

the ore in the Union 

Pass and Gold Road 

districts.

MOCKING BIRD DISTRICT.

GENERAL OUTLINE.

The Mocking Bird 

district (fig. 36) lies 25 

miles northwest of 

Chloride, in a reentrant 

parallel side valley in 

the east foothills of- the 

range, at elevations between 3,000 and 4,000 

feet. The valley is 

bounded on the east by 

a spur of volcanic rocks 

extending in a northerly direction from the 

flank of the range. The

3700' 

HALL MINE

'AT WEST Ml WE

2 miles

FIGURE 36. Sketch map of Mocking Bird district.

district trends north and south; it has a length of about 5 miles and a 

width of about 2-| miles. It is hilly on the south but open on the 

north, merging with the Sacramento Valley, which receives its drainage. Water is scarce, but some is encountered in the mines. The 

principal mines are the Mocking Bird, Hall, Great West, and Pocahontas. The Mocking Bird and Hall are now producing.
216 MINEEAL DEPOSITS OP MOHAVE COUNTY,, ARIZONA.

MOCKING BIRD MINE.

The Mocking Bird mine (fig. 37) is situated in the open northern 

portion of the district. Its principal developments are 12 or 15 

shafts, ranging from 25 to 60 feet in depth, and about 500 feet of 

drifts. The vein lies nearly flat in a local sheet or flat-lying dike of 

altered and pressed minette, containing secondary epidote, calcite, 

and adularia. Other volcanic rocks near by consist of rhyolite tuff 

and latite. The vein is about 6 feet thick and consists of red and 

green quartz and breccia. The metal is gold with a small amount of 

silver. The gold occurs in a finely divided state, usually associated 

with hematite, of which much is present. The ore averages about $10 

a ton. The production to date is reported to be more than $20,000; 

several times this amount of ore is said to be blocked out in the mine.

Smiles

FIGDRB 37. Cross section of rocks at Mocking Bird mine, a, Pre-Cambrian granitic gneiss 

and schist; 6, trachytic latite and rhyolite ; c, minette.

HALL MINE.

The remaining mines are situated near together in the low foothills of pre-Cambrian granite in the southern part of the district. 

The veins here all dip steeply to the north. The Hall mine, which 

works the most northerly of the veins, is developed principally by a 

210-foot shaft and two levels, containing about 200 feet of drifts. 

The vein ranges in thickness from a few inches to 2 feet, and is 

locally associated with diabase dikes. The gangue is quartz, some 

being of the honeycomb variety. Some of the ore is very rich, shows 

free gold, and is said to contain values of $10,000 or more to the ton. 

A 24-ton mill is operated at the mine.

GREAT WEST MINE.

The Great West mine is developed principally by adit drifts, shafts, 

crosscuts, and winzes to a depth of more than 200 feet. The vein is 

approximately 3 feet thick and consists essentially of gold-bearing, 

iron-stained oxidized quartz, reported to run from $10 to $80 a ton.

POCAHONTAS MINE.

The Pocahontas mine is developed by a shaft and drifts to a depth 

of 200 feet, and a new cyanide mill has recently been built to replace
GOLD BUG DISTRICT. 217

the stamp-amalgamation mill formerly used. The value of the ore 

is in gold, which occurs mainly in pyrite contained in a somewhat 

stained and crushed quartz gangue.

GOLD BUG DISTRICT.

The Gold Bug district is situated near the summit of the range, 

about 3 miles north of the Mocking Bird district, 3 miles south of 

Eldorado Pass, and 30 miles northwest of Chloride. The only mine 

is the Gold Bug mine, which is developed by several shafts and 

drifts to a depth of 300 feet.

The deposits consist chiefly of two main veins situated about 22 

feet apart in a doubtful volcanic rock, possibly a minette similar to 

that at the Mocking Bird mine. The veins dip steeply to the northeast. The ore is rich gold-bearing quartz, with a little silver, and 

favors the hanging wall, where in part it is associated with a 

diorite (?) dike. Much ore is said to remain in the mine.

Mr. H. J. Marmein, representing the Gold Bug Mining Company, 

has kindly given the following historical notes and account of recent 

development work:

This property consists of several patented claims. The first discovery of gold on these claims was made in 1892 by two Mormon 

miners, and the exceedingly rich ore taken out at the very beginning 

of work attracted much attention. In 1893 the property was sold for 

a large sum and was then worked in a desultory way for two years; 

during this time about 50 tons of selected ore was shipped, which 

netted $43,000, or about $860 a ton in car lots, after deducting all 

transportation and smelter charges. The owner erected a 20-ton 

Huntington mill on the banks of Colorado River, about 10£ miles 

from the mine, and 800 tons of the low-grade ore put through this 

mill, saving only 58 per cent of the assay value, gave returns on the 

plates of $12,000, or $15 a ton. Owing to lack of capital, the work 

was discontinued and the mine lay idle until March, 1908, when the 

present company began working the property.

The old workings consist of 15 shafts and open cuts, about 2,300 

feet of underground work all told. The main shaft is now down 300 

feet. Two shafts, each about 200 feet distant from the main shaft, 

on other veins, have been developed to depths of 100 and 140 feet.

As a result of operations of 1908 on the 290-foot level, which 

seems to be nearing the limit of the oxidized zone, it is reported that 

for the TO feet of drift run the vein has an average width of about 5 

feet and on either wall contains an ore streak which attains about 

18 inches in maximum width. The ore of this streak averages from a 

few dollars to several hundred dollars in gold and from $1 to $60 in 

silver to the ton and shows coarse and free gold.
218 MINERAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA.

The quartz gangue of the vein is shatteredj and the best values 

occur in its more shattered portions in association with iron oxide in 

the oxidized zone, and with pyrite and galena and vanadinite at 

greater depths, where sulphide ore is coming in and the ore bodies and 

values are becoming more regular.

ELDORADO PASS DISTRICT.

The Eldorado Pass district, an area about 2 miles in diameter, lies 

west of the White Hills at Eldorado Pass, on the road leading to 

Eldorado Canyon, at an elevation between 2,500 and 3,000 feet. The 

topography is one of gentle relief. The country rock is the preCambrian granite, and it is intruded and locally overlain by the 

Tertiary volcanic rocks. The principal properties are the Burrows, 

Bagg, Young, and Pauly. They are in the prospect stage, but have 

produced some gold, the production of the Burrows being reported 

to be about $10,000. The metals of the three first named are gold 

and silver in quartz veins; the Pauly, which seems to be at the 

contact between the granite and the volcanic rock, contains principally copper.

NONMETALLIC MINERAL RESOURCES.

The principal nonmetallic mineral resources occurring in the region 

here discussed are building stone, cement rock, caliche (?), turquoise, 

and graphite.

Building stone. The most important building stone in the region 

is the rlryolite tuff underlying Kingman Mesa. It occurs in abundance in heavy beds and is easily quarried in the scarps near Kingman. It is medium grained and fairly uniform in texture and dresses 

well. The most important buildings in Kingman are built of it.

Cement rock. The main cement material of the region is a finegrained pumiceous phase of the rhyolite tuff just described. It 

occurs in a deposit of considerable extent west and southwest of Kingman and probably elsewhere and is said to have been proved by experiment to be excellent for making cement. It requires no calcining. 

Briquets made with it are reported to have a high tensile strength 

and to stand salt-water test with excellent results.

It is also very probable that excellent materials for cement, brick, 

lime, and building-stone purposes occur abundantly in the Carboniferous and other Paleozoic limestones and shales of the Grand Wash 

Cliffs region, which, so far as learned, have not yet been exploited 

for these materials. The Carboniferous, which is strong here, has, 

as is well known, long been supplying these materials in enormous 

quantities for the above purposes throughout the Middle West, as 

well as in other sections of the country.
NONMETALLIC MINERAL RESOURCES. 219

Caliche (?}. Calcareous deposits locally called " limestone " and 

" travertine " and used as flux at the smelters occur in Sacramento 

Valley, near Chloride, Mineral Park, and elsewhere. The deposits 

in place were not visited by the writer, but to judge from quarried 

material from them piled at the old smelter near the Chloride depot, 

where it had been used as flux, the deposits seem undoubtedly to belong to the class of subsurface calcareous deposits known to have a wide 

distribution in the hot, arid plains of Arizona and adjoining regions 

in the Southwest, and described by various authors under the names 

" caliche," " subterranean travertine," " tepetate," " tierra blanca," etc. 

In mineralogical, structural, textural, and other characteristics the 

material corresponds very closely with that described by Blake,0 and 

in hand specimen it was readily identified by Dr. T. W. Vaughan, 

who is experienced with deposits of this class,6 as being in all probability caliche.

The caliche deposits in the Southwest usually occur in more or less 

continuous sheets from 1 foot to 15 feet in thickness underlying the 

surface soil." They are formed not by hot springs, but by precipitation and concentration of calcareous material, through the evaporation of subsurface lime-bearing waters, which may be ascending, 

descending, or both, depending mainly on local climatic conditions.

Turquoise. Turquoise is actively mined by several companies near 

Mineral Park, notably at Ithaca Peak, about 1-J miles to the southeast, and Aztec Mountain, about 3 miles to the south. It occurs in 

coarse altered granite porphyry in the form of veins and globular 

and irregular bodies, 1 to 8 inches in diameter, some of which are connected by stringers or mere seams and others isolated in the solid 

rock. The production is mostly shipped in monthly installments to 

New York, where it is sold chiefly in the rough for jewelry purposes.

A fuller account of the deposits, by Douglas B. Sterrett, is being 

published in the Mineral Resources of the United States for 1908.

Graphite. Graphite, possibly of commercial value, occurs in the 

pre-Cambrian schists on the east slope of the Cerbat Range near the 

old government trail in Canyon Station Wash, a few miles southeast 

of Mineral Park.

Amethyst. In the McConnico district, in a mineralized zone in 

the pre-Cambrian rocks, about half a mile north-northeast of Boulder 

Spring, amethysts have been found, one of which is reported to have 

been sold to the Tiffany Company for $59. The property is developed by several shafts, of which the deepest is about 65 feet deep.

0 Blake, Wm. P., The caliche of southern Arizona ; an example of deposition by vadose 

circulation : Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 31, 1901, pp. 220-226.

6 Vaughan, T. W., Eighteenth Ann. Rept U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1898, p. 256.
r

220 MINEEAL DEPOSITS OF MOHAVE .COUNTY, ARIZONA.

WATER SUPPLY.

Throughout that portion of the area which lies north of the latitude of Kingman water is scarce, the only natural source of supply 

besides precipitation being a few small springs, found along the base 

of the ranges. In the pre-Cambrian rocks, however, particularly in 

the Cerbat Range, as shown in the mines, ample water of good quality 

is usually encountered at depths of 300 to 600 feet; and in the vicinity 

of Kingman in the rhyolite tuff a copious supply is reached at depths 

of about 130 feet, as shown by numerous wells. In the Black Mountains the best water-bearing formation is the rhyolite tuff, commonly 

known as the " water rock," extending in a belt of considerable 

width from Union Pass southward beyond Gold Road. It is the 

source of water used at Gold Road and other localities, and, as at 

Kingman, the supply seems inexhaustible. Water occurs in about all 

the shafts in the Gold Road and Vivian districts that are 200 feet or 

more deep.
INDEX.

A. Page.

Access to region, description of........ 14-15,16-17

Acknowledgments to those aiding........... 12-13

African mine, description of................. 132

Alexander mine, description of............ 99

Alpha mine, description of.................. 103

Altata mine, description of.................. 71

American Boy mine, description of........ 173-174

American Flag mine, description of.......... 140

Amethyst, occurrence and character of....... 219

Andesite, character and distribution of... 34-37,41

contact of, with older andesite, view of.. 182 

with rhyolite, deposits at.......... 202-203

foothills of, view of...................... 180

Andesite, green chloritic, analyses of........ 36,37

character and distribution of............. 34-37

Angle lode, description of.................... 180

Annie prospect, description of............... 89

Argo prospect, description of................ 90

Arizona, western, geologic map of............ 11

Arkansas mine, description of............... 86-88

vein of, figure showing................... 87

view of.................................. 86

Aubrey group, occurrence and character of... 29

B.

Baden-Baden mine, description of........... 118

Badger mine, description of.................. 61

Bagg prospect, description of................ 218

Banner group mine, description of......... 109-110

view of................................... 86

Basalt, occurrence and character of..'........ 42

Big Bethel mine, description of.............. 100

Big Sandy Wash, drainage by..........:.... 18

Big Sandy Valley, description of..... ...... 25-26

Billy Bryan mine, description of........... 164-165

Bi-Metal mine, description of.............. 136-137

Black Canyon, description of................ 22,26

Blackfoot mine, description of............... 102

Black Mesa, description of................... 23

Black Mountains, description of..... 21-23,151-152

districts of............................... 151

mineral deposits of, character of...... 48-49,151

mineralogy of............................ 49

rocks in................. 27-28,31,38,39,40,42

analyses of.................... 37,38,39,41

sections across, figures showing......... 35,204

water level in............................. 220

Blanket Vein claims, description of........ 106-107

Blue Bell mine, mention of.................. 118

Blue Martin prospect, description of......... 89

Blue Range. See Black Mountains. 

Blue Ridge mine. See Tom Eeed mine.

Page.

Bobby Burns mine, mention of.............. . 79

Boulder Creek group, description of.......... '138

Boulevard mine, description of............ 204-205

Boundary Cone district, description of....... 198

geology of............................... 199

mines of............................... 200-203

ores of................................. 199-200

topography of, views of.................. 198

Brown mine, mention of..................... 118

Bryan mine, description of.................. 134

Buckeye mine, description of................ 83-84

Building stone, occurrence and character of... 218 

Bunker Hill mine, description of............ 98

Burrows prospect, description of............. 218

Butler.B. S., aid of........................... 13

C.

Calcite, pseudomorphs after................. 48

Caliche, occurrence and character of......... 219

use of, as flux............................ 219

Canyon Station Wash, mines in............. 118

Catherine mine, description of............. 205-206

Cedar Valley district, area and location of.... 47

Cement rock, occurrence and character of.... 218

Century group, mention of................... 79

Cerbat district, description of................ 91

geology of............................... 91-92

mines of................................ 92-107

ores of................................... 92

rocks of.................................. 28

topography of........................... 91

Cerbat mine, description of.................. 97-98

Cerbat Mountains, description of............ 19-20

Cerbat Range, description of................. 19-21

districts of............................... 49

geology of............................... 49-50

gold in, discovery of..................... 43-44

mineral deposits of..................... 49-142

character of....................... 47-48,50

mineralogy of............................ 49

mines of................................ 39-142

ores of................................... 50

rocks in.............................. 27-31,41

view of.................................. 54

water level in........................... 50,220

Cerbat Wash drainage, mines north of....... 92-98

mines south of......................... 103-107

Champion mine, description of............ 104-105

rocks from............................... 31

analysis of........................... 32

^ein of, figure showing................... 104

Charcoal Canyon, rocks of................... 31

221
222 INDEX.

Page.

Chemehuevis gravel, character and distribution of........................... 42

Cherums Peak, altitude of................... 20

Chief of the Hills mine, description of........ 134

Chloride, description of...................... 16,51

view of.................................. 54

Chloride district, geology of......'............ 52-53

history of................................ 51

location of. .........f .................... 51

map of.................................. 52

mineral deposits of, character of.......... 53

mines of................................. 54-80

depth of............................. 52

 mining claims in, map showing.......... 52

rooks of.................................. 28.31

veins of..'................................ 53

figure showing....................... 53

Cincinnati mine, description of.............. 118

Climate, description of....................... 15

Climax mine, description of.................. 99

C. 0. D. mine, description of.............. 116-118

C. O. D. Wash, mines in.................. 116-118

Colernan prospect, mention of............... 212

Colorado plateau, description of............. 17

rocks of.................................. 29

Colorado Range. See Black Mountains.

Colorado River, drainage by..... v .......... 17

rocks on................................. 28

Colorado River trough, description of........ 26-27

Columbus mine, description of............... 95

Comstock, T. B., on Cerbat deposits......... 50

on particular mines...................... 56,59

work of.................................. 14

Congress prospect, description of............. 90

Contention vein, description of.............. 148

Copper mines, occurrence and character of... 151 

Cottonwood Valley, description of........... 26

Crops, nature of............................. 16

Cupel mine, description of................. 110-111

veins of, figure showing.................. Ill

Cyclopic mine, description of.............. 124-126

D.

Daisy mine, description of................... 133

De la Fontaine mine, description of......... 113

Detrital-Sacramento Mountains, description

Of...................'............ 22-23

Detrital-Sacramento Valley, description of... 24 

drainage by...,.......................... 17

Diabase, character and distribution of....... 33

Dikes, character and distribution of......... 30-34

Distaff mine, description of.................. 60

Distances, table of........................... 16

Drainage, description of..................... 17-18

Dutton, C. E., on Grand Wash fault.......... 18

E. 

Eddy mine, location of...................... 99

Eldorado mine, description of............. 120-121

workings of, figure showing.............. 120

Eldorado Pass district, description of........ 218

Eldorado Range, description of.............. 23-24

Elevations, range of................... 18,20,21-22

Elkhart mine, description of.....:........... 57-60

plan of, figure showing ..................* 58

view of................................. 56

Ellen Jane mine, description of..........;. 144-148

Page. 

Ellen Jane mine, section of.................. 148

section of, figure showing................ 147

workings of, figure showing.............. 145

Ellen Jane vein, description of............... 144

Emerson mine, description of................ 72

Empire mine, description of................. 61-62

Enterprise mine, description of............ 140-141

Esmeralda mine, description of.............. 97

Estella-Bronco vein, description of.......... 90

Estella prospect, description of............ 90

Excelsior mine (Gold Basin district), description of...................... 122

Excelsior mine (White Hills district), description of...................... 134

Expansion group, description of............ 209-210

Exploration, early, extent of................ 13-14

 F.

Fairfield mine, description of................ 88

Faults, occurrence and character of........ 18-19,20

Field work, extent of........................ 11-12

Flora prospect, description of............... 90

Flores mine, description of.................. 96

Flux, use of caliche for...................... 219

Fountain Head mine, mention of............ 118

Freight, rates for............................ 43-45

Fuel, character of........................... 12

G.

Gaddis-Perry lode, description of.......... 179-180

Garfield mine, description of................. 133

Geographic relations, description of.......... 14-17

Geologic map of western Arizona........... 11

Geology, account of......................... 27-42

See also particular districts, places, etc. 

German-American mine, description of..... 186-190

section in................................ 188

view of.................................. 190

Gilbert, G. K., on Hualpai Valley............ 25

Gladstone mine, description of............... 72

Golconda mine, description of............... 100

Goldback mine, mention of.................. 79

Gold Basin district, area and location of...... 46

description of.......................... 118-120

map of.................................. 119

mines of............................... 120-127

ores of................................... 119

rocks of................................. 28

Gold Belt mine, description of............... 126

Gold Bug district, description of............. 217

mines of................................. 217

Gold Bug mine, description of............. 217-218

Golden Eagle prospect, mention of.......... 21

Golden Era mine, description of............. 202

Golden Gem mine, description of............ 92-94

workings of, figure showing.............. 93

Golden Rule mine, description of.......... 123-124

Golden Star group, description of........... 173-175

Golden Star mine (Gold Road district), description of...................... 174

Golden Star mine (Mineral Park district), description of...................... 85-86

view of.................................. 174

Goldroad, description of..................... 16

Gold Road district, geology of............... 153

history of................................ 152
INDEX. 223

Page. 

Gold Road district, location of.............. 152

map of.................................. 154

mines in, map showing.................. 154

ores of................................... 153

topography of......................... 152-153

water in................................. 220

Gold Road Gulch, view of................... 158

Gold Road mine, developments on........ 154-150

 geology of............................... 157

history of.............................. 153-154

ores of................................. 158-104

treatment of. ...................... 150-157

rocks in................................. 37

analysis of........................... 40

sections of.............................. 100

topography of ........................ 157-158

views of................................ 152,158

workings of............................ 154-150

figure showing....................... 155

Gold Road vein, view of..................... 174

Good Luck mine, description of............. 134

Good Road mine, mention of................ 72

Grand Army of the Republic mine, description of......................... 130-131

' workings of, figure showing.............. 131

G rand Canyon, rocks of...................... 27,29

G rand Wash Cliffs, description of............ 18-19

rocks in.................................. 27-29

Sec also Music Mountain district; Lost

Basin district. 

G rand Wash fault, description of............. 18-19

Grand Wash Trough, rocks in............... 42

Granite porphyry, description of............. 30-31

G raphite, occurrence and character of....... 219

Great Basin province, features of............ 17

rocks of.................................. 34

Great Bronco prospect. See Congress prospect. 

Great Eastern group, description of.......... 140

Great West mine, description of............. 210

Green Linnet mine, description of........... 100

Greenwood district, area and location of..... 47

Greggs breccia, character and distribution of. 42

H.

Hackberry, description of.................... 10

Backberry district, area and location of...... 47

Hall'mine, description of.................... 210

Hardy Mountains, rocks of.................. 31,35

Hercules mine, description of................. GO-61

Hidden Treasure mine (Chloride district), description of...................... 72

Hidden Treasure mine (White Hills district),

description of.................. 131-132

Highland Chief mine, description of........ 201-202

History, outline of........................... 43-45

Homestake mine, description of............. 178

Horn Silver mines, description of.......... 134-135

workings of, figure showing.............. 135

Hualpai Mountains, description of........... 20-21

gold in, discovery of..................... 43-44

rocks of.................................. 28

vegetation of......................:..... 15

Hualpai Peak, altitude of.................... 18

Hualpai Valley, description of............... 24-25

Hualpai Wash, drainage by................. 17

Humboldt, smelter at....................... 45

L Pago. 

Idaho mine, description of................... 95

Indians, early troubles with................. 43,52

Intrusive rocks, description of............... 30-33

Iowa mine, description of.................. 200-201

sections of .............................. 200,201

I. X. L. Basin, mines in................... 115-110

J.

Jackpot mine, description of................. 178

J. F. T. mine, description of................. 110

Juno mine, description of.................... 78

K.

Katie mine, description of................... 89

Kenney prospect, description of............. 89

Keystone mine, description of............... 81-82

mill of................................... 80

Kingman, description of..................... 10

lava mesa at............................ 54

location of............................... 15

rocks at and near........................ 29-30

analysis of........................... 41

water level at........................... 220

Kingman Mesa, rocks of..................... 40

King mine, description of................... 118

K. P. mine, description of................. 115-110

Krauss mine, description of................. 202

view of.................................. 198

Kyle prospect, description of................ 202

L.

Lady Bug mine, description of.............. 83

Lamprophyric dike rocks, character and distribution of...................... 31-33

Lane Springs Basin, mines in............. 102-103

Latite, analysis of........................... 37,38

occurence and character of........ 30-37,37-38

Lazy Boy group, description of.............. 201

Lee, W. T., on Big Sandy Valley............. 25-20

on Detrital-Sacramento Valley.......... 24

on Hualpai Valley....................... 25

on Hualpai Mountains................... 21

on rock formations...................... 42

work of................................. 14

Leland mine, description of............... 183-180

rocks in................................. 30

analysis of........................... 37

view of.................................. 182

Lindgren, Waldemar, work in charge of..... 11

Little Chief mine, description of........... 112-113

Location of region, description of........... 14-15

Lost Basin district, area and location of.. 40-47,150 

mines of............................... 150-151

ores of................................. 150-151

Lucky Boy mine, description of............. 03-64

Lucky Cuss mine, description of............. 149

M.

McConnico district, description of......... 135-136

mines of............................... 136-138

McDonald prospect, description of........... 90

McKesson group, description of............ 137-138

Manzanita mine, description of.............. 72

Map, geologic, of western Arizona...'........ 11

Maps, early, crudeness of.................... 11
224 INDEX.

Page. 

Marcou, Jules, work of...................... 13

Marie E. vein, description of........:..... 148-149

Mascot mine, description of.................. 122

Maynard district, description of........ 47,139-140

geology of............................... 139

mines of............................... 139-142

ores of................................. 139-140

Meals ledge, description of................. 175-176

Merrimac mine, description of............... 78-79

Metallic-Accident mine, description of....... 88

Mexican mine, description of................ 102

Micropegmatite, occurrence and character of. 31 

Midnight mine (Chloride district), description

of................................ 76-77

intrusive rocks near, figure showing...... 77

view of.................................. 74

Midnight mine (Vivian district), description

of................................ 194

Miller mine, description of................. 176-178

Miller prospect, mention of.................. 212

Mineral deposits, character of................ 47-49

description of........................... 43-219

Mineralogy, data on......................... 49

Mineral Park district, description of......... 80

geology of............................... 81

mines of................................. 81-91

ores of................................... 81

rocks of.................................. 30,31

Miner's Hope mine, mention of.............. 118

Minette, analyses of......................... 32

Mining, development of..................... 43-45

Mining districts, areas and locations of....... 45-47

map showing............................ 46

Minnesota-Connor mine, description ofv ..... 69-71

rocks from............................... 31-33

analysis of........................... 32

workings of, figure showing.............. 70

Mocking Bird district, description of......... 215

map of.................................. 215

mines of............................... 216-217

Mocking Bird mine, description of.......... 216

rocks in................................. 38

analysis of........................... 38

section of, figure showing................ '216

Mohave County, production of.............. 47

Mohave Valley, description of............... 27

Mollie Gibson mine, description of........... 60

Monarch group, description of............... 213

Moss Back mine, description of............ 168-170

Moss mine, description of.................. 170-172

discovery of............................ 43,170

Mothers Lode mine, mention of.............. 72

Mountain Beauty mine, description of....... 202

Mountains, description of.................... 18-24

Music Mountain, rocks at.................... 29-31

Music Mountain district, area and location of. 47,142 

geology of............................. 143-144

map of.................................. 143

mines of............................... 144-150

ores of..........................'......... 144

topography of.......................... 142-143

N.

Navy group mine, description of........... 178-179

Needles, smelter at.......................... 44

Never-get-left mine, description of........... .123

Newberry, J. S., on Black Canyon........... 22

on Colorado River trough................ 26

work of.................................. 13

New Chance claim, descrip tion of............ 213

New Jersey mine, description of............. 72

New London mine, description of........... 105

Niggerhead, rocks of......................... 30,81

Night Hawk mine, description of............ 103

Norma mine, description of.................. 132

workings of, figure showing.............. 133

Nutt Mount, description of.................. 23

0.

Occident mine, description of.............. 134-135

workings of, figure showing.............. 135

O. K. group, description of.................. 209

0. K. mine, description of................. 121-122

workings of, figure showing.............. 122

Old Hackberry mine, description of......... 141

Olivine basalt, occurrence and character of.. 42 

Ores, minerals of............................ 49

See also particular districts. 

Ore shoots, positions of...................... 51

Oro Plata mine, description of............. 100-101

veins in, figure showing.................. 101

P.

Paleozoic sediments, description of.......... 29-30

Pasadena mine, description of............. 167-168

Pauly prospect, description of............... 218

Paymaster mine, description of.............. 98

Pay Roll mine, description of................ 62-63

Peacock Mountains, description of........... 21

rocks of.................................. 28

Perkins, Mount, altitude of.................. 22

description of............................ 22

Physiography, description of................ 17-27

Pilgrim district, description of .............. 214

Pinkham mine, description of............... 74-76

view of.................................. 74

workings of, figure showing.............. 75

Pocahontas mine, description of........... 216-217

Pre-Cambrian rocks, character and distribution of........................... 27-28

petrography of.......................... 2S-29

structure of.............................. 29

Precipitation, records of..................... 15

Primrose mine, description of................ 102

Prince Albert mine, description of......... 132-133

Prince George mine, description of......... 111-112

Production, records of....................... 47

Prosperity mine, description of.............. 102

Pyramid Canyon, description of............. 26-27

Pyramid mine, description of.............. 206-207

QQuartz, pseudomophs of, view of............ 48

Quaternary rocks, occurrence and character of 42

Queen Bee mine, description of......'......... 86

Queen mine, description of.................. 118

R.

Railroads, access by......................... 14-15

Rainbow mine, description of................ 64-67

workings of, figure showing.............. 65

Rainfall, records of.......................... 15
INDEX. 225

Page. 

Ransome, F. L., work of.................... 14

Rattan mine, description of................ 172-173

Reclamation Service, work of ............... 14

Red Bluff prospect, description of......... 174-175

Redemption mine, description of............ 63

Red Lake, description of.................... 24,25

Red Wall limestone, occurrence and character

of............................... 29

Relief, description of........................ 1S-27

Rhyolite, analyses of........................ 41

contact of, witlvandesite, deposits at.. 102-203 

occurrence and character of........... 37,40-41

Rip Van Winkle mine, description of........ 103

River Range. See Black Mountains.

Robert Emmet mine, description of......... 90

Roger Boy mine, mention of................. 79

Roosevelt shaft, description of............... . 198

Rural mine, description of................... 83-84

S.

Sabbath Bell vein, description of............ 91

Sacramento Valley, view in................. 74

Sacramento Wash, drainage by.............. 18

St. Louis mine, description of............. 105-106

Salt Springs mine, description of............ 127

Samoa mine, description of.................. 07-69

San Antonio mine, description of............ 86-88

vein of, figure showing................... 87

San Diego group, description of............ 208-209

section of, figure showing................ 208

San Francisco district, area and location of.. 45 

Scanlon-Childs mines, description of....... 150-151

Schuylkill mine, description of.............. 57

Secret Pass, rocks at......................... 35

section at, figure showing................ 204

Senator mine, description of............... 120-127

Settlements, description of................... 16

Sheep Trail mine, description of........... 204-205

Siamese group, description of.............. 141-142

Silliman, Benjamin, work of................. 13

Silver Creek, rocks at........................ 29-30

Silver Hill, vein on, description of........... 77-78

view from............................... 54

Silver mine, description of................... 99

Sixty-three mine, description of............. 115

Snowball mine, ores of, tenor of.............. 44

Southwick vein, description of............. 149-150

Spurr, J. E., on sediments................... 18

Standard mine, description of............... 86

Steiger, George, analysis by................. 13

Stockton Hill, top of, mines on.............. US

Stockton Hill district, description of......... 107

geology of..................'............. 107

map of.................................. 108

mines of.......'........................ 108-11S

mining claims in, map showing.......... 108

ores of................................. 107-108

rocks of.................................. 28

topography of........................... 107

Stockton Hill Wash, mines on............ '108-113

Stone, building, occurrence and character of. 218 

Success mine, description of................. 102

Sullivan, E. C., analyses by.............. 13,31,36

Sunlight prospect, description of............. 214

Swift prospect, description of................ 90

Swiss-American mine, description of....... 196-198

88171 Bull. 397 09 15

T- Page. 

Temple Bar conglomerate, character and distribution of...........'........... 42

Tennessee mine, description of.............. 54-56

vein in, figure showing.................. 54

view of.................................. 56

workings in, figure showing.............. 55

Tertiary rocks, occurrence and character of.. 34-42 

Tin tic mine, description of................... 79

Tip ton, Mount, altitude of................... 20

Todd Basin, mines in...................... 100-102

Tom Reed mine, description of............ 192-194 '

sections of............................. 193,194

view of.................................. 180

Tonto group, occurrence and character of.... 29

Towne mine, description of.................. 72-74

Trachyte, analyses of........................ 39,40

occurrence and character of.............. 37-40

Tragedy group, description of.............. 210-211

vein of, figure showing................... 210

Treasure Hill mine, description of......... 114-115

Treasure Hill Wash, mines on............. 114-115

Tub mine, description of................... 99-100

Tuckahdc mine, description of............... 79

Tungsten, production of..................... 140

Turquoise, occurrence and character of...... 219

Turquoise Mountain, view of................ 86

Twins mine, description of.................. 105

Tyler mine, description of................... 82-83

Tyro group, description of................... 207

U.

Union Basin, mines in...................... 98-100

Union Pass district, description of......... 203^204

map of.................................. 203

mines of............................... 204-214

ores of................................... 204

rocks of.................................. 28

Union Pass group, description of.......... 211-212

section of................................ 212

V.

Valleys, description of....................... 24-27

Vanderbilt group, description of............. 94-95

Vandcrbilt mine, description of.............. 95

Vegetation, description of.................... 15-16

Venture prospects, description of............ 175

section of............'.................... 175

Victor-Virgin mine, description of......... 190-191

section of................................ 191

view of.................................. 190

Virginia district, description of............ 214-215

Vivian, description of........................ 180

Vivian district, description of.............. 180-181

geology of........................ 34,36-37,181

map of.................................. 154

mines in............................... 181-198

map showing...................... 154,182

view of.............................. 180

ores of................................... 181

water in................................. 220

Vivian mine, description of................ 195-196

workings of, figure showing.............. 195

Vogesite, analyses of......................... 32

Volcanic rocks, occurrence and character 

of......................................... 34-42
226 INDEX.

w- Page. 

Wallapai district, area and location of....... 45

Warner prospect, description of............ 202-203

Water, level of.............................. 50

supply of................................ 220

See also particular districts. 

Weaver district, area and location of......... 45

West Gold Road mine, description of...... 166-167

workings of, figure showing.............. 166

West Point prospect, description of.......... 173

West Treasure mine, description of.......... 131

White Hills, description of................... 20

rocks of.................................. 28

White Hills district, area and location of.. 45-46,127

Page.

White Hills district, geology of............ 129-130

history of.............................. 127-128

map of.................................. 129

mines of........................... 129,130-135

ores of................................. 129-130

Wilson, Mount, altitude of......'............. 22

description of............................ ' 22

Windy Point mine, description of............ 84-85

Wood Chopper's Relief mine, description of.. 88-89

Young prospect, description of............... 218

0