Introduction
Barite is an industrial mineral with hundreds of commercialusesranging from medicines to weighting materials, which is its
most important use (Fields, 1983;Williams
et al., 1,964).Barite (BaSOn),with a specific
gravity up to 4.5 (commercialgrade is 4.2),
C o l o ro d o
NewMexico
Baritein north-central
NM
Socorro,
Resources,
Bureau
of MinesandMineral
NewMexico
M. Barker,
McLemore
andJames
byVirginiaT.
increasesthe weight of drilling muds to help quently, the production of barite is heavily
control pressuresin the drill hole. Conse- dependentupon the needsof the petroleum
explorationindustry.
t o6 "
Severaleconomicallypromising barite ocT h i n o l l u v i u m ,s o m e
lhick svnorooenic
currencesare in north-central New Mexico
seoi.entory units in
[-ll
in the Placitasand Tijeras Canyon districts
Rio Gronde rift i
lViocene lo Holocene
(SandiaMountains), in the Manzano Mounnear Edgewood,and at El Cuervo (Crow)
cenozoic
tains
vot.oni.
rocks:
ffil
Butte in southern Santa Fe County (Fig. 1;
t n t r u . i ur"o c k s : c e n o z o i c
@
Table1). Barite also occursas a traceor ganSedimenlory rocks
gue mineral at other localitiesin north-ceni.lodero
including
Groupi
T--'l
Mississippion lo eorly
halNewMefco (Table1).However,according
L-l
Miocene
to preliminary data,no significantbarite deBosemenl rocks;
ffi
positshavebeenfound in New Mexiconorth
W
Precombrron
of the Sandia Mountains probablv because
+
H i q h - o n g l ef o u l l
sulphatesare absentin the iubsurfice. Barite
defosits arecommon in centraland southern
+
Normol foull
New Mexico in or near the Rio Grande rift
Hioh-onqle reverse
.R
(Smith, 1982;Williams eI aI., 7964).
fo-ult.bo-r on upihrown
stoe
^
-
.
-
Thrust loull,.borbs on
upTnrown sroe
Strike-slip foult
l:
=i
city
D
a
Boundoryof couldron
7
I
Numbered borile
deposils; see Tobl€ |
for locotionsond
descflplions of l-28i
29 = Honsonburg
depositsi
3O. Mogdoleno
deposits
othe. borite deposils
(from miscelloneous
published sources)
35"
o
25
50
Geology
Baritein north-centralNew Mexico occurs
as veins, brecciacement, cavity fillings, and
as minor replacementbodies along faults,
fractures,shearzones,bedding planes,contact zones, and in solution cavities in Precambrianand Paleozoicrocks (Table1). Some
depositspinch and swell along strike, which
forms pods, lenses, and stringers of highgrade barite (Fig. 2). Some of these lenses
areas much as 5 ft wide and severalhundred
feet long. Other deposits consist of steeply
Alsoin thisissue
75
O
25
50
S c o l e o p p r o x i m o t e l ly, l , O O O , O O O
lookm
75mi
sortingin gravelly
Sediment
megaripples
fromthe
RioGrande
Taxeson naturalresource
Droduction
near
Groundsubsidence
Espanola
wells
Oil andgasdiscovery
drilledin 1984
Service/News
1984MineralSymposium
abstracts
Staffnotes
p.26
p. 31
p.32
p. 35
p. 40
p. 41
p.44
Coming
soon
FIGURE 1-Barite occurrences in north-central New Mexico and their relationship to the regional
geology and structuresof the Rio Grande rift. Map compiled from Woodward et al (1978),Seager
(1982),Elston (1982),and Osburn and Chapin (1983a,b)
Mechanicaland chemicaldiagenesis
in Mioceneformations
Mineral-resource
ootentialin NM
KneelingNun Tuff
along major north-
trending faultsin the northern SandiaMountains (Kelley and Northrop, I97S).The deposits in the Placitasdistricfand in the Monte
Largo Hills are in the Tileras-Cafloncito fault
system (Woodward, 1984).The deposits in
the Manzano Mountains and at Ei Cuervo
Buttealsooccuralong major north-trending
faultsin elevatedareis.
The most common host rock is limestone
of the Madera Group (Pennsylvanian),al-
and east-northeast-
TABLE 1-Barite occurrencesin north-central New
PefrascoFormation, Fs : Sandia,Fm : Madera Grr
ls : limestone,ss : sandstone,gr : granitic roc.
minor occurrence;31 : Williams er al. (1964),2 :
Clippinger(19491,4: Elston(1967),5= Kellevanc
(l?66),8 : Northrop (1e591,9= Rothrockeial. (
wright (1943),13 : Lambert(1961\,1.4: DianaNor
16 : Ft"]d
(12
""t"r
No, on
District,
Fig. r
countv
deposit
Location
Placitas district,
Bemalillo
Host Rocksr
and Sandoval
Status2
Minerals
Descdption
Sources3
Counties
1
Montezuma
S34 T13N R5E
pc, pm, Ma
2
Las Huertas
Ss T13N RsE
Fs, ls, ss
3
VicteRocrNovo
Group
57,8 T12N R5E
pn
4
U n k n o w n S € c9
59,t6T12NRsE
pm,ls
5
BlueSky
(Cold Star)
S29T12NRsE
Fm, 1s
pc
Landsend
(Lone star)
S29T12N R5E
Fm, ts
2
Caputin Peak
S33T12N R5E
Fm, ls
8
Mohawk
52 TllN R5E
pC, gr
9
Schddt
55 T1lN
R5E
p€, gr
t
La Luz (Rupp€)
56 TltN
RsE
p€, gr
F, Ba, Pb,
3
Ba, Cu,
Pb, z^,
Ag, F
Small pockets and veins along Las Huertas fautt
bctw-een Precambrian greensonc and Missrsrppran
and Pennsylvanian limestone and shale
4, 5, l8
z
Ba, F, Pb
Lens of ba.ite in o!erturned Sandia sandstone and
lmestone with minor green fluorite and galena
1, 5, t8
2
Cu, ft,
Zr, Ba, F
Numerous thin veins of copper, lead, zinc, and balte
17, 18
2
Ba, F,
Pb, Ag
Lenses oI bante 3 ft wrde abng Nl0.Wa.ending
5, 17, 18
3
Ba, F, Pb,
Cu, Zn,
Vein 1 ft wide and 90 ft long of baiitc, fluorite, galena,
j, 6, t8
Ba, F, Pb
Alt€rnahng bands of bante and llrca, ore zone up io 4
ft thrck, brcccia cement and minor replacemen(; more
than 400 ft long
1,5, 18
F, Ba, Pb
Vein of fluolte 3 ft wide with minor barite (<5%),
calc'ie. quartz, and galena atong th€ Lagunita Iault in
nmestone
1, a, j
\orlh-lrendrnS vfln. ar nuonre bdrrr(.
Balend. dnd
chalc,'pvritF dlone d tJutt.n trecdmbildn
Fdnite
., b, 7
Ba, Cu
l0
though a few exceptionsare noted (Table1).
The depositsat Montezumaand Las Huertas
alsooccurin limestone,shale,and sandstone
of the Arroyo Peflasco(Mississippian)and
SandiaFormations (Pennsylvanian),whereas
the EI Cuervo Butte depositoccursin limestone,siltstone,and sandstoneof the Yeso
Formation(Permian).Unlike somebarite deposits in central and southern New Mexico,
thesedepositsare not associated
directlywith
Tertiary intrusive or volcanic rocks.'However,the depositsin north-centralNew Mexico are similar to the Hansonburg deposits
as describedby Ewing (1979)and Putnam et
al. (1983)and probablyare characterized
by
Ba, Pb
fault
Fluorite verns wiih minor barite and
Salena
Trace of barrt€ in a 2 4jfhrde
vein
7
FIGURE 2-Large barite pod along a fault at the
Sectiong.deposit in the irlacitasdistrict (looking
south). The Section9 deposit consistsof severa'i
similarpods alonga steepiydipping fault trending
N. 30'E.
4, 5
Cu
11
12
La Madera
S11 TllN
Tejano Canyon
Sl3, 14 TllN
R5E
RsE
p€, gr
pm, ts
F, Ba, I'b
small \Frn. rn \dndrd grdnrre
F, BA
Barite and fluoflte(?) rn limestone near Doc Long prcnic
8
(l " r 1L, . *
\irr.fbJflre rrnchc,wrde.srrrterN8.r.drp\70.wrn
trme.tone orher !ern.,,r baflte. qdlena and ioFper
mrnerals
Li
New AAexfic@
GEOLOGY
Tijeras and Hell Canyon districts, Bemalillo County
l3
Shakesp€ar€
(P&c)
526T10N R5E
I4
Blackbird
(Red Hill, Manzano)
S17 T9N R5E
P€
3
F, Pb, BA
Fluorite veins with rraces of barite and
Batena in faulr
zone str*ing N30"W jn Sevilleta metarhiolire
4, t-,9
l5
Calena KinS
58 T8N RsE
Pc, 8.,
l
Pb, F, CU,
Ba, Ag, Au
C a l e n dd n d f l u u n t e \ d n \ u n t , , 2 r r h r d , . w r t h m r n o r
bdflte alon8 a faulr zune r1pn31n*6u" n",,n
I
54 TgN R5E
pc, Fm, ls
3
F, Ba, Pb,
Lead fluorite verns along fault between greensbne
I
Fm, 1s
Swastila
pm ls
and
-
Tonance County
17
Tina
55T9NRru
l8
Shtrkley
Ss T9N R7I
l9
56 T9N Rn
Fm
8a, F,
Pb, Ag
krn
Ba, l-,
Pb, A8
V e - i n sn f a u l t u p b 4 f r w i d e a n d 1 , 5 0 0 I t l o n g , s r r i k e
N80"W, produced 50 ton\ of barite rn 1956
1,2
Ba, F
Extensrcn o{ Sho(klev(?)
J
8a, F,
veins up () I ft brde in a 3-5 f.wrde zone along a
mapr tault 'n Yeso sedimcntary rccks. extends tor
ahul 3 mi b the southsesr
2 It wide of coareclv crystalLne barite alont
1
Santa Fe County
B CueruoButte
(crow Butre)
Miscellaneous
516,21,22,23,27, B, ts, ss
3 TtoN RroE
occurences,
Bernalillo
l, 16
County
21
Ceno Colorado
St, 12 T9N RlW
Tv
U, Ba
Monte Largo area
Ba.rte repo(ed b occur rn vejns and cavrhes along
lautts in volcanrc sequence
8, 12
22
Sl 1, 16 TnN R6E
pc
Ba, F
Barrtenuorite vcrns, whjch may be relared to a
carbonatite, rhrouShout precambrran rocks
5, 13
SpanishQueen
53 T1TN R2E
pa
C,,
91,
AB, U
Trace of barite ,n strarabound
deposits rn Abo sandsrone
lemez SprinSs
S13T18N roE
P'€
Ba
Barite veins rn l,recambrian
T14N R8E
Tr
:,
lb
zn. L
Sandoval County
23
Santa
Cerillos
26
sedrmenrary
coppcr
granire ar Soda Dam
I
14. 15
Fe County
drstsict
San Pedio mDe
(New Placers district)
St5, 27 Tl2N
Rn
\.rn\ filtrnB \nedc and rdutr\ In oriSu.ene rnrrulon\
qrth baflre as gangue
b
!,
fb
Zn. W
Ednre ur(ur\ a\ a Eansue min,.rdt
8
3
Ba
Mrnor occurrence ol bante
3
Ba, t
Ca
Barite, fluorite, and calcite bernS deposited ai springs
and cementing Miocene sedimeirtarv rocks
Tv
TaosCounty
East of Wheel€r Peak
at head or Elm Creek
Rio Aniba County
Oio Calienie #l
22
active
sPnnSs
May 1985 Nn Merico Ceotogy
8,15
In
. Science
andSeruice
Volume
7, No.
2, May
1985
Ediror:Deborah A Shaw
Published quarterly by
New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources
a division of New Mexi@ Instihrte of Mining & lbchnology
BOARD OF REGENTS
Ex Officio
Toney Anaya, Goudnorol Nru Mexico
Leonard Delayo, Supqintendentof public Instruction
ADDointed
SteveTorres, piei , tg67-1ggt, Socoryo
Judy Floyd, St lTreas,7977-7987, Its Cruces
Gilbert L. Cano, 1985-191, Albuqueruue
Lenton Malry, 1985-1989,Albuquerque
Donald W. Morris, 1983-1989,LosAlamos
Nw Mexico lnstitute of Mining & Technology
Presidilt. .
.....
L a r . e n c e - i lL u t t m a .
New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources
Dircctot
Frank E Kottlowski
DeputyDitntor
George S Austin
Subscriptb.ns:
Isiled quarterly, February, May, August,
November; subscription price $6.00/calendaiyear.Editorialmatter Co^tributions of material for consideration
in future issuesof NMG are welcome Articles submitted
for publication should be in the editor,s hands a minimum of five (5) months before date of publication (February, May, August, or November) and should be no
longer than 20 typewritten, double-spacedpages. Ad_
dressinquiries to DeborahA. Shaw, editor o?N?a Merico Geology,New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral
Resources,Socono, NM 87801
Publishedas public dowin, thereforereproduciblcwithout permission.Sourc(credi!requested.
Circulation:7,6N
P/inteli University of New Mexico Printing plant
s*
rt:t:a
l::";'::.:t.:,::l;l
'q*
:""
FIGURE 4-Bladed, opaque/ white barite crystals
at the Section 9 deposit in the Placitas district of
the Sandia Mountains. Here barite occurs along
FIGURE3-Barite in thrust fault at El Cuervo Butte (looking north). The fault zone strikes N. 35' E. bedding planes with little or no alteration of the
and occursin sandstone,siltstone,and limestoneof the YesoFormation(Permian,Pv). This vein reaches Madera Group limestone.
a maximum thickness of about 4 ft.
*
;i,..li!a
sim]lal high lead isotopic ratios (Ewing, 1979) (Fig. 5) with small pockets, zones, or interand similar temperaturesand salinitiesdur- growths of fluorite, calcite, quartz, and aring deposition. At Hansonburg, fluid inclu- g e n t i f e r o u s g a l e n a . T h e b a r i t e i n t h e s e
sion homogenization temperatures,pressure deposits is typically white or pink and opaque,
corrected,range from 148 to 218"Cand sa- whereas fluorite is white, green, or purple
linities range from 7 to 1.57o
(Putnam et al., and clear to translucent, Lead, copper, and
1983).The Hansonburg depositswere formed zinc concentrations within the veins are typunder low to moderatepressure(70bars) at ically less than 7Vo (Table 2). More than 4%
shallow depth (2,100ft).
Iead was found in pods or lenses of the Sec- Although small veinlets and stringers of tion 9 deposit and more than 27o lead was
bariteand calcitearecommon aiong frictures found in-zones at El Cuervo Butte. These
and bedding planes of the host rock, most pods (or lenses) and zones are rare and most
contactsbetween mineralization and the host of the deposits consist of 60-80% BaSOo(Taare sharp_with little or no alteration (Fig. 4). ble 3). Malachite and a trace of uranium were
Angular fragmentsof sedimentaryrocks are present at the Shakespeare deposit, and the
abundant locally in some deposits.Dolomi- samples yielded up to 76Vacopper and 0.005%
tization of the adjacent limestones,when UrO, (Table 2). Precious metal contents of the
present,,probably resulted from diagenesis deposits are low, although minor amounts
rather than from the barite mineralization of silver and gold have bden recovered from
process.
other barite deposits in the state (North, 1983;
Many of the barite depositsin north-cen- North and Mclemore, 1984). In the northtral New Mexico are stratigraphicallyclose central New Mexico deposits, silver concento Precambrianrocks. Numerous smill, un- trations are typically less than 0.5 oziton and
economicveins of barite, fluorite, quartz, and gold concentrations rarely attain 0.02 ozlton.
sulfide minerals occur in the Pr-ecambrian Trace-elementconcentiations of relatively
terranesthroughout the Sandia,Manzanita, pure barite crystals are within na.ro* ru.g"i
and ManzanoMountains and the Monte Largo (Table 3), even though some of the samples
Hills (Mclemore et al., 1,984;Kellev aid include accessory minerals (Table 4). ExNorthrop, 1975).Theseveins are conlrolled treme differences in trace-element concenstructurally and could be Precambrianin age. trations are a result of these contaminants.
Someof theselargely uneconomicveins cdn- Strontium contents of 0.9-3.11% are relasist mainly of barite or fluorite, whereasveins tively high but not unusual in barite vein
elsewherecontain varying amounts of bar- deposits (Brobst, 1958; Clark, 1970; Barbieri
ite, fluorite, galena, c'alcile,quartz, sphal- et al., 1982, 1984). High-strontium barites are
erite, and copper oxides.
common because a continuous solid-soluComposition
All barite deposits in north-central New
Mexico are similar in mineralogy and chemistry. They consistof massive,bladed barite
tion series exists between barite (BaSOo)and
celestite (SrSO.; Hanor, 1968). Calcium, magnesium, and manganese concentrations in
barite of north-central New Mexico are similar to such concentrations in barites world-
!ii.;.
i,rl
t*t*
&:
FIGURE S-Massive bladed barite crystals at the
Section9 deposit in the Placitasdistrict This boulder is part o?a pod of barite shown in Fig. 2 Very
little fluorite or galena occurs within these pods.
wide (Scull, 1958; Brobst, 1958; CIark,1970).
Chromium, copper, and lead levels are comparatively high in a few samples from northcentral New Mexico and probably are a result
of contamination by accessory minerals. Extensive data for zinc, potassium, sodium, and
yttrium concentrations in barites are not
available, but concentrations of these elements appear to be similar throughout northcentral New Mexico barite deposits. The verv
low values of uranium and thorium are consistent with a continental deposition (Goldberg et aI., 7969), although this does not
necessarily imply a continental source of bar1Um.
Age of mineralization
The age of the barite mineralization is not
known, but it is limited by the age of the
host rocks (Pennsylvanian through Permian)
and the uplift of the Sandia, Manzanita, and
New Mexico Geology May 1985
TABLE 2-Chemicai
analyses of selected samples from barite-fluorite-galena
veins in north-central
New Mexico; numbers in parentheses refer to locations in Table 1 and Fig. 1; tr : trace (<0.02 ozlton).
Sample
number
4695
4697
4596
4700
4728
4696
4694
4698
4595
Percent
BaSOa
VicteRoco (3)
52.51,
Section 9 (4)
18.3
Section 9 (4)
38.07
-0.70
La Luz (10)
La Luz (10)
0.27
Shakespeare(13)
5 1 .1 3
Shockley(18)
67.72
Shockley (18)
66.67
El Cuervesec. 23 (20) 27.28
Percent
CaCO3
Percent
CaF:
Au
ozlton
Ag
ozlton
Percent
Pb
Percent
Zn
9.36 10.99 0.00 0.20 0.27
0.40 38.88 0.00 0.46 4.99
0.00 4.14
5.24 58.90 0.02 0.20 0.23
0.62
0r5
ol, 0.00 0.00 0.007
0 . 9 7 1 6 . 4 6 0 . 0 0 0.20 0.74
3.02 73.07 tr
0.08 0.34
tr
0.22 2.37
Percent
Cu
Percent
U.O,
0.006 0.01
0.65 0.007
0.006
0.13 0.72
0.13 0.07
0.014 16.0 0.005
0.01 0.002
0.11 0.012
0.01
TABLE 3-Chemical analyses of barite crystals from north-central New Mexico; mineralogy of samples
is given in Table 4; V Nb, U, and Th were below detection limit of XRF for all samplei- (V Nb : 3
: 1 ppm); numbers in brackets refer to locations in Table 1 and Fig. l;-assay methods:
PPm; U, Th
calc,. : calculated, grav. : gravimetric, AA : atomic absorption, XRF : x-ray diffractionj NA : not
analyzed; ( ) : XRF data, all others are AA data unless noted otherwise; 'a simple from this deposit
has a measurable content of uranium (seeTable 2); ,XRF, this report; ,a mean of 20 samples analvzed
by emission spectrography ('2570) from S. Sampattavanija (unpublished data, 79271.
S.mple
nunber
Deposit
BaSO{
perc€nt
Ba
percenl
SO,
percent
Sr
percenl
lcalc.l
IAAI
tsrav.l
IAA]
Ca
percent
Pb
ppm
Cu
ppm
tAAt
y
Z^
ppm
Cr
ppm
Ms
pp.
Mn
ppm
K
ppn
Na
ppm
ppm
lAAl
ient
iAet
iAlt
iriel
iiiet
lxrrl
IAAI
IAA|
4729
Section 9 [4]
87.96
51 76
41.14
2 07
(2.36)
0.11
135
(46)
<1
20
13
9
4732
Landsend [6]
83.37
49.06
41.43
3.11
(2 66)
0.07
91
(49)
38
6
<10
8
<1
25
I Shakespeare
[13]
(P&C)
63.08
29 86
37.1.2
0 90
(0.92)
0.18
385
(38)
64,000
100
100
305
9
304
24 (15)
4730
Shakespearel13l
(P&C)
82.91
4a.79
38.54
1.10
7.64
84
(33)
260
9
<10
272
290
135
20
(21)
4733
Shockley [18]
76.72
45.15
36.57
1.27
(1.27)
2.25
280
(3s)
72
4
320
44
23
774
309
(26)
El Cueruo Butte [20]
(sec. 16 north)
85.93
50.57
41.85
1.45
(1.48)
7.72
328
(37)
6
4
<10
23
s9929
(1e)
40 96
1.59
(1.e)
0.51
80
(3e)
72
2
<10
244
53429
(23)
NA
(1.49)
NA
(s5)
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
(66)
NA
0 385
NA
218
582
390
NA
NA
360
565
NA
NA
u77
4731
El Cueruo Butte [20]
2Hansonburg
NA
3Magdalena
NA
Manzano Mountains. Barite mineralization
must have occurred before uplift of these
mountains becausebarite deposits are now
at high elevations.Fluid and'hydrodynamic
requirementsnecessaryto form sedimentary
hydrothermaldepositscould not operatei;
theseelevatedterrains.At leastthree uolift
episodesoccurredin thesemountainsauring the Cenozoic;the youngestevent was 74 m.y. ago (Chapin, 1979).Although previous workers have attributed barite mineralizationelsewherein New Mexico to the
Tertiary (Allmendinger, \974, 1975;Beane,
7974;Ewing, 1.979;Putnam et al., 1983),the
sedimentary hydrothermal deposits in
northeasternNew Mexico could be as old as
late Paleozoicor as young as Miocene.
Origin and genesis
The barite deposits in north-central New
Mexicoare similar in emplacement,geologt
mineralogy, and chemistry to sedimentaiy
hydrothermal depositsand are analogousin
part to MississippiValley-typedeposits(Ohle,
1959,1.980).Deposits of probable sedimentary hydrothermal origin are apparently
widespread within or near the Rio Grande
rift and include such deposits as those at
Hansonburg,PalomasGai, and SalinasPeak
(Allmendinger, 7974, 7975;Beane,1974;Ewing, 1979;Putnam et al., 1983).Sedimentary
May 1985
New Mexico Geology
13 (33)
516
3
(3s)
hydrothermaldepositsare open-space-filling
depositswith little or no replacementithey
differ from magmatic hydrothermal deposits, such as the north Magdalena deposits,
by the absenceof a nearby volcanicor intrusive source of ions, fluids, and heat (Dunham and Hanor, 1,967).
Sedimentary hydrothermal deposits are
formed by water that is trapped within sediments during depositionand after burial by
dehydrationof minerals,chemicalreactions,
magmatic activity, and downward percolation of meteoricwaters (Hanor, 1979).These
formational waters or brines accumulatein
sedimentarybasinsand are heated possibly
during high-heat-flow episodes associated
with rifting (Reiteret aI.,1,975,7978,1979),
magmatic activity, or radiogenic heat from
Precambriangranitic plutons (Cathles, 1981).
The warm convectingwater leachesbarium,
sulfate,and other moleculesfrom sourcerocks
such as arkosic sediments,evaporites,Precambrian rocks, and Precambrian mineral
deposits.Mixing of formational waters with
magmatic hydrothermal fluids originating
from deep sourcesis also possible (Van AIstine, 1.976;
Lamarre and Hodder, 1978).
The mineralized waters are ejectedalong
faults,fractures,and contactzonesprimarily
by porosity reduction during burial and
compactionof sediments(Noble, 1963)andl
TABLE 4-Mineralogy (x-ray diffraction) of barite
crystals from north-central New Mexico; numbers
in parenthesesrefer to locations in Table1 and Fig.
1; chemical analyses are presented in Table 3; M
= m a i o r m : m i n o t t r : t r a c e , 0: a b s e n t .
Sample
number
Depogil
Badte Quaitz
4729 Section9 (4)
MO
4732 Landsend (6)
MO
4727 Shakespeare(13) M m
(P&c)
4730 Shakespeare(13) M O
(P&c)
4733 Shockley(18)
MM
4734 El Cuervo Butte
MO
(20) (north)
4731 El Cueruo Butte
(2) (south)
Mineral
Fluodte Calcite Malachite
000
000
Otrtr
otr0
m00
000
Otr0
or during tectonicactivity (Hanor, 1979).Precipitationoccursas a result of simple cooling
of the fluids (Putnam et al., 1983),decrease
in pressure (Noble, 7963),or mixing of mineralized hydrothermal fluids with reducing
subsurfacebrines (Beales,1975).
Economicpotential
Although barite is relatively abundant in
New Mexico south of the Sandia Mountains
in or near the Rio Grande rift (Smith, 1982),
commercialDroductionof barite has been insignificant c-omparedto national production
and consumption (Fields, 1983;Williams et
al.,1,964).Only one deposit in north-central
New Mexico yielded ore when, in 1956,50
tons of barite worth $250were shipped from
the Shocklev mine (Table 1. no. 18) near
Edgewood(New Mexico StateInspectorof
Mines, 1956).Most of the barite production
from New Mexico has come from Dofla Ana,
Sierra,and SocorroCounties(Williamset al.,
1e64).
The barite deposits in north-central New
Mexico are economically promising. Numerous high-grade veins oicur in the Tunnel
Springs(Table1, nos. 3 and 4) and Landsend
(Table1, no. 6) areas of the Sandia Mountains. Theseveins were classifiedas having
probablemineral-resourcepotential by Hedlund and Kness(1984).However, the rugged
terrain, high elevation, and wilderness designation will hamper development of these
areas.Additional barite depositsare likely to
occur along faults in Paleozoiclimestones
elsewhere in the Sandia, Manzanita, and
ManzanoMountains where the terrainis less
rugged and land acquisition is more favorable. The barite depositsat El Cuervo Butte
(Table 1, no. 20) ari also a possible mineral
resource.These deposits are extensiveand
undevelopedexcepi for a few trenchesand
prospectpits. Other fault zonesin the vicinity should be examined for barite mineralization.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS-ThiS
study is part of
ongoing research of barite and fluorite deposits sponsored by the New Mexico Bureau
of Mines and Mineral Resources. Previous
work by T. J. Smith and Diana Normand
(sponsored by NMBMMR) is incorporated into
this paper where possible. Geochemical
analyses were supplied by L. Brandvold and
associates,B. Faris, P. Cooksey,and T. Eggleston. Technicalsupport was given by J.
Hingtgen, M. Bowie, and K. Anderson with
clericalwork by L. McNeil. Graphicsare by
M. Wooldridge, C. Pelletier,and K. Campbell. We appreciatecommentsand criticalreviews by Lee Woodward, Robert North,
ThomasEwing, and CharlesChapin. We also
a p p r e c i a t em a n y l o n g d i s c u s s i o n sw i t h
CharlesChapin.
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Barite,by
artist
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Mueller.
NetuMexico Geology May 1985
za