ground
on the northeast side of the ridge. It was necessary to open this
tunnel in order to remove the waste from the opening on the northeast
side of the ridge directly above the Arizona Turquoise Company's mine,
since the waste rock could not be cast on the Arizona Turquoise
Company's property. By removing through the tunnel the waste can be
dumped on the Aztec Company's own land. Several seams of turquoise were
found in the tunnel, one lying nearly flat and associated with quartz.
The small openings above the Arizona Turquoise Company's property
expose a number of seams of good turquoise with quartz.
The
Queen claim extends west of north over a small knob on the western end
of Ithaca Peak. The work consists of several small open cuts and two
short tunnels at the base of the cliffs on the south side of the knob
and at the top of the talus slope. The rock is decomposed, silicified
granite porphyry, with quartz veinlets cutting it at all angles. The
turquoise occurs in seams alone and with quartz, kaolin, limonite, and
shows a tendency toward a nodular form. Much of the turquoise is too
soft and of too pale color for good gem
P
urposes, though it
could be used for low-grade matrix stones, some of it has a greenish
color. Irregular lumps of soft pale turquoise, measuring 2 to 3 inches
across and 5 to 6 inches long, were seen on the dump.
In
the Peacock claim a streak of turquoise was opened by pits and an open
cut 6 to 20 feet deep, all within a length of about 150 feet. The
inclosing rock is decomposed, silicified granite porphyry. The
turquoise occurs in a main vein 6 to 8 inches thick, striking N. 30°
W., with a dip of 80? E., and in cross joints or seams, a prominent set
of which had a strike of N. 60° E. and a dip of 55° SE. The better
turquoise is found in the thin seams, and much of that in the large
seam is pale colored to nearly white.
The
Aztec claim was opened by the Aztecs in prehistoric times, and a large
quantity of the stone implements used by them were found in the ancient
workings. The workings consisted of pits filled with rubbish and a few
small tunnels 15 to 20 feet long. The recent work consists of an open
cut 60 feet long, east and west, and 12 feet deep in the hillside, with
two irregular openings driven in from the main cut. One of these is a
shaft 30 feet deep. The rock is decomposed, silicified porphyry, cut
by many quartz seams and veinlets. The turquoise occurs principally in
seams striking nearly east and west with a low dip to the south. The
seams are irregular in size and open out from films into sheets 1 to 2
inches thick. The thicker portions have a pale color and are sometimes
greenish. About a dozen of the east and west streaks were encountered
in the workings, along with a few streaks running in other directions.
A white clay streak, encountered in the tunnel, appears to have cut
off the turquoise veins beyond it. No real high-grade turquoise has
been obtained from this claim. Lower-grade material is abundant,
however, and large quantities could be obtained for matrix stones if
demanded.
The
Turquoise King claim, a few hundred yards west of the Aztec claim, has
been opened by several pits and cuts with results similar to those in
the Aztec claim.
Small
pieces of turquoise found around the ancient workings and on Aztec
Mountain indicate that the ancients obtained a better grade
13250—m K l'JOS, pt 2------54
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