Page 208 - The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico - Bulletin 10

204 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF SIERRA CO., N. M.
which from southwest to northeast are named the Gladys, Red Top, Red Top Annex, and Billiken claims. Northeast of this group, J. H. Hardin has a claim called the Owl. The strike of the vein is parallel to the White Swan and the dip is 60° NW. This vein is about feet wide. The vein material consists of brecciated limestone, much disintegrated and cemented with sec- ondary calcite, and white and pink fluorspar. Some galena is scattered through the ore. About a foot of the vein is very spongy and shows the effect of leaching by surface waters, and it is within this portion that crystals of vanadinite occur. The vanadium content of these veins has been estimated at from 1 to 3 per cent, with the latter estimate probably much too high.
GALENA-FLUORITE VEINS
South of the Palomas Gap area and about three-fourths of a mile from the Red Top vein, four well-defined veins in the lime- stone have yielded a small amount of galena-fluorite ore that was hand sorted or concentrated. These veins are the property of the Southwestern Land & Coal Co., and they were among the first to be worked in the Palomas Gap district. During 1931 these claims were operated by the Great American Co., which was in control of 14 claims in the district. The ore mined was treated by hand jigging to make a galena concentrate; the residue being stored pending the working out of a treatment method for the fluorite. These operations were short lived, however, and the camp is now idle. The property is situated 24 miles from Engle and.14 miles from Cutter, the nearest points on the railroad.
The ore has formed in Magdalena limestone, the strata of which strike N. 50° .W. and dip 15;) NE. The veins have the appearance of being transverse adjustment fractures incident to the major regional faulting of the area. Striations on the walls indicate that the movement was largely horizontal. Bordering the veins in many places there are lenticular fractures in the limestone up to 12 feet long and from one-fourth to 3 inches thick in the widest part, which have a strike of S. 50° W. and dip 75° NW. These are filled with calcite.
The northerly vein of the series, striking N. 75° E. and dip- ping vertically, varies from 1/4 to 3 feet in width in its productive part, with walls 4 to 6 feet apart. The vein is developed by a tunnel 300 feet long, and two shafts, both of which connect with the tunnel. A third shaft 40 feet deep is located 600 feet east of the portal of the tunnel. The greatest vertical depth thus gained in this vein is 100 feet at the face of the tunnel.
On the tunnel level, small amounts of galena and fluorite were noted in a matrix that was predominantly fault gouge and brecciated limestone recemented with calcite. Above the tunnel level the vein is open textured or spongy, consisting of sugary quartz and yellow fluffy limonite in a fractured matrix of quartz,