South Mccracken Feldspar and Kaolin Prospect

Occurrence 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. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026050
MRDS ID K002507
Record type Site
Current site name South Mccracken Feldspar and Kaolin Prospect
Related records 10152187

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.45906, 35.45093 (WGS84)
Relative position 2200 FEET NE OF SHERRILL GAP

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 Tertiary
Kaolin Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Feldspar Ore
Kaolin Ore
Biotite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Plagioclase Has Almost Entirely Altered To Kaolin

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Gabbro
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
  • 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 > Gneiss

Nearby scientific data

(1) -83.45906, 35.45093

Economic information

Geologic structures

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

Ore body information

  • General form LENSES

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures, Dilation Zones (Cameron, 1951)

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE SOUTHWESTERN OF THE TWO MAIN PEGMATITES HAS INDISTINCT ZONAL STRUCTURE. IT APPARENTLY CONSISTS OF A FINE-GRAINED PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ-PERTHITE BORDER ZONE, A MEDIUM-TO COARSE-GRAINED WALL ZONE OF THE SAME MATERIAL, AND AN APPARENT INNER ZONE OR CORE OF COARSE- TO VERY COARSE-GRAINED PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ-PERTHITE WITH MINOR BIOTITE AND GRAPHIC AND IRREGULAR INTERGROWTHS OF QUARTZ AND FELDSPAR. THE NORTHEASTERN PEGMATITE HAS BORDER AND WALL ZONES SIMILAR TO THE SOUTHWESTERN PEGMATITE, EXCEPT THAT BIOTITE STRIPS OCCUR IN THE WALL ZONE, AND THE INTERMEDIATE ZONE IS SIMILAR TO THE APPARENT CORE OF THE SOUTHWESTERN BODY. THE CORE OF THE NORTHEASTERN PEGMATITE CONSISTS OF MASSIVE PERTHITE AND MASSIVE PLAGIOCLASE AS CRYSTALS 1 TO 4 FEET IN DIAMETER, WITH LARGE INTERSTITIAL QUARTZ MASSES.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No

Mining district

District name Bryson City Feldspar District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Blue Ridge Mining Co., Mr. M.H. Cox

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 57M

Comments on the workings information

  • THE AREA IS UNDERLAIN BY THREE OR FOUR PEGMATITES WHICH HAVE BEEN EXPLORED BY TWO ADITS AND RELATED TRENCHES AND PITS.

Comments on development

  • PRINCIPAL PROSPECTING ACTIVITY WAS CARRIED OUT DURING DECEMBER 1946 TO JANUARY 1947. THE UPPER ADIT MAY HAVE BEEN DRIVEN DURING THE EARLY PERIOD OF CLAY MINING. ; ECON.COM: LITTLE POSSIBILITY OF PROFITABLE MINING UNLESS THE SMALL PEGMATITES ARE PROJECTIONS FROM A LARGER BODY 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 THE ONLY EXPOSED UNIT CONTAINING COMMERCIAL GRADE (NO. 1) FELDSPAR IS THE CORE OF THE NORTHEASTERN PEGMATITE.

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.