John Coleman discovered turquoise mines in the Burros in 1875
He initially thought the workings were placer mines, but careful prospecting revealed they had been worked for turquoise [1][2]. Coleman later stated that the mines must have been worked hundreds of years ago, as good-sized trees had grown up in the old workings [1]. Foley about the location [1], and the mines were subsequently located by Foley and Coleman [2].
Sources
- W. J. Foley called on the Enterprise Satur- (1890)W. J. Foley called on the Enterprise Satur-day last in answer to the query as to the tur- quoise mine of Grant county. He stated that some months ago he had a letter from a firm trading with the Navajo India…
- Silver City Enterprise — 1888-1890 (full OCR, Internet Archive) — 1890-11-28 (1890)the old workings. When the mines were first discovered by Mr. Coleman he was of the impression that they were placer mines, but careful prospecting developed the fact that the mines had been worked for tur…