The Red Cloud mine - an update
Les Presmyk · ... New Mexico Mineral Symposium · 1998
The Red Cloud mine -an update Les Presmyk Mining historyThe Red Cloud mine is approximately 42 mi north of Yuma, Arizona in La Paz County.It was located in 1862 and the claim was patented in 1877.The only period of profitable mining took place from 1878 to 1885.Approximately $500,000 to $1,000,000 in silver was recovered from the mine.By 1890 all mining efforts had ceased.Several attempts to drill, explore, and mine the Red Cloud have occurred over the next 90 years, with little or no success.The last effort took place from 1979 to 1984, when the price of silver jumped to more than $50 per ounce.The mine was emptied of broken rock and a mill was constructed.With the subsequent drop in the silver price, this attempt also failed. Collecting historyWulfenite specimens were recovered during the earliest mining period.The 1899 Territorial Governor's report to Congress even mentioned the wulfenite from Red Cloud mine.Specimens found their way into eastern collections, including those at Harvard and Michigan Tech.