Chino Mine

The Chino Mine is a copper, gold, silver, and molybdenum mine located in Grant county, New Mexico at an elevation of 6,401 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: Chino Mine
Secondary: Santa Rita Mine
Secondary: Santa Rita Del Cobre Mine Grant

Commodity

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

Location

State: New Mexico
County: Grant
District: Santa Rita District; Central Mining 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: Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Phoenix, AZ
Info Year: 2009
Years: 2006 -

Owner Name: Phelps Dodge Corp
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 2009
Years: 2003 - 2006

Owner Name: Mitsubishi Materials Corp
Percent: 33.30
Info Year: 2009
Years: 1986 - 2003

Owner Name: Jose Manuel Carrasco And Francisco Manuel De Elguea (1801-1804), Francisco Manuel De Elguea And Hei

Owner Name: Jose Manuel Carrasco And Francisco Manuel De Elguea (1801-1804), Francisco Manuel De Elguea (1804-

Production

Year: 2003
Mined: 11157000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material mined. Phelps Dodge 2006 10K, p. 13-14
Year: 2004
Mined: 43851000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 2006 10K, p. 13-15.
Year: 2001
Mined: 56596000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 2003 10K.
Year: 2002
Mined: 200000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material mined. Phelps Dodge 2006 10K, p. 13-14.
Year: 2000
Mined: 68409000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 2003 10K.
Year: 1998
Mined: 110425000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 2002 10K.
Year: 1999
Mined: 54992000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 2003 10K.
Year: 1997
Mined: 110349000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material mined. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1998 10K.
Year: 1996
Mined: 111528000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material mined. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1998 10K.
Year: 1996
Time Period: 1911-1996
Mined: 529300000.00 mt
Year: 1995
Mined: 105071000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material mined. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1998 10K.
Year: 1994
Mined: 95306000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material mined. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1998 10K.
Year: 1993
Mined: 11430900.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1993 10K.
Year: 1992
Mined: 109081000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1993 10K.
Year: 1991
Mined: 109993000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1993 10K.
Year: 1990
Mined: 106379000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1993 10K.
Year: 1989
Mined: 114309000.00 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 1993 10K.
Year: 1974
Material type: CU ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^Average Ore Grade 0.86% Cu
Year: 1973
Material type: CU ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^Average Ore Grade 0.88% Cu
Year: 2005
Mined: 70456000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 2006 10K, p. 13-15.
Year: 2006
Mined: 65947000.000 mt
Material type: Leachable material plus millable ore. Recovered includes metal in mill concentrates and electrowon. Phelps Dodge 2006 10K, p. 13-15.
Year: 2007
Material type: Freeport-McMoRan 2008 10K, p. 21.
Year: 2008
Material type: Freeport-McMoRan 2010 10K, p. 23.
Year: 2009
Material type: Freeport-McMoRan 2009 10K, p. 23.
Year: 2010
Material type: Freeport-McMoRan 2010 10K, p. 23.

Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Porphyry Cu
Operation Type: Unknown
Mining Method: Open Pit
Year First Production: 1804
Discovery Year: 1800
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Mexican Highland

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Porphyry Cu, skarn-related

Orebody

Name: Santa Rita Stock
Form: Tabular, Massive

Form: BLANKET

Structure

Type: R
Description: Santa Rita Stock, Complex Network Of Faults

Type: L
Description: Deposit Lies In A Horst Bound On The West By The Nw-Trending Silver City Fault And On The East By The Nw-Trending Mimbres Fault. Sediments Within The Horst Are Synclinal And Domed By Intrusives.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: See Comments

Rocks

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

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Pliocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AVERAGE MO GRADE 0.012% MOS2

Materials

Ore: Malachite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Copper
Ore: Chrysocolla
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Halloysite
Gangue: Sericite
Gangue: Kaolinite

Comments

Comment (Workings): Worked Underground Up To 1909 When Stripping For Chino Open Pit Began. Most Underground Workings Destroyed During Development And Mining In The Chino Open Pits. Most Other Underground Workings Have Been Covered Up By Mine Dumps, Leach Pads, Surface Plant, And Other Mine Facilities.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): (1) Initial Ore Reserve; (2) Mill Ore Reserve; (3) Leach Ore Reserve

Comment (Commodity): Supergene Minerals Are Chalcocite, Covellite, Native Copper, Chrysocolla, Cuprite, Malachite, And Azurite. Primary Minerals (Replacement Deposits) Are Chalcopyrite And Magnetite. Primary Minerals (Porphyry) Are Chalcopyrite, Bornite, And Molybdenite.

Comment (Production): Average Grade Of 207 Million Mt Of Ore Mined (1911-1962) Was 0.93% Cu, With Values In Mo, Ag, And Au. Grade Of Primary Ore Below Enriched Zone Probably Averages About 0.1% Cu. Average Grades Reported For Au And Ag Are 0.074 G/Mt And 1.76 G/Mt, Respectively. In 1912 The Average Copper Grade Was Over 2% Cu, In 1925 It Was Averaging 1.5%, In 1948 The Average Grade Of Copper Was Less Than 1% Cu, And In 1980 The Average Grade Of Copper Was 0.81% Cu. Average Molybdenum Grade Of Ore Is 0.012% Mos2. (1) Ore Milled. Small Byproduct Platinum-Group Element Production From Smelter Returns.

Comment (Deposit): This Record Contains Data From Record D011550 By Ron Worl Which Has Been Deleted From Mrds. ; Info.Src : 1 Pub Lit; 2 Unpub Rept

Comment (Deposit): Ore Bodies At Santa Rita Are A Complex Of Typical Porphyry Type Veins And Disseminated Ores That Have Been Secondarily Enriched, And Limestone Replacement Deposits Exhibiting Little Or No Enrichment, In And Around The Pervasively Altered And Intensely Shattered Santa Rita Stock. The Supergene Enriched Zone, Which Provided Much Of The Early-Mined Ore, Occurred Chiefly In The Stock And Peripheral Upper Cretaceous Sedimentary Rocks And Quartz Diorite Sills Where Locally It Is More That 200 M Thick. Replacement (Skarn) Ores Occur Mainly In Penn And Emiss Limestone Of The Lake Valley, Oswaldo, And Syrena Formations, With Less Pervasive Mineralization In Ord And Sil Montoya And Fusselman Dolomites. Skarn Occurs Along The N And NW Border Of The Stock. Protore Grade Is 0.2% Copper.

Comment (Deposit): Associated Minerals: actinolite, alunite, anhydrite, biotite, bornite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, chlorite, copper, cuprite, enargite, epidote, galena, garnet, gold, hematite/specularite, kaolinite, magnetite, marcasite, molybdenite, montmorillonite, pyrite, rutile, sericite, siderite, sphalerite, zeolite

Comment (Deposit): Associated Rocks: breccia, granodiorite porphyry, hornfels, jasper, quartz diorite porphyry, quartz monzonite porphyry, skarn;andesite, andesite breccia, basalt, conglomerate, diorite porphyry, dolomite, gneiss, quartz latite, quartz latite porphyry, rhyolite, rhyolite tuff, sandstone, schist;latite, limestone, marble, quartzite, shale

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Additional Production and Reserve data can be found in Chino; Deposit ID 10296543

Comment (Development): 1906, During And After Which The Old Workings And Dumps Were Worked By Lessees. The Chino Copper Co. Acquired Title In 1909 And Began Stripping For An Open Pit Mine In 1910. By 1911, 467 Churn Drill Holes, 182,000 Cumulative Feet Drilling, Had Developed About 55 Million St Of 2.24% Cu Ore. The Hurley Mill Began Operating In Oct. 1911 At 5,000 Tpd, Later Expanded To 11,000 Then 15,000 Tpd. In 1924 The Company Merged With The Ray Consolidated Copper Co., Which In Turn Merged With The Nevada Copper Co. In 1926, And With The Kennecott Copper Co. In 1933. Byproduct Molybdenum Concentrate Recovery Began In 1937. A Smelter Was Built At Hurley In 1939 And A Fire Refinery Added In 1942. The Whitewater Leach Plant, Producing Cement Copper, Was Completed In 1963. The Hurley Mill Was Ultimately Expanded To 22,000 Tpd Before Being Replaced By A New 44,000 Tpd Mill At Santa Rita In 1982. The Smelter Was Rebuilt From 1982 To 1984 As A 1570 Tpd Inco Flash Smelter Expanded To 1700 Tpd In

Comment (Development): 1987. Phelps Dodge Acquired The Mine And Smelter In 1986. A Sx/Ew Plant Was Installed In 1988 Producing 41,000 Tpy Cathode Copper, Expanded In 1993 To 171 Tpd. Mine, Mill, Smelter, And Plant Capacities In 1994 Were 290,000 Tpd Material Mined, Of Which 50,000 Tpd Of 0.68% Cu Material Was Milled Yielding 1,000 Tpd 24% Cu Concentrates Which Are Smelted And 49,000 Tpd 0.18% Cu Tailings Which Are Stockpiled. The Smelter Treats 1,700 Tpd Concentrates And Cement Copper, Yielding 440 Tpd Cu, 2,400 Tpd Sulfuric Acid, 960,000 Lbs/Y Mo, 17,000 Oz/Y Au, And 400,000 Oz/Y Ag. Leach Operations Yield 15 Tpd Cement Copper And 171 Tpd Cathode Copper. Part Of The Smelter Charge Comes From Other Phelps Dodge Mines.

Comment (Location): The Location Is Accurate For The Approximate Center Of The Chino Mines Open Pit. Info From Land.St :1979

Comment (Deposit): This Record Includes Data From Mrds Record No D000578 By Robert U. King, 74 08, Which Has Been Deleted. Open Pit Mining At Chino Has Destroyed Or Covered Over Many Small, Older Workings, Including Flux, Keystone, Wildcat, Ivanhoe, Treasure Vault, Tourmaline, Humboldt, Copper Queen, Ninety, Romero, And Carrasco (Hearst)

Comment (Development): Patent The Mine Was Refused On The Grounds That It Was Still Owned By The Heirs Of Elguea; Operations Were Abandoned In 1871. In 1872 The Mine Was Relocated By Fresh And Magruder Who Sold Their Claim To Hayes In 1873. Hayes' Application For A Patent Was Also Denied, But He Found The Elguea Heirs And Purchased The Mine Later In 1873. In 1880, Hayes Sold Out To Whitney Who Enlarged His Holdings And Built A 40-Stamp Mill And Smelter, Sank The Romero Shaft To 500 Ft Depth, And Did Some Diamond Drilling 1882 To 1884. Operations Were Divided Between The Bonanza Development Co. And The Santa Rita Copper And Iron Co. The Mine Was Optioned For Two Years By The Hearst Estate In 1897 Which Built A 100 Tpd Mill In That Year. Development Work Located A High-Grade Sulfide Ore Body, The Option Was Exercised And The Santa Rita Copper Mining Co. Formed In 1899 To Develop The Mine. In 1902, The 300 Ft Carrasco Shaft Cut Part Of The Supergene-Enriched Blanket Deposit. Exploration Continued To

Comment (Development): In 1800 A Native American Showed Native Copper Ores At Santa Rita To Jose Manuel Carrasco. There Is Some Evidence That Other Spaniards May Have Learned Of The Copper Mineralization Earlier. By 1801 Carrasco And Francisco Manuel De Elguea Had Obtained The Santa Rita Del Cobre Mining Land Grand From The Spanish Crown. Carrasco Sold His Share To Elguea In 1804. After Elguea'S Death In 1809, The Mine Was Worked By A Succession Of Lessees And Subleases, The Elguea Family Or Estate Retaining Ownership. Not All Of The Lessees Have Been Identified. From 1825 To 1827 Juan Ortiz Leased The Mine But Subleased It To Leonardo Siqueros, Sylvester Pattie, And Then Robert Mcknight. Mcknight Acquired The Lease By 1834, But It Passed To Leonardo Siqueros By 1840 Who Retained It Until The Civil War In 1860. Sweete And Lacoste Worked The Mine From 1860 To 1862 When Seized By The Texas Confederacy, But Returned After The Civil War Forming The Santa Rita Mining Association. Their Application To

References

Reference (Deposit): Jones, F.A., 1904, New Mexico Mines And Minerals (World'S Fair Ed.): Santa Fe, N.Mex., The New Mexican Printing Co., P. 34-44

Reference (Deposit): U.S. Bureau Of Mines, Mas, U.S. Bureau Of Mines Computer Data Bank, 1979.

Reference (Deposit): Nielsen, R.L., 1968, Hypogene Texture And Mineral Zoning In A Copper-Bearing Granodoirite Porphyry Stock, Santa Rita, New Mexico: Economic Geology, V. 63, P. 37-50.

Reference (Deposit): Long, K.R., 1994, Production And Reserves Of Cordilleran Porphyry Copper Deposits: Arizona Geological Society Digest, V. 20, P. 35-68.

Reference (Deposit): Rose, A., And Baltosser, W.W., 1966, The Porphyry Copper Deposit At Santa Rita, New Mexico, In Titley, S.R., And Hicks, C.L., Eds., Geology Of The Porphyry Copper Deposits: Tucson, University Of Arizona Press, P. 205-220.

Reference (Deposit): Lindgren, Waldemar, Graton, L.C. And Gordon, C.H., 1910, The Ore Deposits Of New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 68, P. 305-317

Reference (Deposit): Thorne, H.A., 1931, Mining Practice At The Chino Mines, Nevada Consolidated Copper Co., Santa Rita, N. Mex.: U.S. Bureau Of Mines Information Circular 6412, 29 P.

Reference (Deposit): Paige, Sidney, 1935, Santa Rita And Tyrone, New Mexico, In Copper Resources Of The World, V. 1, International Geological Congress, 16th, Washington, P. 327-335.

Reference (Deposit): Spencer, A.C., And Paige, Sidney, 1935, Geology Of The Santa Rita Area, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 859, 78 P.

Reference (Deposit): Ballmer, G.J., 1953, Geology Of The Santa Rita Area: New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 4th Field Conference, Southwestern New Mexico, P. 130-132.

Reference (Deposit): Hernon, R.M., Jones, W.R., And Moore, S.L., 1953, Some Geological Features Of The Santa Rita Quadrangle, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 4th Field Conference, Southewstern New Mexico, P. 117-130.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, E.C., 1957, The Metal Resources Of New Mexico And Their Economic Features Through 1954: New Mexico Bureau Of Mines And Mineral Resources Bulletin 39, P. 62-67.

Reference (Deposit): Hernon, R.M., Jones, W.R., And Moore, S.L., 1965, Some Geological Features Of The Santa Rita Quadrangle, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 16th Field Conference, P. 175-184.

Reference (Deposit): Jones, W.R., Hernon, R.M., And Moore, S.L., 1967, General Geology Of Santa Rita Quadrangle, Grant County, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 555, 144 P.

Reference (Deposit): Schilling, J.H., 1965, Mplybdenum Resources Of New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau Of Mines And Mineral Resources Bulletin 76, P. 51-52.

Reference (Deposit): Ellis, R.W., 1929, New Mexico Mineral Deposits Except Fuels: University Of New Mexico Bulletin 167, Geological Series, V. 4, No. 2, P. 44-45.

Reference (Deposit): Kennecott Copper Corporation, 1974, Annual Report.

Reference (Deposit): Gibson, W.A., And Trujillo, A.D., 1966, From Indian Scrapings To 85-Ton Trucks: The Development Of Chino: Mining Engineering, V. 18, No. 1, P. 54-60.

Reference (Deposit): U.S. Bureau Of Mines, Minerals Yearbooks 1969 And 1970.

Reference (Deposit): U.S. Bureau Of Mines, Mils, U.S. Bureau Of Mines Computer Data Bank, 1978a.

Reference (Deposit): Huttl, J., 1939, Chino Today: Engineering And Mining Journal, V. 140, No. 9, P. 29-33.

Reference (Deposit): New Mexico Bureau Of Mines And Mineral Resources General File Data.

Reference (Production): (1) Anderson, E.C., 1957, Nmbmmr Bull 39, P. 62-63; Long (1994)

Reference (Reserve-Resource): (1) U.S. Bureau Of Mines, Mas, 1979. (2) King, R.U., Unpub. Data

Reference (Deposit): Rickard, T.A., 1923, The Chino Enterprise: Engineering And Mining Journal, V. 116, P. 753-758, 803-810, 981-985, 1113-1121, V. 117, P. 13-20.

Reference (Deposit): Site Visit With Unpub. Handouts By Keith R. Long, U.S. Geological Survey, Oct. 1994.

Reference (Deposit): Elevatorski, E.A., 1983, Bulk-Tonnage Metal Deposits: Dana Point, Calif., Minobras Mining Services, P. 165.

Reference (Geology): Audetat A and Pettke T, 2006 - Evolution of a Porphyry-Cu Mineralized Magma System at Santa Rita, New Mexico (USA): in J. of Petrology v47 pp 2021-2046

Reference (Geology): Audetat B, Pettke T, Dolej D 2004 - Magmatic anhydrite and calcite in the ore-forming quartz-monzodiorite magma at Santa Rita, New Mexico (USA): genetic constraints on porphyry-Cu mineralization: in Lithos v72 pp 147-161

Reference (Geology): Reynolds T J, Beane R E 1985 - Evolution of hydrothermal fluid characteristics at the Santa Rita, New Mexico, porphyry Copper deposit: in Econ. Geol. v80 pp 1328-1347

Reference (Geology): Rose A W, Baltosser W W, 1966 - The porphyry copper deposit at Santa Rita, New Mexico: in Titley S R, Hicks C L, 1966 Geology of the Porphyry Copper Deposits, Southwestern North America, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 205-220

Reference (Geology): Cook S S and Porter T M, 2005 - The Geologic History of Oxidation and Supergene Enrichment in the Porphyry Copper Deposits of Southwestern North America, in Porter T M, (Ed), Super Porphyry Copper and Gold Deposits: A Global Perspective, v1 pp 207-242

Reference (Reserve-Resource): USBM Minerals Yearbooks 1911-57; Kennecott Annual Reports 1935-70; Kennecott SEC Form 10K 1971-80; Sohio SEC Form 10K 1981-85; Phelps Dodge SEC Form 10K 1986-96; North and McLemore, 1988; McLemore, in press.

Reference (Deposit): Einaudi, M.T., 1982, Description of skarns associated with porphyry copper plutons, in Titley, S.R., ed., Advances in geology of the porphyry copper deposits, southwestern North America: Tucson, University of Arizona Press, p. 139-183.

Reference (Age): McDowell, F.W., 1971, K-Ar ages of igneous rocks from the Western United States; Isochron/West: A Bulletin of Isotopic Geochronology, v. 2, p. 1-16.

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.