COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA

By Tom Ashworth

Cochise County is third among Arizona's gold producing counties in quantity of gold produced. This county produced approximately 3 million ounces of gold between 1879 and now, more than half came as a by product of the Bisbee copper ores and only 1000 ounces of placer gold are included in the total.

In the Bisbee (Warren) district you will find the Copper Queen, Calumet, and Denn copper mines which all had a by product of gold. Go to the southeast 4 miles, in the upper part of Gold Gulch and you will find many small placer deposits.

Dos Cabezas district, 18 miles southeast of Wilcox in the Dos Cabezas mountains, had many copper, lead, silver mines with a by product of gold. In the vicinity you will find the Dos Cabezas placers, 1901 to present, all area arroyos and gulches, benches and terraces produce placer gold in flat, ragged, rather coarse shapes. Go to the northwest 1.5 miles and you will find the Le Roy Property which was a lode gold mine with lead and silver. If you go north 2.5 miles you will find the Dives (Bear Cave) Mine, site of 50 ton flotation mill built in 1934 which was a rich lode gold producer. Go east of the Dives, the Gold Ridge (Casey) Mine which was also a rich lode gold producer. Go northeast 2.75 miles, the Gold Prince (Murphy) Mine was also an area lode gold mine. At north foot of the Dos Cabezas mountains, the Teviston placers, including all area gulches you can nugget gold which is often very coarse.

In the Gleeson area, which is all privately owned, the Gleeson placers can be found. These are dry wash placers with fine gold to medium size nuggets. In the gulch west of the Copper Belle Mine, you will find placers worked in 1930s with very coarse gold.

Near Hereford, southwest 12 miles and about 3 mile north of Mexico, in Ash Canyon in southeast part of the Huachuca mountains, the Huachuca placers can be found along canyon bottom for 3 miles.

Near Manzoro, south .75 miles, at northeast foot of the Dragoon mountains, the Golden Rule (Old Terrible) Mine, which was rich lode gold mine.

East and West of Pearce Hill, area gravel deposits known as the Pearce placers were very rich as well.

In the Tombstone district in the Tombstone Hills, primarily silver mines that produced 271,000 ounces of by product gold between 1877 and 1932, south .5 miles, erratically distributed oxidized lead and silver deposits, locally rich placer and free milling gold.

In the Turquoise district, 14 miles east of Tombstone, on east side of the Dragoon mountains 18 miles north of Bisbee, there are numerous mines with gold finely distributed in slope gravels, this are had a total production, between 1908-55, of 70,000 ounces.