Crimora Mine

Past Producer in Augusta county in Virginia, United States with commodities Manganese, Cobalt, Nickel
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. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Production statistics
  17. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10067823
MRDS ID W000671
Record type Site
Current site name Crimora Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.8175, 38.13972 (WGS84)
Elevation 479
Relative position 3.2 KM (2.0 MI) ESE OF CRIMORA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Augusta(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Crimora(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Charlottesville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Charlottesville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

South Fork Shenandoah(hydrologic unit)

Potomac(hydrologic accounting unit)

Potomac(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Augusta

Comments on the location information

  • ALONG THE WESTERN BORDER OF SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, ABOUT 0.5 KM (0.3 MI) FROM SE END OF STATE ROAD 612. THE MINE WORKINGS ARE SCATTERED ALONG AN AREA OF ROUGHLY 0.8 SQ KM (0.5 SQ MI)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Manganese Critical Primary
Cobalt Critical Tertiary
Nickel Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • ORE MINERALIZATION OCCURS AS NODULES AND IN CLAY SURROUNDING THEM.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Goethite Ore
Manganite Ore
Psilomelane Ore
Pyrolusite Ore
Chert Gangue

Analytical data

Result PIERCE (1944) REPORTS 0.28% NI AND 0.53% CO

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
    Rock unit name Clay Residuum (From The Shady Dolomite);Antietam Formation;Shady Formation;Antietam Formation
    Rock description Clay Residuum (From The Shady Dolomite);Antietam Formation;Shady Formation;Antietam Formation
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Alluvium
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)

Nearby scientific data

(1) Chilhowee Group

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Blue Ridge Anticlinorium, Ne-Sw Trend

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR MASSES AND LENSES
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Residuum On Dissolution Of Limestone And Dolostone. In Clay Bed On Quartzite Bedrock

Comments on the geologic information

  • GEOL.DESC: MANGANESE NODULES IN THICK TROUGH OF CLAY FORMED BY WEATHERING OF LOWER CAMBRIAN ROCKS. REFERENCE(1)REPORTS 0.28 AND 0.53% COBALT. GRAVEL OVERBURDENED ATTAINS MAX. THICKNESS OF 35 FT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1867
Year of first production 1867
Year of last production 1958

Mining district

District name Northern Section - Blue Ridge Province

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Parker Manganese Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Crimora Manganese Corp

Production statistics

  • Year 1912
    Material ORE MN
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^ +94 Met Tons Low Grade
  • Year 1914
    Material ORE MN
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^ +245 Met Tons Low Grade
  • Year 1916
    Material ORE MN
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^45.6% Mn (High Grade)
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Manganese Manganese 46wt-pct
  • Year 1917
    Material ORE MN
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^42-53% Mn (High Grade)
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Manganese Manganese 48wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • LATER PRODUCTION NOT KNOWN, IF ANY. PEAK ANNUAL PRODUCTION IN 1886: 19692 MET TONS; ORIGINAL DATA IN LONG TONS.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVES UNKNOWN

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 6.4HA
    Length 1828M

Comments on development

  • FROM 1867-1869 WORKED AT LOSS BY A STOCK CO; 1869-1882, WORKED INTERMITTENTLY BY SAMUEL W DONALD FOR STOCK CO; 1882-1892, FIRST UNDER LEASE TO J A WHITE & CO AND THEN TO AMERICAN MANGANESE CO, LTD, PERIOD OF MAXIMUM PRODUCTION; 1892-1915, LIMITED WORKINGS BY VIRGINIA MANGANESE CO; 1915-1917, OPERATION BY CRIMORA MANGANESE CORP IN 1955, VIRGINIA ORE CORP. LEASED BOTH CRIMORA AND OLD DOMINION TRACTS AND INSTALLED A MILLING PLANT. ORE WAS SHIPPED TO GOVERNMENT STOCKPILE AND TO J. LEVINO CO. IN LYNCHBURG FROM 6/75 TO 2/56. PARKER MANGANESE CO. LEASED TRACTS IN 1956 AND WORKED TAILINGS UNTIL 1958.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    PIERCE,W.G., 1944, USGS 940-J, P. 265-285

  • Deposit

    GATHRIGHT, T M, II, HENIKA, W S, AND SULLIVAN, J L, III, 1978, GEOLOGY OF THE CRIMORA QUADRANGLE, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 13, TEXT AND 1:24 000 SCALE MAP

  • Deposit

    HACK, J T, 1965, GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY, VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA, AND ORIGIN OF THE RESIDUAL ORE DEPOSITS: U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 484, 84 P.

  • Deposit

    STOSE, G W, MISER, H D, KATZ, F J, AND HEWETT, D F, 1919, MANGANESE DEPOSITS OF THE WEST FOOT OF THE BLUE RIDGE, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 17, 166 P

  • Deposit

    HARDER, E.C., 1910, MANGANESE DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES: USGS BULL. 427, 298 P.

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T.L., 1907, MINERAL RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA: LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, J.P. BELL CO., 618 P.

  • Deposit

    U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 18 - , MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES: (ANNUAL VOLUMES FOR THE YEARS INDICATED).

  • Deposit

    1867 DIREXPL VARIOUS OPERATORS: OPENED MINE

  • Deposit

    1882 DIREXPL J A WHITE & CO: BEGINNING OF MAXIMUM PRODUCTION

  • Deposit

    1915 DIREXPL CRIMORA MANGANESE CORP: MODERN DEVELOPMENT BEGUN

  • Production

    REFERENCE(1), STOSE AND OTHERS (1919); 10) MNG. CONG. JOUR., V.32, NO. 9, P. 29; 11-12) VDMR FILES.

  • Reserve-Resource

    UNPUBLISHED COBALT REPORT

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit SEE STOSE AND OTHERS (1919) FOR A DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPOSIT.
Deposit LARGE OPEN PITS AND UNDERGROUND MINE(AT ONE TIME LARGEST MANGANESE PRODUCER IN U.S.) ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1972 Coury, Anny B. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAY-1982 Trimble, David, C. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references