Manganese Blue Mine

The Manganese Blue Mine is a copper mine located in Greenlee county, Arizona at an elevation of 4,852 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: Manganese Blue Mine
Secondary: Copper Mountain Claim Working
Secondary: Old Blue Shaft
Secondary: Detroit Copper Co. Group

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Secondary: Iron
Tertiary: Gypsum-Anhydrite

Location

State: Arizona
County: Greenlee
District: Copper Mountain 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

Type: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Phelps Dodge Corp., Morenci Branch )
Years: 1917 -

Owner Name: Phelps Dodge Corp., Morenci Branch

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Contact Metamorphic
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1882
Year Last Production: 1920
Discovery Year: 1872
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: TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Copper Mountain Fault Separates Rich Disseminated Chalcocite Ore From Barren Porphyry

Type: L
Description: Ore Bodies Are Contained Between 2 Porphyry Dikes About 400 To 500 Ft Apart (Joy Dike And Hummingbird Dike)

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation To Depths Of 400 Ft, Facilitated By Richness Of Sulfides In Ore Body And Good Exposure To Percolating Waters; Modoc Limestone Has Been Greatly Altered To Heavy Garnet

Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Gypsum
Ore: Brochantite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Malachite
Gangue: Pyroxene
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Epidote
Gangue: Kaolin

Comments

Comment (Deposit): CUPRITE IS DISTRIBUTED IN FINE SCALES ON THE JOINTS OF ALTERED CLAY SHALES. AZURITE FORMS LARGE MASSES OF ORE. ORE BODIES OCCUR THROUGH OUT THE LONGFELLOW LIMESTONE. ORES IN THE MANGANESE BLUE MINE OCCUR ON 4 PRINCIPAL HORIZONS: ON THE FIRST HORIZON, ORE FORMS A SOLID SHEET OF HIGH-GRADE AZURITE AND MALACHITE STAINED BY MANGANESE TO THICKNESS OF 10 FT; SECOND HORIZON ORE FORMS THE SAME TO 25 FT THICKNESS; THIRD ORE HORIZON CONTAINS CUPRITE DISSEMINATED IN SHALE; FOURTH ORE HORIZON FORMS THE SAME TO 20 FT THICKNESS.

Comment (Workings): DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDED 4 LEVELS AT DEPTHS OF 100, 175, 275, AND 375 FT; THOUSANDS OF FT OF DRIFTS AND STOPES ON SEVERAL LEVELS; 2 LONG EXPLORATORY DRIFTS EXTENDING NW ON SECOND LEVEL.

Comment (Location): ON SOUTHERN HALF OF COPPER MOUNTAIN CLAIM; SE OF COPPER MOUNTAIN ORE BODIES AND SOUTH OF HUMBOLDT SHAFT. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1973

Comment (Commodity): FE USED AS FLUX.

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION DATA INCLUDED IN DETROIT COPPER CO. MINES; OTHER DETROIT COPPER CO. MINES ARE THE ARIZONA CENTRAL, COPPER MOUNTAIN, YANKIE, RYERSON, AND MONTEZUMA MINES.

Comment (Development): OWNERS INCLUDED DETROIT COPPER MINING CO. OF ARIZONA

Comment (Geology): COPPER MOUNTAIN FAULT STRIKES NW, DIPS 63 DEGREES NE, HAS A VERTICAL THROW OF ABOUT 225 FT, AND THE NE BLOCK HAS A LATERAL DISPLACEMENT OF 70 TO 90 FT ESE.

Comment (Deposit): DUPLICATE H800423 HAS BEEN DELETED.

References

Reference (Deposit): WATT, ROBERTA, 1956, HISTORY OF MORENCI ARIZONA, M.A. THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Reference (Deposit): BENNETT, K-C, 1975, GEOLOGY AND ORIGIN OF THE BRECCIAS IN THE MORENCI-METCALF DISTRICT, GREENLEE COUNTY, ARIZONA: TUCSON, ARIZONA, M.S. THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, 153 P.

Reference (Other Database): CIMRI

Reference (Deposit): ABGMT-USBM FILE DATA

Reference (Deposit): BLM DISTRICT SHEET 840.

Reference (Deposit): ARIZONA BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 149, P. 15.

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.