Beryllium and Tungsten Deposits of the Iron Mountain District Sierra and Socorro Counties New Mexico
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director Bulletin 945-C BERYLLIUM AND TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS OF THE IRON MOUNTAIN DISTRICT SIERRA AND SOCORRO COUNTIES NEW MEXICO BY RICHARD H. JAHNS WITH A SECTION ON THE BERYLLIUM MINERALS BY JEWELL J. GLASS Strategic Minerals Investigations, 1944 (Pages 45-79) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1944 For gale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price $1.25 CONTENTS Page Abstract................................................... 45 Introduction............................................... 46 Geology.................................................... 49 Sedimentary rocks...................................... 49 . Magdalena group.................................... 49 Younger pre-Tertiary rocks ......................... 50 Tertiary and Quaternary deposits.................... 50 Igneous rocks .......................................... 50 Volcanic rocks..................................... 50 Intrusive rocks.................................... 50 Structure.............................................. 51 Contact metamorphism................................... 52 Recrystallized rocks............................... 53 Metasomatlcally altered rocks.......................... 53 Iron-poor silicate rocks........................... 53 Iron-rich silicate rocks: tactites................ 54 Massive tactite................................ 54 ."Ribbon rock" tactite.......................... 54 Metamorphosed igneous rocks ........................ 55 Ore deposits............................................... 56 The beryllium minerals, by Jewell J. Glass............. 56 Helvite........................................:... 56 Other beryllium-bearing minerals................... 58 Beryllium deposits...................................... 58 Tungsten deposits...................................... 59 Other deposits......................................... 60 Descriptions of areas....................................... 61 Lower part of Discovery Gulch.......................... 62 West Slope area........................................ 63 Brown or- body......................................... 64 Jackpot Jo. 1 and Jackpot Extension areas.............. 64 North End area......................................... 65 Sclieelemite area.......................'................ 68 Parker Strike area..................................... 70 Lucky Strike-Tungs ten Reef area......................... 71 Scheelite' Gem deposits................................. 73 South Peak-Backslope area.............................. 74 Black Bed area......................................... 74 Reserves and outlook for the district...................... 75 Beryllium deposits..................................... 75 Tungsten deposits...................................... 78 Prospecting for other contact-metamorphic beryllium deposits................................................. 79 III ILLUSTRATIONS Page Plate 16. Mining claims in the Iron Mountain district, Sierra and Socorro Counties, N. Mex.... In pocket 17. Geologic map of the Iron Mountain district. Sierra and Socorro Counties, N. Mex.... In pocket 18. Geologic map of Iron Mountain, Sierra and Socorro Counties, N. Mex............... In pocket 19. Typical specimens of "ribbon rock" from the North End area, Iron Mountain............... 56 20. Specimens of ^partially and completely formed "ribbon rock" tactlte....................... 56 21. Geologic map of lower Discovery Gulch, Iron Mountain, Sierra County, N. Mex........ In pocket 22. Isometric fence diagram of lower Discovery Gulch area, Iron Mountain, N. Mex...... In pocket 23. Geologic map of the West Slope area, Iron Mountain, Sierra County, N. Hex........ In pocket 24. Geologic map of the Brown area, Iron Moun tain, Sierra County, N. Mex............ In pocket 25o Geologic map of the Jackpot No. 1 area, Iron Mountain, Socorro County, N. Mex....... In pocket 26. Geologic map of the North End area, Iron Moun tain, Socorro County, N. Mex........... In pocket 27. Geologic map and sections of the Beryllium Reef and Star bodies, North End area, Iron Mountain, Socorro County, N. Mex....... In pocket 28. Geologic map of tVie Scheelemite area, Iron Mountain, Sierra County, N. Mex........ In pocket 29. Geologic map of the Parker Strike area, Iron Mountain, Sierra County, N. Mex........ In pocket 30. Geologic map of the Lucky Strike and Tungsten Reef areas, Iron Mountain, Sierra County, N. Mex................................. In pocket 31. Geologic map of the Black Bed tungsten area, Iron Mountain, Sierra County, N. Mex..» In pocket Figure 9. Index map of New Mexico showing location of Iron Mountain district...................... 47 10. Sketch of tungsten-bearing veinlet zones in massive garnet-magnetite tactite, Lucky Strike deposit.............................. 72 IV BERYLLIUM AND TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS OF THE IRON MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, SIERRA AND SOCORRO COUNTIES, NEW MEXICO By Richard H. Jahns WITH A SECTION ON THE BERYLLIUM MINERALS By Jewell J. Glass ABSTRACT Beryllium and txmgsten deposits of contact-metamorphic origin occur in the Iron. Mountain district, in northwestern Sierra County and southwestern Socorro County, N. Mex. They are in irregular bodies of iron-rich silicate rock (tactite) formed by replacement of Paleozoic limestone and calcareous shale,, gener ally at or near contacts with small intrusive masses of rhyolite, granite, and apllte, probably of mid-Tertiary age. Most of the beryllium is in the complex -silicate mineral hel- vite, but some occurs as a minor constituent of grossularite gar net, idocrase, and chlorite. All these minerals occur chiefly in a layered variety of tactite, to which the name "ribbon rock" has been given, but partly in strongly mineralized shear and breccia zones in earlier-formed, thick-bedded magnetite-garnet tactite. Fluorite and magnetite are the principal constituents of the beryllium-bearing rock, which forms thick pods, pipelike masses, and thin tabular bodies. The "ribbon rock" appears to have been formed through replacement of limestone by iron-rich solutions that entered along fractxires, and the rhythmic layering is inter preted as a diffusion effect. The 'amount of beryllium-bearing tactite that can actually be measured is small, but detailed mapping and preliminary sampling of the deposits by the Geological Survey, followed by extensive exploration and sampling by the Bureau of Mines, indicate a reserve of about 3,500 tons of higher-grade, magnetite-rich "rib bon rock" arid 84,000 tons of lower-grade, silicate-rich "ribbon rock." The average BeO content of the magnetite-rich material, in which all or nearly all of the beryllium occurs in the mineral helvite, is probably about 0.7 percent, and that of the silicate- rich tactite, in which the beryllium is distributed among several 45 46 STRATEGIC MINERALS INVESTIGATIONS, 1944 minerals, is about 0.2 percent. Indicated reserves of the two classes would thus co'rrespond to approximately 204 and 1,400 tons, respectively, of beryl concentrates containing 12 percent BeO. In addition there are inferred reserves of roughly 1,000 tons of the higher-grade and 100,000 tons of the lower-grade "ribbon rock." These tonnages are thought to be near the maximum obtainable in the district, for the high-tonnage deposits of "ribbon rock" are cut off at shallow depth by igneous rock, and prospects for the discovery of new deposits are not good. The low grade of most of the Iron Mountain tactite and the difficul ties involved in its metallurgical "treatment appear to preclude its successful competition with beryl ores as a current source of beryllium, even though byproduct fluorite and magnetite might be recovered during its treatment. "Ribbon rock" may be a useful guide in searching for beryl lium-bearing contact deposits elsewhere. As beryllixim occurs in "ribbon rock" but not, as a primary constituent, in typical mas sive tactite, beryllium compoxmds in contact deposits may be con fined to rocks of dominantly hydrothermal origin. Close scrutiny of the hydrothermal portions of other contact deposits, particu larly those of mid-Tertiary age in the southwestern states, may thus bring to light other occurrences of beryllium. The tungsten minerals at Iron Mountain are scheelite and powellite, which occur most commonly as disseminations or frac ture fillings in massive-bedded magnetite-garnet tactite. The ore bodies are generally small, but many contain relatively high- grade material. Most of them are adjacent to igneous contacts, at the intersections of two or more well-developed sets of joints or shear planes. Reserves of indicated and inferred ore are estimated as approximately 9,100 tons containing from 0.5 to 2.0 percent of W03. This total does not include some 9,500 tons of mineralized material in the Lucky Strike area that appears to be too low in grade to be regarded as ore. -Even what is reckoned as ore is too low in grade, except for a few rich shoots in three deposits, to be shipped without milling; and construction of a small, carefully located mill in the district might be justified by the indicated tonnages and the possibility of'developing additional ore. None of the tungsten-bearing tactite should pre sent very serious milling problems. INTRODUCTION Beryllium and tungsten-deposits of contact-metamorphic origin are numeroxis in the Iron Mountain district, an area that embraces about 15 square miles in