Report on the Battleship Group
of patented mining claims
Lordsburg Mining District
Hidalgo County, N.M.
Robert W. Eveleth
q q g : n v &
.
R o ert
North
G.eologist/Mineralogist
New Mexico Bureau of Mines
and Mineral Resources, 2 / 6 / 8 1
Report on t h e B a t t l e s h i p Group
claims
of patented mining
Lordsburg Mining
'
District
HidalgoCounty,
N.M.
INTRODUCTION
claims i n t h e Lordsburg
The Ba.tt:leship group of mining
(Virginia)miningdistricthavelaindormantforover
were l o c a t e d d u r i n g e a r l y
These claims, l i k e h u n d r e d so fo t h e r s ,
a time, t h e n r a p i d l y f a d e d
p a r t o ft h e 2 0 t hc e n t u r y ,p r o d u c e df o r
i s an a t t e m p t t o shed
i n t oo b s c u r i t y .T h i sp r e l i m i n a r yr e p o r t
some l i g h t on t h e h i s t o r y
40 years.
t o assess t h e
anddevelopmentand
terms o f t o d a y ' s m i n e r a l m a r k e t .
potential value of the group in
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The New Mexico Bureau of
c o n t a c t e dd u r i n gt h e
S u l l i v a nM a r t i n ,
month of September,1980,
by Mrs. Kathleen
935 S u n s e tC l i f f sB o u l e v a r d ,S a nD i e g o ,C a l i f o r n i a ,
f o r a d v i c e on t h e v a l u e
and p o t e n t i a l o f h e r a b o v e
The claims were s u b s e q u e n t l y v i s i t e d
6 , 1 9 8 0 andagain
Resources was
MinesandMineral
by t h e a u t h o r s
by RobertNorthonJanuary
days were spentexaminingthe
on November
1 5 , 1981.Nearly
On$y oneofthe
a s h o r tt u n n e ln o r t h w e s to ft h eu p p e rs h a f t
was a c c e s s i b l e .T h e r e f o r e ,
no undergroundmapping,
c a l u . u l a t i o n s , e t c . , couldbedone.
ore r e s e r v e
Such d a t a as are h e r e i n
p r e s e n t e d are based upon s u r f a c eo b s e r v a t i o n s ,s a m p l i n g ,g e o l o g i c
interpretation,andthe
two
claims andworkings,observing
g e o l o g ya n dc o l l e c t i n gs a m p l e sa n do t h e rd a t a .
undergroundopenings,
named p r o p e r t i e s .
few a v a i l a b l e documentsandreferences.
G r a t i t u d e i s dueandherebyexpressed
Acknowledgements
t o Robert Lowery, MelvinCoolbaugh,RobertSchick,andRobert
a t Lordsburg.
Luning, a l l p r e v i o u s l y employedbyFederalResources
Eachgave
are due
time a n di d e a s .S p e c i a lt h a n k s
f r e e l yo ft h e i r
t o Mrs. K.S. Martin f o r s e a r c h i n g t h r o u g h f a m i l y r e c o r d s f o r
facts
and h i s t o r i c a l d a t a .
LOCATION, ACCESS AND PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
claims ( B a t t l e s h i p ,
The B a t t l e s h i p g r o u p o f p a t e n t e d m i n i n g
area 45.185 acres)
G i l a Monster,Looko'ut,mineralsurvey1592,
is locatedintheLordsburg(Virginia)miningdistrictinsections
11 and 1 2 , T23S, R19W, NMPM, HidalgoCounty,
properties can be reached
N.M.
1 . 9 miles; t h e n c e , r i g h t
i n t e r s e c t i o n 0 . 7 miles; t h e n c e , l e f t
f e a t u r ew i t h
t o thefootofLookout
microwave a n t e n n a eo nt h e
and dumps c a n b e s e e n
( f i g . 1 ) . The
by t r a v e l l i n g s o u t h f r o m L o r d s b u r g
highway 4 9 4 a d i s t a n c eo f
throughValedon
N.M.
on
at
a t i n t e r s e c t i o n 1 . 2 miles
Hill,
crest.
a prominent geographic
The main workings
on t h e n o r t h e a s t s l o p e o f t h e h i l l j u s t
a c r o s s a small a r r o y o west of t h e r o a d ( f i g s .
4, 5).
HISTORY lAND OWNERSHIP
The g r o u n d p r e s e n t l y c o v e r e d
by t h e B a t t l e s h i p
Monster claims was o r i g i n a l l y l o c a t e d
Battleship(alsoreferredto
onAugust
29,
1898and
c l a i m a n t w a s H.E.
as t h e F l a g s h i p a n d
as west e x t e n s t i o n F l a g s h i p ) l o d e s
December 12, 1 8 9 9 , r e s p e c t i v e l y .
Hoffman.'
Company, w i t h o f f i c e s i n
and G i l a
The
The B a t t l e s h i p MiningandMilling
Denver,Colorado,
was o r g a n i e e d ca 1 9 0 0
MiningRecordsHidalgoCountyCourthouse,Lordsburg,
N.M.
t o d e v e l o pt h e s ea n do t h e r
t h ea b o v e ,t h e
Wasp andHornet.
c a l l e d "The Navy Group".
a t o t a lo f
The f o u r claims were c o l l e c t i v e l y
By 1 9 0 6 , t h e claims were developed by
478 f e e t o f c u t s , d r i f t s
E l Paso were s a i d t o h a v ey i e l d e d
good c o p p e r , l e a d , s i l v e r , a n d
mine,however,andpassedfromthescene
I n 1 9 0 9 , W.T.
Scarboroughand
to
and s h a f t s .S h i p m e n t s
company was u n a b l et od e v e l o p
g o l dv a l u e s . 2T h i s
in addition to
claims, whichincluded,
a successful
by 1 9 0 8 . 3
W.A.
a lease on
Blondontook
t h e Dundee ( # 6 0 , f i g . 1); ~ a p r o p e r t y less t h a n a q u a r t e r mile
southeastoftheBattleshipproperties,
amountof
copper-gold-silverore
andshipped
t o t h e CopperQueen
B a t t l e s h i p company's p r o p e r t i e s .T h u s ,
when t h eo r i g i n a l
were allowed t o l a p s e , S c a r b o r o u g h , a l o n g w i t h
SprouselocatedtheBattleshipand
1, 1 9 0 9 .
smelter i n
men were d o u b t l e s s f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e d e f u n c t
Arizona.4These
F.A.
a substantial
M.W.
claims
Wrightand
G i l a MonsterLodesJan.
The Lookout was l o c a t e d by Scarborough,Blondon,and
FrankParker
November 1, 1 9 1 0 .
The claims, e s p e c i a l l y t h e B a t t l e s h i p ,
workedthroughout
l a r g e s td u r i n g
1916.
I n t e r m i t t e n ts h i p m e n t s
were made, t h e
The claims were surveyedduring
1912.6
p a t e n t was i s s u e d i n
were developedand
1 9 1 4 and
l a t e 1915 (see appendix).Production
the Battleship
Mine r o s e a n d f e l l w i t h t h e
f i n a l l yc e a s e d
by 1 9 1 7 .
Althoughvarious
at
metals market,and
members oftheScarborough
Vol IV, 1 9 0 6 , p. 239
CopperHandbook,
CopperHandbook,
Vol VIII, 1908,p.
359
NMBM&MR f i l e d a t a
MiningRecordsHidalgoCountyCourthouse,Lordsburg,
MineralResources,
1912-1917
N.M.
familyattemptedtooperatethe
mine d u r i n g 1 9 1 7 - 1 9 1 9 ,
a s h a f t i s saidtohavebeensunk
l a t t e ry e a r , 7
operated by
a t greatexpenseduringthe
was idle until
1935-1937 when it was
lessees.'
Ownershippassed
t o KathrynSullivan,(anobher
via a t a xc e r t i f i c a t ei n
theScarboroughfamily,
Sullivangrubstaked
t h e mine d u r i n gt h e
member of
1944.
a few p r o : s p e c t o r s o v e r t h e y e a r s a n d
one time c o n s i d e r e d h i r i n g
Mrs.
at
a mining contractor to rehabilitate
late 1940's.
These e f f o r t s were a p p a r e n t l y
claims d u r i n g 1973-
u n s u c c e s s f u l .F e d e r a lR e s o u r c e sl e a s e dt h e
75 b u t d i d
a s h o r tp e r i o d
no s h i p m e n t sr e s u l t e d .E x c e p tf o r
d u r i n g ,1928, t h e p r o p e r t y
and
no work on t h e ground.
P a r t s o ft h es u r f a c e
Lookout H i l l were s o l d o r l e a s e d t o t h e S o u t h e r n P a c i f i c
C o . and E l Paso N a t u r a l Gas C o . d u r i n g t h e
communication f a c i l i t i e s . '
on
R.R.
late 1970's for
The p r o p e r t i e s are p r e s e n t l y owned
by M r s . K a t h l e e n S u l l i v a n ( M a r t i n )
.
DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION
The B a t t l e s h i p g r o u p o f
Suchdevelopment
claims i s n o t e x t e n s i v e l y d e v e l o p e d .
as e x i s t s on t h e Lookoutand
i s l i m i t e d t o a few o p e nc u t sa n ds h a l l o wp i t s .
opening i s a s h a f ta n dc u t( f i g .
G i l a Monster lodes
The l a r g e s t
2) approximately 1 6 f t . deep
and 25 f t .l o n g ,r e s p e c t i v e l y .T h e s ew o n k i n g s ,a p p a r e n t l y
excavatedafterthepatentsurvey,
sidelineofthe
t h ep l a t .
a r e l o c a t e d on t h e n o r t h
L o o k o u tn e a rs u r v e ys t a t i o nn o .
1 a s shown on
Numbers, such as " s h a f t No. 7" r e f e r t o p l a t
and f i e l d
n o t e so ft h em i n e r a ls u r v e y .
'
Letter f r o mK a t h l e e nS u l l i v a n( M a r t i n )1 0 / 2 0 / 8 0 ;t h i s
may have
been an attempt
t o clean out and rehabilitate the tunnel shaft.
MineralResources,1928;MineralsYearbook,1935,1936,1937.
Letter from K a t h l e e nS u l l i v a n( M a r t i n ) ,9 / 2 3 / 8 0 .
Fig. 2: Open cut bnd ahaft on Lookout
claim.
1
Fig 3: Open cut and portal of tunnel
No. 3, Battleship.
a
All of
the
larger
workings
are
located
on the
Battleship
.~
claim. These consist of one tunnel (fig.3) and two shafts
(figs. 4-7)which, judging from the volume of dump material,
contain
the
majority
of
development.
The tunnelis 54 ft. in,length and was apparently driven
prior to 1914 to test a narrow vein structure.
It was abandoned
when the vein proved to
be uneconomic. The two shafts are open,
but
dueto
their
condition
were
not
entered.
Shaft no. 7 (fig.6), also known as the "tunnel" shaft, was
the center of most of the early (19.10-1916) development. This
shaft was164 ft~. deep, nearly vertical, with levels
65 at
ft.
(the 60 ft. level) andat or near the bottom (the 150 ft. level).
The shaft is presently open
to 104 ft. below the collar;
it is
0
caved at this point and has been, apparently, for some time.
This
cavingis probably
indicative
in
part
of stoping
above
the
150 ft. level. Heavy ground, however, is known to have been
encountered in this shaft."
Shaft no. 1 (fig. 7), also known as the "lower" shaft;.was,
in 1914, 80 ft. deep with short drifts
at the bottom driven to
the east and west. This shaft, inclined 265" to the southeast,
was the center of activity during the later (1920-37) period.
During this time,it was extended below the 100 ft. level where,
at 103 ft., a drift was driven to the west a distance
of 208 ft.
and another to the east 25 ft.
Small
i
lo
stopes
were
developed
above
each
drift
Letter from Ed Scarborough to Kathryn Sullivan, 5/12/48.
and
around
the
I
Fig. 4: View of Lookout Hill looking
West. Dumps of shaft No. 7 i n c e n t e r
of photo.
Fig. 5: View of dumps, looking East
f r o m f o o t of Lookout Hill. Dumps of
shaft No. 7 at point A; dump of shaft
No. 1 a t point B. Abandoned townsite
of Valedon in right background.
F-e, 6 : Collar of shaft No.
'G,
Battleship.
Fig. 7: Dump and collar set, shaft
No. 1, Battleship
shaft. An idealized cross-section of the two shafts and stopes
is shown in fig. 8. Calculations suggest that tonnage produced
1200 tons.
from these stopes amounts to
GEOLOGY
The
andesite
Battleship
Group
which
been
has
is
located
in an area of Cretaceous
intruded
by
a of
number
Tertiary
events.
Tertiary extrusive rocks also crop out in the Lordsburg district,
but none are exposed
on the Battleship group of claims
l 4 (fig. 9).
The
Cretaceous
andesite
was
first
intruded
by
a
large
14
Thorman, C.H., and Drewes, H., 1978 Geologic Map of the Gary
USGS Map 1-1151.
and Lordsburg Quads,
mass
..
Battleship
--"-.
? '1
shaft caved
at 104'
I ;
' I
I I
I
"-I
D r i f t w h e r e o r e is said ? "-1
to have been encountered;
length unknown.
1
I
I t
Bottom elevation unknown
150 ft. level
at 164'
"Bottom
i
F i g 8: Sketch map of Battleship Workings
0
Section A - A' along N80 E (Sections shown in fig. 9)
B a s e m a p a f t e r M i n e r a l S u r v e y D e s c r i p t i o n , 1914,
and US Bureau of Mines, 1943.
Scale: 1" = 50';R W E
‘i. Shear zones; dominately
:
breccia
quartz
A-A'
. .
B'
..
- .. . .
SHEAR ZONES, Dominately quartz
breccia. Ore deposits are emplaced
In thlsunit.
-
-.
, ,
,
I
APLITE DIKES.
z
4
GRANODIORITE.
,.
Scale: I"=
500'. No vertical exaggeration.
Fig. 10: Geologic cross sections across the Battleship' group. Lordsburg
N.M.
.
.
mining district, Hildago
County,
. ..
.
.,'
.
3
0
C
;o
m
Geology
from
Thorman
and
Drewes, 1078.
-L
'0
of g r a n o d i o r i t ed u r i n gt h eP a l e o c e n e .
i: 1 . 2 m.y.
havegivenagesof56.5
Two X - A r
*
and58.5
d a t e s on b i o t i t e
2 . 0 m.y.
15
were l a t e - s t a g e i n t r u s i o n s
Followingthegranodiorite
a p l i t ed i k e s .I n t r u s i v er h y o l i t e ,i n
p T a c e sb r e c c i a t e d
Of
(mapped
was
by Thorman and Drewes as i n t r u s i v e b r e c c i a i n t h o s e p l a c e s )
then intruded into the Tertiary granodiorite
andCretaceous
was a p p a r e n t l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h f a u l t i n g
andesite.Thisevent
and intense shearing and filling of the fractures
m i n e r a l i z i n gs o l u t i o n s
by
w h i c hb e a rt h eo r ei nt h ed i s t r i c t .
majorfaultsandshearing
are i n t h e n o r t h
yielding large quartz veins striking
E-W
smaller t e n s i o ng a s h e sr u n n i n ga p p r o x i m a t e l y
The
endofthedistrict,
with fault motion dominantly strike-slip in an
east-west d i r e c t i o n ,
along the faults
NE-Sw.
group i s j u s t t o t h e s o u t h o f t h e l a r g e f a u l t - s h e a r z o n e .
quartzveins
and
and
The B a t t l e s h i p
The
c u t t h e Cretaceous a n d e s i t e , t h e T e r t i a r y g r a n o d i o r i t e ,
a p l i t e s , a n di n t r u s i v er h y o l i t eb r e c c i a ,i n d i c a t i n gt h a t
m i n e r a l i z a t i o n i s y o u n g e rt h a nt h e s ee o c k s .
rocks are a l l Paleocene16
,
However, t h eT e r t i a r y
and it i s l i k e l y t h a t t h e i n t r u s i o n
of
the aplite, rhyolite, rhyolite breccia
a n dm i n e r a l i z e dq u a r t zv e i n s
were a l l a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e i n t r u s i o n
of t h e g r a n o d i o r i t e as
late-stage events.
Ore D e p o s i t s .L a ~ k y l ~ r e c o g n i z e ds i xs t a g e so fm i n e r a l i z a t i o n
inthedistrict.
The m i n e r a l i z i n gf l u i d s
existingfracturezonescaused
l5
17
Ibid
Thorman and D r e w e s , op. c i t .
Lasky,
1938,
op.
cit.
were emplacedalong
by f a u l t i n g and r e s u l t a n t s h e a r i n g .
. .
e
The s i x s t a g e s of m i n e r a l i z a t i o n are a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
r
Nening o f t h e f r a c t u r e z o n e s
t h ef a u l t s .
by c o n t i n u e d movement a l o n g
are as follows:18
The s t a g e so fm i n e r a l i z a t i o n
TABLE 2
-
Wall Rock A l t e r a t i o n
FF
i lrlai cn tgu r e
1stTourmaline
Stage
calcitea, sericite,
chlorite
calcite, sericite
specular hematite
2nd S Q
t augacerht az l, o c o p y r i t e ,
g a l e n a ,p y r i t e , ,
m a n g a n o s i d e r i t e ,s p h a l e r i t e ,
b a r i t e ,s p e c u l a rh e m a t i t e b ,
chloritea
S3
Q
t arud
gacerhtazl,c o p y r i t e
p y r i t e ,c h l o r i t e a
S4t at hg e
Calcite, chalcopyritea,
galenaa
Calcite
S t a5gteh
6th S t a g e
e
a
sericite
Calcite, p y r iqtuea, r t z a ,
fluorite
-
minor
amounts
b
-
very
minor
amounts
The i m p o r t a n t o r e m i n e r a l i z a t i o n o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e s e c o n d
s t a g e of m i n e r a l i z a t i o n .
Four m i n e r a l i z e ds h e a rz o n e s( v e i n s )
Group ( f i g . 9 ) .
map o ft h eB a t t l e s h i p
are shown o nt h eg e o l o g i c
I na d d i t i o n ,t h et u n n e l
the B a t t l e s h i p claim ( # 3 on L i s t ofImprovements,Appendix
d r i v e n on a m i n o r s h e a r t r e n d i n g
N 70" E,
dipping80"
The t u n n e l i s 6 6 ' ~ N 2 0 " W o ft h e" t u n n e ls h a f t "
on t h e B a t t l e s h i p g r o u p
mineralizati'on,with
show e v i d e n c e o f t h e f i r s t
The v e i n s
two s t a g e s of
a secondstagemineralassemblagedominant.
The c h a l c o p y r i t e h a s a l t e r e d
c o v e l l i t e a n dc h a l c a n t h i t e ,
e
I) i s
t o thesouth.
(#7).
The v e i n material a l s o shows a l t e r a t i o n fromexposure
and meteoric water.
on
ModifiedfromLasky,1938,op.
t o oxygen
t o malachite,
and t h e p y r i t e t o l i m o n i t e a n d j a r o s i t e .
c i t . f i g u r e 8 , p . 33.
(:wr,J',."'pLL2
. .
a
Thedominantprimarymineralsfromtheveinmaterial
B a t t l e s h i pg r o u p
of t h e
are q u a r t z , p y r i t e , c h a l c o p y r i t e , s p h a l e r i t e ,
s e r i c i t e , and c a l c i t e were
g a l e n aa n dt o u r m a l i n e .C h l o r i t e ,
a l s o i d e n t i f i e d i n minoramounts.
were c o l l e c t e d from t h e B a t t l e s h i p
Samples.Sixsamples
claim (see d e s c r i p t i o n s , a p p e n d i x
andonefromanadjacent
are summarized i n Table 3.
A s s a ya n dm i n e r a l o g i c a lr e s u l t s
are t a b u l a r , h a v i n g
ore deposits of the Battleship
depthand
3).
The
much g r e a t e r
The w i d t h of m i n e r a l i z e d
l a t e r a l e x t e n tt h a nw i d t h .
f r a c t u r e zones o b s e r v e d o n t h e B a t t l e s h i p g r o u p d i d
n o t exceed
3 feet.
Discussion.Although
do
165 f e e t , it canbeexpectedthattheveinscontinue
n o te x c e e d
e
known w o r k i n g so nt h eB a t t l e s h i p
c o n s i d e r a b l yb e l o wt h a td e p t h .
v e i ns t r u c t u r e s
notedthatthe
On t h ea d j a c e n t
were minedbelow
2,000 feet.”
known o u t c r o p l e n g t h
85 claim, similar
I t shouldbe
of t h e s h e a r z o n e s
on t h e
B a t t l e s h i p claim p r o p e r are much less t h a n on the85,anddonot
necessarilyextendtothe
g r e a t e rt h a n
500 f e e t .
same d e p t h , a l t h o u g h
s t i l l probably
The two m i n e r a l i z e ds h e a r s
on t h e Lookout
~
I
claim p r o b a b l y e x t e n d t o
further.
~
However, i t s h o ub
nl deo t et hdtah
sthe e a r s
necessarily mineralized
.
~
a t l e a s t 2 , 0 0 0 f e e t i nd e p t h ,p e r h a p s
are n o t
a t depth and probably do not widen.
From t h eo b s e r v e dg e o l o g y
3 areas w a r r a n tf u r t h e rs t u d y .
The f i r s t p o i n t o f c o n c e n t r a t i o n f o r f u r t h e r e x p l o r a t i o n
B a t t l e s h i pg r o u ps h o u l db e
shearzones
e
on t h e B a t t l e s h i p
claim.
on t h e
Two p a r a l l e l
(see g e o l o g i c map, f i g . 9 ) on t h e B a t t l e s h i p
h a v eb e e nt h em a j o rp r o d u c e r so ft h eg r o u p .I na d d i t i o n ,
Lasky,1938,op.
c i t . p. 4 4 .
claim
a small
TABLE 3
Sample
Mineralogy
Ag
Au
(Qz/
(OZ/
CU(%)
P b ( % ) -"
Zn(%) t tnn) )
B a t t #la QtPy,Mal,Cpy,Lim,Jar,ser.
1.90
0.84
0.15
5.70
B a t t #2b
Q,Mal,Cpy,Lim
0.73
0.18
0.06
1.75
B a t t #3'
QrPY,CpyrCov,Gl,Slj,Tm'.-
1.93
2.25
1.14
1.64
t
B a t t #4d
QtPy,Cpy,Gl,Sp,Cth,Ser
1.02
1.16
0.58
2.18
0.04
0.07
0.01
#se
#sf
QtPy,Cpy,Mal,Clr,Cth
7.19
0.32
0.18 10.12
0.04
QrPyrG1,Ch
1.20
0.87
0.11
0.02
B a t t #79
QrGlrPyrCh
0.09
1.71
0
1.1
00
Batt
Batt
8.4
0.08
Cal = c a l c i t e ; C l r = c h l o r i t e ; Cov = C o v e l l i t e ;
Cpy = Chalcopyrite;Cth
= Chalcanthite;
G 1 = Galena; J a r = J a r o s i t e ; L i m = Limonite
Mal = Malachite; Py = P y r i t e ; Q = Q u a r t z ;
S e r = S e r i c i t e ; Sp = S p h a l e r i t e ; Tm = Tourmaline
a.
Vein material fromhigh-grade
dump, B a t t l e s h i p claim near
"tunnel shhft" ( # 7 ) .
b.
Average of foursamples across 1 2 ' v e i n o n S c h l e y
claim j u s t
e a s t ofLookout..
S t r u c t u r e t h i n s andcontinues on t o Lookout
claim ( B a t t # 7 )
C.
d.
From s h e a r zone $2' wide i n s h o r t a d i t on B a t t l e s h i p claim.
e.
From $4''
claim.
of v e i n material S E of " t u n n e l s h a f t " ( # 7 ) , B a t t l e s h i p
~
.
.
...
-~
~~
f.
Channelsampleacross1.5'ofshearzonefrom
ofLookout claim.
9.
Channel sample across
on Lookout claim)
.
2 .O'
.
.~
~
c u t on s i d e l i n e
of shear zone'. (Discovery point
#1
s h e a re x p l o r e d
66 f e e t N 2 2 " W ( # 3 on p l a t ,
by t h e t u n n e l
Appendix 1) o f t h e t u n n e l s h a f t
( # 7 ) may w a r r a n t f u r t h e r
exploration.
shears w i l l be named as f o l l o w s :
For ease o f d i s c u s s i o n , t h e
Tunnelshear
( # 3 ) was d r i v e n , s h a f t
= s h e a ra l o n gw h i c ht u n n e l
( # 7 ) was sunk,andsouthern
s h e a r = s h e a ra l o n gw h i c ht u n n e ls h a f t
s h e a r = s h e a r mapped by Thorman and Drewes (see f i g . 9 ) s o u t h e a s t
ofthetunnelshaft.
The t u n n e l s h e a r
i s small (less t h a n 2 ' )
,
b u t may beof
importance i f it s h o u l d i n t e r s e c t e i t h e r t h e s h a f t s h e a r o r t h e
s o u t h e a s ts h e a r
a t depth.
A l l t h r e es h e a r ss t r i k er o u g h l y
and are w i t h i n 1 7 5 ' o nt h es u r f a c e .
was measured a t 8 0 " t o t h e
s h a f t a n ds o u t h e r ns h e a r s
continuestodip
s h a f ts h e a r
I t shouldbe
The d i po ft h et u n n e ls h e a r
south a t t h ee n do ft h et u n n e l .
are v e r t i c a l 2 ' .
a t 80" t o t h e s o u t h ,
The
If t h et u n n e ls h e a r
it would i n t e r s e c t t h e
a t a depthofapproximately
intersection could be an
N 70" E ,
375 f e e t ( f i g . 1 0 ) .
This
area of t h i c k e r d e p o s i t s o f o r e m i n e r a l s .
remembered t h a t t h e s e s h e a r s
do n o t n e c e s s a r i l y
as it i s i m p o s s i b l e t o s a y
intersect(orevenextendthatfar),
a t depth:however,
what a t t i t u d e t h e s h e a r s h a v e
a good t a r g e t area of a d r i l l i n g program.
it would b e
I t is a l s op o s s i b l e
thatthesouthernandshaft-shears,or
a l l threeshearsintersect
a t d e p t h .A g a i n ,d r i l l i n g
m e t h o do fd e t e r m i n i n gt h i s .
i s t h eo n l y
The n o r t h e a s t t r e n d i n g s h e a r
f i g . 9 ) . i s thesecond
t h e Lookout claim (see
area f o r f u r t h e re x p l o r a t i o n .
shows f a i r s i l v e r v a l u e s ( t a b l e
v e r ye x t e n s i v e .F u r t h e rs a m p l i n g
*' Thorman
zoneon
and Drewes, op. c i t .
2, B a t t .
The s h e a r
$61, b u td o e s n ' ta p p e a r
i s neededalong
t h i s shear.
. .
a
A
possible
area
of concentration
would
be
where
this
shear intersects the large east-west fault shear, which
crosses the entire Lookout claim. A sample (Batt
# 7 ) from
this shear was too low grade to be economic, but an intersection of
the
two
shears
at
depth
could.provide
a
mineable
orebody. Thorman and Drewes do not show
an intersection
at the surface, nor was one observed by the authors.
The
andesite
third
-
area
for
exploration
is along
the
Cretaceous
Tertiary granodiorite contact. This contact nearly
surrounds the baseof Lookout Hill. Ore has been'mined
from
near
this
district.21
The
contact
in 85
theand
areaof the
Anita
contacton the
mines
in
the
northern
..s lope
of Lookout Hill nearest the east-west fault/shear zone is
0
most
likely
to
yield
good
results.
ECONOMICS
Samples 1 and 3 are
representativeof vein
material
from the Battleship workings. The assays compare favorably
with
similar
samples
taken
during the early1940's.
byU.S.
a Bureau of Mines
The average of the two NMBM samples
assayed:
Copper (Cu)
Lead
(Pb)
Silver (Ag)
Gold
(Au)
21
engineer
1.92%
1.55%
3.67 oz/ton
0.035 oz/ton
Lasky, op. cit., plates16 and 21
Average of thirteen USBM samples assayed:
CU
Pb
Ag
Au
-
1.6%
(not determined)
-
1.96 oz/ton
0.06 oz/ton
-
The weighted average
of these 15 samples is Cu
- 1.64
percent: Ag
-
2.19 ounces per ton, and Au0.057 ounces
per ton. Lead will probably average about one percent (the
average
value
of
the
seven
New
Mexico
Bureau
of
Mines
and
Mineral Resources samples is 1.05%). The value of this
material" is as follows:
Cu: 32.8 lb/ton x $.89238/1b= $29.27
Pb: 120 lb/ton
x $.38966/1b =
7.79
Ag: 2.19 oz/ton x $15.65/oz = 34.27
Au: 0.0570z/ton x $594.814/02= 33.90
Total Value per ton
.
$105.23
The above samples and calculations indicate that ores
likely
to
be
found
in
the
Battleship
mine
will
be
too
low
grade to ship directly to a smelter (custom smelter charges
presently amount to $150.00/ton). To be made economic,
the
ore
would
have
to
be
concentrated,
probably
by
means
of
froth flotation. But it is unlikely that sufficient tonnage
will be foundon the Battleship group to finance construction
of a suitable mill. Thus the Battleship group by itself
appears to have little present value. The economic picture could
22
Metals Week quotations,E
&
MJ, Vol. 182, No. 1, Jan. 1981
change
rapidly
however
with;the
establishment
of a
nearby
custom
milling operation. Three mills are presently standing idle
in the area and are suitable for such an enterprise: Asarco's
andBariteof America's
two
mills
just
north
of
Deming
and
Federal Resources mill nearby at the Bonney 2 3mine.
Startup
of
one
of
facility
Because
these
could
the
mills,
allow
present
especially
the
the
Battleship
mine
owner
is not
Federal
produce
at
a profit.
to
in
Resources
a
position
to
re-
habilitate and operate the mine, the authors recommend leasing
the
properties
if
possible
to
a
reputable
mining
contractor.
CONCLUSION
The
Battlebhip
Group
of siliceous copper- lead
able
amounts
of
has
-
similar
been
a
producer
of
small
amounts
silver ores in the past. Mineore
doubtless
exist
near
and
below
older workings. Additionally three areas as discussed
in
the
geology
The
services
a
nearby
the
mine
section
of
custom
on
a
a
present
mining
milling
paying
favorable
contractor
operation
targets
and
will
be
the
for
exploration.
establishment
necessary
to
put
basis.
Robert W. Eveleth
Mining Engineer
Robert M. North
Geologist/Mineralogist
23
A fourth millis located
distant to consider.
at
Hanover.
but
is
probably
too
of
the
.
APPENDIX 1
Sample D e s c r i p t i o n s
B a t t #l. Vein m a t e r i a l fromhigh-grade
dump on B a t t l e s h i p
claim, j u s t east of"TunnelShaft"
Improvements, MS 1 5 9 2 ) .
mostlyquartz
( # 7 on L i s t of
The m a t e r i a l from t h e dump i s
vein material with pyrite, limonite,
malachite and chalcopyrite identified
nation.
Many ofthesampleshave
whichappears
by v i s u a l exami-
a yellow-brown
coating
t o b ej a r o s i t e .I na d d i t i o n ,s e r i c i t e
was
d e t e c t e d by x - r a y d i f f r a c t i o n .
Batt #2.
Sampletaken
a tf o u rp o i n t sa c r o s s1 2 - f o o tq u a r t z
v e i n on Schley claim, j u s t e a s t o f t h e
'
Lookoutclaim.
The v e i n strikes N 859 E and d i p s 7 2 " n o r t h .
mineralogyof
a l lf o u rs a m p l e s
m a l a c h i t e ,c h a l c o p y r i t e
i s similar:
and l i m o n i t e .
The
quartz,
The l o c a t i o n and
assayresultsofthefoursamplesare:
Au
A9
Cu(%) P b ( %Z)n ( %o)z / t oonz / t o n
1.40 , 0.84
0.09
4.30
B a t t #2a 5" fromfootwall
0.11 0.31
0.06
0.10
B a t t #2b3'fromfootwall
1.17 0.15
2.00
0.07
B a t t# 2 c5 'f r o mf o o t w a l l
0.03
0.26
0.10
0.60
B a t t # 2 d 8 ' fromfootwall
T owt ai dl t h :
1 2 ' Ave.0.73
0.18
0.06
1.75
Batt # 3 .
V e i nm a t e r i a l
0.02
t
t
0.01
from dump of "Lower s h a f t " (#1 on L i s t
of Improvements, MS 1 5 9 2 ) .
galena and sphalerite
Q u a r t z ,p y r i t e ,c h a l c o p y r i t e ,
were d e t e c t e d by v i s u a l e x a m i n a t i o n .
The c h a l c o p y r i t e had a c o a t i n g o f c o v e l l i t e .
fractionrevealedthepresence
amount oftourmaline.
0.02
,X-ray d i f -
of c h l o r i t e and a s m a l l
B a t t #4.
Vein material from ' ~ 2f e e t o fs h e a r
zone t a k e n a t
claim.
theendoftheshorttunnelontheBattleship
( # 3 on L i s t of Improvements, MS 1592).Thissample
showed c o n s i d e r a b l e a l t e r a t i o n f r o m m e t e o n i c
waters.
Q u a r t z ,p y r i t e ,c h a l c o p y r i t e ,g a l e n a ,a n ds p h a l e F i t e
considerablechalcqnthite
4 " o fv e i n
t h eT u n n e lS h a f t
was p r e s e n t a l o n g f r a c t u r e s i n
was i d e n t i f i e d by x - r a yd i f f r a c t i o n .
t h er o c k .S e r . i c i t e
material from a c u t 50' S 7 0 " W of
(Q7). This i s t h e same s t r u c t u r e on which
was sunk.
t h es h a f t
were
minerals v i s u a l l yi d e n t i f i e d .I na d d i t i o n ,
t h ep r i m a r y
B a t t #5.About
r,.
The v e i n material i s d o m i n a t e l yq u a r t z
w i t hp y r i t e ,c h a l c o p y r i t e ,
a
a n dm a l a c h i t e .C h l o r i t ea n d
v e r y small amount o f c h a l c a n t h i t e
were d e t e c t e d byx-ray
diffraction.
B a t t #6.
Channelsample
n o r t h side l i n e o f
across 1 . 5 'o fs h e a rz o n ef r o mc u t
Lookout claim.
on
C o n t a i n e dq u a r t z ,p y r i t e ,
galenaandchlorite.
B a t t #7.
Channelsampleacross
claim.
( D i s c o v e r yp o i n t
2.0'
ofshearzoneonLookout
#1 onLookout
This i s t h e e x t e n s i o n o f t h e v e i n
claim, MS 1 5 9 2 ) .
onwhichsample
t a k e n .C o n t a i n e dq u a r t z ,g a l e n a ,p y r i t e ,a n dc h l o r i t e .
The s u l f i d e s f r o m this sample were v e r y f i n e - g r a i n e d
( ' L O . 05")
.
# 2 was