Fourth of July Claims

The Fourth of July Claims is a fluorine-fluorite mine located in Greenlee county, Arizona at an elevation of 4,639 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

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.

Site Name

Primary: Fourth of July Claims
Secondary: Ellis Shaft
Secondary: Sydney Mine
Secondary: Billingsley Fluorspar Mines

Commodity

Primary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Secondary: Manganese
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Beryllium

Location

State: Arizona
County: Greenlee
District: Twin Peaks 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: Billingsley, Ben
Years: 1975 -

Owner Name: Producers Minerals Co.
Years: 1975 -

Production

Year: 1942
Material type: ORE F
Description: Ap_Grade: ^64% Caf2
Year: 1941
Time Period: 1937-1941
Material type: ORE F
Description: Cp_Grade: ^65% Caf2, 28% S102

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1917
Year Last Production: 1955
Discovery Year: 1937
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: LENSES

Form: LENSES

Structure

Type: R
Description: Well-Jointed Basalt In Northerly And Easterly Directions; Undulating Contact Between Upper Dark Red Basaltic Flow And Underlying Greenish Basaltic Flow

Type: L
Description: Fluorspar Occurs In Fissure Veins Interlaced With Network Of Iron-Stained Quartz Veinlets

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Ferromagnesian Minerals Alterred To Iron Oxide And Carbonate Of Dolomitic Composition; Devitrified And Hydrothermally Alterred Rhyolitic Tuff On Claim No. 2

Rocks

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

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Pliocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Bertrandite
Ore: Fluorite
Ore: Psilomelane
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Olivine

Comments

Comment (Location): GEODETIC AND UTM COORDINATES DESCRIBE FOURTH OF JULY MINE SHAFT IN SECTION 4; NORTHERNMOST OPEN CUT ON PROPERTY IS LOCATED IN SW QUARTER OF SECTION 33 ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1973)

Comment (Commodity): MANGANESE OXIDES ARE W-BEARING.

Comment (Production): SMALL AMOUNTS OF CU, AU, AND AG WERE PRODUCED IN THE 1930'S OR EARLIER; HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO PRODUCTION RECORDS.

Comment (Development): OPERATORS INCLUDED A. T. LAISNE, R.T. ELLIS MINING CO, PRODUCERS MINERALS CO, ARIZONA EASTERN FLUORSPAR CORPORATION; CLAIMS FIRST LOCATED IN EARLY 1900'S FOR PROSPECTING COPPER, SILVER, AND GOLD (SOME ORE PRODUCED IN 1917 AND 1918)

Comment (Deposit): ONLY SMALL SECTIONS OF TOTAL LENGTH OF VEIN SYSTEM ARE KNOWN TO CONTAIN FLUORSPAR (IE: ONE SECTION ALONG THE STRIKE IS 400 FT LONG); RIVERVIEW VEIN CARRIES CU, AU, AND AG (STRIKES DUE E-W AND DIP IS ALMOST VERTICAL).

Comment (Deposit): SEE ALSO: LUCKIE NO. 1 AN 2 CLAIMS (FLUORSPAR) LOCATED ADJACENT TO FOURTH OF JULY CLAIMS. THIS RECORD CONTAINS DATA FROM DUPLICATE RECORD D000770 OF JAMES E. ELLIOTT WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MRDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Deposit): 7 UNPATENTED CLAIMS.

Comment (Workings): DEVELOPMENT OCCURRED ON 2 VEINS ABOUT 25-30 FT APART NEAR THE CENTER OF CLAIM NO. 2; WORKINGS ON THE EAST VEIN CONSIST OF 2 LONG TRENCHES 60-70 FT LONG AND 60 FT DEEP, 1 PIT ABOUT 20 FT DEEP, GLORY HOLE ABOUT 20 FT IN DIAMETER THAT CONNECTS WITH UNDERGROUND WORKINGS; WEST VEIN WORKINGS CONSIST OF A SMALL PIT, LARGE GLORY HOLE ABOUT 15 FT DEEP, AND THE 150 FT DEEP INCLINED ELLIS SHAFT WITH 45 FT LONG CROSSCUTS TO THE EAST VEIN ON 3 LEVELS (STOPES OF 60 FT, 100 FT, AND 148 FT CONNECT CROSSCUT WITH SURFACE); 500 FT OF DRIFTS

Comment (Geology): SECONDARY COATINGS AND THIN STRINGERS OF PSILOMELANE ARE ASSOCAITED WITH FLUORSPAR VEINS; FLUORSPAR MINERALIZATION OCCURRED AFTER REGIONAL FAULTING; CALCITE IS COMMONLY CONCENTRATED NEAR THE HANGING WALL EDGE OF THE VEIN AS A RESULT OF LEACHING FROM THE VEIN.

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS STRATEGIC MINERALS INVESTIGATION PRELIMINARY REPORT 3-207.

Reference (Deposit): USBM FILES, FOURTH OF JULY MINE.

Reference (Deposit): ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES, P. 23-24.

Reference (Deposit): ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES, MINERAL AVAILABILITY SYSTEM, ARIZONA FLUORSPAR; FOURTH OF JULY MINE; 1976.

Reference (Deposit): ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES FILE DATA FOURTH OF JULY MINE (SYDNEY, BILLINGSLEY FLUORSPAR MINES AND MILL, ARIZONA EASTERN FLUORSPAR CORPORATION).

Reference (Deposit): ABGMT CLIPPINGS FILE, ARIZONA EASTERN FLUORSPAR CO.

Reference (Deposit): ARIZ BUR MINES BULL 180, P. 349-352.

Reference (Deposit): HEWITT, D.F., AND FLEISCHER, M., 1960, DEPOSITS OF MANGANESE OXIDES: ECON. GEOL., V. 55, P. 1-55.

Reference (Deposit): LEMMON, D.M., AND TWETO, O.L., 1962, TUNGSTEN IN THE U.S.: USGS MAP MR-25.

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: UNITED STATES BUREAU OF MINES SPECIAL PUBLICATION, 334 P.

Reference (Deposit): PHILLIPS, K.A., 1987, ARIZONA INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES MINERAL REPORT 4, 185 P.

Reference (Other Database): CIMRI

Reference (Production): U.S.G.S. STRATEGIC MINERALS INVESTIGATION PRELIMINARY REPORT 3-207.

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.