The Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico

 The Ojuela Mine was discovered in 1598 by Spanish prospectors. The village of Mapimi is located at the base of the mountain and the town of Torreon lies to the southeast. The rich silver ore was found in irregular chimneys and mantos. For mineral collectors the mine is known for it's incredible arsenates. The adamites, legrandites and more have set the standard for these.
     Recent years have seen a great reduction in the once enormous production of mineral specimens. After the Penoles mining company closed down operations, the mine was leased to a local miners cooperative. Specimen mining continued but without a plan and without water pumping. The water table rose and the waste rock began to pile up in the mine. When Mike New and John Whitmire mined the cobalto-adamites and scorodites in the 1970s, they mucked for three weeks just to get to the working face. As the cooperative resumed mining the problems just worsened. Several years ago Mike New resumed specimen mining. Production until recently was sporadic due to labor problems and the obvious places were cleaned out. Mike has now pulled out of Mapimi and and a great locale appears to be gone!

The old mining camp with the Roebling bridge in the foreground.
Photo courtesy Jean des Rivieres

   
Gallery 1  Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
Gallery 3  Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico
Gallery 4  Minerals Page 1
Page 2      More Minerals
Gallery 5  Hydraulic Rock Trimmers