DESERT ROSE MINE, BINGHAM, SOCORRO CO., NM
The Desert Rose Mine is located a few miles behind the Blanchard Rock Shop, Bingham, NM. It’s operated on a fee basis by Allison Nilsen, who also owns the Rock Shop. The fee is quite reasonable for the quality of minerals to be collected.
The
shop is located on the south side of Highway 380, about 3 miles west of
Bingham. It’s best to call first before making the trip: (505) 423-3235. It’s a
long drive to find out no one is there. You can also contact Allison by E-mail
at blanchardrock@plateautel.net.
On
June 3, 2002 I drove to the Blanchard Rock Shop from Socorro. Allison explained
the fee: $ 10.00 per person per day for up to 20 lbs. of material, at that
time, and gave me a map to the site. It was an easy drive, probably negotiable
by passenger car. I parked right next to the collecting area. The adits shown
in the pictures above are open, but off-limits. There was plenty of material to
collect outside, though. In a short time I collected nice Galena crystals
frozen in calcite matrix from the area shown in the top picture. These will
require some acid treatment to expose the crystals. The rock in the foreground
of the bottom picture yielded white tabular Barite crystals and Fluorite in a
variety of forms, mostly cubes and tetrahexahedrons.
Fluorite and Barite, Desert Rose Mine, Bingham, NM