Woody No. 1 Feldspar Mine

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026036
MRDS ID K002492
Record type Site
Current site name Woody No. 1 Feldspar Mine
Related records 10126736

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.45128, 35.45871 (WGS84)
Relative position 3,650 FEET WEST OF DEEP CREEK CHURCH

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Swain(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bryson City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fontana Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Tuckasegee(hydrologic unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Swain

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Feldspar Primary
Kaolin Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Feldspar Ore
Kaolinite Ore
Biotite Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Muscovite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Partial Alteration Of Plagioclase To Kaolinite

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Gabbro
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock > Peridotite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Granite Gneiss;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y.;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y
    Rock description Granite Gneiss;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y.;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -83.45128, 35.45871

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Principal Zone Of Pegmatites Trends Northeast; Most Pegmatites Strike Northeast, But A Few Strike Northwest.

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR, APPROXIMATELY Y-SHAPED
    Plunge direction W

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures, Dilation Zones (Cameron, 1951)

Comments on the geologic information

  • CAMERON (1951) STATES "THE PEGMATITE CONSISTS OF FIVE ZONES: BORDER AND WALL ZONES OF PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE WITH VARIOUS AMOUNTS OF PERTHITE, AN OUTER INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF PLAGIOCLASE- QUARTZ-PERTHITE PEGMATITE, AN INNER INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF PERTHITE-PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ PEGMATITE, AND A CORE OF QUARTZ. THE PEGMATITE IS LOCALLY DISPLACED BY MINOR FAULTS, SOME OF WHICH ARE SIMPLE AND OTHERS OF WHICH ARE CONCENTRATED IN ZONES UP TO 4 FEET IN WIDTH, SUCH ZONES CONSISTING OF CLOSELY SPACED PARALLEL SLIP SURFACES. DISPLACEMENT RANGES UP TO 3.5 FEET. PLAGIOCLASE FELDSPAR IS KAOLINIZED TO VARYING DEGREES AT DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE MINE. THE FELDSPARS RANGE FROM HEAVY AND MASSIVE TO HEAVILY INTERGROWN WITH QUARTZ. THE PLAGIOCLASE IS COMPLETELY ALTERED TO KAOLIN OR IN A MODERATELY ADVANCED STAGE OF KAOLINIZATION.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1941

Mining district

District name Bryson City Feldspar District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Whitehall Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Harris Clay Co.

Comments on the production information

  • RECOVERY APPARENTLY LIMITED TO POTASH FELDSPAR, MOST OF WHICH CAME FROM THE HANGING-WALL SIDE OF THE QUARTZ CORE.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • NO. 2 POTASH FELDSPAR BELOW THE ZONE OF WEATHERING SHOULD BE BETTER THAN AVERAGE QUALITY.

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS CONSIST OF THREE SHAFTS AND RELATED UNDERGROUND WORKINGS, AND EIGHT SMALL OPEN CUTS. CONTACTS ARE SHARP AND VERY IRREGULAR, WITH STRIKES AND DIPS VARYING MARKEDLY WITHIN A FEW FEET.

Comments on development

  • THE PEGMATITE WAS PROSPECTED BY W.L. ALEXANDER IN 1941, AND MINED BY THE WHITEHALL COMPANY LATER THAT YEAR. MINERAL RIGHTS ARE HELD BY THE HARRIS CLAY COMPANY OF SPRUCE PINE, N.C. ; ECON.COM: FAULTS AND JOINTS ADVERSELY AFFECT THE CONDITION OF THE GROUND. NO SIZABLE BODY OF NO. 1 FELDSPAR WAS DISCLOSED BY MINING. KAOLINIZATION IS LESS COMPLETE IN THE DEEPER WORKINGS, SUGGESTING THAT UNWEATHERED PLAGIOCLASE PROBABLY OCCURS AT DEPTH.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CAMERON, E.N., 1951, FELDSPAR DEPOSITS OF THE BRYSON CITY DISTRICT, NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA DIV. MINERAL RESOURCES BULL. 62, 100 P

  • Deposit

    1951 OTHER CAMERON, E.N., N.C. BULL. 6

  • Production

    CAMERON, E.N., 1951, N.C. DIV. MIN. RES. BULL. 62

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit POTASH FELDSPAR IS CREAM TO LIGHT BUFF WHERE UNWEATHERED, BUT CLEAVAGE SURFACES AND FRACTURES ARE STAINED BY LIMONITE IN MANY PLACES. MOST OF THE STAIN WOULD PROBABLY BE LOST IN GRINDING.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1974 Hale, Robin C. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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