Safford Deposit

The Safford Deposit is a molybdenum and copper mine located in Graham county, Arizona.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

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Site Name

Primary: Safford Deposit
Secondary: Kennecott Safford
Secondary: Lone Star Mine

Commodity

Primary: Molybdenum
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Gold

Location

State: Arizona
County: Graham
District: Lone Star District

Land Status

Land ownership: Private
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Kennecott

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Porphyry Cu
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Discovery Year: 1899
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Mexican Highland

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Porphyry Cu

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: L
Description: Lone Star Shear Zone 6000 Ft Wide And 16,000 Ft Long, Strikes N50- 65e, Steep To Vertical Dip

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: 4 Hypogene Alteration Zones 1) Seritization & Silicification In Rhyolite, Latite, Quartz Latite, 2) Biotization In Andesite, 3) Chloritization, 4) Propylitic Alteration. Ore Body Is In Zones 1) & 2). Supergene Enrichment Has Taken Place To Average Depth Of 440 Ft

Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Eocene

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Eocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: CPY:PY=2:1 IN PRIMARY ORE ZONE, PYRITE IS 0.2-1.0% OF ORE BODY BY VOLUME

Materials

Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Antlerite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Brochantite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Gold
Ore: Turquoise
Ore: Chalcanthite
Ore: Tenorite
Gangue: Jarosite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Alunite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Goethite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Limonite

Comments

Comment (Workings): Development Shaft Sunk In 1961 To A Depth Of 804 Ft, With 1500 Ft Of Crosscutting, 1500 Of Drifting. Surface And Underground Drilling.

Comment (Development): Area Mined Includes The Old Borton Mine.

Comment (Identification): ****SEE Associated Deposits: Dos Pobres Mine- Deposit ID 10096999 Lone Star- Deposit ID 10209543 San Juan Mine- Deposit ID 10027008 Sanchez Copper Deposit- Deposit ID 10026888 Safford Mine- Deposit ID 10400314

References

Reference (Deposit): Robinson, R.F. & A. Cook (1966), The Safford copper deposit, Lone Star mining district, Graham County, Arizona, in S.R. Titley and C.L. Hicks (editors), Geology of the porphyry copper deposits, southwestern North America, University of Arizona Press, Tucson: 251-266.

Reference (Geology): Langton J M, Williams S A 1982 - Structural, petrological and mineralogical controls for the Dos Pobres orebody, Lone Star Mining District, Graham County, Arizona: in Titley S R 1983 Advances in Geology of the Porphyry Copper Deposits, Southwestern North America University of Arizona Press, Tucson pp 335-352

Reference (Deposit): Yarter, W.V. (1981) Geology, geochemistry, alteration, and mass transfer in the Sol prospect, a sub-economic porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit, Safford district, Graham County, Arizona: Tucson, University of Arizona, M.S. thesis, 136 p.

Reference (Deposit): Horsnail, R.F. (1978) Safford district, Graham County, Arizona, in Lovering, R.G., and McCarthy, J.H., Jr., eds., Conceptual models in exploration geochemistry; the Basin and Range Province of the western United States and northern Mexico: Journal of Geochemical Exploration: 9(2-3): 151-153, 241-243.

Reference (Geology): The Porter GeoConsultancy webpage for Dos Pobres, Safford contains a description of the geology as of 8/4/2010. http://www.portergeo.com.au/
URL: http://www.portergeo.com.au

Reference (Deposit): Dunn, P.G. (1978) Geologic structure of the Safford district, Arizona, in Jenney, J.P., and Hauck, H.R., eds., Proceedings of the Porphyry Copper Symposium, Tucson, Arizona, March 18-20, 1976: Arizona Geological Society Digest: 11: 9-15.

Reference (Geology): Mindat.org contains a description of the Safford deposit as of 8/4/2010. http://www.mindat.org/loc-53634.html
URL: http://www.mindat.org/loc-53634.html

Reference (Reserve-Resource): World Mining, 1974, P. 139.

Reference (Other Database): Cimri

Reference (Deposit): World Mining, V. 29, No. 4, P. 139.

Reference (Deposit): Valentine, 19??, M.S. Thesis, Univ Of Utah.

Reference (Deposit): Laine, 1974, M.S. Thesis, Univ Of Az.

Reference (Deposit): Bolin, 1976, M.S. Thesi S, Univ Of Az.

Reference (Deposit): Dewhurst, 1976, M.S. Thesis, Univ Of Az.

Reference (Deposit): Admr Sr No 2, P. 83-87.

Reference (Deposit): Abm Bull 180, P. 230-238.

Reference (Deposit): USGS Pp 424-C, P. 151-153.

Reference (Deposit): Cook And Robinson, 1962, N. Mex. Geol. Soc. 13th Field Conf. Guidebook.

Arizona Gold

"Where to Find Gold in Arizona" looks at the density of modern placer mining claims along with historical gold mining locations and mining district descriptions to determine areas of high gold discovery potential in Arizona. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Arizona.