New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

The Jones district, also known as Jones camp, is located about 15 mi east of Bingham in eastern Socorro County. The district was established around a small iron deposit and is named after Fayette Jones, who was an early promoter of the district. Fayette Jones is well known for his 1906 publication, Mines of New Mexico. Claims were located in the late 1880s and actively promoted in the early 1900s to iron and steel companies in New Mexico and Colorado. Many investigations and reports have centered on the district, but mining has been as sporadic and small scale as the iron deposits themselves.

The most prominent feature of the district is the Jones dike that cuts a significant east-west swath through Chupadera Mesa and is clearly visible in satellite photos. The dike is one of a swarm of radial dikes focused on the Socorro-Magdalena caldera of the early Rio Grande rift. The dike has been dated at 28.9 Ma placing it in the Oligocene. The dike has a multi-phase syenodiorite composition. Small, scattered skarn deposits were formed along its margins in the adjoining Chupadera formation. These skarns host the iron deposits that are dominantly composed of magnetite.

The various phases of the dike occasionally have miarolitic cavities containing well-formed microcrystals of several minerals of interest to mineral collectors. These include titanite, actinolite-tremolite, apatite, and zircon. The skarn deposits have produced nice specimens of magnetite with crystals to about 1/2 inch in size.

The locality is easy to get to by following the directions in Field Trip Guide to the Jones Camp Mining District by Bob North.