Report of Investigations 5651: Barite Deposits of Arizona

Details

• Personal Author:
  Pfister, A. J. ; Stewart, Lincoln A.
• Corporate Authors:
  United States. Bureau of Mines
• Description:
  This paper describes all occurrences of barite in Arizona that were known or reported to the authors. The history, ownership, production, and geologic setting are discussed for most of the deposits. The uses and specifications of product grades are briefly discussed. Seventy-five deposits were examined in 9 of the 14 counties of the State. The descriptions are given under county headings. No occurrences were reported in the four northeastern counties of Coconino, Navajo, Apache, and Greenlee, nor in Santa Cruz in the southern part of the State. From about half of the deposits examined, 55 samples were taken; of these, 45 were for chemical analysis, and 8 larger samples, ranging from 100 t o 350 pounds, for beneficiation tests. A 30-ton bulk sample was taken for pilot-plant tests. Bench-scale flotation tests of the eight samples employing several different procedures and reagent combinations yielded marketable-grade barite products with barite recoveries ranging from 60 t o 97 percent. Five of the samples contained enough fluorspar to warrant its recovery. Acid-grade concentrates, which accounted for fluorspar recoveries of 45 to 70 percent, were obtained from three of these ores. Batch laboratory tests of a representative portion of the 30-ton bulk sample revealed that acid-grade fluorspar and high-grade barite concentrates could be recovered. Results of the laboratory and continuous pilot-plant tests of this ore will be presented in a separate report. In virtually all the deposits the barite mineralization was confined to faults or fracture zones, most in igneous, some in sedimentary, and a few in metamorphic rocks. In about half the occurrences, fluorspar was associated with the barite in quantities varying from a few tenths to as much as 30 percent. Barite production in Arizona first was recorded in 1925. The total production of barite from Arizona has been more than 300,000 tons; about 98 percent was from the Granite Reef deposit in Maricopa County from 1931 t o 1955. Eight other deposits are credited with the remainder of the production in intermittent, relatively small tonnages from 1929 to 1955. There has been no production since the latter date, but in 1958 several large companies optioned promising properties. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Metals Minerals Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Metal-mining Mineral-deposits Mining-industry
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Subseries:
  Report of Investigations
• ISSN:
  1066-5552 (print)
• Publisher:
  United States. Bureau of Mines
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; OSHA Region 9
• Rights:
  Public Domain
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  TMRC - Tucson Metallurgy Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  96 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Paine, William F.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036161
• Citation:
  Tucson, AZ: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, RI 5651, 1960 Jan; :1-89
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1960
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Tucson, AZ: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, RI 5651
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:631204d4c7fadd1284f1a6e95c78ee92ede360a36cb97fd31491181bf8ab875272c429ed16e17f5941cda142b10767ffcecc1e45e537e97b9f6c1cffa1144bed
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201997/cdc_201997_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.16 MB ]