Copperstone Mine, La Paz Mining District (Weaver Mining District), Dome Rock Mountains, La Paz County, Arizona, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Copperstone Mine | Mine |
| La Paz Mining District (Weaver Mining District) | Mining District |
| Dome Rock Mountains | Mountain Range |
| La Paz County | County |
| Arizona | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
33° 52' 10'' North , 114° 17' 45'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Deposit first discovered:
1979
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Poston | 285 (2011) | 16.3km |
| Quartzsite | 3,626 (2017) | 23.7km |
| Bouse | 996 (2011) | 27.7km |
| Big River | 1,327 (2011) | 30.7km |
| Parker | 3,046 (2017) | 31.2km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Quartzsite Roadrunners Gem & Mineral Club | Quartzsite, Arizona | 24km |
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Copperstone Open pit; Continental Silver Claim group; Copperstone Underground Mine
A large former Au-Ag-Baryte (trace) property located in the NE¼ sec. 12, T6N, R20W, 18 miles (ca. 29 km) S of Parker on the E side of the Colorado River, 12 miles (ca. 19 km) N of Quartzsite, on Bureau of Land Management-administered land. The site consists of 290 unpatented mining claims leased by Cyprus, covering 5800 acres (23.47 km²) of federal land. Discovered 1979. First produced 1987. Owned by Cyprus Gold Co., a subsidiary of the Cypress Minerals Co. (Don Patch retains royalty rights)(1988). Operated by Morrison-Knudsen (1989).
Mineralization is a tabular deposit striking N30W and dipping 32NE with ore control by faults and brecciation and detachment faulting. Alteration is sericitization and some chloritization. Local structures include a probable fault separating Jurassic metamorphosed volcanic rocks and overlying sedimentary breccias derived from them. Moon Mountains Detachment Fault. The presence of quartz, hematite, and chrysocolla is a good indicator of gold mineralization.
The gold is in a breccia unit above a listric fault, in quartz latite below the listric fault, and in basalt plugs. The basalt plugs have the least mineralization. The listric fault is in the upper plate of a detachment fault. The mineralized contact zone extends horizontally for 3,000 feet (ca. 914 m) and at least 1,000 feet (ca. 305 m) down dip and is generally several tens of feet thick.
This mine will feature an open pit and development of an underground mine. The bench open pit will be 360 feet (ca. 110 m) deep. Produced 1,953 kg Au (1988).
The life of this project is estimated at 7–9 years. No previous mining occurred at this site. Underground development was stopped by Cyprus in 1990 due to lower gold prices and because of caving ground conditions, which required costly support methods. Cyprus may consider reaching the former underground mining targets from the surface. Copperstone was to have been the largest gold producer in Arizona and will more than double the state's 1986 gold output of 42,556 oz.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
15 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Baryte Formula: BaSO4 |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ 'Chlorite Group' |
| ⓘ Chrysocolla Formula: Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| ⓘ Fluorite Formula: CaF2 |
| ⓘ Goethite Formula: Fe3+O(OH) |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ Kaolinite Formula: Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| ⓘ Magnetite Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| ⓘ Malachite Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au References: |
| ⓘ 'Plagioclase' Formula: (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Pyrolusite Formula: Mn4+O2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Amethyst Formula: SiO2 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
| ⓘ | Fluorite | 3.AB.25 | CaF2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Goethite | 4.00. | Fe3+O(OH) |
| ⓘ | Magnetite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz var. Amethyst | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 | |
| ⓘ | Pyrolusite | 4.DB.05 | Mn4+O2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Malachite | 5.BA.10 | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | var. Sericite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Kaolinite | 9.ED.05 | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| ⓘ | Chrysocolla | 9.ED.20 | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Plagioclase' | - | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| H | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| H | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| H | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Amethyst | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| O | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| O | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| O | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Pyrolusite | Mn4+O2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Al | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Amethyst | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Si | ⓘ Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Ca | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Mn | Manganese | |
| Mn | ⓘ Pyrolusite | Mn4+O2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Cu | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Cu | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Ba | Barium | |
| Ba | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10056413 |
|---|---|
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10259110 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
- Sonoran DesertDesert
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mojave DomainDomain
- Southern Basin and RangeWide Rift
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Copperstone Mine, La Paz Mining District, Dome Rock Mountains, La Paz County, Arizona, USA