[Illustration: (_Courtesy Elliott S. Barker_) Ghost Ranch Mountain north of Abiquiu] Derricks and Mines _by_ George B. Griswold New Mexico is a mineral-rich state. The gross production value of oil, gas, and minerals was $671 million during 1963, making the state the sixth ranking mineral producer in the nation. New Mexico ranks among other states as follows: first in the production of potash, uranium, perlite, and carbon dioxide; third in helium; fourth in copper; fifth in natural gas and liquids; and seventh in petroleum. Important amounts of zinc, lead, gold, silver, magnesium compounds, coal, gypsum, pumice, and salt are also produced from deposits within New Mexico. The oil and gas industry holds a dominant position in the state, accounting for almost two thirds of the value of minerals produced. OIL AND GAS Most of New Mexico’s oil and gas are produced in the southeastern part, south and east of Roswell. The bustling towns of Hobbs, Artesia, and Lovington, as well as Roswell, are headquarters for the many oil companies and the associated service and supply organizations operating in the area. Oil and gas are produced from numerous reservoirs, called _fields_ or _pools_, in Paleozoic sediments ranging from Ordovician to Permian in age. From the standpoint of production, the Eunice-Monument field (lying between these two towns) is the largest, having produced more than 250 million barrels of oil. Other important fields are Hobbs, Vacuum, Langlie Mattix, Denton, and Jalmat. All these fields produce a considerable amount of gas associated directly with the oil. When driving an automobile through southeast New Mexico, a layman finds it difficult to comprehend the immensity of the petroleum industry of that region. This is due to the scattering of wells over a large area. Seldom are wells spaced closer than one to every ten acres, even in the most productive fields. There are, in fact, some 16,000 wells in this part of New Mexico, ranging in depth from less than 1000 feet to 17,555 feet. The other oil- and gas-producing area of the state is in the northwest, in the San Juan Basin. Farmington serves as the base of operations for most of this activity. In 1962, there were 7378 wells in the area, 1770 of which were producing oil and gas and 5608 producing gas only. Most of the San Juan Basin production is from Cretaceous sandstones, in contrast to the southeast where the oil and gas are derived from Paleozoic sediments. The development of the San Juan Basin production is relatively new; most of the wells have been drilled since World War II. The petroleum industry can be proud of the great help it has given to the development of this once-almost-forgotten part of the state. [Illustration: (_Courtesy El Paso Natural Gas Co._) There’s the way to refine oil! Look at those mesas, near Gallup]