Copper Basin

The Copper Basin is a copper mine located in Yavapai 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

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: Copper Basin
Secondary: Western Copper
Secondary: Copper Hill
Secondary: Loma Prieta
Secondary: Commercial

Commodity

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

Location

State: Arizona
County: Yavapai
District: Copper Basin 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

Type: Patented
Type: Fee Ownership
Type: Federal Lease

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: SUMITOMO CORP
Percent: 3.00
Home Office: Harumi Island Triton Square 1-8-11, Harumi Tokyo 104-8610 Japan
Info Year: 1999

Owner Name: SUMITOMO METAL MINING CO
Percent: 12.00
Home Office: 11-3 5-chome Shimbashi, Minato-ku Tokyo 105-8716 Japan
Info Year: 1999
Years: 1998 -

Owner Name: PHELPS DODGE CORP (FREEPORT-MCMORAN COPPER)
Percent: 85.00
Home Office: 1 North Central Avenue Phoenix AZ 85004 United States
Info Year: 1999
Years: 1988 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Porphyry Cu
Operation Type: Surface
Mining Method: Open Pit
Year First Production: 1911
Year Last Production: 1961
Discovery Year: 1890
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Porphyry Cu

Orebody

Form: Pipe, Cylindrical or elliptical, Vertical

Structure

Type: L
Description: Breccia Around Older Quartz Latite Porphyry, N10-20e Regional Fault

Type: R
Structure: Foliation of Precambrian rocks

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Phyllic Core, Potassic, Propylitic, Silicic, Oxidation

Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Jarosite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Tenorite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Limonite
Ore: Azurite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Ferrimolybdite
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Copper

Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 1989 RESERVE GIVEN IN PAY DIRT MAG (SW EDITION), APR 1989, P. 6A AS 159 MILLION MT @ 0.55% CU AND 0.020% MO.

Comment (Production): Processing method: Solvent-Extraction Electrowinning

Comment (Identification): Data merged from: Copper Basin, Deposit ID 10259519 Loma Preita Mine, Deposit ID 10027661 Commercial Mine, Deposit ID 10048060 Copper Hill Mine, Deposit ID 10109059

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT EVALUATED WITH A.A. MATHEWS HANDBOOK PROPERTY VISITED BY R.C. SMITH & M. DALEY ON 3/14/78 ORIGINAL DEPOSIT REPORT BY R. CRAIG SMITH, SEPT. 1978 UPDATED BY R. B. DAVIS, AUG. 26, 1983 THE DEPOSIT IS LOCATED IN SECTIONS 20 AND 21, T 13 N R 3 W, GILA AND SALT RIVER P.M. GOLD,SILVER, LEAD, AND ZINC OCCUR WITHIN THE DEPOSIT BUT HAVE UNKNOWN GRADES. PROPERTY ALSO IN USGS MRDS UNDER NO. W016056.

Comment (Deposit): MINERALIZATION IS PRIMARILY CONFINED TO BRECCIA PIPES FORMED WITHIN A QUARTZ MONZONITE PORPHYRY STOCK THAT INTRUDED OLDER METAMORPHOSED SEDIMENTS AND INTRUSIVES.

Comment (Deposit): THIS REPORT WAS TAKEN FROM RECORD W016056 OF JAN WILT IN MOLYBDENU M FILE, CONTACT PERSON T.G. THEODORE, USGS. THIS RECORD CONTAINS DATA FROM DUPLICATE RECORD D000348 OF ROBERT KING, WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MRDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1992)

Comment (Production): SMALL SPORADIC SHIPMENTS OF LARGELY COPPER FLUX WERE MADE UNTIL 1961.

Comment (Development): ECON.COM: DEVELOPEMENT HINGES ON ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND ABILITY TO SECURE ADDITIONAL LAND FOR DUMPS, ETC.

Comment (Geology): SULFIDE ZONING CORRELATES TO PATTERN OF ALTERATION ZONING-HIGHEST GRADE OF COPPER IS IN POTASSIC ZONE.

References

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Jolly, J.L.W. and Edelstein, D.L., 1983, Copper; in Minerals Yearbook 1983, Volume 2, United States Bureau Of Mines, p. 277-319.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Phelps Dodge Corp., 1994 10-K, P.14.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Phelps Dodge Corp. 1995 Annual Report, P.23.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Phelps Dodge Corp., Sec Form 10-K Rept, 12/31/93, P. 14.

Reference (Deposit): Sw Pay Dirt, 12-90, P.7a.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Pay Dirt Mag. (Southwestern Ed.). Apr 1989, P. 7a.

Reference (Deposit): Sw Pay Dirt, 8-87, P.16a.

Reference (Deposit): 1974 Phelps Dodge Annual Report

Reference (Deposit): Copper Basin Land Exchange Environ. Statement-Prescott N.F.

Reference (Deposit): Dept. Of Min. Resources, State Of Az., Table Xxii, Proven Copper Reserves In Arizona, 1978.

Reference (Deposit): Securities And Exchange Commission, Form 10-K, 1982, Phelps Dodge Corp., P.4.

Reference (Other Database): Cimri

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Sawyer And Others, 1992.

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 Stats Bureau Of Mines Special Publication, 334 P.

Reference (Deposit): Tovote, W., 1917, Loma Prieta Mines: Unpublished Report.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, C.A., 1943, Report On A Brief Examination Of The Molybdenite Prospects At Copper Basin, Yavapai County, Arizona: Unpublished Report.

Reference (Deposit): Johnston And Lowell, 1961, Geology And Origin Of Mineralized Breccia Pipes In Copper Basin, Arizona: Econ Geol, V. 56, P. 916-940.

Reference (Deposit): Christman, 1978, M.S. Thesis, Univ Of Az.

Reference (Deposit): Johnston, 1955, Ph.D Thesis, Univ Of Utah.

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.