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Moccasin Gap Barite Mine

Past Producer in Cocke county in Tennessee, United States with commodities Barium-Barite, 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. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Ore body information
  10. Controls for ore emplacement
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Ownership information
  14. Workings at the site
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10025885
MRDS ID K001859
Record type Site
Current site name Moccasin Gap Barite Mine
Related records 10178727

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -82.98904, 35.93953 (WGS84)
Elevation 549
Relative position AT MOCCASIN GAP, ON GOLD MINE RIDGE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cocke(county)

Tennessee(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Paint Rock(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Asheville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper French Broad(hydrologic unit)

French Broad-Holston(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Cherokee 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 Tennessee Cocke

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary
Iron Tertiary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore
Limonite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Ankerite Gangue

Analytical data

Result 97-98% BASO4
Result TRACE CALCIUM FLUORIDE, SILICA, AND IRON. ANALYSES BY FARRAR (TENN. DIV. GEOL. CHEMIST) SHOW THE FOLLOWING BARITE VALUES: QUARTZITE HORSE IN CENTER OF VEIN-16.94%
Result QUARTZITE ONE FOOT ABOVE HANGING WALL-5.31%
Result SAME, 4 FEET ABOVE HANGING WALL-3.88%
Result SAME, 25 FEET ABOVE HANGING WALL-4.40%.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Rock unit name Cochran Conglom., Chilhowee Group Cgl & Quartzite
    Rock description Cochran Conglom., Chilhowee Group Cgl & Quartzite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Conglomerate

Nearby scientific data

(1) -82.98904, 35.93953
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form PINCH AND SWELL
    Strike N 53 DEG E
    Dip 50 DEG S
    Thickness 3.05M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Bedding Plane Fault And Related Shear Zone, According To Ferguson And Jewell (1951)

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE BARITE IS GLASSY, VERY COARSELY CRYSTALLINE, VERY PURE, AND OCCURS ALONG A BEDDING PLANE FAULT. SIMILAR OCCURRENCES OF THIS TYPE ELSEWHERE IN THE DEL RIO DISTRICT ARE REFERRED TO (FERGUSON & JEWELL, 1951) AS THE MOCCASIN GAP TYPE OF BARITE DEPOSIT. THE UNWEATHERED VEIN MATERIAL CONSISTS OF "...A ZONE OF SHEARED AND CRUSHED SHALE, SANDSTONE, AND QUARTZITE IN WHICH HAS BEEN DEPOSITED ANKERITE, VEIN QUARTZ, PYRITE, AND BARITE, PARTLY IN OPEN FRACTURES, PARTLY BY REPLACEMENT. THE BARITE OCCURS IN SCATTERED PODS AND BUNCHES OVER THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE VEIN, BUT IS MORE ABUNDANT NEAR THE HANGING WALL." ALTERED VEIN MATERIAL CONSISTS OF GREEN TO BRICK-RED STICKY CLAY, CLAYEY SAND, BLOCKS OR HORSES OF ALTERED QUARTZITE, AND BARITE. A LIMONITE CAP OR "BACKBONE" LOCALLY MARKS THE SURFACE TREND OF THE VEINS AND SERVES AS A PROSPECTING AID. IN ONE OF THE CUTS, BARITE FORMS A NETWORK OF IRREGULAR VEINS EMPLACED ALONG FRACTURES IN QUARTZITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant No
Year of first production 1926
Production years PRE-1926, 1932-1933, 1937

Mining district

District name Del Rio Barite District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Tennessee Mining Co.
    Home office Jacksonville, Fl.
  • Type Owner
    Owner U.S. Forest Service

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • A CONSIDERABLE AREA TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE MINE IS CONSIDERED AS POTENTIALLY FAVORABLE FOR ECONOMIC DEPOSITS OF GLASS GRADE BARITE.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall length 609.6M
    Overall width 91.44M

Comments on the workings information

  • THE MINERALIZED ZONE RANGES FROM FRACTION OF AN INCH TO 10 FEET IN THICKNESS, BUT CONTAINS LITTLE BARITE EXCEPT IN THE UPPER WEATHERED PART WHERE BARITE HAS BEEN CONCENTRATED BY SOLUTION WEATHERING.

Comments on development

  • EARLIEST WORK DONE BY ROLLIN CHEMICAL COMPANY, CHARLESTON, W.VA. 1,000 TONS OF BARITE REPORTEDLY PRODUCED. TENNESSEE COAL AND IRON COMPANY, WHO OWNED THE LAND, SOLD IT TO GOVERNMENT, BUT RETAINED MINERAL RIGHTS. RIGHTS LEASED TO LANCE AND HARRISON WHO MAY HAVE SHIPPED SOME BARITE IN 1932 OR 1933. MINERAL RIGHTS BOUGHT BY CLINCHFIELD SAND AND FELDSPAR CORPORATION IN 1936, WHO DID SOME DEVELOPMENT WORK AND MINED 1,000 TONS BARITE IN 1937. USBM DRILLED 6 HOLES DURING WW2, BUT FAILED TO PROVE ADDITIONAL RESERVES. IN 1946, CLINCHFIELD LEASED THE MINERAL RIGHTS TO GIRVIN, BEARD, AND MARTIN, WHO DID SOME DEVELOPMENT WORK BUT SHIPPED NO ORE. TENNESSEE MINING COMPANY LEASED THE MINE IN 1947, BUT HAS PRODUCED NO ORE. ; ECON.COM: BARITE IS VERY PURE; WASH WATER IS LIMITED; BARITE CONTENT OF UNWEATHERED VEIN MATERIAL IS TOO LOW TO BE ECONOMIC.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    FERGUSON, H.W., AND JEWELL, W.B., 1951, GEOLOGY AND BARITE DEPOSITS OF THE DEL RIO DISTRICT, COCKE COUNTY, TENNESSEE: TENNESSEE DIV. GEOLOGY BULL. 57, 235 P.

  • Deposit

    MAHER, S.W., 1970, BARITE RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE: TENNESSEE DIV. GEOLOGY, REPT. INV. 28, 40 P.

  • Deposit

    1951 OTHER FERGUSON & JEWELL, TENN. DIV. GEOL. BULL. 57

  • Deposit

    1970 COMPILE MAHER, S.W. TENN. DIV. GEOL., RPT. INV. 28

  • Production

    FERGUSON AND JEWELL, 1951, TENNESSEE DIV. GEOL. BULL. 57

  • Reserve-Resource

    FERGUSON & JEWELL, 1951, TENNESSEE DIV. GEOLOGY BULL. 57

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit BARITE UNDERLIES THE MOCCASIN GAP MEMBER OF THE UNICOI FORMATION (FERGUSON & JEWELL, 1951) OR COCHRAN CONGLOMERATE (TVA FILES). UNWEATHERED BEDROCK IS PYRITIC. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1974 Hale, Robin 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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