1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Randall Kaolin Mine

Past Producer in Swain county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Kaolin, Feldspar
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026045
MRDS ID K002501
Record type Site
Current site name Randall Kaolin Mine
Alternate or previous names Sharptop Mine
Related records 10297832

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.45461, 35.45621 (WGS84)
Relative position 3,500 FEET NORTHWEST OF RANDALL CEMETERY

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
Kaolin Primary
Feldspar Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • THE MINE IS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN THE MOST-PRODUCTIVE KAOLIN MINE IN THE BRYSON CITY DISTRICT.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Feldspar Ore
Kaolin Ore
Biotite 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) Early Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • 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
    Rock unit name Ocoee Series, Quartz-Mica Schist & Feldspathic-Mica Quartzite
    Rock description Ocoee Series, Quartz-Mica Schist & Feldspathic-Mica Quartzite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -83.45461, 35.45621
ListMap

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 LENTICULAR
    Strike N 15 TO 20 E
    Dip W

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures, Dilation Zones (Cameron, 1951)

Comments on the geologic information

  • METASEDIMENTARY ROCKS ARE IN AN ADVANCED STAGE OF WEATHERING, AND PLAGIOCLASE IN THE PEGMATITE HAS BEEN KAOLINIZED TO A LARGE EXTENT. THE PEGMATITE SHOWS ZONING AS FOLLOWS: A BORDER ZONE COMPOSED OF FINE-GRAINED PLAGIOCLASE AND QUARTZ WITH SUBORDINATE PERTHITE AND ACCESSORY MUSCOVITE AND BIOTITE. THE WALL ZONE IS SIMILAR BUT MEDIUM- TO COARSE-GRAINED. AN INTERMEDIATE ZONE IS COMPRISED OF COARSE-GRAINED, PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ-PERTHITE PEGMATITE WITH STRIP MUSCOVITE AND BIOTITE, LOCALLY IN PARALLEL INTERGROWTH. NO OTHER ZONES WERE RECOGNIZED.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1907
Production years EARLY 1900'S

Mining district

District name Bryson City Feldspar District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Harris Clay Co.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall length 167.64M
    Overall width 45.72M

Comments on the workings information

  • PIT IS AS MUCH AS 65 FEET DEEP. EXPLORATORY SHAFTS AS MUCH AS 75 FEET DEEP WERE SUNK IN THE FLOOR OF THE PIT, AS WELL AS A 20 FOOT ADIT AND APPENDED DRIFTS AND WINZE. NO COMMERCIAL-GRADE FELDSPAR WAS FOUND.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: PROSPECTING FAILED TO LOCATE A MINABLE BODY OF FELDSPAR, BUT MINABLE ZONES ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR CONSIDERING THE SIZE OF THE PEGMATITE. PROSPECTING MAY HAVE FAILED TO REACH SUCH ZONES, OR THEY MAY HAVE BEEN REMOVED BY EROSION.

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

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.

Maps centered on this site