Mineral deposits of Luna County, New Mexico

Abstract

Luna County mines have produced $8.64 million in minerals since the first recorded mining operations in 1876. The bulk of this production has been from lead-zinc-silver ores, but appreciable amounts of manganese, fluorspar, copper, and gold also have been mined. The principal producing districts of the past were the Cooks Peak, Victorio, Tres Hermanas, Little Florida, and Fluorite Ridge. Lesser districts include the Fremont, Florida, and Cedar-Carrizalillo.Mining is now at a standstill in Luna County because of the lack of known deposits that can be operated profitably under present market conditions. The full mineral potential of Luna County cannot be appraised accurately, but many factors point to at least the possibility of moderate-sized metalliferous ore finds in the Victorio, Tres Hermanas, and Cooks Peak districts. The fluorspar and manganese deposits offer promise only on radical improvement in the respective market prices involved.

Geology of Hermanas quadrangle, Luna County, New Mexico

“…Darton (1916) notes that a small shipment of copper -rich ore with c1ssociatPd gold was made from a Vt'in in the northwestern part of the Carrizalillo Hills. Griswold (1961) provides the latest and best summary of mineral deposits in the Carrizalillo Hills. He describes chrysocolla, millachite, and azurite associated vvith quartz, ca'rbonatc, and breccia veins in the broken region northwest of Johnson Mountain, gold prospects located "just east of f fermanas and north of the highw.iy," which produced a few shipmf'nts of ore; and tlll' copper-beanng andesite at the Cillumet mine in the so11th crn Ci1rrizalillo Hills.…”

Geology of South Peak quadrangle, Luna County, New Mexico

“…The Park (Hilltop) mine is locate d in the SE% sec. 35, r. 25 S., R. 8 ~V Griswold (1961) reporll'd that A. J. Mah n s taked the liilltop claim over the deposit m 1958, but most of the development had been done many years betore. Thoroughly oxidized veins in Fusselman Dolomite contain dry bone smithsonite and minor cerus~ite .…”

A second New Mexico carminite locality, Victorio Mountains, Luna County, New Mexico

“…Major producers were the Chance and Jessie claims; other important properties were the Rover, Rambler, Excess, and Helen claims. Ore minerals were listed by Griswold (1961) as cerussite, anglesite, silver halides, and native gold, with minor smithsonite and secondary copper minerals in a gangue of quartz, calcite, and various iron oxides. Lindgren, Graton, and Gordon (1910) observed that all the ores contained some arsenic.…”