Morgan Hill Chromite Prospect

Past Producer in Buncombe county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Chromium, Olivine, Nickel, Talc-Soapstone, Asbestos
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. Ore body information
  10. Controls for ore emplacement
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Workings at the site
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026486
MRDS ID K005129
Record type Site
Current site name Morgan Hill Chromite Prospect
Related records 10296650

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -82.5068, 35.77177 (WGS84)
Relative position 1150 FT. ENE OF THE MORGAN HILL CHURCH

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Buncombe(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mars Hill(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Asheville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper French Broad(hydrologic unit)

French Broad-Holston(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Buncombe

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Chromium Critical Primary
Olivine Primary
Nickel Critical Tertiary
Talc-Soapstone Tertiary
Asbestos Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PROSPECTED CHIEFLY FOR CHROMITE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Asbestos Ore
Chromite Ore
Garnierite Ore
Olivine Ore
Talc Ore
Chalcedony Gangue
Vermiculite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Bio Horn Migmatite (Unit 2) Roan Gneiss
    Rock description Bio Horn Migmatite (Unit 2) Roan Gneiss
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -82.5068, 35.77177

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form POD/LENS

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Dunite Bodies. Residual Conc. And Stream Placers For Chromite, Weathering Residual For Nickel.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant No

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • THE OLIVINE RESERVES ARE FOR THE ENTIRE DEMOCRAT BODY.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 0.005HA
    Length 30.48M
    Overall depth 3.05M
    Overall length 15.24M
    Overall width 3.66M

Comments on the workings information

  • RECENT ROAD CONSTRUCTION HAS OBLITERATED MOST OF THE MINING EVIDENCE. CHRONITE FORMS WEATHERING RESIDUAL & PLACER DEPOSITS ALSO. NICKEL MINERALIZATION (GARNIERITE) IS THE LATERITIC TYPE.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: CHROMITE IS NOT FOUND IN SUFFICIENT AMOUNTS AND THE OLIVINE HAS BEEN TO HIGHLY SERPENTINIZED TO BE COMMERCIAL. NICKEL IS ALSO NOT PRESENT IN SUFFICIENT QUANITIES TO BE MINED.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HUNTER, C. E., MURDOCK, T. G., AND MACCARTHY, G. R., 1942, CHROMITE DEPOSITS OF NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERV. AND DEVEL., DIV. OF MINERAL RESOURCES BULL. 42, 39 P.

  • Deposit

    HUNTER, C. E., 1941, FORSTERITE OLIVINE DEPOSITS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA: NORTH CAROLINA DEPT. OF CONSERV. AND DEVEL., DIV. OF MINERAL RESOURCES, BULL. 41, 117 P.

  • Deposit

    PRATT, J. H. AND LEWIS, J. V., 1905, CORUNDUM AND THE PERIDOTITES OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, VOL. 1 464 P.

  • Deposit

    BENTZEN, E. H. III, 1970, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOME NORTH CAROLINA CHROMITE: ECON. GEOL. V. 65 P. 883-885.

  • Deposit

    5) MERSCHAT, C. E., IN PROGRESS 1976, GEOLOGIC MAP AND MINERAL RESOURCES SUMMARY OF THE MARS HILL QUADRANGLE, NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF NAT. & ECON. RESOURCES, MINERAL RESOURCES SECTION GM 191-SE AND MRS 191-SE.

  • Deposit

    6) PAWEL, G. W., 1939, NICKEL IN NORTH CAROLINA: THE SO-LONG KNOWN SILICATE ORES OF JACKSON CO. ONCE MORE INVITE ATTENTION: ENG. MINING JOUR. V. 140, NO. 10, P. 35 - 38.

  • Deposit

    7) WORTHINGTON, J. E., 1964, AN EXPLORATION PROGRAM FOR NICKEL IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES: ECON. GEOL. V. 59, P. 97 - 109.

  • Deposit

    8) CARPENTER, R. H. AND HALE, R. C. 1967, NICKELIFEROUS SOILS AND STREAM SEDIMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH PERIDOTITES NEAR DEMOCRAT, NORTH CAROLINA: SOUTHEASTERN GEOL. V. 8, NO. 1, P. 9 - 18.

  • Deposit

    5) MERSCHAT, C. E., IN PROGRESS 1976, GEOLOGIC MAP AND MINERAL RESOURCES SUMMARY OF THE MARS HILL QUADRANGLE; NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA DEPT. NAT. AND ECON. RESOURCES, MINERAL RESOURCES SEC. GM 191-SE AND MRS 191-SE

  • Deposit

    1905 COMPILE PRATT & LEWIS N. C. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

  • Deposit

    1941 COMPILE HUNTER, N. C. DEPT. CONS. & DEVEL.

  • Deposit

    1942 GEOPHYS HUNTER, ET AL., N. C. DEPT. CONS. & DEVEL.

  • Reserve-Resource

    HUNTER, C. E., 1941, FORSTERITE OLIVINE DEPOSITS OF N. CAROLINA & GEORGIA

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit OCCURS NEAR THE CONTACT OF UNIT 2 (BIOTITE-HORNBLENDE MIGMATITE) AND UNIT 3 (ALUMINOUS METASEDIMENTARY ROCKS). THE MINERALIZATION VARIES FOR EACH COMMODITY. THE OLVINE & CHROMITE ARE PREC - EARLY PAL(?), WHILE THE NICKEL & SOME CHROMITE ARE CREC TO CEN.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1976 Merschat, Carl E. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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