118  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1905. 
The  copper  ores  yielded  gold  to  the  value  of  $85,525  and  79,369  ounces  of  silver. 
Donna  Ana  County  contains  copper  mines  in  the  Organ  district,  in  which  the  Torpedo, 
Memphis,  Copper  Bar,  Excelsior,  and  other  properties  occur  along  a  contact  between 
altered  limestone  and  igneous  rocks,  the  conditions  being  somewhat  similar  to  those  observed 
at  Clifton.  The  copper  occurs  in  the  central  portion  of  the  contact,  where  the  limestone 
has  been  converted  into  garnet,  vesuvianite,  and  epidote. 
The  Silver  City  district,  Grant  County,  in  which  the  Comanche  Mining  and  Smelting 
Company's  property  is  situated,  furnishes  the  copper  ores  of  this  part  of  the  Territory. 
This  company  owns  the  Hearst  mine,  which  works  a  body  of  low-grade  sulphide  copper 
ore,  developed  to  a  depth  of  800  feet .  The  ore  is,  however,  refractory  and  contains  a  larj 
amount  of  zinc.  The  company  is  actively  developing  its  mines  at  Burro  Mountain  and 
Pinos  Altos.  The  new  concentrator  has  a  400-ton  capacity  to  treat  complex  sulphide  ores, 
with  a  250-ton  furnace,  and  is  developing  ground  on  the  200-foot  level  of  the  No.  8  shaft. 
In  the  Burro  district,  in  the  same  region,  the  100-ton  concentrating  plant  owned  by  the 
Burro  Mountain  Copper  Company  was  in  operation  during  the  year,  and  has  recently 
been  remodeled. 
In  the  Central  district  the  Santa  Rita  mines  continue  to  furnish  the  bulk  of  the  copper 
output  of  the  Territory.  The  Santa  Rita  property  is  said  to  show  an  underlying  core  of 
igneous  rock,  with  an  overlying  bed  of  quartzite  about  50  feet  thick,  which  is  impregnated 
with  oxide  ores.  The  quartzite  lies  at  a  gentle  angle,  and  is  overlain  at  some  distance 
from  the  mines  proper  by  an  altered  limestone,  which  has  presumably  been  eroded  off 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  mines  and  during  this  erosion  has  furnished  the  solutions  for  the 
impregnation  of  the  quartzite.  Sulphide  ores  also  occur  in  the  underlying  porphyry,  extend- 
ing downward  as  deep  as  the  workings  have  been  carried,  about 300  feet  below  the  surface. 
In  the  Mogollon  district  bornite  ores  have  been  mined  in  small  quantities  and  shipped 
to  the  custom  smelters. 
The  "Red  Beds"  area  of  New  Mexico  covers  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Territory  and 
contains  extensive  deposits  of  oxidized  ore.  The  utilization  of  these  low-grade  ores  has 
been  attempted  by  various  companies,  but  thus  far  without  bringing  in  any  large  pro- 
ducers. The  character  of  these  deposits  has  been  discussed  elsewhere.  The  Blake  mine 
of  San  Miguel  County  is  the  chief  producer. 
In  the  Virginia  and  Pyramid  districts,  which  lie  immediately  south  of  Lordsburg,  the 
Bonney  Mining  Company  has  developed  complex  copper  ores  carrying  lead,  with  gold  and 
silver  values.  The  Robert  E.  Lee  and  Nellie  Bly  mines,  of  the  Pyramid  Peak  district, 
have  encountered  bornite  ore  near  the  surface,  with  chalcopyrite  ore  carrying  about  6  per 
cent  of  copper  and  7  ounces  of  silver.  The  production  from  the  Central  district  for  1905 
shows  a  marked  decrease  from  that  for  1904. 
Otero  County  yields  a  small  production  from  the  mines  in  the  Jarilla  Mountains. 
Luna  County  contains  the  Apache  mine,  near  Hachita,  which  is  a  small  producer. 
Sierra  County  contains  a  few  small  copper  mines  near  Ilillsboro. 
The  copper  production  of  Socorro  County  comes  from  the  mixed  sulphide  ores  of  the 
Magdalena  Mountains. 
Taos  County  has  an  insignificant  production  from  small  streaks  of  chalcopyrite  in  schist. 
Sandoval  County  contains  the  Nacimiento  district,  where  the  ore  occurs  as  fossil  palm 
leaves  and  tree  trunks,  consisting  of  copper  glance  occurring  in  Triassic  standstones.  The 
deposits  are  not  worked. 
OREGON. 
The  northern  extension  of  the  copper  belt  of  California  passes  into  Josephine  County,  Oreg. 
Several  properties  have  been  developed  and  within  the  last  year  the  Takilma  Smelting 
Company,  near  Waldo,  has  been  in  operation.  No  returns  for  1905  arc  yet  available.  Ir 
1904  there  were  four  producing  counties  in  the  State,  but  of  the  aggregate  of  269,510  pounds 
all  but  6,000  pounds  came  from  the  Takilma  smelter.  So  far  as  information  is  available 
the  ore  bodies  of  this  region  consist  of  chalcopyrite  ores,  with  a  little  bornite,  in  a  gangue 
