New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Mining history
The Red Cloud mine is approximately 42 mi north of Yuma, Arizona in La Paz County. It was located in 1862 and the claim was patented in 1877. The only period of profitable mining took place from 1878 to 1885. Approximately $500,000 to $1,000,000 in silver was recovered from the mine. By 1890 all mining efforts had ceased.

Several attempts to drill, explore, and mine the Red Cloud have occurred over the next 90 years, with little or no success. The last effort took place from 1979 to 1984, when the price of silver jumped to more than $50 per ounce. The mine was emptied of broken rock and a mill was constructed. With the subsequent drop in the silver price, this attempt also failed.

Collecting history
Wulfenite specimens were recovered during the earliest mining period. The 1899 Territorial Governor's report to Congress even mentioned the wulfenite from Red Cloud mine. Specimens found their way into eastern collections, including those at Harvard and Michigan Tech.

As a result of seeing these specimens, Arthur Montgomery persuaded Ed Over to visit the mine in 1938. He spent 45 days at the Red Cloud and collected specimens from what is considered by many to be the best pocket ever found. The crystals became the standard by which all future pockets were compared.

From the early 1960s through 1979, the Red Cloud became a favorite destination for collectors, primarily from Arizona and California. Although none of the pockets rivaled Over's discovery, many fine specimens were found. After the mining company left in 1984, a feverish period of collecting took place until the early 1990s when all of the stopes were once again filled with broken rock.

Current operations
In 1994, the Red Cloud mine was purchased by a group of collectors headed by Wayne Thompson. All necessary arrangements fell into place by late 1995 and mining began in January 1996. An open-pit operation was determined to be the safest and most economic way to mine. This should be true for at least the first 50 to 60 ft downdip on the vein.

The first cut removed a layer of overburden 30 ft wide, 250 ft long, and 10-15 ft deep. The exposed vein was then mined using hand methods, from screwdrivers to jackhammers. A small pocket was hit at the end of January and was offered for sale at the Tucson Show. Mining continued through the end of March with little to show for the effort. One pocket containing five specimens was discovered in the middle of March. This was somewhat noteworthy because the matrix was coated with drusy quartz crystals. Late in March, a crack was opened up near the north incline that had crystals as large as 5/8". This was encouraging but it was forgotten four days later when the big pocket was hit at the south end of the trench.

The large pocket was remarkable for several reasons. First, it was a crack that was as much as 8 inches across, 4 ft high, and about 30 ft long. A typical pocket at the Red Cloud is the size of a softball, and a large pocket might have a crack that opened to as much as 2 inches across. Second, because of the decision to mine by open-pit methods, large specimens were extracted, the best of which was 12 inches across. Quality specimens larger than 2 inches by 2 inches were virtually unheard of from this mine. In one lucky circumstance, this pocket actually produced more fine cabinet specimens than thumbnail specimens

Mining continued through the middle of May 1996 and then was shut down for the summer. Overburden stripping continued throughout the summer in preparation for the second phase. This waste layer was approximately 20 ft thick, 60 ft wide, and 300 ft long. This exposed 20 ft of vein which was mined in two 10-ft-high cuts. This worked started back up in November 1996 and continued through April 1997. Not a single good wulfenite specimen was collected in the first cut. A few nice cerussite crystals were collected but that makes them very valuable specimens, at least from a cost standpoint.

While mining the lower 10 ft cut, a small pocket was hit on March 13, 1997. One fine specimen was recovered and several flats of saleable material were also collected. Hope was renewed but, in typical Red Cloud fashion, was quickly dashed. That was the only good pocket for the 1996/1997 mining season. We have almost used up the good fortune from the first year to pay for the mining costs of the second year.

No further mining has taken place since operations were completed in April 1997. Once funding becomes available, the third phase will get under way. This time the overburden that must be removed to expose 20 ft of vein will be between 6 and 7 times the amount for the first cut. However, hope springs eternal with all miners, whether they are looking for copper, gold, or wulfenite. The next big pocket is just a few feet deeper than we have already dug.

Local and not so local clubs have been invited to take field trips to the Red Cloud to collect in the pits and the dump. This started with the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History Gem & Mineral Guild and has included the Mineralogical Society of Arizona, the Arizona Mineral & Mining Museum Foundation, and the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society. Other clubs can be accommodated on an invitation basis only.

RED CLOUD MINERALOGY

COLLECTABLE SPECIES               MICROMOUNT                     ORE/GANGUE
Wulfenite                                                   Willemite                                Galena
Cerussite                                                  Fluorite                                   Chlorargyrite
                                                                   Plattnerite                               Calcite
                                                                   Caledonite                              Barite
                                                                   Hemimorphite                        Quartz     
                                                                   Anglesite                                 Aragonite
                                                                   Stetefeldtite                            Gypsum
                                                                   Mimetite                                  Minium
                                                                   Linarite                                    Massicot
                                                                   Vanadinite