Las Animas Placers

The Las Animas Placers is a gold mine located in Sierra county, New Mexico at an elevation of 5,200 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

Name: Las Animas Placers  

State:  New Mexico

County:  Sierra

Elevation: 5,200 Feet (1,585 Meters)

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 32.95139, -107.50139

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.


Satelite image of the Las Animas Placers

Las Animas Placers MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Las Animas Placers
Secondary: Luxemburg Placers: Occurrences
Secondary: Grayback Gulch
Secondary: Hunkidori Gulch
Secondary: Greenhorn Gulch
Secondary: Slapjack Hill
Secondary: Jones Hill
Secondary: Gold Dust Placers: Occurrences
Secondary: Gold Run Gulch
Secondary: Little Gold Run Gulch: Other Occurrences
Secondary: Dutch Gulch
Secondary: Wicks Gulch
Secondary: Rattlesnake Gulch
Secondary: Bonanza Gulch


Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Osmium
Tertiary: Iridium
Tertiary: Platinum


Location

State: New Mexico
County: Sierra
District: Hillsboro 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: Surface/Underground


Ownership

Owner Name: Pague, William R.
Years: 1975 -

Owner Name: El Oro Mining Ltd And Quintana Minerals Corp.
Years: 1975 -


Production

Not available


Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Stream Placer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1877
Year Last Production: 1975
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: M


Physiography

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


Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE


Orebody

Form: STREAM SEDIMENT DEPOSITS


Structure

Type: R
Description: Fault With About 2,000 Ft Displacement

Type: L
Description: Quartz Monzonite Porphyry And Mineralized Veins Occur 2 Mi East And Upstream From Placer Sites. A Caliche Layer Separates Gold-Bearing Gravels From Barren Gravels.


Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation Of Auriferous Pyrite To Pseudomorphs Of Limonite Which Retain Gold Gives The Black Sand Concentrates A Commercial Value For Smelter Treatment.


Rocks

Name: Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Pleistocene

Name: Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pleistocene

Name: Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene


Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AU FINENESS 900, 927


Materials

Ore: Iridosmine
Ore: Silver
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Pyrite


Comments

Not available


References

Reference (Production): HARLEY, 1934, P. 141

Reference (Deposit): LINDGREN, WALDEMAR, GRATON, L.C., AND GORDON, C.H., 1910, THE ORE DEPOSITS OF NEW MEXICO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 68, P. 272-276.

Reference (Deposit): HARLEY, G.T., 1934, THE GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF SIERRA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO: NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES BULLETIN 10, P. 166-169.

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, M.G., 1972, PLACER GOLD DEPOSITS OF NEW MEXICO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1348, P. 25-26.

Reference (Deposit): JONES, F.A., 1904, NEW MEXICO MINES AND MINERALS (WORLD'S FAIR ED.): SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO PRINTING CO., P. 349.

Reference (Deposit): NORTHROP, S.A., 1959, MINERALS OF NEW MEXICO, REVISED EDITION: ALBUQUERQUE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS, P. 300.


The Top Ten Gold Producing States

The Top Ten Gold Producing States

These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.