Sandstone Mine

The Sandstone Mine is a uranium mine located in McKinley county, New Mexico at an elevation of 7,024 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: Sandstone Mine
Secondary: Mine: Section 34
Secondary: John Billy Shaft
Secondary: Patented Claims 1960: Sandstone Group
Secondary: Sandstone No. 6
Secondary: Sandstone Annex No. 3 and 4
Secondary: Unpatented Claims: 45 Claims-See Holmquist 1970,P.87

Commodity

Primary: Uranium
Tertiary: Vanadium
Tertiary: Selenium
Tertiary: Molybdenum
Tertiary: Iron

Location

State: New Mexico
County: McKinley
District: Grants Uranium District: Ambrosia Lake Subdistrict

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

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: United Nuclear Corp. Mining And Milling
Home Office: P.O. Drawer Qq, Gallup N.M. 87301
Years: 1982 -

Production

Year: 1970
Time Period: 1959 To 1970
Description: Cp_Grade: ^0.17 Percent U308

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Stratiform
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1959
Year Last Production: 1980
Discovery Year: 1956
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: M

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Colorado Plateaus
Physiographic Section: Datil Section

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Chaco Slope - Ambrosia Lake Dome

Type: L
Description: A Graben Occupies The West Half Of The Section

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Sandstone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Jurassic

Name: Sandstone
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Jurassic

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Montroseite
Ore: Coffinite
Ore: Jordisite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Kaolin
Unknown: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION TOTALLED 1,034,255 TONS OF ORE. NO PRODUCTION FIGURES ARE AVAILABLE FOR 1974-1980.

Comment (Location): LOCATION IS ACCURATE FOR THE SANDSTONE SHAFT MARKED ON THE 1957 AMBROSIA LAKE QUADRANGLE. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1979

Comment (Geology): THE DEPOSIT OCCURS IN THE WESTWATER CANYON MEMBER OF THE MORRISON FORMATION.

Comment (Deposit): ORE OCCURS IN FIVE TABULAR ZONES SEPERATED BY DISCONTINUOUS MUDSTONE UNITS. CARBONAECOUS MATERIAL IS ASSOCIATED WITH MINERALIZATION. A GRABEN IS LOCATED IN THE WEST HALF OF THE SECTION. THE MAJOR GRABEN FAULTS ARE PARALLEL NORMAL FAULTS STRIKING N 10 E AND DIPPING 60 TO 70 DEGREES EAST AND WEST. THE FAULTS ARE 500 FEET APART AT THE RECAPTURE-WESTWATER CONTACT AND HAVE DISPLACEMENTS OF 40 AND 55 FEET. THERE ARE SEVERAL SMALL FAULTS AND NUMEROUS FRACTURES THROUGHOUT THE MINE. THERE WERE ORIGINALLY 45 CLAIMS MADE TO LOCATE THIS PROPERTY (HOLMQUIST, P.87). IN 1960 18 CLAIMS WERE PUT UNDER PATENT. PATENT NO 1207214 COVERS MINERAL SURVEYS 2210, 2217, AND 2218 COVERING 323.75 ACRES.

Comment (Workings): WORKINGS CONSIST OF A 980-FT SHAFT, 12 FOOT IN DIAMETER AND CONCRETE-LINED, TWO VENTILATION SHAFTS AND A SECOND SHAFT 200-FT DEEP ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE PROPERTY.

References

Reference (Deposit): HARMON, C.F. AND P.S. TAYLOR, 1963, NMBMMR MEM 15, P.102-108

Reference (Deposit): HILPERT, L.S., 1969, USGS PP 603, P.39

Reference (Deposit): HOLMQUIST, R.J., 1970, USAEC RME-172, P.87-89

Reference (Deposit): FOSTER, J.F. AND R.J. QUINTANAR, 1980, NMBMMR MEM 38, P.240-243

Reference (Deposit): MCLEMORE, V.T., 1983, NMBMMR OFR-183, APPENDIX 1

Reference (Deposit): NMBMMR GENERAL FILE DATA

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.