MLA ++++ Mineral Land Assessment I Open File Report/1988 I Mineral Resources of the Warm Springs Wilderness I Study Area (AZ-020-028/029), I Mohave County, Arizona I I I i I I I I I I I /~_~~ '~ BUREAU OF MINES I .'~,::i~lll~'"_.~J UNITEDSTATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ! m MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE WARM SPRINGS WILDERNESS STUDY AREA (AZ-O20-O28/O2g), MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA I by I Stanley L. Korzeb I MLA 4B-8B 1988 I ,| |, Intermountain Field Operations Center Denver, Colorado I I UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR I Denver, Colorado BUREAU OF MINES I T S Ary Director I I ii, ~': i~,¸ PREFACE I The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-579) requires the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to conduct I 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 I to the President and the Congress. This report presents the results of a I mineral survey of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area (AZ-020-028/029), Mohave County, Arizona. I I I ill= .... ;i~il~: , i~!¸¸ j ~ !!i!~!~ ~!~ii~~ This open-file report summarizes the results of a Bureau of Mines wilderness study. The report is preliminary and has not been edited or reviewed for conformity with the Bureau of Mines editorial I standards. This study was conducted by personnel from the Resource Evaluation Branch, Intermountain Field Operations Center, P.O. Box 25086, Denver I Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225. I I CONTENTS I Paqe Summary .................................................................. 1 I Introduction ............................................................. 1 Geographic setting .................................................. 2 I Previous investigations ............................................. 2 I Methods of investigation ............................................ 4 Geologic setting ......................................................... 4 I Energy resources ......................................................... 5 Mining history ........................................................... 5 I Appraisal of sites examined .............................................. 7 I Gold- and silver-bearing veins ...................................... 7 Zeolite ............................................................. 16 I Kaolin .............................................................. IB Perlite ............................................................. 18 I Conclusions .............................................................. 21 I Recommendations .......................................................... 22 References ............................................................... 23 I ILLUSTRATIONS Plate I. Mine and prospect map of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study at I Area, Mohave County, Arizona ................................ back 2. Map of adit showing sample localities 29-44 ................. at I back 3. Map of the Cook Mine showing sample localities 50-I04 ....... at I back I EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS FOR FIGURES 3 AND 5 ....................... 25 I ii I ILLUSTRATIONS--Continued Paqe Figure l. Index map of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona ............................................. 3 . Geologic map of the Oatman District showing the relationship Of the veins and formations to the northwest corner of the study area.................................................. lO . Map of Wrigley Mine showing sample localities 19-25 and table showing sample data................................... 12 o Photograph of outcrop of Wrigley vein within the study area. 13 5. Map of adit showing sample localities 139-150 and table showing sample data......................................... 15 6. Photograph of kaolin quarry within the study area........... Ig TABLES Table l. Analytical data and description of samples for gold prospects in and near the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Arizona not shown in other figures or tables .......... 26 . Analytical data and description of samples 29-44 from the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Arizona ................. 31 . Analytical data and description of samples 50-I04 from the Cook Mine, Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Arizona ...... 32 . Analytical data for samples I17-120 and 123 from zeolite prospects in the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Arizona ..................................................... 36 . Analytical data for samples 161-175 from kaolin quarry and prospects in and near the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Arizona ............................................... 37 . Expandability tests and description of samples 176-181 from perlite prospects in the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Arizona ............................................... 38 iii !1 UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT I °C degree centigrade I °F degree Fahrenheit $ dollar I ft foot I in. inch Kg/m3 kilogram per cubic meter I mi mile meq NH4/g milliequivalent of ammonium per gram I mg/l milligram per liter I oz/st ounce per short ton ppb part per billion I % percent Ib/ft 3 pound per cubic foot I st short ton I ft 2 square feet I 'i i iv I MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE WARM SPRINGS WILDERNESS STUDY AREA (AZ-O20-O2B/029), MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA by Stanley L. Korzeb, Bureau of Mines SUMMARY In February and April 1987, the Bureau of Mines conducted a mineral investigation of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona, on 96,300 acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The mineral investigation was requested by the Bureau of Land Management and authorized by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-579). Resources of zeolite and perlite were identified in the study area. An identified subeconomic clinoptilolite-mordenite zeolite deposit containing an indicated l million tons and an inferred 2 million tons occurs in the vicinity of McHeffy Butte. A perlite deposit in the southeast corner of the study area contains an inferred subeconomic resource of 13 million tons. Quartz veins that have produced gold and silver extend from the Oatman district into the northwest part of the study area, where they may contain additional ore shoots at depths exceeding 2,000 ft below the surface. Kaolin clay has been mined from the study area near the southern boundary. The remaining clay in this deposit is not a resource because it is too low a grade to be economical without beneficiation. No oil and gas or geothermal resources exist within the study area. INTRODUCTION In February and April 1987, the Bureau of Mines, in a cooperative program with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), conducted a mineral investigation of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area (WSA), Mohave County, Arizona, on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Phoenix District Office, I Phoenix, Arizona. The Bureau surveys mines, prospects, and mineralized areas to appraise reserves and identified resources. The USGS assesses the I potential for undiscovered mineral resources based on regional geological, geochemical, and geophysical surveys. This report presents the results of the I Bureau of Mines study, and the USGS will publish the results of their i studies. A joint report, to be published by the USGS, will integrate and summarize the results of both surveys. I Geographic setting The Warm Springs WSA is 15 mi southwest of Kingman, l mi southeast of I Oatman, and l mi west of Yucca, Arizona (fig. l). A paved road extending from i Interstate Highway 40 to Oatman provides access to the northern and northwestern parts of the WSA. Unimproved roads accessible from Oatman and I Yucca provide access to the rest of the area. The WSA is in the Basin and Range physiographic province and encompasses 96,300 acres in the southern part I of the Black Mountains. Topographic features include dissected mesas with steep sides. Elevations range from 4,360 ft near Oatman to 1,O00 ft near the I southern boundary. 1 Previous investigations Geology and ore deposits in the Oatman district were first investigated I by Ransome (1923) and later by Lausen (1931). Clifton, Buchanan, and Durning (IgBO) investigated the controls of mineralization in the Oatman district, and i Durning and Buchanan (1984) did additional studies on the geology and ore I deposits. Geology and mineral deposits in the WSA were investigated by the Great Basin GEM 3oint Venture (1983) for the BLM. I ! I I R.21W. R. 20 W. R.19W. II' 'I'~' R.18W. R.17W R.16W. ,~ T. N, ! . , 2O ! N. • ,,. y j T. 1 oo,oo ~ L 19 N. 35o00 ' I ~5ooo, ~ ~ ....... T. 18 iiiiii,,iiIii !iiiiiiili ii iiiiiiiiiii ii iiiiii!lliiiil N. , ::ii!!:.!i!ii!!iii~!ii!iiiii::!i!i!iib.'.:~ii~ii!i I T. //~i r '!i!ii!iiii!i!i~i!i~i 17 I / N. T 16 Y2 I t ..-.-A / N. -" ~.--L.~ 54045' 34o45' i T. 16 N. ;' '~' I [9,5)1,o ,,.e .Av, su c.TY I R20 W, 21mi 114o15 1 0 5 IOmi i i i ; ~ I -N- EXPLANATION I MAP LOCATION INTERSTATE HIGHWAY ® STATE HIGHWAY I IMPROVED ROAD I UNIMPROVEDROAD Figure 1.--Index map of the Warm Springs Wilderness Study Area, I Mohave County, Arizona. 3 I Methods of investigation I Records at the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources and BLN state office in Phoenix were reviewed for information regarding geologic i investigations, patented and unpatented mining claims, and federal mineral and oil and gas leases in and near the study area. I Three Bureau geologists spent 27 days examining the WSA. Mines were I mapped by tape and compass methods. A total of 168