New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Overall history
(Lueth et al. 2004) It all started roughly 6.3-6.7 m.y. ago when the hydrothermal ore mineralization events took place in the northern section of the Chupadera Mountains in the Luis Lopez manganese district, southwest of Socorro, New Mexico. The Luis Lopez manganese district has a history of mining activity dating back to World War I and producing manganese ore (psilomelane, hollandite, coronadite, and cryptomelane) into 1970. During World War II the mines were very active, and production continued intermittently until 1951.

(Willard 1973) In November 1951 the General Services Administration under the Defense Production Act opened a manganese-purchasing depot in Deming, New Mexico. As a result production from most of the mines resumed until the depot closed in 1955. The production of manganese ore mined up to 1958 was 1.5 million tons and another 32,000 tons from 1958 to 1966 and from 1966 to 1970 was 10,000 to 15,000 tons from one mine. Active commercial mining ceased in 1970, due to increased mining costs. The production mainly came from the Black Canyon, Tower-Nancy, and Red Hill-Red Hill Extension mines (locally called the MCA mine).

Bursum mine
(Farnham 1961) "The Griffith group, also known as the Bursum, consists of nine claims...The claims were located in 1953 by the present owner W. E. Griffith of Socorro...About two years later H. O. Bursum of Socorro obtained an option of the. During 1955 Bursum shipped several small lots of ore...to the depot in Deming. In 1957 Bursum mined about 1,500 tons, which was concentrated in the mill of Manganese Corporation of Arizona (MCA). About 119 long tons of concentrates...were recovered. In 1958 Rico Mining Company secured a sublease on the property and mined about 10,000 tons of ore, which was concentrated in the mill of Ambrosia Minerals, Inc. The resulting concentrates, 486 long tons, averaging 37.4% manganese, were sold to Socorro Manganese Company."

(Willard 1973) Goethite was also present in most deposits of the Luis Lopez ore and is a major constituent at the Bursum mine. Goethite is an orthorhombic hydrogen iron oxide (HFeO₂). Typically goethite is a secondary mineral derived by weathering from other iron-bearing minerals. However at the Bursum mine it formed as a low-temperature hydrothermal flow.

(Wikipedia http: / /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goethite) Goethite (FeO (OH)), (pronounced: "Gertite") named after the German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments...Goethite often forms through the weathering of other iron-rich minerals, and thus is a common component of soils. It may also be precipitated by groundwater or in other sedimentary conditions, or form as a primary mineral in hydrothermal deposits."

Hematite (Fe₂O₃) also formed in the hydrothermal flow on contact surfaces with the rhyolite and on the outer surface of the goethite flows. The hematite glaze typically on some of the goethite is a very thin coating on top of the goethite, approximately 1/64" to 1/16" thick. However recently recovered specimens have a hematite thickness of up to 3/8" thick on top of the goethite. The specimens when buffed produce a lustrous gray-black metallic shine.

The mystery of the US 60 mine
The Bursum mine has been the name of the manganese ore mining and goethite collecting location since 1955; however, during the recent years I've heard it called the US 60 mine by several people who knew of the location. With the help of Virgil Lueth, he provided the document to which there is a reference to the US 60 mine. (Norman et al. 1983) "Hematite occurs in all deposits, but only major amounts in the Upper Tower and US 60 mines...The US 60 deposit is also known as the Bursum and the MCA deposit is also known as the Red Hill." This is the only reference I've found to where there is a mention of the US 60 mine. Why it got that name instead of the Bursum is a mystery, at least to me.

Richard's Glory Hole mine
Sometime in the spring of 2002 Ray DeMark inquired with me about the location of the MCA mine, and I said: "I'd be glad to take you there." Ray indicated he was interested in trying to find rhodochrosite, which is mentioned in the Norman reference above. After we visited there Ray wanted to go to another location nearby to collect goethite, which ended up being the Bursum-US 60 mine location. Initially I was not impressed with the material and just poked around the site while Ray spent time collecting. Later at the 2002 Mineral Symposium, Brian Huntsman was displaying some polished goethite specimens in a display case. Wow was I impressed. It was also during 2002 that I and Richard Overley developed our partnership in our business Rio Grande Rock & Gems. Certainly after the 2002 Mineral Symposium, Richard and I started collecting the goethite in earnest.

Richard and I went to the Deming Gem and Mineral Roundup Rock Show and the Albuquerque Gems and Mineral Club's treasures of the Earth sShow for the first time to sell in March of 2003. The goethite specimens were well received. Richard and I continued collecting more seriously at the lower Bursum mine location. During that spring of 2003 we noticed somebody had really been actively collecting there by digging a trench about 3 ft wide by 3 ft deep and about 10-12 ft long. A few weeks later the trench had been extended even more. Richard and I kind of felt violated after looking at the carnage! We decided that we needed to look into filing a claim. However, we didn't know how to go about it. After researching the rules and regulations of both New Mexico and the BLM, we had a grasp on what was involved. With a GPS in hand we located the area of interest, recorded the GPS coordinates, and went to the Socorro BLM office. The staff there was very helpful in finding a USGS map for the location and the forms to fill out to start a mining claim.

In filling out the BLM paperwork, it required a name for the claim. I was trying to come up with some off-the-wall name for the mine. In consulting with Richard he said Richard's Glory Hole mine, which stuck as the name for the claim. Later Richard confided that he'd not ever had anything named after him! In October of 2003 we filed our paperwork with the BLM and the Socorro County Clerk’s Office. During the 2003 Mineral Symposium we let the word out that we had filed a claim on the location. As the word spread around the symposium, on Sunday, John Scully approached me in the parking lot asking "are you the guy that filed the claim on the US 60 mine?" I said with a grin "yes." During the conversation I believe that I was the first to say, "well, you had taught us a lesson." The lesson being that when a good find is made get a claim on it ASAP, as the prior spring carnage had upset Richard and me. Later on John said: "No, you taught us a lesson." As time went on I found out that it had been Rex Nelson, John Scully, and Klaus Althammer who had done so much digging that last spring. Ever since Rex and John have become very good friends with Richard and me.

From when Richard and I started the goethite digging it has been classified as a casual dig, which is 2 cubic yards of material/disturbance per year. However even a casual dig requires reclamation according to BLM regulations.

At last year's Mineral Symposium I decided that I was getting tired of just doing a casual dig at Richard's Glory Hole mine and wanted to get some heavy equipment up there. Since then it has been another learning experience.

Initially we sought to get a Dry General Permit for no more than 200 cubic yards of excavation and 2 acres of surface disturbance during a year period of time, costing only $50.00 for the permit. Last spring at the first site with Joe Mirabal (BLM) it was determined that we would exceed the Dry General Permit level of 200 cubic yards. Joe Mirabal referred us to Joe Vinson (MMD) for more site visits and collaboration with the state of New Mexico. So we started on the Minimal Impact Exploration Permit application, which allows up to 1,000 cubic yards of excavation and up to 5 acres of surface disturbance. However during March 2009 the application fees went from $100.00 to $500.00. So we spent a lot of our March rock show profits for the $500.00 fee. This September 2009 the BLM officials determined the reclamation cost would be $3,500.00 for when we complete our operations. This little thought of getting heavy equipment up to the claim has now got expensive, just to get some more rust!

Acknowledgments
Ray DeMark, Brian Huntsman, Rex Nelson, and John Scully for inspiration in various forms. Robert Eveleth and Virgil Lueth of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources for putting up with us. Joe Vinson New Mexico EMNRD-MMD-Mining Act Reclamation Program for site visits and permitting help. Joseph M. Mirabal and Ida Viarreal of the Bureau of Land Management for a site visit, permitting, and rules for financial assurance help.
 

References:

1. 247-251. Willard, M. E., 1973, Geology of the Luis Lopezmanganese district, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Open-file Report 186, pp. 2,5-7,53.
2. Farnham, L. L.,1961, Manganese deposits of New Mexico: U.S. Bureau of Mines, Information Circular 8030,176 pp.
3. Lueth, V. W., Chamberlin, R. M., and Peters, L., 2004, Age of mineralization in the Luis Lopez manganese district, Socorro County, New Mexico, as determined by 40Ar/39Ar dating of cryptomelane: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Bulletin 160, pp. 239-250.
4. Norman, D. I., Bazrafshan, K., and Eggleston, T. L., 1983, Mineralization of the Luis Lopez epithermal manganese deposits in light of fluid inclusion and geologic studies; in Chapin, C. E., and Callender, J. F. (eds.), Socorro region II: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 34, pp. 247-251.