James Sell was a native of Arizona, born in Casa Grande in 1930. He served the U.S. Army as a radio operator in the Korean War. He was awarded the Korean Service Medal and two Bronze Star Medals. On his return, he studied at the Colorado School of Mines and graduated in 1955. He earned his master's degree from the University of Arizona. He was the Southwest Exploration Manager for ASARCO and retired after 32 years. Sell was a member of the Arizona Geological Society and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. This collection consists of over 1,800 folders containing geologic reports and mineral exploration data from around the world, but primarily from Arizona and other states in the Southwest. Sell organized his most voluminous files separately. These first hundred folders contain many more pages of information than the rest of the collection. The following records are arranged by states, beginning with Arizona, then countries and ending with general files.