| Basis for focus area |
Mining district boundaries from McLemore (2017). |
| Identified resources |
Historical production of barite and fluorite. |
| Production |
Estimated 100 short tons barite and 20,751 short tons fluorite from the Tortugas Mountain district. |
| Status |
Past mining, no current activity. |
| Estimated resources |
Unknown. |
| Geologic maps |
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (2003), scale 1:500,000. |
| Geophysical data |
Inadequate aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Limestones and shales of the Magdalena Group have been shattered extensively and tilted westward. Fluorspar veins occur in the fractures caused by block faulting, and trend generally north or northwest. They are predominantly fissure fillings, but include some fillings of fault breccia (Rothrock and others, 1946). |
| Deposits |
Tortugas mine (MRDS dep_id: 10012973). |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
MRDS; New Mexico Mines Database (McLemore and others, 2005). |
| Geochemical evidence |
Average assays of ore was 77.41% CaF2, 15.68% CaCO3, and 6.51% SiO2 (Rothrock and others, 1946). |
| Geophysical evidence |
Unknown. |
| Evidence from other sources |
Unknown. |
| Cover thickness and description |
Exposed at the surface. |
| Authors |
Virginia T. McLemore. |
| New data needs |
This area needs detailed 1:12,000 mapping, chemistry, alteration mapping, geophysics. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
Detailed geology-structure-alteration-mineralization mapping. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High resolution aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar complete. |
