New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Pedro de Abalos established the first mining claim in the Fra Cristabal Mountains on March 26, 1685; although mining by the Indians and Spanish occurred before then. Since then, millions of mining claims have been located and numerous names given to the mining districts. Minerals have been and still are an important contribution to the economy of New Mexico. More than $30 billion worth of minerals have been produced from New Mexico since the early 1800s (Table 1).

A mining district is a group of mines or mineral deposits that occur in a geographically defined area and are defined by geologic criteria. There are >230 mining districts in New Mexico. Districts producing >$20 million worth of cumulative production of metals include: Mogollon, Bayard, Burro Mountains (Tyrone), Fierro-Hanover, Santa Rita (Chino), Pinos Altos, Lordsburg, Willow Creek (pecos), Chloride, and Magdalena (in actual cumulative dollars at time of production). Most of the uranium production has come from Ambrosia Lake ($4 billion), Laguna ($2 billion), Churchrock-Crownpoint ($400 million), and Smitll Lake ($300 million) (Grants uranium district).

These deposits are found in 20 types ranging in age from Proterozoic through Holocene (Table 2). Deposits that have produced significant Ag and/or Au as the primary product are placer, volcanic epithermal, Great Plains Margin, and carbonate-hosted Ag-Mn replacement deposits. Deposits that have produced significant base-and precious-metals production include carbonate-hosted Pb/Zn replacement, Laramide vein, Laramide skarn, porphyry-Cu, and Proterozoic massive-sulfide deposits. Other deposits with minor metals production include Cu-Ag (±U) vein, Rio Grande Rift, Mississippi Valley-Type, sedimentary-Cu, and vein and replacement deposits in Proterozoic rocks. Most of the uranium in New Mexico was mined from sandstone deposits, with minor production from limestone deposits.