Sugarloaf Prospect

The Sugarloaf Prospect is a aluminum mine located in La Paz county, Arizona at an elevation of 1,401 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: Sugarloaf Prospect
Secondary: Sugar Loaf
Secondary: Sugarloaf Butte Alunite
Secondary: Sugarloaf Peak

Commodity

Primary: Aluminum
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Molybdenum
Secondary: Bismuth
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Tin

Location

State: Arizona
County: La Paz
District: La Cholla District

Land Status

Land ownership: Federal
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

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Ropp Brothers (?)

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1929
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: Sonoran Desert

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Quartz-Sericite-Pyrite Alteration. Silicification Of Schist

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: X-RAY & CHEM DATA INDICATE VEIN ALUNITE IS SODIC.

Materials

Ore: Alunite
Ore: Natroalunite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Hematite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): BRANCHING IRREGULAR VEINS. ALUNITE VEINS A FEW INCHES TO 1 FT WIDE CUT DACITE AND ALTERED SCHIST. SOME ARE NEARLY PURE ALUNITE, BUT MANY ARE CONTAMINATED WITH QUARTZ AND A FEW CONTAIN GYPSUM. THE PURER ALUNITE IS WHITE, MASSIVE, FINE-GRAINED AND PORCELAINLIKE. DEPOSIT IS HIGH IN NA - NATROALUNITE. DEPOSIT DIMENSIONS ARE FOR MINERALIZED AREA.

Comment (Workings): PROSPECT PITS & 200 FT TUNNEL

Comment (Geology): QUARTZITE OVERLIES SERICITE SCHIST WHICH OVERLIES DACITE.

Comment (Deposit): THIS REPORT REPRESENTS A MERGER OF ORIGINAL RECORD D002156 WITH RECORD M030331 OF JAN WILT IN MOLYBDENUM FILE, CONTACT PERSON T.G. THEODORE, USGS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Reserve-Resource): RESERVES IN VEINS ONLY; HOSTROCK ONLY SLIGHTLY ALUNIZED. NO RESOURCES OTHER THAN VEIN APPARENT. ONLY CONSIDERED TOTAL ROCK WITHIN 20 FT FROM SURFACE. PROBABLY ADDITIONAL ALUNITE AT GREATER DEPTHS BUT NO ESTIMATE MADE. ESTIMATE DOES NOT DISTINGUISH ALUNITE FROM NATROALUNITE BUT ANALYSIS INDICATES NATROALUNITE.

Comment (Development): SEVERAL ANOMALIES HAVE BEEN DRILLED IN RECENT PAST ; ECON.COM: KNOWN DEPOSIT IS TOO SMALL TO SERVE AS RAW MATERIAL FOR ALUMINUM INDUSTRY. VALUE OF DEPOSIT FOR OTHER USES IS DECREASED BY LOW GRADE AND HIGH NA CONTENT.

Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :1964

Comment (Commodity): PB, MO, BI, W, & SN GEOCHEMICAL ANOMALIES.

References

Reference (Deposit): JONES, 1915, USGS BULL 620-C, P. 45-57.

Reference (Deposit): ROSS, 1922, USGS PP 129, P. 183-197.

Reference (Deposit): CROWL, 1979, MS THESIS, UNIV OF AZ

Reference (Deposit): HALL, ROBERT B., UNPUBLISHED DATA.

Reference (Deposit): ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES FILES, 1990.

Reference (Deposit): KEITH, S.B., 1969, ALUNITE, IN ABM BULLETIN 180, USGS BULLETIN 871, P. 302-303.

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 (Reserve-Resource): THOENEN, 1941, P .11; KEITH, 1969.

Reference (Deposit): HEINEMAN, 1935, SUGARLOAF BUTTE ALUNITE: E & MJ, V. 136, P. 138-139.

Reference (Deposit): THOENEN, 1941, USBM RI 3561, P. 10-11.

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.