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Ferebee and Young Iron Mine

Past Producer in Cherokee county in North Carolina, United States with commodity Iron
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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. 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. Production statistics
  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 10026112
MRDS ID K002583
Record type Site
Current site name Ferebee and Young Iron Mine
Related records 10151435

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.79462, 35.18511 (WGS84)
Relative position 1.1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF JUNCTION OF US RTES. 19-129 AND THE JUNALUSKA CREEK ROAD

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cherokee(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Andrews(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fontana Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Hiwassee(hydrologic unit)

Middle Tennessee-Hiwassee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Middle Tennessee-Hiwassee(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 Cherokee

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Iron Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • ACCORDING TO BAYLEY (1925), THE GRADE OF ORE BECAME SO POOR WITH DEPTH THAT IT WAS UNECONOMICAL TO SHIP IT.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Limonite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Weathering Of Iron-Bearing Minerals To Form Limonite

Analytical data

Result IRON CONTENT RANGED FROM 46.08% TO 53%
Result PHOSPHOROUS CONTENT RANGED FROM 0.35 TO 1.03%
Result MANGANESE CONTENT RANGED FROM 0.37 TO 0.92% (BAYLEY, 1925). THE IRON CONTENT OF THE ORE APPARENTLY DECREASES WITH DEPTH.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Metadiorite, Dark-Green, Locally Porphyritic, Pyroxenite & Amphibolite. Van Horn ( 1948 , P. 15 ) Terms These Rocks Metadiorite Because He Considers Them To Be Metamorphosed Diorites That Have Lost Their Feldspar & Quartz Through Metamorphism
    Rock description Metadiorite, Dark-Green, Locally Porphyritic, Pyroxenite & Amphibolite. Van Horn ( 1948 , P. 15 ) Terms These Rocks Metadiorite Because He Considers Them To Be Metamorphosed Diorites That Have Lost Their Feldspar & Quartz Through Metamorphism
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Marble
    Rock unit name Residuum;Andrews Formation, Thin Alternating Layers Of Marble & Biotite Schist
    Rock description Residuum;Andrews Formation, Thin Alternating Layers Of Marble & Biotite Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -83.79462, 35.18511
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Northeast-Trending Strike Belts Define A Major Syncline

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR, BLANKET
    Strike N 80 E
    Dip STEEPLY S

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Bedding, Fractures, And Residuum

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE ORE-BEARING ZONE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE OPEN PIT CONSISTS OF ABUNDANT THIN LAYERS OF LIMONITE INTERBEDDED WITH SANDY SCHIST LAYERS. BAYLEY (1925) STATED THAT THE ROCKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORE WERE CONTORTED AND CRUSHED, AS THOUGH IN A FAULT ZONE. HE ALSO STATES THAT THE "DIRT" NEAR THE SURFACE CONSISTED OF ABOUT 50% LIMONITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1917

Mining district

District name Murphy Marble Belt

Production statistics

  • Year 1918
    Period 1917 - 1918
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^Limonite, 46 - 53 % Fe
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Limonite Iron Iron 50wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • 200 CARLOADS WAS CONVERTED TO 12,000 TONS

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall length 38.1M
    Overall width 21.34M

Comments on the workings information

  • THE PIT APPARENTLY FOLLOWS THE TREND OF THE VEIN, AND HAS AN AVERAGE DEPTH OF 17 FEET. THE ORE-BEARING ZONE OR "LEDGE" IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT IS ABOUT 9 FEET WIDE.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: PHOSPHOROUS CONTENT IS TOO HIGH FOR CURRENT MARKET SPECIFICATIONS

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MUCH OF THE ORE WAS SHIPPED WITHOUT FORKING OR WASHING, AND MINING WAS DISCONTINUED WHEN HARDER ROCK WAS REACHED BELOW THE MANTLE OF DISINTEGRATED MATERIAL.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-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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