Wolfpit Mine

Past Producer in Carroll county in Virginia, United States with commodities Copper, Zinc, Lead, Iron, Iron, Pig Iron, Arsenic
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10079996
MRDS ID W030871
Record type Site
Current site name Wolfpit Mine
Alternate or previous names Wolf Pit Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -80.79369, 36.7984 (WGS84)
Elevation 774
Relative position 1.2 KM (0.9 MI) SSW OF EARLY ON EAST BANK OF WOLFPIT CREEK.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Carroll(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Sylvatus(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Galax(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winston-Salem(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper New(hydrologic unit)

Kanawha(hydrologic accounting unit)

Kanawha(hydrologic subregion)

Ohio(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Carroll

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION APPROXIMATE, NOT FIELD CHECKED. ABOUT 0.8 KM (0.5 MI) SW OF U.S. HWY. 52, 0.6 KM (0.4 MI) NW OF JUNCTION WITH STATE ROAD 769.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Iron Tertiary
Iron, Pig Iron Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PAST MINING OPERATIONS CONCENTRATED ON SUPERGENE MINERALS.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Cubanite Ore
Cuprite Ore
Galena Ore
Goethite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Muscovite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Regional Metamorphism

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 91
USGS model code 24b
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Besshi (Japanese deposits)
Mark3 model number 30

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Lynchburg Formation
    Rock description Lynchburg Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss

Nearby scientific data

(1) -80.79369, 36.7984

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Blue Ridge Anticlinorium, Fries Overthrust, Gossan Lead Overthrust, Main Sulfide Zone Strikes N. 45 Deg. E. And Dips 30-60 Deg. Se.

Ore body information

  • General form POD/LENS

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Lenticular Troughs

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1861
Year of first production 1855

Mining district

District name Wildcat Segment/Gossan Lead District/Southern Section-Blue Ridge Province.

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Tennessee And Virginia Mining Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Virginia Iron, Coal And Coke Co. (Ann Phipps).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • PROBABLY INCLUDES SARAH ELLEN, WILDCAT, AND CRANBERRY CREEK SEGMENTS.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 135.7M

Comments on the workings information

  • WRIGHT AND RAMAN (1948) REPORT FOUR ADITS IN AREA; ONE IS CAVED (NOT INCLUDED IN LENGTH OF WORKINGS FIGURE) AND THE OTHER THREE ARE 47.3 M, 61.0 M, AND 27.4 M IN LENGTH

Comments on development

  • THIS MINE PROBABLY OPERATED DURING 1850'S, BUT IS NOT REFERENCED IN 19TH CENTURY REPORTS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CURREY, R.O., 1859, A GEOLOGICAL VISIT TO THE VIRGINIA COPPER REGION: KNOXVILLE, TENN., BECKETT, HAWS AND CO.; REPRINTED IN PART UNDER COPPER AND IRON REGION OF THE FLOYD-CARROLL-GRAYSON PLATEAU OF THE BLUE RIDGE IN VIRGINIA, ETC.: THE VIRGINIAS, 1880, V. 1, P. 62-64, 69-71, 74-77, 80-81, 95.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    WEED, W.H., 1911, COPPER DEPOSITS OF THE APPALACHIAN STATES: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 455, 166 P.

  • Deposit

    WRIGHT, R.J., AND RAMAN, R.D., 1948, THE GOSSAN LEAD, CARROLL COUNTY, VIRGINIA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT, 21 P.

  • Deposit

    1911 RECON W.H. WEED: BULL. 455.

  • Deposit

    1935 RECON C.S. ROSS: PROF. PAPER 179.

  • Deposit

    1939 GEOLMAP VA. GEOL. SURV.: BULL 72.

  • Deposit

    DIREXPL TENN. & VA. MINING CO.: OPENED MINE

  • Deposit

    1948 RECON R.J. WRIGHT & N.D. RAMAN: OPEN-FILE REPORT.

  • Production

    WEED (1911)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit WEED (1911, P. 118) AND WATSON (1907, P. 514) ARE EARLIEST REFERENCES TO THIS MINE WHICH IS LOCATED ON THE ANN PHIPPS TRACT AND MAY ACTUALLY BE PART OF THE ANN PHIPPS WORKINGS. CURREY (1859) DOES NOT REFER TO THIS MINE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT
Deposit Discovery Year: PRE-CIVIL WAR

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1980 Meintzer, Robert E. (Le Van, D.C.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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