Cochise County Arizona Gold

Cochise County comprises an area about 80 miles long by 75 miles wide . It consists of wide plains surmounted by large mountain ranges of complexly faulted pre-Cambrian schist and granite, Paleozoic and Cretaceous sedimentary beds, Cretaceous and Tertiary intrusives, and Tertiary volcanic rocks. This county, which ranks third among the gold-producing counties of Arizona, to the end of 1931, produced approximately $30,230,000 worth of gold . Of this amount, about $25,475,000 worth was a by-product from copper ores, mainly from the Bisbee and Courtland districts, and $273,500 worth was a by-product of lead mining.The Dos Cabezas Mountains, of north eastern Cochise County, constitute north westward trending range, about 20 miles long by 3 to 10 miles wide,with a maximum altitude of 8,300 feet above sea level or more than 4,000 feet above the adjacent plains. Its principal settlement, Dos Cabezas, is at the southwestern foot of the range,15 miles by road and branch railroad from Wilcox, a station on the Southern Pacific Railway.The range is made up of pre-Cambrian schist and granite, Paleozoic to Mesozoic sedimentary beds, Tertiary volcanic rocks, and Mesozoic or Tertiary intrusives of acid to basic composition. These formations have been affected by complex faulting of both normal and reverse character.Gold deposits occur in the vicinity of Dos Cabezas; in upper Gold Gulch, northwest of Dos Cabezas; in the Teviston district, at the northern end of the ranger; and in the vicinity of Apache pass, at the southern end of the range. The deposits were discovered prior to Civil War and have been worked intermittently since the 1870's. Up to 1933, the yield is approximately $182,000 worth of gold. Most of this production was made by the Dos Cabezas district, which also yielded notable amounts of copper, lead and silver. During the past few years the Dives Mine, LeRoy Mine, Gold Ridge Mine, and Gold Prince Mine, have been actively worked. According to the U.S. Mineral resources the gold production for the district amounted to $3,841 in 1930, $11,132 in 1931 and $33,901 in 1932.In the Dos Cabezas gold district, the formations outcrop in westward trending belts with pre-Cambrian granite on the south, succeeded northward steeply dipping, metamorphosed Cretaceous shale and sandstones and Carboniferous limestone. These rocks are intruded by dikes of Rhyolite-porphyry. The thrust fault zone that separates the Cretaceous strata from the granite contains a vein of coarse-grained white quartz called “The Big Ledge” that obtains a maximum width of 100 feet wide, but locally branches and pinches out. In places this vein carries a little gold, but most of it is very low grade.The gold-bearing veins of coarse textured, are white to grayish white. The gold appears within sulphides, mainly in galena and is free milling only near the surface. Some of the ore is very rich, but most of it contains less then a half an ounce per ton.The Dives deposit about 2 1/2 miles by road north of Dos Cabezas and south of the Central Copper mine, was located in 1877 as the Bear Cave claim. During the 1880's some of its ore was treated at a stamp mill at Dos Cabezas. During 1911-1914, the mine yielded more than $20,000 worth of gold. In 1919 the property was acquired by the Dives Mining Company which erected a 10-stamp amalgamation – concentration mill on the propery and operated actively for a few years. The total production of the mine from 1877 to 1920 is estimated at about $40,000. As many as thirty people were employed at one time at the mine. About two ounces of silver were also gained for every ounce of gold.The Gold Ridge Mine also having been known as the Casey property is located 2 1/2 miles north of Dos Cabezas and immediately east of the Dives Mine Group. This mine was discovered in 1978 and was originally named the Juniper Mine. Prior to 1881 the mine produced $6,000 worth of gold and silver. During the early 1890's the Casey brothers worked the mine. In 1917, the mine was organized into the Dos Cabezas Gold Ridge Mining Corporation. The gold bearing veins at this property is in the same belt of shale found at the  Dives Mine property.The Gold Prince mine is located directly east of the Gold Ridge Mine. It was located in 1878 as the Murphy Mine. From 1918 to 1921, the Gold Prince Mining Company did more than 3,000 feet of underground development work and made a small production with a 25 ton mill. In 1931, the mine shipped several rail cars full of gold ore. In 1932-33, the mine shipped about 54 rail cars full of ore that averaged $12 of gold per ton.At the north foot of the Dos Cabezas mountains, you will find the Teviston placer diggings. If your looking for some Arizona gold look in the area gulches you can find very nice coarse gold and possibly a gold nugget.Located 1 1/2 miles northeast of Dos Cabezas is the LeRoy Mine. It was one of the smaller mines in the area, with inner shaft workings about 300 feet. The vein here was 2 to 8 inches wide and very erratic.The Golden Rule Mine, also known as the Old Terrible Mine of Northern Cochise County in Arizona is a 3/4 mile mile south of Manzoro, a siding of the Southern Pacific Railway. This property was located in the last 1870's. In 1883, the Tuscan Star and the US mint credited it with production of  $125,000 of gold. $30,000 in gold was reported for the year of 1884 and shows a decline for many years. In 1897, the Golden Rule Mine was sold to the Golden Queen Consolidated Gold Mining Company which built a small mill to improve production. In 1902, the mine was again sold to the Old Terrible Mining Company. The recorded production through 1929 was 9,543 ounces of gold and 317,088 ounces of lead.The mine is located at the northeastern foot of the Dragoon Mountains. Mining has been done on primarily three veins that lie from 25 to 45 feet apart, parallel to the bedding of limestone. The gold is reported to be found primarily in the iron oxides to a small extent in the quartz.Twenty miles northwest of Bisbee in southwestern Coshise County Arizona is the Tombstone district. Silver is the main production, but gold has also been found here. From 1879 to 1932, this district produced 29,843,800 ounces of silver and over $5,000,000 worth of gold at the price of gold at that time. Much lead and some copper was also mined in the Tombstone district. Some of the mines in the area were called the West Side Mine, Contention Mine and Lucky Cuss Mine.

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