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Mulberry Gap Talc Mine

Past Producer in Cherokee county in North Carolina, United States with commodity Talc-Soapstone
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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. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10026135
MRDS ID K002615
Record type Site
Current site name Mulberry Gap Talc Mine
Alternate or previous names Hillyer Mine, Munsford Mine, Davis Mine, Old Mill Mine, Minerals and Metals Talc Mine, Hoffman Mine.
Related records 10272360

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -84.08963, 35.04872 (WGS84)
Relative position 0.3 MILE NW OF MT. LIBERTY CHURCH AND CEMETERY

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
Talc-Soapstone Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • TALC AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS WAS BADLY STAINED, BUT BETTER QUALITY WAS ENCOUNTERED WITH INCREASING DEPTH.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Talc Ore
Marble Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Analytical data

Result TALC IS AVERAGE GRADE, HAVING FROM 87 TO 93 PERCENT OF THE WHITENESS OF STANDARD MAGNESIUM CARBONATE. THE MINE REPORTEDLY YIELDED SEVERAL THOUSAND TONS OF THE FINEST QUALITY TALC. (PRATT, J.H., 1900).

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
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Marble

Nearby scientific data

(1) -84.08963, 35.04872
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

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

Ore body information

  • General form LENS
    Strike N 30-50 E
    Dip 25 S
    Plunge direction SW
    Width 12.19M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fracture Zone; Bedding

Comments on the geologic information

  • VAN HORN OBSERVED THAT "...ALL OF THE EXPOSED WALL ROCK IS MORE OR LESS SILICIFIED, AS ARE THE ROCK "KIDNEYS" INSIDE THE OTHERWISE PURE TALC, BUT QUARTZ-FREE MARBLE LIES A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY. IT IS PROBABLE THAT THE NORTHEAST END OF THE TALC BODY HAS SLUMPED BECAUSE OF DISINTEGRATION OF THE DOLOMITIC MARBLE WHICH SUPPORTED IT. THIS SLUMP GIVES THE INITIAL IMPRESSION THAT THE TALC HAS A DOUBLE PLUNGE."

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1942
Discoverer H.S. Predmore
Production years AROUND 1900 - LATE 1940'S

Mining district

District name Murphy Marble Belt

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Minerals And Metals Corp.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Tennessee Valley Authority

Comments on the production information

  • APPROXIMATELY 1,700 TONS OF TALC WERE TAKEN FROM UNDERGROUND WORKINGS. AT THE TIME OF VAN HORN'S WRITING, IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT 15,000 TONS OF TALC WOULD BE AVAILABLE THROUGH OPEN-CUT MINING.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 30.48M
    Overall length 36.58M
    Overall width 31.09M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINIMUM LENGTH AND WIDTH OF TALC BODY IS 300 AND 100 FEET RESPECTIVELY. AVERAGE THICKNESS IS 10 FEET. FOOTWALL OF QUARTZITE DIPS 30 DEGREES SOUTHEAST. MINE INCLUDES A LARGE OPEN PIT, THREE SHAFTS, AND APPENDED DRIFTS AND CROSSCUTS.

Comments on development

  • THE MINE WAS OWNED BY THE ATLANTA TALC, MINING, AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY (GEORGE HILLYER, PRESIDENT) AROUND 1900. WATER PROBLEMS PREVENTED SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTS TO REOPEN THE WORKINGS. H.S. PREDMORE INVESTIGATED THE PROPERTY AFTER 1940, AND THE PROPERTY WAS TAKEN OVER BY THE MINERALS AND METALS CORPORATION, WHICH BEGAN MINING IN 1944 IN NEW WORKINGS ON THE TRACT. HITCHCOCK CORPORATION ACQUIRED PROSPECTING AND MINING RIGHTS TO THE PROPERTY ABOUT 1967. ; ECON.COM: WATER PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF ADJACENT NOTTELY RIVER AND POOR UNDERGROUND CONDITIONS

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE WHITE, FINE-GRAINED, DOLOMITIC MARBLE ZONE WHICH LOCALLY CONTAINS TALC DEPOSITS IS AT THE APPROXIMATE STRATIGRAPHIC CENTER OF THE FORMATION.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-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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