Mine Descriptions

Pajarito Mining District

 


Mine/PlacerMRDS41914 mapSchrader2 Pima6 Santa Cruz5

Morning & Evening Mine group

        1

St. Patrick Mine

        2

Sunset Mine group

        3

White Oaks & Big Steve mines

        4

Location

23 - 24S, 12E6

Mineral Products

Ag, Pb, Au, Cu-, Zn-, U- (As, F, Mo, V, Hg, Mn)6

Geology

Relatively small area of irregular and lensing fissure veins containing spotty argentiferous galena, pyrite, marcasite, and traces of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, arsenopyrite, cinnabar, wulfenite, vanadinite, fluorite, and locally pitchblende. Oxidation and super gene enrichment produced angelsite, cerussite, agentite, native silver and rich gold pockets. Mineralization replaces gouge and altered wall rock or fills fractures in Cretaceous quartz latite volcanics.6

Types of operation and production

Relatively shallow shaft, adits and open cuts. Worked since mid-1800's when high grade silver pockets mined. Total estimated and reported production would be some 1,000 tons of ore containing about 41,000 oz. of silver, 159 tons of lead, 216 oz. of gold and 2.5 tons of copper and a few hundred pounds of zinc. A small amount of picked uranium ore was shipped.6.


References

  1. Mineral Appraisal of Coronado National Forest, Part 12, Santa Rita Mountains Unit, MLA11-94 (1994). SR 591-609
    http://repository.azgs.az.gov/sites/default/files/dlio/files/nid1813/usbm_mla_011-94.pdf
  2. Mining in the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains of Arizona, U.S. Department of Interior, 1915. Republished 2014 by Kerby Jackson.
  3. Mike Bertram,
  4. USGS Mineral Resources Data System - using WGS84 (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/map-commodity.html#home)
  5. Index of Mining Properties in Santa Cruz County by Staton B. Keith, bulletin 191, Arizona Geological Survey, 1975
  6. Index of Mining Properties in Pima County by Staton B. Keith, bulletin 189, Arizona Geological Survey, 1974