Featured Site:COPPER BASIN PLACERS
Yavapai County, AZ
Location: Northeast and southwest flanks of the Sierra Prieta, Tps.13 and 14 N., Rs 3 and 4 W.
Topographic Maps: Wilhoit Quadrangle Click Here For Topographic Map Of The Copper Basin Placer District
Access: From Prescott, about 12 miles southwest on light duty road paralleling Aspin Creek to Copper Basin; a light duty road leads north across the crest of the Sierra Prieta to Miller Creek and Thumb Butte.
Extent: Placers in the copper Basin District are found in gulches that dissect the pediment slope on the southwest flank of the Sierra Prieta and in the gravel-floored plain between this pediment and Skull Valley. A small amount of placer gold was recovered between 1933 and 1940 near Thumb Butte on the northwest slope of the mountains.
Production history: The placers in the Copper Basin district were worked intermittently until 1931. At that time a few companies started placer mining on a large scale in various localities in Copper Basin. Most of the large scale placer mining was apparently concentrated in the southwestern part of the placer field.
Source: The source of the placer gold in Copper Basin is reported to be gold-bearing tourmaline-quartz veins of precambrian age.
Tips: Get off the main roads and into the tributaries, look for evidence of old workings. Move slowly and dig ALL TARGETS. Always make sure you have a topo map of the area you wish to hunt. Remember to stay off marked claims and please remember to FILL ALL HOLES!! Several clubs have claims in this area and that is a good way to get started. Check with the Forest Service for current closures and restrictions.
Metal Detecting in the Copper Basin area can be very rewarding, but there is allot of trash to deal with. Also much or I should say most of the placer area is owned by Phelps Dodge and off limits to casual prospecting at this time.
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