Navidad Mine
Indé Municipality, Durango, Mexico
Mina Navidad
Key Information
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The Navidad Mine is in Indé, Durango, Mexico, part of north-central Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental, known for minerals.
It produces fluorite, creedite, and other minerals, with some rare violet creedite specimens.
The mine is a brecciated fluorite vein, mined intermittently, with recent finds in 2019.
Indé has a mid-latitude steppe climate, with warm summers and cool winters, influencing mining.
Geographic Location
The Navidad Mine sits in Indé Municipality, Durango, Mexico, at coordinates 25° 25' 59'' North, 104° 46' 59'' West, about 35 km northwest of Rodeo. Durango is in north-central Mexico, within the mineral-rich Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. Nearby, the Ojuela Mine in Mapimí, Durango, is famous for its minerals, adding to the region's allure for enthusiasts.
Minerals Produced
This mine is renowned for fluorite, often dark purple and turning pink in sunlight, and creedite, with colors ranging from colorless to rare violet. Other minerals include cacoxenite, calcite, dufrénite, gearksutite, goethite, hematite, jarosite, kaolinite, leucophosphite, lipscombite, marcasite, meurigite, quartz (including chalcedony), and strengite, offering a diverse collection for crystal enthusiasts.
Geological Structure and Mining History
The mine features a brecciated fluorite vein, with vuggy cavities and octahedral fluorite crystals coated with quartz or chalcedony. Creedite appears in clay-filled voids, sometimes in flower-like groups. It has been mined intermittently for years, focusing on massive fluorite, with notable creedite discoveries in late 2019.
Local Culture and Climate
Indé, founded in 1567 by Spanish explorers seeking minerals, reflects a blend of Tepehuanos Indian and colonial heritage, with the Presa Lázaro Cárdenas dam as a local attraction. The area has a mid-latitude steppe climate, averaging 19.42°C annually, with 63.17 mm of precipitation, warm summers, and cool winters, impacting mineral formation and mining activities.