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Williamson Mine

Past Producer in Botetourt county in Virginia, United States with commodity Barium-Barite
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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. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080156
MRDS ID W031248
Record type Site
Current site name Williamson Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -79.9056, 37.55756 (WGS84)
Elevation 480
Relative position 7.2 KM (4.5 MI) NORTHWEST OF FINCASTLE.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Botetourt(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Oriskany(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Buena Vista(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper James(hydrologic unit)

James(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Jefferson National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

George Washington and Jefferson National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Botetourt

Comments on the location information

  • 800 M (2624 FT) NORTH OF MT. PLEASANT CHURCH. 0.8 KM (0.5 MI) NORTH ON STATE ROAD 666 FROM ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROAD 668, TURN NORTHWEST ON DIRT ROAD FOR 0.4 KM (0.25 MI), MINE IS ABOUT 40 M (131 FT) SOUTH OF ROAD, ON TOP OF A RIDGE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SULPHIDE MINERALS (NOT NAMED) WERE REPORTED IN ONE PIECE OF BARITE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore
Chert Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Limestone Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Clay Residuum;Copper Ridge Formation
    Rock description Clay Residuum;Copper Ridge Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -79.9056, 37.55756
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend
Type of structure Local
Structure description Pulaski-Staunton Fault, Syncline, Faults Subsidiary To The Pulaski-Staunton Fault

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Strike N 30 DEG E
    Dip 50 DEG SE

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Clay Residuum

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1850
Year of first production 1850

Mining district

District name Roanoke - Botetourt Counties Area

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Wills, Jesse

Comments on the production information

  • ORIGINAL DATA IN TONS.

Comments on the workings information

  • SHALLOW PITS AND TRENCHES WERE DUG. THE LARGEST TRENCH WAS 61 M (200 FT) LONG, 9.1 M (30 FT) WIDE, AND 9.1 M (30 FT) DEEP. SMALLER TRENCHES, ABOUT 3 M (10 FT) LONG, 1.5 M (5 FT) WIDE, AND 0.9 M (3 FT) DEEP, WERE DUG SOUTH OF THE MAIN TRENCH, ORIENTED PERPENDICULAR TO THE RIDGE AXIS. AN OPEN CUT ABOUT 6.1 M (20 FT) IN DIAMETER AND 9.1 M (30 FT) WAS DUG ENTIRELY IN THE RESIDUAL SOIL MANTLE.

Comments on development

  • MINE WAS OPENED ABOUT 1850, SEVERAL SHALLOW PROSPECT PITS AND ONE OPEN CUT WERE DUG. AMOUNT OF PRODUCTION IS UNKNOWN. IN 1917 AN ATTEMPT TO REWORK THE MINE APPARENTLY DID NOT PRODUCE ANYTHING. N.S. HOTINGER SYSTEMATICALLY PROSPECTED THE MINE IN 1935. SEVERAL TRENCHES ACROSS THE NORTHEAST TREND OF THE DEPOSITS WERE DUG AND SUFFICIENT BARITE WAS FOUND TO ENCOURAGE MINING OPERATIONS IN 1936. 350 TONS OF BARITE WAS RECOVERED FROM AN S-SHAPED TRENCH.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    EDMUNDSON, R.S., 1938, BARITE DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 53, 85 P.

  • Deposit

    ECONOMIC GEOLOGY FILE - VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES

  • Deposit

    HAY, N.R.T., 1950, GEOLOGY OF THE FINCASTLE SYNCLINE, BOTETOURT COUNTY, VIRGINIA: UNPUBLISHED MS THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.

  • Deposit

    1850? DIREXPL ? - DUG PITS AND TRENCH, MINED

  • Deposit

    1917 DIREXPL ? - REWORKED MINE

  • Deposit

    1935 DIREXPL N.S. HOTINGER - DUG MORE TRENCHES, MINED

  • Production

    EDMUNDSON, (1938)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit BARITE AND CHERT OCCURS IN RED-YELLOW CLAY RESIDUUM. SOME DOLOMITE PINNACLES WERE REPORTED NEAR THE NORTHEASTERN END OF THE TRENCH. BEDROCK OUTCROPS IN TRENCH, BUT THE SURFACE IS COVERED WITH A SANDSTONE FLOAT. BARITE NODULES AS LARGE AS A HEAD WERE FOUND AND BARITE OCCURS AS VEINLETS IN THE BEDROCK. SOME DOLOMITE BRECCIA OBSERVED. THE CLAY RESIDUUM IS PROBABLY DERIVED FROM THE MARBLE OF THE MOUNT ATHOS FORMATION.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1980 Trimble, David C. (Sweet, Palmer C.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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