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Herbb No. 2 Mine

Past Producer in Powhatan county in Virginia, United States with commodities Beryllium, Mica, Feldspar, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium)
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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. 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. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080106
MRDS ID W031184
Record type Site
Current site name Herbb No. 2 Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -77.78193, 37.55589 (WGS84)
Elevation 92
Relative position 5.2 KM (3.25 MI) NORTHEAST OF FLAT ROCK.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Powhatan(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Fine Creek Mills(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Richmond(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Richmond(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 Powhatan

Comments on the location information

  • ABOUT 1.4 KM (0.9 MI) NORTHEAST ON STATE ROAD 716 FROM ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROAD 613, TURN NORTH ON DIRT ROAD FOR ABOUT 0.8 KM (0.5 MI), MINE IS ON NORTHWEST SIDE OF ROAD. ABOUT 0.4 KM (0.27 MI) NORTH OF HERBB NO. 1.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Beryllium Critical Primary
Mica Secondary
Feldspar Secondary
Tantalum Critical Secondary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Albite Ore
Beryl Ore
Muscovite Ore
Biotite Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Chopawamsic Formation Gneiss And Schist
    Rock description Chopawamsic Formation Gneiss And Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -77.78193, 37.55589
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend
Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults?

Ore body information

  • General form LENS
    Strike N 20 DEG E
    Dip STEEPLY E
    Plunge direction SOUTH
    Length 73M
    Width 12M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Pegmatite Dike

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1944
Discoverer Carl Fleming
Year of first production 1944

Mining district

District name Powhatan Area

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Colonial Homes, Inc.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Pohatan Land Co.

Comments on the production information

  • A LITTLE SHEET MICA, SEVERAL TONS OF SCRAP MICA, AND ABOUT 2 TONS OF BERYL WERE OBTAINED DURING MINING.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • THE DEPOSIT APPEARS TO HAVE SOME COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES AS A SOURCE OF FELDSPAR, WITH BERYL AND SCRAP MICA AS BYPRODUCTS.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall length 36.58M
    Overall width 12M

Comments on the workings information

  • TRENCHES ACROSS AND ALONG THE BODY WERE CUT AND EXPANDED TO AN OPEN CUT 40 M (130 FT) LONG, 12 M (40 FT) WIDE, AND 6 M (20 FT) DEEP.

Comments on development

  • MINE WAS OPENED IN 1944 BY CARL FLEMING OF COLONIAL HOMES, INC., OF RICHMOND. OPENINGS WERE MADE BY DRAGLINE AND INCLUDE AT LEAST 4 DEEP TRENCHES ACROSS THE PEGMATITE BODY AND ONE TRENCH FOLLOWS THE BODY ON STRIKE. BROWN (1962) STATES THE OPEN CUT WAS DUG NEAR SOME OLD PROSPECT PITS, SO SOME PROSPECTING MAY HAVE BEEN DONE PRIOR TO 1944; THIS IS THE ONLY REFERENCE TO THESE PITS. SINCE THE TOPAZ CRYSTAL FIND IN 1982, THE SITE HAS BEEN EXCAVATED IN PLACES BY HAND AND LARGE AMOUNTS OF WODGINITE (TIN RICH TANTALUM OXIDE) TOPAZ AND AMAZONITE HAVE BEEN FOUND AT THE SITE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit COUNTRY ROCK IS BIOTITE GNEISS AND SCHIST. PEGMATITE IS A DISCORDANT BODY. THE TRENCH WALLS CONVERGE AT THE NORTH END BENEATH THE PEGMATITE IN A MANNER SUGGESTING THAT THE KEEL OF THE BODY IS SHALLOW AND THAT PLUNGE IS TO THE SOUTH. THE CORE ZONE CONSISTS OF DISCONTINUOUS MASSIVE QUARTZ LENSES UP TO 1.5 M (5 FT) THICK AND 3 TO 8 M (10 TO 25 FT) LONG. THE SURROUNDING INTERMEDIATE ZONE IS COMPOSED OF BLUE GREEN TO PINK PERTHITE LOCALLY CONTAINING LARGE BERYL CRYSTALS. THE WALL ZONE IS 0.6 TO 1.2 M (2 TO 4 FT) THICK AND APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN AN AGGREGATE OF PERTHITE, QUARTZ, AND PLAGIOCLASE. MUCH OF THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN CORRODED AND REPLACED BY ALBITE AND CLUSTERS OF CLEAVELANDITE. TANTALITE-COLUMBITE IS FOUND IN CLEAVELANDITE IN THE WALL ZONE AND IS PARTICULARY ABUNDANT ALONG THE HANGING WALL OPPOSITE THE NORTHEAST QUARTZ MASS IN THE PIT. MUSCOVITE AND GARNET OCCUR IN THE PERTHITE RICH INTERMEDIATE ZONE, ESPECIALLY ADJACENT TO THE QUARTZ MASSES. MUSCOVITE IS NOT OF GOOD
Deposit QUALITY. IN SEPTEMBER 14, 1982, A TOPAZ CRTSTAL (8.9 POUNDS) WAS FOUND IN THE DUMP AT THE MINE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1981 Trimble, David C. (Sweet, Palmer C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-DEC-1987 Sweet, Palmer 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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