Mission Mine

The Mission Mine is a silver, molybdenum, and copper mine located in Pima county, Arizona at an elevation of 3,225 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: Mission Mine
Secondary: Mission Porphyry Copper Deposit
Secondary: East Pima
Secondary: Palo Verde
Secondary: Mission - San Xavier - Eisenhower
Secondary: Mission Extension
Secondary: San Xavier
Secondary: East Pima Mine
Secondary: Eisenhower Mine

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Molybdenum
Primary: Copper
Secondary: PGE
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Zinc
Tertiary: Cadmium
Tertiary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Tertiary: Tungsten
Tertiary: Tin

Location

State: Arizona
County: Pima
District: Twin Buttes

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

Type: State Lease
Type: Patented

Workings

Type: Surface

Ownership

Owner Name: Sterlite Group
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 2009

Owner Name: Asarco (American Smelting And Refining Co.)
Years: 1989 -

Production

Year: 2009
Mined: 899000.000 mt
Material type: Grupo Mexico 2009 AR p. 26. http://www.gmexico.com/press/publications.php
Year: 1998
Mined: 20046000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1998 10-K, p. A14, 15, 18. http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1997
Mined: 20106000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1998 10-K, p. A14, 15, 18. http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1996
Mined: 20691000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1998 10-K, p. A14, 15, 17, 18. http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1996
Time Period: 1957-1996
Mined: 556365000.00 mt
Material type: Ore
Year: 1995
Mined: 20093000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1995 10-K, p. A17, 18, 20, 21. http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1994
Mined: 21134000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1995 10-K, p. A17, 18, 21. http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1993
Mined: 19531000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1993 10-K p A14, 15, 18. http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1981
Mined: 4588000.000 mt
Material type: Ore
Year: 1982
Mined: 4248000.000 mt
Material type: Ore
Year: 1983
Mined: 2836000.000 mt
Material type: Ore
Year: 1991
Mined: 12924000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1993 10-K p A14, 15, 18 http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1992
Mined: 18016000.000 mt
Material type: Asarco 1993 10-K p A14, 15, 18. http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000007649&owner=exclude&count=40
Year: 1980
Material type: Cu-Ag-Mo Ore 2716000 Mtpy Ore
Year: 1979
Material type: Cu-Ag-Mo Ore 3617000 Mtpy Ore
Year: 1973
Material type: CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.68% Cu, 0.24% Mo
Year: 1972
Material type: CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.68% Cu, 0.24% Mo
Year: 1971
Material type: CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.68% Cu, 0.24% Mo
Year: 1970
Material type: CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.68% Cu, 0.24% Mo
Year: 1969
Material type: CU
Description: Ap_Grade: ^0.68% Cu, 0.24% Mo
Year: 1963
Time Period: 1960-1963
Material type: Ore
Year: 1962
Time Period: 1961-1962
Material type: Ore

Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Porphyry Cu, Skarn related
Operation Type: Underground
Mining Method: Open Pit
Milling Method: Flotation
Year First Production: 1961
Discovery Year: 1953
Discovery Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Sonoran Desert

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Porphyry Cu, skarn-related

Orebody

Form: Irregular, Lenses, Veinlets

Not available

Structure

Type: L
Structure: Step Faulting, and Brecciation

Type: L
Structure: Thrust And Normal Faults, NW Trending Anticline
Description: Thrust And Normal Faults, Nw Trending Anticline

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: Kaoliniztaion, Silicification, Pyritization & Marlization

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Tactite, Hornfels, Leaching And Enrichment Confined To A Thin Layer

Rocks

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Tennantite
Ore: Cubanite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Copper
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Molybdenite
Gangue: Clay
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Diopside
Gangue: Garnet

Comments

Comment (Development): Discovery By Scout Drilling; Initial Production Rate 15-20,000 Tons Cu Ore/Day After Investment Of $34 Million; Expan$: 13.1 Million. ; Econ.Com: In February Of 1989, Asarco Approved Spending Of $94 Million To Increase Capacity At Mission And To Refurbish The Adjacent Pima Mill And Concentrator That It Bought For Approximately $6 Million. ; Mill.Cap : 41,000 St/D

Comment (Deposit): Bulk Of Replacement Ore In Garnet And Pyroxene Tactites; 2 Mi Wide Alteration Halo.

Comment (Geology): The Quartz Monzonite Intrusion At Twin Buttes Is Small In Proportion To The Size Of The Mineralized Zone, And The Amount Of Ore In Hydrothermally Altered Sediments Is Large In Proportion To That In Porphyry.

Comment (Workings): Large Open Pit; The Above Figures Represent The Merged Product Of The Mission, Pima, And Eisenhower Mines Into A Single, Large Open Pit.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 1978 Estimate Excludes Contribution Of 31.5 Million Tons To Eisenhower Mining Co. In Sept. 1985 Asarco Acquired The Adjacent Pima Property With 39 Million Tons Of Ore. It Obtained Another 14 Million Tons Of Reserves In April 1987 When It Bought The Eisenhower Operation. In Late 1987 It Acquired An Additional 14 Million Tons Of Reserves With The Undeveloped Mineral Hill Property. These Purchased Boosted Mission'S Reserves By 56%. Purchase Of The Helvetica Property, 15 Miles East Of The Mission Complex, Added 280 Million Tons Of Sulfide Ore Grading 0.6% Copper And 23 Million Tons At 0.8%.

Comment (Commodity): 40 Ft Thick Zone Of Supergene Enrichment Clays, Malachite, Native Cu; Oxidation To About 200 Ft Along Some Faults, Calcite Zone 20 Ft Thick; Late Fluorite In Calcite-Scheelite-Galena-Pyrite. Pgm Recovered As Byproduct From Smelter.

Comment (Location): Location Given Is For Mine Symbol Shown On Topo Map Between Two Parts Of Mission Pit, Near Section Line.

Comment (Production): 1961-1972 Produced Over 77.6 Million Tons Of Ore Averaging 0.7% Cu , 0.13 Oz/T Ag, Considerable Zn, Mo, & Pb, Trace Au. Average Mos2 Content 0.02%; Capacity-1,000 Tons Per Year Of Mos2 (Asarco: The Metal Maker). The Amounts For The Items Given On This Record Differ In Decimal Points From Those Given In Record D000815 (J.E. Elliott). As Of Sept. 30, 1992, No References Were Available To Check These Figures.

Comment (Identification): ******For additional Resource and Production: SEE; Mission Complex (plant)- Deposit ID 10113915

Comment (Orebody): Concentration Process: 30-70 Ft Thick Oxidation & Secondary Enrichment Zone. Chrysocolla, Chalcocite, Some Malachite & Fe Oxides

Comment (Deposit): Higher Grade Cu In Tactite Limestone Zone. Lower Grade Dissemanat Ions In Porphyry And Cret Arkose. Molybdenum Mainly Is Disseminations In Porphyry. Supergene Sulfides Bottom At 382 Ft Level

Comment (Geology): Ore Body Is Contiguous With Mission And Pima Deposits

Comment (Workings): Production Levels At 700, 800, 900 Ft

Comment (Orebody): Type of Orebody #1 : REPLACEMENT Shape of Orebody #1 : MASSIVE Type of Orebody #2 : DISSEMINATED Primary mode of Origin : CONT METASOMATIC Primary Ore Control : FAULTING Secondary Ore Control : FOLDING Degree of Wallrock Alter. : UNKNOWN Type of Wallrock Alter. #1 : SERICITIC Type of Wallrock Alter. #2 : CARBONATE SILIC Type of Wallrock Alter. #3 : ADV ARGILLIC Total Surface Area (HA) : 100

Comment (Production): Annual production 475,000 tons Cu concentrates (28% Cu), recovering 130,000 tons Cu metal and 2 million ounces of silver. (Vugteveen CHM 110 Course)

References

Reference (Deposit): Richard, Kenyon, And Courtright, J.H., 1959, Some Geologic Features Of The Mission Copper Deposit, In Heindl, L.A., Ed., Arizona Geological Society, Southern Arizona Guidebook Ii, P. 201-204.

Reference (Deposit): Cooper, J.R., 1960, Some Geologic Features Of The Pima Mining District, Pima County, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1112-C, P. 63-103.

Reference (Deposit): Gale, R.E., 1965, The Geology Of The Mission Copper Mine, Pima Mining District, Arizona: Stanford, Calif., Stanford University, Ph.D Thesis, 176 P.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Greeley, 1978; Walenga, 1989, P. 5a and 6a; Niemuth, 1987.

Reference (Geology): Titley S R, 1996 - Alteration of mineralized carbonate rocks in the epicrustal environment: in Porphyry Related Copper and Gold Deposits of the Asia Pacific Region, Conf Proc, Cairns, 12-13 Aug, 1996, AMF, Adelaide, pp 3.1 - 3.10

Reference (Other Database): Cimri

Reference (Production): Keith, 1974, Greeley, 1978; Asarco, 1969

Reference (Geology): Titley S R 1982 - Some features of tectonic history and ore genesis in the Pima mining district, Pima County, Arizona: in Titley S R 1983 Advances in Geology of the Porphyry Copper Deposits, Southwestern North America University of Arizona Press, Tucson pp 387-406

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

Reference (Deposit): 1956 Direxpl Asarc

Reference (Deposit): Niemuth, N.J., 1987, Arizona Mineral Development 1984-1986: Arizona Department Of Mines And Mineral Resources Directory 29, 46 P.

Reference (Orebody): Jansen L J 1982 - Stratigraphy and structure of the Mission Copper deposit, Pima mining district, Pima County, Arizona: in Titley S R 1983 Advances in Geology of the Porphyry Copper Deposits, Southwestern North America University of Arizona Press, Tucson pp 467-474

Reference (Reserve-Resource): USBM Minerals Yearbook 1957-89; Asarco 1961-71 Annual Reports and 1972-96 SEC Form 10K; PCIA 1975-94

Reference (Production): Acarco Mining operations in Arizona. Mission Mine, Tuscon. Accessed 06-AUG-2009. http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembool/330copper.html
URL: http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembool/330copper.html

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Asarco 1996 SEC Form 10K

Reference (Deposit): Shafiqullah, M. and Langlois, J.D., 1978, The Pima mining district, Arizona, a geochronologic update; in James, H.L., Callender, J.F., Wilt, J.C. and Clemons, R.E., eds., Land of Cochise, Southeast Arizona, New Mexico Geological Society and Arizona Geological Society, Field Conference Guidebook 29, p. 321-327.

Reference (Production): Long, K.R., 1995, Production and reserves of Cordilleran (Alaska to Chile) porphyry copper deposits; in Pierce, F.W. and Bolm, J.G., eds., Porphyry Copper Deposits of the American Cordillera, Arizona Geological Society, Digest 20, p. 35-68.

Reference (Geology): Porter T M 1998 - The Mission skarn porphyry copper deposit: in Compilation from published literature and previous visits (Unpub.) 9p

Reference (Deposit): Argall, G., Jr., 1962, Asarco'S Mission Copper: Mining World, V. 24, No. 1, P. 19-42.

Reference (Orebody): King J R 1982 - Geology of the San Xavier North Porphyry Copper deposit, Pima mining district, Pima County, Arizona: in Titley S R 1983 Advances in Geology of the Porphyry Copper Deposits, Southwestern North America University of Arizona Press, Tucson pp 475-485

Reference (Deposit): Dayton, S.H., 1988, Mission Today, Trim, Efficient, And In Third-Stage Growth: Engineering And Mining Journal, V. 189, No. 9, P. 35-41.

Reference (Deposit): Walenga, Karen, 1989, Mission, Ray Expansion To Assure Copper Feed: Overall Project Will Reduce Need For Outside Sources, Cut Costs: Southwestern Pay Dirt, March 1989, P. 4a-8a.

Reference (Deposit): World Mining, 1972, Pima Mining Five Year Ore Production And Copper Sales: Mining World, Jan 1972, P. 57.

Reference (Deposit): Kennison, J.E., 1966, The Mission Copper Deposit, Arizona, In Titley, S.R., And Hicks, C.L., Eds., Geology Of The Porphyry Copper Deposits, Southwestrn North America: Tucson, University Of Arizona Press, P. 281-287.

Reference (Geology): The Porter GeoConsultancy webpage for the Mission Complex contains a lengthy description of the geology. Accessed on 8/16/2010. http://www.portergeo.com.au/
URL: http://www.portergeo.com.au/

Reference (Deposit): Keith, S.B., 1974, Index Of Mining Properties In Pima County, Arizona: Arizona Bureau Of Mines Bulletin 189, P. 136.

Reference (Geology): 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 (Geology): Williamson, R.L., and Poulton, M.M., 1995, The geology of the Mineral Hill area, Mission mine, Pima County, Arizona, in Pierce, F.W., and Bolm, J.G., eds., Porphyry copper deposits of the American Cordillera: Tucson, Arizona Geological Society Digest 20,

Reference (Deposit): Vugteveen, R. Asarco Mining Operations in Arizona: CHM 110 Online course. Accessed 8/26/2010 http://elmhcx9.elmhurst.edu/~chm/onlcourse/chm110/outlines/haydencopper.html
URL: http://elmhcx9.elmhurst.edu/~chm/onlcourse/chm110/outlines/haydencopper.html

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