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Preliminary Report
on t h e
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L i t t l e G r a n i t e ’ Mine
Black Range Mining District
. S i e r r a County,.New Mexico
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,@&daw
’
Rob r t W. E v e k t h
. Mining
.Engineer
M.R.
1
5
, 1980
February
N.M.B.M.
&
‘4
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1
Summary
.
.The workings of
.
.
the ' L i t t l e G r a n i. t e .mine a r. e .n. e a r l y
unknowri . e x t e n t .
inaccessibleandgenerallyof'
'Random
samples from s u r f a c e c r o p p i n g s show promising values,
'
but
.no m i n i n g v e n t u r e s h o u l d b e - u n d e r t a k e n . u n t i l t h e e x i s t e n c e
o r e i s proven by additional sampling and
ofeconomic
diamond d r i l l i n g .
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PurposeandScopeofReport
The L i t t ..l e .G. r a n i t e Mine. w. a s .b r i. e f. l_y examined by Bureau
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p e r s o n n e l a t the r e q u e s t of Mr. .John F o s t e r t o d e t e r m i n e
i f t h e property i s worthyofadditionalexplorationand
developmentby
Location and
Mr.
Fosker'and his associate.Frank Turley.
Access'ib'ility
. T h e mine is l o c a t e d i n NE% sec. 21,. T.
1 0 S.,
R.
9 W.,
i n the B l a c k Range Minin.g District, Sierra Coun'ty New Mexico.
I t ' i s shown on the U.S.G.S.
..
q u a d r a n g l e( f i g .
LookoutMountain,
l).. The mine p r o p e r t y i s reachedby
t r a v e l l i n g . n o r t h 2.2 miles fromWinstonon
t h e n c en o r t h w e s t
1 9 4 9 15-minute
via a dirtroadalong
S t a t e R.oufe 4 2 ,
Turkey Creek.
locked g a t e i s encountered approximately one
paved road, but entry can
.miles; p a r t s o f
Creek
€8r. approximately
.
it are q u i t e p r i m i t i v e ,
'
mile from t h e
be' g a i n e d f r o m ' t h e p r o p e r t y
The road follows Turkey
A
owner.
7 additional
with the last quarter
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mile b e i n g i m p a s s i b l e .
History
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No maps o f t h e mine workings of
claims; assays' or 'any
Messers F o s t e r and .Turley; therefore, very
little i s known ' r e g a r d i n g t h e h i . s e o r y
any,ofthe
..
a verbal description of.khe 'location,
other data, except
was provided by
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o r production;
'if
L i t t l e G r a n i t e Mine.
The e a r l i e s t known.reference t o t h e L i t t l e G r a n i t e
was i n an 1877 report- 1/ w r i t t e n when t h e mine was owned
byMf...Oscar
Neisly.
.
The 1887 r e p o r t s t a t e d t h e v e i n
was 2% f e e t i n w i d t h a n d . c a r r i e d
The o r e w a s s a i d ' t o . be f r e e m i l l i n g ,
t o n and "some gold.''
b u tn os h i p m e n t s
by Harley
40 o u n c e s s i l v e r t o t h e
were recorded.
The mine w a s a l s o mentioned
-2/. who s t a t e d , i n p a r t ' ! m i n e s ' i n t h e [ . G r a f t o n a r e a ]
i n c l u d e . t h e ' Gold H i l l , Gold Coin,' L i t t l e G r a n i t e . (al,so known
as ' " M i m a " )
,
and many o t h e r s .
Much o r e i n
.. .
beentakenfromtheseprospectsfrom
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shallowundergroundworking."Harley
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surface c u t s a n d
.
i n theGrafton
miscellaneousprospects
i np r o d u c t i o nt h r o u g h1 9 3 2 .
.
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small l o t s h a s
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2'
c r e d i t st h e
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area w i t h $ 4 0 , 0 0 0
How much o f t h i s ,
.
be c r e d i t e a . t o . t h e L i t t l e ' G r a n i t e i s unknown.
i f .any,
. ... can
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'
L'
Report on Mines o f t h e B l a c k Range and Apache Districts,
Atchison,Topeka,
and Santa Fe Railway,1887.
"The Geologyadd O r e Depositsof
Sierra County,
Harley, G.T.,
New Mexico, N.M.B.M.
& M.R.
B u l l . 10, 1934,p-81
2'
Harley, G.T.,
op. c i t . , p . 78
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3
Geology
The L i t t l e G r a
. n i, t e v e i n o c c u r s a s o p e n s p a c e f i l l i n g
I<
i n ' a .medium- .to b r o w n i s h g r a y p o r p h y r 5 t i c v o l c a n i c
b e l i e v e d ' t ob ea n d e s i t i ci nn a t u r e .
NSoW, h i p s a b o u t
of q u a r t z a n d
The v e i n strikes
SO0 t o t h e e a s t , a n d ' i s
some c a l c i t e .
'
composed p r i m a r i l y
The v e i n ranges from 1 f t
( 3 0 c m ) bo 3.5 f t (1.1.m)- i n widthand
was. t r a c e d a b o u t
400 f t (122 m) n o r t h 'of t h e main s h a f t a n d r o u g h l y
( 1 2 2 m) s o u t h , o ft h e
main s h a f t .
be observed as d a r k s t r i n g e r s
.
unit
400 f t
Ore m i n e r a l i z a t i o n can
% t o 3/4 i n c h e s (1-2 c m )
i nw i d t hw i t h i nt h e ~ q u a r t za n d . c a l c i t e
gangue;
Ore
minerals i n c l u d es p a r s e l yd i s s e m i n a t e dg r a i n sg a l e n a ,
. .
c h a l c o p y r ' i t e ,' a n da r g e n t i t e j a c a n t h i t e .
c o l l e c t e da tt h e
Two v e i ns a m p l e s
s i t e (see sampling)averaged
gold and 13.25 oz/t
- 1 2 oz:/t
silver.
P r o p e r t y Des'c'k'iption
a t l e a s t oneunpatented
.
.
The L i t t l e G r a n i t e c o n s i s t s o f
l o d e claim.
A 4" x 4" s q u a r e dp o s t ,
L i t t l e Granite'' was found a t t h e t o e
marked "S e n dc e n t e r
of t h e L i t t l e Granite
t h i s , a c o n j e c t u r a l claim map was c o n s t r u c t e d .
dump,From
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Known w o r k i n g sc o n s i s to f
7' x 7 ' ,
3 s h a f t s : ,t h e
L i t t l e Granite,
a 2-compartment s h a f t 20 f e e t i n depth,and
s h a f t( d e p t h
a 7 ' x 7'
unknown) a t creek l e v e l on t h e s o u t h s i d e
Turkey C r e e k d i r e c t l y a c r o s s
'4
of
from t h e L i t t l e G r a n i t e dump.
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4
is presentlyfloodedtothecollar..Other
Thisshaft
several s h o r t a d i t s
surfaceworkingsincludeahopen.cut,
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alongthestrikeofthevein,allpartiallycaved,,a
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e a s t of t h e L i t t l e G r a n i t e s h a f t ( a p p a r e n t l y
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shorttunnel
a prospectabovethe
usedforanexplosivemagazine)and
I
main s h a f t .
These are approximatelylocatedon
figure 2.
Nothing i s p r e s e.n, t l y known m g a r d i n g t h e e x t e n t
conditionoftheundergroundworkings.
judging from the
volume o f t h e
t h e main e n t r y t o t h e mine.
or
The L i t t l a .Grdnl.te
dump, a p p e a r s t o h a v e b e e n
Thisshaft
i s b e l i e v e dt oh a v e
9 0 .and X25 f e e t i n d e p t h , b..u .t i s p r e s e n t l. y .
. .
timber and o t h e r d e b r i s . a t c o l l a r
caved. and plugged with
beenbetween
e l e v a t i o n minus 30 f e e t .
The s h a f t i s c o v e r e dw i t hp i e c e s
of r o t t e d timber ( f i g : 3 ) .
'
A rough.survey of t h e -dump
i n d i c a t e s a volume e q u i v a l e n t t o . a t l e a s t 70 f e e t ,of 7 ' x 7 '
shaft.
The o l d e rp o r t i o n
t h es h a f t
,.
Creek d u r i n g t h e l a s t
beenerodedbyTurkey
v i e w of the
of t h e dump, h o w e v e r ,h a sp r o b a b l y . .
100 years.
A
L i t t l e Granite ,ope'ration, 'looking' sou*h' a c r o s s
bank of
a n d , d u m pt 0 w a r d . as h o r ta d i to nt h e - s o u t h
TurkeyCreek
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i s shown i n f i g . 4 .
The e x t e n to fd e v e l o p m e n t( d r i f t i n ga n ds t o p i n g )f r o m
t h e L i t t l e G r a n i t es h a f t
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1/
According,to. Hai'ley- '
i s unknown.
" [ h ] and s o r t i n g o f t h e v e i n m a t t e r h a s b e e n t h e r u l e , a n d
the sorted product in
most i n s t a n c e s w a s s h i p p e d i n s a c k s
which were b r o u g h t t o t h e
main f r e i g h t i n g r o a d
onburros."
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1/ Harley, op.
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81
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20' deep
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Figure 2
Little Granite Mine
Sec 21, TlOs, 'R9W
S k r r a County, N. M.
Scale: 1('=600 1
Approx. LOConly.
i
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f i g . 3 . L i t t l e Granite S h a f t
of t i m b e r i n g .
showing deteriorated condition
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fig.-- 4. V i e w t o s o u t h . a c r o s s L i t t l e
Granite s h a f t and dump'; s h o r t
a d i t ' b a r e l y d i s c e r n i b l e t h r o u g h trees
(arrow)
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5
This suggests .that underground workings
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when encountered
w i l l . be small.
The a b o v e o b s e r v a t i o n s v e r i f y
many unknowns r e g a r d i n g
t h e L i t t l e Granite p r o p e r t y . . P l a n s f o r e x p l o r a t i o n and
. .
development must, therefore,' be approached
r a w prospect.
manner a s f o r a n y o t h e r
. .
Sampling
Threesamples
#1, a c r o s s t h e
vein a t
1 0 0 f t (30 m) n o r t h o f t h e
. .
# 2 i i s a g r a b . s a m p l ef r o mt h e
L i t t l e Gran
. i t. e. s.h a f t ;
dump, and#3,
-
were c o l l e c t e d
a p r o s p e c tp i ta p p r o x i m a t e l y
1
',
i n t h e same
a t a n open c u t
was takenfromthevein
2 0 0 f t ( 6 0 m) s o u t ho ft h e
main
main s h a f t ( r e f e r t o f i g u r e
These .samples .were.. a s s a y e d b y t h e a t o m i c a b s o r p t i o n
2).
method
, .
an.d t h e r e s u l t s a r e '
shown i n T a b l e 1.
.
Sample
#
Au ( o z / t o n )
1
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Ag ( o z / t owni)d t h
7.3
,
.05
2
3
.12
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3.3 ,.12
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10.9
Lead,zinc,andcopper
averageoftheabovesamples
for vein width
1.3
...( g r a b )
15.6
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Table 1. 'Assay;from
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L i t t l e G r a n i t e v e i n & dum
p
.
were notdetermined.
.,'
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The
( # 2 n o ti n c l u d e d )w e i g h t e d
i s - 1 2 ounces 9019 pertonand13.25ounces
silver per ton for
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a ' t o t a l v a l u e of a b o u t ' $ 5 4 7 p e r t o n .
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6
a t today's, .precious metal prices.
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The ' s t r a i g h t a v e r a g e v a i u e
of a l l three s a m p l e s ' i s -10 ouncesgoldpertonand
11.2 7
ounces s i l v e r p e r t o n .
Conclusions
.
of t h e above v a l u e s , a n e x t e n s i v e mapp i.
On t h e b a s i s
sampling, and exploration
i s suggested.
pr.ogram.-of a t . l e a s t two d r i l l h o l e s
The d r i l l h o l e ss h o u l db ec a r e f u l l yl o c a t e d
t o y i e l d optimum v e i n i n t e r c e p t s a n d a v o i d u n d e r g r o u n d
workings.
(.It is p o s s i b l et h a tt h ep r o p e r t yh a s
d r i l l e d a t least o n c e ' i n t h e p a s t
-
been
of c o r e
a short piece
composed of t h e same a l t e r e d andesite t h a t o c c u r s a b u n d a n t l y o n
t h e L i t t l e G r a n i t e dump was .found a t ' t h e t o e of t h i s dump).
One h o l e s h o u l d b e
aimed t o . i n t e r s e c t th-e v e i n a t some
the h i l l t o t h e n o r t h ' o f t h e
depthbelowthetopof
t e s t thevein
s h a f t ;a n o t h e rs h o u l d
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Should further evaluat'ion
the existence
a t depth(below
I
feet).
main
.
100
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and d r i l l i n g d e m o n s t r a t e
of ecoriomic ore' a t ' t h e L i t t l e G r a n i t e , the
prospective operator
is f a c e d w i t h t h r e e o p t i o n s :
1) c i e a n o u ta n dr e h a b i l i t a t e
L i t t l e G r a n i t es h a f t ,
.
.
,;,
2) s i n k new s h a f t o r i n c l i n e , o r
3) drive a d i t north into
hillside.
The f i r s t of t h e s e oLjtions 'is t h e most expensive
as
it would r e q u i r e the e r e c t i o n of, a s u i t a b l e headframeand
use o f ' a h o i s t .
The secondoption
s
still r e q u i r e s t h e
use
7
4
of a h o i s t .
choice.
initial
.The t h i r d o p t i o n i s p r o b a b l y t h e b e s t
,
D r i f t i n g , : as compared t o s h a f t s i n k i n g , h o i s t i n g ,
e'tc., i s l e a s te x p e n s i v e .F u r t h e r m o r e ,s h o u l dt h e ' v e i n
prove t o be economic
a t depth, stoping. along this adit
mightprovidefundsto
clean o u t and r e h a b i l i t a t e . t h e
s h a f t andworkings.With
should be collared
this in
mind, t h e above a d i t
.
so a s n o t t o f u r t h e r
Granite s h a f t .
.
damage t h e L i t t l e
.
Other necessary
.
. .
.
work would i n c l u d e t h e c o n s t u r c t i o n
o f a t least % mile of access r o a d a n d p e r h a p s , % mile of
improvement work on t h e e x i s t i n g ' r o a d .
One f i n a l s u g g e s t i o n
sample of. t h e o r e
-
should-be
as soon as i s p r a c t i c a b l e , a
s e n t t o . A s a r c o ' s smelter a t
E l Paso t o d e t e r m i n e . i f t h e o r e . w i l l q u a l L f y
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,
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as f l u x i n g o r e .
If n o t , it w i l l have t o b e m i l l e d p r i o r t o s h i p m e n t .
cc:
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,
Frank Kottlowski
George
Austin
T e r r y Siemers
Robert. Eveleth
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