Mineral Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1737-F Chapter F Mineral Resources of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona By FLOYD GRAY, ROBERT C. JACHENS, ROBERT J. MILLER, ROBERT L. TURNER, DANIEL H. KNEPPER, JR., JAMES A. PITKIN, WILLIAM J. KEITH, JOHN MARIANO, and STEPHANIE L.JONES U.S. Geological Survey STANLEY L. KORZEB U.S. Bureau of Mines U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1737 MINERAL RESOURCES OF WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS: BLACK MOUNTAINS REGION, ARIZONA U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1990 For sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section U.S. Geological Survey Federal Center, Box 25425 Denver, CO 80225 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mineral resources of the Warm Springs wilderness study area, Mohave County, Arizona / by Floyd Gray...[et al.]. p. cm. (Mineral resources of wilderness study areas Black Mountains region,; ch. F) (U.S. Geological Survey bulletin; 1737) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). Supt. of Docs, no.: I 19.3:1737-F 1. Mines and mineral resources Arizona Warm Springs Wilderness. 2. Warm Springs Wilderness (Ariz.) I. Gray, Floyd. I. Series. III. Series: U.S. Geological Survey bulletin; 1737. QE75.B9 no. 1737-F 557.3 s dc 20 90-14079 [TN24.A6] [553'.09791'59] CIP STUDIES RELATED TO WILDERNESS Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (Public Law 94-579, October 21,1976) requires the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to conduct mineral surveys on certain areas to determine the mineral values, if any, that may be present. Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the President and the Congress. This report presents the results of a mineral survey of part of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area (AZ-020-028/029), Mohave County, Arizona. CONTENTS Summary Fl Abstract Fl Character and setting Fl Identified resources F2 Mineral resource potential F3 Introduction F3 Area description F5 Previous and present investigations F5 Acknowledgments F6 Appraisal of identified resources F6 Mining history F6 Appraisal of sites examined F7 Gold- and silver-bearing veins F7 Oatman district veins F7 Cook mine and vicinity F8 Veins south of Warm Springs F8 Pegmatite F8 Zeolite F8 Perlite F9 Kaolin F9 Conclusions F9 Assessment of mineral resource potential F10 Geology F10 Geochemical studies Fll Methods Fll Results Fll Interpretation F12 Geophysical studies F12 Aeromagnetic data F13 Gravity data F13 Gamma-ray spectrometry F15 Landsatdata F16 Mineral and energy resource potential FIT References cited F19 Appendixes F21 Definition of levels of mineral resource potential and certainty of assessment F22 Resource/reserve classification F23 Geologic time chart F24 PLATE [In pocket] 1. Mineral resource potential and generalized geology of Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona Contents FIGURES 1. Index map showing location of Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona F2 2. Map showing mineral resource potential and generah'zed geology of Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area F4 3. Residual total-field magnetic map of Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area and vicinity F14 4. Isostatic residual gravity map of Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area and vicinity F16 5. Map showing areas of potentially hydrothermally altered rocks in Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area FIT TABLES 1. Expansibility test results and description of samples from perlite prospects in the southeastern part of Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona F10 2. Types of hydrothermal alteration, vein types, and host rock in Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona F18 VI Contents Mineral Resources of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona By Floyd Gray, Robert C. Jachens, Robert J. Miller, Robert L. Turner, Daniel H. Knepper, Jr., James A. Pitkin, William J. Keith, John Mariano, and Stephanie L. Jones U.S. Geological Survey Stanley L. Korzeb U.S. Bureau of Mines SUMMARY mineral resource potential for zeolite is high for the area surrounding the McHeffy Butte prospect and for one area in Abstract the southern part of the study area. Two areas inside the south and southeast boundaries of the study area have high At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, mineral resource potential for perlite. The potential for ka- approximately 113,500 acres of the Warm Springs Wilderness olinite resources is moderate in two areas in the southern part Study Area (AZ-020-028/029) were evaluated for mineral re­ of the study area. The southern part of the study area has low sources and mineral resource potential. In this report, the resource potential for perlite and zeolite. Geothermal energy area studied is referred to as the "wilderness study area" or resource potential of the study area is low. The study area "study area"; any reference to the Warm Springs Wilderness has no resource potential for oil and gas. Study Area refers only to that part of the wilderness study area for which a mineral survey was requested. This study area is located in west-central Arizona. The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted geological, geo- Character and Setting chemical, and geophysical surveys to appraise the identified mineral resources (known) and assess the mineral resource The Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area (AZ-020- potential (undiscovered) of the study area. Fieldwork for this 028/029) is located 15 mi southwest of Kingman, 2 mi report was carried out largely in 1986-1989. There is a 1 - southeast of Oatman, and 1 mi west of Yucca, Ariz. (fig. 1). million short ton indicated subeconomic resource of clinoptilolite-mordenite zeolite and an additional inferred re­ The study area has total relief of about 3300 ft expressed source of 2 million short tons near McHeffy Butte, approxi­ by such topographic features as broad alluvial plains, long mately 2 miles west of the study area. A perlite deposit in the dissected mesas, and wide steep-walled canyons, the largest southeast corner of the study area contains an inferred of which is Warm Springs Canyon. subeconomic resource totaling 13 million short tons. An The study area is underlain mainly by Miocene and inferred subeconomic resource of gold in 225 short tons of (or) Oligocene (see "Appendixes" for geologic time chart) quartz having a grade of 0.018 troy ounces per short ton is volcanic rocks (fig. 2). These rocks unconformably overlie present at the Cook mine, 0.5 miles west of the study area. plutonic and metasedimentary rocks of Proterozoic age, The northwestern part of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study which are exposed in fault blocks in the southern and north­ Area has high mineral resource potential for gold and silver. eastern parts of the study area. Several ages and types of The south-central part of the study area has one area of mod­ erate and one area north of this south-central part has low faults are present in the study area, including Cenozoic high- mineral resource potential for gold and silver in and near angle and low-angle normal faults. An inferred caldera Warm Springs Canyon; the mineral resource potential for gold centered on Oatman, Ariz., could lie partly within the study is also moderate in three small areas in the southern part and area. Gold and silver deposits of the Oatman district are one area in the northeastern part of the study area. The about 1 mi northwest of the north boundary of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area. Disseminated gold depos­ its hosted by volcanic rocks are present several miles to the Manuscript approved for publication, August 27, 1990. north in the Black Mountains. Mineral Resource* of the Warm Spring* Wildemett Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona F1 Identified Resources important source for this material in the future. Quartz veins with past gold production in the Oatman district project Identified resources of perlite are present in the wil­ into the wilderness study area, where ore shoots may be derness study area. An inferred subeconomic resource of 13 present 2,000 ft or more below the surface of the study area. million short tons (st) of perlite is present in the southeast An inferred subeconomic resource of 225 st of quartz having corner of the study area. Perlite from this deposit may be of an estimated grade of 0.018 troy ounces gold per short ton sufficient grade to qualify as a filter aid and may become an (oz/st) is present at the Cook mine, 0.5 mi west of the study 35° 114° 30' 114° 15' 15' United Eastern mine/^S-^Sitereaves Pass 35° 00' Lazy Boy mine Black Range mine 34° 45' APPROXIMATE BOUNDARY OF WARM SPRINGS WILDERNESS STUDY AREA (AZ-020-028/029) 5 MILES AREA OF AAAP Figure 1. Index map showing location of Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona. Unlabeled dashed lines denote jeep trails. F2 Mineral Resources of Wilderness Study Areas: Black Mountains Region, Arizona area. A zeolite deposit approximately 2 mi west of the tential. The kaolinite was formed by selective alteration of study area near McHeffy Butte is a subeconomic resource nonwelded silicic tuffs present in the volcanic section. containing an indicated 1 million st and an inferred 2 mil­ Zeolites, formed by hydrothermal alteration of silicic lion st of clinoptilolite-mordenite. Further testing of tuffs, are present near McHeffy Butte, west of the study unweathered material is needed to characterize this deposit area, and near the kaolin quarry in the southern part of the and to determine the specific uses for the zeolite minerals it study area.