New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

One of the most profitable mining districts in the "Land of Enchantment", both for the miner and the mineral collector, is the Magdalena district. The district is located in the Magdalena Mountains, about 26 miles west of Socorro in central New Mexico. During the 20 years from 1800 to 1900, the district produced approximately $8 million, mostly in lead ores. However, the district did produce large amounts of zinc, mostly from the mineral smithsonite, for which the apple green specimens are known worldwide.

Although the district is "potmarked" with mines and prospect pits, the three most important mines, both for ore production and for mineral specimens, are the Kelly, Juanita, and Waldo-Graphic mines.

The Kelly mine, which located closest to the actual town of Kelly, produced the world famous apple green specimens of smithsonite. Although prize specimens of the green variety are rare today, small white or gray botryoidal masses are not uncommon. Cream to brown colored blades of barite have also recently been collected, as well as good specimens of fluorescent "dogtooth" calcite.

Also near to the town of Kelly, and at one time connected to the Kelly mine, is the Juanita mine. This mine has recently produced many fine brown bladed clusters of barite, as well as specimens, of calcite and aragonite. Some fine metallic goethite specimens, and a rare mineral barytocalcite (BaCa(CO₃)₂) have also been collected here.

Finally, the Waldo-Graphic mine, located about 1 km north of the town of Kelly, offers a wide range of mineral species. The so-called "Pyrite Room" of the 9th-level has produced many fine pyrite specimens, especially small (1 to 2 cm) cubic crystal clusters. Between the 5th and 6th levels is a large copper oxidation zone producing such minerals as chalcanthite, aurichalcite, tenorite, malachite•, azurite and rosasite associated with hemimorphite, smithsonite, hematite, and ilmenite. Throughout the mine there are several occurrences of prize calcite specimens, especially the masses of hexagonal plate crystals from the 9th level misnamed "Aragonite Room".

This is only a small list of the more common minerals found in the district; Stuart Northrop's Minerals of New Mexico reports well over 100 specimens from the district.