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Section 6 Iron Workings

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. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026125
MRDS ID K002598
Record type Site
Current site name Section 6 Iron Workings
Related records 10135478

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -84.01907, 35.10539 (WGS84)
Relative position 1.1 MILE NORTHEAST OF U.S. HIGHWAY 19-129 BRIDGE OVER THE VALLEY RIVER, AND ON THE NORTHWEST SLOPE OF THE HILL.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cherokee(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Murphy(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Cleveland(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Chattanooga(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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Limonite Ore

Alteration

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

Analytical data

Result 58.80% FE
Result 0.161% S
Result 0.391% P. TESTS BY U.S. BUREAU OF MINES (ROBERTSON, 1946) GAVE THE FOLLOWING RESULTS: HEAVY-MEDIA CONCENTRATES-49.4% FE
Result TABLE CONCENTRATES-42.9% FE
Result HEAVY-MEDIA TAILS-35.9% FE
Result TABLE TAILS-36.7% FE
Result LOG-WASHER OVERFLOW-15.1% FE. WEIGHT PERCENTS OF THE FOREGOING FRACTIONS ARE, RESPECTIVELY: 44.2%, 6.3%, 25.6%, 3.8%, AND 20.1%.

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
    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
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • 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) -84.01907, 35.10539
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
    Strike N 45 E
    Dip 30-48 S

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Bedding, Fractures, And Residuum

Comments on the geologic information

  • ROBERTSON (1946) DESCRIBES THE DEPOSITS AS "...RECEMENTED MASSES OF BROWN-IRON OXIDES THAT WERE PRECIPITATED ORIGINALLY IN THE BEDDING PLANES IN THE ANDREWS SCHIST. THE ORES VARY FROM THIN LAYERS OF LIMONITE MIXED WITH CHERT AND SAND TO MASSES SEVERAL FEET THICK THAT ARE MORE DENSE AND HARD. THESE MASSES WERE PROBABLY FORMED AT POINTS WHERE LAYERS OF LIMESTONE OCCURRED INTERBEDDED IN THE SCHIST OR WHERE CROSS CRACKS BETWEEN OPENINGS PERMITTED BETTER CIRCULATION OF THE SOLUTIONS." FLOAT ORE DOWNSLOPE RANGES FROM SHOT-SIZED MATERIAL TO BOULDERS OF LIMONITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1915
Year of first production 1915
Production years WWI

Mining district

District name Murphy Marble Belt

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner E. A. Wood
    Home office Andrews

Comments on the production information

  • THE ORE WAS REPORTEDLY SHIPPED TO FURNACES IN ALABAMA AND TENNESSEE.

Comments on the workings information

  • NINE PITS WERE MADE ON THE PROPERTY, NONE OF WHICH WERE VERY DEEP. THE WORKINGS OCCUR ALONG A 1,200-FOOT INTERVAL PARALLEL TO STRIKE OF THE COUNTRY ROCK. BAYLEY (1925) OBSERVED THAT ONE OF THE LONGER TRENCHES EXPOSED SOLID MASSES OF ORE AS MUCH AS 30 FEET IN WIDTH; BESIDES ANOTHER MASS 15 FEET WIDE ARE MANY SMALLER VEINS AGGREGATING IN THICKNESS UP TO 10 OR 12 FEET.

Comments on development

  • THE PROPERTY WAS WORKED UNDER LEASE FROM D. WITHERSPOON DURING WWI. E.A. WOODS OF ANDREWS, N.C., LATER ACQUIRED AN INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY. THE U.S. BUREAU OF MINES INVESTIGATED THE PROPERTY DURING 1944-1945. ; ECON.COM: GRADE OF ORE IS NOT ECONOMIC BY CURRENT SPECIFICATIONS

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BAYLEY, W.S., 1925, DEPOSITS OF BROWN IRON ORES (BROWN HEMATITE) IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: NORTH CAROLINA GEOL. AND ECON. SURVEY BULL. 31, 76 P.

  • Deposit

    ROBERTSON, A.F., 1946, EXPLORATION OF THE CHEROKEE IRON DEPOSITS, CHEROKEE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES RPT. INV. R.I. 3974, 31 P.

  • Deposit

    POWER, W.R., AND FORREST, J.T., 1973, STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEOGEOGRAPHY IN THE MURPHY MARBLE BELT: AM. JOUR. SCI., V. 273, P. 698-711.

  • Deposit

    1925 COMPILE BAYLEY, N.C. GEOL. & ECON. SUR. BULL. 31

  • Deposit

    1946 DIREXPL ROBERTSON, U.S.B.M. RPT. INV. 3974

  • Deposit

    1973 OTHER POWER AND FORREST, AM. JOUR. SCI., PAPER

  • Production

    ROBERTSON, A.F., 1946, U.S.B.M. RPT. INV. R.I. 3974

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: DURING WORLD WAR I

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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