Cunningham Hill Mine

The Cunningham Hill Mine is a gold mine located in Santa Fe county, New Mexico at an elevation of 7,149 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: Cunningham Hill Mine
Secondary: Mine: Cunningham Hill Deposit
Secondary: Ortiz Open-Pit Mine
Secondary: South Tunnel
Secondary: Delores Tunnel
Secondary: Upper and Lower Wagon Tunnel
Secondary: Shafts 1-5

Commodity

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

Location

State: New Mexico
County: Santa Fe
District: Old Placers 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

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Potter And Sims
Home Office: Albuquerque, Nm
Years: 1950 -

Owner Name: Gold Fields Mining Corp.
Home Office: P.O. Box 97, Cerrillos, Nm
Years: 1981 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1828
Year Last Production: 1945
Discovery Year: 1828
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: IRREGULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Ortiz Basin Stock; Tijeras Fault System

Type: L
Description: An Irregular Breccia Pipe; Ortiz Basin Stock

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: The Original Feldspars In The Quartzite Clasts And The Common Porphyry Clasts Are Intensely Altered To Clay-Sericite-Carbonate Minerals. The Metashales Consist Of Microscopic Sericite Embedded In A Finely Divided Matrix Of Quartz And Feldspar.

Rocks

Name: Quartzite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Quartzite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Quartzite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Silver
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Jarosite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: ABOUT 1828 (OFFICIALY)

Comment (Deposit): THE ORE IS FOUND IN AN IRREGULAR BRECCIA PIPE. THE BRECCIA PIPE IS COMPOSED OF APPROXIMATELY 90 PERCENT MESAVERDEQUARTZITE AND ARGILLITE CLASTS AND 10 PERCENT LATITE PORPHYRY FRAGMENTS. CONTACTS OF THE BRECCIA WITH THE MESAVERDE SEDIMENTS ARE COMMONLY VERY SHARP. THE ORE ZONE IS ZONED VERTICALLY.

Comment (Workings): WORKINGS CONSIST OF 5 SHAFTS TOTALLING 340 FEET; 4 TUNNELS TOTALLING 1135 FEET; 5 TRENCHES (BURNS) OF A COMBINED LENGTH OF 1930 FEET AND NUMEROUS OPEN CUTS. SHAFTS NOS. 1 AND 2 ARE ABOUT 100 FEET DEEP, AND SHAFT NO. 4 IS 30 FEET DEEP AND HAS A 67-FOOT TUNNEL ATTACHED.

Comment (Deposit): THE ORTIZ OPEN-PIT MINE IS NOW BEING WORKED ON TOP OF THE OLD CUNNINGHAM MINE WORKINGS. SEE MRDS RECORD NO. D007829 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

Comment (Location): GEODETIC, CADASTRAL AND UTM LOCATIONS WERE TAKEN FROM MRDS RECORD NO. D007829. THE ORTIZ OPEN-PIT MINE IS LOCATED ON TOP OF THE OLD CUNNINGHAM HILL UNDERGROUND MINE.

References

Reference (Deposit): JONES, F.A., 1904, NEW MEXICO MINES AND MINERALS, THE NEW MEXICAN PRINTING CO., P. 21-28

Reference (Deposit): LINDGREN, W., L.C. GRATON AND C.H. GORDON, 1910, USGS PP 68, P. 167-170.

Reference (Deposit): CRANE, G.W., 1937, "REPORT ON CUNNINGHAM MINE, ORTIZ MINE GRANT, SANTA FE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO", PRIVATE REPT TO THEORTIZ GRANT MINES CORP., ALBUQUERQUE, NM, MAY 31, 1937.

Reference (Deposit): DALE, V.B AND W.A. MCKINNEY, 1959, USBM RI-5517

Reference (Deposit): ELSTON, W.E., 1967, NBMMR BULL 81, P. 43-49

Reference (Deposit): NICHOLSON, M.E., 1979, NMGS GUIDEBOOK, 30TH FIELD CONFERENCE, P. 27-28

Reference (Deposit): WRIGHT, A., 1983, NBMG REPT. 36, P. 42-51

Reference (Deposit): NMBMMR GENERAL FILE DATA

Reference (Deposit): USGS MRDS FILE, 1984

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.