TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN
Although located in the
Mineral Park Mining District outside of Kingman,
Arizona, the Turquoise Mountain mine has been
considered a separate classic mine because of
the difference in it’s appearance from
other Kingman area turquoise. Turquoise Mountain
turquoise has also been known as Old Man Turquoise.
It has its own unique blue and blue-green color
and many times has been found with a golden
or beautiful rust colored spider webbing.
back to top
TYRONE
Tyrone
turquoise encompassed a group of mines in the
Burro Mountains near the town of Silver City,
New Mexico and is associated with the Tyrone
Copper mine. It has been said that more high-grade
turquoise was produced in this area than any
single deposit on record. Turquoise mining in
the Burro Mountains had been carried out in
prehistoric times and then later by the Spanish.
Artifacts, stone tools along with fragments
of turquoise and hammers of the local granite
were common at the sites. An early mining engineer
named Zalenski had noted that after visiting
the mines in 1907 there were still traces of
fire used to break up the rocks and that one
forty-foot shaft still remained though most
of the work in the area had been done in open
trenches. Kunz, in his work mentions an old
Indian burial ground in the area, in which turquoise
was found in some form in every grave. Ancient
operations helped to determine the locations
of some of the more modern claims.
According to Pogue, John Coleman who was locally
known as "Turquois John" is credited
with the first modern discovery of turquoise
in the area. He is said to have discovered some
old workings while on a hunting trip in 1875.
W.J. Foley and Nicholas Ransome have also been
associated with the discovery. The story goes
that Foley, of Silver City, was informed by
Indian traders that turquoise was present near
the town and that ancient workings were known
in the mountains. A search by Foley is said
to have resulted in the finding of these ancient
excavations in the Burro Mountains.
The largest mine in the area was the Azure mine.
It was located 10 miles southwest of Silver
City and was opened in 1891. It became not only
the most famous turquoise mine in the area but
the country. Pogue states in his 1915 classic
work on turquoise that "It has been operated
in modern times more extensively than any other
turquois mine in this country, and its stones
are the equal of the Persian gems.” In
1893 the famous “Elizabeth Pocket”
was entered, which produced more high-grade
turquoise than any single deposit on record.”
The Elizabeth Pocket was 100 feet long, 40 feet
wide, and 40 to 50 feet high. It was thought
to be the riches vein of turquoise ever discovered.
The cut cabochons were marketed throughout the
country with ads appearing in Harper’s
and McClure’s magazines. Each gem was
engraved with a circle on the back with the
ad stating, "None genuine without the ring
O on the reverse side.” Azure turquoise,
because of its hardness, was guaranteed not
to change color.
The material that is available today is usually
from older collections. In its high-grade form
Tyrone turquoise is a hard, translucent, brilliant
or deep blue and today valued highly for it
beauty and rarity.
The richness of turquoise found over the centuries
in Southwest New Mexico leads one to believe
or hope that even today there may be a number
of deposits still waiting to be found and claimed
in the beautiful but rugged Burro Mountains.
back to top
VILLA GROVE
The
Villa Grove mine, once known as Hall mine, is
northwest of the town of Villa Grove in the
San Luis Valley of Colorado. Villa Grove was
one of the Colorado mines that showed signs
of ancient Indian workings. It was rediscovered
sometime in the 1890’s and mined for copper
with major turquoise operations beginning in
the early 1900’s. A bright blue turquoise
was mined both clear and also with a fine spider
web which sometimes resembled the finest Lone
Mountain turquoise from Nevada. In fact the
Villa Grove mine was owned in 1965 by Menalis
Winfield, who had also owned the Lone Mountain
mine in Nevada. Although very rare, turquoise
from this area can still appear in today’s
market.
|