Location
On the west side of the San Francisco River near Clifton in the vicinity of the copper-mining area surrounding Morenci, Tps. 4 and 5 S., Rs. 28 and 29 E.
Topographic Map
Clifton 15-minute quadrangle.
Geologic Maps
Lindgren, 1905a, Geologic map and sections of the Clifton-Morenci district (pi. 1), scale 1:62,500 (see also Lindgren, 1905b).
Wilson and Moore, 1958, Geologic map of Graham and Greenlee Counties, scale 1:375,000.
Access
U.S. Highway 666 parallels Chase Creek, west of Clifton, and light-duty roads branching off the main highway lead to Gold Gulch, Chase Creek, and Morenci Gulch placers.
Extent
Small placers were mined in gulches draining the hills surrounding the copper mining area of Morenci. The placers occur in Gold Gulch, Chase Creek, and Morenci Gulch.
Gold Gulch was a noted placer area during the 1870's. The gulch flows about 3 miles to the southwest from the southwest side of the Morenci open pit to Eagle Creek (T. 4 S., Rs. 28 and 29 E.) . Gold Gulch is narrow, and the gold is concentrated in a number of bars along the lower course of the creek (sec. 19, T. 4 S., R. 29 E.; sec. 25, T. 4 S. R. 28 E.).
Chase Gulch flows southeast between Copper King Mountain and Morenci to Clifton. Placer mining was concentrated between the Old Rock House and the town of Clifton (sees. 23-25, T. 4 S., R. 29 E.). The gold was recovered from tributary gulches and from elevated gravels resting on Gila Conglomerate above the present level of Chase Creek.
Fine flakes of gold were recovered from Morenci Gulch, a southeast-flowing tributary of the San Francisco River. Part of Morenci Gulch is now covered by the Morenci Tailing Pond; the undisturbed part of the gulch is in sec. 12, T. 5 S., R. 29 E.
Production History
It is difficult to isolate the recorded production from the different creeks in the Clifton-Morenci district from production statistics that include the production for all the placers in Graham and Greenlee Counties. Discovery of placer deposits in the Clifton-Morenci district in 1870 by ranchers from Silver City, N. Mex., stimulated mining interest in the area and copper mining began soon afterward.
Frederick Remington, a famous western artist, lived and placered for a year or so at Gold Gulch; Remington is said to have uncovered $6,000 in placer gold in 3 weeks by removing boulders and rocks that covered a depression in which the rich gravel had settled.
During the 20th century placer mining has been done on a small scale in Gold Gulch and Chase Creek; the daily earnings per man working the Chase Creek placers in 1933 was frequently less than 50 cents.
Source
The placer gold was derived from oxidized gold-bearing veins associated with the intrusive porphyry and commonly found along or near the porphyry-sediment contact. In Gold Gulch, these veins are narrow and irregular and occur mostly along both sides of Pinkard Gulch and the lower part of Gold Gulch; they were prospected on a small scale during the late 1800's and produced some gold from isolated pockets.
On the ridge between Chase Creek and Morenci Canyon, goldbearing fissure veins occur associated with a porphyry sill between quartzite and limestone; at the Hormeyer mine (sec. 22, T. 4 S., R. 29 E.) the vein contained a little copper, much lead carbonate, and native gold.
Literature
Allen, 1922: Quotes Lingren (1905a).
Dinsmore, 1911b: Early history of placer mining in Gold Gulch.
Lindgren, 1905a: Notes presence and location of placers; describes gold veins that are probable source of placer gold.
1905b: Describes gold veins in Gold Gulch; brief history of placer mining.
Mining Reporter, 1906: Notes past placer mining in many gulches; describes development in lode-gold mining.
Moolick and Durek, 1966: Placer discovery.
Tovote, 1910: Source of placer gold.
Wilson, 1961: Virtually repeats Lindgren (1905a, b). Placer-mining operations in the early 1930's.
