P acer Go (1 Deposit

of ArizonaBy MAUREEN G. JOHNSON

G E O L O G I C A L S U R V E Y B U L L E T I N 1 3 5

A cata log of location , g eology , and

production w ith lists of annota ted

r efer ences p er ta in ing to tlze p lacer

distr icts

UN ITED STATE S GOVERNM ENT PR INTING OF F I C E , WASH INGTON 1 9 7

UNITED STATE S DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

ROGERS C . B . MORTON , S ecre tary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

V . E . McKelvey , Director

Library of Congress catalog-card No. 724300097

For sa le by the S up eri n ten den t of Documen ts , U . S . Governmen t Prin ting Offi ceWashington , D.C . 20402 Price $ 1 (p ap er cover )

S tock Number 240 1-21 5 5

CONTENTS

AbstractIntroductionHistory of placer min ing in ArizonaPurpose and scope of presen t study

Coch ise County1 . DOS Cabezas and Teviston districts2. Courtland -Gleeson district (Turquoise district)3 . B isbee-W arren district (Gold Gulch placer)4. Huachuca placers (Hereford or Hartford d istrict)Other d istricts

5 . Cal i forn ia d istrict6 . Pearce district7 . Rucker Basin

Gi la Coun ty8 . Payson (Green Valley) district9 . Globe-Miami district1 0 . Barbarossa-Dripping Spring placers (Banner district)Other districts

1 1 . Mazatzal Moun tains12. Young district

Graham and Green lee Coun ties1 3 . Cl ifton -Morenci district14. San Francisco River placers15 . Gila River placersOther districts

1 6 . Rattlesnake d istrictMaricopa Coun ty

1 7 . Big Horn d istrict1 8 . Vul ture district1 9 . San Domingo district20 . Cave Creek d istrictOther districts

21 . Aqua Fria d istrict22. Dads Creek23 . Eagle Tai l Mountains24. New River district25 . Pikes Peak district26 . Sunflower d istrict

Mohave County27 . Chemehuevis district (Gold W ing district)28 . San Francisco d istrict (Oatman district)29. Kingman area placers (Mcconn ico and Maynard districts)30 . Colorado River placers

IV CONTENTS

Mohave Coun ty— Con tinued

3 1 . Gold Basin and Lost Basin d istrictOther districts

32. Cottonwood d istrict3 3 . Owens (Mccracken) d istrict34. W allapai distri ct

Pima County3 5 . Alder Canyon placers36. Greaterville district3 7 . Arivaca district (Las Guijas placers)38 . Sierrita Moun tains placers (Papago and P ima distri cts)39 . Baboquivari district40 . Cababi (Comobabi) district41 . Quijotoa d istrict42. Ajo districtOther d istricts43 . Empire d istrict44. Old Baldy district (Madera Canyon placers)45 . Silver Bel l d istri ct

P inal County46 . Old Hat d istri ct (Canada del Oro placers ; Southern Belle placers)Other districts47 . Casa Grande district48 . Goldfield district49 . Mineral Creek d istrict5 0 . P ioneer (Superior) district

Santa Cruz County5 1 . Oro Blanco d istrict5 2. Nogales district5 3 . Patagon ia district54. Tyndal l -Palmetto-Harshaw districts

Yavapai County5 5 . Lynx Creek drainage area56 . Hassayampa River drainage area5 7 . Big Bug Creek dra inage area5 8 . Turkey Creek dra inage area5 9 . B lack Canyon drainage area60 . Humbug Creek drainage area6 1 . W eaver (R ich Hil l) district62. Model and Kirkland placers63 . Copper Basin district64. Gran ite Creek65 . Eureka (Bagdad) distri ctOther d istricts

66 . Lincoln Creek67 . Pocket Creek68 . Squaw Creek

Yuma County69 . G ila City (Dome) d istrict

Page

Yuma Coun ty—Con tinued

70 . Laguna district7 1 . Muggins Moun tains placers72. Castle Dome district73 . Tank Moun tains placers74. Kofad istrict75 . El lsworth d istrict76. Trigo district (Colorado River placers)77 . La Paz distri ct78 . La Cholla , M iddle Camp , and Oro Fino p lacers79 . Plomosa districtOther districts

80 . Cienega district8 1 . Cocopah district82. Fortuna d istri ct83 . La Posa district84. Mohawk district85 . Santa Maria district86 . Sheep Tanks district87 . Sonora district

Gold production from placer depositsSummaryRelation between placer deposits and rock depositsAge of placer gravelsAge of lode mineral ization

Bibl iographyLiterature referencesGeologic map references

ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATE 1 . Map showing location of p lacer gold deposits in Arizona In pocket

FIGURE 1 . Graph showing Arizona placer gold production in ounces

TABLES

TABLE 1 . Arizona placer gold production2. Arizona lode-gold production

PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF AR IZONA

By MAUREEN G . JOHNSON

ABSTRACT

E ighty-seven placer districts in Arizona are“ estimated to have produced a min i

mum O i ounces of placer gold from 1 774 to 1 968 . The location , areal exten t ,past production , min ing h istory , and probable lode source summarized for eachdistrict are based on in formation Obta ined from a wide variety of publ ishedreports relating to placer deposi ts . Annotated references to all reports that containin formation about individual deposits are given for each district.Most Of the placer gold found in Arizona was derived from systems Of smal lgold -

quartz vein lets and stringers scattered throughout the bedrock of the adj acentmountain ranges . In on ly a few localities was the gold in large placer deposits derived from well -defined vein systems mined for the lode-gold con ten t . The mostproductive placer min ing era was 1 85 8—80 , when rich deposits of placer gold werefound in the southwestern and cen tral parts Of Arizona and hundreds of individualsworked the rich surface accumulations Of gold . Subsequen t placer min ing was doneby individuals working small deposits in many areas of the State using small -scaleportable equipmen t , such as rockers, sluices , and drywashers . Large-scale dredgeoperations were active in a few districts .

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY OF PLACER MINING IN ARIZONA

Ari zona ’s placer-mining industry began in 1 774, when Padre Manuel Lopez reportedly directed Papago Indians in mining the goldbearing gravels along the flanks Of the Quijotoa Mountains , PimaCoun ty . Placer mining was active in that region from 1 774 to 1 849,when the discovery Of gold in Cali fornia apparently at tracted many ofthe Mexican miners who worked the gravels (Stephens, Arizonawas then part Of Mex i co, and li t tle is known of the placer miningthat probably was carried On in various par ts Of southern Arizona .

Placers were probably worked in the Oro Blanco district , Santa CruzCounty, and the Arivaca dis trict, Pima Coun ty . The par t Of Arizonanor th Of the Gila River was ceded to the Uni ted S tates in 1 848, andthe part Of Arizona sou th Of the Gila River, where most Of the earlyplacer mining occurred, was purchased in 1 85 3 . Placers were discovered in the 1 850

’

s in the Bagdad area, Yavapai County, andChemuehuevi s Moun tains, Mohave County ; but i t was not un t i l 1 85 8,when placers were discovered by Colonel Jacob Snively a t the nor th

iNTRODUCT lON 3

area ad township and range . (See pl . 1 for loca t ion of the placer

gold dpos its .) Topographi c maps and geo logi c maps that show the

placer rea are listed . Access i s ind ica ted by d i rect ion and d i s tance

along ta j or roads and highways from a nearby center of popula t ion.

Deuled informa t ion re la t ing to the exact loca t i on of placer de

pos i ts . he i r thickness. d istribu tion. and average go ld content (allvalues ued in the ten have been converted to go ld at $3 5 per ounce.exceptvl ere O therwise noted ) is inc luded . where available. under

“

Ex

tent . J S . Bureau of Land Management land pla ts of surveyedtownslp and ranges were especially he lpfu l in loca t ing old placercla ims md some creeks and drywashes not named on recent topo

graphitmaps . These land pla ts were consulted for all the surveyedareas I Arizona and were especially use ful in loca t ing placers inYavapa County. for which recent topographic maps are not available .a lthoup mos t of the area is surveyed . U .S . Bureau of M ines recordswere ab consulted for the loca t ion of sma ll placer claims .Discsrery of the placer depos i t and subsequent placer-min ing ac

rivny re briefly described under Product ion his tory . De tai led d i st uss lo t of min ing operat ions is omi t ted . as this in forma t ion can befound n the ind iv idua l papers publ ished by the State of Arizona.in theyearly M inera l Resources and the M ineral Yearbook volumes

publish by the U .S . Bureau of M ines and the U.S . Geo logi calSurvey nd in many mining journa ls. Placer go ld produc t ion. inouneq t tble l ). was compi led from the yearly M ineral Resources andM inert Yearbook volumes and from informa t ion suppli ed by the

Br au of M ines . These totals o f recorded produc t ion are probahlv lo r than actua l gold product ion . for substant ial amounts of

coarse p acer go ld commonly sold by ind ividuals to jewelers and

spec imn buyers are nO t reported to the U.S . Bureau of Mines or to

the Us. Bureau of the Mint . Informa t ion about the age and type of

lode dpos i t tha t was the source of the placer gold i s d i scussed for

each (Lt ie t .

An xtensive body of li tera ture was searched to find in formation

re la tin to a ll the placers in the Sta te . A lis t of li terature references

i s givo wi th each dis tric t wi th anno ta t ion indicating the type Of

informuon found . Sources of informa t ion are de tailed repor ts on

min ingd istricts. general geo logi c reports , Federal and S tate publ ica

t ions , tnd brie f art i cles and news no tes in min ing journals . The

Ar izon Bureau of Mines has published a series of bulletins describing

the gographic loca t ion and his tory of many placers in the State

(W'i lso . 1 96 1 , and earlier ed i tions) . The presen t report, which draws

on mch in forma t ion con tained in the State bulletins , emphasizes

loca tios keyed to topographic maps , detai led production da ta, and an

2 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

end Of the Gila Mountains , Yuma County, that the firs t placer-miningrush in Ar izona was precipi ta ted . The early years Of the 1 860 ’

s saw

the discovery Of the famous placers at La Paz, Yuma County, andRich Hi ll and Lynx Creek, Yavapai County ; many smaller and lessfamous placer fields were discovered at that time .

In the 1 860 ’

s, Arizona was a relatively isolated and underpopula tedterri tory, fraught wi th communication and travel difficulties , and besetby Indian problems . Placer min ing was actively pursued throughoutthe terri tory, and some rich lode-gold mines were discovered and

worked ; but real news Of Arizona mining was slow to fil ter out fromthe terri tory to the more populated areas in Cali fornia and the East .The per iod from 1 860 to 1 880 i s repor ted as the most act ive and productive period in placer min ing, but because Of poor commun ica

tions , there i s very li t tle reli able information or production record .

By 1 900 mos t placer areas had been discovered , and many were nearly

worked out . Placer mining continued intermitten tly during the earlyyears Of the 1 900 ’

s . Many attemp ts were made in various par ts Of the

State to mine placer gravels by drywashing machines, but i t was notun t i l the economic impetus Of the depression that placer mining be

came ac t ive again in Ar izona . During the years 1 93 0—3 8, 95 differen t

dis tricts were credi ted wi th placer gold production , but many Of

these districts produced only a few ounces .After the boom Of the 1 930 ’

s, the war years Of the 1 940 ’

s were ase tback to gold mining activi ty . War Produc t ion Board Order L—208greatly restric ted the development Of gold mines ; prospe cting for

and mining metals essent ial to the war effort was deemed more im

portant than mining gold . Even more important , however, the economy

Of the 1 940 ’

s encouraged work in Offices, factories, and war industries

for those not in mili tary service, and as a result , many miners and

prospectors left the gold fields and never returned.

After 1 942, placer production never again reached the heigh t s Of

the 1 93 0 ’

s or the peak production Of the 1 860’

s to 1 880 ’

s .

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF PRESENT STUDY

The present paper is a compilation Of publi shed information re

lat ing to the placer gold deposi ts Of Arizona, one Of a series Of four

papers describing the gold placer deposi ts Of the Southwes tern Sta tes .

The purpose Of the paper is to ou tl ine areas of placer deposi ts in the

State Of Arizona and to serve as a guide to their loca t ion, ex ten t ,produc tion his tory, and source . The work was under taken as par t of the

inves tigation Of the distribution Of known gold occurrences in the

Wes tern Uni ted States .Each placer i s described briefly . Location i s given by geographic

INTRODUCTION 3

area and township and range . (See pl . 1 for location of the placergold deposi ts .) Topographic maps and geologic maps tha t Show theplacer area are listed . Access i s indicated by direction and distancealong major roads and highways from a nearby cen ter Of populat ion.

Detailed information rela ting to the exact locat ion Of placer deposi ts, their thickness, distribu t ion , and average gold con ten t (allva lues ci ted in the tex t have been converted to gold at $3 5 per ounce,except where otherwise noted) is included, where available, under

“

Ex

tent . US Bureau Of Land Management land pla ts Of surveyedtownship and ranges were especially $helpful in locating Old placerclaims and some creeks and drywashes no t named on recen t topo

graphic maps . These land plats were consulted for all the surveyedareas in Ar izona and were especially useful in locating placers inYavapai County, for which recent topographic maps are not available ,a l though most Of the area is surveyed . U .S . Bureau Of Mines recordswere also consul ted for the locat ion Of small placer claims .Discovery Of the placer deposi t and subsequent placer-mining ac

t1 v 1 ty are briefly described under“ Production his tory . De tailed dis

cussion of ,mining opera tions is omi t ted, as this informa t ion can befound in the individual papers published by the State Of Arizona,in the yearly Mineral Resources and the Mineral Yearbook volumespubli shed by the U .S . Bureau of Mines and the U .S . GeologicalSurvey, and in many mining journals . Placer gold production , inounces (table was compiled from the yearly Mineral Resources andMineral Yearbook volumes and from informa t ion supplied by the

U .S . Bureau of Mines . These to tals Of recorded product ion are probably lower than actual gold production , for subs tantial amoun ts Of

coarse placer gold commonly sold by individuals to j ewelers and

specimen buyers are no t reported to the U .S . Bureau Of Mines or to

the U .S . Bureau Of the Min t . Informa tion abou t the age and type Of

lode deposi t that was the source Of the placer gold is discussed for

each district .

An ex tensive body Of li tera ture was searched to find informa t ion

rela t ing to all the placers in the S tate . A l is t Of li tera ture references

i s given with each dis tric t wi th annotat ion indicat ing the type Of

informa tion found . Sources Of informa tion are de tailed repor ts on

mining districts , general geologi c reports , Federal and S ta te publica

t ions, and br ief ar ticles and news no tes in mining journals . The

Arizona Bureau Of Mines has published a series Of bullet ins describing

the geographic location and history of many placers in the Sta te

(Wilson , 1 96 1 , and earlier edi tions) . The presen t report , which draws

on much information con tained in the S ta te bulle t ins, emphasizes

loca tions keyed to topographic maps , de tailed product ion da ta, and an

4 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

extensive bibliography . A complete bibliography , given at the end ofthe paper, includes separate sect ions for all li tera ture references andall geologic map references .Map publications O f the Geological Survey can be ordered fromthe U .S . Geological Survey, D i stribution Section , Denver FederalCenter, Denver, Colo . 80225 ; book publications, from the Superin tenden t Of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington ,

D .C . 20402.

COCH ISE COUNTY

1 . DOS CABEZAS AND TEVISTON DISTRICTS

Location : North and south flanks Of the Dos Cabezas Mountains be

tween San S imon Valley and Sulphur Spring Valley, Tps . 1 3—1 5

S . , Rs . 26 and 27 E .

Topographic maps : Dos Cabezas and Luzena l5 -minute quandrangles.

Geologic map : Cooper, 1 960 , Reconnaissance map Of the Wilcox ,

Fisher Hills [now named Luzena], Cochise, and Dos Cabezasquadrangle , scale l :62,500 .

Access : The Dos Cabezas dis trict, on the south flank Of the Dos Cabezas

Mountains, i s 1 5 miles eas t Of Willcox on State Highway 1 86 . TheTeviston district , on the nor th side Of the Dos Cabezas Mountains,i s accessible by a road leading 5 miles south from Inters tate 1 0 ,

1 7 miles northeas t Of Willcox and 6 IA miles west O f Bowie (formerly Teviston ).

Ex ten t: Placers on the south flank Of the mountains (Dos Cabezas

dis trict) are said to be found in all the gulches draining the

mineralized part Of the mountain range, an area about 3 miles

long between Walnu t Canyon and Howard Canyon . The most

ac t ively worked placers are located in parts Of secs . 27—34, T . 14

S . , R . 27 E . (DOS Cabezas quadrangle), bu t some deposi ts are

probably located at widely separated points along the sou th flank

adj acent to small gold prospects . The gold-bearing gravels in the

gulches in the main mineralized area are thin near the mountains

and thicker toward the south near the village Of Dos Cabezas (sec.

32, T . 14 S . , R . 27 The gold is flat , ragged, and fairly coarse ;one report claims that nuggets ranging from 1 to 20 ounces werefound .

The placers on the nor th flank Of the Dos Cabezas Mountains

(Teviston dis tric t) are found in moun tain gulches and on pedi

ments a t the edge Of the mountains . Mos t Of the placer mining was

concen trated in the area be tween Gold Gulch (sec . 24, T . 1 3 S . , R .

26 E . , Luzena quadrangle) and Ash Gulch (sec. 22 and 27, T . 1 3

GOCHI$E COUNTY 5

S ., R . 26E .) The placer gravels on the pediment drained by GoldGulch consis t Of coarse to fine grani tic sand wi th some clay andmany coarse, semirounded boulders . Gravels sampled to a dep th Of

6 fee t assayed per cubic yard .

P roduction history: The Dos Cabezas placers reportedly were discovered in 1 90 1 , bu t lode deposi ts in the dis tric t were known in the1 860

’

s and worked in termi t ten tly since the 1 870’

s . Al though somerepor ts sugges t tha t the placers were known before 1 90 1 , I havefound nO production records from tha t time . Most Of the placergold was recovered by drywashing the gravels, and, when water was

available, by sluicing and panning.

The placers in the Tev iston dis tric t have been worked in termit

ten tlysince the 1 900’

s, bu t earlier his tory i s unknown . Smal l drylanddredges worked placers in Gold Gulch in 1 93 3 , and at the Inspiration placers during the period 1 93 7—3 8 . The Ash Gulch placerswere ac tively worked during the per iod 1 930—3 1 .

Produc tion records combine gold recovery from the Tev iston andDos Cabezas dis tr icts, a l though the placers in the Tev i ston districtwere richer than those in the Dos Cabezas distr ict .

Source : The gold in the placers was derived from erosion Of goldbearing quar tz veins exposed throughou t the DOS Cabezas Moun tains .

Mos t Of the importan t lode-gold mines occur wi thin, and near, amajor faul t zone 2 miles north Of DOS Cabezas vi llage wheresmall, closely spaced gold-quar tz-sulfide veins occur ; o ther goldmines are north Of this faul t zone . A geochronologic s tudy Of themountain range indicates tha t some gold-quartz veins are youngerthan 29 my . (million years) .

L i tera ture

Allen, 1 922: Discovery ; location ; origin (Dos Cabezas di str ict) .

Bray, 1 93 3 : Describes dryland dredge used at Gold Gulch .

Church, 1 887 : No tes nonac tivi ty in placer mining, al though lode

mining was active .

Engineering and Mining Journal , 1 93 1 : Assay results Of sampling

at Gold Gulch placer .

Erickson , 1 968 : Dates mineralized quartz veins .

Gardner and Johnson, 1 934: Placer-mining techniques in Gold

Gulch ; drywashing; type Of gravel .

Heikes and Yale , 1 9 1 3 : Value Of gravels ; size Of large nugge t

(Teviston district) .

Land , 1 93 1 : His tory ; size Of nuggests; emphasi s on lode deposi ts

(Dos Cabezas distr ic t) .

U .S . Bureau Of Mines, 1 93 1 : Location Of placer-mining opera

tion .

6 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

— 1 93 9—41 : Placer-mining opera tions at Inspiration placers ; dragline dredge ; amoun t Of gravel handled ; no location for placers .

Wilson , 1 96 1 : Loca tion ; history ; depth Of gravels ; si ze Of gravels

(Tev iston dis tri ct) ; production .

Wilson , Cunningham, and Butler, 1 934: Bedrock geology; historyand descrip tion Of lode mn ies ; does not describe placers .

2. COURTLAND-GLEESON DISTRICT (TURQUOISE DISTRICT)

Loca tion : Near Maud Hill and south end Of Gleeson Ridge in lowgroup Of hills east Of the south t ip Of the Dragoon Moun tains, T .

1 9 S ., R . 25 E .

Topographic map : Gleeson l 5 -minute quadrangle .

Geologic map : Gilluly, 1 956, Geologic map Of parts Of the Bensonand Pearce quadrangles , Arizona (p 15 ), scale

Access : Gleeson is accessible by light-duty roads leading 1 1 miles southfrom U .S . Highway 666 a t Pearce, or from a light-duty road leading8 miles west from U .S . Highway 666 1 mile north Of Elfreda, or 1 6miles eas t from U .S . Highway 80 at Tombstone .

Exten t: During the 1 930’

s minor gold placers were worked in

gulches and on pediments east Of Gleeson . Mos t placer mining wasconcentrated in an area mile long by IA; mile wide located 1 3Amiles eas t Of the Gleeson Pos t Office (sec . 3 3 , T . 1 9 S . , R . 25

The placer is a thin mantle Of aur i ferous gravel and soi l on alimestone pediment at the base of Maud Hill . Coarse gold waswashed from the gully leading wes t from the Copper Belle mine

(sec . 32, T . 1 9 S . , R . 25 E .) half a mile nor th of Gleeson .

P roduction history: The placers were worked in 1 9 1 0 and again during the period 1 932—3 5 . At the base Of Maud Hill , tests on 1 00

cubic yards Of placer gr ound indicated tha t the gr avels averaged

per cubic yard .

Source : The placer is said to be derived from gold-bearing quar tz

veins . The li tera ture rela t ing to the Gleeson ore deposi ts does not

describe gold-quar tz veins but does describe gold in the lead-si lver

deposi ts . Gold was also recovered as a byproduct Of Copper ores

from the Copper Belle mine .

L iterature :

Gilluly , 1 956 : Discusses the age Of mineraliza tion in the Courtland

Gleeson distric t (p . 62,

Wilson , 1 927 : Discusses mineralization and types Of lode mines ; no

placer description .

— 1 96 1 : Loca t ion ; size Of gold particles ; characteristics Of gravels ;average gold con tent per cubic yard ; minerals in placer gravels ;produc tion .

COCHISE COUNTY 7

3 . BISBEE-WARREN DISTRICT (GOLD GULCH PLACER)

Loca tion : Sou th flank Of the Mule Moun tains . Tps . 23 and 24 S ., R .

25 E .

Topographicmap : Bisbee l 5 -minu te quadrangle .

Geologic map : Hayes and Landis, 1 964, Geologic map of the sou thernpart of the Mule Mountains, scale

Access : A l ight-duty road leads 2 miles eas t from Warren to GoldGulch .

Exten t: Minor gold placers are found in the sand and grave] of GoldGulch, which drains south from the vicini ty Of Gold Hill in theMule Moun tains (wes t tier Of sections in Tps. 23 and 24 S . , R.

25 E.)P roduction history: Gold placers were known to occur in Gold Gulchas early as 1 902; they were worked sporadically un t i l 1 932, thensteadily to 1 941 . In 1 934, 27 placer mines recovered 246 ounces Ofgold, mostly from Gold Gulch .

Source : The small placer gold deposi ts in Gold Gulch, southeas t Ofthe mining towns Of Bisbee and Warren, were derived from smallgold-bearing si lica veins tha t mineralized par ts Of the Glance Con

glomera te (Cretaceous) during late Cre taceous or early Tert iarytime . The mineralizing solutions deposi ted gold-bearing si lica wi thminor galena, sphaleri te, and chalcopyri te along frac tures in the

conglomerate . The si lica veins are not economically impor tan t .L iterature :

Ransome, 1 904a : No tes presence Of placer gold ; source ; economicimportance .

— l904c: Repeats description in 1 904a .

Tr ischka, 1 93 8 : Explains or igin Of placer gold .

U .S . Bureau Of Mines, 1 93 5 : Repor ts placer production from GoldGulch .

Wilson, 1 96 1 : Vir tually repe ats Ransome (l 904a) ; production .

4. HUACHUCA PLACERS (HEREFORD OR HARTFORD DISTRICT)

Location : East flank Of the Huachuca Moun tains, 3 miles nor th Ofthe in ternational boundary . Tps . 23 and 24 S . , and R s . 20 and 21 E .

Topographic maps : Hereford and Sunnyside 1 5 -minute quandrangles .

Geologic map : Hayes and Raup, 1 968, Geologic map Of the Huachuca

and Mus tang Mountains, scale l :48,000 .

Access : Ash Canyon is accessible by a light-duty road leading east

from S tate Highway 92, 25 miles east of Bisbee .

Extent: Placer gold deposi ts that also contain some scheeli te have

been worked in Ash Canyon ; mos t Of the gold is found in the

bot tom Of the canyon between the and -foot elevat ion

8 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

(secs . 1 and 2, T . 24 S ., R . 20 E . ; sec. 6, T . 24 S ., R . 21 E .,Sunnyside

quadrangle ; secs . 3 1 and 32, T . 23 S . , R . 21 E ., Hereford quadrangle).In 1 937 gravels consisting Of 8 feet Of barren overburden and 2 fee tOf gold-bearing material were mined ; the upper 2—3 inches of

cemented gravel bedrock was also mined . Gold was recovered from

the gravels near the Harper mine (possibly the Harper Tungstenmines in Bear Canyon (approx imately sec . 1 , T . 24 S . , R . 1 9 E . ,

SunnysideP roduction history: The placers in the Huachuca Mountains were

known during the late l800 ’

s ; bu t they apparently attracted li t tleattention unti l 1 9 1 1 , when a nugget weighing about ounceswas found, and miners were reportedly recovering 3 3—34 per day .

NO placer production i s recorded for 1 9 1 1 , however . In 1 9 1 9 anotherlarge nugget weighing ounces was recovered from the O ldTimer placer in Ash Canyon . The placers have been worked intermi tten tly during the 20th cen tury.

Source : The gold is thought to be derived from auri ferous quartzveins found in the grani te upstream from the placers ; these small

veins, which have not been described in the li terature, probablycontain some scheeli te .

L iterature

Blake, 1 899 : Reports placer mining near the Harper mine .

Gardner and Allsman , 1 938 : Depth Of gr avel ; thickness Of overburden and Of pay streak ; boulder and clay content ; type Ofbedrock ; placer-mining operations wi th power shovel .Mining World, 1 9 1 1 : Produc tion per day per man .

U .S . Geological Survey, 1 9 1 8 : Location ; placer-mining activi ty ; no

recorded product ion .

— 1 9 1 9 : Presence Of scheeli te in placers ; size Of nugge ts ; production .

Weber, 1 948 : Summary Of bedrock geology; no placer descrip t ion ;indicates age Of scheeli te and gold mineraliza t ion .

Wilson , 1 941 : NO placer description ; locates Harper tungs ten mine .

- 1 95 1 : No tes tha t gold placers were worked during depressionyears ; no placer descrip t ion .

1 961 : Loca t ion ; produc t ion ; describes type Of gravels ; distribu

tion Of gold in gravels ; source Of gold .

OTHER DISTRICTS

5 . CALIFORNIA DISTRICT

One hundred six teen ounces Of placer gold was recovered in 1 906—7 ;no information has been found rela t ing to the placer occurrence .

The Cali forn ia dis tri c t is loca ted in the vicini ty Of Paradise (T .

1 7 S . , Rs . 3 0 and 3 1 E.) on the east side Of the Chiricahua Mountains .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 0 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

explored during 1 875—76 ; the early prospe ctors in the 1 870’

s and

1 880’

s were a t trac ted by r ich floa t con taining abundant free gold . Al

though many Of these miners were experienced in placer mining, very

li t tle placer gold was found in the dis tric t . The placers below the OxBow vein were worked sporadically for a number of years be tween1 9 1 0 and 1 960 during the rainy seasons, bu t they have not produced much gold .

Source : The gold was derived from the Ox Bow vein and was con

cen trated in the thin soi l on the hillside . The gold par t icles occuras coarse flat nugge ts to a quar ter Of an inch long and are a deepercolor than the vein gold, probably owing to less si lver .

L itera ture :

Lausen and Wilson , 1 925 : Descr ibes occurrence and character Of

placer gold .

Min ing Journal, 1 939b : Reports placer activi ty in Old gravel channel .Wilson , 1 96 1 : Repeats description Of Lausen and Wilson

9 . GLOBE-MIAMI DISTRICT

Location : Foothi lls Of the Pinal and Apache Mountains, T . 1 S . , R.

1 5 E . ; Tps . 1 and 2 N ., Rs . 14 and 1 5 E . (unsurveyed)Topographic maps : Globe 1 5 -minute quadrangle ; 7 -minute quadrangles

— Inspira tion, Lost Gulch , Gold Gulch, and Pinto Creek ;Haunted Canyon (Pinto Creek) ; Globe (Pinal Creek) ; Pinal Peak

(Gap and Catsclaw Flat ; upper Pinal Creek).Geologic mapsPe terson , 1 960, Geologic map Of the Haunted Canyon quadrangle,scale

Pe terson , 1 962, Geologic map Of the Globe-Miami district , PinalCoun ty, Arizona (pl . scale l :24,000 . (Lost Gulch , Gold Gulch ,Pin to Creek, and Pinal Creek)Peterson , Gilbert, and Quick , 1 95 1 , Geologic map Of the Cas tle

Dome area, Gila County, Arizona (pl . scale approximately

(Gold Gulch)Ransome, 1 904, Geologic map Of the Globe quadrangle , sca le

l :62,500 . (Pinal Creek ; Gap and Catsclaw Flats)Access : From Globe to Los t Gulch , dir t roads lead abou t 4 miles

wes t from State Highway 88, miles nor th Of Globe, to mining

areas near Lost Gulch ; to Gold Gulch , an improved road leads

miles north from U .S . Highway 60- 70, 1 2 miles west Of Globe,to Cas tle Dome mine area ; to Pin to Creek, a dir t road leads 5—6

miles nor thwest from road to Cas tle Dome mine to Pinto Creek

and Haunted Canyon ; to Pinal Creek, S ixshoo ter Canyon Road,

GILA COUNTY 1 1

three-quarters Of a mile south of Globe, leads 3 miles south toplacer area , paralleling Pinal Creek .

Exten t: Small placer deposi ts occur in six locali ties wi thin the GlobeMiami dis trict . Some placers are near the major copper-miningareas, bu t they are no t necessari ly derived from the copper ores .Los t Gulch , northwes t Of Globe, i s the mos t productive placerarea ; the gulch drains sou theas t from the vicini ty Of Myberg Basinand the sou th flanks Of Fla t Top and Sleeping Beauty Moun tainsin the Copper Ci ties mining area to the Inspiration tai ling pond

(before cons truct ion Of the pond, Los t Gulch drained to PinalCreek) . The gold placers occur along Lost Gulch and adjoiningbenches for an unde termined dis tance , bu t they were most activelyworked in the mile-long par t Of the creek along the south flank OfSleeping Beau ty Moun tain (T . 1 N ., R . 14 E . , Inspira tion quadrangle) .Gold was recovered from the gravels near the Golden Eagle vein

(unlocated), said to be a short dis tance north Of Miami . Thisplacer area includes a group Of gulches that were mined in 1 93 3

and is probably the deposi t referred to as the Inspiration placer,located north Of Claypool (probably in sec. 1 6 or 1 7, T . 1 N ., R .

1 5 E . , Globe quadrangle) .Placers occur in the gravels in Gold Gulch in the Cas t le Domemining area (west half Of T . 1 N . , R . 14 E . Inspira tion quadrangle) .The exact loca tion Of the placers i s uncertain , bu t the gold probablywas found in gravels half a mile south Of the Cas tle Dome mine .

Placer gold was recovered in small amounts from unloca ted placersalong Pin to Creek, which heads near Moun t Madera in the PinalMountains and drains nor thwes tward to the Sal t River . One locali tywhere gold probably was recovered i s the gravels near the junct ion

Of Pin to Creek and Haun ted Canyon (Haun ted Canyon quadrangle) ,which were prospected for many years by one man who lived at

tha t locali ty (Nels P . Pe terson , wri t ten commun . , 1 969)In the sou thern par t Of the Globe-Miami area, placer deposi ts

are found in Pinal Creek (Globe and Pinal Peak quadrangles)and in Gap and Catsclaw Fla ts (Pinal Peak quadrangle) . Nels P .

Pe terson (wr i t ten commun . , 1 969) repor ted tha t he was told tha t

the gravels were sluiced along the bed Of Pinal Creek from abou t a

quarter Of a mile above 66 Ranch (SW IA sec. 1 3 , T . l S . , R. 1 5 E .)nearly to the edge Of Globe, a dis tance Of abou t miles .

The placers adjacent to Pinal Creek a t Gap and Catsclaw Flat

(sec. 24, T . l S . , R . 1 5 E . , Pina l Peak quadrangle) occur in

an area abou t feet long and fee t wide eas t Of Pinal Creek

near 66 Ranch . Gold was also recovered from gravels in Pinal

12 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Creek on the northeast slope Of the Pinal Mountains— near thesource Of Pinal Creek (Pinal Creek quadrangle) . There is noevidence to suggest placer gold accumulations in Pinal Creek downs tream from Globe , al though the Old Dominion mine and veinssys tem i s north Of Globe and was once famous for the free goldcontained in the copper ores .

Production history: The placers in the Globe-Miami district were

worked intermitten tly from the late 1 880 ’

s unt il 1 96 1 . Most of thegold was washed from the gravels Of Lost Gulch and Pinal Creek .

For most years, Lost Gulch was the only placer credi ted with produc tion ; no production directly at tributed to Gold Gulch and PintoCreek has been recorded . The gold recovered from Lost Gulch rangesfrom fine to fairly coarse ; the largest nugget recovered weighed about

2 ounces . The placers were mined by sluicing, rocking, or drywashing; dai ly returns from the placer areas were low.

Source : The placers have resul ted from the erosion Of small gold-si lverand gold-pyri te veins not associa ted wi th the copper porphyrydeposi ts in the Globe-Miami district . In the vicin i ty Of Lost Gulch ,numerous small discontinuous pyri tic veins occur in the Precambrian schists exposed between Inspiration and the Copper Ci tiesmining area ; the placers in this gulch probably were derived fromthese deposi ts . The small placers in Gold Gulch probably werederived from the erosion Of the Cont inental vein, which containslow concentrations Of gold in the Copper ore . The source Of thegold in Pinal Creek area i s not known, but probably i s the smallgold-bearing veins in the Precambrian schists exposed in the Pinal

Moun tains .

L iterature

Blake, 1 899 : Notes placers in Lost Gulch ; source Of gold .

Engineering and Mining Journal, 1 893 : Reports recovery Of con

siderable amoun ts Of coarse gold from Pin to Creek placers .

Hin ton, 1 878 : Li s ts mines and placers ; ci tes product ion Of placers .

Pe terson, 1 962: Placer deposi ts are not described ; gold-si lver veins

that may be a source Of the placers are described .

Peterson, Gilbert, and Quick, 1 95 1 : Notes placers in Gold Gulch ;

describes ores that may be the source Of the placer gold .

Ransome , 1 903 : Notes placers in Pinal Creek .

- 1 904b : Notes placers in Lost Gulch , Gold Gulch , and Pinal

Creek ; locates placers in Pinal Creek.

Trippel , 1 888 : Produc t ion (Pinal Creek and Lost Gulch) ; loca tes

placers .— l889 : Production s tat i s tics for 1 888 (Pinal Creek and Lost

Gulch) .

GILA COUNTY 1 3

U .S . Bureau of Mines, 1 934, 1 93 5 : Production ; names Of product ive

placer claims .

Wilson , 1 96 1 : Names five placer areas ; location ; describes gravels

and size Of gold particles (Gap and Catsclaw Flats ; Lost Gulch) ;placer mining during the period 1 932—3 3 .

1 0 . BARBAROSSA-DRIPP ING SPRING PLACERS (BANNER DISTRICT)

Location : Flanks Of the Dripping Spr ing Moun tains , T . 3 S . , R. 1 5

E. ; T . 4 S ., R. 1 6 E .

Topographic maps : El Capi tan and Hayden 7 l/z-minute quadrangles ;Chri s tmas 1 5 -minu te quadrangle .

GeologicmapsRansome, 1 923 a , Geologic map Of the Ray quadrangle , scale l : l2,500 .

W i llden , 1 964, Geologic map and sect ions Of the Chris tmas quad

rangle, Arizona (pl . sca le

Access : Jeep trails lead 1—2 miles sou th to placer area from Dripping

Spr ing Road a t a point about 3 miles west of the junction with

State Highway 77, 1 8 miles south Of Globe .

Exten t: Placers are found on the sou thwest and northeas t flanks Of the

Dr ipping Spring Moun tains .

The Barbarossa placer, in the Old Troy district, is in the SW. cor .

sec . 3 1 , T . 3 S . , R. 1 5 E ., (Hayden quadrangle) be tween two forks Of

Steamboa t Wash on the sou thwest flank of the Dripping Spr ing

Mountains . The deposi t consists Of soi l and loose detri tus developed

On Troy Quartzi te .

The Dripping Spring placers are in the Dripping Spring district

near the Cowboy mine on the nor theast flank Of the Dripping

Spr ing Moun tains in the NW. cor . sec. 3 0, T . 3 S ., R. 1 5 E . (El

Capi tan quadrangle) . These deposits are found in pediment gravels

resting on Gila Conglomerate .

O ther placers are repor ted to occur in the sou thern end Of the

Dripping Spring Valley north Of Chris tmas in sec. 1 7, T. 4 S . , R.

1 6 E . (Chris tmas quadrangle), about 8 miles sou theas t Of the Drip

ping Spring placers . These deposi ts (properly in the Banner distric t)are found in alluvium in gulches that drain nor theas t to Dripping

Spring Valley.

P roduction history : The Barbarossa placer was discovered in 1 907

the recorded production (1 907— 1 3 ) from this placer is credi ted to the

Riverside dis tric t on the Southwes t flank Of the Dripping Spring

Mountains (Pinal County) by the U .S . Bureau Of Mines . Apparen tly,Only part Of the gold recovered from placers on the sou th flank Of

the Dripping Spring Moun tains has been repor ted, for an estima te

14 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Of gold recovery as high as 32 000- 33 000 , including one nugge tweighing 22 ounces, was made before 1 923 , and a few prospectors

worked the gravels intermi t ten tly un t i l recen t years .

The placers on the northeast flank Of the Dripping Spring Moun

tains have been worked in termi ttently for years ; production records

frequently group the Dripping Spring dis trict and the Banner distric t ,making i t difli cult to different iate the two locali ties . The placers

near the Cowboy mine are in gravels 20—30 fee t thick and were

worked from shafts, tunnels , and underground s topes ; about 1 0

percen t Of the gold recovered was finer than 1 00 mesh, but nugge ts

weighing as much as half an ounce were found . Placer gold wor th

reportedly was recovered from these deposi ts in 1 927, bu t

this amoun t was not reported to the U .S . Bureau Of Mines and is

not included in the produc tion table . The placers in the southern

part Of the Dripping Spring Valley have been worked wi thin the

past 3 0 years and apparently were worked by a dryland dredge in

1 940 . This ground was known as the Bywater claim ; Mr . Bywater

also owned the placer ground in the Dr ipping Spr ing district .

Source : The Troy district, near the crest Of the Dripping Spring Moun

tains T . 3 S ., R . 1 4 E ., was in tensely prospected in the early years Of

this century, but no large commercial ore bodies were found . The

free gold in the Barbarossa placer was probably derived from gold

localized near the contact between the Devonian Martin Forma t ion

and the Cambrian Abrigo Format ion (N . G . Banks , oral commun .,

The placers in the Dripping Spring area near the Cowboy mine

may have been derived from erosion of the gold-si lver vein material

Of the mine . Free gold was reported from bunches Of ore near the

surface Of the vein .

The origin Of the placers farther sou th in the Dripping Spring

Valley is unknown .

L iterature :

Mining and Scientific Press, 1 907 : Barbarossa placer— Repor ts di s

covery O f placer gold near head Of Steamboa t Springs Canyon .

Ransome, 1 923 a : Barbarossa placer— loca t ion ; production ; type Of

placer gravels .

U .S . Bureau Of Mines, 1 940 : Dripping Spring placer— produc tion ;mining operation located .

Wilson, 1 961 : Barbarossa placer— vir tually repeats Ransome (1 923 )reports eleva t ion Of placer; production . Dripping Spr ing placer

loca t ion ; type Of placer gravels ; mining opera t ions (1 93 1 size

Of gold particles ; production ; source .

GRAHAM AND GREENLEE COUNTIES 1 5

OTHER DISTRICTS

1 1 . MAZATZAL MOUNTAINS

Placer gold was recovered between 1 9 1 0 and 1 9 1 1 from unknowndeposi ts in the vicini ty Of Moun t Ord and Reno Pass (T . 6 N . , R s .

4— 1 0 E .) in the cen tral Mazatzal Moun tains . NO information has been

found describing gold deposi ts in this area .

1 2. YOUNG DISTRICT

Placer gold was recovered from unloca ted depo si ts along SpringCreek, west Of Young, in the mesas sou th. Of Diamond Bu tte (probablyT . 9 N ., R . 12 NO information has been found describing oredeposi ts in thi s district .L i terature :

Wilson , 1 96 1 : States placers recovered in Spring Creek district .

GRAHAM AND GREENLEE COUNTIES

1 3 . CLIFTON-MORENCI DISTRICT

Location : On the west Side Of the San Francisco River near Cli fton

in the vicini ty Of the Copper-mining area surrounding Morenci , Tps .

4 and 5 S . , Rs . 28 and 29 E .

Topographic map : Clifton 1 5 -minu te quadrangle .

Geologic mapsLindgren, l905a, Geologic map and Sect ions Of the Clif ton-Morencidis trict (pl . scale (see also Lindgren , l905b) .

Wilson and Moore, 1 95 8, Geologic map Of Graham and Greenlee

Coun ties, scale

Access : U .S . Highway 666 parallels Chase Creek, west Of Cli fton , and

ligh t-du ty roads branching Off the main highway lead to Gold Gulch,Chase Creek, and Morenci Gulch placers .

Exten taSmall placers were mined in gulches draining the hills sur

rounding the copper mining area Of Morenci . The placers occur in

Gold Gulch , Chase Creek, and Morenci Gulch .

Gold Gulch was a no ted placer area during the 1 870’

s. The gulch

flows abou t 3 miles to the sou thwes t from the sou thwes t side Of the

Morenci open pi t to Eagle Creek (T . 4 S ., Rs . 28 and 29 E .) Gold

Gulch is narrow, and the gold is concentra ted in a number Of bars

along the lower course Of the creek (sec. 1 9, T . 4 S . , R. 29 E

sec. 25 , T . 4 S . R. 28 E .)Chase Gulch flows sou theas t be tween Copper King Mountain and

Morenci to Cli fton . Placer mining was concen tra ted be tween the

Old Rock House and the town Of Clif ton (secs . 23—25 , T . 4 S ., R .

29 The gold was recovered from tribu tary gulches and from

1 6 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

elevated gravels resting on Gila Conglomerate above the present levelOf Chase Creek .

Fine flakes Of gold were recovered from Morenci Gulch , a southeast-flowing tribu tary Of the San Francisco River . Part Of MorenciGulch is now covered by the Morenci Tailing Pond ; the undisturbed par t Of the gulch is in sec. 1 2, T . 5 S . , R. 29 E .

P roduction history: I t i s difficult to i solate the recorded productionfrom the differen t creeks in the Cli fton-Morenci district from produc tion stati stics that include the production for all the placers inGraham and Greenlee Counties . Discovery Of placer deposi ts in theCli fton-Morenci district in 1 870 by ranchers from Silver Ci ty, N .

Mex ., S timulated mining interest in the area and copper miningbegan soon afterward . Frederick Remington, a famous western ar tis t, lived and placered for a year or 80 at Gold Gulch ; Remingtoni s said to have uncovered in placer gold in 3 weeks by re

moving boulders and rocks that covered a depression in which therich gravel had settled .

During the 20th century placer mining has been done on a smallscale in Gold Gulch and Chase Creek ; the dai ly earnings per manworking the Chase Creek placers in 1 93 3 was frequently less than 50cents .

Source : The placer gold was derived from ox idized gold-bearing veinsassociated with the intrusive porphyry and commonly found alongor near the porphyry-sedimen t contac t . In Gold Gulch, these veinsare narrow and irregular and occur mostly along bo th sides OfPinkard Gulch and the lower part Of Gold Gulch ; they were pros

pected on a small scale during the late 1 800 ’

s and produced some

gold from isolated pockets .On the ridge between Chase Creek and Morenci Canyon, gold

bearing fissure veins occur associa ted wi th a porphyry sill between

quartzi te and limestone ; at the Hormeyer mine (sec. 22, T . 4 S ., R.

29 E .) the vein con tained a li t tle copper, much lead carbonate, and

native gold .

L iterature

Allen, 1 922: Quotes Lingren (1 905a) .Dinsmore, 1 9 1 l b : Early history Of placer min ing in Gold Gulch.

Lindgren, 1 905 a : No tes presence and location Of placers ; describes

gold veins that are probable source Of placer gold .

- 1 905b : Describes gold veins in Gold Gulch ; brief his tory Of

placer mining.

Mining Reporter, 1 906 : Notes past placer mining in many gulches ;describes developmen t in lode-gold min ing.

MOOlick and Durek, 1 966 : Placer discovery.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 8 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

continuously until the 1 940’

s ; small-scale mining techniques were

used, the men frequently tunneling through the gr avels to reachthe richest parts near bedrock .

The production sta t is t ics here are, as for the Cli fton-Morencidi s trict , difficul t to isolate from those Of other placer districts inGraham and Greenlee Counties ; but the bulk of the recordedproduction for the coun ties was derived from the placers alongthe San Francisco River .

Source : The placer gold in the San Francisco River above Clifton

was derived from small gold-bearing veins , associated wi th porphyrydikes, tha t crop out in Dorsey and Colorado Gulches (for example ,Colorado , Black Prince, and Golden Eagle veins) and were oncemined for gold . The gold in the river south O f Clifton was probablyderived from these veins and from the small gold veins aroundMorenci that were the source Of gold in the C li fton-Morenci placers .

L itera ture :

Allen, 1 922 Quotes Lindgren (1 905a).Blake , 1 899 : Location ; problems connected with large-scale placer

mining operations .

Burchard , 1 882: History Of discovery ; placer operations in 1 88 1 .

- 1 883 : Placer-mining developments ; production .

— 1 884: Location ; describes depth Of placer gravels .

Dinsmore, l9 l lb : Operations of Frisco Placer Mining CO . ; history ;depth Of gravels ; value Of placer gravels .

Hamil ton, 1 884: Repeated from Burchard

Lindgren , 1 905a : Failure Of past hydraulic Operation ; source Of

placers .— l905b : Location , age, and source Of placer gravels .

M in ing Journal, 1 93 8b : Placer-mining operat ions at Bokares and

Smuggler placer .

Mining Reporter, 1 906 : Loca t ion ; pas t mining opera t ions .

Tri ppel, 1 888 : Production for 1 887 .

Wi lson, 1 96 1 : Location ; charac teristics Of gravels ; size Of gold part i

cles ; placer Opera tions in 1 93 3 .

1 5 . GILA RIVER PLACERS

Location : A long the Gila River from the j unction Of the San FranciscoRiver sou thwest to Boni ta and Spring Creeks . Tps. 5 and 6 S . , Rs . 28

and 29 E .

Topographic map : Gu thrie l 5 -minute quadrangle (Graham and Greenlee Counties) .Geologic mapsHeindl and McCullough, 1 96 1 , Geologic map and sections showing

GRAHAM AND GREENLEE COUNTIES 1 9

locat ion Of infil tration gallery, mills, and springs, lower Boni ta

Creek area, Graham County, Ariz . (pl . scale

Wilson and Moore , 1 95 8, Geologic map Of Graham and Greenlee

Counties , scale

Access : Placers are accessible by dir t road tha t parallels the north

bank Of the Gila River . The road i s miles north Of Safford .

Exten t: Placers are found along the Gila River below the junct ion

of the San Francisco River (Greenlee County) to the mouth Of Spring

Creek (Graham County) . Some Of the gravels Of the Gila Con

glomera te be tween the San Francisco River and Eagle Creek (Green

lee Coun ty) contain fine flakes Of gold . Gold is found in ancien t

river gravels that mantle terraced bluffs of Gila Conglomera te along

the Gila River downs tream from the mou th Of Eagle Creek to

Boni ta Creek (Graham Coun ty) ; the gold ranges in size from flakes

up to wiry particles a quar ter Of an inch long. About 1 0- 1 2 miles

downs tream from Eagle Creek, the Gila River makes a wide bend

be tween Bonita and Spring Creeks . At this loca tion (approx imately

sec. 20 and 21 , T . 6 S . , R . 28 E .) an alluvial flat was tes ted for

placer gold[

a t the property known as the Neel placer .P roduction history: Placer production from the Gila River has been

very minor compared wi th production from the San Francisco

River . Placer production recorded for Graham County from 1 907

to 1 9 1 0 was recovered from the area separated in to Greenlee

Coun ty in 1 9 1 0 . Placer production from the Gila River in Graham

Coun ty i s given under the Lone S tar dis trict .

Some Of the deposi ts along the Gila River between Eagle Creek

and Boni ta Creek are said to carry gold values Of 1 5—50 cen ts per

cubic yard . Tes ts Of the Neel placer made in 1 93 3 and 1 93 8 indicate

that the gravels averaged 60 cen ts per cubic yard . Ac tual produc

tion from the proper ty was small .Source : The origin Of the gold in the gravels i s unknown, but i t was

probably derived from gold eroded from the Clifton-Morenci dis trict

and transported by the San Francisco River to the Gila River . Small

gold veins in the Gila Moun tains may have con tribu ted some gold

to these minor placers .L iterature

A llen , 1 922: Quo tes Lindgren (1 905a) .

Lindgren, 1 905a : No tes placer occurrence in lower San Francisco

River and Eagle Creek ; size Of gold .

— 1 905b : Virtually the same descrip tion as 1 905a .

Mining Journal, l938d : Placer-mining opera t ions at Neel Placer ;gold values per cubic yard .

20 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Wi lson , 1 96 1 : Location ; characteris t ics Of gravels ; size of gold par

ticles ; gold values per cubic yard . Placer mining in 1 93 3 .

OTHER DISTRICTS

16 . RATTLESNAKE DISTRICT

Five ounces Of gold was recovered in 1 932 from an undescribed placerin this district, located on the north flank Of the GaliurO Mountains

(Tps . 8 and 9 S ., Rs . 1 9 and 20 E .) in southern Graham County.

MAR ICOPA COUNTY

1 7 . BIG HORN DISTRICTLocation : Big Horn Mountains southeast Of the Harquahala Mountains ,Tps . 3—5 N ., R s . 8 and 9W ., in particular, T . 5 N ., R . 9 W.

Topographic maps : Aquila 1 5 -minu te and Big Horn Mountains 1 5minute quadrangles .Geologic map : Wilson , Moore , and Peirce , 1 95 7, Geologi c map OfMaricopa Coun ty , scale

Access : From Aquila i t is about 1 0 mi les south on light-duty road tothe Big Horn Mountains . Dirt roads lead to many areas wi thin the

mountain range .

Ex ten t: Al though placers wi thin the B ig Horn Mountains have produced notable amounts Of placer gold since 1 900, very li t tle i s knownabout the location and character Of the placer deposi ts . The U .S .

Bureau Of Mines Mineral Yearbooks name five placer claims in thedistrict : Big Horn , Sweeney, Tiger, Borian, and Davenpor t . None Ofthese placer claims are accurately located . Most lode mines in thearea are in T . 5 N . , R . 9 W and i t seems reasonab le to suggest thatsome placer deposi ts might be in that general vicini ty .

P roduction history: Placers were worked in the Big Horn district from

1 93 3 to 1 942; most Of the production seems to have been recovered by

individuals working several placer claims .Source : The source Of the placer gold is unknown, but the placersprobably origina ted by erosion Of gold-bearing veins in the BigHorn Mountains .

L iterature :

U .S . Bureau Of Mines, 1 934-41 : Placer production ; names Of placerclaims given in the years 1 934 (for 1 93 5 (for 1 940

(for 1 940 (review O fWilson, Cunningham , and Bu tler, 1 934: Describes lode mines andgeneral geology.

1 8. VULTURE DISTRICT

Location : South flank Of the Vul ture Moun tains in the vicini ty Of the

Vulture mine, Tps . 5 and 6 N ., R s . 5 and 6 W.

MARICOPA COUNTY 21

Topographicmap : Vul ture Mountains l 5 -minute quadrangle .Geologic map : Wilson, Moore, and Peirce, 1 957, Geologi c map ofMaricopa County, scale

Access : From Wickenburg i t i s 14 miles sou th on Vulture mine roadto mine and placers in the immedia te vicini ty .

Exten t: The only descript ion I have found Of the placer deposi ts inthis dis tri ct is given by Wilson . The overshadowing importance Of theVul ture mine is certainly the explana tion for the lack Of de tail aboutthe placer ground, which covers an area about 3 miles square inRed Top Basin (secs . 24 and 25 , T . 6 N R. 6 W .) and ex tends fora distance Of 2 miles sou theas t Of the Vul ture mine in Vul ture Wash

(secs . 6 and 7, T . 5 N ., R. 5 Red Top Basin i s a pedimentformed on Precambrian schis t and man tled by gold-bearing gravelsgenerally less than 1 0 fee t thick . The gold is coarse and angularand is generally concentra ted on bedrock.

P roduction history: The placers were apparently worked from the time

Of discovery Of the Vul ture mine . In the early days Of the dis tric t (from1 867 to many large nugge ts weighing abou t to 1 ouncewere recovered, and reportedly, some weighing 5 ounces . Al though

mos t Of the riches t gravels were worked out by 1 880, small-scale

drywashing in the area continued from that time unt i l 1 948 .

Source : Small gold-bear ing quar tz veins in the immediate vicini ty are

though t to be the source Of the placer gold in Red Top Basin . The

or igin Of the gold in Vul ture Wash is considered to be par tly the

Vulture vein and par tly other small gold veins .L iterature

Wilson , 1 961 : Loca tion ; history; pas t production ; charac ter Of placer

gravels ; size Of nugge ts ; origin of placers .

1 9 . SAN DOMINGO DISTRICT

Location : South flank Of the Wickenburg Mountains, northeas t Of the

Hassayampa River, Tps . 6 and 7 N . , Rs . 3 and 4W.

Topographic maps : Wickenburg and Red Picacho -minute quad

rangles .

Geologic map : Wilson , Moore, and Peirce, 1 95 7, Geologic map Of

Maricopa Coun ty, scale

Access : Jeep trails lead to low hills on north side Of U .S . Highway

60—70—89 near San Domingo Wash , 7 miles sou theast ofWickenburg,3 miles northwes t Of Morristown .

Exten t: The placers in the San Domingo dis tric t are found in San

Domingo Wash, i ts tributaries and adj acent washes, and on mesas

between gulches . The placer area is sou thwes t of a low range Of

hills tha t includes the prominen t San Domingo Peak ; the drainage

22 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS or ARIZONA

of the area i s southwestward to the Hassayampa River . Many washesare mentioned in the li terature as scenes of active placer mining,but the topographic maps of the area locate only San Domingo Wash ,which drains through secs . 25 and 26 and 3 5 , T . 7 N . , R . 4 W .,

and secs . 2 and 3 , T . 6 N . , R . 4 W. (Wickenburg quadrangle) andLi t tle San Domingo Wash (Tps . 6 and 7 N . , R . 3 W . , Red Picachoquadrangle) . O ther washes placered are Old Woman Gulch , RogersWash, American Gulch , Spring Gulch,

_and Sanger Gulch . O ldWoman Gulch is described as a southern tributary of San DomingoWash ; two tributaries enter San Domingo Wash from the south inthe placer area— one tributary joins San Domingo Wash in sec . 2, T .

6 N ., R . 4W the other, in sec. 5 , T . 7 N ., R . 4W. Rogers Wash ,which has been described by reporters in a series of articles (Carter,1 9 1 1 , 1 9 12; Dinsmore , l9 l la ; Hafer, i s miles long and

i s probably the wash loca ted miles northwest of the mouth of

San Domingo Wash . The principal placer area in Rogers Wash i sprobably in sec . 26, T . 7 N . , R . 4W. (Wickenburg quadrangle) . TheAlibu placer (SE l/j Sec . 28 T . 7 N ., R . 4W .) i s adj acen t to the highway midway between thi s wash and Monarch Wash on the north .

“ Spring Gulch $ i s probably “ Tub Spring Gulch, a headward tributary to San Domingo Wash (T . 7 N ., R . 3 W ) . The o ther two placerbearing washes are not located . The gravels in the Hassayampa Rivercontain gold for a few miles below San Domingo Wash .

P roduction history: The San Domingo district has the larges t recorded

placer gold production in_Maricopa County and produced con tinu

ously (although on a small scale) from 1 905 to 1 95 1 . During the

early 1 960 ’

s gold was recovered as a byproduct of gravel operations

and by large-scale operations of a mobile dryland dredge .

I t i s not known when the placers were discovered, but the dis trict

was actively worked during the period 1 870—80 . I t is said that the

greatest production occurred during this time , when individual

placer miners recovered 3 1 5—3 1 00 per day . O ld Woman Gulch was alarge producer in 1 875 (one report indicates and American

Gulch reportedly produced fortunes $ for California miners at the

same time .

Between 1 9 1 0 and 1 9 12, the district was actively prospected by

Mr . John Sanger, who s tarted the Lotowana Mining Co . and planned

to mine acres of placer ground on a large scale . The company

concentrated i ts exploration efforts in Rogers Wash, where the

average value Of the ground was 68 cents per cubic yard, but where

the value Of some s trips was as high as to per cubic

yard . A dam built by Mr. Sanger across San Domingo Wash fai led

because the intended reservoir filled with sand and gravel before

MARICOPA COUNTY 23

operations had fini shed one season . Actual production by the Lo towana Mining Co . i s not known .

Since 1 9 12 the records indica te only small-scale operations in the

dis trict unti l the la te 1 95 0 ’

s. In 1 95 9 the MacDonald Construction Co .

recovered gold from gravels that were sorted according to size. Fine

gravel (minus in . mesh) con tained mos t of the gold ; coarser

gravel (plus in . to minus in .) was sent to a nugget trap part

of the t ime . During the period 1 960—62 a dryland dredge,Geraldine,

$ owned by Uni ted Placers Industries, Inc., worked the

gravels in the San Domingo district . The operation of this dredge

received considerable attention in min ing journals ; but production

records are confidential, and the success of the operation i s not

known .

Source : The San Domingo dis trict is predominantly a placer-mining

district, and there is very li ttle li terature avai lable that describes the

gold-bearing veins . The origin of the placer gold is said to be from

Precambrian and post-Cambri an veins in the area .Literature :

A llen, 1 922: Location ; source ; virtually repeats information de

scribed by Carter

Arizona Engineer and Scientis t, 1 961 : Describes dryland dredge ;average gold values of placer deposi ts ; mining techniques ; size of

gold-bearing gravels .

Carter, 1 9 1 1 : Location ; describes Rogers Wash ; character of gravels ;fineness and shape of gold ; accessory minerals ; distribution of gold

in gravels ; placer-mining techniques and development .— 1 9 12: Drywashing along the Hassayampa River . Locates Rogers

Wash ; bedrock geology ; dis tribu t ion of gold in gravels ; placer

mining techniques and development.Dinsmore, l9 1 1 a : Loca tion ; placer-mining developments ; his tory of

placer mining; early production from placer washes ; character of

placer gravel ; grade of gravel .

Engineer ing and Mining Journal, 1 96 1 : Describes dryland dredge“ Geraldine mining techniques .Hafer, 1 9 1 1 : Brief descrip t ion of placer ground .

Heikes and Yale, 1 9 1 3 : Describes Rogers Wash ; V irtually repea ts

art icles by Car ter ; adds no new information .

Jahns, 1 952: Describes pediment gravels ; no placer description .

Roseveare , 1 961 : Placer-mining operations during the period 1 959

6 1 ; size of gold-bearing gravel fractions .

Wilson , 1 96 1 : Loca tion ; history ; source of gold ; size of nugge ts ; distr ibution of gold in gravels ; gold values in gravels .

24 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

20 . CAVE CREEK DISTRICT

Location : East flank of the New River Moun tains, north of ParadiseValley, Tps . 6 and 7 N . , R . 4 E . . Lower Cave Creek, south of Cactus,T . 3 N ., R . 3 E .

Topographic maps : All -minu te quadrangles—Cave Creek, New

River Mesa, Sunnyslope .Geologic map : Wilson, Moore, and Peirce, 1 957 , Geologic map ofMaricopa County, scale

Access : From Phoen ix , 42 mi les northeast on light-duty road to the

town of Cave Creek .

Ex tent: Very l i ttle information other than production records has

been found rela t ing to the placers in the Cave Creek district . CaveCreek heads near Cramm Mountain in the New River Moun tains

(T . 7 N . , R . 4 E. , unsurveyed) and flows sou thwest to Deer Valley,north of Phoen ix . The placers are probably located along CaveCreek in the vicini ty of the Maricopa and Phoen ix gold mines

(secs . 8 and 9, T . 6 N . , R . 4 E ., New River Mesa quadrangle) . Theonly descrip tion of the placers I have found is tha t wri tten byMcconnell who descr ibes a new placer discovery made in1 9 1 0 . The ground , which was not located except for the distric t,contains gold-bearing gravels underlying soi l and cemented gravels .

The placers are found from 1 to 1 6 feet deep between the cementlayer and bedrock ; tests indicate that the ground values average

85 cents to per cubic yard .

O ther placers are apparently found in the Wini fred district onCave Creek abou t 12 miles south of the Cave Creek dis trict . U .S .

Bureau of Land Management survey plats locate placer claims in

sec. 22, T . 3 N . , R . 3 E . (Sunnyslope quadrangle) .

P roduction history : The earlies t record of placer production from theCave Creek dis trict i s for 1 888 ; placers may have been worked before

that time . Small amounts of placer gold were recovered by transi toryminers between 1 908 and 1 9 1 5 , and 1 934 and 1 941 . From 1 939 to1 941 , the small production of the Cave Creek distric t was combinedwi th produc tion from the Camp Creek dis tric t in the record .

The Wini fred dis trict produced a small amount of placer gold in

1 932 (amoun t was not given ) .

Source : The pauci ty of information about the Cave Creek dis tric t

precludes defin i te conclusions regarding the origin of the placer

gold . The Maricopa and Phoenix gold mines, the larges t lode-gold

mines in the area, are in quartz veins in al tered Precambrian schis t .

These deposi ts, and possibly other small gold veins , could have been

the source of the placers in the Cave Creek dis tric t .

The small production of placer gold from the Wini fred distric t

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

26 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS or ARIZONA

25 . PIKES PEAK DISTRICT

The Pikes Peak dis tri c t is a t the eas tern end of the Heiroglyphic

Mountains , on the west side of the Aqua Fri a River (T . 6 N . , Rs .1 and 2 W.) Placer gold was recovered from Morgan Wash in thisdi strict during the per iod 1 93 9- 41 and in 1 948 . The distric t is knownfor iron deposi ts . 1 have found no descriptions of gold ores .L iterature :

U .S . Bureau ofM ines , 1 939—41 , 1 948 : Production of placer gold .

26 . SUNFLOWER DISTRICT

Sunflower i s on the west slope of the Mazatzal Mountains , north ofMoun t Ord (sec. 1 3 , T . 7 N ., R . 8 E . : Reno Pass 7 l/z-minu te quadrangle) . Placer gold was recovered from this area in 1 940, but the location of the deposi t is unknown .

MOHAVE COUNTY

27. CHEMEHUEVIS DISTRICT (GOLD WING DISTRICT )

Location : Chemehuevis Moun tains (also known as the Mohave Mountains) eas t of the Colorado River, Tps . 14 and 1 5 N ., R s . 1 9 and 20 W.

Topographic maps : Topock 1 5 -minute quadrangle ; Needles 2-degreesheet, Army Map Service .Geologic map : Wilson and Moore, 1 95 9a , Geologi c map of MohaveCounty, scale

Access : State Highway 95 , 9 miles east of Topock, leads south about1 5 miles to the vicini ty of the Chemehuevis Moun tains, abou t 1 0

miles north of Lake Havasu Ci ty. D ir t roads lead to various placer

areas.Ex ten t: Placer deposi ts have been worked at many locali ties in the

Chemehuevis Mountains, but the deposi ts cannot be accura tely lo

cated on topographic maps of the area because mapping of the

Buck Mountain quadrangle is incomplete.From the description of the deposi ts , i t would seem that most

of the placer-min ing activi ty was concen trated on the southwes tern

flank of the mountains in the area east of the Colorado River. Oneof the deposi ts, known as the Calizona placer channel, i s 1 mile wide

and 3—5 miles long and trends northwest toward the Colorado River .

The auri ferous gr avel i s found in a bed of conglomera te or fanglom

erate 1 0—3 0 fee t thick, probably loca ted in or near secs . 26—28,T . 1 5 N . , R . 20 W . (Topock quadrangle) . Placers were mined in

the Mexican or Spanish diggings in the vi cini ty of the Red Hills

approx ima tely T . 14 N . , R . 20 W . , Topock quadrangle) . In the

early 1 930’

s placers were mined on the northeastern side of the

MOHAVE COUNTY 27

moun tains in Dutch and Printers Gulches (approx imately T . 1 5 N .,

R. 9 W ., Needles quadrangle) .P roduction history: The Chemehuevis placers reportedly were discovered in 1 85 7 and have been worked on a small scale since theearly 1 860 ’

s, when manyminers drywashed the gravels in the Calizonaplacer on the southwest side of the mountains . Many of theseearly miners are said to have recovered as much as $5 00 per day.

Tes ts of the Calizona placer gr ound made in 1 909, indicated a working average of per cubic yard .

Gold was recovered from the Fisher Diggings, Si lver Creek, the49, Chief, and Prentice Gulch properties ; the loca tion of theseclaims i s unknown . Tes ts at the Fisher Diggings made during 1 932,repor tedly indica ted an average of per cubic yard .

Source : The lode deposi ts of the Chemehuevis district are found inquartz veins in Precambrian schist . These veins only locallyc on tainhigh gold values associated wi th pyri te and galena, and, apparently,are rela tively unox idized near the surface . The placers are presumablyderived from these veins .

L iterature .

Blake, 1 899 : No tes presence of placer gold .

Hedburg, 1 909 : Location ; ex tent and dep th of placer gravels ; placermining Opera tions ; resul ts of sampling; average value of placerground ; size of gold particles.Mining Journal, l932ez Placer-mining Operations ; average grade of

gravel at the Fisher diggings.

Moore, 1 969 : Date of placer discovery .

Randolph, 1 90 1 : Notes presence of placer gold .

Wilson, 1 961 : Loca tion ; type of placer gravels ; placer operat ionsduring the period 1 932—3 3 .

Wilson, Cunningham, and Bu tler , 1 934: Describes lode mines inthe Chemehuevis dis tric t which may be source of placer gold.

28 . SAN FRANC ISCO DISTRICT (OATMAN DISTRICT)

Loca tion : West flank of the Black Mountains, Tps . 1 9 and 20 N .,

Rs . 20 and 21 W.

Topographicmap : Oatman -minu te quadrangle .Geologic maps :Lausen , 1 93 1 , Geologi c map of the Oa tman dis tri ct, Mohave County,Arizona (pl . scale z l :40,000 .

Ransome, 1 923b , Geologic map of the Oa tman district, Arizona(pl . scaleWilson and Moore, l95 9a, Geologic map of Mohave County, scale

Access : From Kingman, abou t 3 0 miles west to Oa tman on the King

28 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

man-Oatman-Topock road ; a light-duty road parallels Si lver Creekwash west of Oatman , and dirt roads lead to small placer areas nearOatman .

Ex ten t: Small placer deposi ts have been worked in the vicini ty of some

gold mines near Oatman and in the valley of S ilver Creek, which

drains nor thwes t from the Oatman Camp . Three small placers wereworked in the Oatman area : (1 ) Placer gold was recovered fromsmall side streams tributary to S i lver Creek in the vicini ty of MountHardy (secs . 5 and 6, T . 1 9 N ., R . 20 The gold here was oftwo different colors— pale yellow and darker yellow— and might nothave been recovered from the same stream . The size of the gold fromthis locali ty varied from small flat flakes to particles as large as thesize Of wheat grains . (2) Placer gold was recovered from differen tpoints along a small s tream below the Pioneer mine (sec . 2, T . 1 9 N .,

R . 20 W.) The gold here was mostly fine particles and occurredwi thin 3 feet Of bedrock . (3 ) Placer gold was recovered from gravelsbelow the Moss Vein (sec . 1 9, T . 20 N . , R . 20 W.) 2 miles north of

Si lver Creek . According to Lausen (1 93 1 , p . one important ore

shoot on the Moss veins con tains coarse gold , and he suggests that

the placer gold was coarse .

In addi tion to the small amounts of placer gold recovered in thevicini ty of the Oatman Camp , gold was recovered from the valley ofSilver Creek, about 5 miles northwest Of Oatman (possibly fromthe gr avels found in secs . 3 1 and 32, T . 20 N . , R . 20 This deposi t was tes ted in 1 923 and during the period 1 932— 3 3 , and, al though

one repor t indicates that_ gold

‘ values in the 5 feet above bedrock

were high and that the average value might be 3 1 per cubic yard ,the amount of gold in the gravels was apparently no t sufli cien t to

encourage mining opera t ions . The gold is found in the gravel which

overlies an i rregular pediment formed on volcanic rocks .

Production history: The riches t lode-gold min ing area in Mohave

County is the San Francisco dis trict . Placer-gold produc t ion from

this dis tric t has been negligible compared wi th lode production,

despi te the fact that placers have been worked since abou t 1 865 .

A l though the placers in Si lver Creek were prospec ted and large sums

of money expended to inves tiga te the gold-bearing gravels , very

li t tle production was recorded . Apparently, most of the placer mining

in the distric t was done on a very small scale .

Source : The small amoun t of placer gold found in the district was

derived from the gold-quartz-calci te veins in Ter t iary igneous rocks

tha t formed in la te Terti ary time . Lausen (1 93 1 , p . 88—89) suggests

several factors tha t migh t be responsible for the lack of r ich placer

deposi ts . The most important is the small size of the gold in the

MOHAVE COUNTY 29

ores ; these small particles could be transported for a long dis tancedur ing floods . Owing to lack of wa ter, the deposi ts were mined bydrywashingmachines, which cannot collect fine gold .

L iterature :

Allen , 1 922: No tes placer occurrence along S i lver Creek .

Ar izona Mining Journal, 1 924: Repor ts discovery of buried gravelsaveraging per yard (wi th gold valued at per OZ) .

Doman, 1 922: No tes placer-mining activi ty abou t 1 865 .

Lausen, 1 93 1 : Loca tes three placers in Oatman area ; size of goldpar ticles ; source ; reasons for general absence of placers in important lode district.Mining Journal , l932b : Reports production from gravels belowWarner Gulch .

Ransome , 1 923b : Placer-mining operations in S ilver Creek.

Salt Lake Mining Review, 1 923 : Placer-mining developments inSi lver Creek ; dep th of gold-bearing gravels ; thickness of r ich layer ;average value of gravels .Wilson, 1 96 1 : Placer-mining opera tions during the period 1 932—3 3

in Si lver Creek ; geologic occurrence of gravels ; fineness of gold .

29. KINGMAN AREA PLACERS (MCCONN ICO AND MAYNARD DISTRICTS)

Location : Northeas t flank Of the Hualapai Moun tains on KingmanMesa ; nor thwes t flank of the Hualapai Moun tains . T . 20 N ., R. 1 7 W . ;

Tps . 20 and 21 N ., R . 1 6W.

Topographic maps : Kingman -minute quadrangle ; Kingman andWilliams 2-degree shee ts, Army Map Service .Geologic map : Wilson and Moore, 1 959a, Geologic map of MohaveCounty, Arizona, scale

Access : From Kingman, 3 miles sou th on U .S . Highway 66 to Lewisplacer area ; 6 miles sou theast from Kingman on dirt roads to Lookou tplacer area .

Exten t: Three minor placer deposi ts occur in gravels in the low hillsnear Kingman . The Lewis placer and the Boulder Creek placer arein the McConn ico mining distric t sou thwes t of Kingman ; the Lookou t placer is in the Maynard mining distri c t sou theas t of Kingman .

The Lewis placer i s on the property of the B i-Me tal gold mine

(sec. 4, T . 20 N R. 1 7 The placer gold is found in some smallgullies wi thin, or a t the border of, the mineralized grani te on Kingman Mesa . Some nugge ts worth 50 cen ts were recovered from thearea .

The Boulder Creek placer is near the Boulder Creek group Of lodeclaims (approx ima tely sec . 1 0 , T . 20 N ., R. 1 7 the gold veinswere located in 1 906 after tracing de tri tal gold to the ou tcrops .The Lookou t placer i s a t the nor th end of the Hualapai Moun

3 0 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

tains (Tps . 20 and 21 N ., R . 1 6 W ) . The placers are found inareas of shallow gulch and hillside gravels, but the exact loca t ion i suncertain .

P roduction history: Most of the placer gold known to have been re

covered from the Kingman area placers was recovered from the

Lewis placer be tween 1 932 and 1 93 3 . A . E . Lewis repor tedly recovered 36 to $ 1 0 per day at the B i-Me tal property using two sluices .Wilson (1 961 , p . 34) S tates that $ 1 50 in placer gold was recoveredfrom the Lookout placer during the 1 932—3 3 season , bu t this recoverywas apparen tly not repor ted to the U .S . Bureau ofMines .

Source : The Lewis placer resulted from the erosion of free gold con

cen trated in cavi ties created by the ox ida t ion of pyri te in thegranite at the Bi-Metal property . The Boulder Creek placer re

sulted from the erosion of parts of the Boulder Creek group of

veins . The origin of the Lookout placer is unknown .

L iterature :

Engi neering and Min ing Journal , 1 93 3b : Production in 1 93 3 ; location of placer ground .

— 1 93 3d : Results of sampling Lewis placer .Schrader , 1 909 : Lewis placer— loca t ion ; size of gold par ticles ; source .Boulder Creek placer— location ; source .

Wilson, 1 96 1 : Loca tion ; production for 1 932—3 3 .

3 0 . COLORADO RIVER PLACERS

Location : Along the Colorado River from the mouth of the Grand

Canyon south to Topock . Tps . 22, 27, 29, N ., R . 22 W . ; T . 3 1

N ., R . 1 9W. (proj ected) .Topographic maps : All 1 5 -minu te quadrangles- Virgin Basin, Black

Canyon, Moun t Perkins, Spiri t Mountain .

Geologic maps .

Longwell, 1 936, Area near Colorado River between Black Canyonand the head of Boulder Canyon (pl . scale 1 in f= about

1% miles ; area near Colorado River be tween Virgin-Detri tal Valleys and head of Iceberg Canyon (pl . scale 1 in .

= about

Ry, miles ; area near Virgin River south of S t . Thomas (pl .

scale 1 in .= about MAmiles .

Longwell, 1 963 , Geologic map and sections of area along ColoradoRiver be tween Lake Mead and Davis Dam, Arizona and Nevada

(pl . 1 ) scaleWilson and Moore, 1 959a, Geologic map of Mohave Coun ty, scale

Access : From Kingman,the placers along the Colorado River can be

reached by the following routes : To the Temple Bar area—42 miles

northwes t on U .S . Highway 93 to improved road which leads nor th

MoHAvE COUNTY 3 1

abou t 24miles to Temple Bar . To the Willow Beach area— 56 milesnorthwes t on U .S . Highway 93 to Willow Beach road ; an improvedroad leads abou t 4 miles wes t to Willow Beach placer area . To theEldorado Canyon area— 46 miles north on U .S . Highway 93 to a dir troad that leads 1 2 miles wes t to the vicini ty Of the placer area op

posi te Eldorado Canyon . To the Pyramid Rock area— 30 miles wes ton S ta te Highway 68 to Davi s Dam ; dir t road leads nor th fromDavis Dam abou t 7 miles to the placer area .

Exten t: Placer gold has been recovered from many loca t ions along theColorado River . Four loca tions have been described in the li terature,and placer gold was probably recovered from o ther locali ties as well .Placer gold was found at Temple Bar on the Colorado River nor thof the Whi te Hills (T . 3 1 N . , R . 1 9 W ., projected ; Virgin Basinquadrangle). The gravel con taining fine gold was apparen tly foundon bo th the Arizona and the Nevada side of the river ; the gravelbar was inundated by the wa ters of Lake Mead .

Coarse gold was said to be found a t Willow Beach near an ou terbow of the Colorado River (T . 29 N . , R . 22 W ., Black Canyonquadrangle). The bar covers an area of abou t 250 square fee t andres ts upon an irregular surface of gneissic grani te .

Sand bars opposi te E ldorado Canyon on the Arizona side of theColorado River (T . 27 N . , R . 22 W ., Mount Perkins quadrangle)contain finely divided gold .

Some moderately coarse gold was recovered from a bench nearthe river abou t miles nor th of Pyramid Rock . Apparently, thislocal i ty now lies benea th Lake Mohave about 4miles north Of DavisDam (T . 22 N . , R . 22W . , Spiri t Moun tain quadrangle).

P roduction his tory: Recorded production from the Colorado River

placers is very small . In 1 895 a large hydraulic plant was cons tructed

a t Temple Bar, bu t the en terprise quickly me t wi th fai lure because

of the high cost of transport ing materials to the area . Placer gold

was recovered from this placer in 1 93 5 before inundat ion of the

riverbed by Lake Mead . According to Wilson (1 96 1 , p . 34 the

placer a t Willow Beach was worked before 1 900 , in 1 920 , and in

1 93 1 , bu t I have found no produc tion record . In 1 909 a suction-type

dredge was ins talled to work the gravels Opposi te Eldorado Canyon,bu t the dredge failed to ex tract the 'fine gold on the firs t try and

subsequen tly was des troyed dur ing the high wa ters in the spring of

1 9 1 0 . No production record was found for the locali ty near Pyramid

Rock .

Source : The source of the placer gold a t these loca li t ies is unknown,

bu t the occurrence of gold-bearing lodes in the surrounding region

sugges ts that much of the gold may be locally derived .

32 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

L iterature

A llen, 1 922: Placer-mining opera t ions during the period 1 909— 1 0

Opposi te Eldorado Canyon .

Blake, 1 899 : Temple Bar placers— operation ; grade of gr avel ; source .Lausen , 1 93 1 : Pyramid Rock placer— notes presence of gold northwest of the Catherine district .Randolph, 1 903 : Failure of placer-mining operations at Temple Bar .U .S . Geological Survey, 1 9 1 0 : Failure of placer-mining opera t ionsOpposi te Eldorado Canyon .

Wilson, 1 961 : Willow Beach placer— location ; extent ; type of bedrock ; size of gold ; source ; placer-min ing Operations ; produc tion .

Eldorado Canyon placer— failure of placer operations . PyramidRock placer— location ; size of gold .

3 1 . GOLD BASIN AND LOST BASIN DISTRICT

Loca tion : On the east flank of the While Hills and on the east and westflanks of the Lost Basin Range, sou th of Lake Mead, Tps . 29 and

3 0 N . , Rs . 1 7 and 1 8 W.

Topographic map : Garnet Moun tain l 5 -minute quadrangle .

Geologic map : Wilson and Moore , 1 95 9a . Geologic map of MohaveCoun ty, Arizona, scale

Access : From Kingman, 29 miles nor th on U .S . Highway 93 to Pierce

Ferry Road ; this road leads northeas t abou t 22 miles to the Gold

Basin area and 3 0 miles to the Lost Basin area .

Ex ten t: The placers in the Gold Basin and Lost Basin dis tricts are

found in three major areas : the east and west flanks of the Los t

Basin Range and the de tri tal fan in Gold Basin on the east flank

of the Whi te Hills . The placers on the east flank of the Los t Basin

Range are found in arroyos incised in baj ada gravels of late Miocene

and early Pliocene age which cover an area of 8—1 0 square miles .

Many individuals have drywashed the placers at various locali ties.

Five major placer claims are loca ted along this flank Of the range .

These are the Robeson and Joy lease (sec. 14, T . 3 0 N ., R. 1 7

the Queen Tu t placer (secs . 27 and 34, T . 30 N . , R. 1 7 the

Golden Nugge t placer (near the intersection of secs . 3 3 and 34,

T . 3 0 N ., R. 1 7 W . ; secs . 3 and 4, T . 29 N ., R . 1 7 the King Tut

placer (sec. 9, T . 29 N ., R . 1 7 and the Lone Jack placer

(sec. 1 6, T . 29 N ., R. 1 7 W ) . The King Tut placer was the mos t

actively mined placer in the area, and the eas t flank of the Lost

Basin Range is frequen tly called the King Tu t placer area .

On the west flank of the Lost Basin Range, small-scale mining of

placers found in Qua ternary alluvial fans is s t i ll act ive . These placers

occupy an area comparable in size to the placer ground on the east

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

34 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

M ini ng Journal, 1 93 3 : Placer-mining operations ; average value ofplacer gravels a t King Tut placer .

U .S . Geological Survey, 1 968 : Extent and age of placers ; averagevalue of placers ; source of gold .

Wi lson, 1 96 1 : Location ; placer-min ing operation during the period

1 932—3 3 ; exten t and thickness Of gravels, accessory minerals ; aver

age value of gravels ; size of gold particles ; source .

OTHER DISTRICTS

32. COTTONWOOD DISTRICT

Placer gold has been recovered in termittently from small deposi ts in

Wright Creek on the northeas t s ide of the Cottonwood Mountains (Tps .

22 and 23 N R s . 1 1 and 1 2L i terature

Wi lson , 1 96 1 : Reports presence of placer gold in Wright Creek .

3 3 . OWENS (MccRACKEN) DISTRICT

Small amoun ts of placer gold have been recovered from unlocatedplacers in this dis trict , loca ted in the McCracken Moun tains (T. 1 3 N . ,

Rs . 14 and 1 5 W .) No description of the placer gold occurrence hasbeen found .

34. IVALLAPAI DISTRICT

Less than 1 ounce of placer gold was recovered from this dis tric t,located on the west side of the Cerbat Mountains . The dis trict i sfamous for rich lead-zinc ores wi th si lver and gold as byproducts . Gold

occurs in galena and sphaleri te in moderately oxidized ores .L iterature :

Koschmann and Bergendahl , 1 968 : Describes lode deposi ts .

PIMA COUNTY

3 5 . ALDER CANYON PLACERS

Loca tion : Nor theas t Slope of San ta Catalina Mountains, T .

‘

1 1 S . ,

Rs . 1 6 and 1 7 E .

Topographic map : Bello ta Ranch 1 5 -minute quadrangle .

Geologic map : Wilson , Moore, and O’

Haire , 1 960, Geologic map Of

Pima and San ta Cruz Counties , scaleAccess : Alder Canyon

,about 1 0 mi les southeas t of Oracle , i s accessible

by dirt roads leading from town along the flank of the mountains .

Exten t: Coarse p lacer gold is found in dissected bars and benchesalong Alder Canyon and on spurs between tributary gulches fromnear the Coronado Nat ional Forest boundary (sec . 1 3 , T . 1 1 S . , R .

1 6 E .) to wi thin a few miles of the San Pedro River (eas t margin OfT . 1 1 s . , R . 1 7

PIMA COUNTY 3 5

P roduction history: The placers were repor tedly worked intermi t ten tlyfor many years, bu t many miners were transient and stayed only ashort while, having recovered very li t tle gold . Recorded product ioni s small and for some years included wi th production from the OldHat distri ct .

Source : Unknown .

Li terature :

Wilson , 1 96 1 : Location, ex ten t, size of gold ; placer-mining activi tyduring the period 1 932—3 3 ; product ion .

U .S . Bureau of Mines , 1 93 5 : Gives production for 1 934 from AlderCanyon credited to O ld Hat dis trict .

3 6. GREATERVILLE DISTRICT

Loca tion : Eas t flank of the San ta Ri ta Moun tains, T . 1 9 S ., R S . 1 5

and 1 6 E .

Topographic maps : All 1 5 -minute quadrangles— Sahuari ta, EmpireMountains, Mount Wr ightson , and Elgin .

Geologic maps :Drewes , 1 97 1 a , Geologic map of the Moun t Wrigh tson quadrangle

,

scale l :48,000 .

1 971 b , Geologic map of the Sahuari ta quadrangle , Pima Coun ty,scaleHill, 1 9 1 0, Ske tch map of the Greatervi lle, Arizona, placer camp .

Access : The Grea terville area is accessible by roads tha t lead 5 mileswes t from S tate Highway 83 , abou t 8 miles north of Sonoita on thejunc tion wi th State Highway 82.

Exten t: The placers in the Greatervi lle distric t are found in s treamsthat drain eas terly from the Melendrez Pass area in the San ta Ri taMoun tains to the Cienega Valley . The deposi ts are in the sou theasternpar t of T . 1 9 S . , R . 1 5 E ., and in the southwes tern par t of T . 1 9 S . , R .

1 6 E . The gold-bearing gulches are , from north to sou th : Empire,Chispa, Colorado , Los Pozos, Hughes, Ophir, Nigger, and S t. LouisGulches , tr ibu taries to Hughes ; Louisiana , Graham , Sucker, HarShaw, Ken tucky, and Boston . Placers were found not only in thegulch gravels bu t also in gravels on the hillsides and r idge tops between gulches . Hill (1 9 1 0) describes the distribu tion Of the goldbearing gravels in each gulch in de tail, and, as his repor t is wellknown , I will only summarize his descrip tion .

In general, the gold is found in the lower 2 fee t of angular graveloverlying bedrock and underlying less r ich gravels ; in places , thegold was concen tra ted in na tural ri ffles in the sedimentary bedrock .

The gold recovered ranged in size from flakes to large nuggets . Hill

(1 9 1 0, p . 20) s tates tha t the gold washed in 1 909 ranged from smallflakes to particles inch in greates t dimension . Most of the largest

3 6 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

nugge ts were recovered during the early min ing period in the district; a t that time (1 874—86) nugge ts worth $ 1 to 3 5 (aboutOZ) were common , and one nugget weighing 3 7 ounces was found .

P roduction his tory: The early produc tion i s not accura tely known .

For gold recovered before 1 900, es t imates range from as high as $7million to as low as Dur ing the 20th century the placershave been worked continually by many individuals using rockers .Much of the placer gr ound has been reworked several times, but aconsiderable amount of gold 1 5 said to remain in the gravels . Various

a t tempts have been made to mine the gravels in differen t gulchesusing hydrauli c or dredge mining methods , but thickness of overburden made large-scale mining unprofitable . In 1 948 a draglineshovel and dryland washing plant treated cubic yards of

gravel from Lou isan a Gulch , recovering 5 3 5 ounces of gold, an

average of 21 cen ts per cubic yard (or oz per cubic yard).This was the largest amount Of gold recorded from the placers inany one year during the 20th cen tury .

Source : The placer gold was derived from erosion of free gold-bearing

veins genetically related to a quar tz la t i te porphyry (da ted at

i m.y. ) intrusive into Cretaceous sedimentary rocks . These

veins are found near the heads Of the gulches and have been minedfor the gold conten t at the Yuba, S t . Louis, and Quebec mines .

L iterature :

Allen , 1 922: Vir tually repea ts informat ion described bv HillAdds information abou t placer-mining operations in 1 9 14.

Black, 1 890 : Past placer-mining activi ty .

Blake, 1 898 : Describes late Pleis tocene bison remains found in placer

deposi t .

1 899 : De tailed descrip tion of placers . Includes loca tion ; names

of placer gulches ; size of nugge ts ; placer-mining operations ; source

of placer gold ; repeats par t of earlier description by Black

Describes separately size of nuggets found in the “ Smith dis tric t$

now known as Grea terville .

Burchard, 1 882: Placer-mining activi ty at Hughes Gulch i s no ted .

- 1 884: History ; produc t ion .

— 1 885 : Hi story ; size of nugge ts ; placer-min ing Operations ; tech

n iques ; production .

Drewes, 1 970 : Describes mineraliza t ion in district ; distribution of

gold .

Gardner and Johnson, 1 93 5 : Placer-min ing techniques by dri f t min

ing.

Heikes and Yale, 1 9 1 3 : Thickness of placer gravels ; gold values per

cubic yard ; fineness of gold ; product ion from 1 903 to 1 9 12.

PIMA COUNTY 3 7

Hill, 1 9 1 0 : Detailed description ; ex ten t , thickness, and characterof gravels ; size and fineness of gold ; bedrock geology; placermining techniques, operat ions ; produc t ion .

Hin ton , 1 878 : No tes placer occurrence ; size of large nugge t .Koschmann and Bergendahl, 1 968 : Location ; source ; production .

Maynard, 1 907 : De tailed descrip t ion of sampling. Grades of gravelgiven for each gulch .

Randolph, 1 90 1 : Product ion es timates .Raymond, 1 875 : Reports placer ground on the eas t side of theSanta Ri ta Moun tains ; names prospectors who made discoveries .1 877 : Repeats informa tion of newspaper art icle describing new

discovery of placer gold at Greatervi lle ; size Of nuggets ; me thodsof mining district ; refers to as

“ Smi th distr ict $ ; does not locatedistrict ; names miners .Root, 1 9 1 5 : Placer mining in 1 9 14; average gr ade of gravel ; depthOf wa ter “ sufficient for dredging purposes .

Schrader, 1 9 1 5 : Virtually repeats Hill’s (1 9 1 0) descr iption .

Wilson, 1 96 1 : Placer-mining activi ty during the period 1 874—1 948 ;

his tory ; quotes Schrader production ; source .

3 7 . ARIVACA DISTRICT (LAS GUIJAS PLACERS)

Location : The Las Guij as and San Luis Moun tains, Tps . 20 and 21 S .,

R s . 9 and 1 0 E .

Topographicmap : Arivaca l 5 -minu te quadrangle .

Geologic map : Wilson , Moore, and O’

Haire, 1 960, Geologic map Of

Pima and Santa Cruz Coun ties, scale

Access : From Ar ivaca Junction on U .S . Highway 89, i t i s 23 miles west

on l igh t-du ty road to Arivaca . Many roads lead to placer areas in

the surrounding mountains .

Extent: Placer gold has been found in most of the gravels that mantle

the flanks of the Las Guij as Mountains and in many gulches tha t

head in the moun tains . Mos t of the placer mining was concen tra ted

on the northeas t flank of the range , sou th Of Las Guij as Creek ; here,mesa gravels be tween the edge of the mountains and the creekbed

are no tably gold bearing for a length of miles and a wid th of

1 mile (sec. 25 , T . 20 S . , R . 9 E ., secs . 30—32, T . 20 S . , R . 1 0

B url ano and Pesqueri a Gulches (sec. 32, T . 20 S ., R . 1 0 E . ; sec . 5 ,T . 21 S . , R . 1 0 E .) also con tain placer gold .

Placers are found in the gravels in large basins and wide arroyos

on the sou thern slope of the Las Guij as Moun tains, northeas t of

Arivaca Wash (NBA and Nw l/l T . 21 S . , R s . 9 and 1 0 E .) Ap

paren tly the gold in these gravels, in contras t to the placers on the

nor th side of the mountains, i s irregularly dis tribu ted .

3 8 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Far ther south, in San Luis Canyon (vicini ty of the SE . cor . T .

21 S R . 9 placers are reported in some in terarroyo bench gravels

on the dissected pediment in that area .

P roduction history: The placers in the Arivaca dis trict have been

worked since , and possibly before , the 1 850’

s . The occurrence of placer

gold in the region was so well known that the mountains were

named Guij as, which means rubble or conglomerate in which

placer gold is usually found . The early production of placer gold

from the area i s unknown , but i t has been estimated to be about

In the 1 85 0 ’

s Ignacio Pesqueria and a band of followers

defeated in a revolution in Mexico fled to the Las Guij as area ,where they Obtained sufficient gold from the gravels to finance an

other revolution that in 1 856 enabled Pesqueria to become Govern or

Of the State of Sonora, Mexico .

S ince that time, placer mining has con tinued in the district wi th

varying degrees of intensi ty . In 1 905 the New Venture Placer Mining

Co . made plans to mine the gravels by hydraulic techniques after

sampling that indicated an average of per cubic yard on tests

Of cubic yards but apparen tly did no t begin operations . The

same company mined the placers in Durzano, Pesquer i a, and Yaqui

Gulches in 1 9 1 5 wi th a Clark agi tating sluice , which uses small

amounts of water . Later, in 1 93 3 , the pediment and gulch gravels

at the nor thern foo t of the Las Guij as Moun tains were worked on

a large scale ; the gold-bearing gravels contained much black sand

and some Cinnabar . Placer wolframi te was recovered from gravels in

the low range of hills north of Las Guij as Creek.

Source : The geology of the Arivaca district i s poorly known . Many

prospec ts and mining claims are loca ted in the Las Guij as Mountains ,and the placer gold was undoub tedly derived from local gold-bearing

veins, the occurrence and nature ofwhich i s unknown .

L i terature :

Allen, 1 922: Location ; ex tent of placer gravel ; source ; thickness of

gravel ; dis tribu tion, size, and shape of gold par ticles ; placer-mining

operations ; gold values per cubic yard .

Bryan, 1 925 : Defini tion of“ Guij as . $

Trippel, 1 888 : Notes placer-mining activi ty .

Willis , 1 9 1 5 : Loca t ion ; his tory ; product ion es t imates ; thickness and

ex ten t of placer gravels ; character of gold par t icles ; grades of

gravel ; dis tri bu t ion or gold in gravel .

Wilson, 1 941 : Reports wolframite placers .— 1 96 1 : Loca tion ; his tory, placer-mining act ivi ty during the pe

riod 1 932—3 3 ; source .

PIMA COUNTY 3 9

3 8. SIERRITA MOUNTAINS PLACERS (PAPAGO AND P IMA DISTRICTS)

Location : Sou theas t and sou thwest flanks of the Sierri ta Mountains ,T . 1 8 S Rs . 1 0 and 12 E.

Topographic maps : Palo Al to Ranch and Twin Bu t tes l 5 -minu tequadrangles.Geologic map : Wilson , Moore , and O

’

Haire , 1 960, Geologic map ofPima and Santa Cruz Coun ties, scale

Access : From Sahuari ta on U .S . Intersta te 1 9, i t is abou t 1 5 miles wes ton improved roads to Sierri ta Moun tains . Dirt roads lead to placerson the flanks of the mountains .

Exten t: Placer gold is found in two areas in the S ierri ta MountainsAsh Creek in the Papago dis tric t and Armargosa Arroyo in the Pimadistrict .Ash Creek drains the sou thwest flank of the S ierri ta Moun tains ;the placer is located in the vicini ty of the Sunshine-Sunrise group of

mining claims (sec . 1 2, T . 1 8 S ., R . 1 0 E . ; sec. 7, T . 1 8 S ., R . 1 1 E .

Palo A l to Ranch quadrangle). Placers were also found in PascolaCanyon, not identified on the topographic map .

The placer in Armargosa Arroyo and tribu taries in the Tinaj aHills (sou theas t flank of the S ierri ta Mountains) i s in secs . 20 , 21 ,28, and 29, T . 1 8 S ., R. 12 E . (Twin Bu t tes quadrangle) . The topographic map Shows “ Tinaj a Wash $ in this area . The gold wasrecovered from gravels in the ar royo and i ts tr ibu taries and fromthe thin soi l on the hillside .

Production history: The recorded product ion from these placers i ssmall, bu t the placers are said to have been worked before thediscovery of gold in Californ ia and reportedly produced considerableamoun ts of gold before records were kept . Els ing and Heineman

(1 936, p . 98) attribute a placer production of to the Papagodis trict placers ; this sum may be an es t imate of the early productionOf the area .

Source : Unknown .

L iterature:

Allen, 1 922: Location ; placer-mining operations .Browne, 1 868 : History ; early date of placer mining.

Elsing and Heineman , 1 936 : Placer-product ion es t imate for Papagoplacers .

Wilson, 1 961 : Loca t ion , product ion for Papago distric t . Location,

placer-mining activi ty ; accessory minerals in placers for Pima distr ict.

3 9 . BABOQUIVARI DISTRICT

Location : East and wes t flanks of the Baboquivari Moun tains . T . 1 8 S .,

40 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Topographic maps : Presumido Peak and Baboquivari Peak l 5 -minutequadrangles .Geologic map : Wi lson, Moore, and O

’

Haire, 1 960 , Geologic map OfPima and San ta Cruz Counties , scale

Access : State Highway 286 parallels the east flank of the BaboquivariMountains , and service roads lead abou t 8 miles west from the highway to mining areas .

Ex ten t: Placer gold is found about 5 or 6 miles southeast of Baboqui

vari Peak a t the eastern foot of the mountains . The gold-bearing

gravels range in thickness from 6 to 1 1 fee t and are found in benchesand bars along a large east-trending wash (Placeri tos Wash orShaffer Wash , T . 20 S . , R. 8 E ., Presumido Peak quadrangle) ; the

gravels containmany boulders and some clay.

The Fresnal placer claims are near the Los t Horse lode claims inthe Baboquivari Mountains ; the location of these claims i s not knownto me, but the name sugges ts Fresnal Canyon on the west side of themountains near the Alli son lode-gold mine (T . 1 8 S . , R. 7 E . , pro

j ected, Baboquivari Peak quadrangle) .Production history: The placers in the Baboquivari di s trict were d iscovered during, or shortly before, the early 1 930

’

s; since that time ,production has been small, and gold recovery was reported for only4 years (1 93 5 , 1 93 8, 1 940 , During 1 93 3 , the Edna J . GoldPlacer Mines , Inc. , leased 680 acres in the placer area on the east sideof the moun tains ; the company planned to work a bar of gravel thatcontained about cubic yards of gravel reportedly averaging65 cents per cubic yard . In

_

1 938 ano ther company held the Fresnalplacer claims . Apparently, there was very li ttle developmen t of

these placer claims, as there i s no record of any large-scale miningOperations in the area .

Source : Unknown .

L iterature :

M ining Journal , 1 938a: Placer-mining developmen ts at the FresnalPlacers .Wilson , 1 961 : Placers at eastern side of Baboquivari Mountainslocation, extent ; placer-mining activi ty ; average grade of gravels,depth of gravels .

40 . CABABI (COMOBABI ) DISTRICT

Location : Southeas tern side of the South Comobabi Mountains . T . 1 7

S ., R. 5 E . (proj ected ; on Papago Indian Reservation) .Topographic map : Sells 1 5 -minu te quadrangle .

Geologic map: Wilson , Moore, and O’

Haire, 1 960, Geologic map of

Pima and San ta Cruz Counties, scaleAccess : The main mining area and placers are about 4 miles north

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

42 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

retained . Placers were recovered from gravels in the area known asHorseshoe Basin that surrounds the Old town of Quijotoa (3 mileswest of S tate Highway 86 and 3 mi les south of Covered Wells),from two gulches (Homestake and M idas) in the vicini ty of CoveredWells (Maish Vaya), and from an area located 3 miles south ofPozo Blanco (Stoa Vaya) and 1 mile west of the moun tains .

Production history: The Quijotoa placers have been worked on asmall scale from 1 774 to the present . The early production is unknown ; since the 1 860

’

s many reports indicate that

per year in placer gold was recovered by Papago Indians and

Mexican miners . The gold was recovered from the unconsolidatedsurface gravels and from the underlying caliche-cemented gravel .The gravels are said to average more than 80 cents per yard . In

1 9 1 0 a Quinner pulverizing machine and a Stebbins separator tablewas used in Horseshoe Basin to recover gold from the gravels, butmost of the mining was done by individuals who pulverized the

gravels by hand before using drywashers or bateas to separate thegold .

Source : Numerous deposi ts of vein gold are in the Quijotoa Mountains ;erosion of these veins h as concentrated the gold in various placers

along the flanks of the moun tains .L itera ture :

Allen , 1 922: Location ; character of gravels ; d istribution of gold ingravels ; placer-mini ng techniques ; placer-mining Operations during the period 1 905—6 and in 1 9 1 0 .

Blake, 1 899 : Location ; production ; general history of placer min ing.

Browne, 1 868 : Notes long ac t ivi ty at Quijotoa placers .

Bryan, 1 925 : Locates Pozo Blanco and Horseshoe .

Burchard , 1 885 : Placer d iscovery in 1 884; location ; ex tent ; length

and thickness of auri ferous gravels ; production .

Elliott, 1 884: History ; early date of placer-min ing activi ty ; ex tent

of placer ground ; Quijotoa .Ficke t t, 1 9 1 1 : Placer-mining techniques ; distribution of gold in

gravels and caliche.

Heikes and Yale , 1 9 1 3 : Location ; placer-min ing operations ; char

acter of placer gravels ; production from 1 903 to 1 2.

Hinton, 1 878 : Notes placer occurrence ; size of gold .

Mining Journal, 1 939c: Reports average value of placer gravel at

Mackey Bro thers claims ; depth ofgravels .— 1 940 : Repor ts nuggets as large as half an ounce in weigh t .

Randolph , 1 903 : Notes placer-mining act ivi ty.

Stephens, 1 884: History ; early placer mining (1 774 placer

mining act ivi ty during the period 1 883—84.

PIMA COUNTY 43

Wilson, 1 96 1 : Loca tion ; his tory ; placer-mining activi ty (1 906, 1 9 1 0 ,

1 932 dis tribu tion of placer gold at Pozo Blanco and Horseshoe Basin ; average value of placer gravels ; source .

42. AJO DISTRICT

Location : Adj acent to the New Cornelia mine in the Li t tle AjoMountains, T . 1 2 S R. 6W.

Topographicmap : Ajo l 5 -minute quadrangle .

Geologic map : Gilluly, 1 946, Geologic map and sections of the Ajomining dis trict, Pima County (pl . scale

Access : From Yuma, 1 1 7 miles east on U .S . Interstate 8 to Gila Bend ;from there 42miles South on S tate Highway 85 to Ajo .

Exten t: A small placer deposi t i s found in gravels in Cornelia Arroyo

(secs . 23 and 26, T . 1 2 S ., R. 6

P roduction history: 24 ounces of gold was recovered during the period

1 932—3 3 a t a time when the New Cornelia copper mine was closed ;apparen tly, no placer gold has been recovered since that time.

Source : The gold i s eviden tly derived from the oxidized part of the

New Cornelia ore body, which contains about ounce of

gold per uni t of copper.Literature

Gilluly, 1 946 : Location ; source ; production .

OTHER DISTRICTS

43 . EMPIRE DISTRICT

The Empire dis tri ct i s in the Empire Mountains (T . 1 8 S . , R . 1 7

which extend northeastward from the Santa Ri ta Moun tains ; the lode

deposi ts of the district are pr imarily base-metal replacement and con

tact deposi ts . In 1 93 5 , 2 ounces of placer gold was reportedly recovered,but the location and source of this placer is unknown .

L itera ture :

Wilson , 1 95 1 : Describes pr incipal mines in the Empire district .

44. OLD BALDY DISTRICT (MADERA CANYON PLACERS)

Madera Canyon i s on the northwest Slope of the Santa Ri ta Mountains (T. 1 9 S ., R. 1 4 Reportedly there was considerable placer

mining in the lower par t of the Madera Canyon alluvial fan in the

late 1 880 ’

s, but I have found no record of any placer gold produced

in this dis trict . The only recen t act ivi ty reported was for 1 932—3 3 , when

the deposi ts were sampled .

L iterature

Schrader, 1 9 1 5 : Loca t ion, extent, depth of gravels ; early placer

mining ac tivi ty .

of pla n ground: Qui jotoa.

“ like“ . 191 1 : m mg avels and v 7 til. 0

‘

i t$

Heika and Yale. 19 1 3 : [m m m

Mining

PIMA COUNTY 43

W’ i lson. 1 96 1 : bca tion ; history ; placer-min ing ac t ivi ty (1 906, 1 9 1 0 ,

1932 d isi sution of placer gold a t Pozo Blanco and Horse

shoe Basin ; an tge value Of placer grave ls ; source .

42. n o DISTRIC T

Loca tion : Adjaoe t to the New Corne l ia mine in the Li t tle AjoMountains. T m. R. 6

Topographic map/1 jo l5-minu te quadrangle .

Geologic map : G i l ly . 1 946 . Geo logic map and sec t ions of the Ajomi n ing d istr ict.

’ i na County (pl . sca le

Access : From Yuta 1 17 miles east on U .S . Intersta te 8 to G i la Bend

from there 42 nlu south on S ta te Highway 85 to Ajo .

Exten t : A sma ll 1: er deposi t is found in grave ls in Cornel ia Arroyo

(sec s . 23 and 26 1 12 S R . 6

Production Imwt : 24 ounces of gold was recovered during the period

1932—3 3 a t a t il t when the New Cornelia COpper mine was closed ;

apparen tlv. no 1 lacer gold has been recovered since tha t t ime .

Source .

'

1 he go lt i . evidently derived from the ox id i zed part of the

New (Jorne liao e body. which conta ins abou t ounce of

go ld per un i t or ppper .

Litera ture :

G illuly , 1 946 : bt ttion ; source ; produc t ion .

OTHER DISTRIC TS

43 . EMPIRE DlSTR lCT

The Emp ire d t t ict i s in the Empire Mountains (T . 1 8 S . , R . 1 7

which extend nozl eastward from the Santa Ri ta Moun tains ; the lode

dewalts O f the (s tric t are primarily base-metal replacement and con

tact depos i ts . as reportedly recovered.own .

44 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Wilson , 1 961 : Virtually quotes Schrader placer-mining ac

tivi ty during the period 1 932—3 3 .

45 . SILVER BELL DISTRICT

No information has been found describing placer deposi ts in theSi lver Bell district, Si lver Bell Mountains (Tps . 1 1 and 12, S R . 8

E.) about 40 mi les northwest ofTucson .

PINAL COUNTY

46. OLD HAT DISTRICT (CANADA DEL ORO PLACERS ; SOUTHERN BELLEPLACERS)

Location : Nor thwest and northeast flanks of the Santa Catalina Mountains , T . 1 0 S ., Rs . 14—1 6 E.

Topographicmaps : Mammoth and Oracle 1 5 -minute quadrangles .Geologicmaps :Creasey, 1 967, Geologi c map and sections of the Mammoth quadrangle, P inal Coun ty, Arizona (pl . scale

Wi lson and Moore, 1 959h, Geologic map of Pinal Coun ty, Arizona,scale

Access : From Oracle , dirt roads lead southeast and southwest to theplacer areas on both sides Of the mountains .

Ex ten t: The Cafiada del Oro placer area is the large alluvial fan atthe northwest end of the Santa Catalina Mountains north and westof Saman iego and Oracle Ridges (T . 1 0 S ., Rs . 14 and 1 5 E . ,

Oracle quadrangle) . Gold i s found in gravel beds that repor tedlyrange in thickness from 6 feet at the creek side to 252 fee t at thetop of the alluvial fan . The gold-bearing gravel occurs over a widestrip along the creek and in adj acen t hillsides and extends southinto Pima Coun ty .

The Southern Belle placer i s in creek beds below the SouthernBelle mine on the northeast flank of the Santa Catalina Moun tains

(unsurveyed secs . 1 9 and 20 , T . 1 0 S R. 1 6 E ., Mammoth ‘

quad

rangle) . The gold i s said to be concentrated in a pay streak on top

of red clay material derived from the decomposi tion of diori te

(diabase of Creasey,P roduction history: The placers in Cafiada del Oro have been knownand worked for many years . Some reports s ta te that Spani ards mayhave worked the gravels in the early l700

’

s, but I have found noestima tes of the gold recovered by these early miners . The deposi tshave been worked on a small scale throughout most of the 20 th

century; small amounts of gold were recovered in most years . Mos tof the gold occurred as well-rounded particles ranging in size fromgrains worth a few cents to one-fourth-ounce nuggets . During the

PINAL COUNTY 45

early 1 93 0 ’

s a nugget worth $25“

(at per oz) was recovered ,and a 1 6-pound lump con taining abou t 40-percent quartz was said to

have been found in the late 1 800 ’

s .

The placers near the Southern Belle mine were known in 1 884

and may have been worked before that t ime . These deposi ts have

no recorded production and were probably worked out in the early

1 900’

s. Reportedly, the gold recovered was coarse, as some large

nuggets were said to have been taken out.

Source : According to Wilson (1 96 1 , p . 6 1 gold-bearing veins in

the upper reaches of Cafiada del Oro, which heads on the north

flank of Mount Lemmon, were the probable source of the placer

gold in that area . I have found no de tailed informa t ion about these

veins, which were worked at the Copeland, Kerr, Matas , and other

prospects .

The gold in the Sou thern Belle placer is presumably derived from

the gold-bearing Southern Belle ore deposi t .L itera ture

A llen, 1 922: Quo tes Heikes and Yale

Blake, 1 899 : No tes presence of placer gold ; source at Southern Belle .

Browne ,‘

1 868 : Placer-mining act ivi ty at Cafiada del Oro .

Burchard, 1 885 : Placer-mining activi ty at Sou thern Belle .

Burgess, 1 903 : Locates Sou thern Belle placer ; average gold conten t

in 5 0-pound sample ; describes lode mine .

Creasey, 1 967 : Describes geology and ore deposi ts in vicini ty of

Sou thern Be lle mine (p . 82 Doe s no t describe placers .

Hei kes and Yale , 1 9 1 3 : Location ; thickness of gravels ; character and

origin of placer gravels ; gold values per cubic yard ; size of nug

gets ; production from 1 903 to 1 9 12; placer-mining operations .

Hinton, 1 878 : Notes placer occurrence ; profitable workings.Hodge, 1 877 : Notes history ofmining activi ty .

Wilson, 1 96 1 : History ; placer-mining ac tivi ty during the period

1 932—3 3 ; or igin of gold . Quo tes Heikes

OTHER DISTRICTS

47 . CASA GRANDE DISTRICT

The Casa Grande district includes the Si lver Reef and Slate Moun

tains in southwes tern Pinal County . Free gold has been found in veins

at the Mammon mine, western Slate Moun tains (T . 1 0 S R. 4

and probably occurs in other par ts of the range . Elli s locates gold

placers in the alluvial valley on the east side of the Slate Mountains

(T. 1 0 S . , R. 6 No information has been found about the placer

gold recovered from this district in 1 922.

46 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS or ARIZONA

L iterature

Ellis, 1 962: Map locates placers in vicini ty of Slate Mountains .Wilson, Cunningham, and Butler, 1 934: Describes ores at Mammon

mine .

48 . GOLDFIELD DISTRICT

Smal l amoun ts of placer gold have been recovered from deposi tsin the northwestern part Of the Supersti tion Mountains (T . 1 N . , R.

8 The gold was probably derived from free gold in oxidizedquartz veins in gran i te , which were mined at the Morman Stope of theYoung mine .

L iterature :

Wi lson, Cunni ngham , and Bu tler, 1 934: Describes ores in the district .

49 . MINERAL CREEK DISTRICT

In 1 888, placer gold valued at $400 was recovered from MineralCreek (Ray district) on the wes t flank of the Dripping Spring Mountains (T . 3 S R . 1 3 E .) in the eas tern part of Pinal County.

L iterature

Trippel, 1 889 : Production .

5 0 . PIONEER (SUPERIOR) DISTRICTPlacer gold was recovered from the southwestern part of the Pioneer

dis trict in the vicini ty of Picke t Post Moun tain . The probable sourceof the gold was eroded material derived from oxidized ve ins in thearea .

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

5 1 . ORO BLANCO DISTRICT

Location : Oro Blanco Mountains north of the Uni ted States-Mexico

boundary, T. 23 S ., Rs . 1 0 and 1 1 E .

Topographic maps : Ruby and Oro Blanco 1 5 -minu te quadrangles .

Geologic map : Wilson , Moore , and O’

Ha ire , 1 960 , Geologic map of

Pima and Santa Cruz Counties, scaleAccess : From Nogales , about 25 miles northwest on State Highway

289 to Oro Blanco . Dirt roads and jeep trails lead sou th to placerareas .

Exten t: The Oro Blanco Mountains are named for the fact that theplacer gold found in the area i s so alloyed with si lver that i t issilvery whi te . Placer gold is said to occur in almos t every ravineand gulch , on many hillsides, and on surfaces where the soil is reddishfrom decomposed pyri te . Alamo Gulch and i ts neighboring gulches

(T. 23 S ., R. 1 0 E . , Oro Blanco quadrangle) reportedly containedthe riches t placers ; gold recovered from Alamo Gulch was valued

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

48 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS or ARIZONA

that no evidence was seen to indicate the presence of placer gravels

and that the occurrence Of gold in the canyon i s unl ikely.

Source : The placers found on the east side of Mount Benedict were

probably derived from gold-bearing veins known to occur in this

isolated mountain of Precambrian grani te .

L iterature

Bird, 1 9 1 6 : Notes presence of placer gold on slopes of Mount

Benedic t near the San ta Cruz River .

M ining Review, 1 9 1 0b : Reports high concentration of placer gold

in gravels surrounding Nogales ; an exaggerated account .

Schrader, 1 9 1 5 : Location of placers in Guebabi Canyon ; ex tent of

gr avels ; early placer-min ing activi ty.

Wilson, 1 961 : Quotes Schrader .

5 3 . PATAGON IA DISTRI CT

Location : East flank of the Patagon i a Mountains , T . 23 S . , R . 1 6 E .

(unsurveyed) .Topographic map : Lochiel l 5 -minute quadrangle .

Geologic map: Wi lson, Moore , and O’

Haire, 1 960 , Geologic map Of

P ima and Santa Cruz Coun ties, scale

Access : From Nogales, about 5 miles northeast on S tate Highway 82

to junc tion with light-duty road at the Santa Cruz River ; from there ,1 0 miles east across Patagoni a Mountains to dirt roads that lead to

placers in Mowry Wash .

Ex tent: Small placers are found in gravels of Mowry Wash and some

of i ts tributaries . Schrader (1 9 1 5 , p . 348) locates four areas where

gold was recovered from the gravels : at the east edge of the QuajoloteFlat in gr avels about 5 feet thick (in Providenci a Canyon, near

the Four Metals mine) ; near the head of Mowry Wash in the gravels

in a southside tributary (near the old Wini fred mine) ; and in

two northside tributarIes southeast of Mowry . Placers were also found

in Quajolote Wash downs tream from the Old Mowry smel ter ; thiswash is not named on the topographic map . The gold recovered

from the Patagonia placers i s generally associated with black sand

and in size i s generally less than inch diameter . One 2-ouncenugget and several smaller nuggets were found .

Production history: The placers in the Pa tagoni a district have a re

corded produc tion o i abou t 1 00 ounces , about equal to tha t of the

Oro Blanco district, al though they probably were not so impor tant

in the early his tory of the region .

Source : The de tri tal gold was apparen tly freed by erosion of si lver,lead, and copper ores that contain very minor amoun ts of gold . The

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY .49

host rocks for the ore bod ies in the drainage area of Mowry Washar e Precambrian quartz monzoni te a t the Four Metals mine andmonzoni te and Carboniferous limestone a t the Mowry mine .

L itera ture

Mining and Scientific Press, 1 908 : Reports placer-mining activi ty ;product ion per man per month .

Schrader, 1 9 1 5 : Location ; placer-min ing act ivi ty ; average yield perday per man ; production .

Wilson, 1 96 1 : Quo tes Schrader ; adds information on placer miningin 1 93 3 ; size of gold particles .

54. TYNDALL-PALMETTO-HARSHAW DISTRICTS

Location : Low hi lls on bo th sides of Sonoi ta Creek south of the SantaRita Moun tains, Tps . 21 and 22 S ., Rs . 14 and 1 5 E .

Topographic maps : Mount Wrigh tson and Nogales 1 5 -minu te quadrangles.

Geologic mapsDrewes , 1 97 1 a, Geologic map of the Mount Wrightson quadrangle,San ta Cruz and Pima Counties, Arizona, scaleWilson, Moore, and O

’

Haire, 1 960 , Geologic map of Pima and San taCruz Counties, scale

Ex ten t: Three minor placers are on the wes t flank of the PatagoniaMountains in the Tyndall, Palmetto, and Harshaw districts . Theonly information found relates to the location of the placers givenby Schrader (1 9 1 5 , p . 220 , 279) for the Tyndall and Harshawdis tricts, and by Wilson (1 96 1 , p . for the Palmetto district .The placers in the Tyndall distric t are found in the gravels in theopen basin a t the head of the tribu tary to Ash Canyon in theSW IA of sec. 3 5 and on both sides of the township line betweenTps . 21 and 22 S ., R. 14E . (MountWrightson quadrangle).

The placers in the Harshaw distric t are in Quaternary gravels

on a mesa southeast of the junction of Sonoi ta Creek and Alum

Canyon in secs . 1 3 and 24, T. 22 S ., R . 1 5 E . (Mount Wrigh tson

quadrangle) .

The placers in the Palmetto dis trict are in Three R Canyon

miles northwest of the Three R mine in sec. 27, T . 22 S . , R. 1 5 E .

(Nogales quadrangle) ; the placers were worked for 1 month in

1 927 and abandoned .

P roduction history: The Tyndall and Palme t to deposi ts have had no

recorded produc tion during the 20th cen tury, and are relat ively

unknown . A small product ion was made from the Palme tto dis trict .

Source : The de tri tal gold was probably eroded from small gold-bear

ing veins in the vicini ty of the placers .

5 0 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS or ARIZONA

L iterature

Schrader, 1 9 1 5 : Tyndall district— location . Harshaw dis tric t— location ;accessory minerals ; placer-min ing activi ty .

Wilson , 1 96 1 : Tyndall d is trict— quotes Schrader . Harshaw dis tric tquotes Schrader . Palmetto dis trict— locat ion ; placer-mining ac t ivi ty

in 1 927.

YAVAPAI COUNTY

[The most productive placers in Arizona are in the h igh moun tainous region of

south-central Yavapai Coun ty. Most of the placers are concen trated on the S lopesof the Bradshaw Mountains in the vicin ity of many smal l lode deposits . Becauseof the large number of small min ing districts that include parts of gold-bearingstreams. 1 have grouped the placers on the basis of drainage areas rather thanformal min ing distri cts]

5 5 . LYN$ CREEK DRAINAGE AREA

Location : North flank of the Bradshaw Mountains and the south side

of Lonesome Valley, Tps . , 1 3 and 14 N R . 1 W . ; T . 14 N . ,

R . 1 E .

Topographic maps : Prescott and Mount Union 1 5 -minute quadrangles .Geologicmaps :Anderson and Blacet, 1 972b, Geologic map of the Mount Unionquadrangle, Yavapai County, Arizona, scaleKrieger, 1 965 , Geologic map and sections Of the Prescott quad

rangle, Arizona, (pl . scaleAccess : From Prescott, S tate Highway 69 east parallels the lower courseof Lynx Creek, and light-duty roads lead south from State Highway

69 at Prescot t to many points along the upper reaches of Lynx

Creek .

Ex ten t: Placers occur along the ent ire length of Lynx Creek from near

the headwaters at Walker, 7 miles sou theast of Prescott , downstreamto the junction of Lynx Creek with the Aqua Fria River, 1 3 mileseast of Prescott .The placers along the upper reaches of Lynx Creek (in theWalker district) occur in the main creek and along i ts tributariesfrom near Walker (sec . 34, T . 1 3 N . , R. 1 W . , Moun t Unionquadrangle) downs tream for a dis tance of about 8 miles to thelower dam area (sec. 22, T . 14 N . , R. 1 W ., Prescott quadrangle) .

This part of Lynx Creek flows across Precambrian rock, and thegold occurs in thin gravels on narrow benches or bars .The placers in lower Lynx Creek occur in the east-trending par t

of the creek from the area around the lower dam, east to the junction with the Aqua Fria River (sec. 34, T . 14 N ., R 1 E . , j us t eas tof the Prescott quadrangle) . Gold occurs in the recen t alluvium

YAVAPAI COUNTY 5 1

at the bottom of the steep-wallied gulch cut in to Tertiary con

glomerate . The placer gravels a t tain a minimum wid th of more than

one-eigh th of a mile and have a thickness of 8—24 fee t ; a rich payS treak 4 fee t thick was found 2 fee t above the conglomerate bedrock .

An area called the Nugge t Patch , sou th of the lower dam on

Lynx Creek (sec. 3 , T . 1 3 N . , R . 1 W . , Prescot t quadrangle), i ssaid to con tain gold in black sands tha t were probably derivedfrom quar tz veins in the underlying Precambrian gabbro (Krieger ,1 965 , p.

P roduction history: Lynx Creek i s the mos t product ive gold-bearingstream in Arizona, although other dis tric ts (La Paz, Yuma Coun ty ;Weaver , Yavapai Coun ty) have yielded more gold from alluvialfans , fla ts, and arroyos . The Lynx Creek placers were discoveredin May 1 863 by Sam Miller and four o ther prospec tors of the groupled by Cap tain Joe Walker . Sam Miller reportedly pannedin gold from a gravel bank along Lynx Creek ; on May 1 0, 1 863 ,

the par ty organized the firs t mining dis trict in Yavapai Coun ty, whichthey called the Pioneer Dis trict . The Walker quartz miningdistrict was formed November 24, 1 863 . Production from the Lynx

Creek placers before 1 900 i s genera lly estimated a t abou t $ 1 million,al though some wri ters estimate $2million .

During the 20th cen tury the placers in the lower section of LynxCreek have been the mos t actively mined . Large-scale placer miningwas done by dredges opera ting along 5 miles of lower Lynx Creekfrom the lower dam in sec. 22, T . 14 N . , R . 1 W ., to the V i ci n 1 ty

of Fain ’s Ranch in Sec . 28, T . 14 N . , R . 1 E . (Prescot t quadrangle) .The Calari Dredging Co . worked placer ground in 1 93 3 below thelower dam tha t averaged 32 cen ts per cubic yard . In late 1 939 the

Rock Castle Placer Mines Co . used a dryland dredge to work the

bench gravels in this area . From 1 934 to 1 940 (in par t icular the

years 1 93 8—39) the Lynx Creek Placer Mining CO . worked the

gravels on the Fi tzmaurice property, which ex tends from secs . 22—24,

T . 14 N R . 1 W . , through sec. 1 9, T . 14 N . , R. 1 E . ; this dredge

was the largest single producer in Ar izona .

Mos t of the placer mining in the area of upper Lynx Creek was

sma ll-scale rocking and sluicing, bu t a few larger scale placer opera

tions were a ttemp ted , especially in that par t of upper Lynx Creekjust downstream from the Old Highway Bridge (NW IA sec. 3 3 , T . 14

N . , R . 1 During the period 1 940—41 gravels were worked in the

area called Bigelow Fla t to abou t hal f a mile below the bridge, a

dis tance of abou t 3 miles .Source : The placer gold in Lynx Creek was derived from numerous

widely scattered small gold-quartz veins in adjacen t par ts of the

52 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Bradshaw Moun tains . Mineralization in the Bradshaw Mountainsi s both Precambr ian and Laramide in age , and placers have been derived from veins of both ages . In the Walker area, the gold-quartzveins are associated wi th a small s tock of granodiori te that recen t workhas shown to be of Laramide age (64m.y. ; Anderson , 1 968, p .

Most of the gold in Lynx Creek is thought to have been derived fromthe gold veins in the Walker area . The gold found along the creekvaries fromcoarse nuggets to 4 ounces in the upper reaches of thecreek to fine gold along the lower r eaches of Lynx Creek . Thegold-si lver ratio in the nuggets increases downs tream .

L iterature

Allen, 1 922: Location ; production ; placer-mining operations duringthe periods 1 907—9 and 1 9 1 8— 1 9 .

Blake , 1 899 : Location ; placer-min ing operations ; problems ; goldvalues per cubic yard .

Burchard, 1 882: Production estimate (1 863— 1 884: Brief his tory of early placer mining; locates placer ground

near lode mines on upper Lynx Creek .

— 1 885 : Production estimates and production for 1 884.

De Wolf, 1 9 1 6 : Reports four hydrauli c gi ants installed at Lynx

Creek .

Gardner and Johnson, 1 93 5 : Depth of gravel ; placer-mining opera

tions on upper Lynx Creek .

Gardner and Allsman , 1 938 : Lis ts— placer-mining techniques ; depth

and characteristics of gravel mined ; depth of bedrock mined ;percent of gold recovery .

Koschmann and Bergendahl, 1 968 : History; placer-mining opera

tions ; production .

Krieger, 1 965 : History ; location of placer-mining operations; bedrock

geology.

Lindgren, 1 926 : History ; production ; ex ten t of placers, character

and value ofgold ; source .Raymond, 1 872: Walker dis tri ct— extent of placers ; placer-mining

problems on upper Lynx Creek .

Wilson, 1 96 1 : Loca tion ; history ; production ; dredging operations to

1 949 . Small-scale Operations in 1 93 3 ; geology of gold in gravels .

Wood, 1 929 : H is tory of placer discovery .

5 6. HASSAYAMPA RIVER DRAINAGE AREA

Location : West flank of the Bradshaw Mountains, Tps . 8—1 3 N ., Rs .

2—5 W.

Topographic maps : Congress 30-minu te quadrangle ; Wagoner NE1 5 -minu te quadrangle (covers only NE IA of quadrangle) ; Kirkland

YAVAPAI COUNTY 5 3

E . 1 5 -minu te quadrangle (covers only E of quadrangle) ; Mount

Union 1 5 -minute quadrangle .Geologic mapsArizona Bureau of Mines, 1 95 8, Geologic map of Yavapai County,scale

Anderson and B lacet, 1 972b, Geologic map of the Moun t Unionquadrangle, scale

Access : U .S . Highway 89 leads south to Congress from Presco t t westof the placer areas along Hassayampa Creek. Dirt roads lead eastfrom U .S . Highway 89 to the different placer areas along theHassayampa .

Exten t: Placers are found along most of the Hassayampa River andin many tributaries from Groom Creek near the headwaters , downstream to Blue Tank Wash, a tributary near Wickenburg.

Upper Hassayampa River (Hassayampa dis trict) : In the headwa ters of the Hassayampa River, placers are found along GroomCreek, the Hassayampa River , and small side gulches (T . 1 3 N ., R . 2

W ., Moun t Union quadrangle). I have found no description of thegold-bearing gravels in Groom Creek and nearby parts Of theHassayampa River .Cen tral

1

Hassayampa River (Wagoner, Walnut Grove, and Tigerdis tricts) : The central par t of the Hassayampa drainage area, nearWalnu t Grove and Wagoner , includes the Hassayampa River, tr ibutaries on the wes t side (P lacer i ta and French Gulches), tr ibutaries onthe eas t side (Blind Indian , Milk, Minnehaha, Cherry and OakCreeks) . The gravels in the river near Walnu t Grove con tain

many boulders but no clay ; the gold is described as flake gold . The

Hassayampa River was mos t actively worked be tween 1 885 and 1 890 ;

during that t ime a dam was buil t (near the junction of Cherry

Creek with the Hassayampa— sec. 23 , T . 1 0 N . , R . 3 W ., Wagoner

quadrangle) to permi t hydraulic mining in Rich Hill (1 0 miles

west) and large-scale operat ions on the Hassayampa downs tream from

Wagoner . The dam fai led in 1 890 , killing 1 5 0 people and flooding

the downstream section of the Hassayampa .

Gravels were mined along the upper par ts and side gulches of

P lacer i ta Gulch (approximately sec. 14, T . 1 1 N . , R . 4W . , Congress

quadrangle), near the junction of P lacer i ta and French Gulches

(secs . 7 and 1 8, T . 1 1 N . , R . 3 W . , Kirkland quadrangle), and on

French Gulch, 1 mile sou theast of Zonia (sec . 1 7 or 1 8, T . 1 1 N . ,

R. 3 Much of the gold in these gulches i s fairly coarse andmany IA and l/2-ounce nugge ts were recovered .

Placers have also been found in Blind Indian and Milk Creekson the east side of the Hassayampa (Tps. 1 0 and 1 1 N ., Rs . 2 and 3

54 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

but these were no t worked so ex tensively as the placers in

Placer i ta and French Gulches . P lacer gold was reportedly found on

Slate and Milk Creeks in beds of volcani c agglomerate that were

hydraulicked before 1 905 .

South of Blind Ind ian and Milk Creeks, small placers were

worked in M innehaha, Cherry, and Oak Creeks . Placers were foundnear the headwaters of Minnehaha Creek in M inehaha Flat (un

surveyed secs . 1 9, 30 , 3 1 , T . 1 0 N . , R . 1 W . , Crown King quad

rangle) and on Oak Creek, 1 mi le below Fentons Ranch (sec. 3

or 9, T . 9 N . , R»2 W . , Crown King quadrangle) .

Lower Hassayampa River (Black Rock and Blue Tanks districts)Small placers are found in the Black Rock region in T . 8 N . ,

R. 3 W. (Congress quadrangle) and on the Hassayampa River nearthe mouth of Blue Tank Wash in T . 7 N . , R . 5 W ., near the

Maricopa County-Yavapai County boundary .

P roduction history: Upper Hassayampa River (Hassayampa district)The placers in Groom Creek were discovered in the 1 860

’

s and

actively worked in the 1 880 ’

s . Sparks (1 9 1 7) estimated $3 million

production in placer gold from Groom Creek, but this estimate is

probably grossly high . During the 1 93 0 ’

s thi s northern region was

placered on a small scale by many individuals, and from 1 939 to

1 942, a dragline dredge on the Hobbs proper ty (unlocated) on the

Hassayampa River recovered several hundred ounces of placer gold .

Central Hassayampa River (Wagoner, Walnut Grove, and Tiger

d is tricts) : Most placer mining in the central region was done by

individuals using drywashmachines .Lower Hassayampa River (Black Rock and Blue Tanks dis

tr icts) : Minor amounts of placer gold were recovered intermittently

from this region and from the Hassayampa River in Mar icopa

County .

Source : The tributaries of the Hassayampa River drain a wide area

of mineralized terrain . The ore deposi ts that contr ibuted the gold

found along the Hassayampa and i ts tributaries are of bo th Pre

cambrian and Tertiary age, and i t is difficul t to demonstrate which

vein or vein sys tems provided the source of the placer gold . Lindgren

(1 926) summarizes the physical characteri stics and probable age

of many of the veins in the area .

L iterature

A llen, 1 922: Location ; names placer-bearing tribu tary creeks .

Blake, 1 899 : No tes presence of placer gold .

Browne, 1 868 : Describes discovery of placers on the Hassayampa

River .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

5 6 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

boldt , and Mayer (Tps . 12 and 1 3 N R. 1 E . , Mayer and Moun tUnion quadrangles) . Apparently, there was li ttle or no mining in thepart of Big Bug Creek downstream from Mayer . Small placerswere worked in the upper reaches of Big Bug Creek below the

Mesa mine, abou t 2 miles south-southeas t of Walker, on the sou th

side of the creek (approx imately sec. 9, T . 1 2 N . , R 1 W ., unsurveyed,Moun t Union quadrangle) ; in Eugene Gulch , a major tribu tary to

Big Bug Creek (south edge of T . 1 3 N . , R . 1 W ., Moun t Unionquadrangle), and in Chaparral Gulch and o ther small gulches nearMccabe (W I/Z ofT . 1 3 N ., R . 1 E ., Mount Union quadrangle) .

P roduction history: The placers in the drainage area of Big Bug Creekwere discovered during the 1 860 ’

s, bu t the grea tes t activi ty in placermining was during the 1 880 ’

s (Wilson , 1 96 1 , p . Wi lson s tatesthat no estima te of early produc t ion is available, but recorded pro

duction for the 20th cen tury (second only to Lynx Creek in YavapaiCoun ty) indicates early product ion probablywas large .In the eastern par t of the area, north and northwest of Mayer,many small-scale and some large-scale placer operations have beenactive during the 2oth century . The Shank and Savoy property (orthe Savoy property) was active for many years ; thi s placer is in aside gulch on the west side of Big Bug Creek and ex tends about3 mi les northwest of Mayer (probably Grapevine Gulch , sec. 8, T .

12 N ., R. l E ., Mount Union quadrangle) . The gold-bearinggravels overlying cemen ted gravels were bouldery to sandy, wi th li t tleclay. The gold here was irregularly distribu ted, flat to round particlestha t were as much as 50 cents in value . This placer was worked bya number of companies and probably produced mos t of the placer

gold reported from the dis tri ct during the 1 93 0 ’

s and 1 940 ’

s .

O ther placer-mining activi ty was concentra ted in the area surrounding Mayer (especially sec . 22, T . 1 2 N . , R . 1 E . , Mayer

quadrangle) where the placers are found in a wide gr avel-covered

area between outcrops of metamorphosed Precambrian volcanic

rocks . The area was worked in tensively for many years and during

the 1 932- 3 3 season was reworked by individuals who mined the

gravels by tunneling and packing the pay dirt to sluices, rockers ,or small concentrating machines .

Source : The placers in the Big Bug district originated by erosion Of

many small, and some large, gold-bearing veins on the eas t flankof the Bradshaw Moun tains . Some veins , such as the Mesa mine inthe upper part of Big Bug Creek, and several veins in the vicini ty

of Mccabe, are considered to be Precambrian in age ; o ther veins,in the vicini ty of Poland and Providence, are considered to be la ter ,probably Laramide (Lindgren, 1 926, p.

YAVAPAI COUNTY 5 7

L iterature

A llen , 1 922: Placer operations during the period 1 900—1 90 1 ; reason

for fai lure .Arizona Mining Journal, 1 9 1 9 : Placer-mining activi ty in Eugeni a

(Eugene) Gulch .

Koschmann and Bergendahl, 1 968 : Placer gold production .

L indgren,1

1 926 : Locates small placers on upper Big Bug Creek .

Randolph, 1 903 : Notes presence of placer gold .

Wilson, 1 96 1 : Location ; extent and character of gold-bearing gravel ;placer-mining operations .

5 8. TURKEY CREEK DRAINAGE AREA

Location : East flank of the Bradshaw Mountains , T . 1 1 N ., R. 1 E .

Topographic maps : Mount Union and Mayer 1 5 -minute quadrangles .Geologicmaps :Anderson and Blacet, 1 972a, Geologic map of the Mayer quadrangle, Yavapai County, Arizona, scale1 972b , Geologic map of the Moun t Union quadrangle, Yavapai

County, Arizona, scaleAccess : About 2 miles sou th of Mayer , a ligh t-duty road leads sou thfrom State Highway 69 about 8 miles to the Turkey Creek area ;about 1 1 miles sou th of Mayer, the road to Cleator leads west

about 3 miles from State Highway 69 and a dirt road leads north to

Turkey Creek area .

Ex ten t: Small placer deposi ts near Turkey Creek Station (once located

1 mile north of Cleator, sec. 3 5 , T . 1 1 N . , R . l E ., unsurveyed ,Mayer quadrangle) were drywashed for many years ; placers are

said to occur in the vicini ty of Pine Flat , along the upper par t of

Turkey Creek near the Cunningham mine (approxima tely sec. 5 , T .

1 1 N . , R . 1 W ., unsurveyed , Mount Union quadrangle). Two small

placers are located on Turkey Creek, midway between the two

placers mentioned above, which are abou t and miles upstream from Turkey Creek S tation (unsurveyed area, SE IA Mount

Union quadrangle) . Placers were also worked in terrace gravels along

Turkey Creek down stream from the Golden Turkey mine (approxi

mately sec . 12, T . 1 0 N ., R. 1 E unsurveyed).P roduction history: The placers in Turkey Creek were worked in

termi tten tly between 1 908 and 1 941 , and small amounts of gold

recovered . The placer gold credi ted to the Peck district by the U .S .

Bureau ofMines probably comes from this area .

Source : The placers in the Turkey Creek drainage probably were

derived from gold veins in close proximi ty to the various small placers .Lindgren (1 926, p . 1 56) s tates that Precambrian gold veins at Turkey

58 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Creek Station are the source of the gold in the shallow placers onthe flat below the veins .

L iterature :

Blacet, 1 968 : Map loca tes placers on Turkey Creek .

Guiteras, 1 936 : P lacer-mining operations in 1 936.

Lindgren, 1 926 : Locates placers on Turkey Creek .

5 9 . BLACK CANYON DRAINAGE AREA

Location : East flank of the Bradshaw Mountains , Tps . to 1 0 N . ,

Rs . 1 and 2 E .

Topographic maps : Mayer and Bumble Bee 1 5 -minute quadrangles.

Geologic maps :Anderson and B lacet, 1 972a, Geologic map of the Mayer quadrangle,Yavapai County, Arizona, scale

Arizona Bureau of Mines , 1 95 8, Geologi c map of Yavapai County ,scale

Access : State Highway 69 parallels Black Canyon be tween Bumble Beeand Arrastre Creek .

Ex ten t: Placers occur along the Black Canyon segmen t of TurkeyCreek between Arrastre Creek and Poland Creek and have beenworked upstream to the vicini ty of Cleator . Placers were also minedin American and Mex ican Gulches where Bumble Bee Creek entersBlack Canyon .

Placers were worked in Black Canyon below Howard ’ s Coppermine (sec . 3 1 , T . 1 0 N . , R . 2 E . , Bumble Bee quadrangle), wherebefore 1 922, one man repor tedly produced about in gold,probably at ' a spot abou t ‘

1 mile downstream from the mine . Gold

was also recovered from a gravel bar in Black Canyon about 3 milessouth of Bumble Bee (probably sec . 3 2, T . N . , R. 2 E ., Bumble

Bee quadrangle) .P roduction history: The placers in the Black Canyon area have beenworked intermit tently since the lat ter part of the l800 ’

s . The amoun tof gold recovered from the Black Canyon placers was no t largecompared wi th other placers in Yavapai County but was appreciablymore than that recovered along the upper part of Turkey Creek .

Source : The placers in the Black Canyon drainage were derived fromgold veins tha t are apparen tly of bo th Precambrian and Late

Cre taceous to early Tertiary (Laramide) age . Precambrian goldveins occur in the vicini ty of Bumble Bee (on Bland Hill and a tthe Gillespie mine), and Laramide veins occur throughout thedistrict, i n particular, at the Thunderbol t mine in Black Canyon .

L iterature

Browne, 1 868 : Repor ts platinum in placers .Burchard, 1 882: Reports placer occurrence .

YAVAPAI COUNTY 5 9

Lindgren, 1 926 : Locates placers .Wilson , 1 96 1 : Location ; ex tent of placer-mining activi ty during theperiod 1 932—3 3 .

60. HUMBUG CREEK DRAINAGE AREALocation : South flank of the Bradshaw Moun tains, Tps . 7— 1 0 N ., R.

1 E ° R s. 1 and 2W .

Topographic maps : Bradshaw Moun tains 3 0-minu te quadrangle ; Presco t t 2-degree shee t, Army Map Service ; Crown King 1 5 -minutequadrangle (covers only N l/z of quadrangle) ; Governors Peak -minu te quadrangle.Geologic mapsArizona Bureau of Mines , 1 95 8, Geologic map of Yavapai County,scale

Lindgren , 1 926, Geologic map of the Bradshaw Mountains quadrangle, Arizona (pl . scale

Access : Ligh t-du ty roads lead nor thwest to Humbug Creek from StateHighway 69 north of Lake Pleasant .

Ex ten t: Placers are found in many of the creeks tha t drain the sou thflank of the Bradshaw Moun tains . Humbug, French, and Cow

Creeks (Tps . 7—9 N . , R. l W ., R . 1 E .) repor tedly con tain placergold throughou t 20 miles of the drainage area . Buckhorn Gulch ,Castle Creek, and small tributaries have been p lacered along theupper reaches in the vicin i ty of Copperpolis (T . 8 N ., R . 2

P roduction history: The produc tion from the placers found in theHumbug Creek drainage area is generally listed by the U .S . Bureauof Mines under Humbug, Tip Top, Tiger, Si lver Mountain, CastleCreek, and Whi te Picacho districts . Mos t of the placer product ionhas been small and intermi t ten t . During the 1 800

’

s, placers inRockwall, Carpen ter, and Swilling Gulches, tribu taries to HumbugCreek (T . 8 N ., R. 1 W .

—R . l E . , Bradshaw Mountains quadrangle)were reportedly very productive bu t were exhausted early in thel900

’

s . Dur ing the 1 890’

s, the Humbug Hydraulic Mining Worksplanned large-scale placer mining on lower Humbug Creek andcons tructed a dam in sec. 6, T . 7 N . , R 1 E ., (Governors Peak quadrangle) . This en terprise me t wi th fai lure because the size of the goldwas too small for the recovery me thods used . The Star Placer onHumbug Creek (sec . 1 3 , T . 8 N ., R. 1 W.) and the Horseshoe placer

(unlocated) on French Creek were worked after 1 900 .

Small amoun ts of placer gold were recovered from BuckhornGulch , Castle Creek, American Gulch, and Todos San tos Creek

(unloca ted , Whi te Picacho dis trict) . The John D . placer, on Cas tleCreek (sec. 9, T . 8 N . , R 2 has been worked in the 2othcentury. Plans were made to dredge par ts of Buckhorn Gulch , a

60 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

tribu tary to Castle Creek, bu t apparently the opera t ion did not

materialize.Source : Gold placers along the upper reaches of Humbug Creek andespecially in Carpen ter , Swill ing, and Rockwall gulches, were prob

ably derived from gold veins tha t intersec t and Offse t rhyoli te

porphyry dikes (described by Lindgren, 1 926, p . associa t ionwi th these dikes is considered indica t ive of a “

Laramide $ age for gold

mineralization in the Bradshaw Mountains .Gold placers along Cas tle Creek and tributaries were derived from

Precambrian ore deposi ts tha t predominate in that area .

L iterature :

Allen , 1 922: Placer operations in the 1 890’

s ; reasons for failure .

Burchard , 1 885 : Repor ts placer mining on Coso Creek and trib

utaries (unlocated) .De Wolf, 1 9 1 6 : Reports activi ty a t Humbug Creek .

Lindgren, 1 926 : Notes production from tributaries to Humbug Creek .

Wilson , 1 961 : Extent and thickness of gold-bearing gravels ; distribution of gold in gravels ; placer-mining act ivi ty during the period1 932—3 3 .

61 . WEAVER (RICH HILL) DISTRICTLocation : Sou th flank of the Weaver Mountains . Tps . 9 and 1 0 N . ,

Rs . 4 and 5 W.

Topographic maps : Congress 3 0-minute quadrangle ; Presco t t 2-degreeshee t , Army Map Service .

Geologic map : Arizona Bureau of Mines, 1 95 8, Geologi c map of

Yavapai County, scaleAccess : From Presco tt , 3 8 mi les southwest on U .S . Highway 89 to ligh tdu ty road leading 8 miles east to Rich Hill . Dir t roads lead to

placer ground .

Ex ten t: The Weaver placer area covers abou t 40 square miles on thesou th flank of the Weaver Moun tains . The most impor tant placer

area in production and placer-mining ac tivi ty is the area at ‘ the topof Rich Hill , parts of the sides of the hill, and gravels along Weaverand Antelope Creeks . This dis tric t is j us t north of Oc tave and eas tof Stan ton (a t the in tersec t ion of T . 1 0 N . , R . 5 W . ; Tps . 9 and 1 0

N . , R. 4 At the top of Rich Hill, gold was found under

boulders and in crevices in the grani te bedrock, where i t wasquickly ga thered by prospec tors during the early years after thediscovery of the placers . Below Rich Hi ll, in An telope and WeaverCreeks, the gold was found in reconcen tra ted s tream gravels , a fewfee t thick to more than 5 0 fee t thick , tha t con tained numerouslarge bolders .

O ther placers are found west of this area, in the vicini ty of the

YAVAPAI COUNTY 6 1

Plane t and Saturn mines (sec. 21 , T . 1 0 N ., R . 5 This areaprobably produced the placer gold at tribu ted to the Martinez dis

trie t .

P roduction history: The Rich Hill placers were discovered by a par ty

of prospectors led by Cap tain Pauline Weaver in 1 863 or 1 864 (one

accoun t reports 1 862 as the year of discovery) abou t the same time

as the discovery of the Lynx Creek placers . According to many

reports, a Mexi can in the party found loose gold on the top of

Rich Hill while looking for a s tray animal . Immense exci temen t and

in tense mining ac tivi ty followed the discovery . Wi thin 3 mon ths,in gold ranging in Size from a pinhead to large nugge ts

worth hundreds of dollars was recovered, and wi thin 5 years ,in placer gold was recovered . By 1 883 , about $ 1 million

in placer gold was recovered . The placers have been worked ex

ten sively since the discovery, bu t because of the nature of the

gravels , few large-scale operat ions have been a t tempted . Most of the

mining has been done by drywashers, pans, rockers , and sluices,al though some miners used power shovels and dry-separa tion plants .

Source : There has been no detai led geologic s tudy of the Weaver

Moun tains, therefore de ta i ls of the na ture Of gold-bearing veins

are not known . The mountains are composed principally of

Precambrian grani tes and schists tha t contain numerous gold-bear

ing veins considered to be of Laramide age . Some of these veins

in the vicini ty of the placers have been mined for their gold con ten t,and i t i s probable tha t the placers were probably derived from

these and o ther similar veins in the vicini ty .

L itera ture

Allen, 1 922: Loca tion ; history ; size of gold nugge ts ; production ;distribu t ion of differen t size part icles of gold in differen t types of

placer gravels .

Blake, 1 899 : Location ; s ize of nugge ts ; product ion .

Blandy, 1 897 : Production es t imates .Burchard, 1 882: History ; product ion es tima tes (1 863

— 1 885 : History ; early placer-mining act ivi ty.

Esenwein, 1 95 8 : Descr ibes new placer discovery ; accessory minerals

in placer .

Gardner and Johnson , 1 93 5 : Placer-mining opera tions at Octave in1 93 1 .

Hamil ton , 1 884: Production es t ima tes ; his tory .

Heikes and Yale, 1 9 1 3 : Area and thickness of placer gravels ; size

of gold nugge t ; dis tribu tion of gold in gravels ; produc t ion from

1 905 to 1 9 1 2.

62 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Heineman , 1 93 1 : Physical characteris tics of nugget from Red Bankplacer .

Hodge , 1 877 : Production from Rich Hill during the first 3 monthsafter d iscovery.

Koschmann and Bergendahl,1 968 : His tory ; production .

Mining Journal , l93 8ez De tails of placer-mining apparatus atThunderbird property .

— l938ezDescr ibes gravels at Thunderbird placer .

Sawyer, 1 932: De tailed descrip tion of sampling techniques ; includesdescription of placer gravels .Wa tson , 1 9 1 8 : D i scusses general history of placer mining at RichHill .

Wilson , 1 96 1 : Describes placers in Yavapai County (p . 38 Loca

tion ; ex tent ; character Of gold ; distribu tion of gold-bearing gr avels ;placer-min ing history and activi ty .

62. MODEL AND KIRKLAND PLACERS

Location : East flank of the Weaver Mountains in Peeples Valley,Tps . 1 1 and 12 N ., Rs . 4 and 5 W.

Topographic maps : Congress 30-minute quadrangle ; Prescott 2-degreesheet, Army Map Service .

Geologicmap : Arizona Bureau O f M ines, 1 958, Geologi c map Of YavapaiCoun ty, scale

Access : From Prescott, 26 miles southwest on U .S . Highway 89 to

Peeples Valley. Dirt roads lead from the highway east to Kirkland

Creek and west to Model .Ex ten t: Small placers are found on the wes t side of Peeples Valley

in the vicini ty of Model Creek and on the east side of Peeples Valley

in Kirkland Creek. The placers in Model Creek and other gulches

occur in small local basins or channels for about three-quarters of a

mile on each side of Model Creek on the pedimen t area between

the Weaver Mountains and Peeples Valley . This area canno t be

accurately located because there are no large-scale maps , but i t i s

probably near the Model mine in T . 1 1 N . , R. 5 W . (Congress

quadrangle) . The Columbia placer is near the old Mon i tor mine in

sec. 21 , T. 1 1 N R . 5 W.

The loca t ion of the placers in Kirkland Creek is not cer tain,

because U .S . Bureau of Mines records indica te only tha t the placers

are on Kirkland Creek near Kirkland (T . 1 2 N . , R . 4 W ) . The

headwaters of Kirkland Creek drain the northwes t flank of the

Weaver Mountains , opposi te the P laceri tas and French Creek

placers , and the Kirkland placers probably are be tween the moun

tain Slope and Kirkland .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

64 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS or ARIZONA

placers away from the mountains . Oxidized copper minerals arecommon in placers in the upper par t of the Copper Basin Wash .

O ther placers near the moun tains include deposi ts in Mex i canGulch , Copper Creek, and Spruce Canyon . Mexican Gulch is not

located on the topographic maps , but Wilson (1 961 , p . 47) s ta testha t i t i s miles from Skull Valley and probably near the lowhills at the east edge of T . 14 N . , R . 4W . The deposi t in MexicanGulch had an over burden of 1 0— 1 5 fee t of soi l and sand on topof pay gravel 2 fee t thick that contained appreciable amounts of clay .

The gold recovered from this gulch was commonly the size of

mus tard seed to $3 nuggets, bu t some $ 1 5 nuggets were found

(valued a t per oz) . Spruce Canyon is on the northwes t slopeof the S ierra Prieta, about 5 mi les northeas t of Skull Valley (T . 14

N . , R. 4 W . , Iron Springs quadrangle) ; results of sampling in 1 93 3

indicated values of 56 cen ts to per yard . Copper Creek , atributary to the Hassayampa River, is southeast of Copper Basin

(Tps . and 1 3 N . , R . 3 W . , Kirkland quadrangle), but the

exact location of the placers i s unknown .

Apparently, the r iches t placers are on the gravel-floored plain wes t

and south of Copper Basin (T . 1 3 N . , R . 4 most of this areai s Shown only on the Congress 30-minute quadrangle, which doesnot Show the de tai ls necessary for accura te loca t ion of the placers .The gravels in this area are charac terized by small boulders andmore clay than the gravels near the moun tains . The gold in thesegravels occurs as particles worth less than 25 cents ; larger nugge tsare rare . The placers con tain small par ticles of cinnabar and na tural

amalgam probably derived from cinnabar veins in the Copper Basin

area .

P roduction history : The placers in the Copper Basin distr ic t were

worked intermi t ten tly until 1 93 1 . At that t ime a few companies

s tarted placer mining on a large scale in various locali t ies in Copper

Basin . The Az tec placer claim (and other unloca ted claims) was

active in 1 93 1 . The Aztec deposi t in Copper Basin Wash (sec . 21 , T .

1 3 N . , R. 3 W.) is in terrace gravels cemen ted by Copper carbona te

and oxide minerals . Mos t of the large-scale placer min ing was appar

en tly concen tra ted in the southwes tern par t of the placer field ; dur

ing the early 1 930 ’

s the Forbach and Eas ton Co ., the Skull Valley

Corp . , and the Gold S tar Placer Co . worked these deposi ts . Un

fortunately, lack of detai led maps precludes loca tion Of any of these

claims .Source : The source of the placer gold in Copper Basin is reported to

be gold-bearing tourmaline-quar tz veins of Precambrian age (Johns

ton and Lowell,

YAVAPAI COUNTY 65

Literature

Engineering and Mining Journal, 1 93 3a : Results of sampling placer

ground in Spruce Canyon .

Gardner and Johnson, 1 93 5 : Depth of gravel ; type of bedrock ;accessory minerals in placer gravels ; size of nuggets ; placer op

era tion s .

_

Girand, 1 932: Describes gravels in Mex ican Gulch .

Johnston and Lowell, 1 96 1 : General bedrock geology ; source of

placer gold .

Mining Journal, 1 932a : Reports recovery of nugget weighing 6 ouncesfrom Chase placer .

U .S . Bureau of M ines, 1 929, 1 93 1 : Names placer-bearing creeks andplacer claims .— 1 934—3 5 : Names placer creeks ; placer-min ing operations .

Wilson, 1 961 : Location ; ex tent and character of gold-bearing gravels ;size Of gold particles ; accessory minerals in placers ; placer-miningactivi ty during the period 1 932—3 3 .

64. GRAN ITE CREEK

Location : North flank of the Bradshaw Mountain s and in ChinoValley . Tps . 1 3— 1 7 N ., R . 2W.

Topographic maps : All 1 5 -minu te quadrangles—Mount Union , Pres

co t t , Paulden .

Geologic map : Krieger , 1 965 , Geologic map and sections of the Prescot t

and Paulden quadrangles, Arizona (pls. 1 , scaleAccess : U .S . Highway 89 parallels Grani te Creek in the Bradshaw

Moimtains, leads nor th , parallel to Grani te Creek 22 miles to Del R io .

Exten t: Grani te Creek heads on the north flank of the Bradshaw

Moun tains and flows north into Chino Valley . Most of the placers

are found in the upper drainage of Grani te Creek be tween Prescot t

and the head of the creek (T . 1 3 N ., R . 2 W . , Mount Union and

Presco t t quadrangles). Gold was recovered from the gravels of the

lower reaches of Grani te Creek as far north as Grani te Dells (sec.

12 T . 14 N ., R. 2 W ., Prescott quadrangle), and a li ttle gold was

recovered from creek gravels near Del Rio (secs . 22 and 23 , T . 1 7 N . ,

R. 2 W ., Paulden quadrangle). The gold reported between Grani te

Dells and Del Rio was found in washes and in pedimen t and terracegravels .

Production history: The placers in Grani te Creek south of Prescott

were discovered in the 1 860 ’

s and act ively worked during the 1 880’

s .

Sparks (1 9 1 7) states tha t the town of Prescot t “ owes i ts present

beaut i ful si tuat ion to the for tunes made by placer miners in

Grani te Creek. This statemen t is perhaps an exaggeration, bu t the

66 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

town i s constructed upon some minor placers, as Wilson (1 96 1 , p .

56) reports that small nugge ts were found in gravels uncovered bybuilding excavations in Prescott . Apparently, the placers on the

mountain slope were very rich ; one placer miner reportedly re

covered in placer gold from New England Gulch (probablybefore a branch of Gran i te Creek about 4 miles south of

Presco t t . The placers are located in that part of the Gulch in the

NW% sec. 21 , T . 1 3 N . , R . 2 W . , (Moun t Un ion quadrangle) .

Source : According to Lindgr en (1 926, p . the lodes in the northernfoothills of the Bradshaw Mountains are of Precambrian age . Theorigin of placers located north of Prescott on Grani te Creek isunknown

L iterature

Krieger, 1 965 : Location of gold-bearing gravels .

Lindgren , 1 926 : States that gold was recovered at Del R io .

Sparks, 1 9 1 7 : Notes placers in Gran i te Creek at Prescott .Wi lson , 1 93 3 : Production from New England Gulch .

— 1 96 1 : Location ; history (4th cd .,

65 . EUREKA (BAGDAD) DISTRICT

Location : Burro Creek, San ta Maria River, and the vicin i ty of Bagdad,Tps . 1 2— 1 5 N Rs . 8— 1 0 W .

Topographic maps : Prescott 2-degree sheet, Army Map Service ; Bagdad 1 5 -minute quadrangle ; Congress 3 0-minu te quadrangle .

Geologic mapsAnderson, Scholz, and Strobell, 1 95 5 , Geologic map of the Bagdadarea , Yavapai County, Arizona (pl . scale

Arizona Bureau of M ines , 1 95 8, Geologic map of Yavapai County,scale

Access : Bagdad is accessible by an improved highway that leads northwest from Hi llside, about 3 5 miles to Bagdad . Access to o ther areasis unknown .

Ex ten t: Small placers are found in widely scat tered areas in the ~Eureka

dis trict . Gold was recovered during the late l850 ’

s at O ld Placers nearthe Cowboy mine, probably loca ted in or near sec . 14, T . 14 N ., R.

9 W. (Bagdad quadrangle). O ther placers, whose exact loca tion isunknown , are along Burro Creek northwest of Bagdad (Prescott

2-degree sheet) in the vicini ty Of the Santa Maria River sou thwestof Bagdad (Prescott 2-degree sheet) and in unnamed gulches northwest of Hillside .

P roduction history: The placers in the Eureka dis trict have been worked

intermi tten tly on a small scale since the la te 1 85 0 ’

s. In 1 875 , placerswere discovered in the Santa Mari a area . These deposi ts were drywashed that year and yielded a nugget valued (at that t ime) $50 to

YUMA COUNTY 67

$60 . During this cen tury, the deposi ts throughou t this ar ea have beendrywashed intermi ttently wi th small gold recovery .

Source : The placers near the Cowboy mine , were probably derivedfrom erosion of the gold-bearing vein mined there ; the other deposi ts were probably derived from small veins in the vicini ty of theplacers .

Litera ture

Raymond, 1 877 : Reports placer discovery ; describes size of gold in

San ta Maria River .U .S . Bureau of Mines, 1 934—3 5 : Placers recovered from Burro Creek,Santa Maria River, and gulches northwest of Hillside .

U .S . Geological Survey, 1 922 Placers recovered from Burro Creekand other unnamed creeks .Wilson, 1 96 1 : History ; production .

OTHER DISTRICTS

66 . LINCOLN CREEK

Placer gold was recovered from Lincoln Creek, apparently in thevicini ty of Jerome, in 1 932. I cannot locate this creek.

67 . POCKET CREEK

Placer gold was recovered in 1 942 and 1 943 by a single operation .

I cannot locate this creek .

68 . SQUAW CREEK

Placer gold was recovered in 1 93 3 from a deposi t along Squaw Creek,a tributary to the Aqua Fria River (T. 9 N ., R. 2 E .) abou t 2 milesnorth of the junc tion of Black Canyon and the Aqua Fr i a River .

YUMA COUNTY

69 . GILA C ITY (DOME ) DISTRICT

Location : North end of the Gila Mountains ; sou th bank of the Gi laRiver, T . 8 S ., R . 21 W.

Topographic maps : Laguna Dam and Dome -minu te quadrangles ;Laguna 1 5 -minu te quadrangle .

Geologic map : Wilson, 1 960, Geologic Map of Yuma Coun ty, Arizona,scale

Access : From Yuma, about 1 3 miles eas t on Sta te H ighwav 95 toBlaisdell ; light-duty road parallels the Southern Pacific 7 miles eastto Dome.

Exten t: The Gila Ci ty placers occur on the narrow gravel-man tledpedimen t at the north end of the Gila Mountains formed on abedrock of Tertiary sedimentary rocks tha t are faul ted against the

68 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

schis t of the main mountain mass . Gold has been found in gulch

and bench gravels of Quaternary age that mantle the Tertiarysediments to depths of 1 5 feet . The area of gold-bearing gravelex tends from mile east of Dome to 3 miles west of Dome, butmost placer mining is cen tered around Moni tor Gulch , l l/Z miles

west of Dome (sec. 1 1 , T . 8 S . , R. 21 W . , Laguna Dam quadrangle) .

Most of the gold in the gravels was found at or near bedrock ingulches , bu t much gold was recovered from bench gravels in thearea . Gravels more than 1 5 feet above bedrock

.

have not been profi table .

P roduction history: The Gi la Ci ty placers were discovered in September

1 85 8 by Colonel Jacob Snively and were actively worked by hundreds

to thousands of men un ti l about 1 865 , when the richest gravels weredeple ted . Gila Ci ty, a placer boom town that lived only 4 years, wasnear the mouth of Moni tor Gulch adj acent to the Southern Pacific

(NW IA sec . 1 1 , T . 8 S ., R. 21 L ieutenan t Sylvester Mowry, anoted Arizona miner and pioneer, visi ted the placers in November

1 85 8 and reported that men were recovering $3 0 to $21 5 per day ;he wi tnessed $20 in gold washed from eight shovelfuls of dirt by an

unexperienced placer miner.After the in i tial boom period, mining continued in the district on

a much reduced scale ; all the known produc t ive ground is said tohave been worked over at leas t once . Most of the gold was recoveredby firs t drywashing, then by wetwashing the dry-panned concentratesat the Gi la River . A few large-scale operations have been attempted ,but these were unsuccessful .

Source : Wilson (1 93 3 , p . 21 0) S tates that the gold in the Gila C i typlacers probably came from many pockety or small low-

grade gold

veins in the northern end of the Gila Mountains . NO high-grade

gold veins are found in the v icIn I ty of the placers .

Li terature :

Browne, 1 868 : History of placer-min ing act ivi ty .

Elliott , 1 884: Hi s tory— quotes L ieu tenant Mowry’

s descrip tion of

placers ; placer-mining act ivi ty and produc tion in 1 85 8 .

Parish, l 9 l 5 a, v. 1 : Repeats Lieutenan t Mowry’

s descrip tion of

placers .

Hin ton , 1 878 : His tory of early placer-mining ; quo tes Browne’

s

(1 868) descrip tion of early history of Gila Ci ty .

Koschmann and Bergendahl , 1 968 : His tory ; production .

Mowry, 1 863 : Early placer-mining activi ty .

Raymond, 1 872: Ex tent ; placer-mining operations .— l874: Production informat ion for 1 873 .

Trippel, 1 889 : Production statis tics for 1 888 .

YUMA COUNTY 69

Wilson, 1 93 3 : History ; loca t ion ;

“

production ; bedrock geology ; character of gravels ; area of placer-mining activi ty ; source of gold.

— l96 l : Virtually repeats Wilson

70 . LAGUNA DISTRICT

Location : Laguna Mountains north of the Gila River , Tps . 7 and 8

S . , Rs . 21 and 22W .

Topographicmap : Laguna Dam minu te quadrangle .

Geologic map : Wilson , 1 960, Geologi c map of Yuma County, Arizona,scale

Access : From Yuma, about 20 miles eastf~on State Highway 95 to the

Laguna Mountains ; j eep trai ls and dirt roads lead to differentplacers in the moun tains .

Exten t: Three areas of placer concentra t ion are known on the flanks of

the Laguna Moun tains . The McPhaul placer area i s on the southernmargin of the moun tains ; gr avels have been drywashed from theGila River to abou t 1 14 miles north of McPhaul Bridge (sec. 3 3 ,

T . 7 S ., R . 21 W . ; sec. 4, T . 8 S . , R . 21 Also owned byH . H . McPhaul i s the San Pablo placer claim Of 1 60 acres, probablylocated in this same area . The Las Flores placer area is north of

the McPhaul placer on the southeas t slope of the Laguna Mountains .These small placers are found near the head of an alluvium-floored

gulch in the vicini ty of the old mines “ Golden Queen and India $

(abandoned mines located near the border of secs . 26 and 3 5 , T .

7 S R . 22 Some gold was found in gravels in other gulches onthe southern margin of the moun tains as far sou th as the Gila River .

The Laguna Dam placer area i s on the east side of the dam onthe southwest flank of the Laguna Mountains . Gold was found ingulches draining the moun tains, in the bed of the Colorado River,and in potholes in bedrock as high as 1 00 fee t above the river .

During the cons truction of the Laguna Dam in 1 907, placer nugge tsand a small gold-quar tz vein was found a t the river margin ; par tof the placer area was submerged a fter comple t ion of the dam .

P roduction history: The placers at Laguna were worked abou t thet ime that the placers at Gi la Ci ty were mos t active ; early product ionis unknown . Production during the 20th cen tury has been small andintermi t tent , and production is often grouped wi th production fromthe Gila Ci ty placers or given under the name “ Colorado Riverplacers .

Source : The placers in the three areas of the Laguna Mountains werederived from local gold-quar tz veins in the me tamorphic bedrock of

the area .

L iterature

Koschmann and Bergendahl , 1 968 : His tory ; placer-mining operations

70 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

in 1 884or 1 885 ; production .

Min ing j ournal, 1 941 : Placer-mining Operations at San Pablo placer .M ining Review, 1 9 1 0a : Notes submerging of placer ground in pothole area at Laguna Dam .

Raymond, 1 872: History of placer-mining ac tivi ty .

7 1 . MUGGINS MOUNTAINS PLACERS

Location : In the Muggins Mountains, north of the Gila River, Tps .7 and 8 S ., R S . 1 9 and 20 W.

Topographic maps : All l 5 -minu te quadrangles—Wellton,Red Bluff

Mountain , Laguna, Fortuna .

Geologic map : Wilson, 1 960, Geologic map of Yuma County, Arizona,scale

Access : From Yuma , 1 3 miles east on State Highway 95 to Blaisdell

7 mi les east on ligh t-du ty road to Dome . From there, dirt roadslead 1 0 miles northeas t to the Muggins Mountains .

Ex ten t: The only informa tion I have found (other than produc tionda ta) that describes the placers in the Muggins Mountains i s thatgiven by Wi lson . The placers are found in the sou thern and centralparts of the Muggins Mountains in the vicini ty of Klothos Templeand Vinegaroon Wash .

Placers in the sou thern par t of the range are in Burro Canyon

(unlocated) and small canyons In the vicini ty of Klothos Temple

(sec. 1 , T . 8 S R . 20 W . , Laguna quadrangle) and at the sou thernend of Long Mountain (sec. 7 , T . 8 S . , R . 1 9 W . , Fortuna quadrangle). The gold-bearing gravels in Burro Canyon occur in ancientbars several feet above the stream channel and in the present streamchannel . The gold occurs as particles as much as inch indiameter and is concentrated at or near bedrock .

The placers in the central par t of the range are near the headward forks of Vinegaroon Wash (which Wilson describes as a longnor thwes tward-trending canyon that bisects the range) in T . 7 S .,

R . 1 9W. (Laguna and Red Bluff Mountain quadrangles) .Production history: The placers in the Muggins Mountains have ap

paren tly been known for many years, but they have not been so

ac tively worked as o ther placers in the same vicini ty . They wereprobably mos t act ively placered during the la te 1 800

’

s ; during the

20th cen tury small-scale placer min ing was carried on unti l 1 942.

Source : The placer gr avels in Burro Canyon are der ived from a Miocene terres trial conglomera te tha t contains de tri tal gold eroded fromgold-bearing quar tz veins in the crys talline rocks in the range . Theminor placers in nearby small canyons and a t the sou thern end ofLong Mountain probably have a Similar origin .

The gravels in Vinegaroon Wash , which repor tedly yielded many

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

72 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Topographic maps : Engesser Pass and Palomas Moun tains 1 5 -minu tequadrangles .

Geologic map : Wilson, 1 960, Geologi c map of Yuma Coun ty, Arizona,scale

Access : From Yuma , 70 miles east on U .S . Highway 80 to Dateland ,9 miles north to light-du ty road 3 miles sou th of Horn : from there,north on dir t roads 25 miles to the south edge of the Tank Moun

tains . Dirt roads lead in to and around the mountains .

Exten t: Placers are in many parts of the Tank Mountains and have

been worked on a small scale since the 1 870’

s . The only information

I have found on the ex ten t of these deposi ts i s that given byWilson ,

who describes two areas of placer concentra tion— near Engesser Pass

and near Puzzles Moun tain .

The Engesser placer i s a t the nor th end of the Tank Moun tains (in

the vicini ty of the boundary between T . 2 S ., R . 1 5 and 1 6 W . , En

gesser Pass quadrangle) ; the gold was recovered from gravels in the

main gulch below the Engesser prospect (sometimes called the

Johnnie Prospec t) and from gravels in smaller nearby gulches .

The Puzzles area placer i s in the sou theas tern foo thills of the

Tank Mountains, in the vicini ty of a low r idge locally called Puzzles

Mountains (NW IA T . 4 S ., R . 1 3 W . ; Palomas Mountains quad

rangle) . The gold was recovered from shallow bench and s tream

gravels on the pedimen t near the Puzzles , Golden Harp, Ramey,and Regal prospects and is said to be coarser than the gold recovered

near Engesser Pass .

Production history: The placers have apparently been worked inter

mi tten tly on a very small scale since the 1 870’

s, bu t because of the

rela tive isolation of the dis trict compared wi th those on the Gila

River, very li ttle informa tion has been published . Wilson suggests

that the placers in the Engesser mine area were probably worked

earl ier and with grea ter profi t than the placers in the Puzzles area .

Burchard describes the 1 884 discovery of placers located 5 0 miles

from Cas tle Dome Landing and 80 miles sou theas t of Ehrenberg ;these deposi ts were probably found in the Tank Moun tains , per

haps in the Engesser placer area . A small product ion of placer gold

was reported from the Engesser area in 1 936 . The placers in the

Puzzles area , which is 5 miles nor th Of the Palomas Moun tains,were actively drywashed in the early l900

’

s and probably produced

placer gold a ttributed to the Palomas Moun tains .

Source : The placers in the Tank Mountains were derived from local

gold-bearing veins , which are mined at the Engesser, Puzzles, Golden

Harp, Ramey, and Regal prospects .

YUMA COUNTY 73

L iterature

Burchard, 1 884: New placer discovery ; location ; discoverer named ;

dis tribution of gold ; production .

— 1 885 : Repea ts 1 884 descrip t ion ; adds information on size and

Shape of gold ; source .

Wilson, 1 93 3 : Loca tion ; his tory ; source ; bedrock geology .

— 1 96 1 : Virtually repeats information in Wilson

74. KOFA DISTRICT

Location : Kofa Moun tains , T . 2 S ., R . 1 7 W.

Topographicmap : Kofa Butte l 5 -minutequadrangle .

Geologic maps :Jones

, 1 9 1 6, Geologic reconnaissance map of the Kofa Mountains,Arizona (pl . scaleWilson , 1 960 , Geologic map of Yuma County, Arizona , scale

Access : From Yuma, 5 9 miles east and north on Sta te Highway 95 to

dirt road leading east abou t 1 5 miles to dirt road leading about 1 0

miles north to the Kofa Mountains .Exten t: Many gulches in the sou thern and nor theastern part of theKofa Moun tains are said to contain gold-bearing gravels ; the onlyplacer area described is in a wes tward-trending wash jus t nor thof the King of Arizona mine (secs . 1 and 1 2, T . 2 S . , R . 1 7 W.)The gold-bearing debris consis ts of boulders and fragments of me tamorphic and volcanic rocks and ranges in thickness from a fewfee t to 70 fee t . The gold in the gravels i s coarse and occurs nearbedrock .

Very li t tle information has been found relating to other placersin the Kofa Moun tains . An underground placer mine, the Alamomine, is said to be located in conglomerate and to have high goldvalues ; the Alamo mine might be loca ted near Alamo Spring in theKofa Moun tains (T . l N . , R . 1 6

P roduction history: The only placer of importance in the area i s thedeposi t north of the King of Arizona mine ; the total product ion to1 9 14 was estimated at During the 20th cen tury small-scalein termit ten t placer-mining activi ty has produced small amoun ts of

gold from this area . NO production is known from the A lamo mine .

Source : According to Jones who s tudied the Kofa placer inde tail , the source of the gold was small auri ferous veins in the me tamorphic rocks exposed north of the placer deposi ts in sec. 1 , T . 2 S . ,

R . 1 7 W . , and not from the King ofAr izona mine .

L iterature :

Allen, 1 922: Vir tually repeats descr ip t ion of JonesJones, 1 9 1 6 : Location ; production ; placer-mining activi ty ; thickness

of gold-bearing gravel ; size and dis tribu tion of gold ; source .

74 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

McConnell, 1 9 1 1 : Alamo placer; gold values in conglomerate .

Wilson , 1 93 3 : Quotes Jones production from 1 9 14 to 1 928 .

— 1 96 1 : Quotes Jones placer-min ing activi ty and pro

duction per man during the period 1 932—3 3 .

75 . ELLSWORTH DISTRICT

Location : In the Grani te Wash Mountains, sou thwest of the McMullen

Valley , and in the Li t tle Harquahala Moun tains sou th of McMullen

Valley, Tps. 5 and 6 N . , R . 14W . ; T . 4N ., R . 1 3 W.

Topographic maps : Salome and Hope l 5 -minute quadrangles .Geologic map : Wilson , 1 960 , Geologic map of Yuma County, Arizona,scale

Access : From Yuma, 84miles north on State Highway 95 to Quartzi te ;eas t 30 miles on U .S . Highway 60—70 to Hope . Dirt roads lead northabout 5 miles to placer ground in the Grani te Wash Mountains andsoutheast about 1 0 miles to vicini ty of the Li t tle Harquahala placers .

Ex ten t: Gold-bearing gravels are found in many small gulches in thesoutheastern part of the Gran i te Wash Mountains and the sou th

western par t of the L i ttle Harquahala Mountains .Gulches near the Deser t mine in the Grani te Wash Mountains

(sec. 21 , T . 5 N . , R . 14 W ., unsurveyed, Salome quadrangle) wereprofitably drywashed about 1 895 . Placers were also found abou t 3miles north of the Desert mine in the vicini ty of the old YellowBird mine ; gold-bearing gravels locally called Dutch Henry ’ s diggings were located in the second wash south of the Yellow Bird

Camp and wes t of the Arizona Northern prospect (Secs . 32 and 3 3 ,T . 6 N R . 14W . , unsurveyed, Salome quadrangle) .

Placers in the Li ttle Harquahala Mountains (T . 4 N ., R . 1 3 W . ,

Hope quadrangle) were worked from about 1 884 to 1 888 (at tha t

time the area was known as the Centennial dis trict) . According to

Burchard Every gulch below the ore bodies (which include

the Alps Group— unloca ted) contains considerable placer gold which

i s flat but coarse $ ; Wilson (1 961 ) repor ts tha t in 1 886 and 1 887

placers were worked in Harquahala Gulch in the vicini ty of the

Harquahala (Bonanza) mine, which was no t discovered unti l 1 888 . In

1 934 some placer gold was recovered from the Concepcion claim, 8

miles sou th of Wenden ; al though this claim is not iden tified on the

topographic maps, i t i s probably located on the north flank of the

moun tains .Production history: Early product ion from the placers in the Ellswor th

dis tri ct i s only poorly known . One report indicates that 2 ouncesper day was recovered for an unspecified short time from theplacers near the Deser t mine ; gold worth was recovered from

YUMA COUNTY 75

these deposi ts about 1 895 . During 1 888, was recovered fromthe placers in the Harquahala Moun tains (Centennial dis trict) .During the first 30 years of the 20 th century, the placers wereintermittently mined on a small scale .

Source : The gold in the placers found in the Grani te Wash Mountainswas derived from small gold-quartz lenses in the schists of the area .

Bancroft (1 9 1 1 , p . 98 , 1 0 1 ) sugges ts tha t these veinlets formed a fter ,but as a resul t of, the intrusion of the large grani ti c mass of SalomePeak .

The deposi ts in the L i t tle Harquahala Moun tains were probablyderived by erosion of the Harquahala and similar veins in the area .

L itera ture

Bancroft, 1 9 1 1 : Locates small placers in Granite Wash Moun tains ;history ; production ; source .Burchard, 1 885 : Notes presence of placer gold .

Mining World, 1 909 : Notes approximate year of discovery ; earlyplacer production .

Trippel, 1 889 : Production statistics for 1 888 .

Wilson, 1 961 : Harquahala Gulch placer— location ; history ; production .

76 . TRIGO DISTRICT (COLORADO RIVER PLACERS )

Location : West flank of the Trigo Mountains . T . 2 S ., R . 23 W . ;

Tps . 3 and 4 S ., Rs . 23 and 24W.

Topographic maps : All -minute quadrangles—Picacho NW, Pica

cho, Cibola .

Geologic map : Wilson , 1 960 , Geologic map of Yuma Coun ty, Arizona,scale

Access : From Yuma, 7 1 miles north on S tate Highway 95 to Cibola

Road, which leads 36 miles west to Cibola . One placer area isabou t 6 miles east of Cibola in the vicini ty of the Hardt Gold mine,which i s accessible by a dirt road . The Colorado River placers are

about 1 3 miles sou th of Cibola and are accessible by a dir t road

and jeep trial tha t parallels the river .Ex ten t: Small placers have been worked in drywashes in the Trigo

Moun tains for many years,but the location of these deposi ts is not

described in the li tera ture . Placers have been worked in drywashes

south of the Hardt Gold mine in T . 2 S ., R . 23 W . , approximatelysecs . ‘

1 and 2 (R. T . Moore, Arizona Bureau of Mines, oral commun . ,

1 969)Gold has been recovered from gravels along the west flank of the

Trigo Moun tains and possibly from Colorado River sands for many

years . Very li ttle informa tion has been found about these depo si ts,

76 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

which are located in the Paradise Valley sect ion of the ColoradoRiver Valley (Tps . 3 and 4S ., R . 24

P roduction history: Placers were mined in the Trigo Mountains asearly as 1 866, when placer activi ty was no ted in the Si lver sub

district (T . 3 S ., R. 23 No estimate of early production i sknown . Placer-mining ac t ivi ty has been small scale throughou t the1 900

’

s and variously credi ted to the Trigo district and the ColoradoRiver placers by the U .S . Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbooks .Most of the placer gold was recovered from the Colorado Riverarea , which was worked by many i tinerant miners during the 1 930

’

s .

From 1 95 0 to 1 966, these deposi ts were mined yearly by dry concentration at the “ Colorado River Valley property $ ; descriptions ofthe deposi t and production from 1 960 to 1 966 i s held confidentialby the U .S . Bureau ofM ines .

Source : Small gold-bearing quartz veins in faul t Zones in schists in theHard t mine area have been worked at the Hardt mine , the Boardway prospect , and the Jupi ter claims (all in the Cibola subdistrict) .The Boardway prospect and the Jupi ter claim , located south of theHard t mine, probably represen t the type of gold deposi t from whichthe placers were derived .

L iterature

Burchard , 1 882: Notes placer activi ty in the Si lver subdis trict in1 866 .

U .S . Bureau of Mines, 1 950, 1 95 1 , 1 95 3 : Reports production fromthe “ Colorado River Valley Proper ty .

$

Wilson, 1 961 : Reports placer mining in Trigo Mountains ; distr ibution and shape of gold (location i s in error owing to lack ofsurveyed townships and ranges at the time of wri ting, abou t1 93 3 )

Wilson , 1 93 3 : Descr ibes lode mines in Cibola region and other mines

in Trigo Mountains .

77 . LA PAZ DISTRICT

Location : West flank of the Dome Rock Mountains, Tps. 3 and 4 N . ,

Rs . 21 and 22W.

Topographic maps : Dome Rock Mountains l 5 -minute quadrangle

La Paz Mountain -minute quadrangle .Geologic maps :Jones, 1 9 1 5 , Map Showing geology of sou thern part of ColoradoRiver Indian Reserva t ion and loca t ion of placers near Quartzsi te,Arizona (pl . scale approximately 3 miles = l in .

Wilson, 1 960, Geologic map of Yuma County, Ar izona, scale

Access : From Yuma, 84miles nor th on Sta te Highway 95 to Quar tzsi te,

YUMA COUNTY 77

abou t 1 0 miles wes t on U .S . Highway 60—70 to placers , which are

adjacent to the highway and in nearby gullies and washes .

Ex ten t: Placers in the La Paz dis tr ic t are fo'

und in Goodman Arroyoand Arroyo La Paz, major wes t-trending drainages , and in Ferrar,Garcia, and Ravenna Gulches , tributaries to the major drainages .Placers were worked as far west as the ou tskirts of the town ofEhrenberg (secs . 1 5 and 1 6, T . 3 N . , R . 22W ) .The gold-bearing gravels range in thickness from a few feet on

the moun tain slope s to an unknown dep th in Arroyo, La Paz, andGonzales Wash (the wash through which U .S . Highway 60—70 i sbuilt) , gold is dis tributed throughou t the gravels, but the richestparts were found near bedrock . Ferrar Gulch (secs . 25 and 3 6, T .

4 N . , R . 21 W .) repor tedly con tained the richest gravels in thearea, and i t was from this gulch that Juan Ferrar recovered a nugge tweighing more than 47 ounces .

Production history: The placers in the La Paz district were discoveredby Captain Pauline Weaver in January 1 862, when he panned asmall amoun t of gold from a gulch called RI Arollo de la Tenaj ain the Dome Rock Mountains . Immediately thereafter, Weaver re

turned to Yuma, told about his discovery, and on his return to themountains was j oined and followed by other prospecting par ties

(Browne, 1 868, p . According to Browne, this advance par tysoon found good prospects (one man, Jose Redondo , recovered anugget weighing more than 2 OZ in a place less than a mile sou thof Weaver ’s camp) and returned to Laguna for supplies . The realrush to the new placer soon followed . About $ 1 million in placer

gold was recovered from the placers the firs t year and ano ther

$ 1 million by 1 864, when the placers were worked out . Since that

time , the La Paz dis trict has been at times part of the Colorado

River Indian Reservation , and in consequence, small-scale placer

mining ac tivi ty declined and large-scale placer-mining plans were

in terrup ted . Dur ing the 20 th cen tury , while many large-scale op

erations were act ive in the Plomosa dis trict to the east , the La Paz

placers were worked only by individuals .The La Paz placers are famous for the large nugge ts recovered,al though most of the gold occurred as pieces ranging in weigh t from

to ounce . Browne (1 868, p . 454) describes large nugge ts

from the gravels, some weighing 26, 27, and 47 ounces, that were

free of all foreign material,even quar tz

,and though t i t possible tha t

many larger nugge ts were recovered bu t no t shown for various

practical or supers ti tious reasons . The larges t nugge t recovered

from the La Paz placers was valued a t abou t (abou t 65 Oz)and assayed 870 fine (Heikes and Yale, 1 9 1 3 , p . 25 9 ; Jones, 1 9 1 5 ,

78 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

p . Jones at tr ibu tes the recovery of thi s nugget to Juan Ferr ar .

As late as the 1 93 0 ’

s, a nugget valued a t $900 (about 45 oz) wasrecovered by a prospector (MacHun ter and Henderson , mostof the large nuggets were found years earlier ; later workers found

only smaller particles .Source : The discovery of the La Paz placers led to intensive prospectingfor large gold-bearing veins, but major lode mines have not beendeveloped . The gold in the placers i s at tribu ted to erosIon of themany gold-bear ing veins distributed through the metamorphic rocksin the area . Some of these veins , such as the Goodman vein, whichtrends nor thwest-southeas t across the nor th end of Ferrar Gulchand is exposed in Gonzales Wash , have been mined in the past .

Jones (1 9 1 5 , p . 54) states that the decomposi tion of these veins hasproduced the placer gold , as the larges t areas of placer gravels arefound along the more persisten t gold-quartz veins .

L iterature :

Allen, 1 922: Location ; quotes descr IptIon of Jones placer

mining operations ; gold values per cubic yard ; production .

Bancroft , 1 9 1 1 : Quotes BrowneBrowne, 1 868 : Gives a complete his tory of discovery and earlyac t ivi ty in placers in the La Paz district on p . 454—455 .

Heikes and Yale, 1 9 1 3 : Location ; thickness of gravels ; gold valuesper cubic yard ; size of nugge ts ; placer-mining operations .

Hinton, 1 878 : Hi s tory of early placer mining; later placer discoveries .Jones, 1 9 1 5 : De tailed description of La Paz placers ; min ing methods ;depth and ex ten t of workings ; amoun t and type of gold removed .

Relations to local geology discussed .

Koschmann and Bergendahl , 1 968 : History ; production .

MacHun ter and Henderson , 1 95 8 : Popular account of discoveryand subsequent development of La Paz diggings . Photographs of

area included .

Randolph , 1 90 1 : S ize of nugge ts recovered .

Raymond , 1 872: Geology ; origin of the placers .— l874: Production in format ion for 1 873 .

Trippel , 1 889 : Produc tion s ta t is t ics for 1 888 .

Wilson , 1 961 : History ; loca t ion ; placer-mining techniques ; sourcequotes descrip tions of earlier studies .

78. LA CHOLLA. M IDDLE CAMP , AND ORO FINO PLACERS

Location : Eas t side of the Dome Rock Moun tains, Tps . 3 and 4 N .,

R . 20 W.

Topographic map : Dome Rock Moun tains 1 5 -minu te quadrangle .

Geologic map: Wilson, 1 960, Geologic map of Yuma County, Arizona,scale

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

80 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Wilson , 1 96 1 : Location ; placer-mining act ivi ty ; dis tribution of gold

bearing gravels .

79 . PLOMOSA DISTR ICTSLocation : Wes t side of the Plomosa Mountains, Tps . 3 and 4 N . , R .

1 8 W . ; TT'

2 N R . 1 7 W.

Topographic map : Quartzsi te 1 5 -minute quadrangle .

Geologic map : Miller, 1 970 , Geologic map of the Quartzsi te quad

rangle , Yuma County, Arizona, scaleAccess : From Quartzsi te, i t i s about 5 miles sou theast on dir t roads

to placer area .

Ex ten t: The Plomosa placers are found at the western edge of thePlomosa Moun tains in and near Plomosa Wash south Of

'

ScaddanMountain (Tps . 3 and 4 N . , R . 1 8 The ex tent of the placers

in the Plomosa dis tric t i s no t known , but some reports indica te thatgold-bearing gravels are found for about 3

—4 miles along the

wes tern edge of the moun tains . Most large-scale placer activi ty wasapparently concentra ted in secs . 3 and 4, T . 3 N . , R . 1 8 W . , near

the old town of Plomosa . Small placers were apparently worked inCave Creek in the sou thern part of the range (T . 2 N . , R . 1 7

P roduction his tory: The Plomosa placers were worked in the early1 860

’

s about the same time as the La Paz placers . Early produc tioni s unknown , but the ex tensive diggings remaining from the earlyworkers indica te that produc t ion was large . The Plomosa placerswere actively sampled and mined during the 1 9 1 0 ’

s by companiesusing large-scale drywashing machines ; these operations at trac tedmuch attention from mining men at the time , and the resul t ingli tera ture described the gr avels and mining techniques in gr eat

de tail . Production records indicate that these opera t ions were no ta commercial success . Various reports of the average value of thegravels claim values as high as $20 per yard in placer gold, bu tmore reasonable estimates range between 7 1 cents to per yard .

The placers worked by the Yuma Consolida ted Co . and the Plomosa

Placer Co . during the period 1 9 1 5— 1 6 were cemen ted gravels as thickas 140 feet ; the gold was concentrated at var ious horizons in thegravels . The placers were s teadily mined by individual drywashersun ti l the 1 950 ’

s .

Source : Gold-bearing veins occur in the me tamorphic rocks in theimmedia te vicini ty of the placers and are considered to be thesource of the gold in the gravels .

L itera ture

Allen, 1 922: Quo tes Heikes and YaleBancroft, 1 9 1 1 : Placer-mining techniques and operations ; characterof the placer gravels ; source .

YUMA COUNTY 8 1

Heikes and Yale, 1 9 1 3 : Location ; character and thickness of placer

gravel ; gold values per cubic yard ; results of sampling gravels ;placer-mining operations ; informat ion is abs tracted from a professional repor t (unpublished) by John A . Church ; productionfrom 1 904 to 1 9 12.

Jones , 1 9 1 5 : Quo tes Ban croft placer-mining act ivi ty in

1 9 14.

Keiser, 1 9 1 6 : Descr ibes placer-mining operations and techniques usedby Yuma Consolidated and Plomosa Placer Cos .

Koschmann and Bergendahl 1 968 : History ; product ion .

Mal tman, 1 9 1 7 Placer-min ing techniques and operation s ; character, thickness of average value of placer ground .

Mining and Scien tific Press, 1 9 1 6 : No te on placer plan ts operatedby Yuma Consolidated and Plomosa Placer Cos. Includes averagevalue of different gravel horizons in 140-foo t-deep hole on YumaConsolidated land.

Plummer , 1 9 1 6 : Placer-mining techniques and operations by YumaConsolidated Co . and Plomosa Placer properties ; charac ter, thickness, average value of placer gr avels ; distribution of gold .

Root, 1 9 12: Gold values in gravels .Wilson , 1 96 1 : Repeats informa t ion given by Bancroft (1 9 1 1 ) andHeikes and Yale placer-mining act ivi ty during the per iod1 932—3 3 .

OTHER DISTRICTS

80 . C IENGA DISTRICT

Placer gold was recovered in 1 9 1 0 from this district, which is inthe Buckskin Moun tains on the east Side of the Colorado River jus tsou th of the junction wi th the Bill Williams River (T . 1 0 N . , R .

1 8 The dis tric t con tains small copper and gold deposi ts con sis t ingof small pocke ts of ore minerals in shear zones in sedimen tary rocks ;some pocke ts were rich in free gold .

L iterature

Wilson , Cunningham, and Butler, 1 934: Describes lode deposi ts .

8 1 COCOPAH DISTRICT

Placer gold was credi ted to this district in 1 934. I have found no

information about a district of this name .

82. FORTUNA DISTRICT

The Fortuna dis trict is on the wes t flank of the Gila Moun tainsat the old Fortuna mine (T . 1 0 S .,

R . 20 The For tuna mine

was act ively worked be tween 1 896 and 1 904, producing more than

million in gold . Mos t of the gold credi ted to placer production

82 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

from this area was actually recovered by placer-mining techniquesused to rework old tai lings at the mine .

L iterature :

Wi lson, Cunningham, and Butler, 1 934: Describes Fortuna mine .

83 . LA POSA DISTRICT

This district is in the Well ton Hills (T . 1 0 S R . 1 8 W.) a smallrange between the Gi la Mountains and the Copper Mountains . Manylow-grade gold-quartz veins occur in the hills and have been minedon a small scale . Placer gold was recovered in the early l900

’

s by

in termittent prospectors .

L iterature :

Wi lson, 1 93 3 : Describes district .

84. MOHAWK DISTRICT

One ounce of placer gold was credi ted to Mohawk in 1 940 , but noinformation has been found about the source of the gold . The goldmay have been recovered elsewhere and sold for supplies in Mohawk,a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad .

85 . SANTA MARIA DISTRICTPlacer gold was recovered from this district, also known as thePlanet dis trict, in 1 9 1 2 and between 1 959 and 1 963 . Some of the placerproduction i s confidential . The Santa Maria district i s in the BuckskinMountains, on the south side of the B i ll Willi ams River. The districti s noted for copper deposi ts, but some gold ores do occur. Before1 9 1 1 the Planet Copper mine controlled three placer claims in thatarea ; their location is not described in the li terature .

L iterature

Bancroft, 1 9 1 1 : Notes placer claims in area .

Wilson, Cunningham, and Butler, 1 934: Describes gold prospectsworked during the period 1 93 3—34.

86 . SHEEP TANKS DISTRICT

Placer gold was recovered from this district in the Li ttle HornMountains in 1 936 and 1 940 . Most of the gold mineralization in themountains occurs in the area of the Sheep Tanks mine (approx imatelysec. 1 , T . 1 S R . 1 5 and the placer gold was probably recoveredfrom small deposi ts in that area .

L iterature :

Wi lson, 1 93 3 : Describes L i ttle Horn Mountains and Sheep Tanksmine .

GOLD PRODUCTION FROM PLACER DEPOSITS 83

87 . SONORA DISTRICT

Three ounces of placer gold was credi ted to Sonora in 1 93 5 , bu t noinformation has been found about the source of the gold .

GOLD PRODUCTION FROM PLACER DEPOSITS

Arizona ranks tenth in the Uni ted States (eigh th in the wes terncon t inen tal Sta tes) in placer gold product ion . The U .S . Bureau ofMines (1 967, p . 1 5 ) ci tes troy ounces of placer gold producedin Ar izona from 1 792 to 1 964. I es t imate that placer gold productionwas a t leas t ounces . Distr icts of largest placer produc t ion werethe Lynx Creek, Big Bug, and Weaver (Rich Hill) dis tri cts (YavapaiCoun ty), the Gila Ci ty (Dome), and La Paz district (Yuma Coun ty),and the Grea tervi lle dis tric t (Pima County), all wi th estimated placerproduction of more than ounces . The available produc tioninforma tion for all placer dis tric ts i s given in table 1 . For comparison,I have included table 2, which lists 27 gold dis tric ts in Arizona thathave produced more than ounces of gold (from Koschmann

and Bergendahl,As table 1 clearly shows, Arizona has many small placer-miningdis tr icts from which only a few ounces of gold has been recovered,mos tly during the depression years of the 1 930 ’

s . For most of thesedis tricts, li t tle information other than produc t ion has been found .

Compar ing table 1 wi th table 2 Shows tha t the major lode-gold districts in the State, except for the Bradshaw Moun tains in YavapaiCoun ty, have had very li t tle placer gold produc tion .

Mos t of the placer gold produced in the State of Arizona was

recovered by tedious work on a small scale by individuals who usedrockers, pans, sluices , and dry concentrators . In only a few dis trictshave large-scale placer-mining operat ions been successful, al thoughmany a ttempts were made to use large dry-concen tra ting machines .The mos t successful large-scale opera tions have been in the LynxCreek and the Big Bug districts, Yavapai Coun ty, where the presenceof adequate supplies of water enabled large dredges to mine the goldbearing gravels . Among the larges t and mos t profitable large-scale dryconcen tra t ing opera tions were those in the San Domingo Wash distr ict, Maricopa County, in the Plomosa dis tr ict , and a t La Chollaplacers, Yuma Coun ty ; a t Copper Basin , Yavapai Coun ty, the gravelwas hauled to a cen tral washing plant where wet me thods of recoverywere used .

PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA84

com

coo

cc

11AA

25m2

mav

o

H

SN

mum

mvm

v—‘v —‘O Q CO w Q Ob O O N O O F ‘

omN2how

we

mu

C O OmmE

N

vow

oQ9

;

woo

v

2m2mm

o

:2;

ow

v

5.

co w-wo oCD 0 5 O F ‘ Nv—I CN GQ W m QO h

85GOLD PRODUCTION FROM PLACER DEPOSITS

N

c

N

o

o

c

N

N

o

m

o

o

mm»

N

NNN

N

N

o

o

C

gofixfi

p

O

O

O

N

N

Q

N

$N

AN

o

o

8

3

mg

N

N

ooh

New

c

e

on

NN

N

coma“

N

c

N

ooogc

NNN

N

mNN

N

N

E

5.

on

N

c

N

N

N

OV

o

N

OV

ca

ofi

o

o

NA

NA

o

o

coo

$Na

NNAn

N5

8

coo

com

N

NA

N

om

NN

o

NC

on

NN

o

A

co

mm

c

N

coo

NoN

N

NoN

v v w

c ~ c

C oo t-N

m um- l o o$N

mg80

cm

wwmd

23cm2

mm

mv

co

Q ‘ O O

oc

acao—C

D

ocoom

.

w~

S

SOCO

ED

ocon

fi

com

.

»

co

mama=a

>a

c

acao—C

D

lA

2830

o

I

voo

zco

zou

o

I

u

53m$04

o

I

53m

30

0

8

50:

c

382m

Sim0

92

20

0

C

EC

E—C

D

N

EO

N—mNoa

m

CN

EwEx

950:

c

I

Cummo

c

fimCam

E

SOCO

ED

n

m

go

zao

fio

s

u

ooo

om

avQ.S

.

ow

PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA86

C C O

3 .EL

oNh

RN

NNE

FNL

ii

pm:

So

Na8

5

5m

8mm

St

SEoS

AN

an

m2.“

NN

N

am

N

aP2

o

nwe

we

9

55

c

o

o9

50:

c

9

505

39

8

8d

550:

c

_

ooo

.

mN

I

'll

co

mm

mm

mm

EN

figCam

E

11

35332

I:

338

3

u

2

m$28

oao

mom

m

S

E

?

1:

mph

a

?

cm

ficso

z

82mm

380

N

E

E

o—ooa

U

95

85

2

in

o—oou

o

2

25

N9

8

owmcm

fiv

xoou

u

mzn

fiz

m

moan

owmcm

fifi

CO>CN

U

xo

fim

Noun

owmcm

fiv

xOOH

U

h

igh.

so

?owmcm

fiv

V

E

BO

ws

mmm

m

Simmmagammmm$30

4

.

mxoou

u

v—N

O

was

.

5850

.

Namso

ccm

z

o>oN

O

3555

Bid

mmfigmmma

m33

55

Bid

NQ

EGQWN

N

E“ON

ES

.

NON

N

own—ba

g

Simmmfimxmmwmm

In]

xoo

hu

55

3

Saa

b

a

ll

xoou

o

Ra

i

d

$30

4

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

88 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

TABLE 2.—Ar izona lode -

gold production , in ounces

[Distr icts having production greater than 0 2]

County and distri ct Production

Cochise County1 Bisbee2 Tombstone3 Turquoise

Gi la County4 Banner5 Globe-Miami

Graham and Greenlee Counties6 Cl i fton -Morenci

Maricopa County :7 Vu l ture

Mohave County :8 San Francisco9 W allapai

1 0 WeaverP ima County :

1 1 AjoPinal County :

1 2 Mammo th1 3 Ray14 Superior

Santa Cruz Coun ty1 5 Oro B lanco

Yavapai County :1 6 Big Bug1 7 Black Canyon1 8 Eureka19 Hassayampa -Groom Creek20 Jerome21 Lynx Creek -Wa lker22 Martinez23 P ine Grove-Tiger24 Weaver-Ri ch Hil l25 Ell sworth26 Fortuna

The total amount of placer gold recovered yearly in Arizona from1 900 to 1 968 is graphed in figure 1 , which also shows major con

tr ibutors to the peak production .

SUMMARY

The ul timate source of de tri tal gold in placer depos i ts is, for themos t part, gold-bearing lode deposi ts, wh ich in Ar izona are repre

sen ted by ve ins in faul ts, fissures, and shear zones of various sizes .Most of the placer gold found in Ar izona was derived from sys tems

of small gold-

quartz veinle ts and s tringers scat tered throughou t thebedrock of the adj acen t moun tain ranges ; in only a few locali ties

SUMMARY 89

Activ ity by many ind iv idua lsthroughout the S tate

Lynx Cre e k and BigBug C re e k d re dg ed

1 960 1 968

YEAR

FIGURE 1 .—Arizona p lacer go ld production , in ounces .

was the gold in large placer deposi ts derived from vein sys tems of

sufficient size to encourage lode mining on a large scale . Small placerscommonly occur near large gold lodes, bu t are generally not economic.

The mos t productive gold veins are those formed during Laramidetime, which occur in rocks of Precambrian to Laramide (Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary) age . Much gold has been recovered as abyproduct from copper and other base-me tal ores . S ince 1 941 thelarge copper m ines have been predominan t in the production of

lode gold (Wi lson ,

RELATION BETWEEN PLACER DEPOSITS AND ROCK DEPOSITS

One of the ou tstanding characteris tics of placer-mining history inArizona is the large number of mining districts in which placer mining,albei t some minor

,was carried on . A comparison of the placer gold

production (table 1 ) wi th the major lode-gold production (table 2)shows tha t only the Tombs tone and Jerome districts had no placer

90 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

production at all . A t Tombs tone, the gold occurs as native gold invery fine par ticles ; a t Jerome, the gold was recovered from copperores as a byproduct . In the mining d is tricts that had a very lowproduction of placer gold, the gold occurred as very fine particles ,commonly included w i thin copper and o ther base-me tal ores, andthere fore was not concentrated during the erosional cycle (see Koschmann and Bergendahl , 1 968, p . 32—5 3 , for a summary of gold characteristics in major lode-gold districts in Ar izona) .Mos t placer deposi ts in Ar izona are found in gullies and arroyos

developed on alluvial fans or pediments on flanks Of moun tain ranges ;a few placers occur as small local concen trations developed in gulchand h ills ide gravels immediately adj acent to the lode source of thegold . Wi lson (in Webber, 1 93 5 ) asserts tha t many Of sou thwesternAr izona’s larges t and richest placers were derived from the erosion ofnumerous auriferous veinle ts or s tringers . He states

Ten one-quarter inch stringers with an average Of of gold per ton through alength of 5 00 feet and a depth Of 300 fee t cou ld yield worth of placer gold(wi th gold a t per ounce) wh ile a mi ll ion dol lar placer (wi th the same go ldvalue) could resu l t from the erosion of 41 6 s tringer bodies Of tha t same very modes twidth , length , depth , and tenor, provided perfect concentra tion Obtained .

Typical of the placers formed on extensive alluvial fans or on pedimen ts are the San Domingo Wash placers, Maricopa Coun ty ; theLos t Basin-Gold Basin placers, Mohave Coun ty ; the Cafiada de l Oroplacers, Pinal Coun ty ; R ich H i l l placers and Copper Basin placers ,Yavapai County ; the Quij o toa, Ar ivaca, and Greatervi lle placers,Pima County ; the Laguna, Gila, and La Paz placers, Yuma Coun ty ;DOS Cabezos placers, Cochise Coun ty. The gold-bearing gravels occuron hi llslopes and in gullies O f presen t-day and Older drainage sys tems

the gold is generally concen trated on a false bedrock Of cal iche

cemented gravels bu t occurs in smaller amoun ts throughou t thegravel .

The placer deposi ts in the Bradshaw Moun tains, Yavapai Coun ty,are, as a group, the mos t productive and extens ive placers in the

S ta te . The Bradshaw Moun tains are also the locale of many productive

gold lode deposi ts (table The placers were productive becausethey were derived from large systems of we ll-deve loped gold-

quartz

veins O f Laramide and Precambrian ages . They were ex tensive becauseOf the wide distribu tion Of the ve ins and the vas t number Of valleysand gulches tha t drain the comparatively well wa tered BradshawMoun tains.Placers found in other, compara tively well wa tered mounta in ranges

(Globe-M iami d i strict , Gila Coun ty ; Clifton-Morenci , San Francisco

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

92 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

based on Observations of geologic rela tions be tween ve ins and coun tryrock, two po tass ium-argon dates (see Anderson, 1 968, p . 1 1 69) on

granod iori tes cons idered to be gene tically related to ore depos i tsdemons trate a Laramide age (64 m.y., 70 m.y.) for the ve ins in theWalker and Big Bug dis tricts .

A Laramide age is known or assumed for the following o therimportant lode deposi ts from which placer deposi ts have been derived :Maricopa Coun ty—Vulture vein, Vul ture d istrict ; Yavapai Coun tyH i llside ve in, Eureka dis trict ; Octave ve in, Weaver district ; YumaCounty—Harquahala vein, Ellsworth district ; Fortuna vein, Fortunadistrict . A Laramide age i s known or assumed for the following areasin which placer deposi ts derived from small ve in sys tems have beenfound : Coch ise Coun ty—Gold Gulch , B isbee-Warren dis trict ; GreenleeCounty—small gold ve ins, Clifton-Morenci dis trict ; Pima County—goldve ins in Cre taceous sedimen tary rocks , Grea tervi lle dis trict ; Baboquivari dis trict ; Arivaca d is trict ; Quij otoa d is tr ict ; Aj o placer, Ajo d istrict ;Yuma Coun ty— Plomosa area, Plomosa d is trict ; Kofa placers, Kofad is trict (Kofa vein is assumed to be Laramide, bu t placers were no tderived from that vein).

Placer deposi ts tha t have been derived from lodes found in Pre

cambrian rocks and that may be Precambrian in age in addi tion tothose found in the Bradshaw Mountains, include those in the Globedistrict and the Payson d istrict, Gi la County ; Lost Basin-Gold Bas indis tricts and Chemehuevis district, Mohave Coun ty . Many placerdeposi ts in Yuma Coun ty are derived from small gold veinle ts inme tamorphic rocks that have been considered to be Mesozoic or

Precambrian in age . Detai led s tudy in one area of Yuma Coun ty (thePlomosa Moun ta ins, M iller, 1 970) indicates tha t the me tamorphicrocks exposed are Of both ages, but un ti l further s tudy is made of thiscoun ty, the age of mineralization can Only be considered unknown .

Two areas in the State con tain placer deposi ts derived from lode

deposi ts O f m iddle and late Tertiary age (post-Laramide) . Some gold

ve ins in the DOS Cabezas Moun tains, Cochise Coun ty, have been dated

a t younger than 29 m.y. The mos t productive gold ve ins in the S tate, the

veins in the San Francisco d istrict, Mohave County, were the source Of

only small amoun ts of placer gold and are considered to be late Tertiaryin age .

PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA 93

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LITERATURE R EFERENCES

Allen , M . A . , 1 922, Arizona gold placers : Ari zona Bur. Mines Bul l. 1 1 8 , 24 p .

Twenty- two p lacer areas are described in this firs t bul letin of the series in goldplacers in Arizona .

— 1 923 , His tory and present s ta tus of Arizona ’s gold placers : M in ing Jour.

[Phoen ix, v . 7 , no . 2, p . 5—7 , 40 ; v. 7, no. 3 , p . 6—7 , 25 .

Article ex trac ted from Bu l l . 1 1 8 .

Anderson , C . A 1 968 , Arizona and adj acent New Mex ico , in Ridge, J . D ed Ore

deposi ts of the Uni ted Sta tes , 1 93 3—1 967 (Grafton-Sales volume) : New York ,Am . Inst . Min ing, and Petroleum Engi neers , Inc v . 2, p . 1 163—1 1 90 .

— l972, Precambrian rocks in the Cordes area [Turkey Creek placer], YavapaiCoun ty, Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bul l . 1 345 , (in press) .

Arizona Bureau Of Mines , 1 93 8 , Some Arizona ore deposi ts : Arizona Bur . Mines Bu l l .145 , 1 36 p .

Co l lection of papers detail ing some min ing dis tri cts in the State . Papers originallypresented a t Ameri can Ins ti tu te of Mining and Metallurgy Engineers meeting inTucson , November 1 93 8 .

Arizona Engineer and Scientis t , 1 96 1 , Engineers crea te possiblie Arizona Gold Rushwi th “ Rube Goldberg $ dredge : Arizona Engineer and Scientists , v . 4, no. 1 0 , p .

8—1 0 .

Arizona Min ing Jou rnal , 1 9 1 9 , Placer mining to the fore [Big Bug distri ct]: MiningJour . [Phoenix , v . 2, no . 1 1 , p . 3 0 .

- 1 924, Arizona News notes [San Francisco di strict]: Arizona Mining Jour ., v . 8 ,

no . 3 , p . 3 0 .

Bancroft , H . H 1 889 , History of Arizona and New Mex ico , 1 5 3 0—1 888 : San Francisco ,Cal if . , H is tory CO . Pub 829 p .

Chap . 23 considers Arizona industries including mining— early operat ions and goldplacers .Bancroft , Howland , 1 9 1 1 , A reconnaissance of the ore deposi ts in northern YumaCounty , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bul l . 45 1 , 1 30 p .

Berger, H . W . , 1 932, Saving gold in cemen ted gravels [La Cholla placers]: Min ingJour. [Phoen ix , Ariz .] v . 1 6 , no . 14, p . 7 , 28 .

B ird , A . T . , 1 9 1 6 , Resources of Santa Cruz County : Arizona Bur . Mines Bul l . 29 , 27 p.

Blacet, P . M . , 1 968 , Geologic map of the SE Moun t Un ion quadrangle , YavapaiCounty , Arizona [Turkey Creek placers]: U .S . Geol . Survey open -file map .

— 1 969 , Lode and placer gold deposi ts , Mohave County , Arizona [Lost Basin andGold Basin dis tricts]: U .S . Geol . Survey Circ . 621 , p . 1 2.

B lack , J . A . , 1 890 , Arizona , the land Of sunshine and si lver , heal th and prosperi ty ; theplace for ideal homes : Tucson

,Ari z ., Commissioner of Immigra tion , 143 p .

Brief descriptions of early placer-min ing activi ty .

Blake , W . P 1 898 , Remains Of a species of Bos in the Qua ternary of Arizona [Grea tervi l le dis trict]: Am . Geologis t , v . 22, p . 65—72.

94 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

- 1 899 , H i storical ske tch of mining in Arizona , in Report of the Governor of

Arizona to the Secretary of the In terior : Washington , p . 43—1 5 3 .

Concise historical sketch of m in ing in Arizona . Occurrence of gold , gold veins ,mines and placers (p . 54—75 ) are discussed separa tely from si lver, copper, and o thermineral commodi ties. Many placer dis tri cts are briefly described .

B landy , J . F 1 897 , The m ines of Yavapai County , Arizona : Eng . and Mining Jourv . 63 , p . 632—634.

Bray , J . C 1 93 3 , The Bray straightline placer machine [Dos Cabezas d is trict]Mining Jour. [Phoenix , v . 1 7 , no. 5 , p . 5 .

Browne , J . R . , 1 868 , Report Of J . Ross Browne on the mineral resources Of the Sta tesand Terri tories wes t of the Rocky Mountains : Washington , U .S . Treasury Dep t674 p .

Describes early placer mining history and activi ties in many dis tricts throughou t theState .Bryan , Kirk , 1 925 , The Papago country , Arizona : U .S . Geo l . Survey Water -SupplyPaper 499 , 436 p .

Burchard , H . C 1 882, Report of the D irec tor of the Mint upon the sta tis ti cs of theproduction of the precious metal s in the Uni ted Sta tes (for the year 1 88 1 )Washington , U .S . Bur. Mint , 765 p . [Arizona , p . 249

— 1 883 , Report of the D irector of the M int upon the sta t is ti cs of the productionof the precious metals in the Un i ted States (for the year Washington ,U .S . Bur. Mint , 873 p . [Arizona , p . 270

— 1 884, Report Of the D irector of the Min t upon the production of the preciousmetal s in the Uni ted S tates during the ca lendar year 1 883 : Washington , U .S . Bur.M int , 85 8 p . [Arizona , p . 36

— 1 885 , Report of the D irector of the Mint upon the product ion Of the preciousmetals in the Uni ted Sta tes during the calendar year 1 884: Washington , U .S . Bur.M int , 644 p . [Arizona , p . 3 0

Burgess , J . D . , 1 903 , Recent d iscoveries in Arizona [Canada del Oro distri ct]: Eng . andMining Jour. , v . 76 , p . 936 .

Carter , T . L. , 1 9 1 1 , Gold placers in Arizona [San Dom ingo di strict]: Eng. and Min ingJour . , v . 9 1 , p . 5 6 1—562.

- 1 9 l2, Gold placers of Arizona—Dry washings of value [San Domingo d is tri ct]M ining and Sci . Press , v . 1 05 , p . 1 66—1 68 .

Church , J . A 1 887 , Report of the D irector of the Mint upon the product ion of theprecious metal s in the Un i ted Sta tes during the calendar year 1 886 : Washington ,U .S . Treasury Dept . , 343 p . [Arizona , p . 1 3 9

Creasey , S . C 1 967 , General geology of the Mammo th quadrangle , Pinal County ,Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bu ll . 121 8 , 94 p .

De Wolf , W . P . , 1 9 1 6 , Revival of placer Opera tion in Yavapai County, Arizona : Miningand Eng. World , v . 44, p . 1 99—200 .

D insmore , C . A 1 9 1 1 a , The San Domingo placers : Min ing and Eng. World , v . 3 5 ,

p . 793 .

— 1 9 1 1 b , Touring the min ing section of the Sou thwest : Mining World , v . 3 5 , p .

1 5 1—1 52.

Doman , R . S 1 922, The lure of Arizona gold was inspira tion for Oatman : Min ingJour. [ Phoen ix , v . 6 , no . 14, p . 3—4.

Drewes , Harald , 1 970 , Geochemical anomal ies , Grea tervi lle m ining d is trict , ArizonaU .S . Geol . Survey Bu ll . 1 3 12—A , 49 p .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

96 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

Hafer, Claud , 1 9 1 1 , Vu l ture mine and O thers in the Hassayampa [Mari copa County]Mining World , v . 34, p . 1 23 3—1 234.

Ham i l ton , Pa tri ck , 1 884, Resources of Arizona [3d San Franci sco , Cal i f. , Bancroft8: CO . Printers , 414 p .

The his tory of Arizona from the di scovery by Spaniards through the period of

terri toria l set tlement . Chapters on al l aspec ts of l i fe a t tha t time . Chap ter on m inesand mining gives no t only loca tion and product ion bu t history of mining. Colorfulaccount Of l i fe in Arizona in 1 800

’

s .

Hedburg, Edward , 1 909, The Calizona placers , Arizona [Chemehuevis d is trict]: M ining World , v . 3 1 , p . 1 3 8 .

Heikes , V . C . , and Yale , C . G 1 9 1 3 , Dry placers in Arizona , Nevada , New Mex ico ,and Cal i fornia : U .S . Geol . Survey Minera l Resources pt . 1 , p . 254—263 .

Placer-mining activi ty and operat ions in eigh t d i stricts ; contains informa tion on

grades Of gravel and product ion .

Heineman , R . E . S . , 1 93 1 , An Arizona gold nugget of unusual Size [Weaver distri ct]Am . Mineralogist , v . 1 6 , no . 6 , p . 267—269 .

Hi l l , J . M . , 1 9 1 0 , No tes on the placer deposi ts of Greatervil le , Arizona : U .S . Geol .Survey Bul l . 43 0 , p . 1 1—22.

H inton , R J. , 1 878 , Handbook to Arizona wi th appendices : San Francisco , Cal i fPayo t , Upham 8: CO 43 1 p .

Descri ption Of many areas of Arizona wi th special references to natura l resources .Placers are d i scussed in rela tion to areas O f occurrence . Tables give production s ta ti sti cs of mines and placers Of Yavapai , P ima , Mohave, P inal , and Mari copa Counties .Hodge , H . G 1 877 , Arizona as i t i s ; or the Coming Country : New York , Hurd 8cHough ton , 273 p .

His tory Of Arizona compi led from travels during the years 1 874—76 .

Jagger, T . A . , Jr and Palache , Charles , 1 905 , Descrip t ion of the Bradshaw Mountainsquadrangle [Arizona]: U .S . Geol . Survey Geol . A tlas , Fol io 1 26 , 1 1 p .

Jahns , R . H . , 1 952, Pegma ti te deposi ts of the Whi te P i cacho d istrict , Maricopa andYavapai Counties , Arizona : Arizona Bur . Mines Bu l l . 1 62, 1 05 p .

Jakosky, J . J. , and Wi lson , C . H . , 1 934, Geophysical s tud ies in placer and wa tersupply problems [Pinal Coun ty]: Am . Ins t . Min ing Metal] . Engineers Tech . Pub .

5 1 5 , p . 3—1 8 .

Johns ton , W . P . , and Lowel l , J . D . , 1 96 1 , Geology and origin of mineral ized brecciapipes in Copper Basin , Arizona : Econ . Geology . v . 5 6 , p . 9 1 6—940 .

Jones , E. L . , Jr ., 1 9 1 5 , Gold deposi ts near Quartzsi te , Ari zona : U .S . Geol . SurveyBul l . 620 , p . 45 - 5 7 .

— 1 9 1 6 , A reconnaissance in the Kofa Moun tains , Ari zona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bull .620 , p . 1 5 1—1 64.

Kei ser , W . G . , 1 9 1 6 , Dry placer min ing on a large scale [P lomosa d istric t]: Min ingand Eng . World , v . 44, p . 999— 1 000 .

Konselman , A . S . , 1 93 3 , Federal grubstaking of placer mines : Mining Jour . [Phoen ix ,v . 1 7 , no . 1 2, p . 5 .

Koschmann, A . H . , and Bergendahl , M . H . , 1 968 ,

Principal gold -producing d is tri ctsin the Un i ted States : U .S . Geol . Survey Prof. Paper 6 1 0 , 283 p .

General summary of 42 important gold distric ts in Arizona . Main emphasis i s onlode mines ; in forma t ion abou t placers is taken mos tly from Wi lson (1 952, 5 th ed .)

Krieger , M . H . , 1 965 , Geology of the Presco t t and Pau lden quadrangles , ArizonaU .S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 427 , 1 27 p .

Land , George , 1 93 1 , Gold a t Dos Cabezas : Min ing Jour . [Phoenix , v . 14, no.

24, p . 28 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY 97

Lausen,Carl

, 1 93 1 , Geology and ore deposi ts of the Oa tman and Ka therine dis tricts,Arizona : Arizona Bur . Mines Bul l . 1 3 1 , 1 26 p .

Lausen , Carl , and Wi lson , E . D 1 925 , Gold and copper deposi ts near Payson ,Arizona : Ari zona Bur . Mines Bul l . 1 20 , 44 p .

Lindgren , Waldemar, 1 905 a , The copper deposi ts of the Cl i fton -Morenci district ,Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 43 , 3 75 p .

— 1 905b , Descrip tion Of the Cl i fton quadrangle [Arizona]: U .S . Geol . Survey Geol .Atlas , Fol io 1 29 , 14 p .

— 1 926 , O re deposi ts of the Jerome and Bradshaw Mountain quadrangles , ArizonaU .S . Geol . Survey Bu l l . 782, 1 92 p .

MacHun ter , Audrey , and Henderson , Randal l , 1 95 8 , Boom days in Old La PazDesert Mag. , v . 21 , no. 9 , p . 1 9—21 .

Mal tman , A . , 1 9 1 7 , Dry placer min ing [Plomosa distri ct]: Min ing and Sci . Press ,v . 1 1 4, p . 203 .

Maynard , G . W . , 1 907 , Examining a placer property [Grea tervi ll e di strict]: MiningWorld , v . 27 , p . 7—8 .

McConnell , A . B . , 1 9 1 1 , Arizona : Mining World , v . 34, p . 143—147 .

Min ing and Scientific Press, 1 907 , General min ing news— Arizona [Barbarossa-DrippingSpring district]: Min ing and Sci . Press , v . 94, p . 677 .

- 1 908 , General mining news— Arizona [Patagon ia district]: Min ing and Sci . Press ,v . 96 ,

p . 649 .

— 1 9 1 6 , The min ing summary, Yuma Coun ty : Mining and Sci . Press , v . 1 1 3 , p .

249 .

Min ing Journal , 1 932a , Concen trates from the Sou thwes t—Ari zona [Copper Basindistric t]: Min ing Jour . [Phoen ix , v . 1 5 , no . 23 , p . 1 8 .

-1 932b , Concen tra tes from the Sou thwes t— Arizona [San Francisco dis trict]: MiningJour . [Phoen ix , v . 1 5 , no . 24, p . 1 8 .

— 1 932c, Nuggets from the Western States— Arizona [Chemehuevis d istri ct]: Min ingJour . [Phoen ix , v . 1 6 , no . 1 4, p . 1 6 .

—1 93 3 , Nuggets from the Wes tern States— Arizona [Lost Basin district]: MiningJour . [Phoen ix , v . 1 7 , no . 5 , p . 1 0 .

— 1 938a , Concen trates from Wes tern States—Arizona [Baboquivari distri ct]: Mining Jour . [Phoenix , v. 22, no . 4, p . 1 8 .

— 1 93 8b , Concen trates from Wes tern Sta tes— Arizona [San Franci sco River placers]Mining Jour . [Phoen ix , v . 22, no . 14, p . 1 9 .

— 1 93 8c, Dry separa tion process in use by Un iversal Placer Corpora tion : MiningJour . [Phoen ix , v . 21 , no . 24, p . 42—43 .

— 1 93 8d , Mil l heads from the Western Sta tes—Arizona [Gi la River placers]: MiningJour . [Phoen ix , v . 22, no . 6 , p . 1 9 .

— 1 93 8e , Mi ll heads from the Western Sta tes- Arizona [Weaver district]: MiningJour . [Phoen ix , v . 21 , no . 24, p . 20 .

— 1 93 9a , Concen tra tes from Wes tern Sta tes— Arizona [La Cholla placers]: MiningJour . [Phoen ix , Ariz .] v . 22, no . 23 , p . 1 9 .

— 1 939b , Mi l l heads from the Western States—Ari zona [Payson distri ct]: MiningJour . [Phoenix , v . 23 , no . 1 0 , p . 1 7 .

— 1 939c, Mill heads from the Western Sta tes— Arizona [Qu i j otoa district]: MiningJour . [Phoen ix , v . 23 , no . 1 3 , p .

“

1 7 .

— 1 940 , Mi ll heads from the Wes tern States—Arizona [Qu i j o toa dis trict]: MiningJour. [Phoenix , V . 24, no . 1 , p . 1 7 .

— 1 941 , Concentrates from Western States— Arizona [San Pablo placer]: MiningJour . [Phoen ix , v . 24, no . 2, p . 20 .

98 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

—1 946 , Concentra tes fr om Western Sta tes [Comobab i dis trict]: M ining Jour. [Phoen ix , v . 29 , no . 1 9 , p . 1 6 .

Mining Reporter, 1 906 , Revival of gold mining in the C li fton-Morenci , Arizona , d istrict : Min ing Reporter , v . 5 3 , p . 3 86—3 88 .

Min ing Review , 1 9 1 0a , Colorado R iver placers : Mining Review [Sal t Lake Ci ty, Utah],v. 1 2, no . 1 0 , p . 3 3 .

— 1 9 1 0b , Nogal es gold exci temen t : Mining Review [Sal t Lake Ci ty, Utah], v . 1 2, no .

1 6 , p . 3 3 .

Mining World , 1 909 , La te news from the worlds min ing camps— Arizona [Ellsworthdistri ct]: Mining World , v . 3 0 , p . 993 .

— 1 9 1 1 , La te news from the worlds min ing camps—Arizona [Huachuca dis tri ct]Min ing World , v . 34, p . 797 .

Moolick , R . T and Durek , J . J. , 1 966 , The Morenci dis trict , in T i tley , S . R andH icks , C . L eds . , Geology of the porphyry copper deposi ts , sou thwestern NorthAmeri ca : Tucson , Ariz . , Un iv . Arizona Press , p . 221—23 1 .

Moore , R . T . , 1 969 , Gold , in Mineral and wa ter resources of Arizona : U .S . 90 th Cong2d sess . , Comm . Interior and Insular Affairs , Comm . Printing, p . 1 56—1 67 .

Brief summary of his tory of placer mining .

Mowry , Sylvester , 1 863 , The geography and resources Of Arizona and Sonora : SanFrancisco , Cal i f . , and New York , A . Roman 8: CO . , 1 24 p .

Early placer-mining his tory .

Nolan , T . B . , 1 936 , Nonferrous meta l deposi ts , in Hewett , D . F and o thers , Mineralresources of the regi on around Bou lder Dam : U .S . Geol . Survey Bu ll . 87 1 , p . 5—77 .

Summarizes gold , Si lver , and copper deposi ts for coun ties of Arizona on p . 1 0—34.

Briefly locates some important p lacer deposi ts .Peterson , N . P . , 1 962, Geology and ore deposi ts of the G lobe -Miami distric t , Arizona

U .S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 342, 1 5 1 p .

Peterson , N . P . , Gilbert , C . M . ,and Quick , G . L . , 1 95 1 , Geology and ore deposi ts of

the Cas t le Dome area , Gila Coun ty , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bu l l . 97 1 , 1 34 p .

P lummer, W . L . 1 9 1 6 , Success fu l dry placer Operat ions a t P lumosa , Ari zona : Min ingand Eng . World , v . 45 , p . 1—3 .

Randolph , C . C 1 90 1 , Report to the D irec tor O f the Mint upon the production of

the preciou s me tals in the Un i ted S ta tes during the calendar year 1 900 : Washington , U .S . Bur . Mint , 3 80 p . [Arizona , p . 7 1

— l903 , Report of the D irector Of the Mint upon the production of the preciousmetals in the Un i ted States during the calendar year 1 902: Washington , U .S . Bur .Min t , 3 9 1 p . [Arizona , p . 5 5

Ransome , F . L . , 1 903 , Geology of Globe copper d istri ct , Arizona : U .S . Geol . SurveyProf . Paper 1 2, 1 68 p .

— 1 904a , Description Of the Bisbee quadrangle [Arizona]: U .S . Geol . Survey Geol .A tlas , Fol io 1 1 2, 1 7 p .

— 1 904b , Descrip tion of the Globe quadrangle [Ari zona]: U .S . Geo l . Survey Geol .A tlas , Fo l io 1 1 1 , 1 7 p .

— 1 904c, Geology and ore deposi ts of the Bisbee quadrangl e , Arizona : U .S . Geol .Survey Prof. Paper 21 , 1 68 p .

— 1 923 a , Descript ion of the Ray quadrangle [Arizona]: U .S . Geol . Survey Geol .A tlas , Fol io 21 7 , 23 p .

—l923 b , Geology Of the Oa tman gold dis trict , Arizona , a prel iminary report : U .S .

Geol . Survey Bul l . 743 , 5 8 p .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 00 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA

U.S . Bureau of Mines , 1 925—34, M ineral resources of the Uni ted Sta tes [annualvolumes , 1 924 Washington , U.S . Gov t . Printing Ofli ce .

— 1 93 3—68 , Minerals Yearbook [annual volumes , 1 932 Washington, U .S . Gov t .

Printing Oflice .

Information rela ting to placers ci ted in tex t i s referenced by year of pertinentvolume .

— 1 967 , Production po tenti al of known gold deposi ts in the Un i ted S tates : U .S .

Bur. Mines Inf. Circ . 83 3 1 , 24 p .

Gives est ima tes Of to tal placer-gold production in troy ounces .U.S . Geological Survey, 1 896—1 900 , Annual reports [ 1 7th through 2 l s t , 1 895—1 900]Washington , U .S . Gov t . Printing Office .— 1 883—1 924, Mineral resources of the Un i ted S tates [annua l volumes , 1 882—1 923 ]Washington , U .S . Gov t . Printing Office .In forma tion relat ing to placers ci ted in tex t i s referenced by year of pertinentvolume .

— 1 968 , U .S . Geologica l Survey Heavy Metal s Program progress report 1 966 and1 967 [Lost Basin and Gold Basin di stri cts]: U .S . Geol . Survey Circ . 560 , 24 p .

Wa tson , H . B 1 9 1 8 , Rich H i l l Observa t ions : Arizona Mining Jour . , v . 2, no. 7 , p .

8—1 0 , 26 .

Webber , B . N 1 93 5 , Baj ada placers of the arid sou thwest : Am . Ins t . Min ing Metal l .Engineers Trans , v . 1 1 5 , Min ing Geology , p . 3 78—3 9 1 .

Ascribes genesis Of slope deposi ts Bajadas $ primari ly to arid condi t ions , windwork , and sheet floods . Compares “ Bajada placers to stream placers . E . D . V

Vilson

’

s

discussion (p . 3 9 1 ) emphasizes work of water in ril l s and channel s and deriva tionof placers from smal l gold -bearing veins .Weber , R . H 1 948 , Geology of the east -central portion of the Huachuca Mountains ,Arizona [abs ]: Geol . Soc. America Bu l l . 5 9 , no . 1 2, p . 1 3 84—1 385 .

Wi l l i s , C . F 1 9 1 5 , Las Gu i j as placer : Ari zona , the Sta te Mag. and Pa thfinder , Nov .

1 9 1 5 , p . 1 0 .

— 1 9 1 6a , Arizona : Arizona Bur . Mines Bu l l . 6 , 1 6 p .

-1 9 1 6b , Mining in Arizona : Min ing and Sci . Press , v. 1 1 2, p . 299—3 00 .

Genera l state Of m in ing in Arizona a t that time including a loca tion map of 1 5

wel l -known placer d is tricts .Wilson , E . D . , 1 927 , Geology and ore deposi ts of the Courtland-Gleeson region , Arizona : Ari zona Bur . Mines Bul l . 1 23 , 79 p .

—1 93 3 , Geology and mineral deposi t of sou thern Yuma County , Arizona : ArizonaBur. Mines Bu l l . 1 34, 234 p .

— l941 , Tungs ten deposi ts Of Ari zona : Arizona Bur . Mines Bu ll . 148 , 54 p .

— 1 95 1 , Arizona lead and zinc deposi ts : Arizona Bur . Mines Bu l l . 1 5 8 , 1 1 5 p .

— 1 96 1 , Gold placers and placering in Arizona [6th revised : Arizona Bur.Mines Bu ll . 1 68 , 1 24 p . ; preceded by: 1 927 , 2d ed revised , Bul l . 1 24, 60 p . ; 1 932,

Bul l . 1 32, pt . 1 , p . 1—7 1 ; 1 93 3 , 4th cd . , Bul l . 1 3 5 , 90 p . ; 1 93 7 , 4th cd . , revised ,Bu ll . 142, 90 p . ; 1 952, 5 th ed . , revised , Bu l l . 1 60 , p t . 1 , p . 1 1—68 .

Series Of bu l letins tha t describe the location , ex ten t , history , p lacer -mining activi ty ,and produc tion of mos t Arizona placers . Early bu lletins are virtual ly iden tical wi ththe six th ed i t ion . Bulletins describe detai ls Of mining activi ty during the 1 932—3 3mining season , when mos t Of the d is tri cts described were visi ted . Production da tain tex t have been revised for each reissue of the bu lle tin up to the Six th ed i tion .

— 1 962, A r$sum$ of the geology of Arizona : Arizona Bur . Mines Bu ll . 1 7 1 , 140 p.

Summarizes age Of bedrock and Of lode deposi ts ; history of min ing .

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 0 1

Wi lson,E . D Cunningham , J . B . , and Bu tler, C . M ., 1 934, Arizona lode gold m ines

and gold min ing : Arizona Bur. Mines Bill] . 1 3 7 , 26 1 p .

Wi lson,E . D O

’

Haire , R . T and McCrory, F . J. , 1 961 , Map and index of Arizonamin ing dis tri cts : Arizona Bur . Mines , scale

Wood,H . R . , 1 929 , His tory of min ing in Yavapai County , Arizona : Mining Jour .

[Phoenix , v . 1 3 , no . 8 , p . 9 , 3 5—36 .

GEOLOGIC MAP REFERENCES

[References keyed by number to dis tri cts given in tex t]Anderson , C. A and Blacet, P . M ., 1 972a , Geologi c map of the Mayer quadrangle ,Yavapai County , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Geol . Quad. Map GQ—996 , scale

NOS . 5 7—5 9 .

— 1 972b , Geologic map Of the Moun t Un ion quadrangle , Yavapai County , ArizonaU .S . Geol . Survey Geol . Quad . Map GQ—997 , scaleNOS . 5 5—5 8 .

Anderson , C . A . , Scholz , E . A and Strobell , J . D Jr . , 1 95 5 , Geology and ore deposi tsof the Bagdad area , Yavapai Coun ty , Ari zona : U .S . Geol . Survey Prof. Paper 278 ,p l . 3 .

NO . 65 .

Arizona Bureau of Mines , 1 95 8 , Geologic map of Yavapai County , Arizona : Tucson ,Ariz . , Bur . Mines , scaleNOS . 56 , 5 9

—63 , 65 .

Cooper , J . R . , 1 960 , Reconnaissance map of the Wi lcox , Fisher Hi lls , Cochise, andDos Cabezas quadrangles , Cochise and Graham Counties , Arizona : U .S . Geol .Survey Mineral Inv . Field Studies Map ME—23 1 , scaleNO . 1 .

Creasey, S . C . , 1 967 , General geology of the Mammo th quadrangle , P inal County ,Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bul l . 1 21 8 , 94 p . , pl . 1 .

NO . 46 .

Drewes , Harald , 1 97 1 a , Geologi c map of the Moun t Wrigh tson quadrangle , San taCruz and P ima Coun ties , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Misc. Geol . Inv . Map I—6 14,scaleNOS . 36 , 54.

— 1 97 1 b , Geologi c map of the Sahuari ta quadrangle,Pima County

,Arizona : U .S .

Geol . Survey Misc . Geol . Inv . Map I- 6 1 3 , scaleNO . 36 .

Gi l lu ly , James, 1 946 , The Ajo mining district , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Prof. Paper209 , 1 1 2 p . , p ls. 3 , 20 , 21 .

NO . 42.

— 1 956 , General geology of cen tral Cochise County,Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey

Prof. Paper 28 1 , 1 69 , p . , pl . 5 .

NO . 2.

Hayes , P . T . , and Landis , E . R . , 1 964, Geologic map Of the sou thern part of theMu le Mountains , Cochise County , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Misc . Geol . Inv .

Map I—41 8 , scaleNO . 3 .

Hayes , P . T . , and Raup , R . B 1 968 , Geologic map of the Huachuca and Mus tangMountains , sou theastern Arizona : U .S . Geo l . Survey Misc . Geol . Inv . Map 1—5 09 ,

sca leNO . 4.

1 02 PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OFARIZONA

Heindl , L. A and McCullough , R . A 1 96 1 , Geology and the avai lab i l i ty of wa ter inthe lower Boni ta Creek area , Graham County, Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Wa terSupply Paper 1 5 89 , 56 p . , p l . 1 .

NO . 1 5 .

Hil l , J . M 1 9 1 0 , No tes on the p lacer deposi ts Of Grea tervi l le , Arizona : U .S . Geo l .Survey Bu ll . 43 0 , p . 1 1—22 and sketch map Of placer deposi ts .NO . 36 .

Jones , E . L . , Jr . , 1 9 1 5 , Gold deposi ts near Quartzsi te , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bul l .620 , pl . 4.

NO . 77 .

— 1 9 1 6 , A reconnaissance in the Kofa Mountains , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bu l l .620 . pl . 5 .

NO . 74.

Krieger, M . H . , 1 965 , Geology of the Presco t t and Paulden quadrangles , ArizonaU .S . Geol . Survey Prof. Paper 427 , 1 27, p ., pls . 1 , 2.

Nos . 5 5 , 64

— 1 967 , Reconnaissance geologi c map Of the Iron Springs quadrangle , YavapaiCounty, Arizona : U .S . Geo l . Survey Misc. Geol . Inv . Map 1—5 04.

No . 63 .

Lausen , Car] , 1 93 1 , Geology and ore deposi ts Of the Oa tman and Ka therine di stri cts ,Arizona : Arizona Bur . Mines Bu l l . 1 3 1 , pl . 1 .

NO . 28 .

Lausen , Carl , and Wi lson , E . D 1 925 , Gold and copper deposi ts near Payson , Arizona : Arizona Bur . Mines Bull . 1 20 , pl . 1 .

No . 8 .

Lindgren , Waldemar , 1 905a , The copper deposi ts of the Cl i fton -Morenci di s trict ,Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 43 , pl . 1 .

NOS . 1 3 , 14.

- 1 926 , Ore deposi ts Of the Jerome and Bradshaw Mountains quadrangles , ArizonaUS . Geol . Su rvey Bul l . 782, pl . 2.

NO . 60 .

Longwell , C . R . , 1 936 , Geology O f the Boulder Reservoir floor, Arizona -Nevada : Geol .Soc. Ameri ca Bu l l . , v . 47 , p . 1 393—1476 , pls . 2—4.

No . 3 0 .

—1 963 , Reconnaissance geology between Lake Mead and Davis Dam , ArizonaNevada : U .S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 3 74—E , pl . 1 .

NO . 30 .

Mil ler , F . K. , 1 970 , Geologic map Of the Quartzsi te quadrangle , Yuma County , Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Geol . Quad . Map GQ—841 , scaleNo . 79 .

Peterson , D . W . , 1 960 , Geologic map Of the Haun ted Canyon quadrangle : U .S . Geol .Survey Geol . Quad . Map GQ— 1 28 , scaleNO . 9 .

Pe terson , N , P 1 962, Geology and ore deposi ts Of the Globe-Miami d istrict ,Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Prof . Paper 342, 1 5 1 p . , pl . 1 . (Lost Gulch , GoldGu lch , Pinto Creek , and Pinal Creek)No . 9 .

Pe terson , N . P Gi lbert , C . M . ,and Quick , G . L . , 195 1 , Geology and ore deposi ts of

the Cas tle Dome area,Gi la Coun ty

,Arizona : U .S . Geol . Survey Bul l . 97 1 , 1 34 p

pl . 1 . (Gold Gu lch .)No . 9 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join