Bulletin-39—The Metal Resources of New Mexico and Their Economic Features
Through 1954

By E. C. Anderson, 1932, reprinted and revised 1957, 183 pp., 21 tables, 3 figs., 5 plates, 1 index. Supersedes Bulletin 7.

In this bulletin an attempt has been made to assemble information of particular value to those interested in developing and working the metalliferous deposits of NM. Brief descriptions are given of all known deposits in the state other then those of iron and manganese. The history, production, and geology of the districts in which these deposits occur are treated in variable detail, depending upon the importance of the district. The bulletin also contains a conspectus of the metallic minerals found in NM, together with a statement of their occurrence and distribution.

Uranium, which recently has become important in NM, is treated in a separate section of this report. Only brief consideration is devoted to the deposits and production of iron ore. This subject has been covered adequately before. The discussion of manganese deposits and their production likewise is abbreviated, a separate report on this subject being in preparation by the NM Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources.

Some attention has been given to the economic features of the metals and minerals produced in the state. These features are subject, however, to rapid change resulting from fluctuations of supply and demand in the overall economy. The mining, milling, and smelting practices and costs which obtain today may become obsolete and disastrous a year from now.

Since the original publication of this bulletin in 1932, the metal mining industry of NM has undergone many changes. The peace- and war-time economies of the interval between 1932 and 1954 stimulated production from both old and new mines. New ore bodies were discovered, and new mines were brought into production. Some mines were depleted of ore and abandoned; even whole districts were mined out and became inactive.

The locations and description of some old districts that were overlooked by Lasky and Wootton in their original report are included in this revision, not because of their past importance but because of their future possibilities in the light of new mining methods and improved milling techniques.