Newpublications
significancein interpreting ancient analogs, by
0pen-file
reports
C. R. Handford, A. C. Kendall, D. R. PrezbinNMBMMR
dowski, J. B. Dunham, B. W. Logan, 1984:Geol1{MBMMR
*l47-Geology of the D Cross Mountain quadranogy, v. 72, no. 9, pp. 523-527.
*Annual Report-Annual report for the fiscal year
Basement
control
of
Tertiary
intrusions
and
asgle, Socorroand Catron Counties, New Mexico,
june
30, 1983,by F. E. Kottlowski
July 1, 1982,to
sociatedmineral deposits along Tijeras-Cafronby B. R. Robinson, 1987, 225 pp., 2 tables, 11
and staff,36 pp.
$3.00 c i t o f a u l t s v s t e m , N e w M e x i c o . b v L . A .
figs.,24pls.
$46.50
SummarizesBureau activities and servicesfor
Woodward, i984: Geology,v. 12, no. 9, pp.531,- +207-Geology and coal resourcesof the FenceLake
the fiscal year. Includes articles on mineral ex533.
1:50,000quadrangle, by F. W Campbell and G.
ploration in New Mexico in 1983, mineral and
H. Roybal, 7984,37pp., 2 tables,7 figs.,2pls.
mineral-fuel production in 1982and 1983,and Cordilleran metamorphic core complexes-Cenozoicextensionalrelicsof Mesozoii compression,
$10.40
Upper Cretaceousguide fossil
*2l.2-Origin of Riley havertine as constrainedby
by P. J. Coney, T. A. Harms, 1984:Giology, v.
*Geologic Map S9-Geology of South Peak quad72, no.9, pp. 550-55a.
the clay mineralogy of acid- and EDTA-insoluble
rangle,Luna County, New Mexico,by R. E. Cleresidues,by J. fr{. Barker,1984,77pp. $15.40
mons, 1985,I sheetwith text, 2 crosssections, Reinterpretation of Lime Peak thrust as a low-an*21}-Preliminary
gle nbrmal fault-implications for the tectonics
estimatesof rechargeat the Nascale1:24,000
of southeastern Arizona, by W. R. Dickinson,
vajo mine based on chloride in the unsaturated
South Peak quadrangle is one of four conter1984:Geology,v 72, no.70, pp.670-673
zone, by W. f. Stone, 79U, 60 pp., 5 tables, 8
Sedimentary fluorite in a lacustrine zeolitic tuff of
figs.
$12.00
*2ltl-Recharge
the Gila conglomerate near Buckhorn, Grant
in the Salt Lake coal fie]d based
County, New Mexico, by R. A. Sheppard and F.
on chloride in the unsaturated zone, by W J.
A. Mumpton, 1984:journal of SedimentaryPeStone, 1984,67 pp.,5 tables,14 figs.
$13.40
*2l7-Investigation of alluvial valley floors in the
trology, v. 54, no. 3, pp. 853-860.
Terrestrial heat-flow estimates from petroleum
Salt Lake coal area, western New Mexico, bv
bottom-hole temperature data in the Colorado
D. W. Love, J. Hawley, and S. Palmer,7984,n
quadrangle,and GM-58, Geologyof the Gym Peak
Plateau and the eastern Basin and Range Provpp.,2tables,4figs.
$6.00
quadrangle.A comprehensive geologic report,
ince, by R. E. Egglestonand M. A. Reiter, 1984:
Geology
of theFloridaMountains,LunaCounfu,Nan
Geological Society of America, Bulletin, v. 95,
Mexico,wlll be published as Memoir 43 lat-erthis
USGS
pp.1.027-1034.
year.
Volcaniclandforms and ore deposits, bv R. H. Sil- +84-563-Thermal studies at the Brantley damsite
litoe and H. F. Bonham, Jr., 798ai Economic
on the PecosRiver near Carlsbad, New Mexico,
USGS
Geology,v.79, no 6, pp.1286-1298.
J. H. Sass,7984,25 pp.
Bur-lrrtNs
l53tl-Geochemical halos in the Silver City mining
region and adjacent areas, Grant County, New
Mexico,by K. C. Watts,J. R. Hassemer,and D.
TopocnRpHrc MAIs-NEW (scale 1:24,000)
contour
F. Siems, 1984,85 pp.
(f0
yt
lat.
long.
l537-A-Subdivisions of the Menefee Formation
Cabin Wells (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
31'30',
108"7'30'
20
and Cliff House Sandstone (Upper Cretaceous)
Campbell Well
7977-83
3L"22'30',
708"7'30',
20
in southwestSan Juan Basin, New Mexico, by
Canal Creek (NM-CO)
1978-83
36"52',30',
108%5',
20 10
R. L. Miller, 1984,pp. A29-A53.
Chimney Rock
7978-83
36"45',
108"30',
20
l558-B-Titanium mineral resourcesof the United
Comer Well (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
31'15',
L08'7',30',
20
States--definitions and documentation, bv E. R.
Dog Mountains (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
31'15',
108'15',
20
Forceand L. E. Lynd, L9M, pp. B1-B11.'
Double Wells (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
3L"37',30',
708"7',30',
20
EagleMountain (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
31'15',
708"22',30',
Crnculnn
40
Garton Lake
7975-82
32"45',
706"7',30',
10
89GD-Earthquakes in the United States, OctoGuadalupe(NM-Mex.)
7977-83
31"15',
108'52',30',
10
ber-December 1982, by C. W. Stover, J H.
Horse Mesa (NM-AZ)
1978-82
36"37',30',
109'
20 10
Minsch, F. W Baldwin, and L. R. Brewer, 1984,
Lake Lucero SE
1975-82
32"30',
106'15',
10
33 pp'
Lang Canyon (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
31"15',
108'45',
10
Rattlesnake
1978-83
36'45'
108'45',
20 10
MlscrllaNrous
FIELDsruDIES MAps
Rocky Point
1978-83
36"45',
108'52',30',
20
MF-1634-A-Mineral resource potential map of
Shiprock
1978-83
36"45'
108"37',30',
20 10
the Ryan Hill roadless area, Socorro County, New
Summerford Mountain
r974-82
32"30'
106"45',
10
Mexico, by C. H. Maxwell, A. V. Heyl, C. E.
Tres Hermanos SE
1975-82
32'30'
106'
10
Ellis, and D. C. Scott, 1984, lat. 33'52'30,,to
Tres Hermanos SW
1975-82
32"30',
106'7'30'
10
34"07'30',long.102 to10775' , scale1:50,000,7
Tucson Spring
7975-82
33"22'30',
106"52',30',
t0
pp. text.
Whitewater Creek (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
31'15',
108"37',30',
20
MF-1689-Stratigraphic framework structure and
Whitewater Mountains (NM-Mex.)
1977-83
31'15',
108'30',
20
general geology of the Salt Lake coal field, Cibola and Catron Counties, New Mexico, bv M.
Irurtnuronrr ropocRApHrcMAps(scale 1:100,000)
contour
W. Mclellan, L. R. Biewick, and E. R. Landes,
(m)
yr
lat.
long.
1,9M, lat. 34' 30' to 34"45', long. 108"37'30"to
Alamo
Hueco
Mountains
1983-83
3
1
'
108'
50
108'52'30",scale1:24,000.
Conchas Lake (BLM)
7978-82
35'
704"
20
Hatch (BLM)
r978-82
32"30'
PnorpssroNal pApER
707
50
r978-83
34"
108"
50
Quemado
l28l-Palynological evaluation of Cedar MounSanta
Fe
1982-83
35'30',
105"
50
tain and Burro Canyon Formations, Colorado
Villanueva
1980-83
35'
105"
50
by
R.
H.
Tschudy,
B.
D.
Tschudy,
and
llaleag,
L. C. Craig, 79M,42pp.
usGs
Rpvrsro ropocRApHrcMAps(scALE1:250,000)
Otherpublications
Salina-margin tepees, pisoliths, and aragonite cements, Lake Macleod, western Australia-their
February 1985 New Metico Geology
Albuquerque
SantaFe
yt
1978-83
l9g-83
lat.
35'
35'
long.
106"
104'
contout
(m)
50
200 100
geochemical
NURE
reconnaissance
mapsof NewMexico
As part of the National Uranium Resource location, a chart of concentration increments
Evaluation (NURE), approximately 21,000 and equivalent symbols, a graph of cumustream-sediment
samplesand 13,000ground- lative probability and standard deviation from
water sampleswere collectedin New Mexico the median, a percent frequency bar graph,
f o r u r a n i u m a n d m u l t i - e l e m e n tc h e m i c a l and a summary of basic statistics.
analysis.At the request of the New Mexico
Increment schemes for the geochemical
B u r e a u o f M i n e s a n d M i n e r a l R e s o u r c e s maps (specified by NMBMMR) are intended,
(NMBMMR), the U.S. Departmentof Energy as much as possible, to allow maximum rescontracted Bendix Field Engineering Cor- olution of geologically significant geochemporation to producecomputerplots of NURE ical pattems and to permit recognition of both
geochemicalreconnaissancemaps for each obvious and subtle geochemical anomalies
of the 1" x 2o quadranglesthat cover New that may indicate favorable areas for mineral
Mexico-a total of 1,220 maps that present exploration. When employed collectively (i. e.,
more than 1,000,000bits of data (Fig. 1).
all the geochemical data is interpreted) and
Eachgeochemicalreconnaissance
map in- integrated with geological and geophysical
cludes the following information: quadran- data, the NURE geochemical maps can be an
gle name, element or other parameterplotted important tool in mineral exploration or for
on map (e.g., pH), sample medium (stream mineral-resource assessment. These geosedimentor ground water), analyticallabo- chemical maps also can lead to new insights
ratory (LosAlamosor Oak Ridge),a 1:250,000- in regional leologic, stratigraphic, hyd'rolscale map with distinctive svmbols (maxi- ogic, and environmental studies.
mum of 15;that indicatethe intrementalconIn addition to detecting uranium provcentration of the element at each sample inces, NURE geochemical maps canbe useful
in detecting favorable areas for copper, lead,
zinc, nickel, cobalt, chromium, vanadium,
manganese, iron, and silver(?) mineralization; also molvbdenum can be detected in
southern New-Mexico. Unfortunately, gold,
tin, tungsten, and niobium maps are of relatively little value because NURE sampling
technioues and analvtical methods were optimized for uranium.-Cuidelinest'orusing NURE
Reochemicalreconnaissancemaps of New Mexico
iNNaeN4vn Open-file Report 218) is included with map orders or may be purchased
before any maps are ordered.
Blueline prints of NURE geochemical maps
can be purchased from the NMBMMR Information, Resource, and Service Center for
$3.00 per map. To order, photocopy Fig. 1;
circle which quadrangle and element symbol(s) you want to purchase. (Use a different
photocopy for each quadrangle ordered.) Be
sure to distinguish the appropriate sample
medium (stream sediment or ground water).
For each quadrangle there is also a set of
sample-location maps that can be purchased
for $3.00/map.
-RichardChamberlinand
VirginiaMcLemore
B ,M o . PY
, ,Z r
WH \SN}NS
!)el)')s)zbN\\
X-143l8o)'/
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3
Geological
NewMerico
news
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intl
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The spring meeting of the New Mexico
GeologicalSocietywill be held on Friday,
Aprrl26, 1985,in the Macey Center, New
Mexico Tech, Socorro, from 9 to 5. The
annual businessmeeting will be held that
day from 1 to 2 p.m Symposiaor technical
sessionsthat cover many aspectsof New
Mexico geology are planned for a morning
and aftemoon session.A cocktailparty and
banquet will follow the day's activities.
Information on registration/ accommodation, and other activities planned for
this meeting will be mailed to NMGS
members this month. Inquiries should be
directedto: G. S. Austin, GeneralChairman, NMBMMR, Campus Station, Socorro, NM 87801;(505)835-5125.
\\\\.\
J 8 X - 4 1 5( 8 r ) \ \ \
NSNN
i*ii;ii,.b,\
ilo.
ro8.
A d d i t i o n o lm o p s n o l
r e p r e s e n l e db y p o l l e r n s
ore listedwithinindividuol
quodrongles.
R o m o nl e l l e r s : s l r e o m s e d i m e n td o t o m o p s
l l o l i c l e l t e r s :g r o u n d woter doto mops
M o p s c o m m o ni o o l l q u o d r o n q l e s :
S t r e o ms e d i m e n t s -A g , A l ,B o ,8 e ,C o , C e , C o , CCr u, ,F e ,H f ,
K , L o , L i, M g ,M n ,N o ,N b ,N i , p b , S c , S r , T h ,, T
Ui,V , Z n , K / N o ,
M g / C o , A l / M 9 , Z n/ C u , U / r h
Ground woters- U,pH, conduchylly (Cf)
A d d i t i o n om
l ops
S t r e o ms e d i m e n t-s A u , B i , C d , C t , CLsu, , R b , S b , S n , W
S l r e o m s e d i m e n l s -B , M o , P , Y , Z r
Groun d wole rs - Ag, Al, 8, 8o, Co,Ce,Co,Cr, Cu,Fe,K, Li, Mg,
Mn, Mo, No, Nb, Ni, P,Sc,Si,Sr,Th,Tr,V,y, Zn, Zr
FIGURE l-Index
map for NURE geochemical reconnaissance maps of New Mexico. The "GJBX" number
is,the reference to the bpen-file Re-port(s)that conta in(s) the original, tabula ted data for eactr quadra ngle.
These are available for examination at NMBMMR. The number in the lower right corner of eich
quadrangle represents the laboratory or laboratories responsible for collecting and lnalyzing the samples: 1, Los Alamos National Laboratory; 2, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Pllnt; 3, both 1 and 2.
1985l{ewMexico
Geological
lieldconference
Society
The 1985New Mexico Geological Society fall field conferencewill be held September 26-28 in east-cenhalNew Mexico
(Santa Rosa-TucumcariCountry). Emphasis will be on the stratigraphy, sedimentology,and paleontology of Mesozoic
rocks and the Ogallala Formation and on
the oi-I,gas, and uranium resourcesof upper Paleozoic-Mesozoicrocks. Contributed paperson this areafor the guidebook
are welcome.For more information contact the conference organizer: S. Lucas,
Departmentof Geology,University of New
Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131; telephone: 5051277-1646.
Nm MexicoGeologyFebruary1985
77
Abstracts
New Mexico Mineral
Symposium
The purpose of the New Mexico Mineral Symposium is to bring together for an exchange ol
ideas both professionals and amateurs interested
in mineralogy. The 4th symposium was held November 12-13, 7983, at the New Mexico Institute
of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico.
Following are abstracts from talks given at the
meerrnS.
SoNts \.trNERAL LocALrrtES rN THE BLACK RaNcr
AND VICINITY/ SOUTH-CENTRALNEW MEXICO,
by A. V. Heyl, U.S. Geological Survey,
Denver, CO 80225
Many well known mines and mineral localities
are in the general region of the Black Range west
of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and the
nearby bedrock areas. The best known locality is
lron Mountain, on the west side of the Black Range,
where Richard Jahns has reported the occurrei-ce
of nearly 200 minerals including helvite, danalite,
fluorescent fluorite, hypogene ;illemite, and molybdenian scheelite. About 20 mi to the northwest
(on top of the range) is Nugget Gulch, one of the
best localities for 0.5-5.0 cm diameter. banded.
brown nuggets of cassiterite in the form of red,
yellow, and brown wood tin. Some make beautiful
gems when tumbled and polished. North of NM52, 7 mi into the Black Range, a wood-gathering
road leads northeast into Sheep Canvon where a
large wall-forming gold-quartz vein contains some
beautiful, coarse amethvst that is suitable for slabbing. Up Turkey Cree( and then left up Buster
Creek a jeep road leads to the Black Range front.
The south fork at the front, if followed one-fourth
mi, will lead to an area along the creek in andesite
with many amygdaloidal ,r"ugsas much as 5 cm
across, which contain stilbite and heulandite crystals, some of which are very beautiful. West of
Chloride, up Chloride Cree( about 2 mi, a well
maintained cliff road rises to the south. Over the
crest the dumps of the U.S. Treasury mine can be
seen and driven to with a four-wheel-drive
vehicle. At the northwest end of the dump, across
from the old powder house, small flecki of gold
can be collected in dark bands of copper and si-lver
minerals in quartz. Twelve mi to ihe west, up
Chloride Creek and near its.source, is the Silver
Monument mine, where the dumps contain beautiful, massive bornite, freibergite, ind (seen under
the microscope) native silvei. South of the highway to Hillsboro and 2.5 mi east of the town is a
passable road down Ready Pay Gulch to the east
end of the Percha Creek Box. Here, old vanadium
mines have good yellow-buff crystals of type{ocality endlichite, orange vanadiniie, wulfeniie, and
descloizite. The Machb district lies 8 mi southwest
of Lake Valley, 13 mi northwest of Nutt, and about
0.5 mi west of the Wallace ranch on the north side
of Macho Creek. The main dumps have silverlead
sulfides and sphalerite, but the older dumps across
the draw to the northeast have good smail crystal
crusts of endlichite, vanadinite, wulfenite, descloizite, smithsonite, anglesite, hemimorphite,
supergene willemite, and, possibly, coronadite.
EptrunRuel
STLVER MINEnALTzATIoN
IN THE
CannoNarl CRnsr anra, KncsroN, Nrw
Mrxlco, by V. M. Canby and R. L. Evatt,
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801
The Kingston district has been historically a producer of base and precious metals, and its enriched lead-zinc-silver
deposits have produced
18
February
1985
New Mexico Geology
phenomenal near-surface oxidized silver ores in
crystals consist of a core of transparent or violetihe past. The area was extremely active in Tertiary
tinged cancrinite (about 0.15 mm in diameter) that
tirne, fypified by an early period of major northis surrounded by a layer of gray, inclusion-filled
south faulting, followed by intrusion and extrunatrolite about 0.10 mm thick and covered by an
sion of shallow, intermediate to acidic, porphyritic
outer layer of colorless, subhedral analcime about
rocks. Finally, there was regional silicification and
0.02 mm thick. The cancrinite family is a group of
minor fracturing followed by ore emplacement.
hexagonal alkali aluminosilicate minerals, with the
Mineralization on Carbonate Creek is of a tvoe that
Beneral fonnula (Na,Ca,K)sr(Si,Al)u r4[(SO4),(CO3),
i s a p p a r e n t l y u n i q u e i n t h e a r e a . A r g e n t i t ' e ' ( a c a n - (Cl,OH)rl, n.nH'O, which differ according to the
thite) float, reportedly in masses up to 200 lbs,
dominant cations present (Na or Ca), anions preswas found in Silver Gulch in the early 1880's. A1ent (CO3, SO4,Cl, or OH), and details of the crystal
though 80,000 ounces were producei from float
lattice (space group and number of atoms per unit
alone, extensive development failed to reveal the
cell). Point of Rocks cancrinite appears to belong
source of the large masses. The source area of the
to the soecies cancrinite sensu stlictu. The formula
argentite is in highly altered limestones adjacent
inferred from microprobe analysis is near
to an andesite body, which also is altered in places.
NasALSLOT(COJog(SOJo.; it corresponds to 29Work by the authors using geochemical and other
33 mole percent of the sulfatian end-member, vishmethods has revealed the presence of argentite
nevite. The cancrinite is uniaxial (-) with e :
unevenly distributed within a "replacement" de1.500.
7.494ando:
posit in several members of the Lake Valley limestone. This bed consists almost entirelv of fineOr nRroar CHAMBERS/ JEWELRv sHops, AND
grained silica and varying amounts of irgentite,
GLIMPSE AT NEW
CRYSTAL CAVERNS-A
almost to the exclusion of other minerals. Minor
MExTco,s MINING CAMPS, CHARACTERS. AND
native gold with high silver content fills cavities
THEIR MINERAL TREASURES, bv R. W. Eveand seems to be the last mineral deposited. The
leth, New Mexico Bureau of Mines and
deposit is interesting because it appears to be the
Mineral Resources,Socorro,NM 87801
top of an epithermal system.
Mineral collectors today, whether we be miner,
prospector, engineet geologist, or just plain enMINnnars oF PorNT oF RocKS-NEw
FINDTNGS,
thusiast, are actively involved in preserving a small
by R. S. DeMark, Albuquerque, NM
part of our natural history whether we realize it
The mineralsfrom Point of Rocksmesa(T. 26 or not. Although collecting has obviously taken
N., R. 26 E.) in eastern Colfax County, New Mexthe back seat to the quest for ore, few who have
ico, were first discussed at the 3rd annual New
been involved with minerals in one endeavor or
Mexico Minerals Symposium in November, 1982.
another have not been moved to gather a cabinet
New discoveries at Point of Rocks mesa in the
o f n a t u r e ' s t r e a s u r e s .J u s t h o w l o n g h a s t h i s p h e intervening months have enhanced further the
nomena been going on? Perhaps since the first
significance of this unique New Mexico mineral
human bent to pick up a sky-blue or dense red
location. The uncommon species found at Point
stone and wondered where it came from. Here in
of Rocks: villiaumite, serand-ite,acmite, searlesite, the area we currently call New Mexico, diligent
neptunite, and polylithionite were discussed preresearch would undoubtedly reveal that the Spanviously. Since then, the exceedingly rare sulfide
ish collected copper minerals from the Santa Rita
mineral rasvumite and the more orosaic sulfide
del Cobre some 200 years ago. And documentary
minerals, galena, spalerite and pyrrhotite have been
evidence currently on hand can take the readeri
found. Eudialyte, cancrinite, and natrolite also have
listener on an armchair journey spanning nearly
been identified as occurring in relative abundance.
150 vears to places with exotic names like Santo
Additionally, the first New Mexico occurrence of
Domingo de iis Calzadas, Mount Chalchiutl, and
the mineral lorenzenite has been established. These
Pinos Altos as well as the others mentioned above.
minerals, plus additional unknown species, porThe journey exposes us to both heroes and villains
tend that Point of Rocks mesa will soon rank as
of the past and reveals a brief glimpse into their
one of the most prolific New Mexico locations for
daily lives.
mineral species.
Dere ow vuc MTNERALSFRoM PorNT oF RocKS,
NEw Mpxco:
LoRENZENITE, sEARLESTTE,
AND
CANCRINITE/ by P. I. Modreski,
U.S. Geo-
logical Survey, Denver, CO 80225
Lorenzenite, searlesite, and cancrinite are three
of the uncommon minerals that occur as euhedral
crystals in the phonolite sill that forms Point of
Rocks mesa, Colfax County, New Mexico. These
minerals are contained in laie-stage gas cavities up
to several cm in size, which are lined with proiecting crystals mainly of alkali feldspar, acmite,
and nepheline. The lorenzenite is a niobium-bearing variety, Nar(Ti,Nb)rSirOr; it forms brown,
transparent prisms less than 1 mm long. Lorenzenite was known previously from several alkalic
massifs in the U.S.S.R., Norway, Narsarsuk,
Greenland, and Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec. Searlesite, a borosilicate, NaBSLOT(OH)2, forms colorless prismatic to bladed ffystals as much as 2
cm long. It is previously known only from boroncontaining evaporite beds in California, Nevada,
Wyoming, and the U.S.S.R. Cancrinite occurs in
alkalic, silica-poor igneous rocks, often with
nepheline and sodalite. At Point of Rocks, it forms
rylindrical or tapering hexagonal prisms as much
as 2 cm long and 0.5-1.0 mm thick. Some of these
CorlecrtNc
HISToRy oF THE HeNsoNnunc
rratMNG DrSTRrCr, BlaNCneno
CLATMS, by leny
Ostrom, Enchanted Mesa Minerals, Belen,
NM
Since 1881, there has been interest in the mineral
possibilities of the Oscura Mountains, which are
located about 10 mi south of Socorro and about 35
mi east of San Antonio. The Blanchard mine is
located about 9 mi south of Bingham, New Mexico,
and it is this location that is of particular interest.
The presentation was divided lnto three parts: a
brief history of what has been written about the
territory; a few anecdotes about collecting at the
site; and some slides about how the site looked in
the past, how it looks at the present time and some
pictures of minerals from the location.
Mwgnalocy
oF THE cARBoNATTTES AND BARITEFLUORITE_SULFIDE VEINS IN THE EASTERN
Lrvnan MouNrarNs, Soconno CouNry,
NEw Mrxrco, by Y. T. Mclemore and R.
M. North, New Mexico Bureau of Mines
and Mineral Resources,Socorro,NM 87801
Paleozoic carbonatites (minimum age M9 m.y.
+ 16 m.y.) intrude the Precambrian rocks exposed
in the eastem Lemitar Mountains, Socorro Countv.
Carbonatites are unique carbonate-rich rocks of
apparent magmatic origin, and they are characterized by a distinct but variable mineralogy,
chemistrv, and associated alteration. The Lemitar
carbonatites occur as dikes, stockworks, and veins,
and they display textures, mineralogy, chemistry
and wall-rock alteration tvpical of carbonatite complexes. They contain greater than 50% carbonate
minerals and varying amounts of apatite, magnetite, pyroxene, and other accessory minerals.
Despite variations in texture of the Lemitar carbonatites, they can be grouped on the basis of
mineralogy and mode of emplacement as: 1) sili
cocarbonatite dikes; 2) sovite (greater than 90%
calcite), ravhaugite (greater than 907o dolomite),
and carbonatite veins; 3) ankerite-dolomite
carbonatite dikes; and 4) stockwork carbonatites. Barveins occur in the vicinitv of
ite-fluorite-sulfide
the carbonatite dikes and locally occur with some
carbonatites. The primarv mineralization of the
veins is barite, fluoiite, gaiena. sphalerite, quartz,
and small amounts of chalcopyrite, pyrite, and
calcite- Many of the veins contain silver. Subsequent alteration has produced wulfenite, hemimorphite, cerussite, hematite, and a small amount
of malachite, chrysocolla, and anglesite. Baritefluorite-galena mineralization is common in central New Mexico and is considered to be Tertiary
in age. This mineralization is probably formed by
the expulsion of basinal brines along fractures related to the Rio Crande rift. Howe-ver, it is possible, that some of the barite mineralization in the
Lemitar Mountains is related to the carbonatites
and is of Paleozoic age. The presence of carbonatites in the Lemitar Mountains also may have
tectonic significance. Carbonatites are commonly
associated with continental rifts or lineaments and
the carbonatites in Socorro County support current theories of rifting occurring as early as the
Precambrian or Paleozoic. Other carbonatites and
alkalic rocks in New Mexico and Colorado are similar in composition and age to the Lemitar carbonatites, which further supports Precambrian or early
Paleozoic rifting.
Ar dating, in progress on a previously unmapped,
fresh, unsheared intrusive body of basalt in the
RH, revealedan ageof 848 + 42m.y., which helps
to constrain further the structural deformational
history of the RH-PH Precambrian terrane.
pressive array of more than 200 distinct species,
including six new ones were produced. This talk
was a broad overview of the history, geology, and
more notable speciesthat, combined, have made
the name Bisbeesynonymous with fine minerals.
Norrs oN UNUSUALMINERALSFRoM THEHARDING PEGMATI-IE,by Paul Hlava, Sandia
Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
Most people who collect at the Harding pegmatite are familiar with the common minerals and
the major ore minerals of the mine. Mixed in with
these are small, rare grains of more unusual minerals, such as the bismuth minerals, that most collectors miss or do not recognize. Minerals. and
some features of their chemistrv. discussed are
native bismuth, bismuthinite,bismutite,bayerite,
spessartine, zircon, thorite, and bertrandite and
pucherite and mottramite, which are new records
ior the Harding pegmatite.
Azunrrrs FRoM THE HaNovEn No. 2 rrrtNn,
GnaNr CouNrv, Nrw Mrxrco, by R. W.
Graeme, IV and D. L. Graeme, Hanover,
NM 88041
The Hanover No. 2 mine in Fierro, Grant County,
New Mexico, lately has been the sourceof a great
many small, but fine, azurite rosettes.This azurite
occurrenceis very similar in geologicenvironment
to other localities that have produced similar specimens- Unfortunately, little has been done to document the features that allow the development of
this form. The purpose of this discussiohwas to
fill this longstanding void.
AN ovnRvtEw oF THE MTNERALoGyor Brsapn,
AmzoNa, by Richard Graeme, Sharon Steel
Corporation, Hanover, NM 88041
Bisbee,Arizona, is truly the classicNorth American mineral locality. During the near century of
its operation, literally hundreds of thousands of
fine specimenswere produced and preserved. From
a relatively simple geologic environment, an im-
SrECIMENS,by
ColrrcrloN oF sMALL MTNERAL
Les Cubit, Socorro, NM 87801
This talk was a general discussion about collecting different sized specimens,advantagesand
disadvantages of each with emphasis on small
specimens,and idiosl'ncrasiesof collectorsand how
those idiosyncrasies-affecttheir collections. Slides
of some of the world's most exotic small minerals
that occur in the southwest U.S. were shown.
Greene of the State Park and RecreationDivision
plan the scientific display at the Elephant Butte
(continuedfrom page20)
State Park headquarters.
The New Mexico Coal SurfaceMining Commisthat the Arco No. 1 Fitzpatrick petroleum test will
Hidilgo County in the sion, chairedby Frank Kottlowski, upheld Director
be drilled in southwestern
Ed Kelley's (Mining and Minerais Division,
PedregosaBasin area.
NMEMD) decisionto canceltheArroyo No. l Mine
A resolution approved at the New Mexico MiningAssociation'sannualmeetingpraisedand sup- permit; Frank is serving on the Office of Technolported NMBMMR's efforts. The September oqy AssessmentAdvisory Panel, which reviews
tjihnoloeies for surface mine reclamation on
Ceotogical
Societyof AmericaButletincontained an
article by Roberta Eggleston and Marshall Reiter western federal lands.
The SME-AIME meeting is planned for October
estimates
entitled Terrestrialheat-flozu
from petroleumPnEcaunruaN
RocKS oF THE RATTLESNAKE AND
holetemperature
data in the ColoradoPlateauand the 1985in Albuquerque; GeorgeAustin and Jim BarHrr-r-s, TonnaNCE CouNTy, NEw
ProsnNel
ker are on the Program Committee; Mike Harris
easternBasinand RsngeProaince.Deborah Shaw
Mrxrco, by J. R. D, Setter, KRITI Explo- represented NMBMMR at the Governor's Career will lead a field trip to the Ortiz gold mine, Jim
ration, Inc., Houston, TX77024
Barker will lead a field triP to the Jemezarea, and
Development Conferencefor Women. Garv IohnGeorgeAustin will lead a field trip to the Grants
Fabric mapping, petrographic and geochemical p""t girr" a talk at the Association of Engineering
uranium district. I-ynn Brandvold, NMBMMR's
studies in the RattlesnakeHills (RH) and Pedernai Geologistson "Coal mine subsidencein New Mexrepresentativeon the Water Quality Control ComHills (PH) have shown that two different tectono- 1CO.
mission,reportsthat WQCC is woiking on Proiect
At the New Mexico Mineral Svmposium, held
stratigraphicassernblagesmay be present. The RH
composean area of scatteredexposure(approxi- in Socorroin November, Bob Nbrth and Cinger LUSI Leaking Underground StorageTanks.
mateiy 50 km'?) of medium-grade quartzo-feld- Mcl-emore gave a talk on "Geology and mineralJohn Hawley was NMBMMR s representativeat
the Governor's Conference on the Environmen!
spathic augen gneissesand subordinate mylonite ogy of EI Cuervo Butte barite-fluorite-galena degneisses, which are consistently foiiated south- posits in Santa Fe County," and Bob North gave Gary Johnpeer, John Hawley, Dave Love, and
GeorgeAustin attended the meetings of the Hazsoutheastwith moderate to steepdips. Small, sub- a talk on "Geology and mineralogy of Bear Mounvertical aplite veins trend south-southeast alons tains mining district in SocorroCounfy."Judy Vaiza, ardousWasteManagement Society,and Jim Barker
representedus at the meeting of the Landsman
with the axialplanesof en echelon,ptvgmaticquartZ Zana Wolf, Norma Meeks, Vicki Pollmann, and
Association.
veins. Originally mapped by Kelley (1972)as schists Carol Hjellming helped Bob North set uP the symThe latest oil and gas production figures for Auand granite gneisses, the RH appear to be litho- posium; New Mexico Tech President, Larry Latt'
logically distinct from the PH. Quartz-muscovite- man, gave the banquet address. The Southwest gust 1.984were given to Bob Bieberman by Dick
Stamets(who replacedJoe Ramey as Director of
staurolite and quartz-muscovite-kyanite schists, AAPG section will meet in the Ruidoso area in
the Oil Conservation Division). They showed conalkali granites, amphibolites, and quartzites, which 1.986;preliminary plans for a field trip to see the
are foliated parallel to layering east-northeast (ap- CretaCeousrocks and coal deposits of that area, tinuing increasein production of crude oil and a
spring:through-summerincreasein production of
proximately 300 km'?),form the PH. Also, the mi- under the direction of Art Bowsher,field trip chairnatural qas in New Mexico.
nor hematite-malachite-chalcopl'rite mineralization, man, are being made by JoAnne Osburn, Brian
BobEieleth and Diane Murray have transmitted
characteristicof portions of the PH, was not found Arkell, Orin Anderson, and Bill Cobban.
the final report on the CRIB project to USGS.
Bob Weberattended the Mogollon confeiencein
in the RH. However, the RH are assumedcontemGretchen Roybal and Brian Arkell located and
poraneous with the 1..4b.y. age assigned to the Las Cruces.Dave Love was NMBMMR's (and New
metamorphic rocks of the PH (Mukhopadhyay et Mexico's) representative at the Western States deared drilling locations for the Coal Quality study
al., 7975).Additional tectonic analysis of Precam- Seismic Policy Council in Sacramento;he is also in the Sanfuan Basin. Mickey Wooldridge worked
brian strucfures shows the presence of shallow on the steering committee of the New Mexico with GeorgeAustin and IiriZidek in planning cooperativeproiectswith U.S. Bureau of Mines on
(15-20), easterlythrust in the northern portion of Mapping Advisory Committee. Don Wolberg is a
the PH. The kinematics of this event currently are nominee for secretaryof the PaleontologicSociety; mineral fotential of federal lands. Sales of
highly speculative, although field evidence sug- he is also vice-chairman of the Society of Verte- NMBMMR and NMGS publications are above
gests that these shallow thrusts postdate the high brate Paleontologists'Government Liaison Com- budget; the sales are handled by Norma Meeks
tr
mittee. Don and Rick Lozinsky are helping Peter and overseenby Lois Devlin.
angle, north-trending thrusts of Laramide age. K-
Stallnotes
New Mexico Geology February 7985
NewMexicoBureauof Mines
andMineral
Resources
statfnotes
Irean Rae joined the staff as a Drafter; Nanette
Dynan resigned as Secretary/Receptionistfor the
Information, Resource,and ServiceCenter and was
replaced by Marie Chavez; Danny Bobrow was
hired as Paleontologic Curator. Jicques Renault
had served20 yearsin Septemberand-Lynn Brandvold 19 years in November.
A repbrt on the mineral potential of Torrance
County was prepared for BLM by Ginger McLemore with cooperation from Dick Cha;berlin,
George Austin, JoAnne Osbum, Gary Johnpeer,
Ron Broadhead,Bob North, Kathy Campbe[, linda
Wells-McCowan,JamesBrannan, Deborah Shaw,
Lynne McNeil, and Lisa Zangara. Mineral potential of the general Sandoval-Bernalillo Counties
area for BLM was in final draft, prepared by the
sam€cooperatorswith additional aid by Gretchen
Roybal,SamThompson,Lynn Brandvold,and Dave
Menzie.
JoAnne Osburn's Geologic Map 55, which describesthe geology of the Pueblo Vielo Mesa quadrangle in Socorro and Cibola Counties,-was
are in the planning stageby Ginger Mclemore and
GeorgeAustin. BiIl Stone's talk at the Hydrology
seminar was on "Estimating ground water recharge from chloride in the unsaturated,zone."
The New Mexico Geological Society field trip
near Taos, the AIME meeting in Denver, and the
GSA meeting in Reno were attended by numerous
Bureau staff members. Norma Meeks and Orin
written by Dana Adkins-Heljeson and Candace Anderson made publications available at the NMGS
Holts, with very considerable aid by Jane Love. meeting. Iim Birker coordinated and chaired a
Dck Chamberlin led a field trip into the Lemitar borite symposium at the AIME meeting. At the
Mountains to show petroleum geologiststhe char- GSA meeting, John Hawley presented a poster
acteristic faults of that range. RousseauFlower's entitled "Identification of possible sites in New
report, Nan species
and structuresin Narthecocerati- Mexico for disposal of ha2ardous waste"; Dick
dae(Nautiloidea,Orthocerida),was published in the Chamberlin and Bob Osburn's poster was entitled
"Character and evolution of extensional domains
July issue of PaliiontologischeZeitschrift.
John Hawley gave a talk to the Colorado Geo- in the Socorro area of the Rio Grande rift." famie
logical Society in Golden entitled "Late Neogene Robertson met with the SEG Council conceming
history of southern New Mexico." Rick Lozinsky the short-coursevolumes.
spoke about the Late Cretaceousdinosaurs in the
Jane Love and Deborah Shaw wrote a paper
McRae Formation at the Northern Arizona Sym- entitled Media-conaersionseraicesanil yoducts. This
posium in Flagstaff, a paper he had co-written with paper, on guidelines to make computer systems
Adrian Hunt, Don Wolberg, and Spencer Lucas. compatible for manuscript processing, was preThe August 1984GeologicalSocietyot'AmericaBul- sented at the Association of Earth ScienceEditors
letln included John Hawley's comments on receiv- meeting. Bill Stone's Open-file Report 2L3, which
ing the Kirk Brian award with L. H. GiIe and R. describesthe ground-water rechargeat the Navajo
B. Grossman.
mine, is available; Bill's conclusions were prefoAnne Osburn gavea talk on the CrevasseCan- sented to OSM in Denver. John Hawley and Dave
yon Formation of the Datil Mountains coal field Love visited the Deming area to examine the earth
area at the SEPM meeting in San fose. Numerous crackscaused by withdrawal of ground water.
Bureau personnel aided at the State Fair exhibit,
Frank Kottlowski will receive an Honorary
including Bob North, Diane Murray, Carol Hjell- Membership in AAPG at the March national meeiming, JaneLove, Dave Love, Gary Johnpeer, Kathy Campbell, Jim Barker, Bob Eveleth, Dave
Menzie, Ron Broadhead, and Orin Anderson.
Pricelist 18, Open-file List 3, and announcement
cards 41., 42, and 43 were prepared by Carol
Hjellming.
Open-file Report 214, by Bill Stone, is entitled
Recharge
in the SaItLakecoalt'ieldbasedon chloridein
Ron Broadhead talked at the IOCC meeting in
theunsaturated
zoze.Bob Eveleth's talk at the Sigma SantaFe on "Peholeum exploration targetsin New
Xi annual meeting was "Socorro, the mining cen- Mexico" and PaigeChristiansen describedthe hister of the southwest."Mike Harris worked on leach tory of petroleum exploration in the state. Bob
testsof gold ore from Lincoln County. Bob Eveleth North visited the Newberry Library to obtain minpicked up the Howard Rothrock collection of books ing reports for the Information, Resource,and Serfrom Howard's relatives in Silver City.
vice Center. Sam Thompson has been informed
Mineral-potential reports for the BLM on Cibola, Valencia,McKinley, and San Juan Counties
(mntinueilon page19)
ion Prolil0t,n[trcn
USPOSTAGI
P A ID
SOCORRO,
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NO9