Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1908-04-19
P|NAL COUNTY'S.
NEW DISTRICT
IN TORTILLAs
Harry Crozier Discovers Ore
On Opal Range And Has
Staked Off Twelve Claims
There.

tItCiCs
WINKELMAN, Ariz., April 1910
the brave, patient and industrious To-
Gator we are as much indebted as the
men OF wealth, for the many hundreds
or rich mines and those undeveloped
which the indefatigable prospector,
with scarcely more than grubstake,
few tools and his faithful uvs
works day after day for the Elusive
gold; the many hardships and the
sacrifices these pioneers make are
very rarely compensated for.
One Of these delivers in the bowels
of the earth is Harry C. Crozier, who
has recently discovered a new min
ing district, situated in Pinal county.
In a range of mountains lying east of
the Tortillas, to which he has Sven
the name of Opal range, from the
distinctive circumstances that the
surface of the rock is quite notice
ably encrusted with sort of opal, of
no commercial value so far as known,
but good indication of former water
action from below throughout the
ground. This opal range begins at
the ella river and parallels the Rfo
San Pedro at the north cad of this
range at an elevation estimated at
1900 feet. Here Crozier and his part
neF, Joe Cardoza, have staked twelve
or fourteen claims overlooking the
ella river about three miles below
Winkelman, but on the other side OF
the river, and nearly opposite the 10
cation for the town of London, where
the London-Arizona company will
shortly build smelter of a capacity
of 5000 tons daily, not only for their
own use, but for the custom work
they expect from the numel GUS
mines within a radius of eight OF ten.
miles and with further development
of these mines it Is within the posi-
bilities of the future that the i'm
mense power of the Gila river will be
harnessed and utilized by the great
London-AriZona, the Saddle Mountain
and the several companies about Ray,
also the ZachTy company and the
Crozier-Zachry company at the mouth
of Ash Creek, and the Two Queens,
near them.
But to return to Crozier and Car
doza. From the elevation of their
new claims, they can with a cable
train deliver ore right to the smelter
foot of Opal range they have about
at London, across the river. At the
sixty acres of level land with plenty
OF shade and good spring of water,
and plenty of firewood for domestic
use, but not sufficient for mechanical
use, though they are only about 20
miles from the Deer creek coal
field, which will soon be opened.
So much for the location; now
what are the formations and the in
dications for ore. Only small
amount Of development work has
been done on these claims, and of
course the proposition is not to be
regarded as a mine, but as a very
promising prospect. 1t appears to
contain all the conditions that have
united to produce the great copper
deposits in the properties of this re-
gion before referred to; it has the
limestone as the surface rock and
this limerick unquestionably covers
an interior that was fused and erupt-
ed extensively in this vicinity.
There is. indeed, every Indication
that the limestone of Opal hill was
in fact covered and thus protected
from erosion by a sheet of eruptive
rock that has been removed by the
great erosion that has sculptured
the north end Of the range through
later geological ages into great
cluster of rounded hills or little
mountains, separated by deep
gulches. The age of this limestone
is probably the same as that across
the river in the London range,
which has been determined as rang
ing from the siivurian to the car
boniterous.
Opal hill is cut by several dikes, or
by one great dixie having several
branches, and these bikes were the
cause of the ore deposition in the
lime by the well known process of
solution and replacement.
The source of the ore lay in the
fused mass below the lime formation,
and as the bikes cooled and shrank
they made channels for the expulsion
of the mineralized magnetic waters
a great and valuable deposit of min
eral exist in the Opal hills only the
further DEVELOPMENT will tell, but
beyond doubt Crozier and Cardoza
have very promising prospect, with
all the visible conditions favorable
They have the copper visible at the
IdSC " IlC AAOoL CASUAL AuoNrCCLlOh
in the condition OF the blue and
green carbonates, the dikes plainly
visible. breaking through the lime
stone to the surface They have
clearly visible the evidences of con-
tact metamorphism and the circula-
ton of hot magnetic waters through
their ground, In the garnet rock and
the epidote which are striking fea-
lures of the vast naturalization IN
the London range across the river;
also some of the limestone beds in
both locations have been altered to
a very good marble, which appears
from the acid test to be a dol0mite,
magnesia calcium lime
Pinal county is forging to the front
as a great mineralized section OF
Arizona. and the city Of Phoenix Is
close enough 10 be greatly benefited
thereby.