New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Grant County, historically, has been the most important producer of zinc in New Mexico. Within the county, the Hanover area of the Santa Rosa mining district has been the most significant zinc producer. Mining operations in Hanover began near the close of the last century and were suspended in the early 1970's. More than 500,000 tons of zinc were recovered from the 8,000,000 tons of ore that were mined during that period.

Although the primary mineralogy of the area is quite simple, an interesting assemblage of secondary minerals, most notably smithsonite, has been found. This surprisingly common carbonate occurs in several colors. The vivid yellow specimens are among the finest of their kind in the Western Hemisphere.