John M
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Turquoise mine near El Rosario
Here is an advertisement from the June 1963 issue of Desert Magazine.
Anyone know where the mine mentioned might be?
John M.
[Edited on 11-29-2005 by John M]
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John M
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Better view of the text
I hope!
John M.
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Sharksbaja
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It's out there!
I was able to find a few nice big chunks of the stuff.
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John M
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Scanning
Thanks Lencho, I'll rescan it later today and give it a go!
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Taco de Baja
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I have found some too.
Not the highest grade stuff.
Essentially, just nice enough to collect and put in your rock garden.
I did not have a gps at teh time, so sorry no GPS points, but they're are several close to the main road one being ~ 1/2 hour south of El Rosario, If
I remember right...
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jrbaja
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We were stuck
Alongside the carretera with a broken trans. when this old pickup comes hobbling up with a flat tire.
It was the owner of the turquoise mine and this was many years ago. We fixed his tire with my stuff and he said come with me, Tacho won't be here
until tomorrow anyway. Tacho was bringing trans. parts. (I had sent a message through Baja Search and Rescue channels) that I needed parts.
So we did. And he took us to this ranch who were friends of his. We ate and drank and drank and ate and told stories under the stars out in the
hills.
He and his son had purchased the mine way back when but had both gotten jobs with a gold mining operation as the pay was much better.
There are a bunch of spots with turquoise but according to them, they have been pretty much used up. They went out looking occasionally though.
I talked to some mutual friends out there a few months back and apparently he had died and the son still comes around for gold mining.
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John M
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Maybe 'ol Bob Vega had it right!
JrBaja - maybe you should have tried to get a partnership with your rescuers!
Read on.
Of course I'm not certain if Bob Vega's mine is the same as Gerhard & Gulick are referring to in their Lower California Guidebook, 1956 edition,
page 92, when they write: "La Turquesa. A mine worked intermettently on a small scale."
At the bottom of this post is a map from the Baja Topo Atlas showing G & G's La Turquesa with another little hill to the right, El Prieta.
If this is the same area as Bob Vega's, you might be interested as to future happenings to this area, as downloaded from the Internet:
FOR: XEMAC RESOURCES INC.
JULY 12, 1999
Xemac - Completes the Acquisition of La Turquesa in Baja
California, Mexico - Names a new Director - Makes Plans
to Drill a Large Copper Target
VAL D'OR, QUEBEC--Xemac Resources Inc. is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of a 100 percent interest in the 260 ha La
Turquesa concession in Baja California, Mexico, by acquiring the remaining two-thirds interest from Seville Mineral Developments S.A. de C.V. The
agreement is subject to regulatory approval. The original vendor of the property retains a 2 percent NSR royalty. The price paid to Seville was
US$75,000 plus 1,000,000 shares of Xemac plus 500,000 warrants for the purchase of additional shares at Can$0.20, valid until May 31, 2002. A
Can$165,000 financing by private placement closed May 3, 1999 to complete the La Turquesa acquisition. 1,100,000 units were issued with each unit
consisting of one common share at Can$0.15 and one warrant for the purchase of an additional share at Can$0.20, valid until May 7, 2001.
The La Turquesa property is contained within the 6,800 ha El
Arenoso concession which was acquired by Xemac earlier this year from Fischer Watt Gold Ltd (FWG). FWG had acquired the property from Phelps Dodge
(PD), which had abandonned their position following Seville's acquisition of the central La Turquesa block. Following two years of negotiations, Xemac
has thus reunited the two properties, and is now in a position to resume exploration of a highly prospective porphyry copper target.
The exploration potential of the La Turquesa property has long been recognized. In 1976, prominent US porphyry copper geologist Kenyon Richard
identified the La Prieta hill on La Turquesa as exhibiting surface leach capping that suggested the possible presence of an underlying copper
enrichment zone, with a primary sulphide zone further down. Subsequent work in the 1990's by Phelps Dodge and others indicated that Richard's target
was actually part of a 5 km long mineralized band of volcanic rocks. A reconnaissance Induced Polarization survey of the area yielded a strong
chargeability anomaly over the 5 km strike length, over a width of between 500m and 1,000m, and continuous to great depth.
The property exhibits several of the classic signs of the US
southwest porphyry copper deposit model: intense leaching,
multi-phase hematitic and goethitic limonite cappings, sulphide boxworks mostly after chalcopyrite, residual copper values in the capping and
turquoise veining. Xemac intends to resume where PD left off, ie drilling of the potential enrichment blanket targets.
Negotiations are in progress relative to the financing of a
significant exploration program.
The area of the map is maybe 18 miles beyond El Rosario
[Edited on 11-30-2005 by John M]
[Edited on 11-30-2005 by John M]
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jrbaja
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From what I have seen recently
the significant exploration project is being manned by the same miners who have always been in this area. I'll take notes next time I see them.
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David K
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Usually refered to as the Aguajito mines... Go and see Ed Lusk (owner of Baja's Best Bed & Breakfast... on the right, far edge of El Rosario
>> Starbucks logo). He has some turquoise jewery for sale in the restaurant. Kim (Maps, Fossils store before Ed's) may have some too.
Anyway, Ed takes his B & B guests to a turquoise site and lets them dig some to take home... No doubt in that area.
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Neal Johns
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Here is the area in the "All in one" Baja Almanac:
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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David K
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Good dog Neal!
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Sharksbaja
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Very interesting. The area described being less than 7 sq mi in size. Does this incorporate both turquoise areas labeled?
Neal, what would be the scale on that section of map? Would 7 sq miles cover it all? Thanx
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David K
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Here is the G & G map with new roads added of the larger area... El Aguajito is in the bottom center... the note for Martires on Neal's copy is
the second or easterly of the two roads going north to Sauzalito, on my copy.
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Neal Johns
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The section I posted was about 13 miles wide (part of page 15).
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Skeet/Loreto
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Just for Information:
The largest Turquosie collection in the World is located in the Old De Anza Motor Hotel on Central Ave.{Old Hwy 66} in Alburqurque. New Mexico.
It is contained in the floor of the Resturant just inside the Lobby. I wonder what will happen to all that Beauty.
Skeet/Loreto
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