The Peralta Mines #2

Discuss information about the Lost Dutchman Mine
Post Reply
cuzzinjack
Part Timer
Posts: 163
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:33 pm

The Peralta Mines #2

Post by cuzzinjack »

Since my last posting about the Peralta Mines, substantially more work and research has been done regarding the subject.

By enhancing a photo of the Goldfield District and following up with some legwork, it is concluded that at least 4 relatively shallow plutons are in the District. The red areas, for the most part, are breccias.

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... tated2.jpg

Near the center of the Molly Marie collapse caldera (that was created by one of the plutons), there are abundant breccias in the basalt(they do not show up on the enhanced district photo) that were suspected to be comprised of pieces of gossan from massive sulphides.

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2posting/sawn.jpg

The theory was reinforced after assay, when there was a return of significant Arsenic, and oddly, Lithium (70 and 100 ppm respectively), Further assays in the area showed elevated Cu and Zn. The Lithium was puzzling and was suspected to come from a brine.
It was learned that during the mid-Tertiary(Miocene) volcanism, there were large inland brine lakes in Arizona due to rifting and because the Colorado River drainage had not formed yet. The water had no outlet and salt up to 10,000 feet thick was created near Luke AFB, and significant beds of salt are found under nearby Higley(now Gilbert) and many other places. Here is a diagram of how AZ would have looked like in the Miocene:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... .water.jpg

This is a good article about the Arizona salt basins:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... s_salt.pdf

The combination of shallowly emplaced porphyries (the Molly Marie is one), located on the edge of brine lakes results is a relatively rare combination; the metals can be supplied by being leached from the surrounding rock by the corrosive brine and boiled off, and from the porphyry itself. This combination is termed a “High Sulphidation VMS” deposit. The possibility of major polymetallic, Au rich, VMS orebodies in the Goldfield District seems very high. Here is a good paper on the subject:

http://unalmed.edu.co/rrodriguez/VMS/de ... s.dube.pdf

Here is a diagram of how brine helped create orebodies in Ireland:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... reland.jpg

So, where were the Peralta Mines? There were many areas in the Molly Marie breccias (not the gossan breccias), that were suspected as being “disturbed”, and 8 locations were tested with a seismograph using the refraction method. The data from 4 “spreads” was sent to a geophysical firm in Denver for analysis. ALL of the them returned excellent results and indicated 4 pits. All of these pits were likely the sites of bonanza supergene gold deposits similar to those found at the Mammoth, Old Wasp, Bulldog, etc.. Due to time constraints, less than half of the suspected sites were tested. The geophysical company was not informed of the surface rock outcrops. Here is one of the tomograms showing the sub-surface topography:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... esults.pdf

The apparent underground protrusions actually outcrop as solid rock.

It is suspected that there were many underground workings as well, especially exploration tunnels. The pits were simply filled back in. Although pure conjecture, it is possible the pits were back-filled several times in history………. 1520, 1836, and of course, 1848.

It is ironic that one of the larger brecciated areas is outside the front door of the museum and is virtually untouched by modern mining. It would seem that there would be several sites there that would warrant seismic testing.

And, lastly, here is the heart:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... eheart.jpg
Joe Ribaudo
Expert
Posts: 5453
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2002 10:36 pm

Re: The Peralta Mines #2

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Dan,

Very nice and informative post. Hopefully, someone who actually knows something about rocks will have something to add. As you know, I don't know $#!t about rocks.

Take care,

Joe Ribaudo
cuzzinjack
Part Timer
Posts: 163
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:33 pm

Re: The Peralta Mines #2

Post by cuzzinjack »

Believe it or not, it was not the knowledge of rocks that led to the discovery of the core claims of the Molly Marie Prospect; it was a map. A stone map. That’s right, one of the same that have been the subject of occasional intense ridicule.

About 9 years ago, a mining claim was filed on a virgin barren quartz outcrop just north of First Water Road. This was done as something to strike off the “bucket list”. Little was known of the geology of the area, but it seemed very strange that a significant quartz outcrop, barren or not, would be untouched in the area.

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... quartz.jpg

John Wilburn’s pamphlet, “Goldfield Mining District Geology and Ore Deposits” was a great start to learning the geology. More mineralized ground was discovered and a few more claims were staked, almost on a whim. All of the claims were partially staked on breccias, but at the time, the breccia was not recognized. Then, on an uneventful day north of the claims, on un-staked ground, a peculiar arrangement was recognized………….
It had been noticed that while driving down First Water Road early in the morning, a tiny hole could be seen though the top of a mountain a few miles to the north. The hole can be seen from almost the entire length of First Water Road on the north side of Superstition Mountain, and it disappears later in the morning:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... llhole.jpg

From a vantage point on a small ridge on the un-staked ground it was noted that a conspicuous spire of rock north of Government Well looked like an enormous horse’s head as the sun was sinking in the afternoon. From this same vantage point, the tiny hole could also be seen, only because its location was known. Here is what the spire of rock looks like in the afternoon:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2posting/horse.jpg

The Peralta Stone maps were recalled that were seen on this website, and in particular the Horse Stone and the Trail Stone. It was conceived that the “3” on the hind quarter of the horse was the same as the “3” on the map stone.

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... stones.jpg

A paper copy of the Trail Stone was brought to the vantage point, and it was uncanny how a small 100’ movement on the ground could be recognized on the piece of paper when it was aligned to the tiny hole in the mountain and the top of the spire(the ear of the horses head). Having been a surveyor, it was pretty certain that whomever made the map stone had knowledge of the power of triangulation. Below is a link to a google earth photo with the trail stone inset:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... angles.jpg

The 2 short lines on the trail stone inside of the “blessed area” marked with the sideways cross( just like the priest is holding the cross on the priest stone) correspond to 2 short ridges on the ground. All disturbed areas tested seismically are on these 2 ridges of breccia. The “F” shape corresponds to the distinctive cliffs of Hackberry Spring that can be seen from the air. Another interesting feature is the trail stone was made to use magnetic north, not true north, hence the rotation necessary to match the Google Earth photo. The lower point on the triangle is where the pit is located that is defined by the tomogram posted previously. Please notice, the horizontal scale on the tomogram is larger than the vertical; It was a BIG pit to be hand-excavated. It appears in the tomogram that someone came in at a later date and sunk a shaft or at least began one through the pit backfill. This would have been much more cost and time effective than trying to muck out most of the pit.

The intent of the stone map was likely to be used as a pattern to trace out paper maps as necessary.

The map shows the outline of Superstition Mountain looking north, and it tells the user to look for a hole in the rock on the north side of the mountain, but a tiny hole. The large hole in the map signifies the great importance of the hole in the rock and the tiny hole next to the large one is the precise locating point to use. The “3” signifies the horse’s head, and the point on the 3 is the precise locating point to use. After this was known, the remaining portions of the 2 ridges were staked, and more. It was reasoned that it was statistically impossible to have the 3 prominent physical features match the trail map by coincidence. The breccia was still not recognized, and the process of learning the geology took years afterwards in bits and pieces. The seismic work was done just a year ago. Once the location was known, the rest of the puzzle fell into place. Generally, if a map is of Spanish or Mexican origin, it is good. If it is English, it is not.
cuzzinjack
Part Timer
Posts: 163
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:33 pm

Re: The Peralta Mines #2

Post by cuzzinjack »

The Heart Stone was another special puzzle. Shortly after learning previously of the map stone, the prominent mountain with the east-facing cliff behind Government Well was scaled (from the north side), and a rather odd sight presented itself…
This is a photo of the mountain looking west:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... fwdike.JPG

Here is a photo on top of the mountain looking east; the background is the edge of the cliff:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... rtreal.jpg

The red section is a large rhyolite dike, and here is what some of the dike looks like up close:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... vulets.jpg

After seeing the Heart Stone in previous research, it appeared in an abstract way that the dike looked like a real heart. It was surmised that the hole in the heart stone on the upper right was the same tiny hole as on the Trail Stone because it has a small wavy line next to it to signify that is small relative to the other wavy lines on the stone.
Below is a link to a photo from the top of the mountain with the tiny hole:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... ebelow.JPG

If you look carefully to the lower right you will see another hole in the rock. This hole can be seen from Highway 88 driving past the Needle Over look:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... wyhole.jpg

Taking a paper copy of the Heart Stone(with the inset heart in it), and positioning it on the edge of the cliff above Government Well and on the rhyolite dike, The holes lined up perfectly, and El Sombrero (Weaver’s Needle) was precisely aligned with the pointed symbol on the bottom of the heart stone.
Here is a photo of the heart stone and a Google Map before alignment:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... before.JPG

And here is a photo afterwards:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2posting/after.JPG

Here is a photo from the top of the Mountain looking towards El Sombrero. The parking lot below is for the Needle Overlook. The short ridges can be partially seen on the far right of the photo:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... mbrero.JPG

This happened many years ago and seemed to be beyond coincidence, but the “heart” was too abstract for most to see. Then, just last fall, a man with much knowledge about the history of the area told me the cliff on the mountain was the heart without subject being brought up. In disbelief, I asked how he knew that. He said as you were driving from the south towards Government Well the heart can be seen very well. Sure enough, the sight was incredible. The heart:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... eheart.jpg

It was a strange feeling to know that I had stood on the top of that cliff where others had stood and documented it 165 years before.
cuzzinjack
Part Timer
Posts: 163
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:33 pm

Re: The Peralta Mines #2

Post by cuzzinjack »

Holes in the rock or “window rocks” are not rare in the Superstitions area, nor are they common. The creator of the Stone Maps seemed to recognize not only their uniqueness, but how they could help mark the “playing field”. On the Heart Stone there is a hole in the far left side of the stone, and this is what it looks like in the field, at the same bearing as indicated:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... rnhole.jpg

As one descends into First Water Canyon down a drainage that intersects First Water Canyon about ½ mile south of Hackberry Spring, there is another very prominent window rock. This matches the hole on the far right side of the Trail Stone. Here is a photo from the descent:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... sthole.jpg

A big question is; “Where did they mill the ore?” Many say, “the Salt River”, but if anyone has walked to the Salt through the Willow Springs or First Water drainages, they would know that was unlikely.
Earlier it was mentioned that the “F” symbol on the Trail Stone was Hackberry Spring. Hackberry Spring looks like this in the middle of July:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... kberry.jpg

Hackberry Spring is a literal oasis filled with willow and oak trees, and is relatively nice there even on the worst of summer days. Water flows from this spring year around. There is always shade due to the orientation of the cliffs.
Here is a link to the map “La Mina de la Sombrero”:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... ro-map.jpg

It is highly likely that the photo and the sketch are describing the same place. There would have been many women present during mining activities, and there is really only one place that was hospitable in the area and close the mines: Hackberry Spring.
It is believed the creator of the Sombrero map saw this same view of the cliffs daily. Why? Because he/she lived there. The elite would have camped at Hackberry, and the workers would have lived in the scrub. In regards to the name “Mina de la Sombrero”, Weavers Needle looks like a Sombrero only on the Molly Marie mining claims and a few high hills on the same bearing.

To take the subject further, here is another map……… Minas del Oro.

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... ro-map.jpg

This map appears to have had at least 2 annotators. Most maps are oriented north, and if that was the Salt River as labeled, this map would be looking west, which is unusual. In regards to the arrastras shown by the “Salt River”, the haul from the mines to the Salt is just too far. Could the “Picacho” shown be the pointed rock north of Government Well previously identified as “The Horse”? An arrastra can mill about 2 tons a day according to data that was found. Even with a battery of arrastras, say 10, the water needs are not that great. But where in the area of the mines is a water source that is close and is present for a good part of the year?

First Water Canyon is aligned due north and has water.

Just this past weekend First Water is still flowing at approximately 100 gpm. There is evidence that the time period of 1800 to 1850 had a much wetter climate in the southwestern U.S. then now, and First Water may have flowed year-round then. First Water Canyon above Hackberry Spring was studied(on foot), and there is one very special place where the arrastras could have been located. From above, the following is seen:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... water1.jpg

Hackberry Spring would be the “Main Camp” shown on Minas Del Oro. . The arrastra site shown in the photo is a natural wonder well suited as an arrastra battery site. It is sheltered from flash floods by a boulder ridge, yet is of sizable area and perfect elevation to be gravity fed by water from the creek upstream. There is enough, but not too much, overburden on solid rock to socket and stabilize the center posts of arrastras . By seeing the random piles of rock in this shallow long depression, it appears the area may have been placered at a later date to harvest lost amalgam. Here is a closeup of the area:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... water2.jpg

This site is secluded, and water flows here on bare rock, where further upstream low flows are hidden under overburden. If the area upstream as indicated has not been placered as in the Minas Del Oro map, it would be surprising; there are abundant wide cracks in bedrock that are perfect gold traps. The whole system, of mines, haul roads, and arrastras would look like the photo in the below link. Many of the roads left today were likely the same roads back then. As you can see, this is very similar to the arrangement shown on the Minas Del Oro map.

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... lroads.jpg

There are other features omitted from the Google Earth photo to prevent some from committing “terrain alteration”.

The last question is, “Where is the gold?”
To form bonanza style supergene gold deposits similar to those found at Goldfield, the breccias above the high grade are leached out and are the “donor” to the deposit below. It was suspected that visible gold can be found in the leached breccia, although widely dispersed. Several 50’ core holes were drilled and many fire assays were conducted on the core and surface samples. The Au was elevated in many instances, but not of greatly, and this was to be expected. With a 29 gram sample of the rock being fire assayed as the standard, it was going to be statistically difficult to find one of the “visible” pieces of gold.
Was there a way to beat this dilemma? It was theorized that by cutting many rocks found near suspected pits and pits found by seismic methods, and inspecting the sawn surfaces with a loupe, gold would be found. Lo and behold, it was. Below is a link to a small electrum wire that was found that passed the “spoon test”:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2posting/wire.jpg

One very nice wire ball was found that was approximately 1/8” in diameter and unfortunately, an ex-acquaintance picked it out with their finger before it was photographed.

Only drilling will determine what is really below the pits.
cuzzinjack
Part Timer
Posts: 163
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:33 pm

Re: The Peralta Mines #2

Post by cuzzinjack »

After the Patio Process was developed by Bartolomé de Medina in Pachuca, New Spain (Mexico), in 1554, the silver mining industry in New Spain went parabolic in regards to the tons that could mined profitably. By 1597, there were over 400 stamp mills in New Spain, and 239 of them were animal powered. Again, this is 1597.

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... ls1597.JPG

These were not arrastras; they were stamp mills. Here is a photo of a small one:

http://mollymarieprospect.com/Peralta2p ... estamp.JPG

Were these stamp mills used at the great Salt River District of the North? It would be very surprising if they weren’t. Ore could have been crushed throughout the dry season, and would of been sluiced when the rains came.

The mining achievements made in New Spain have great difficulty being comprehended(or even known about) by today’s society. The Spanish in New Spain had no I-phones, no cars, no computers……… how could they ever have done it?
Post Reply