Kings Mountain Mine

Past Producer in Cleveland county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Gold, Copper, Lead, Silver, Zinc, Arsenic, Antimony, Bismuth, Molybdenum, Tellurium
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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  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 10078171
MRDS ID W026349
Record type Site
Current site name Kings Mountain Mine
Alternate or previous names Catawba Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -81.33899, 35.21039 (WGS84)
Elevation 256
Relative position 3.3 KM SOUTH OF KINGS MOUNTAIN CITY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cleveland(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Kings Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Gastonia(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Charlotte(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Broad(hydrologic unit)

Santee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Edisto-Santee(hydrologic subregion)

South Atlantic-Gulf(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Cleveland

Comments on the location information

  • WEST FOOTHILLS OF KINGS MOUNTAIN RANGE

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Copper Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Silver Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Bismuth Critical Tertiary
Molybdenum Tertiary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • THE LARGEST GOLD PRODUCER IN THE KINGS MOUNTAIN DISTRICT

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Altaite Ore
Bismutite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Fluorite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Nagyagite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Dolomite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silica, Sericite

Analytical data

Result IN PPM AU 0.38 , AG 0.7 , AS 30,000 , B MORE THAN 2,000 , CO 30 , CR 150 , CU 150 , PB 200 , V 200 , Y 50 , ZR 150

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Dacite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -81.33899, 35.21039

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Kings Creek Shear Zone
Type of structure Local
Structure description Isoclinal Folds (N 15-25 E) Plunging 20-30 Deg Ne.

Ore body information

  • General form LENSES
    Strike N 20 E
    Dip 60 W
    Length 450M
    Width 45M
    Depth to bottom 100M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • At Contact Between Felsic Eruptive Unit And Sedimentary Section.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1829
Year of first production 1830
Year of last production 1895

Mining district

District name Kings Mountain District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Production statistics

  • Year 1895
    Period 1829-1895
    Material AU
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.2o Opt
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Gold Gold 6g/mt

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1035M
    Overall depth 100M
    Overall length 411.48M
    Overall width 370M

Comments on the workings information

  • FIVE ORE LENSES WORKED, EACH ABOUT 30 M LENGTH, 6 M WIDTH, 100 M DEPTH; 14 SHAFTS, TWO LARGE TRENCHES; ADJACENT STREAM AREA PLACERED IN PLACES EAST OF MINE AREA. MOST SHAFTS 15-76 M DEEP. TWO TO A DEPTH OF 100M.

Comments on development

  • 12 SHAFTS EXTEND ABOUT 450 M ALONG STRIKE; NITZE REPORTS ELEVEN ASSAYS OF $2.27 TO $76.48 GOLD AT $20.00 PER OUNCE, AVERAGE OF $3.00 TO $8.00 PER TON ORE, $35.00 TO $40.00 FOR CONCENTRATES; SILVER TRACE TO $3.36 AT $1.29 PER OUNCE ; ECON.COM: 30 STAMP MILL, 5 FRUE VANNERS

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Analytical Data

    WHITLOW, JESSE, 1967 , USGS, WALL ROCK SAMPLE 67 JW 321

  • Deposit

    NITZE, H. B. C., HANNA, G. B., 1896 , GOLD DEPOSITS OF NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. NO. 3 , MINE TEXT P. 146 , 147 , TEXT 200 P.

  • Deposit

    KEITH, ARTHUR, 1931 , GAFFNEY - KINGS MOUNTAIN S. C. - N. C. FOLIO NO. 222 , USGS GEOL. ATLAS OF THE U. S., MINE TEXT P. 8 , SYMBOL LOCATES MINE ON GEOL. MAP AT 1 : 62,500 , TEXT 13 P.

  • Deposit

    MINE SITE IN KINGS MOUNTAIN TOPO QUAD AT 1 : 24,000. LAPOINT, D.J., 1992, GEOLOGIC SETTING OF THE KINGS MOUNTAIN GOLD MINE, CLEVELAND COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: SE SECTION GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA FIELD TRIP NO. 4, IN DENNISON J.M., AND STEWART, K.G., 1992, GEOLOGICAL FIELD GUIDS TO NORTH CAROLINA AND VICINITY SE GSA MEETING, WINSTON-SALEM: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA-CHAPEL HILL GEOLOGIC GUIDEBOOK NO.1.

  • Deposit

    1896 COMPILE NITZE, N. C. STATE, MINE DESCRIPTIONS

  • Deposit

    1931 GEOMAP KEITH, A., MINE LOCATIONS

  • Deposit

    1967 GEOCHEM WHITLOW, J., GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES

  • Production

    LAPOINT, 1992

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DEPOSITED IN SILICEOUS DOLOMITE BEDS; DISSEMINATED SULFIDE MINERALS, PYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE, AND GALENA AGGREGATE 2 TO 3uPERCENT.
Deposit ORE IN SILICEOUS DOLOMITE BEDS SEPARATED BY BLACK GRAPHITIC SLATE CONTAINING COARSE CRYSTALLINE PYRITE WHICH IS BARREN OF GOLD, DISSEMINATED AND IN QUARTZ VEINS WITHIN METATRONDJHEMITE, AND AT THE BASE OF ONE IRON FORMATION UNIT IN HANGING WALL SEDIMENTS; SLATE SCHISTOSITY USUALLY STEEPER THAN DIP OF CARBONATE BEDS. INTERPRETED AS AN STATIBOUND DEPOSIT BY LAPOINT (1992) ASSOCIATED WITH A FELSIC SUBAERIAL ERUPTIVE CENTER AND DEPOSITED IN A SHALLOW WATER-FILLED BASIN.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1977 D'Agostino, John P. U.S. Geological Survey
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.

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusActive since 12/15/1972
MSHA mine ID3100047
Mine name (MSHA)Kings Mountain Plant
Current operatorMartin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Current controller (parent)Martin Marietta Materials Inc
Mine typeSurface (Metal / non-metal)

Inferred by coordinate + name similarity (1766 m, 0.82 match). Confirm against MSHA if precision matters — non-USGS-curated cross-references may occasionally point at a neighbouring mine.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

External references