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Young American Mine

Past Producer in Goochland county in Virginia, United States with commodities Gold, Copper, Silver, Sulfur-Pyrite, Tellurium, Bismuth
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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. Ownership information
  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 10079875
MRDS ID W030623
Record type Site
Current site name Young American Mine
Alternate or previous names Gilmer Mine, Gilmore Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.0886, 37.82338 (WGS84)
Elevation 119
Relative position 1.0 MI (1.6 KM) EAST OF CALEDONIA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Goochland(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Caledonia(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dillwyn(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle James-Willis(hydrologic unit)

James(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Goochland

Comments on the location information

  • 1.05 MI (1.69 KM) DOWN A DRIVEWAY OFF EAST SIDE OF STATE ROAD 605 ABOUT 0.6 MI (1.0 KM) BY ROAD NE OF JUNCTION WITH STATE ROAD 610. ADDITIONAL WORKINGS AT UTM N 4189900., E 756390 (ZONE +17).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Copper Tertiary
Silver Tertiary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary
Bismuth Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Sylvanite Ore
Tetradymite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Analytical data

Result THE SULPHUR VEIN CARRIED GOLD VALUES FROM A FEW CENTS TO $24 PER TON, AVERAGING ABOUT $5 PER TON. THE ORE FROM THE HOUSE VEIN AVERAGED $5 TO $10 PER TON.

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 Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Ordovician
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Ordovician
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Arvonia Formation
    Rock description Arvonia Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.0886, 37.82338
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Columbia Syncline , Ne-Sw Trend

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR, LENS, IRREGULAR
    Strike N 30 DEG E
    Dip 40 DEG SE
    Width 1.8M
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shear Zones

Comments on the geologic information

  • IN DEPTH REPORT OF THE GEOLOGY/MINERALOGY MAY BE FOUND IN TABER (1913).
  • VOLCANIC ASH IN MARINE SEDIMENT

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1869
Discoverer Mr. Aldrich
Year of first production 1869

Mining district

District name Gold-Pyrite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Young American Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Irma Reid Rose

Comments on the production information

  • NO FIGURES EXIST FOR 19TH CENTURY WORK.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 152M
    Overall depth 30M

Comments on the workings information

  • IN 1974, SIX WATER-FILLED AND CAVED SHAFTS, ABOUT TWENTY WATER-FILLED AND CAVED PITS AND TRENCH CUTS, CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS, AND DUMPS WERE EVIDENT. THE SULPHUR VEIN WAS DEVELOPED BY THE SULPHUR AND H. V. SHAFTS AND SEVERAL AIR SHAFTS. THE SULPHUR SHAFT WAS 24 M (80 FT) DEEP VERTICALLY AND THEN FOLLOWS THE VEIN ON AN INCLINE FOR AN ADDITIONAL 13 M (42 FT), MAKING THE TOTAL DEPTH BELOW THE SURFACE 30.5 M (100 FT)? THE H. V. SHAFT WAS S5 M (83 FT) DEEP, 104 M (340 FT) NORTHEAST OF THE SULPHUR SHAFT. BOTH SHAFTS HAD NUMEROUS DRIFTS FOLLOWING THE VEIN AND ITS STRINGERS, INCLUDING ONE DRIFT WHICH CONNECTS BOTH SHAFTS. MOST OF THE ORE ABOVE THIS DRIFT HAS BEEN STOPED OUT. THE HOUSE VEIN WAS DEVELOPED BY A NUMBER OF SHAFTS, TUNNELS, OPEN CUTS, AND PITS?

Comments on development

  • MINE WAS DISCOVERED IN 1869 BY MR. ALDRICH, WHO BUILT A SMALL STAMP MILL AND SANK A SHAFT ON THE HOUSE VEIN. PLACER MINING WAS CARRIED OUT FROM 1871 TO 1874 ON RANSOME CREEK (LUCK BRANCH) INVOLVING SLUICE AND ROCKER WASHING. IN 1880 THE TAGUS GOLD MINING CO. BEGAN DEVELOPMENT WORK AND CONTINUED OPERATIONS FOR THREE YEARS. ABOUT 100 TONS OF ORE FOUND ON THE SURFACE WERE HAULED TO THE BELZORO MILL AND STAMPED, YIELDING $5 PER TON. THE HOUSE VEIN WAS DEVELOPED AND STOPED DOWN TO WATER LEVEL FOR A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 183 M (600 FT) ALONG STRIKE, AND SOME SMALL LENSES OF QUARTZ, PARALLELING THE HOUSE VEIN ABOUT 31 M (100 FT) TO THE WEST, WERE EXPOSED BY AN ADIT AND MINED. THE SULPHUR VEIN, ABOUT 274 M (900 FT) WEST OF THE HOUSE VEIN, WAS EXPLORED, SEVERAL SMALL SHAFTS SUNK, AND MUCH OF THE VEIN ABOVE WATER LEVEL STOPED OUT. A 4-FOOT BRYAN MILL WAS INSTALLED TO CRUSH THE ORE. FROM 1885 TO 1909 THE MINE PASSED THROUGH SEVERAL HANDS, AND WHILE SOME DEVELOPMENT ATTEMPTS WERE MADE, VERY
  • LITTLE PRODUCTION OCCURRED. IN 1893 A CYANIDE PLANT WAS IN OPERATION. THE YOUNG AMERICAN CO. TOOK OVER OPERATIONS IN 1909, ERECTED A NEW BUILDING EQUIPPED WITH A CRUSHER, FEEDER, SLOW-SPEED LANE MILL, PLATES AND TWO CONCENTRATING TABLES. THIS MILL OPERATED UNTIL 1912, BUT ONLY 1500 TONS OF ORE WERE MILLED. DEVELOPMENT WORK WAS DONE CHIEFLY ON THE SULPHUR VEIN.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    BROWN, C.B., 1937, OUTLINE OF THE GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF GOOCHLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, BULLETIN48, 68 P.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    HAMMETT, A.B.J., 1966, THE HISTORY OF GOLD: KERRVILLE, TEXAS, BRASWELL PRINTING CO., 107 P.

  • Deposit

    1869 DIREXPL MR. ALDRICH: MINOR MILLING OF ORE.

  • Deposit

    1909 DIREXPL YOUNG AMERICAN CO: EXPANDED DEVELOPMENTS.

  • Deposit

    1974 RECON VA. DIV. MIN. RES.: LOCATED SITE

  • Production

    TABER (1913)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ABOVE DESCRIBES SULPHUR VEIN; HOUSE VEIN TO HAVE AVERAGED 1.5-1.8 M WIDE, STRIKES N 22 DEG E. BOTH VEINS DESCRIBED AS STRINGER LODES. DEVELOPMENT IN 1909 WAS ON SULPHUR VEIN. THE SULPHUR VEIN IS APPROXIMATELY 230 M (755 FT) WEST OF THE HOUSE VEIN.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1979 Meintzer (D.C. Levan), Robert E. 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.

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