New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Summary
Arizona became the 48th state of the United States of America on 14 February 1912. Its history as a territory and state is intimately tied to that of New Mexico. In fact, the two states were originally considered the New Mexico Territory with about a half dozen counties stretching from its eastern border with Texas and its western border at the Colorado River. In 1864, Congress divided it into the New Mexico and Arizona Territories. Had it not been for the framers of the Arizona Constitution insisting on including provisions for the recall of judges, Arizona would have been the 47th state.

Arizona's modern mining history began in the early 1850s as unsuccessful adventurers began returning from the California gold rush of 1849. The western side of the Arizona Territory was the least inviting for settlement because of its arid nature. The eastern half had a more hospitable climate, and more water, but because of the various native tribes, especially the Apaches, and other lawless individuals roaming these areas until the mid-1870s, exploration for natural resources was limited. It is tough to look at the ground for gold, silver, or whatever, when the main concern was staying alive! With the end of the Civil War and the re-establishment of numerous army forts in the territory, these unfriendly elements began to be subdued. The army soldiers also became some of the first prospectors in these areas. Soldiers were not the only ones interested in searching for mineral treasures. The western and central portions of Arizona had started to be populated by ranchers and farmers, some with this interest and certainly the time to start the search.

The collecting of mineral specimens was entirely mine and ore related until the early 1880s. Heintzleman and others shipped and displayed specimens back in St. Louis, Chicago, and points farther east, mainly to entice capital investment in this last American frontier. The early interest was in silver and gold. Silver mining began to take hold before the Civil War, at the Ruby and the Mowry mines. In fact, silver from Ruby was fashioned into an inkwell set presented to President Lincoln. The Mowry mine was confiscated by the Union army because Sylvester Mowry was suspected to be a southern sympathizer.

The Colorado River provided a means of travel along the western border of the territory. A number of mines, including the Red Cloud and within 2 mi of the Colorado River, was located in the 1860s. It was named for a nearby Indian trail near the Colorado River, not the red crystals found lying about on the top of the vein, and mining started in 1880. This silver mine would become more famous for its wulfenite crystals, even attracting the attention of the territorial governor and mention in one of his reports to Congress.

Toward the middle of the territory, several rich but short-lived silver deposits, all in the Superior to Globe area, were discovered, and mining started in the late 1870s and early 1880s. The Silver King mine was originally found by a member of the army while building a road over the mountains. It was relocated by a small group of farmers from the Florence area in 1875, just a few miles north of where the town of Superior is today. The Stonewall Jackson mine was also located about this time, east of Globe. Both were rich enough that crystallized specimens were saved and found their way into the inventories of mineral dealers of the time.

Most of these early mines and mining camps were short lived, usually less than 10 yrs. The copper mines would bring stability and longevity to Arizona's towns and economy but these required the railroads for cheap and reliable transportation. Without the railroads, even the richest copper mineralization (20% plus) was barely profitable. Bisbee was the first to have rail access, followed by Morenci and Globe-Miami. Along with this prosperity and ease of travel, specimens were saved to a much greater degree. Once a person no longer feared for their life, and more importantly, dealers could travel into these areas and safely transport specimens back to their eastern markets, did the normal economic drivers take hold of having miners collect specimens knowing they could supplement their incomes by filling their lunch boxes.

The beauty of some of these mineral finds, such as the caverns at Bisbee and the rich copper oxide orebodies at Morenci, inspired both miners and management to preserve these specimens. Ben Williams and Dr. James Douglas of the Copper Queen Mining Company appreciated the beauty of the calcites, azurites, malachites, and cuprites, the likes of which had not been seen before. They even employed miners to collect for their collections and the company account. Bisbee would remain Arizona's premier producer of specimens for 90 yrs while various mines operated and even some clandestine efforts since 1975. When the Lavender pit was extended into the old Copper Queen and Holbrook workings, Phelps-Dodge arranged to have specimens saved and sold. Phelps-Dodge's legacy of saving specimens continues to this day through the efforts of Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold, mainly at Morenci, but also continuing to maintain the corporate mineral collection in Phoenix, Arizona, which was started back in the 1880s.

Other mines, like the Live Oak and Old Dominion in the Miami and Globe, produced azurite, malachite, cuprite, and chrysocolla specimens and gem materials recognized for their beauty and value even in 1900. The Magma mine at Superior was one of Arizona's richest copper mines and produced its finest barite and pyrite specimens, along with calcites only second to Bisbee. Halfway between Globe and Tucson, the Mammoth and Collins mines had enough wulfenite that it was produced as an ore of molybdenum before and during World War I. While it is fun to speculate how many specimens went to the crusher, most of the wulfenite filled the vein openings and was tightly crystallized enough to truly constitute ore. In its final mining phase, mine management recognized the value of its mineral suite and employed one or two full-time miners to collect specimens for sale.

Arizona's mineral collecting legacy the amateur and week-end collector began its rise in the 1940s and continues today. Like New Mexico, amateur and professional collectors have scoured and rescoured its abandoned mines and surface localities for the past seven decades, bringing to light hundreds of discoveries of specimens for collectors and museums throughout the world. Minerals from aurichalcite to zunyite and every letter in between have been found. Arizona is home to world class and type localities including Tiger, Jerome, and the Grand Reef. Arizona's mineralogy is as diverse as any state or country. Names like the Glove, the Apache, the Old Yuma, the Homestake, the 79 mine, the Rowley, the Red Cloud, the Portland, the Western Union, the Grandview, the Defiance, the Silver Bill, Silver Bell, and Silver Hill all form part of Arizona's mineral heritage and legacy, due to the efforts of amateur collectors.

While the next century will probably not be as exciting as its first 130 yrs, new deposits and finds still await those who are willing to put in the time and sweat necessary to hike the hills, explore the old mines, and then dig out those treasures still awaiting discovery.

About the author
Les is an Arizona native and a mineral collector for almost 50 yrs, specializing in Arizona minerals for more than 30 yrs. He is an Arizona native and a graduate of the University of Arizona, with a degree in mining engineer. He spent the first 11 yrs of his career in underground copper mining and the past 25 yrs dealing with coal and uranium fuel procurement for the second largest utility in Arizona. He has also been a member of the Tucson Show committee for 28 yrs.