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Watauga Bauxite Mine

Past Producer in Carter county in Tennessee, United States with commodities Aluminum, Ball Clay
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Alteration
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10025104
MRDS ID K000056
Record type Site
Current site name Watauga Bauxite Mine
Related records 10154130

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -82.20652, 36.39508 (WGS84)
Elevation 658
Relative position 3.25 MILES NORTH OF ELIZABETHTON

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Carter(county)

Tennessee(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Keenburg(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Johnson City(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Johnson City(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Watauga, North Carolina, Tennessee(hydrologic unit)

French Broad-Holston(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Cherokee National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Tennessee Carter

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Aluminum Critical Primary
Ball Clay Tertiary

Alteration

  • (Local) Kaolinitic Clay To Pisolitic Bauxite

Analytical data

Result AVG 50% ALUMINA

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Shady Dolomite;Hampton Formation, Shl;Erwin Formation, Quartzite;Rome Formation, Shl & Siltstone
    Rock description Shady Dolomite;Hampton Formation, Shl;Erwin Formation, Quartzite;Rome Formation, Shl & Siltstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Synclinal

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Thickness 24.38M
    Length 76.2M
    Width 15.24M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Sinkholes & Solution Cavities In Shady Dolomite

Comments on the geologic information

  • GEOL.DESC: IN OUTCROP AREA OF LOWER SHADY. KAOLINITIC CLAY ALTERED TO BAUXITE. THIN STREAKS OF LIGNITE. MAY BE REWORKED MATERIAL FROM SHALES OF HAMTON, ERWIN & ROME FMS

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1904
Discoverer Blevins,W.W.
Year of first production 1912
Production years 1912-1922

Mining district

District name Stony Creek District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Watauga Mining Co
  • Type Owner
    Owner Monsanto Chemical Co

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 0.329HA
    Length 112.78M
    Overall length 76.2M
    Overall width 45.72M

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    PURDUE, A.H., 1914, BAUXITE IN TENNESSEE: TENNESSEE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE, V. 4, NO. 2, P. 87-92

  • Deposit

    KING, P.B., FERGUSON, H.W., CRAIG, L.C., RODGERS, JOHN, 1944, GEOLOGY AND MANGANESE DEPOSITS OF NORTHEASTERN TENNESSEE: TENNESSEE DIV. GEOLOGY BULL. 52, 275P.

  • Deposit

    KING, P.B., AND FERGUSON, H.W., 1960, GEOLOGY OF NORTHEASTERNMOST TENNESSEE: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER 311, 136P.

  • Deposit

    1914 COMPILE TENN DIV GEOL

  • Deposit

    1941 DIREXPL REYNOLDS METALS

  • Deposit

    1944 GEOMAP KING AND OTHERS

  • Deposit

    1960 COMPILE KING & FERGUSON

  • Production

    TENN DIV GEOL BULL 52, P. 210-213

  • Reserve-Resource

    TENN DIV GEOL BULL 52

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ONE HALF DEPOSIT REMOVED. REMAINDER LOW GRADE. FURTHER OPERATION WILL REQUIRE STRIPPING OR TUNNELING ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1972 Fagan, James M. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site