Page 49 - Vol 2 Walks In The Black Range Eastern Foothills South

Palma Mine Group
The Palma Group is located in Ready Pay Gulch on the south side of NM-152, see the detail of the Hillsboro Quadrangle Geologic Map, in the Hillsboro Mining District, which follows. Silver, Gold, and Manganese were the primary minerals mined at this site, found in ores of pyrolusite and wad. Mindat also lists calderónite as a mineral from this location and includes a photograph of a specimen from the Palma Group. Operations at this site began in 1885 and the last year of production is listed as 1954 at the Western Mining History (WMH) site, mining was not continuous
during this period. The production in 1953 and 1954 consisted of “41 long tons of hand-sorted ore averaging 20.6% manganese” (WMH website). Apparently some work was done in 1961, ”3 open cuts of up to 40 feet long, a few pits, and some inaccessible underground workings” were done at that time. (WHM website) Cited information is apparently from the Mineral Resources On-Line Spatial Data page for this mine, maintained by the USGS.
The Palma Group is not listed in Bulletin 10 (“The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico)”, “The Ore