Mottramite
specimen number:
2102395
location:
Total Wreck Mine, Pima Co., Arizona, USA
description: The Total Wreck mine, located in the Empire Mountains within Pima County, Arizona, is a historic underground operation renowned for its exceptionally rich silver production during the late nineteenth century and its beautiful secondary lead-zinc-copper minerals. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within the Carboniferous-aged Escabrosa and Horquilla Limestone formations, which were complexly faulted, tilted, and intruded by nearby Laramide granitic rocks. This structural setting created a supergene-enriched, replacement-type deposit where deep oxidation transformed primary sulfides into rich zones of cerussite, wulfenite, smithsonite, and various copper carbonates within a massive manganese-iron oxide gossan. The history of the site began with the discovery of silver mineralization in 1879 by John T. Dillon, which led to the formation of the Total Wreck Mining Company and the rapid establishment of a bustling camp town with a twenty-stamp mill by 1881. The mine experienced its peak boom period from 1881 to 1884, yielding hundreds of thousands of ounces of silver before the exhaustion of the high-grade oxidized ore bodies caused a sudden drop in production. Following a long period of abandonment, the property saw sporadic, small-scale revival attempts for lead and copper extraction during World War I and World War II, with all commercial mining operations permanently ceasing by the mid-twentieth century.
Sparkling black rich crystallized mottramite across the top of matrix. In good condition, a fine cabinet example for the species and locality.
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