Lightfoot Mine

Past Producer in Buckingham county in Virginia, United States with commodities Gold, Copper
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Mineral occurrence model information
  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. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10079452
MRDS ID W028994
Record type Site
Current site name Lightfoot Mine
Alternate or previous names Cowan Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.37528, 37.70283 (WGS84)
Elevation 91
Relative position 2.75 MI (4.43 KM) NW OF ARVONIA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Buckingham(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Diana Mills(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dillwyn(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle James-Buffalo(hydrologic unit)

James(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Buckingham

Comments on the location information

  • JUST OFF NORTH SIDE OF STATE ROAD 676, JUST NE OF ITS CROSSING OVER THE SLATE RIVER

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Copper Ore
Gold Ore
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 273
USGS model code 36a
Deposit model name Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Mark3 model number 27

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Greenstone
    Rock unit name Chopawamsic Formation
    Rock description Chopawamsic Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Greenstone
    Rock unit name Chopawamsic Formation
    Rock description Chopawamsic Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.37528, 37.70283

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Arvonia Syncline, Ne-Sw Trend
Type of structure Local
Structure description Long Island Syncline

Ore body information

  • General form LENS

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shear Zone

Comments on the geologic information

  • BENEATH GOSSAN CAP WAS PYRITE TO A DEPTH OF ABOUT 6 M WHERE CHALCOPYRITE WAS FOUND AND INCREASED WITH DEPTH. GREENSTONE IS CONSIDERED TO BE METAMORPHOSED MAFIC VOLCANIC ROCK.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1861
Discoverer George Fisher
Year of first production 1861

Mining district

District name Gold-Pyrite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the production information

  • SMALL GOLD PRODUCTION

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Unknown
    Overall depth 26M

Comments on the workings information

  • WATSON (1907) REPORTED MINE WAS DEVELOPED BY AN 26 M (85 FT) SHAFT FROM WHICH SEVERAL SHORT DRIFTS HAD BEEN DRIVEN. PREPARATIONS WERE THEN IN PROGRESS FOR SINKING THE SHAFT SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET DEEPER, EXTENDING THE DRIFTS, AND OPENING NEW ONES ON LOWER LEVELS, BUT IT IS UNCERTAIN IF THIS WAS DONE. CREDNER (1869) REPORTED A NUMBER OF PITS AND A SHAFT HAD BEEN SUNS TO OPEN THE VEINS. IN 1974, A WATER-FILLED SHAFT AND DUMPS WERE EVIDENT.

Comments on development

  • GEORGE FISHER DISCOVERED DEPOSIT AND WORKED THE PROPERTY FOR SEVERAL YEARS UNDER LEASE. IT WAS THEN WORKED SUCCESSIVELY BY 3 DIFFERENT COMPANIES, WHO LEASED IT FROM MR. LIGHTFOOT. THE FIRST COMPANY REPORTEDLY MADE $300 TO $400 PER DAY STAMP-MILLING FOR GOLD. THE SECOND COMPANY CONFINED ITS WORK TO SURFACE WASHING, AND THE LAST COMPANY DEVELOPED THE COPPER DEPOSITS, SHIPPING 100 TONS OF $80-ORE TO BALTIMORE, BEFORE THE MINE CLOSED IN 1861. IN WORKING THE PLACER DEPOSITS, GOLD NUGGETS WORTH $20 TO $30 ARE SAID TO HAVE BEEN FOUND. IN 1904 (?) MORE DEVELOPMENT WORK WAS CONDUCTED.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SWEET, P.C., 1980, GOLD IN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, PUBLICATION 19, 77 P.

  • Deposit

    TABER, S., 1913, GEOLOGY OF THE GOLD BELT IN THE JAMES RIVER BASIN, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 7, 271 P.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    BROWN, W.R., 1969, GEOLOGY OF THE DILLWYN QUADRANGLE, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 10, 77 P.

  • Deposit

    CREDNER, H., 1869, REPORT OF EXPLORATIONS ON THE GOLD FIELDS OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MINING, V. VII, P. 58.

  • Deposit

    HAMMETT, A.B.J., 1966, THE HISTORY OF GOLD: KERRVILLE, TEXAS, BRASWELL PRINTING COMPANY, P. 43-53.

  • Deposit

    1850 DIREXPL DURING PERIOD MINED FOR GOLD AND COPPER

  • Deposit

    1904 DIREXPL 85 FT SHAFT SUNK

  • Deposit

    1974 RECON VA. DIV. MIN. RES., MINE RELOCATED

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 3 VEINS WERE DEVELOPED{ 2 QUARTZ VEINS, ONE 1.2 M (4 FT) WIDE, CARRIED IRON OXIDE, PYRITE, AND FREE GOLD. THE THIRD VEIN WAS 1.2 TO 1.5 M (4 TO 5 FT) THICK, AND CONSISTED OF AN UPPER GOSSAN{ THEN 6.1 M (20 FT) OF PYRITE-RICH QUARTZ, BELOW WHICH CHALCOPYRITE OCCURS AND INCREASES WITH DEPTH{ THE LOWER CHALCOPYRITE RICH PORTION OF THE VEIN CONTAINED 11 PERCENT COPPER.
Deposit PROPERTY FIRST WORKED FOR GOLD, BUT OPENED FOR COPPER JUST BEFORE CIVIL THE WAR. AFTER THE CIVIL WAR SPORATIC ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO REOPEN, NONE WERE EVER SUCCESSFUL. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV
Deposit Discovery Year: PRE-CIVIL WAR

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1979 Meintzer, Robert E. (Le Van, D.C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-OCT-1981 Trimble, David C. Virginia Division of Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

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