White Picacho

Region West, Southwest
States
Mineral systems
Deposit types
Commodities
Critical minerals
Other minerals

Information leading to the delineation of this focus area

Basis for focus area White Picacho mining district. MRDS producers, past producers, and prospects.
Identified resources Historical production of beryllium (beryl), feldspar, lithium (amblygonite and spodumene), and niobium-tantalum (columbite-tantalite).
Production Lower Jumbo mine produced 55 tons of spodumene @ 20% Li (1947-1952); Midnight Owl mine produced 62 tons of amblygonite @ 7.5-4% Li2O and 13 tons of beryl @ 11-12% BeO (1947-1952) (Jahns, 1952; Dale, 1961).
Status Past mining. Midnight Owl mine closed but is now used for specimens.
Estimated resources Unknown.
Geologic maps Arizona Bureau of Mines (1958), scale 1:375,000; Wilson and others (1957), scale 1:375,000.
Geophysical data Inadequate Rank 5 aeromagnetic and Rank 3 aeroradiometric coverage.
Favorable rocks and structures Pegmatite.
Deposits White Picacho district (MRDS dep_id: 60000001), Lower Jumbo mine (MRDS dep_id: 10027531), Midnight Owl mine (MRDS dep_id: 10027532, 10258983).
Evidence from mineral occurrences MRDS.
Geochemical evidence None.
Geophysical evidence None.
Evidence from other sources None.
Comments Swarm of lithium-bearing pegmatites in schist.
Cover thickness and description Pegmatites exposed at the surface.
Authors David A. Ponce, Nora K. Foley, Jane M. Hammarstrom.
New data needs Aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys.
Geologic mapping and modeling needs Updated geologic mapping.
Geophysical survey and modeling needs High-resolution, Rank 1 aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys.
Digital elevation data needs Lidar planned/funded (2021).