Black Pearl Mine

Aguila, Maricopa Co., AZ

When we left the Tonopah-Belmont mine we retraced our route toward the Aguila- Vulture- Wickenburg intersection. 1.7 miles before that intersection there’s a gravel pit. We turned left onto a dirt road just before the gravel pit entrance. The directions in Bearce’s second book “Minerals, Fossils and Fluorescents of Arizona” said there were two mines on this road, the Scott mine on the right 5.4 miles in, and the Black Pearl at 6 miles in. We failed to find the Scott mine, but couldn’t miss the Black Pearl- you run right into it.

Post identifying the Black Pearl Mine.

One of the shafts of the Black Pearl Mine.

The collecting area.

The tailings are scattered. Of interest is the calcite, which fluoresces red under short wave UV and pink under long wave. Some of the calcite has a caliche coating that fluoresces orange under short wave. The collecting is easy, but you have to watch your step. There are vertical shafts flush with the ground. If it weren’t for them, this would be a fun place to collect at night with a UV light.

When we left the Black Pearl we tried to find an amethyst area off the Aguila Road as described in Bearce, but found that it is now under claim. From there we drove up to Wickenburg to look for the Constellation Road geode site that I had visited in 2002. We didn’t have much luck there, either, so we called it a day.

On to the next field trip, the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.

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