Arivaca District.—This district is about 65 miles south of Tucson. Mining was carried on in this region long before the settlement of the country by the Americans. The camp has a delightful situation, a fine climate, and is possessed of abundance of wood and water. The formation is granite and porphyry. The Con. Arizona is owned by the Consolidated Arizona Gold and Silver Mining Company. It is opened by a main shaft 200 feet in depth, and by levels and drifts. The ore is a horn silver chloride, which mills freely. The vein is from 3 to 5 feet wide, and the yield has been about $100 per ton. A complete 10-stamp mill has been erected on the property, and also steam hoisting works. The vein has fine walls, and gives every indication of being a permanent fissure. The company own three other claims on the same vein, among which the Silver Eagle has the most development. It has a shaft 78 feet, and shows a 4-foot vein that assays $75 per ton. The Albatross is a large body of sulfide ore that gives an average assay of $80 per ton. It is a new discovery, and has been opened by a shaft 60 feet in depth. The Arkansas is a 4-foot vein, carrying chlorides and sulfides of silver. The ore assays $100 per ton. The mine is opened by a 150-foot shaft and a tunnel 300 feet. The Dos Amigos shows a vein 3 feet in width that gives $80 as an average assay. It has a shaft 100 feet deep. The Idaho is a large vein, carrying ore that goes $30 per ton. It is opened by an 80-foot shaft. The Union shows a 4-foot vein of free milling ore assaying $50 per ton. A shaft 120 feet deep has been sunk on the claim. The Fairview is a 4-foot vein carrying ore that goes $40 per ton. It has a shaft 130 feet deep. The Relief has a shaft 55 feet, and a vein 4 feet wide, going $50 per ton. The Postboy shows a vein 2 feet in width, of carbonate ore, that has assayed $100 per ton. It has a shaft 30 feet deep. The Longariue is opened by two shafts 100 and 80 feet, respectively, and by 300 feet of drifts and winzes. The ore is free-milling, assaying $80 per ton. The Clipper, Tennessee, Alpha, Grand Republic, Arion, Black Eagle, Bluejay, Mentor, and Arivaca are among the many promising prospects of this district. No portion of Pima county presents a more inviting field for investment. The famous Cerro Colorado mine is about ten miles north of Arivaca. It was worked extensively, under every disadvantage, before the breaking out of the civil war, and has produced, it is said, nearly $2,000,000. The constant attacks by the Apaches compelled the abandonment of the properly, and the buildings and hoisting-works were destroyed by the savages. It is now owned by the Arivaca Milling and Mining Company. The vein is not large, but the ore is of a high grade. Bounding Arivaca on the west is the Baboquivari range, which has been mined by the old missionaries in the early days, and contains some large veins of rich ore.
The Oro Fino is a vein nearly 8 feet in width, assays from which give $50 per ton. It has a shaft 60 feet. The Black Hawk is an 8-foot vein of base metal, that gives $50 per ton. A 60-foot shaft has been sunk on the property. The Silver Chief shows 4 feet of ore that assays $60 per ton. It is opened by a shaft 150 feet deep.
Oro Blanco.—This camp is seven miles south-east of Arivaca. The country rock is generally porphyry. The ores are mostly carbonates and free-milling. Wood is plentiful. The ores carry native gold and silver. The Warsaw is a vein from 3 to 4 feet wide. Ore from this mine has worked $80 per ton. It is opened by a 300-foot shaft, besides drifts and crosscuts. A ten-stamp mill and roaster have been erected on the property. It has produced over $25,000. The Alaska is a 4-foot vein, carbonate ore, assaying $70 per ton. It has a shaft 150 feet deep, and a 200-foot tunnel. The Peelstick has a shaft 170 feet deep, has a 4-foot vein, and assays $60 per ton. The Yellow Jacket has a shaft 120 feet deep, and 400 feet of drifts and tunnels. It shows a ledge of gold ore three feet wide — solid gold quartz. A ten-stamp mill has been erected on the mine, and a considerable amount of bullion taken out. The Montana is a large ledge of carbonate ore. A tunnel 100 feet in length has been driven on the vein. The Idaho shows a vein 4 feet wide, some of which assays as high as $200. It is opened by a shaft, 100 feet deep. The Susana is a vein of carbonate ore, going $60 per ton. A shaft 50 feet deep has been sunk on the property. The California has a shaft 100 feet deep. It is a strong vein of carbonates, that assays $50 per ton. Among the prospects worthy of mention in this district should be named the Sonora, North Carolina, Franco-American, Ready Relief, Southern Pacific, and many others.
Empire District.—This district is about twenty miles east of Tucson, in the rolling hills of the Rincon mountains. It is a short distance south of the Southern Pacific railroad. The camp has been brought into notice by the discovery of the "Total Wreck," an immense body of chloride ore, over 50 feet in width, and assaying from $10 to $500 per ton. The ore carries silver and gold. It has the appearance of a contact vein, between porphyry and lime. Work is prosecuted steadily. Three thousand tons of ore are on the dump, and reduction works will be erected at once. The Champion is a 20-foot vein, with a shaft 50 feet deep. The Dividend, Cross, Crescent, Ophir, and many others are on the same vein as the Total Wreck. They show large bodies of the same character of ore, and promise to become valuable properties.
Old Hat: The Old Hat District is on the northern end of the Santa Catarina range, and thirty-five miles from Tucson. It contains plenty of wood and water, and is well situated for mining. The Bonanza has two tunnels, 300 feet in length. It is a large vein, assaying from $50 to $100 per ton. Work is carried on steadily, and a fine property is being opened up. The Braganza is a strong vein, producing ore that goes from $50 to $200 per ton. The other prominent mines are the Old Hat, Bandit, American Flag, Palmetto, Pioneer, Morning Star, Black Bear, Silver Glance, Montezuma, Mermaid, Pilot, Lookout, Manzana, and many more. With its beautiful situation, and abundance of wood and water, this district is destined to become a prominent mining center of Southern Arizona.
Silver Hill District.—This camp is fifty miles north-west of Tucson, and only eighteen miles distant from the railroad. The Abbie Waterman is the leading mine of the district. It shows a body of carbonate ore nearly 10 feet wide. It is a fine smelting ore, and assays high in silver. The mine is opened by several shafts and open cuts, showing the same body of mineral from end to end of the claim. This promises to become one of the most valuable discoveries in Pima county. The Amelia is the north extension of the Waterman. It is a large vein of fine ore. The Mamie Grifiith, Monarch, Government, Lancer, Little Joker, White Cliflf, and Rodrigues' Purse are all large veins, carrying ore of a good grade.
Papago District: This lies to the south-west of Tucson. It embraces a large area of country known as the Papagueria. This region contains veins of gold, silver, and copper. Water can be obtained by sinking, and mesquite and palo verde wood is met with nearly everywhere. The Montezuma mine is in this region, and also the famous Cabibi mines, which are rich in silver and copper. - The Picbaco mine, in this district, has been worked for many years, and has produced a large amount of bullion. The San Pedro, Cabriza, El Cantavo, and many other large and promising veins are in this portion of Pima county. Westward from this group are the Ortega mines, rich in copper and silver; and still farther west are the noted Ajo copper mines, which were worked extensively in early times, and the ore shipped from Port Libertad to San Francisco. All this portion of Pima is rich in mineral, and will yet become the seat of a prosperous mining industry.
Amole District This area is west of Tucson and contains several valuable mines that assay from $100 to $1,500 per ton.' The Cymbeline, the Homestake, and the Hope are all fine properties. The Neuguilla mine has a shaft 90 feet deep, showing a vein between 4 and 5 feet wide. Pima District lies about thirty miles south-west of Tucson, in the low hills of the Sierritas. It ,has yielded ore of a high grade, and promises, with development, to become an important camp. The Esperauza and the Rough and Ready are the leading mines of the camp. The latter has produced ore going $700 per ton.
Helvetia District: This place is situated on the eastern slope of the Santa Kitas. It has abundance of wood and water. It contains rich placer mines which have produced several hundred thousand dollars. The district has also some valuable veins of silver and gold ore, though but little work has yet been done.
Copper.—Pima county, besides its ledges of gold and silver, is also rich in copper. High-grade copper ores are found on the northern end of the Santa Rita range, about twenty-five miles south from Tucson. The outcroppings cover several hundred acres, and are composed of carbonates, red oxides, and copper glance. Some of the veins are nearly 50 feet in width, going from 15 to 25 per cent. The copper deposits in the Silver Bell district, fifty miles west from Tucson, are among the largest and most valuable in the Territory. They are immense dikes, in places 50 feet wide, carrying malachite carbonates, and red and black oxides. A smelter, with a capacity of 30 tons, is being erected on this property by the Huachaca Mining Company. Besides the copper mines here alluded to, the whole region west of Tucson, to the boundary of Yuma, and south to Sonora, is rich in this metal.
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