The Sheldon Mine is a copper mine located in Yavapai county, Arizona at an elevation of 6,699 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: 6,699 Feet (2,042 Meters)
Commodity: Copper
Lat, Long: 34.44861, -112.39611
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Mine Description
The Sheldon mine, about a mile southwest of Walker, is estimated to have produced about $200,000 prior to 1922. The vein, which is in the Southwestern portion of the granodiorite area, strikes N. 30O E., dips from 70° to 80° SE., and is traceable for more than half a mile on the surface. Prior to 1922, it had been opened by a 650-foot vertical shaft with several hundred feet of drifts on the 250, 450, and 650-foot levels, and oxidized ore had been stoped in places between the 200-foot level and the surface. In 1922, the mine made about 185 gallons of water per hour. A 200-ton concentration flotation plant Was built in 1924 and several thousand tons of copper-lead ore, carrying some gold and silver, was treated in 1925, 1926, 1929, and 1930. During this period, the shaft was deepened to 1,280 feet and several thousand feet of development Work was done.
The vein pinches and swells but averages 4 or 5 feet in thickness. Its principal ore shoot apparently pitches northward and is reported to be 16 feet Wide by 700 long on the 650-foot level. The vein minerals are milky-white, vuggy quartz and some calcite, with more or less pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, and tetrahedrite. Some supergene copper minerals are present in the oxidized zone. The quartzose ore is stated to contain an ounce or more of gold per ton, but the sericitic and pyritic granite is only about one-tenth as rich. The ore mined in 1923 was reported to average about 2.76 per cent of copper, 3.5 per cent of lead, $5 in gold, and 8.5 ounces of silver per ton. In 1931, the output amounted to about $18,000 in gold, 78,400 ounces of silver, 908,377 pounds of copper, and 86,693 pounds of lead, in all Worth about $170,000.
Text from Arizona Lode Gold Mines and Gold Mining, Arizona Bureau of Mines. Original 1934, revised 1967
Sheldon Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Sheldon Mine
Commodity
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Zinc
Location
State: Arizona
County: Yavapai
District: Walker District
Land Status
Land ownership: National Forest
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: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
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: PINCH/SWELL
Structure
Type: R
Description: Foliation In Precambrian Country Rocks Trends N10e To N45e
Type: L
Description: Veins Sometimes Parallel To Regional Foliation
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Minor
Rocks
Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: 1922 : 2.76 % CU, 3.5 % PB, 0.25 OZ. AU/TON, 8.5 OZ AG/TON
Materials
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Gangue: Quartz
Unknown: Pyrite
Comments
Not available
References
Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 782, P. 110
Reference (Other Database): CIMRI
Reference (Production): A.B.M. BULLETIN 140, P. 102.
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.
