Relative Ages of Strata-Form Sulfide Ore and Wall Rock Determined by a Structural Analysis of the Copper Queen Mine, Yavapai County, Arizona
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Relative ages of strata-form sulfide ore and wall rock determined by a structural analysis of the Copper Queen Mine, Yavapai County, Arizona Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic); maps Authors Brook, Doyle Kenneth, 1944- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 14:04:48 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/566537 RELATIVE AGES OF STRATA-FORM SULFIDE ORE AND WALL ROCK DETERMINED BY A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE COPPER QUEEN M INE, YAVAPAI COUNTY, ARIZONA by Doyle Kenneth Brook, Jr. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 7 4 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judg ment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar ship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This theses has been approved on the date shown below: // / f l/ >RGE H . DAVIS Date Assistant Professor of Geosciences DEDICATION This thesis is respectfully dedicated to uncle, the late Howard E. Davis. His guidance and encouragement strongly influenced my decision to pursue geology as a career. iii ACKNOWLEDG MENTS This project began as an exploration program for Cominco Amer ican Inc., and I would like to acknowledge the cooperation and assis tance of Mr. Hugh Moore and Mr. Gene France of the Cominco staff. Dr. George H . Davis contributed significantly to the success of this thesis by his insistence on clearly defined goals for the investigation and by his untiring assistance during its preparation. I would like to thank Drs. Spencer R. Titley, John M. Guilbert, and Donald E. Livings ton for their helpful discussion and reviews of this thesis. Special thanks go to Tom Heidrich, a fellow graduate student, whose assistance with the computer program data was invaluable; to Mr. and Mrs. Rex • Ricks, operators of the Copper Queen mine, for their kindness and hos pitality during my work in Mayer, Arizona; and to my friends, Phil Anderson and Spencer Smith, for their comments and for assistance in the field. A special word of praise is given to my wife, Maria, whose patience and understanding made this thesis possible. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS............................................................. ..................................v ii ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................... ix INTR O D U C TIO N .................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose o f S tu d y .......................................................................................................... 2 M e t h o d s ...................................................................................... 2 L ocation and A c c e s s ............................................................................................... 4 H istory and Previous W o r k .................................................................................. 6 GEOLOGIC SETTING. ' .................................................................................................. 8 Rock U n its .................................................................................................................. 8 Spud M ountain V o l c a n i c s ........................................................ 8 R h y o lite-D a cite M em b er................................................................... 10 M arker-bed M em ber............................................................................. 12 Sulfide-rich Bands...................................................................... 13 Banded Iron Formations................................................... 16 Tuff-Breccia Member ..................................................... 19 Q uartz V e i n s ....................................................................................................... 21 D ia b a se D i k e s ....................................................................................................21 Structural F e a t u r e s .................................................................................................. 22 Sh ylock Fault Z o n e ....................................................................................... 22 Hum boldt S y n c lin e .............................................................................................23 F o lia tio n ................................................................................................................. 23 Foliation of Sulfide M inerals ........................................................... 26 B ed d in g.....................................................................................................................29 F o l d s ........................................................................................................................ 32 Folds in Sulfide-rich Bands .............................................................. 34 Fold M o rp h o lo g y ...................................................................................... 34 F o ld -a x is O rien ta tio n ............................................................................37 F a u lts ............................................................................. 37 J o in t s ...................................................................................................... 39 L in ea tio n ................................................................................................................. 40 PRECAMBRIAN HISTORY OF THE REGION ..................................................................41 D ep o sitio n o f the Y avapai S e r i e s ..................................................................... 41 The M a za tza l R evolu tion ..........................................................................................42 The Grand C anyon D istu rb a n ce............................................................................42 v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS— Continued Page GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF THE COPPER QUEEN MINE AREA ............................ 43 D e p o sitio n o f the R h y o lite-D a cite M e m b e r .................................................43 D e p o sitio n o f the M arker-bed M em b er...........................................................43 D e p o sitio n o f the T uff-B reccia M e m b e r ........................................................46 E ffects o f the First D e fo r m a tio n ........................................................................ 47 E ffects o f the Second D eform ation ..................................................................... 47 K inem atic M odel for Structural H is to r y ...........................................................49 SULFIDE HISTORY............................................................................................................. 51 D eform ation o f the S u lfid e-rich B a n d s ...........................................................51 O rigin o f the S u lfid e M in e r a liz a t io n .......................................................... 51 COMPARISON OF THE COPPER QUEEN ORE BODY WITH SIMILAR D E PO SIT S...................................................................................................... 55 Jerom e, A r iz o n a ...................................................................................................... 55 N oranda, Q u e b e c .................................................................................................. 55 CO NCLUSIO NS...................................................... 57 REFERENCES 58 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Geologic map of the Copper Queen mine area, Y avapai C ounty, A rizon a..........................................................in p o ck et 2. Geologic map of the 300 and 400 levels, Copper Queen mine, Yavapai County, Arizona ................. in p o ck et 3. Location map. Copper Queen mine area, Yavapai County, Arizona....................................................................... 5 4. Geology of the Mayer area, Yavapai County, Arizona .............. 9 5 . Outcrop o f r h y o lite -d a c ite m e m b e r ....................................................... 11 6. Polished slab of specimen from marker-bed member ................. 11 7. Sulfide-rich bands in the marker-bed member ............................... 14 8. Typical sulfide mineral assemblage of chalcopyrite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, and sphalerite in sulfide- rich b a n d s ...................................................................................