Packard Mine (Packard claims; Bluebird Fluorspar Mine; Bluebird Mine; Walnut Mine), Greenback Creek area, Tonto Basin, Tonto Basin Mining District, Gila County, Arizona, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
33° 52' 22'' North , 111° 13' 45'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tonto Basin | 1,424 (2011) | 7.6km |
| Gisela | 570 (2011) | 25.9km |
| Young | 666 (2011) | 35.3km |
| Oxbow Estates | 217 (2011) | 36.0km |
| Payson | 15,345 (2017) | 40.8km |
A former underground Fluorspar mine located on 4 unpatented claims in the NW¼SE¼ sec. 9, T6N, R11E, E of Greenback Creek, 3.8 miles WSW of Bonyback Peak summit, about 1¾ air miles E of Rancho Del Escondido and about 4 miles NNE of Roosevelt Lake Gardens East, on National Forest land. Located in the Sierra Ancha foothills, approximately 9 air miles E of Tonto Basin proper, 8 miles N of Roosevelt Lake. Discovered in 1938. Owned by the Magma Copper Co. (1988). Former operators included the Tonto Basin Mining and Milling Company (1971); and, the Ranchers Exploration and Development (1982).
There is no detailed geologic map of this area. No major structures are mapped on the state geologic map. Conway's map is north of the mine area. Apache group rhyolite is regionally enclosed in Precambrian granite.
Mineralization is a 2 vein deposit with a crystalline to massive ore body hosted in the Apache Group rocks (rhyolite), and includes secondary copper minerals. The ore zone is 804.65 meters long, 0.91 meters wide, 2.13 meters thick, strikes E-W and dips 70-90S. Both veins are in faulted Precambrian granite. Medium-grained, white to purple fluorite and quartz in lenses i n an east-trending, steeply-dipping, half mile long fluorite vein that is up to 7 feet thick. Lenses average 2.8 feet thick and contain about 72% CaF2 and 20% SiO2. An associated rock unit is the Rian Granite.
Workings include two adits: the lower one is 75 feet in length and 2 feet in width; the upper one is 320 feet in length and 3 feet wide, totalling 120.4 meters in length. Minor production in 1958.
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
4 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Azurite Formula: Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 Description: Radiating crystal aggregates to 15 cm. |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Fluorite Formula: CaF2 Colour: White, light blue, purple Description: Occurs as masses in veins. References: |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Fluorite | 3.AB.25 | CaF2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Azurite | 5.BA.05 | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Azurite | Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10046361 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
- Sonoran DesertDesert
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mazatzal DomainDomain
- Southern Basin and RangeWide Rift
USA
- Arizona
- Tonto National ForestForest
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Packard Mine, Greenback Creek area, Tonto Basin, Tonto Basin Mining District, Gila County, Arizona, USA