Bridge on US 60 crossing Queen Creek east of Superior Arizona
Brief Itinerary
For those in the Tucson area, we’ll meet at the NW side of Trader Joes parking lot (Oracle and Magee) at 7:00 AM (MST) on Saturday, May 10th. We will depart from that location at 7:15 AM.
For those traveling from Phoenix or elsewhere, plan to meet the Tucson crew at the south end of Apache Leap Rd (~3 mi south of Superior; look for the sign for “Kalamazoo Materials”) at 8:45 AM (Tucson folks should arrive by 9 AM MST).
If you're not coming from Tucson, check registration list for others who live in our area to arrange your own car pooling.
Park at dirt road located approximately 0.8 miles east of the intersection of Apache Leap Road and HWY 177.
Meeting Location for Field Trip
We encourage and will help facilitate car-pooling from the Tucson and Phoenix areas. All vehicles should have high clearance.
9:00 AM - Carbonate Hill Hike - Review distal MnOx/replacement in carbonates. Superior district overview and quick review of regional/local geology. Look at distal carbonate-hosted veins/replacements and discuss implications for additional porphyry centers.
10:00 AM - Drive to Concentrator Fault Stop.
10:10 AM - Quick intro to Superior area geology, Resolution deposit, and Magma Vein, Superior West Project, zoning drilling history, and implications for additional porphyry centers. Look at altered carbonate rocks (Ym- Mescal Limestone) in outcrop. Review selected rock samples and core from previous drilling in area, compare unaltered and variably altered carbonate samples and discuss implications for local geology/porphyry deposits/scales of systems and exploration implications.
10:40 AM - Drive to Superior District Overview at corral stop.
11:00 AM - Arm-wave Superior area geology. Quick intro to regional geology, Resolution (carbonate alteration - Mike's Thesis poster figures), Tw (Whitetail Conglomerate) in Arboretum (point data for those interested in a future trip - not a stop today), Copper King area and "marble halos", etc.
11:30 AM - Stop at Circle K (quick bathroom break)
11:50 AM - Drive to Queen Creek roadside stop just east of Superior
12:00 PM - Queen Creek MnOx stop. Talk about Magma Vein/Resolution deposit/expressions of distal porphyry-related alteration and look at tilted Paleozoic carbonate rocks and weak distal alteration and Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization related to Resolution.
12:30 PM - Drive to Qmya Quarry gate.
12:45 PM - Copper King project and Lunch Stop. Quick project overview, look at road material from quarry and boulders at gate (variably altered/mineralized Me (Escabrosa Limestone) and hand samples of fresh to altered rocks from Omya Quarry and discuss implications.
1:45 PM - Travel to Mammoth, Arizona
2:45 PM - Stop at Circle K at Mammoth (quick bathroom break)
3:00 PM - Stop at Mammoth Miners Memorial
3:45 PM - Back Reef overview stop. Look at rocks from historic mine in Me (Escabrosa Limestone) east of Table Mountain.
4:15 PM - Drive to Little Black Hills area.
4:45 PM - Look at Little Black Hills quarry dump piles, look at select rock samples from other outcrops in Little Black Hills.
5:15 PM - Return to Tucson
6:15 PM - Arrive at Trader Joes Parking Lot.
Cost: Free - No Guidebook
Lunch: Please bring your own lunch, snacks and drinks. Dave will have several coolers with water and ice.
Recommended Field Gear - Please have good boots/footwear and a hat. Most of the stops will be close to the vehicles/short walks. The first stop is a bit of a hike with an option for a walk around for anyone that doesn’t want to climb a hill (< 100 m elevation, @ 500 meters walk).
Liability Wavier - A Liability Wavier Form for all field trip participants can be downloaded at:
Link -https://arizonageologicalsoc.org/resources/Documents/Field%20Trips/FieldTripReleaseForm%20-3-22-2022.pdf
To expedite registration, participants are encouraged to bring a signed copy of this form with them on the morning of the field trip. Additional copies will be available at the check-in for those who forget.
Contact Info - For questions, please reach out to Dave Maher (dmaher@broncocreek.com)
