Dripping Springs Mines

The Dripping Springs Mines is a copper and gold mine located in Gila county, Arizona at an elevation of 3,301 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: Dripping Springs Mines
Secondary: Columbia
Secondary: Gold Queen
Secondary: Roundtop
Secondary: Gold Nugget

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Zinc

Location

State: Arizona
County: Gila
District: Dripping Springs District

Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
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: Amax Exploration, Inc.
Years: 1972 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1901
Year Last Production: 1953
Discovery Year: 1901
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

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: E-W Trending Faults Closely Spaced, And N-S Trending Faults. Major N-S Fault Separates Complexly Faulted Paleozoic Sediments To The West From Precambrain Diabase And Mescal Limestone To The East. Body Of Cret Rattler Granodiorite 1/2 Mile North Of Mine

Type: L
Description: E-W Trending Rhyolite Intrusions, E-W Faults, Martin And Abrigo Beds On West Side (See N5) Are Almost Flatlying, With Generally Northerly Strikes, Dips 5 To 15 E. Dikes Are 50 To 150 Ft Wide

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Srong Oxidation, Workings Throughout Oxidation Zone Which Is Only Upper 500 Feet

Rocks

Name: Rhyodacite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Paleocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Malachite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Specularite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): NUMEROUS FAULTS AND SHEAR ZONES SPREAD THROUGHOUT AREA-MOST MINERALIZATION IS ALONG E-W TRENDS, WIDTH OF OREBODIES VARIES BETWEEN A FEW FEET AND 26 FT

Comment (Location): POINT USED FOR UTM IS LARGE GROUP OF ADITS IN NE QUARTER SECTION 25. ANOTHER ADIT AND SHAFT ARE LOCATED IN NW QUARTER SECTION 30 (COLUMBIA SHAFT & MINE). THE GOLD QUEEN SHAFT IS IN SW OF NE 1/4, SECTION 25, 1/8 MILE W OF UTM POINT. THE ROUND TOP AND GOLD NUGGET SHAFTS ARE IN THE SE OF SE 1/4 SECTION 25, AND SW OF SE 1/4 SECTION 25 RESPECTIVELY ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979)

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION DATA FOR MINE DESCRIBED HERE IS UNDER DRIPPING SPRINGS, COLUMBIA, AND ROUND TOP IN ABGMT-USBM PRODUCTION DATA. SEE A83 FOR LOCATION OF COLUMBIA AND ROUND TOP SHAFTS.

Comment (Development): DRIPPING SPRINGS COPPER CO, 1915, G.H. GOWMAN OPERATOR-MANAGER. APPROXIMATELY 40 CLAIMS WHICH CHANGED HANDS OFTEN. ROUND TOP AND GOLD NUGGET OPERATORS INCLUDED R.J. FINLEY, CAL BYWATER AND FRED BRIGGER. GOLD QUEEN SHAFT OPERATORS INCLUDED STEVE COCREHAM. COLUMBIA SHAFT OPERATORS INCLUDED UNIVERSAL MINING AND SMELTING, W.A. THOMPSON, E. CASTILLO, AND F. HAYWARD. DRIPPING SPRINGS COPPER CO. OWNED ALL MINES THROUGH 1940

Comment (Workings): VARIOUS TUNNELS AND SHAFTS. COLUMBIA IS 550 FT, WITH 1300 FT CROSS CUT. ROUND TOP HAS TWO TUNNELS, 330 FT AND 2100 FT, GOLD QUEEN SHAFTS ARE 375 FT LONG, 2. GOLD NUGGET SHAFT IS 60 FT DEEP SHALLOW WORKINGS GENERALLY, TOTAL WORKING LENGTH ESTIMATED

Comment (Geology): SOME ORE FOUND IN UNOXIDIZED AND NOT LEACHED ROCK AT DEPTH, WHERE FRACTURES INTERSECT LIMESTONE-DIABASE CONTACTS.

References

Reference (Deposit): ABGMT CLIPPINGS FILE

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 771, 1925

Reference (Deposit): USGS GEOLOGIC QUADRANGLE MAP GQ 1442, 1978

Reference (Deposit): ADMR COLUMBIA AND TROY CLAIMS FILES

Reference (Deposit): ABGMT-USBM PRODUCTION DATA

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.