Samsel Mine (Samsel group of claims; Samsel deposit; Utah Copper Gold claims; Pinal Tungsten Mines claims), Mays Gap area, Pinal Mountains Mining District, Gila County, Arizona, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
33° 16' 39'' North , 110° 53' 27'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Top-of-the-World | 231 (2011) | 12.4km |
| Miami | 1,783 (2017) | 13.7km |
| Six Shooter Canyon | 1,019 (2017) | 14.7km |
| Claypool | 1,538 (2011) | 15.5km |
| Central Heights-Midland City | 2,534 (2011) | 15.7km |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gila County Gem & Mineral Society | Miami, Arizona | 14km |
A former surface and underground W-Au-Ag-Pb-Mo mine and group of 16 unpatented claims and mine located in east-central sec. 10, NW¼ sec. 11, and south-central sec. 2, T2S, R14E, about ½ mile from Mays gap proper on its southern portal, on the SW slopes of the Pinal Mountains, 14 miles from Globe. First W production was in 1924. Owned by Frank Samsel (1940), leased to the Pinal Tungsten Mines, Inc. Owned by Mr. Henry E. Huffman (1953). Produced 1924 - 1940 (intermittently) and closed in 1958. The only predominantly W producer in the Cu-Au district. NOTE!!: Alternate coordinates provided: 33.9014N, 110.8917W [latitude varies widely].
Mineralization is an irregular ore body hosted in Precambrian schist (Pinal Schist), intruded on the NW by Madera Diorite and granodiorite is the prevailing formation. The ore zone is 1066.8 meters long, 1.52 meters wide, and 0.61 meters thick, strikes N25-30E and dips 80-85NW. Ore concentration was hydrothermal.
The principal vein is a composite vein deposited along a shear zone in schist that seems to be about parallel with the bedding in strike but steeper in dip. It strikes N25 to 30E and dips about 80NW. The outcrop shows slight mineralization and is traceable for a strike length of about 3,500 feet. It has been complexly faulted and cuts metamorphosed sericite schist that strikes & dips about parallel to the vein. Lenses of vein matter, some as much as 4 feet thick, crop out discontinuously.
Vein filling consists of granular, glassy, grayish-white quartz, ranging from a thin seam to 4 or 5 feet thick, containing many drusy cavitiesm, and pyrite. The quartz contains the sulfides and gold and silver in minor amounts and in unknown combinations. The outcrops are oxidized and variably stained with limonite and manganese oxides.
Area structures include the NE-trending Samsel vein and fault with a steep dip. Also, NE-trending Schultze Granite dikes and NE-trending fault fissures.
Workings include a 60 foot long by 20 foot deep surface stope, shallow pits, and a 280 foot long adit about 125 feet below the outcrop. Production was several tons of tungsten concentrates.
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
7 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 Description: Very minor amounts present. |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS Description: Occurs in vein quartz in molybdenite bodies. |
| ⓘ 'Limonite' Description: Stains on the outcrops. |
| ⓘ Molybdenite Formula: MoS2 Description: As bodies of pyritic molybdenite; together with quartz as selvages in the vein. |
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 Description: Occurs in vein quartz in molybdenite bodies as discrete cubic grains and coarsely granular masses. |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 Habit: White, grayish Description: Contains many small, drusy cavities. |
| ⓘ Scheelite Formula: Ca(WO4) Description: Replacing wolframite crystals in pyrite. |
| ⓘ 'Wolframite Group' Habit: Platy, prismatic Description: Scattered crystals, partly altered to scheelite, in coarsely granular pyrite masses. |
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 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Molybdenite | 2.EA.30 | MoS2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | 'Wolframite Group' | 4.DB.30 va | |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Scheelite | 7.GA.05 | Ca(WO4) |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Limonite' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Molybdenite | MoS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Mo | Molybdenum | |
| Mo | ⓘ Molybdenite | MoS2 |
| W | Tungsten | |
| W | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10026807 |
|---|
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
- Gila County
- Pinal MountainsMountain Range
- Tonto National ForestForest
- Gila County
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