Rattlesnake Mine

Past Producer in Jackson county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Corundum, Asbestos
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Nearby scientific data
  8. Ore body information
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Mining district
  11. Ownership information
  12. Links to other databases
  13. Bibliographic references
  14. General comments
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026099
MRDS ID K002567
Record type Site
Current site name Rattlesnake Mine
Alternate or previous names Rattlesnake Asbestos Prospect
Related records 10272814

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.00543, 35.12872 (WGS84)
Relative position ON SOUTH SLOPE OF HOGBACK MOUNTAIN, 0.5 MILE NORTHEAST OF THE ASBESTOS MINE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jackson(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Ridge(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)

Federal lands

Nantahala National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Croatan National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

National Forests in North Carolina(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Jackson

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Corundum Primary
Asbestos Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Asbestos Ore
Corundum Ore

Nearby scientific data

(1) -83.00543, 35.12872

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form LENS
    Length 91.44M
    Width 30.48M

Comments on the geologic information

  • ROCK IS UNUSUALLY COARSE TEXTURED AND CONSISTS OF LARGE RADIATING BLADES OF ENSTATITE THAT ARE PARTIALLY ALTERED TO ANTHOPHYLLITE AND GRAINS OF OLIVINE THAT ARE OCCASIONALLY AN INCH OR MORE IN DIAMETER. CROSS-FIBER VEINS OF ANTHOPHYLLITE UP 5 INCHES WIDE CUT THE BODY IN ALL DIRECTIONS AND ARE PARTICULARLY NUMEROUS IN THE NORTH END. TALC AND CHLORITE ARE THE MAIN ACCESSORY MINERALS. CHLORITE OCCURS MOSTLY AS AN ALTERATION PRODUCT ASSOCIATED WITH ENSTATITE AND OLIVINE, WHEREAS TALC IS MOST OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH ENSTATITE AND ANTHOPHYLLITE. SMALL IRREGULAR SHAPED GRAINS OF MAGNETITE ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT, BUT ARE PARTICULARLY CONCENTRATED IN THE CHLORITE. YELLOWISH-GREEN SERPENTINE IS SOMETIMES PRESENT IN THE FRACTURES OF THE ENSTATITE BLADES. PERIPHERAL ZONE ASBESTOS MAY BE PRESENT IN CONSIDERABLE QUANTITIES.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1895
Production years 1880'S

Mining district

District name Sapphire Valley Area

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Sapphire Corundum Co.

Comments on the workings information

  • EXACT DIMENTISIONS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE BECAUSE OF SOIL AND VEGETATION. DEPOSIT WORKED BY SAPPHIRE CORUNDUM CO. IN 1880'S. EXTENSIVE WORKINGS ARE DEVELOPED PARALLEL TO CONTACT ZONE ALONG EAST SIDE OF BODY. CUTS NOW SLUMPED AND OVER GROWN.

Comments on development

  • DEPOSIT HAS NOT BEEN WORKED FOR ASBESTOS BUT IS OF INTEREST BECAUSE BULK SAMPLES OF MASS FIBER ORE WERE COLLECTED.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CONRAD, S.G., AND OTHERS, 1963, ANTHOPHYLLITE ASBESTOS IN NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA DIV. MINERAL RESOURCES BULL. 77, 61P

  • Deposit

    1963 RECON CONRAD, S.G., REPOR

  • Production

    CONRAD, S.G., 1963,

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit First Production Year: 1890'S (CORUNDUM)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1974 Fagan, James M. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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