Hachita Turquoise: Field Guide to New Mexico's Ancient Little Hatchet Mine

The Little Hatchet Mountains of Hidalgo and Grant Counties, New Mexico hold one of the region's oldest documented turquoise workings. Hachita stone runs from dark sky blue to pale blue and greenish blue, with harder matrix than many neighboring New Mexico deposits — a characteristic the Himalaya Mining Company promoted during the early twentieth-century turquoise rush.

Field Notes by Mateo James

Philip Chambless, co-author of the primary historical account, notes that "the mines at Hachita were never more than marginally developed and only the Herbert would ever produce any quantity of turquoise." That honest assessment matters when you're evaluating pieces sold as Hachita: the mine has operated in a limited, small-scale fashion across multiple eras, but it never became a commercial powerhouse. The stone itself earned a qualified endorsement — an American Turquoise Company manager named Doty reported he "never expected to find as good stone here as we get at Cerrillos," placing Hachita firmly in the secondary tier behind New Mexico's benchmark deposit.

The Himalaya Mining Company, associated with entrepreneur Julius Tannenbaum, worked the Little Hatchet claims at their peak period. Local tradition, as Chambless records, held that both Pueblos and ancient Aztecs had worked these same mines long before any Anglo operation — a belief that places Hachita within the wider prehistoric turquoise network of the Southwest. Chambless himself notes in his foreword that he continues to work mining claims "in obscure and ancient locations such as Hachita, New Mexico," confirming small-scale activity as of the book's publication.

Collector's Handbook

What to look for: Color ranges from dark sky blue to pale blue and greenish blue. The matrix forms "beautiful matrix gems" per Chambless's description, and tends to be harder than typical NM stone.

Recognition tells: Hachita never had the volume output of top-tier Nevada or Arizona mines. Pieces marketed as Hachita stone from the early-twentieth-century rush era are plausible; heavy commercial production claims should prompt skepticism.

Honest mine-status hedge: The mine has operated continuously in a small-scale capacity as of Chambless's publication, but it was never a major commercial producer. Assess stone character on its merits rather than relying heavily on mine provenance claims for this one.

Related mine guides: Pages for Bisbee, Sleeping Beauty, Number Eight, Cerrillos, Royston, Kingman, Lander Blue, and Morenci mines are coming soon to this field guide.

References

Chambless, Philip. The History of the American Turquoise Industry, Ch. 4 (~lines 5540, 5560, 5600, 5620); foreword. [Primary source — substantial entry.]
Lowry, Joe Dan. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone (2010). [Overview.]