The Moss Mine is a gold mine located in Mohave county, Arizona at an elevation of 2,159 feet.
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
Elevation: 2,159 Feet (658 Meters)
Commodity: Gold
Lat, Long: 35.09972, -114.44667
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Mine Description
The Moss mine is about 7 miles northwest of Oatman and 2 miles north of Silver Creek.
This deposit was probably the first to be worked in the district. During the early days, it made a reported production of $240,000 from near the surface. Since that time, considerable intermittent development has been carried on, but little ore has been mined.
The vein strikes N. 78° W., dips 70° S., and occurs in the Moss quartz monzonite-porphyry. It forms a lode from 20 to more than 100 feet wide, with the widest portion at the western end, and is traceable on the surface for more than a mile east of the mine.
The vein filling consists of fine-grained white quartz and calcite, with stringers of colorless to pale-green fluorite. The largest ore shoot consisted of free gold in iron-stained quartz but extended to a depth of only 65 feet. Several smaller ore bodies were mined from near the surface at various places along the vein.
Workings on the Moss vein include a 230-foot shaft with about 750 feet of workings, about 900 feet of tunnel, and some irregular surface openings. Ransome states that the vein on the 220 level appears to be 90 feet wide and as a whole probably carries from 0.15 to 0.20 ounces of gold per ton.
Source: Arizona Lode Gold Mines and Gold Mining, Bulletin137, Arizona Bureau of Mines. Revised 1967
Moss Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Moss Mine
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Tertiary: Copper
Location
State: Arizona
County: Mohave
District: San Francisco District
Land Status
Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
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: Underground
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1864
Year Last Production: 1909
Discovery Year: 1864
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Mexican Highland
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Epithermal vein, Comstock
Orebody
Form: LODE
Structure
Type: R
Description: Nnw To Wnw Trending Vein And Fault System In Tert Volcanic Rocks
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation
Rocks
Name: Trachyte
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Name: Trachyte
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: VEIN AT 220-FOOT LEVEL, 90 FEET WIDE, CARRIES 0.15 TO 0.2 OZ. AU/TON.
Materials
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Marcasite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Wulfenite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Calcite
Comments
Comment (Deposit): ONE ORE SHOOT CONTAINED FREE GOLD AND WAS EXCEPTIONALLY RICH ORE. THIS SHOOT EXTENDED DOWN FROM THE SURFACE TO A DEPTH OF 65 FEET. OTHER SMALLER ORE BODIES WERE FOUND FROM NEAR THE SURFACE TO DEPTHS OF 220 FEET AT VARIOUS PLACES ALONG THE VEIN.
Comment (Commodity): DISTRICT ALSO HAS SMALL AMOUNT OF CHALCOPYRITE, CHALCOCITE, PYRITE, CHRYSOCOLLA, RED PB OXIDES, AND WULFENITE.
References
Reference (Deposit): SCHRADER, F.C., 1909, MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE CERBAT RANGE, BLACK MOUNTAINS, AND THE GRAND WASH CLIFFS, MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA: U.S.G.S. BULL. 397, P. 170.
Reference (Deposit): WILSON, E.D., 1934, ARIZONA LODE GOLD MINES AND GOLD MINING: ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 137, P. 94.
Reference (Deposit): LAUSEN, C., 1931, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE OATMAN AND KATHERINE DISTRICTS, ARIZONA: ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 131, P. 113.
Reference (Deposit): NIEMUTH, N.J., 1987, ARIZONA MINERAL DEVELOPMENT 1984-1986: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES DIRECTORY 29, 46 P.
Reference (Deposit): PHILLIPS, K.A., 1987, ARIZONA INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES MINERAL REPORT 4, 185 P.
Reference (Deposit): SAWYER, M.B., GURMENDI, A.C., DALEY, M.R., AND HOWELL, S.B., 1992, PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS IN ARIZONA: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES SPECIAL PUBLICATION, 334 P.
Reference (Other Database): CIMRI
Reference (Production): U.S.G.S. BULL. 397, P. 170.
Reference (Reserve-Resource): NIEMUTH, 1987.
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.
