Billy Mack Mine group (Ruby Mine; Billy Mack Mine), Billy Mack Mountain, Cienega Mining District, Buckskin Mountains, La Paz County, Arizona, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
34° 11' 21'' North , 114° 11' 23'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cienega Springs | 1,798 (2011) | 3.2km |
| Parker Strip | 662 (2011) | 3.5km |
| Bluewater | 725 (2011) | 7.3km |
| Bluewater | 172 (2011) | 7.7km |
| Parker | 3,046 (2017) | 10.1km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society | Lake Havasu City, Arizona | 35km |
Mindat Locality ID:
33413
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:33413:1
GUID (UUID V4):
8749e6bc-2277-45b3-bb08-18671074710b
‡Ref.: Bancroft, H. (1911), Reconnaissance of the ore deposits in northern Yuma County, Arizona, USGS Bull. 451: 74.
Wilson, E.D., Cunningham, J.B., and Butler, G.M. (1934), Arizona Lode Gold Mines and Gold Mining (revised 1967), Arizona Bureau of Mines Bull. 137: 126.
Zambrano, Elias (1965) Geology of the Cienega mining district, northwest Yuma County, Arizona: Rolla, University of Missouri, M.S. thesis, 64 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000.
Keith, Stanton B. (1978) State of Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology, Geological Survey Branch Bull. 192, Index of Mining Properties in Yuma County, Arizona: 123 (Table 4).
Niemuth, N.J. & K.A. Phillips (1992), Copper Oxide Resources, Arizona Department of Mines & Mineral Resources Open File Report 92-10: 8 (Table 1).
U.S. Bureau of Mines - Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology production file data.
Arizona Bureau of Mines file data.
MRDS database Dep. ID file #10027865, MRDS ID #M004246; and, Dep. ID #10235075, MAS ID #0040120062.
A small former underground Cu-Au-Ag mine located in South-central (center of S½S½) sec. 24, T10N, R19W (Black Peak 15 minute topo map), 8 miles by road NE of Parker, at the base of Billy Mack Mountain, on BLM-administered land. Operated 1870 to 1960. Owned/operated at times, or in part, by Mack, Ruby Gold & Copper Co., Billy Mack Mining Co., Illinois Arizona Copper Co., Mr. Butler, Mr. George Kin, Mr. Frank Allen (1949), Mr. G.D. Paxton (Paxson ?) (1950), Mr. Olan Harris, Mr. William Ray (1955), Mr. Ted Venhoff (1957), Mr. Mills, Mr. Henry Sloan, and Mr. Stephan.
Mineralization is a vein deposit with scattered bunches, discontinuous pockets, and irregular replacements of specular and spongy hematite and limonite containing small pockets and masses of malachite and chrysocolla, and threads and disseminations of free gold in porous quartz. The ore zone strikes NE-SW and dips 45NW. Mineralization controlled by fracture intersections in metamorphosed Paleozoic limestone along a steeply dipping thrust fault zone bringing Precambrian metamorphics over the sediments. Local quartz monzonite and diabase dikes are present. The deposit occupies the contact plane between the underlying limestone and the micaceous chlorite schist.
The whole series has been subjected to pressure, and, as the schistosity developed far more easily in the basic rocks than in the limestones, the basic rocks exhibit contortion, while the limestones are only crushed and brecciated in places.
The association of minerals found in this deposit is characteristic of copper deposits connected in origin with basic flows. Possibly the deposit was formed by concentration of the original metallic contents in the basic rock during the metamorphism of the origin.
Workings include extensive shafts and tunnel openings to a depth of 50.29 meters. This mine was worked sporadically from the early 1900's, then mainly from 1909 to 1919 and 1943 to 1960. A total of some 3,000 tons of ore averaging about 4.5% Cu, 0.6 oz. Au/T, and 0.2 oz. Ag/T. were produced.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Chrysocolla Formula: Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 Description: As small pockets and masses. |
| ⓘ Gold Formula: Au Description: As threads & disseminations in porous quartz. |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 Description: Spongy with limonite. |
| ⓘ Hematite var. Specularite Formula: Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ 'Limonite' |
| ⓘ Malachite Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 Description: As small pockets and masses. |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | var. Specularite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Malachite | 5.BA.10 | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Chrysocolla | 9.ED.20 | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Limonite' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| H | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Hematite var. Specularite | Fe2O3 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite var. Specularite | Fe2O3 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Cu | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10027865 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mojave DomainDomain
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