Cecil Todechenee channel (Channel 21; Tract 2A), Skeleton Mesa, Nakai Mesa Mining District, Navajo County, Arizona, USAi

Regional Level Types
Cecil Todechenee channel (Channel 21; Tract 2A)	Channel
Skeleton Mesa	Mesa
Nakai Mesa Mining District	Mining District
Navajo County	County
Arizona	State
USA	Country

At one locality, along the base of the east flank of Skeleton Mesa, a small remnant of the Shinarump member of the Chinle formation is exposed in a deep re-entrant. At the base of this remnant is a longitudinal exposure of mineralized rocks that forms the south flank of the Cecil Todechenee channel (table 1, channel 21). A small adit has been opened about 20 feet into the base of the channel. As far as is known, ore has not been shipped from this channel.

The Cecil Todechenee channel is in Navajo County, Arizona, at latitude 36°53'24" N. and longitude 110°24'48" W. A graded dirt road passes within 500 yards of the claim. This road extends westward from Navajo Indian Reservation Route 1 (Kayenta-Mexican Hat road) and follows Adahchijiyahi Canyon onto Todicheenie bench where it turns north, passes the Todechenee claim, and ascends Hoskinnini Mesa. A short connecting road could be bulldozed to the claim site with little expense.

Consolidated sedimentary strata exposed near the claim range from the De Chelly sandstone member of the Cutler formation to the Navajo sandstone. These strata form the gently dipping west flank of the asymmetrical Organ Rock anticline; strata exposed at the claim dip about 3° to the west.

Although only a part of the south flank of the channel is exposed, it is estimated that the channel trends nearly due east, is about 100 feet wide, and has been cut about 20 feet into the Moenkopi formation. The Shinarump member is about 40 feet thick. Channel strata consist predominantly of a cream-colored coarse-grained sandstone speckled with small limonite stains.

In the mineralized zone the channel strata are conglomeratic and
enclose gray claystone fragments and considerable quantities of silicified
and carbonized wood. The largest zone of high radioactivity conforms to what apparently is a log 6 to 8 inches in diameter and about 6 feet long. Another spot of high radioactivity does not seem to be related to plant matter.

A sample from a small ore pile assayed 0.23 percent U308 (C. Clare Gregg, written communication, 1952). A 3-foot channel sample assayed 0.02 percent U308, and 0.27 percent V205. Grab samples ran as high as 0.24 percent U308 and 1.49 percent V205 (R.C. Cutter and J. H. Leonard, written communication, 1952).