Silver Valley Mine

Past Producer in Davidson county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Lead, Zinc, Gold, Silver, Copper
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 10026449
MRDS ID K005080
Record type Site
Current site name Silver Valley Mine
Alternate or previous names Spring Valley Mine
Related records 10272765

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -80.11478, 35.72509 (WGS84)
Relative position 10.2 MI SOUTHEAST OF LEXINGTON AND 6.7 MI NORTH 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

Denton(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 STROMQUIST AND HENDERSON, 1985

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Freibergite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Sericite Gangue
Siderite Gangue
Tremolite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Chlorite And Tremolite (Mg-Alteration), Sericite, Carbonate (Siderite And Calcite)

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) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
    Rock unit name Flat Swamp Member Of The Cid Formation
    Rock description Flat Swamp Member Of The Cid Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
    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 In The Flat Swamp Member Of The Cid Formation
    Rock description Mudstone In The Flat Swamp Member Of The Cid Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -80.11478, 35.72509

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Plunging Open Folds
Type of structure Local
Structure description Bedding N 35 E 45 Deg Nw.

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N 35 E
    Dip 45 NW
    Length 75M
    Width 3.5M
    Depth to bottom 64M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Favorable Stratigraphic Horizon (Immediately Overlies Chert).

Comments on the geologic information

  • MILKY QUARTZ MAY CONTAIN VEINLETS OR STRINGERS OF GALENA WITH MINOR SPHALERITE AND PYRITE. IN PLACES, THE QUARTZ IS BRECCIATED, MYLONITIZED, AND HEALED WITH METALLIC MINERALS, SERICITE AND SILICA. MALACHITE, CHALCOCITE, CHALCOPYRITE, AND CALCITE ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE QUARTZ. THE DUMPS CONSIST PRIMARILY OF A ARGILLITE AND FINE-GRAINED RHYOLITIC TUFF WITH DISSEMINATED PYRITE AND SPHALERITE WITH MINOR CHALCOPYRITE AND COVELLITE. CHERT CONTAINS SPHALERITE, GALENA AND PYRITE, WITH COVELLITE COATINGS. ALTERED ANDESITIC GREENSTONE IS COMPOSED OF CHLORITE, MUSCOVITE AND QUARTZ.uFOOTWALL TO ORE IS ARGILLITE AND HANGINGWALL IS CHERT. ORE BODY IS 1.5 TO 3uM THICK AND CONSIST OF ALTERNATING LAYERS OF ARGILLITE, QUARTZ, ANDuBASE-METAL SULFIDE MINERALS. ARGILLITE CONTAINS BIOTITE. MASSIVE SULFIDEuIS RICH IN CALCITE, AND TREMOLITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1880
Year of first production 1881
Year of last production 1893
Production years 1881-1882, 1893

Mining district

District name Cid District

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 152M
    Overall depth 30M
    Overall length 68.58M
    Overall width 3M

Comments on the workings information

  • THREE SHAFTS, TWO INCLINES AT 170 FT LENGTH AND ANOTHER VERITICAL AT 100 FEET DEEP. DRIFTS ON TWO LEVELS (50 AND 100) WERE DRIVEN FOR APPROXIMATELY 250 FEET ON EACH LEVEL.

Comments on development

  • SOME TESTING WAS DONE IN PLACER DEPOSITS ALONG A SMALL CREEK ON THE PROPERTY. PROSPECTING WAS ALSO CARRIED OUT IN A QUARTZ VEIN ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE CREEK. TWO SHAFTS WERE OPENED TO A DEPTH OF 210 FT. AND ANOTHER WAS OPENED TO A DEPTH OF 80 FT. LEVELS WERE RUN FROM EACH SHAFT. IN 1969 ONLY ONE SHAFT WAS OPEN. THE OTHERS WERE FILLED IN. ; ECON.COM: MINE WAS NEVER A BIG PRODUCER DUE TO THE DIFFICULTY OF SEPARATING ORES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CARPENTER, P. A., III, 1976, METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE CAROLINA SLATE BELT, NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA MINERAL RESOURCES SEC. BULL. 84, 166 P.

  • Deposit

    PARDEE, J. T., AND PARK, C. F., JR., 1948, GOLD DEPOSITS OF THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT: U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER 213, 156 P.; POGUE,J.E, 1910, THE CID MINING DISTRICT OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC SURVEY BULLETIN 22.

  • Production

    POGUE, 1910

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit QUARTZ VEINS CONTAINING BASE-METAL SULFIDE MINERALS WERE ALSOuEXPLOITED. THESE MAY BE METAMORPHIC REMOBILIZATION FROMuMASSIVE SULFIDE BODIES.

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.