NATIVE SILVER - ALHAMBRA MINE

Grant County, New Mexico

Bullard Peak Mining District

Some of the rarest Native Silver Specimens that have been recovered in the USA have come from the Alhambra Mine in Grant County, NM. The Silver is found in blebs, flakes, plates, dendrites and in skeletal crystals in the matrix. The mine has been closed for over 50 years, flooded and impassable. However, every so often, an old time stash of Alhambra Silver becomes available.  

WEIGHT   68 grams    ~ 2 1/2 inches by 1 11/2 inches by 1/2 inch (approximate)

One side of the specimen has been coated with epoxy and one side is natural.

Alhambra Silver Mine Near Tyrone, New Mexico

The Alhambra Silver Mine is located near Tyrone, New Mexico, within the Black Hawk Mining District, which is now part of the Gila National Forest. This mine was initially discovered in the year 1881. Operating as both a surface and underground mining operation, it began production in the same year, although the overall output was relatively small. The mine consists of underground workings, with a single known shaft. The maximum depth of these underground workings is 128 meters (420 feet), and they extend 610 meters (2,000 feet) in length. The ore extracted from the Alhambra Silver Mine mainly consists of galena, nickel skutterudite, and argentite, while the waste material primarily consists of siderite, dolomite, and quartz. The ore body takes a pinch and swell form, which means it has alternating sections of narrower and wider dimensions. Specifically, it is described as being 15.24 meters (50.00 feet) long, 9.14 meters (29.99 feet) wide, and 0.91 meters (2.99 feet) thick. The rock associated with this area is monzonite, which originated during the Pliocene epoch, approximately 5.33 to 2.58 million years ago. The surrounding area is characterized by the Mexican Highland of the Intermontane Plateaus, which influences the geomorphology of the region.