×Figure 1: Map of showing location of Piedmont Mine. Map by William Besse
The Piedmont mine, near Bloody Basin in Yavapai County, Arizona, is one of the most intriguing, mythic, and peculiar mining properties in Arizona. And it is the source of the “Holy Grail” for many Arizona mineral collectors: spectacular pseudomorphs of malachite after blocky azurite crystals to 5 cm, pale to dark green and coated by quartz crystal druse or clear quartz points.
Part of the Copper Creek mining district of Yavapai County, the original seven claims of the Piedmont mine were located in 1892. Situated in the Tonto National Forest, the Piedmont mine can be reached via an all-weather dirt road approximately 17 miles east of I-17’s Bloody Basin exit. Throughout its existence, the Piedmont mine has been heavily promoted. A promotor during the 1940s attributed one of the Piedmont’s name changes (to the “Arizona Copper Queen”) to the purported involvement of Walter Douglas, son of James Douglas, the president of Phelps Dodge. The promotor was clearly trying to gain legitimacy for the property by implying it was connected to—or as good as—Bisbee’s Copper Queen mine. But it is highly unlikely that Walter Douglas even knew of this property’s existence. And like his prim father, Walter was too conservative to lend his name and reputation to a boondoogle.
During the years of promoting the Piedmont mine, some trappings of a promising operation were developed. There were reportedly four shafts sunk on the claims, if the prospectuses are true. The shafts were dug originally all to a depth of 300–350 ft. Then one shaft, the Piedmont, was sunk to a depth of 1,050 feet, and there was also reported drifting on two levels. However, the Piedmont Shaft collapsed at the collar, making any actual mining effort very difficult to prove. Evidence of only two of the four shafts was found, the Piedmont and the Sunshine to the southwest, both collapsed at the collars, when exploration geologist James McGlasson and I visited the site. Even more strangely, there are almost no dump piles surrounding the collars. Where is all the waste rock? Neither were any of the huge dikes reported by early analysts in evidence. When Wayne Thompson and his uncle of the same name visited the Piedmont in 1981, they also noted the lack of dumps, as well as the lack of significant quartz dikes. They even doubted the existence of any shafts, other than as shallow prospect pits.
Yet, despite having a new mining evaluation completed every ten years or so, and a string of names (the Piedmont, the Arizona Copper Queen, the Legal Tender, the Gold Flower, and the Copper Creek) none of the Piedmont’s eventual 41 claims were ever patented by its various owners, and despite its heavy promotion, only one carload of ore was prepared for shipment during the entire 125-year history of the mine. Indeed, the Copper Creek District in Yavapai County as a whole never amounted to much. But as Mark Twain once quipped, the definition of a mine is “a hole in the ground with a liar on top.”
The Piedmont mine might have remained in quiet obscurity, except for an important find of specimens of quartz druses coating malachite pseudomorphs after blocky azurite crystals to 5 cm. The find was either made as a result of a tip given to Wayne Thompson, Sr. or as a result of a clandestine field trip to the locale in the early 1950s. The people involved were Evert Thompson and Wayne Thompson, Sr. (both uncles of collector/mineral dealer Wayne Thompson) and by Monnie Speck (who owned a rock shop in Phoenix with her husband). Wayne Thompson, Jr. says his uncle Wayne went up to the mine, possibly following a lead, and discovered a huge boulder alongside the road, containing pseudomorph specimens lining a narrow crack.
There are several differing stories of how the mineral find was made. According to a knowledgeable source, Arthur Flagg occasionally arranged “special” field trips for some privileged MSA members. The Thompsons and Specks all were members of the Mineral Society of Arizona (MSA), the mineral club founded and led by Arthur Flagg, Arizona’s first State Geologist and a tireless advocate for collecting Arizona’s minerals. And all three were part of this inner circle. Little hard evidence exists for these field trips. But the MSA files would surely not have publicized these events, which excluded many club members. And most people who knew the real story have long-since passed away. Whatever the true circumstances, the three collectors made a spectacular find at the Piedmont mine in 1951.
Here begins another set of myths, lies, and intrigue. The most commonly-heard story is that the three families were on a picnic outing, having driven all the way from Phoenix (a very long way, indeed, in 1951). The story goes that they found a huge, vug-filled quartz boulder and collected approximately 50 of these unique specimens in a fit of energy. A different version of the myth says that Wayne, Sr. found the huge boulder with a large vug near the top, but he was unable to budge the hard rock. He returned to Phoenix, recruited his brother-in-law Evert and their mineral mentor, Monnie Speck. Evert had been a miner in the Black Hills of South Dakota and knew how to use dynamite. After detonating the dynamite, the threesome then collected about fifty specimens. The saddest corollary to this tale is that the best specimen was a huge plate, some 30 cm (12 inches) in length. Since none of the three collecting partners would give up their claim to it, the specimen was summarily broken into three sections so that each of the collectors could have a piece.
It is unlikely, despite the myth, that all specimens originated in the same vug, since there are several habits and different matrices. The real story about this find will probably never be known, but several educated guesses can be made. First, it is highly unlikely that all the specimens came from one boulder. As any experienced field collector knows, the magmatic “porridge” which creates vugs tends to be chemically consistent over short distances. While there can certainly be minor variations, major differences in color, habit, size, or matrix strongly suggests that the vugs were spread over several boulders and at least situated at some distance apart.
Moreover, there is evidence that the collectors did not have big enough chisels and sledges (or maybe muscle power), and came back several times to get the specimens, finally resorting to a dynamite charge. Good field collectors—and these three were reputed to be among the best—would not have caused that degree of damage, even if the vugs were tight. While the use of dynamite does not have to cause damage, if one sets off a full stick, it will blow a big rock to pieces and the concussion will cause the carnage observed to otherwise pristine specimens. The evidence does not support the theory that the pieces were contacted by removal from tight vugs.
There are reputed to have been about 50 pseudomorph specimens collected from the Piedmont on that mythic collecting foray. Most are now owned by a handful of major Arizona mineral collectors, as well as a few others. Monnie Speck’s specimens went initially to Sandi Aston of Phoenix; this group of crystals was subsequently acquired by Mark Hay and Dick Morris, along with Keith Williams, about a decade ago. Wayne Thompson, Sr. sold two fine specimens in the early years. Ed Swoboda bought one in the 1980s, an important example for his pseudomorph collection, which later went first to Jim Minette and then to Les Presmyk. Rukin Jelks purchased another pseudomorph from Wayne, Sr. for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum when he served as one of ASDM’s trustees. The Desert Museum later obtained the bulk of Wayne Thompson’s specimens. Finally, Les Presmyk bought many of Evert Thompson’s specimens in two purchase agreements a decade apart. Were there other specimens, comparable to this big find, collected by others during the last 65 years? Were these the only habit of pseudomorphs collected? Were there other quality specimens from this strange mine? There are several specimens of bright green vermiform chains of malachite pseudomorphs after an unknown material. Dick Morris, Les Presmyk, Paul Matt, Jim McGlasson and I have such examples. There may be others.
Although all the immediate participants have passed away and the memories of others grow dim (and possibly inaccurate), answers must await further research. If one asks enough people enough questions, the truth eventually surfaces. We can only hope that this happens.
Some examples of specimens collected from the 1951 find. Figure 2. Med grain. Medium-grained quartz druse over bright green malachite after blocky azurite on a matrix of drusy quartz. Approx. 5". Figure 3. Fine grain. Fine-grained pale green to white quartz druse over blocky malachite after azurite on matrix of doubly terminated quartz crystals. Approximately 3.5" across. Figure 4. Clear quartz. Clear quartz points over emerald-green malachite after azurite on matrix of quartz. Approx. 1.5" across.
×Some examples of specimens collected from the 1951 find. Figure 2. Med grain. Medium-grained quartz druse over bright green malachite after blocky azurite on a matrix of drusy quartz. Approx. 5". Figure 3. Fine grain. Fine-grained pale green to white quartz druse over blocky malachite after azurite on matrix of doubly terminated quartz crystals. Approximately 3.5" across. Figure 4. Clear quartz. Clear quartz points over emerald-green malachite after azurite on matrix of quartz. Approx. 1.5" across.
References:
Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources. Open File Report on the Piedmont Mine, #1999-01-0373.
Bideaux, R. et al., Minerals of Arizona.
Grant, R., Rockhound Record #16, MSA publication, Phoenix, AZ. April, 1988.
Niemuth, N., Copper Oxide Resources, ADMM Open File Report 92-10.
Wallace, T., ed., 2012, Collecting Arizona: State of Mines, Legacy of Minerals. Denver: Lithographie.
