We met as usual in the Visitor Center parking lot on a beautiful fall morning.  Promptly at 8:30 am the vehicle caravan departed heading south towards Lordsburg.  We regrouped at the Pilot station on I-10 fueling up with gas ($.30 cheaper than Silver, but that’s no surprise), coffee and/or breakfast.  There was some “de-fueling” too although we were told there is a rest stop right in Hachita that could accommodate folks in need. We were heading for the abandoned Apache Mine in the Apache Hills south of Hachita.  We accessed the mine area after a four mile drive on a dirt road.  The area had numerous tailing piles and some trenches and a few debris filled shafts.  Of course the group gathered their buckets and hammers and scattered across the area in search of rock/ minerals samples. The following data was taken from an article by Wofgang Elston, Mining Districts of Hildago County, NM, in NMGS, 17th Field Conference.  The Apache mine started production in the 1880’s.  Between 1880 and 1929 the mine shipped low-grade malachite in calcite to smelters…