The Canyon Claims
There are sixteen 80-acre placer mining claims in the Canyon group, for a total of 1280 acres, all located in Gila County, Arizona, two to three miles east of Punkin Center.
Several of these claims have tested positive for Uranium at 0.5% U308 in lignite, while others contain massive zeolite deposits visible on the surface. And, assay reports show traces of gold, thorium, and other precious metals.
Uranium History
The following information comes from the book: "Radioactive Occurrences and Uranium Production In Arizona - Final Report" by Robert B. Scarborough of the Arizona Geological Society, March 1981.
On page 175, under the heading "Geiger Claims" (now part of the Canyon Claims), Mr. Scarborough reports that a chemical analysis of drilling results showed 0.5% U308 in Lignite, with a radioactivity of 400X background radiation.
The legal descriptions for the tested areas are:
SW 1/4; SE 1/4; Section 5; Twp 6 N; R 11 E
NW 1/4 Section 8; Twp 6 N; R 11 E
NW 1/4; SE 1/4; Section 8; T 6 N; R 11 E
All of these are within the area now bounded by Canyon Claims #11, #12, #13, and #14, where the previous Geiger Claims were located.
References: PRR-AP-339, Arizona Bureau of Geology Data, Waechter, N. (1979)
Gold Assay
An assay of black sands from a dry stream bed on the claimsite showed promising signs of gold and we plan to follow up that lead with additional prospecting and assays.
Zeolite History
Canyon Claims #1 through #9 contain a massive tuff bed approximately 20 feet thick, with several thick chabazite beds occurring throughout the tuff. This tuff bed can be traced for over a half mile west. It crops out on the opposite side of the terraced hill over 1/4 mile distance.
In the book "Arizona Zeolites", it is described as The Tonto Basin East Chabazite Deposit, the largest zeolite deposit in the Tonto Basin. The zeolite bed ranges from 4 to 7 1/2 feet thick and can be traced for approximately 250 feet before disappearing beneath the overlying sediment.
Haystack Butte is located in the north half of an 80 acre claim (#10) where from three to as many as six distinct lithologies can be recognized in the outcrops. They all contain chabazite and traces of clinoptilolite.