Desert Messenger

24 www.DesertMessenger.com November 18, 2015 To the north and east of Quartzsite is a beautiful mountain range called the Buckskins. This mountain range is part of the Harcuvar com- plex and is amazingly rich in gold, silver, copper, and many other minerals. Several mining districts are located in this area, including some well known ones like Mineral Hill, Signal, and Swansea. Miners have been working this area since the 1860's and are still successfully pulling mineral rich ore from the Buckskin Mountains today. The earliest known mining in the Buckskin Mountains was by Native Americans who mined gold and By Jenn Jedidiah Free for RocksInMyHead™ The many colors of Buckskin copper near the areas now known as Mineral Hill and Planet Mine. Placer gold was also found throughout the entire region. The most well known mine of the area, the Planet Mine, was discovered in 1863 and produced copper, gold, and silver until 1937. Aside from gold, copper, and silver, the Buckskin Mountains produce an amazing assortment of other miner- als. Malachite and azurite are two of the most beautiful. They are copper carbonate minerals, and are typi- cally associated with copper depos- its. Malachite is more common than Azurite, though both are the result of the weathering of copper ores. Often malachite and azurite are too soft to be worked as a lapidary stone, however the Buckskin Moun- tains produce a gemmy and intensely colored azurite/malachite/chrys- acolla silicate which takes a beautiful polish. Chrysacolla is a hydrous copper silicate that occurs in the oxidation zones of copper deposits. Basically, that means it is ore con- taining copper and silica that has been altered to the min- eral Chrysacolla through contact with air and water. Chrysacolla is a rather common mineral in this copper-rich region of Arizona and is found in association with Azurite, Malachite, and Cuprite. It is a sur- face mineral, which makes it an im- portant indicator of copper depos- its. Chrysacolla can also be found in ores of gold when copper is also present. These ore specimens are exceptionally beautiful. Several va- rieties of lapidary grade Chrysacolla come from the Buckskins, including a beautiful Chrysacolla in a reddish Rhyolite matrix. The Alamo Mining District of the Buckskins is rich in Manganese, Lead, and Iron as well as gold, silver and copper. A beautiful metallic green mineral occurs in this area, due to an unusual occurrence of a manganese +6 oxide called a mag- nate. The extra unpaired atoms in this oxidation variety cause the manganese to have a grayish-green ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS Times Three Family Restaurant OPEN DAILY 6am-8pm • 7 Days a Week! 1265 W. Main St. Quartzsite - West of McDonald's • 928-927-6014 Join us for Thanksgiving Dinner $ 14 99 Hello. I am Louise. I am one of Carl's crew. Carl has had a slip/ fall accident with severe injuries. He is recouperating. He has asked me to hold it together until he gets back. So, along with our whole excellent crew we offer for Thanksgiving: TURKEY OR HAM DINNER with all the trimmings: mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, candied yams, cranberry sauce, bread, pumpkin pie, coffee or tea ALL FOR $14.99 Won't you join us? SEE ROCKS PAGE 25

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