Cox No. 2 Feldspar and Kaolin Mine

Past Producer in Swain county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Kaolin, Feldspar
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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  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 10026052
MRDS ID K002509
Record type Site
Current site name Cox No. 2 Feldspar and Kaolin Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.46183, 35.44927 (WGS84)
Relative position 1,500 FEET NORTHEAST OF SHERRILL GAP

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Swain(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bryson City(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fontana Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Tuckasegee(hydrologic unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Swain

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Kaolin Primary
Feldspar Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Feldspar Ore
Kaolin Ore
Biotite Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Kaolin After Plagioclase

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Mpal Border Gneiss, Microcline Porphyroblasts In Medium-To Coarse-Grained Matrix Of Biotite, Quartz, & Feldspar;Granite Gneiss, Fine-To Coarse-Grained, Leucocratic To Mesocratic Gneiss, Ranging From Granitic To Granodioritic;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y.;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y
    Rock description Mpal Border Gneiss, Microcline Porphyroblasts In Medium-To Coarse-Grained Matrix Of Biotite, Quartz, & Feldspar;Granite Gneiss, Fine-To Coarse-Grained, Leucocratic To Mesocratic Gneiss, Ranging From Granitic To Granodioritic;Prec Mpal 1050-320 M.Y.;Prec
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Ocoee Series, Quartz-Mica Schist & Feldspathic-Mica Quartzite
    Rock description Ocoee Series, Quartz-Mica Schist & Feldspathic-Mica Quartzite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -83.46183, 35.44927

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Principal Zone Of Pegmatites Trends Northeast; Most Pegmatites Strike Northeast, But Some Strike Northwest.

Ore body information

  • General form BLUNT, IRREGULAR LENS
    Strike N 42 E
    Dip STEEPLY NW

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fracture, Dilation Zone (Cameron, 1951)

Comments on the geologic information

  • PEGMATITE CONSISTS OF 4 ZONES: 1) A BORDER ZONE OF FINE-GRAINED QUARTZ, PLAGIOCLASE, AND PERTHITE, 2) A WALL ZONE OF IRREGULARLY INTERGROWN MEDIUM- TO COARSE-GRAINED PLAGIOCLASE AND QUARTZ WITH MINOR PERTHITE, SERICITE, AND MUSCOVITE, 3) A INTERMEDIATE ZONE OF COARSE- TO VERY COARSE-GRAINED PLAGIOCLASE AND PERTHITE WITH SCATTERED BOOKS OF BIOTITE, AND 4) AN APPARENT CORE OF PERTHITE-QUARTZ, CONSISTING OF MASSIVE POTASH FELDSPAR CRYSTALS UP TO 4 FEET IN DIAMETER. THE PERTHITE-QUARTZ ZONE IS THE ONLY APPARENT COMMERCIAL SOURCE OF FELDSPAR IN THE PEGMATITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1925
Year of first production 1925
Production years EARLY 1900'S

Mining district

District name Bryson City Feldspar District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Mr. Cox

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCED KAOLIN.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall length 27.43M
    Overall width 24.38M

Comments on the workings information

  • CUT IS 50 FEET DEEP. THE PEGMATITE IS EXPOSED OVER A LENGTH OF 170 FEET AND RANGES FROM 38 TO 85 FEET IN OUTCROP WIDTH. DIPS VARY MARKEDLY IN SHORT DISTANCES RANGING FROM 48 NW TO VERTICAL.

Comments on development

  • NO FELDSPAR MINING HAS BEEN ATTEMPTED. ; ECON.COM: UNLESS THE PEGMATITE BROADENS DOWNWARD, DISCOVERY OF AN ECONOMIC DEPOSIT OF FELDSPAR IS UNLIKELY.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CAMERON, E.N., 1951, FELDSPAR DEPOSITS OF THE BRYSON CITY DISTRICT, NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA DIV. MINERAL RESOURCES BULL. 62, 100 P

  • Deposit

    1951 OTHER CAMERON, E.N., N.C. BULL. 6

  • Production

    CAMERON, E.N., 1951, N.C. DIV. MIN. RES. BULL. 62

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE PEGMATITE TRANSECTS THE CONTACT OF THE BORDER GNEISS WITH METASEDIMENTARY ROCKS.
Deposit Discovery Year: EARLY 1900'S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1974 Hale, Robin C. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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