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Branton Feldspar Mine

Past Producer in Swain county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Feldspar, Beryllium
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  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. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026057
MRDS ID K002515
Record type Site
Current site name Branton Feldspar Mine
Related records 10126847

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.46683, 35.44371 (WGS84)
Relative position 3,100 FEET N 22 W OF FRANKLIN GROVE 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
Beryllium Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Feldspar Ore
Biotite Gangue
Kaolinite Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Beryl Unknown

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 Border Gneiss, Microcline Porphyroblasts In Medium-To Coarse-Grained Matrix Of Biotite, Quartz, And Feldspar;Mpal;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y.;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y
    Rock description Border Gneiss, Microcline Porphyroblasts In Medium-To Coarse-Grained Matrix Of Biotite, Quartz, And Feldspar;Mpal;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) -83.46683, 35.44371
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

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

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR LENS
    Strike N 37 W
    Dip 65 S
    Thickness 10.67M
    Length 36.58M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fracture, Dilation Zone (Cameron, 1951)

Comments on the geologic information

  • ZONING IN THE PEGMATITE IS DISTINCT AND IRREGULAR. WITHIN THE FINE-GRAINED BORDER ZONE OF PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ-PERTHITE WITH SCATTERED BIOTITE IS A WALL ZONE THAT IS MINERALOGICALLY SIMILAR BUT COARSE- TO VERY COARSE-GRAINED, AND ALSO CONTAINING MUSCOVITE. WITHIN THE WALL ZONE IS AN OUTER INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF COARSE TO VERY COARSE PLAGIOCLASE, QUARTZ, AND PERTHITE WITH ABUNDANT IRREGULAR STREAKS AND PATCHES OF QUARTZ INTERGROWN WITH MUSCOVITE BOOKS; BIOTITE IS ABSENT FROM THE OUTER INTERMEDIATE ZONE. THE CORE RANGES FROM 1 TO 8 FEET THICK AND CONSISTS OF MASSIVE MILKY QUARTZ CONTAINING SCATTERED PERTHITE CRYSTALS UP TO 4 FEET LONG. MASSIVE PLAGIOCLASE AND PERTHITE UP TO 3 FEET LONG OCCUR ARE SCATTERED ALONG THE CORE MARGINS. THE OUTER INTERMEDIATE ZONE APPEARS TO WEDGE OUT NORTHWARD AND ITS POSITION AND THAT OF THE CORE ARE OCCUPIED BY A MASSIVE PERTHITE AND MASSIVE PLAGIOCLASE UNIT, INCLUDING QUARTZ, MUSCOVITE, AND YELLOWISH-GREEN, PARTLY KAOLINIZED BERYL CRYSTALS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant No
Discovery year 1942
Year of first production 1943

Mining district

District name Bryson City Feldspar District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner James M. Branton
  • Type Owner
    Owner James M. Branton, Whitehall Co.

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS INCLUDE A LARGE (180 BY 160 FOOT) OPEN CUT, TRENCHES, AND TWO PARTLY-FILLED SHAFTS, ONE OF WHICH WAS 28 FEET DEEP.

Comments on development

  • THE PROPERTY WAS PROSPECTED IN 1942 AND WORKED INTERMITTENTLY BY THE FELDSPAR MILLING CORP. FROM SEPT. 1943 TO APRIL 1944. THE WHITEHALL COMPANY LEASED THE PROPERTY IN 1946 BUT DISCONTINUED IN THE FALL BECAUSE OF LOW FELDSPAR RECOVERY. THE OWNER DID SOME DEVELOPMENT WORK IN APRIL, 1947. ; ECON.COM: ADVERSE GROUND WATER CONDITION, WEATHERING OF ROCK RESULTED IN CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR SLUMPING IN WALLS OF CUT.

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 PEGMATITE TRENDS ACROSS THE BORDER GNEISS, WHICH IS NARROW AND INTERLAYERED WITH GRANITE GNEISS, CONTAINING THIN LAYERS WHICH MAY REPRESENT METAPERIDOTITE. CONTACTS WITH WALL ROCK ARE SHARP EXCEPT WHERE OBSCURED BY DECOMPOSITION. THE ONLY ZONE WITHIN THE PEGMATITE THAT APPEARS TO CONTAIN HIGH-GRADE FELDSPAR IN APPRECIABLE AMOUNTS IS THE PERTHITE-PLAGIOCLASE-QUARTZ-BERYL UNIT.

Reporter information

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

Beyond USGS

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

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