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Silver Hill Mine

Past Producer in Davidson county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Zinc, Lead, Silver, Gold, Copper
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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. Alteration
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  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 10026437
MRDS ID K005062
Record type Site
Current site name Silver Hill Mine
Alternate or previous names King's Mine, Washington Silver Mine
Related records 10249162

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -80.20007, 35.7062 (WGS84)
Relative position 8.9 MI SOUTH - SOUTHEAST OF LEXINGTON AND 7.0 MI NORTHWEST OF DENTON.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Davidson(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Grist Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Salisbury(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Charlotte(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Yadkin(hydrologic unit)

Upper Pee Dee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Pee Dee(hydrologic subregion)

South Atlantic-Gulf(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Davidson

Comments on the location information

  • DIGITIZED FROM 1:24,000 LOCATION.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Primary
Silver Secondary
Gold Secondary
Copper Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Brochantite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Chrysocolla Ore
Freibergite Ore
Galena Ore
Hemimorphite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Actinolite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Tremolite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Chlorite, Calcite, Tremolite, Sericite, And Epidote

Analytical data

Result ASSAYS FROM DRILLING AVERAGE 40% ZN, 19 % PB, 0.6% CU. MINERALOGICALLY 200 ANALYSES OF ORE AVERAGED 21.9% GALENA, 17.1% PYRITE, 59.2% SPHALERITE, AND 1.8% CHALCOPYRITE. GOLD FROM A TRACE TO 25 OPT AND SILVER FROM 4 TO 120 OPT WERE REPORTED (PARDEE AND PARK, 1948).

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 184
USGS model code 28a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, kuroko
Mark3 model number 93

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Intermediate Volcanic Rock > Andesite
    Rock unit name Cid Formation
    Rock description Cid Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Argillite
    Rock unit name Mudstone Member Of The Cid Formation
    Rock description Mudstone Member Of The Cid Formation

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Gold Hill Fault Zone. Produces Cleavage Of N 15-30 E 80 Nw Dip. East Of Deposit Broad Folds Priduce N 50 E 50 Nw Axial Planar Cleavage.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Bedding 45-65 Deg Nw Dip. Near Hinge Of Anticline With Limbs Dipping 80 Nw. 0.5 To 4 M Vertically Dipping Shear Zones Are Encountered Underground. Two Parallel Concordant Ore Beds Are Moderatley Plunging Along Bedding To The Nw.T

Ore body information

  • General form WEST-PLUNGING LENSES
    Dip 45-65 NW
    Thickness 5M
    Length 61M
    Depth to bottom 213M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Favorable Stratigraphic Layer Within The Upper Cid Mudstone Member.

Comments on the geologic information

  • COUNTRY ROCK IS A THIN-BEDDED ARGILLITE THAT IS LOCALLY SHEARED TO A GRAY TO BUFF, QUARTZ-SERICITE PHYLLITE. FRACTURES IN THE ROCK ARE FILLED WITH QUARTZ VEINLETS CONTAINING GALENA, PYRITE AND SPHALERITE. DUMPS CONTAIN SERICITIZED CRYSTAL TUFF AND A GREEN-GRAY SACCHAROIDAL QUARTZ AND FELDSPAR ROCK WITH SPARSE FINELY DISSEMINATED PYRITE, MALACHITE AND HEMIMORPHITE. MOST OF THE PYRITE AND CHALCOPYRITE APPEARS CONCENTRATED IN THE CHLORITE; WHILE SPHALERITE IS CONCENTRATED IN FRACTURES IN QUARTZ. IN PLACES CALCITE, TREMOLITE AND ACTINOLITE FORM A DISTINCT ROCK TYPE CONTAINING PYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE, GALENA, SPHALERITE AND QUARTZ STRINGERS. THE ORE IS PRIMARILY SPHALERITE AND GALENA IN A FINE-GRAINED MIXTURE. CLEAR QUARTZ AND CALCITE ARE MIXED WITH THE ORE IN GASH FRACTURES. HEMIMORPHITE COATS SOME SPHALERITE. BROCHANTITE, CHRYSOCOLLA AND GOETHITE ARE FOUND IN SOME QUARTZ STRINGERS.u INTERMEDIATE AND FELSIC VOLCANIC ROCKS ARE SUBMARINE PYROCLASTIC ROCKS,u THAT MAY SHOW GRADING AND
  • SLUMP-STRUCTURES. THESE ROCKS ARE ENCLOSED BYu RHYTHMICALLY LAMINATED MUDSTONES. SIZE GRADIENTS AND THICKENING OF THEu VOLCANIC SECTION INDICATE THE VOLCANIC CENTER MAY LIES WEST (DOWN-DIP) OFu THE DEPOSIT. SULFIDE-RICH ROCKS LATERALLY GRADE INTO CHERTS WHICH EXTENDu UP TO 200 M ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ORE-BODY. TREMOLITE MAY HAVE FORMED FROMu THE METAMORPHISM OF DOLOMITE BEDS OR CA-MG ALTERATION PIPES ASSOCIATED WITHu THE MASSIVE SULFIDE. A MANGANESE-RICH HORIZON CONSISTING OF RHODOCHROSITE AND CALCITE BETWEEN THE 60 AND 100 FT LEVELS, ACCOMPANIES THE BASE-METALu ACCUMULATIONS. TWO DIFFERENT ORE BODIES WERE EXPLOITED FROM THE INCLINE AND FROM THEu NORTH SHAFT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Year of first production 1838
Year of last production 1938
Production years 1838-1868, 1898-1900, 1938

Mining district

District name Cid District

Comments on the production information

  • TOTAL TONNAGE CALCULATED USING MINE PLANS OF POGUE (1910) AND ASSUMING 4 GRAMS/CC DENSITY FOR ORE (THAT OF SPHALERITE WHICH IS 60% OF ORE).

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 228M
    Overall length 182.88M
    Overall width 7M

Comments on the workings information

  • TWO OF THEM VERTICAL (NORTH AND SAWMILL SHAFT) CONNECTED WITH THE THIRD INCLINED SHAFT AT THE 250 FT LEVEL AND THE 100 AND 150 FT LEVEL RESPECTIVELY. THE INCLINED SHAFT FOLLOWED THE LONG AXIS OF THE ORE BODY AT ABOUT 45 DEGREES. DRIFTS WERE COMPLETED AT 50 FOOT INTERVALS BELOW THE 100 FOOT LEVEL. THE NORTH SHAFT WAS COMPLETED TO 216 FT. AND CONNECTED TO THE 200 FOOT LEVEL OF THE INCLINE.

Comments on development

  • MINE WAS ORIGINALLY WORKED IN 1838 AS KING'S MINE AND WAS LATER KNOWN AS THE WASHINGTON SILVER MINE. DEPOSIT WAS ACTIVELY MINED FROM 1840 TO 1855. SINCE 1882 WORK AT THE MINE HAS BEEN INTERMITTENT. DURING EARLY WORK, MINING WAS CARRIED OUT FROM A SHAFT 650 FEET DEEP. THE SHAFT WAS DEEPENED TO 750 FT. DURING THE PERIOD FROM 1898 TO 1900. AN INCLINED SHAFT FOLLOWED THE EAST VEIN FOR ABOUT 725 FT., AND A VERTICAL SHAFT CONNECTED WITH THE INCLINED SHAFT AT THE 250 FT. LEVEL. TWO VEINS WERE WORKED BY A SERIES OF CROSS - CUTS FROM THESE SHAFTS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit TWO LENSES (230 X 7 X 61 M) AND (65 X 5 X 91 M) WERE EXPLOITED.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1976 Mcdaniel, Ronald D. North Carolina Division of Land Resources
Updater 01-JUN-1991 Klein, T.L. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Maps centered on this site