4
SUMMARY
The Black Hawk district is east of Bullard Peak in the Burro
Mountains in southwestern New and has had a similar min-
ing history to many high-grade silver districts in southwest-
ern U.S. In 1881, Cherokee Jim Bowman discovered rich
silver float in a wash. John Black and his partner, Sloan,
located the source of the float, near the Alhambra (formerly
Blue Bell) mine. By 1881, claims were staked and a town
developed. The Black Hawk district contains an unusual
type of deposit, called arsenide five-element vein deposit.
These vein deposits are Ag-Co-Ni-Bi-As-bearing carbonate
veins with local concentrations of uranium, copper, lead,
zinc, antimony, mercury and others. The veins are high-
grade silver (1000s g/t Ag), but low tonnage (1 Mt) and
difficult to find. Nickel and cobalt generally occur as arse-
nides. New Mexico is one of the few localities in the U.S.
with this type of deposit and there are less than 30 deposits
in the world. Research and exploration are ongoing in the
district for potential critical minerals. Although production
records are lost, it is estimated that over $1,000,000 was
produced from the district from1883 to 1893, when silver
prices dropped due to the silver panic of 1893. The mines
operated sporadically because of availability of capital, water
issues, difficulty in finding ore shoots, and theft. The district
is a favorite for mineral collectors and even during early pro-
duction in 1883–1893, theft of high-grade silver samples
was a problem. Guards had to be hired to make sure some
ore actually made it to the smelter! Wages were often a con-
cern and newspaper accounts mention disputes over salaries.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report is part of on-going studies of mineral resources
in New Mexico, supported by the New Mexico Bureau of
Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR), a division
of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Mike
Timmons, Director and State Geologist. Compilation
of data was partially funded by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) National Geological and Geophysical
Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) Grants No.
G19AP00098, G20AP00105, G21AP10434, and
G23AP00332, and USGS Earth Mapping Resources
Initiative (Earth-MRI G23AC00373). Historical produc-
tion statistics from U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) and
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Special thanks to Amy
Trivitt who provided technical and editorial support. I also
would like to acknowledge the numerous graduate students
and colleagues forming the NMBGMR Economic Geology
Group who studied various mineral deposits this work is
built upon as well provided technical assistance. The views
and conclusions contained in this document are those of
the authors and should not be interpreted as represent-
ing the opinions or policies of the USGS or NMBGMR.
Mention of trade names or commercial products does not
constitute their endorsement by the USGS or NMBGMR
Table 2. Information on patented mining claims in the district
Mine ID Mineral Survey Name
Date of
Survey
Patent
No. Date Patent Company Acres
NMGR0019 Black Hawk 364A 4/14/1883 14618 1/19/1889 Solid Silver Mining Co. 9.67
Little Rhody 365A 4/14/1883 26419 1/18/1896 Solid Silver Mining Co. 20.59
Silver Glance 366A 4/14/1883 15452 12/21/1889 Solid Silver Mining Co. 20.08
Surprise 367A 4/14/1883 14162 6/25/1888 Solid Silver Mining Co. 0.83
Black Hawk millsite 364B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.98
Little Rhody millsite 365B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.97
Silver Glance millsite 366B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.96
Surprise millsite 367B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.98
Rose 458 1/6/1884 14459 11/3/1888 Bernard McDonald et al. 14.1
NMGR0169 Good Hope 480 4/22/1884 12218? Herbert M. Carpenter 14.65
Butternut 546 9/5/1885 14010 5/3/1888 Stonewall Mining Co. 17.95
Stonewall 547 9/5/1885 14011 5/3/1888 Stonewall Mining Co. 13.99
Pumkin 548 9/5/1885 14012 5/3/1888 Stonewall Mining Co. 20.39
Cornicopia 770 12/6/1888 19466 1/20/1892 Solid Silver Mining Co. 3.12
Chicago 771 12/11/1888 21897 9/7/1892 Solid Silver Mining Co. 20.23
Extension 772 12/9/1888 19608 2/6/1892 Solid Silver Mining Co. 13.71
Kent County 778 12/10/1888 18946 11/20/1891 Solid Silver Mining Co. 1.18
NMGR0002 Alhambra 869 4/8/1891 24500 6/18/1894 Alhambra Mining Co. 20.52
Copper Apex,
Copper Apex Extension
2003 9/12/1931 1060877 1/13/1933 Archibald Davis
SUMMARY
The Black Hawk district is east of Bullard Peak in the Burro
Mountains in southwestern New and has had a similar min-
ing history to many high-grade silver districts in southwest-
ern U.S. In 1881, Cherokee Jim Bowman discovered rich
silver float in a wash. John Black and his partner, Sloan,
located the source of the float, near the Alhambra (formerly
Blue Bell) mine. By 1881, claims were staked and a town
developed. The Black Hawk district contains an unusual
type of deposit, called arsenide five-element vein deposit.
These vein deposits are Ag-Co-Ni-Bi-As-bearing carbonate
veins with local concentrations of uranium, copper, lead,
zinc, antimony, mercury and others. The veins are high-
grade silver (1000s g/t Ag), but low tonnage (1 Mt) and
difficult to find. Nickel and cobalt generally occur as arse-
nides. New Mexico is one of the few localities in the U.S.
with this type of deposit and there are less than 30 deposits
in the world. Research and exploration are ongoing in the
district for potential critical minerals. Although production
records are lost, it is estimated that over $1,000,000 was
produced from the district from1883 to 1893, when silver
prices dropped due to the silver panic of 1893. The mines
operated sporadically because of availability of capital, water
issues, difficulty in finding ore shoots, and theft. The district
is a favorite for mineral collectors and even during early pro-
duction in 1883–1893, theft of high-grade silver samples
was a problem. Guards had to be hired to make sure some
ore actually made it to the smelter! Wages were often a con-
cern and newspaper accounts mention disputes over salaries.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report is part of on-going studies of mineral resources
in New Mexico, supported by the New Mexico Bureau of
Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR), a division
of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Mike
Timmons, Director and State Geologist. Compilation
of data was partially funded by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) National Geological and Geophysical
Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) Grants No.
G19AP00098, G20AP00105, G21AP10434, and
G23AP00332, and USGS Earth Mapping Resources
Initiative (Earth-MRI G23AC00373). Historical produc-
tion statistics from U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) and
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Special thanks to Amy
Trivitt who provided technical and editorial support. I also
would like to acknowledge the numerous graduate students
and colleagues forming the NMBGMR Economic Geology
Group who studied various mineral deposits this work is
built upon as well provided technical assistance. The views
and conclusions contained in this document are those of
the authors and should not be interpreted as represent-
ing the opinions or policies of the USGS or NMBGMR.
Mention of trade names or commercial products does not
constitute their endorsement by the USGS or NMBGMR
Table 2. Information on patented mining claims in the district
Mine ID Mineral Survey Name
Date of
Survey
Patent
No. Date Patent Company Acres
NMGR0019 Black Hawk 364A 4/14/1883 14618 1/19/1889 Solid Silver Mining Co. 9.67
Little Rhody 365A 4/14/1883 26419 1/18/1896 Solid Silver Mining Co. 20.59
Silver Glance 366A 4/14/1883 15452 12/21/1889 Solid Silver Mining Co. 20.08
Surprise 367A 4/14/1883 14162 6/25/1888 Solid Silver Mining Co. 0.83
Black Hawk millsite 364B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.98
Little Rhody millsite 365B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.97
Silver Glance millsite 366B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.96
Surprise millsite 367B 4/14/1883 Solid Silver Mining Co. 4.98
Rose 458 1/6/1884 14459 11/3/1888 Bernard McDonald et al. 14.1
NMGR0169 Good Hope 480 4/22/1884 12218? Herbert M. Carpenter 14.65
Butternut 546 9/5/1885 14010 5/3/1888 Stonewall Mining Co. 17.95
Stonewall 547 9/5/1885 14011 5/3/1888 Stonewall Mining Co. 13.99
Pumkin 548 9/5/1885 14012 5/3/1888 Stonewall Mining Co. 20.39
Cornicopia 770 12/6/1888 19466 1/20/1892 Solid Silver Mining Co. 3.12
Chicago 771 12/11/1888 21897 9/7/1892 Solid Silver Mining Co. 20.23
Extension 772 12/9/1888 19608 2/6/1892 Solid Silver Mining Co. 13.71
Kent County 778 12/10/1888 18946 11/20/1891 Solid Silver Mining Co. 1.18
NMGR0002 Alhambra 869 4/8/1891 24500 6/18/1894 Alhambra Mining Co. 20.52
Copper Apex,
Copper Apex Extension
2003 9/12/1931 1060877 1/13/1933 Archibald Davis