Description:
The Martin mine was developed on one of the initial discoveries of uranium-vanadium minerals
in the Carrizo Mountains of northwestern Arizona and northeastern New Mexico. The host rock for
these ore deposits is the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation of Late Jurassic age. The
mineralized exposures on the original Martin claim were some of those mined for their radium
content in 1920. In 1942-1943, the Martin mine was developed behind these outcrops and at least
1,500 tons of vanadium ore was produced for the federal government's Metals Reserve program. In
1944, the Martin mine was one of several areas in the Carrizo Mountains acquired by the federal
government for its uranium resources.
In 1948, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) contracted with Yanadium Corporation of
America (YCA) to mine the MaIiin mine. Using Navajo contractors, 1,481 tons of uranium-vanadium
ore was produced by clean up mining and mining of an ore body discovered by drilling.
Exploration drilling behind the Martin mine, on George Simpson's mining permit found additional
orebodies, which produced 1,697 tons of uranium-vanadium ore. This ore was accessed through the
Martin mine.
Included with this report are some unpublished field notes on geologic mapping in the Martin
mine, which were made by AEC geologists in 1956. These notes and drawings were located in the
files of the U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colorado and are being donated to the
Arizona Geological Survey.