New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

The Blue Jay (or Eureka) claim is one of the 17 patented claims that compose the Big Indian mine near La Sal, Utah. The mine has been an important source of copper ores, particularly so in the late 1940's and 1950's. The Big Indian properties are owned by Big Indian Resources of Englewood, Colorado. The Blue Jay claim was leased by Mike Madson Minerals in 1982 expressly for the recovery of collectible malachite and azurite.

The occurrence of collectible mineral specimens at the Big Indian mine was first noted in the summer of 1980 by a Mesa College (Grand Junction) geology student. Subsequently, several mineral collectors recovered small crystal groups and small nodules of azurite. In the spring of 1981 significant numbers of azurite nodules were recovered from a roadside deposit on the Blue Jay claim. The minerals recovered during the 1981 excava¬tions were marketed as "Blue Grotto" material. These excavations ended when the collectors encountered a "pinch-out" on the azurite-bearing shear zone in the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation.

Lease acquisition and subsequent geologic mapping made possible the identification of three additional areas of potential for the recovery of collectible minerals. The most significant of the three areas proved to be an unanticipated extension of the 1981 shear zone, which was not visible to surface exploration. The 1983 excavation of the Blue Jay claim exceeded all previous recoveries. Nearly 1,200 yds3 of azurite-bearing vein materials were sorted on site during the October through November excavation. The azurite-bearing zone exhibits strong structural and lithologic controls. Minerals recovered in 1983 supplied a diversity of products including pigment, geodes, jewelry, and fine specimens. This excavation yielded in excess of 20,000 individual azurite geodes, as well as many hundreds of unusual azurite-malachite groups. The 1983 yield, in addition to the yields recovered earlier in the 1980's, identify the Blue Jay claim as one of the most important occurrences of azurite in the United States, perhaps the world, within the last several decades.