Arizona republican., 1904-01-16
ARIZONA COAL
Description of the Deer Creek Fields
 by U. 5. G. Surveyor.

! A study Of the earth's crust would : incline one 70 the belief that the law . of compensation found a place in Ma | lures earliest economies. It frequently l happens that those parts of the coun- [ try richest in precious metals are lack ! ing in the prosaic minerals which alone
 can render them available. Like the mother of the famous "Ruggleses, who with fine impartiality decided that those who had handkerchiefs couldn't have neckties. so the old Mo ther Earth seems to have felt that those districts which had gold and sil
 Yer and copper were sufficiently bless ed and shouldn't have coal. A few chcice spots may have been her fav-
 ored exceptions, but the rule holds good
 with enough frequency to embarrass
 the operations of mere man in several
 notable instances. One such has re- gently claimed the attention of Mr. NJ.
 R. Campbell of the United States Geo. logical survey. who has been making a preliminary examination of the Deer
 Creek coal field of Pinal county, Ari-
 zona.
 This field is of comparatively small extent. and the coal beds are thin, but
 they may have considerable economic
 importance. as the field lies within easy
 reach of the great copper camps of
 Arizona. the development of which de-
 bends in a large measure upon the sup
 ply Of a moderately cheap fuel The
 importance of this inquiry may be ap-
 preciated from the fact that wood is
 difficult Co obtain at prices which
 range from Ss to S11 a cord, that coal of average quality retails from s6 to $15
 a. ton. and that coke for the copper
 smelters costs from SIP to $50 ton,
 depending upon the distance from the
 main lines of transportation. These
 facts give to the Deer Creek coal field a positive prospective value greatly beyond what II would have were it To- cated ln Colorado or near the great coal fields Of the eastern states
 The Deer Creek coal field lies about s5 miles northeast of Tucson and just east Of the junction Of the San Pedro and Gila river. The field has at pres ent no railroad connection with the outside world. but when the line that is now building up the Gila river above Florence Is completed. it will be In reach Of most of the large towns and Of the great copper producing centers of the region.
 The field has an apprc ximate length of 70 miles and a known breadth of or miles. with the possibility that the ! coal may be present farther to the ! southwest than is now known. making | the breadth about equal to the length | Of the field.
 The coal has been well prospected | in tho eastern. or upper field and sev- | eral beds have been recognized, but fl | seems probable that In this portion of | the basin the rocks are closely folded, | resulting in a duplication of the out | crops of the coal beds In the middle | and lower fields of the basin. where | the structure is not SO complicated. ! the principal coal beds are two in num- ber and show on both sides of the basin. dipping toward its center Meas urements ootained on shafts sunk on the two outcrops give thickness which runs from 24 to 90 inches.
 Some question has been raised re- Carding the geologic age of these coal | beds. but fossils found in the associat- ed rock show that they are Cretaceous. The coal usually occurs near the base Of the Cretaceous sandstones and shades. and within thirty feet of the upper carboniferOus limestone. upon which the younger rocks rest uncom- fortably. Above'the coal bearing rocks. which attain a thickness of several hundred feet. is a great mass of ande- site lava, which came out as surface flows. The amount of this lava is not known. but In the center of the basin |, it probably attains a thickness of 2,000 feet.
 The composition of the coal from the lower field has not been determined with accuracy but rough tests have been made which show that it is a bi- luminous coking coal, that the volatile run from 23 to 36 per cent and that the ash ranges from 36 to 70 per cent.