| Basis for focus area |
District boundaries from McLemore (2017) include both New and Old Placers districts. |
| Identified resources |
Historical production of gold. |
| Production |
Unknown. |
| Status |
Past mining. No effort has been made since the 1930s to mine placer gold in the area of the Ortiz Mine Land Grant, except on an artisanal or hobby scale (Maynard, 2014). |
| Estimated resources |
Unknown. |
| Geologic maps |
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (2003), scale 1:500,000; Maynard (2014), scale 1:24,000. |
| Geophysical data |
Inadequate aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Most of the placer gold is contained in the Plio-Pleistocene Tuerto Gravel, though some may be reworked in recent stream alluvium (Maynard, 2014). Placer gold can potentially be traced back to lode mineralization. |
| Deposits |
Old Placers (MRDS dep_id: 10014732; USMIN Site_ID: NM00039). |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
MRDS; USMIN; Maynard (2014). |
| Geochemical evidence |
Whole rock geochemistry (Maynard, 2014). |
| Geophysical evidence |
Aeromagnetic and gravity data needed. |
| Evidence from other sources |
Unknown. |
| Comments |
Old Placers MRDS record location is estimated for the Cunningham placer, the Arroyo Viejo placer, and the Delores placer. |
| Cover thickness and description |
At or near the surface. |
| Authors |
Virginia T. McLemore. |
| New data needs |
Alteration mapping, detailed mapping of the plutons and dikes in terms of lithology, geochemistry and mineralogy of the veins. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
Alteration mapping and geochemical analyses. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High resolution, Rank 1 aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar complete. |
