New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Vanadinite is highly sought after by mineral collectors due to its wide range of brilliant colors and high luster. Usually in well-developed, hexagonal crystals, it is a widely distributed and relatively common mineral in orebodies mined for lead, particularly in arid regions.

The occurrence of vanadinite in New Mexico was first noted by Dr. Benjamin Silliman in 1882, in a paper describing the mineral regions of southern New Mexico (Silliman 1882). The Sierra Grande and Sierra Bella mines of Lake Valley were specifically mentioned. Material from these mines was studied by Genth and Rath (1885) and determined to be a new mineral intermediate between vanadinite [Pb₅(VO₄)₃Cl] and mimetite [Pb₅(AsO₄)₃Cl]. It was named endlichite in honor of Dr. F. M. Endlich, superintendent of the Sierra mines at Lake Valley. Endlichite in more recent years has been determined to be an arsenic-rich variety of vanadinite and its species status discredited.

Vanadinite specimens from Lake Valley reached prominent eastern mineral dealers George English of New York and A. E. Foote of Philadelphia by 1896 and 1897, and ads for "endlichite" were run in The Mineral Collector by 1897. About this same time, miner William F. Hall from Hillsboro found similar material from the mines at Hillsboro and sent shipments of 1,250 lb to A. E. Foote in Philadelphia (Leatherbee 1911). Specimens were advertised in The Mineral Collector and sold world-wide as the "finest known."

Mining for vanadinite as ore has only been conducted at two locations in New Mexico. The first of these was the Lucky mine near Bayard in Grant County. The Lucky mine is situated near the village of Vanadium and was mined before World War I and mentioned in a report on North American vanadium deposits of commercial importance, published in Boulder, Colorado, in 1920. "Two shipments of lead vanadate ore were made to Hamburg, Germany from the Lucky Bill vanadium mine located near Fort Bayard, New Mexico, before the world war, and some ores were shipped to eastern markets." The ore was described by Larsh in 1913: "The smaller seams and cracks in the porphyry are filled with an asbestos-like lead vanadate."

The second location is in the vicinity of Palomas Gap in the Caballo Mountains district of Sierra County. Before 1909, vanadinite from this district was mistaken for cerussite (Northrop 1959), but with this recognition, mining operations commenced in 1910. A mill to process the ore was constructed at Cutter (12 mi east of Palomas Gap), but by 1911 it was shut down. "It produced not more than a few hundred pounds of vanadium oxide" (Harley 1934).

Significant vanadinite occurrences in New Mexico are primarily in Grant and Sierra Counties in the southern part of the state. Vanadinite has, however, been reported from seven other counties, most of which are also in southern New Mexico. As of November 2008, 66 locations in New Mexico are reported to have vanadinite. Additional sites will undoubtedly come to light in the future.

New Mexico vanadinite locations 

References:

1. Emigh, D. G., 1942a, Report on vanadium in Macho district, Sierra County, New Mexico: Unpublished report, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources file.
2. Emigh, D. G., 1942b, North Star claim. 6 miles west of Lordsburg, Hidalgo County, New Mexico: Unpublished report, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources file.
3. Flagg, A. L., 1942, Eureka mining district, Hidalgo County, New Mexico: Unpublished report, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources file.
4. Genth, F. A., and vom Rath, G., 1885, On the vanadates and iodyrite from Lake Valley, Sierra County, New Mexico: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, v. 22, pp. 363-375.
5. Harley, G. T., 1934, The geology and ore deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Bulletin 10,220 pp.
6. Hess, F. L., 1913, Vanadium in the Sierra de los Caballos, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 530, pp.157-160.
7. Larsh, P. A., 1913, Report on the Lucky Bill mine: Unpublished report, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources file.
8. Leatherbee, B., 1911, Vanadium in New Mexico: Mineral Magazine, v. 5, p. 282. 1920, North American vanadium deposits of commercial importance: Unpublished report, Boulder, Colorado, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources file.
9. Northrop, S. A., 1959, Minerals of New Mexico, revised: University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 665 pp.
10. Silliman, B., Jr., 1882, The mineral regions of southern New Mexico: Transactions of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, v. 10, pp. 424 444; Mining World, v. 3, no. 6, pp. 89-90.
11. The Mineral Collector, 1894-1909, v. 1-15.