Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society Field trip.
Johnny Bull Mine
Article and images by Club Member Jeannine Weiner
Johnny Bull Mine
Article and images by Club Member Jeannine Weiner
Just south of I-10 close to the border of New Mexico and Arizona in the Peloncillo mountains lie several faults with old mines and prospects. One of them, the Johnny Bull mine produced an unknown amount of copper, mostly before 1905. The site sits below McGee Peak on the west side of the Peloncillo Mountains just across the ridge from the Carbonate Hill mine, another mine which produced lead, zinc and silver.
The area is characterized by Mississippian aged Escabrosa limestone with an intrusive band of volcanic rock. Along the contact between these two groups and near the visible fault lines mineralization occurred and the mines and prospects are found along this interface. Vertically oriented bands of mineralization may be seen at the surface and in the old adits and shafts. In the dumps outside of the mines we found Epidote, Chrysocolla, Malachite, Gallina, small pieces of Tourquoise and Calcite some with interesting crystal matrix. Also reported in this area is Scheelite Aagonite and Willenite . I am not sure if any of the latter were found.
The road in was in good shape until the last quarter to half mile, where High Clearance and 4-wheel drive is a must. This road is very rocky. We had a group of about 10 vehicles of which we had 3 flat tires and one that needed to be pulled out of narrow ditch.
Gps Coordinates are: 32.1598N 108.9987W- Needless to say if you venture to this area be sure to take plenty of water and make sure you have a good spare tire.
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