The Geology, Leasing, and Production History of the Uranium-Vanadium Mines on Eurida Mesa, Apache County, Arizona

The exposures of the uranium-vanadium minerals on the rim of Eurida Mesa were some of the first to be discovered in the Carrizo Mountains of northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. The host rock for the ore deposits is the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation of Late Jurassic age. The area was first leased for radium ore in the 1920s, but there was no mining. In 1939 and in early 1940s, the area was again leased for mining and approximately 1,200 tons of vanadium ore were produced. In October 1944, the Federal government acquired a 20.6 acre tract on Eurida Mesa for its uranium resources, bit it was never explored or mined. Under the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) ore procurement program, mining on Eurida Mesa resumed in 1950 and 1951, with a final shipment made in 1956. Under the AEC program 486.36 tons of uranium-vanadium ore were produced. The purpose of this report is to present the leasing and mining history of this remote area and to make available maps of the underground workings of the Eurida mines.Documents in the AZGS Documents Repository collection are made available by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact azgs-info@email.arizona.edu)