Blake Mine

The Blake Mine is a copper mine located in San Miguel county, New Mexico at an elevation of 6,191 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: Blake Mine

Commodity

Primary: Copper

Location

State: New Mexico
County: San Miguel
District: Tecolote 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

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1900
Year Last Production: 1905
Discovery Year: 1900
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Interior Plains
Physiographic Province: Great Plains Province
Physiographic Section: Pecos Valley

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Starvation Peak Anticline, Bernal Fault, And The Serafina Monocline

Type: L
Description: Starvation Peak Anticline, Bernal Fault, And The Serafina Monocline

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: The Ore Has Undergone Marked Oxidation.

Rocks

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

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

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: THE ORE WAS REPORTED TO RANGE FROM 1.5 TO 5.0 PER CENT COPPER.

Materials

Ore: Malachite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Chalcocite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Orthoclase
Gangue: Microcline
Gangue: Dolomite
Gangue: Muscovite
Gangue: Plagioclase
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Geology): HARLEY (1940, P. 57-62) PLACES THE ORE IN THE PENNSYLVANIAN MAGDALENA FORMATION

Comment (Location): LOCATION IS ESTIMATED FROM SOULE'S (1956, P.37) MAP. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1979

Comment (Workings): WORKINGS CONSISTED OF A SHALLOW INCLINED SHAFT AND A SMALL OPEN PIT. A SMALL LEACHING PLANT WAS INSTALLED AND OPERATED A SHORT WHILE.

Comment (Production): A LEACH PLANT WAS INSTALLED AT THE BLAKE MINE AND BY 1905 HAD PRODUCED OVER 5,000 POUNDS OF 70-PERCENT CEMENT COPPER.

Comment (Development): THERE ARE NO REFERENCES TO OWNERS OR OPERATORS IN LITERATURE

Comment (Deposit): THE ORE OCCURS MAINLY AS MALACHITE AND AZURITE IN THE ARKOSE GRIT NEAR THE TOP OF THE CARBONIFEROUS, THE BEDS DIP 30 DEGREE EAST-NORTHEAST AND ARE ABOUT 8 FEET THICK AT THE MINE OPENINGS. THE ORE RANGES FROM 1.5 TO 5.0 PERCENT COPPER. ACCORDING TO LINDGREN (1910, P. 117-120) THE MALACHITE AND AZURITE ARE OXIDATION PRODUCTS OF CHALCOPYRITE CHALCOCITE, BORNITE AND PYRITE. THE AREA AROUND THE MINE WAS RE-MAPPED IN 1968 BY JOHNSON, WHO PLACES THE ARKOSIC GRIT OF THE CARBONIFEROUS IN THE SANGRE DE CRISTO FORMATION OF PERMIAN AGE.

References

Reference (Deposit): NMBMMR GENERAL FILE DATA

Reference (Production): LINDGREN, GRATON, AND GORDON, 1910, USGS PP 68, P. 117-120.

Reference (Deposit): LINDGREN, W., GRATON, L.C., AND GORDON, C.H., 1910 USGS PP 68, P. 117-120

Reference (Deposit): HARLEY, G.T., 1940, NMBMMR BULL 15, P. 57-62

Reference (Deposit): SOULE, J.H., 1956, USBM IC 7740, P. 36-39.

Reference (Deposit): JOHNSON, R.B., 1970, USGS MAP GQ-869

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