New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

The Apache Hills are located approximately 6 mi southeast of the small village of Hachita (population 50+/-), which is located on Highway 9 in southern Hidalgo County, New Mexico. It is aptly named hills as it is barely 3 mi wide and 6 mi in length. Geologically, the hills consists of a central core of quartz monzonite porphyry surrounded at the base with Tertiary volcanics consisting of rhyolite, andesite, and basaltic rocks with interspersed units of limestone and scam deposits. The Apache mine, located on the south slope just west of Apache Peak, is the most well-known mine in the area with a lengthy history dating back to the last half of the 19th century. Production was in the form of rich silver ore along with copper and lead values. The mineral list for this mine is well known and can be found in the references.

It became obvious when looking in the literature for other mines and lists of minerals in the district (Apache No. 2 district), available information was seriously lacking. As a result, it seemed a promising enterprise to examine the other mines and prospects to determine "the rest of the story" for the Apache Hills. The following table is the result of that endeavor.

While most of the material collected, with one or two exceptions, would rightly fit into the micromineral category the range of species encountered should encourage collecting along with further exploration. Most of the larger mines and workings were sampled. However, numerous small localities scattered throughout the mineralized areas were not.

Access to the Apache Hills is fairly open with only two private in-holdings surrounded by public BLM land. However, one should use caution as records show active mining claims in several areas of the hills. Roads are unpaved but passable with high-clearance vehicles. The area is active cattle country, and while gates are unlocked, they should be left as found.

Credits and Acknowledgments
Robert E. Walstrom: Mineral collection, photography, and PowerPoint. Richard Faulkner: Landowner (access). Dr. Anthony Kampf: Mineral Analyses (SEM/EDS). Robert Eveleth: Archives New Mexico Tech. Equipment: Camera = Nikon D80 and Microscope = Meiji TR8.

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