IRON CAP MINE, KLONDYKE, GRAHAM CO., AZ
After we left the Finch Mine on May 29, 2002 we decided to check out the mines in the Klondyke area described in Bearce’s book, since it looked fairly close on the map. As it turns out, though, there’s no direct route from Hayden to Klondyke. We had to go all the way up Highway 77 to Globe, down US 70 to Fort Thomas, and then 33 miles on an unimproved dirt road to Klondyke (population 5).
Following
the directions in the book, we first headed for the Grand Reef and Dogwater
mines, but were stopped by a gate. We then proceeded on to the Iron Cap Mine.
This involved driving past Landsman Camp, a State campground, until the road
petered out, and then climbing a steep trail about a quarter mile. The shafts
here are vertical, and deep, so we obviously did all collecting on the surface.
We
collected:
Andradite
in yellow dodecahedra (#998)
Aragonite
Calcite,
manganoan, in pink balls (#999)
Chalcopyrite
Epidote
Galena
(#1000)
Johannsenite
(#116)
Magnesio-Manganaxinite
(#117)
Manganbabingtonite
Quartz
(#121)
Sphalerite
(#120)
Other
minerals reported from this locality, which we didn’t find on this trip:
Cosalite
Creedite
Fluorite
Gypsum
Ilvaite
Magnetite
Nekoite
Pyrite
For
more information on this mine, see the article by Wendell Wilson in The
Mineralogical Record, vol. 19, #2, page 81.