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Bertha and Barren Springs Mines

Past Producer in Wythe county in Virginia, United States with commodities Zinc, Iron, Sulfur-Pyrite
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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. 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. Production statistics
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080246
MRDS ID W031352
Record type Site
Current site name Bertha and Barren Springs Mines
Alternate or previous names Bertha Mine, Barren Springs Mine, Manning & Squier: Pits

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -80.81036, 36.90757 (WGS84)
Elevation 640
Relative position 0.7 KM (0.4 MI) WSW OF BARREN SPRINGS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Wythe(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Fosters Falls(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 Wythe

Comments on the location information

  • 250 M (800 FT) NW OF STATE ROAD 608, 0.6 KM (0.35 MI) SW OF JUNCTION WITH VA. HWY. 100 IN BARREN SPRINGS. SOUTHEASTERN TERMINUS OF WORKINGS IS BERTHA MINE. WORKINGS EXTEND NORTHWEST ABOUT 1200 M TO ORIGINAL BARREN SPRINGS MINE ON EITHER SIDE OF STATE ROAD 622.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Iron Primary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • GALENA IS CONSPICUOUSLY LACKING.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Goethite Ore
Hemimorphite Ore
Hydrozincite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Smithsonite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Dolomite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation Of Primary Sulfides

Analytical data

Result BARREN SPRINGS IRON ORE: FE-44.27%, SIO2-12.50%, P-0.14%, MN-0.47%
Result BERTHA IRON ORE: FE-44.98%, MN-0.53% (HOLDEN, 1907, P. 452). BERTHA ZINC ORE: ZN-26% (WATSON, 1905, P. 82).

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 228
USGS model code 32b
Deposit model name Mississippi Valley, Appalachian Zn
Mark3 model number 42

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
    Rock unit name Residuum;Shady Formation (Austinville (Saccaroidal) Member)
    Rock description Residuum;Shady Formation (Austinville (Saccaroidal) Member)
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -80.81036, 36.90757
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Galena Synclinal Basin, Holston Mountain Fault
Type of structure Local
Structure description Hematite Mountain Overthrust, Sayer School Fault

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Strike NE
    Dip SE
    Thickness 30M
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 30M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore Concentrated In "Valleys" Around Residual Dolostone/Limestone Chimneys.

Comments on the geologic information

  • FOR GEOLOGIC MAP SEE CURRIER (1935), STOSE AND STOSE (1957) (VA. DIV. MIN. RES. BULL 72), AND ESPENSHADE, AND OTHERS (1975) (U.S.G.S. MISC. GEOL. INV. MAP I-709-B)

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1854
Discoverer Iron-?, Zinc-David S. Forney
Year of first production 1854

Mining district

District name Bertha District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Virginia Iron, Coal And Coke Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1898
    Period 1879-1898
    Material ORE ZN
    Description Cp_Grade: ^Zn=26%
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Zinc Zinc 26wt-pct

Comments on the workings information

  • IRON WAS WORKED BY OPEN-PIT METHODS; WHILE ZINC WAS PREDOMINANTLY OPEN-PIT, BUT, IN ADDITION, SHALLOW SHAFTS AND TUNNELS WERE DRIVEN.

Comments on development

  • THE BARREN SPRINGS MINE WAS OPENED FOR IRON (LIMONITE ORE) IN 1854. IN 1866, ZINC ORE WAS DISCOVERED AT THE LOCATION OF THE BERTHA MINE AND, IN 1879, THE FIRST ORE WAS SHIPPED TO PROVIDENCE, R.I. FOR PROCESSING. THE BERTHA MINING CO. OPERATED THE BERTHA MINE FOR ZINC UNTIL 1898 WHEN THE PROPERTY WAS LEASED TO THE PULASKI IRON CO. FOR IRON ORE PRODUCTION. THE BARREN SPRINGS MINE (MANNING & SQUIERS PROPERTY) WAS ALSO OPERATED FOR ZINC DURING THE 1880'S-1890'S. AS OF 1907 THE MINES WERE STILL BEING OPERATED FOR IRON. ; ECON.COM: ZINC OUTPUT: 200T PER DAY.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CASE, W.H., 1894, THE BERTHA ZINC MINES AT BERTHA, VIRGINIA: AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS TRANSACTIONS, V. 22, P. 511-536.

  • Deposit

    CURRIER, L.W., 1935, ZINC AND LEAD REGION OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 43, 122 P.

  • Deposit

    HOLDEN, R.J., 1907, IRON, IN WATSON, T.L., MINERAL RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA: LYNCHBURG, VA., J.P. BELL CO., P. 402-491

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T.L., 1905, LEAD AND ZINC DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1, 156 P.

  • Deposit

    1854 DIREXPL BARREN SPRINGS MINE OPENED FOR IRON.

  • Deposit

    1866 RECON D.S. FORNEY: DISCOVERED ZINC ORE AT BERTHA MINE.

  • Deposit

    1879 DIREXPL BERTHA MINE: ZINC MINING BEGUN

  • Deposit

    MCCREATH, A.S., AND D'INVILLIERS, E.V., 1887, THE NE RIVER-CRIPPLE CREEK MINERAL REGION OF VIRGINIA: HARRISBURG, PA., HARRISBURG PUBLISHING CO., 171 P.

  • Deposit

    1975 OTHER R.B. NEUMAN: MISC. GEOL. INV. MAP I-709-B.

  • Production

    HOLDEN, (1907); WATSON (1905); MCCREATH AND D'INVILLIERS (1887, P. 56).

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DIMENSIONS REFER TO THICKNESS OF CLAY MANTLE. UNDERLYING ROCK SHOWS LITTLE OR NO MINERALIZATION.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1980 Meintzer, Robert E. (Sweet, P. 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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