New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Gold, it can be argued', was a major driving force behind the early day exploration and development of southwestern North America. The Spaniards came here seeking it and stole it from the Aztecs in quantities they wrongly assumed to be inexhaustible. When the Aztecs could no longer continue to fill the specified storeroom full of gold, they met their fate at the business end of a sword or musket. Moving northward into present day New Mexico the conquerors voraciously continued their quest for the yellow metal. But the Native Americans were wise to their schemes by this time and kept the Spaniards forever on the march seeking the elusive, treasure-laden "Seven Cities of Cibola" always just beyond the next range of mountains.

The Spanish eventually did manage to find a small quantity of gold in the Land of Enchantment, but most of the major discoveries were made much later by their Mexican and American successors. What they did not fully appreciate at the time is that New Mexico, in truth, is not an area heavily blessed with the precious metal in the native state, and the territory possessed few productive gold placers. Most of New Mexico's gold, with but few exceptions, has been won from the by-product processing of other metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and silver.

Those few exceptions did produce some remarkable gold nuggets. Notable examples include the Old (Ortiz) and New (San Pedro) Placers districts of Santa Fe County, the Nogal—Bonito areas of Lincoln County, and the Elizabethtown—Baldy area of Colfax County. Many others, such as the Hillsboro—Las Animas area, Magdalena Mountains, Pinos Altos, White Oaks, and Hopewell, have produced smaller but collectible specimens, all of which will be discussed in detail.