Geology and mineral resources of the Nogal-Bonito mining district, Lincoln County, New Mexico
— Virginia T. McLemore, Fraser Goff, and William McInstosh

The alkaline igneous rocks in the Nogal-Bonito mining district were formed as multiple intrusions and dikes emplaced between 33 and 26 Ma. Four types of mineral deposits found in the Nogal-Bonito district include gold placers, Ag-Pb-Zn (±Au, Mo) and Ag-Au fissure veins, gold-bearing breccia pipes, and porphyry molybdenum-copper deposits. Although local high concentrations of gold do occur in some of the vein deposits, most appear to have low gold grades overall. However, companies will continue to re-examine the breccia pipe deposits in the Nogal-Bonito district as the price of gold rises, and the rare earth elements (REE) potential of the area is attractive. Undiscovered breccia pipe deposits that could potentially contain gold may be at depth beneath some of the vein deposits, but require drilling to locate them. Porphyry molybdenumcopper deposits in the Nogal-Bonito district are small and low grade and are not of economic interest at this time. Although REE or tellurium deposits have not been found in the Nogal-Bonito district, the alkaline rocks in the district are similar in composition to alkaline rocks that host known REE and tellurium deposits elsewhere in the world. Any additional exploration activities would be prudent to analyze for these elements as well as gold and other metals.