Silver, like gold and platinum, was born from cataclysmic events in the heavens. Researchers theorize that the majority of heavy elements (silver, gold, and platinum) in our solar system likely originated from a single neutron-star merger that occurred about 80 million years before the birth of our solar system (5.4 billion years ago).
As the Earth formed, heavy elements such as iron, silver, and gold sank toward the planet's core. If no other events had occurred, there would be very little silver or gold in the Earth's crust but around 4 billion years ago, the Earth was bombarded by asteroids. These impacts stirred the deeper layers of the planet and forced some silver and gold into the upper mantle. Plate tectonics and volcanism play an important role in transporting heavy elements from the mantel to the crust. Silver is transported in mineral rich water and is concentrated in veins and alteration zones.
Mindat lists 212 mineral species containing silver. This includes: 7 element species; 193 sulfides and sulfosalts species; 7 halide species; one oxide species; one sulfate species; and three phosphate, arsenate, and vanadate species.
New Mexico
New Mexico has a wonderful endowment of silver (and other minerals like copper and gold) because of its geologic history. Important geologic events creating this endowment include the marginal extension of the base domain, the Laramide Orogeny caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate, and the subsequent crustal extension and Rio Grande Rift and its associated volcanism.
Silver has been found in 163 mining districts and other geographic locations in New Mexico. More than 118.7 million oz. of silver have been produced in New Mexico from 1848 through 2014. Silver is currently extracted only as a byproduct of copper mining. Production from most districts has been small; however, 14 districts have produced more than 3,000,000 oz. of silver, and together they account for approximately 80% of the total silver production in New Mexico. (V. T. McLemore, 2017)
Silver is found in 14 distinct types of deposits that range in age from Proterozoic through Holocene. Five deposit types have produced significant gold and/or silver as the primary product: placer, volcanic-epithermal, Great Plains margin (alkaline-related), carbonate-hosted silver-manganese replacement, and Laramide vein. Four deposit types have produced significant silver and gold as byproducts of base-metal production: carbonate-hosted lead-zinc replacement, Laramide skarn, porphyry copper, and Proterozoic massive-sulfide. The five remaining deposit types with minor silver and/or gold production are: copper-silver (±uranium) vein, Rio Grande rift, Mississippi Valley-type, sedimentary-copper, and vein and replacement in Proterozoic rocks. (V. T. McLemore, 2017)
Silver mining occurred under Spanish and Mexican rule in what would become New Mexico, but records are sparse and inconsistent. The discovery of the Comstock Lode (NV) in 1858 inaugurated large-scale silver mining in the western United States. The Comstock was the first important silver-mining district in the United States, and its discovery stimulated a great deal of prospecting for silver across the western United States. New Mexico’s first major silver discovery (as a Territory) was in 1863 in the North Magdalena district (Pueblo Springs area).
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44th New Mexico Mineral Symposium
November 1-3, 2024, Macey Center, Socorro, NM
Print ISSN: 2836-7294 Online ISSN: 2836-7308
