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U.S. Titanium Co. Mine

Past Producer in Amherst county in Virginia, United States with commodities Titanium, Metal, Mineral Pigments, Phosphorus-Phosphates
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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. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Land status
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080113
MRDS ID W031193
Record type Site
Current site name U.S. Titanium Co. Mine
Alternate or previous names American Cyanamide Piney River Mine, Warwick Prospect

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Geographic coordinates: Elevation UTM Precision Relative position Point location
-79.02474, 37.70006 (WGS84) 219 0.5 KM (0.3 MI) SOUTH OF PINEY RIVER. Located in a waterfilled quarry shown on the topo, but unsure if this quarry is actually part of the U.S. Titanium Propery. According to the EPA sketch maps, this is not US Titanium.
(click for info)
Approximate -79.02308, 37.70514 (WGS84) 100 Location near ground disturbances shown on topo and outlined on fig. EPA report.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Amherst(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Piney River(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Buena Vista(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 Amherst

Comments on the location information

  • JUST SE OF STATE ROAD 665, 0.2 KM (0.1 MI) EAST OF JUNCTION WITH VA. HWY. 151. ADDITIONAL WORKINGS AT UTM GRID N 4174510, E 674490. (This locationd escribes the workings south of Piney River (both the river and the river). This conflicts with the U.S. Titanium Superfund Program Site Fact Sheet which states that the Superfund sidte is on the north side of the Pieny River in Nelson County.
  • EPA documents outline the area as being north of Piney River at apporx. N-37-42-19 W-79-01-23 (NAD 83).
  • Location in MRDS was given as N-37-42-0 W-79-1-30 (NAD 27) and 0.5 KM (0.3 MI) SOUTH OF PINEY RIVER. This location plots in a waterfilled quarry shown on the topo, but unsure if this quarry is actually part of the U.S. Titanium Propery. According to the EPA sketch maps, this is not US Titanium. If not, what is it?

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Titanium, Metal Critical Primary
Mineral Pigments Primary
Phosphorus-Phosphates Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • DURING EARLY 1930'S MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE WAS PRIMARY PRODUCT. TI PRODUCED AS TIO2 FOR USE AS PIGMENT

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Apatite Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Rutile Ore
Andesine Gangue
Biotite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Graphite Gangue
Hypersthene Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Gabbro
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Anorthosite
    Rock unit name Diabase Dike;Nelsonite Dike;Roseland Anorthosite;Massive Charnockite
    Rock description Diabase Dike;Nelsonite Dike;Roseland Anorthosite;Massive Charnockite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Anorthosite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -79.02474, 37.70006
ListMap
Approximate (2) -79.02308, 37.70514
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Blue Ridge Anticlinorium

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR, IRREGULAR
    Strike N. 43 DEG. E.
    Dip 45 DEG. SE
    Thickness 863M
    Length 700M

Comments on the geologic information

  • AGE RELATIONSHIP OF ANORTHOSITE AND HYPERSTHENE GRANITE IS UNCERTAIN.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1878
Year of first production 1907

Mining district

District name Roseland

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner American Cyanamid Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner U.S. Titanium Co.

Comments on the production information

  • PHOSPHATE WAS LARGELY RECOUED AS A BY-PRODUCT FROM 1934 ON.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 30M

Comments on the workings information

  • EARLY WORKINGS BY UNDERGROUND TECHNIQUES. SUPERSEDED BY OPEN-PIT METHODS IN 1930'S.

Comments on development

  • PHILA. & READING COAL & IRON CO. ACQUIRED PROPERTY IN 1878 INTENDING TO PRODUCE IRON ORE; A SHAFT WAS SUNK BUT SOON ABANDONED. IN 1896, PROPERTY WAS ACQUIRED BY THE READING IRON CO., HOWEVER, NO WORK WAS PERFORMED. IN 1907, GENERAL ELECTRIC BEGAN DEVELOPMENT OF RUTILE-BEARING NELSONITE DIKE, SHIPPING SOME ORE TO ALLENTOWN, PA., FOR CONCENTRATING. OPERATIONS CEASED IN 1909. IN 1928, PROPERTY WAS ACQUIRED BY VANADIUM CORP. OF AMERICA, WHO CONDUCTED DRILLING AND BUILDING PROGRAM THROUGH 1930. MINE OPERATED BY SOUTHERN CHEMICAL DIV. (LATER SOUTHERN MINERAL PRODUCTS CORP.) UNTIL DEC. 1943, WHEN PROPERTY SOLD TO VIRGINIA CHEM. CORP. OF INTERCHEMICAL CORP. IN MARCH, 1945, PROPERTY WAS ACQUIRED BY AMERICAN CYANAMID CORP. AND OPERATED UNTIL 1958. MILL OPERATED UNTIL JUNE 1971. PROPERTY ACQUIRED BY U.S. TITANIUM CORP DURING LATE 1970'S. ; ECON.COM: MILL LOCATED ON NORTH SIDE OF PINEY RIVER (IN NELSON CO.)

Reference information

Comments on the other database information

  • RECORD NUMBER ISM0584 IS A POTENTIAL DUPLICATE OF THIS RECORD

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HERZ, N., 1969, THE ROSELAND ALKALIC ANORTHOSITE MASSIF, VIRGINIA, IN ISACHSEN, Y. W. (ED.), ORIGIN OF ANORTHOSITE AND RELATED ROCKS: NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE, MEMOIR 18, P. 357-367.

  • Deposit

    HILLHOUSE, D. N., 1960, GEOLOGY OF THE PINEY RIVER-ROSELAND TITANIUM AREA, NELSON AND AMHERST COUNTIES, VIRGINIA: UNPUBLISHED PH. D. THESIS, VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE.

  • Deposit

    MOORE, C.H., JR., 1940, ORIGIN OF THE NELSONITE DIKES OF AMHERST COUNTY, VIRGINIA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 35, NO. 5, P. 629-645.

  • Deposit

    ROSS, C. S., 1941, OCCURRENCE AND ORIGIN OF THE TITANIUM DEPOSITS OF NELSON AND AMHERST COUNTIES, VIRGINIA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 198, 59 P.

  • Deposit

    1878 DIREXPL PHILA. & READING COAL & IRON CO.: PROSPECTED UNSUCCESSFULLY FOR IRON.

  • Deposit

    1907 DIREXPL GENERAL ELECTRIC CO.: BEGAN MINING OF NELSONITE DIKE FOR RUTILE.

  • Deposit

    1928 DIREXPL VANADIUM CORP. OF AMERICA: BEGAN PROSPECTING AND MINING OF SAPROLITE ORE.

  • Production

    U.S. GEOL. SURV. MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE U.S. 1907-1931; U.S. BUREAU OF MINES

  • Reference

    Viginia Department of Waste Mangement, 1989, U.S. Titanium Superfund Site, Nelson County, Virginia: EPA Record of Decision EPA/ROd/R030=90/083, 149 p.
    [http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/rods/fulltext/r0390083.pdf, accessed 12/8/2010]

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit TWO NELSONITE DIKES EXPLOITED BY GE TO 30M. ONE STRIKES N. 71 DEG. E AND DIPS 50 DEG. SE, OTHER STRIKES E-W AND DIPS 50 DEG. S.; MAXIMUM THICKNESS IS 1.5 M. DATA ABOVE IS FOR ORE ZONE.
Deposit AS OF OCT. 1979, US. TITANIUM CO. HAS NOT OPERATED MINE OR MILL, BUT HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH DISPOSAL OF MELANTERITE (BY-PRODUCT OF MILLING PROCESS) DUE TO POLLUTION OF PINEY RIVER FOLLOWING STORMS. FOR ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION OF PETROGENESIS SEE: DAVIDSON, D. M., GROUT, F. F., AND SCHWARTZ, 1946, NOTES ON THE ILMENITE DEPOSIT AT PINEY RIVER, VIRGINIA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 41, NO. 7, P. 738-748, AND A REBUTIAL: ROSS, C. S., 1947, VIRGINIA TITANIUM DEPOSITS: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 42, NO. 2, P. 194-198. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-79 Meintzer, Robert E. (Le Van, D.C.) U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 08-DEC-10 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey corrected location. added EPA reference.

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site