Hewitt Talc Mine Shaft

Past Producer in Swain county in North Carolina, United States with commodity Talc-Soapstone
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 10026155
MRDS ID K002644
Record type Site
Current site name Hewitt Talc Mine Shaft
Related records 10151692, 10273223

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.64517, 35.31011 (WGS84)
Relative position 0.65 MILE NORTHEAST OF MOUTH OF MUDCAT BRANCH

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Swain(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Hewitt(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fontana Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Little Tennessee(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 Swain

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Talc-Soapstone Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Talc Ore

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) -83.64517, 35.31011

Economic information

Geologic structures

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

Ore body information

  • General form LENS, PINCH & SWELL
    Strike NE
    Dip 54 S
    Plunge direction SW

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fracture Zones; Bedding

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Discoverer Nantahala Talc And Marble Company And North Carolina Talc And Mining Company.

Mining district

District name Murphy Marble Belt

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Nantahala Talc And Marble Co. And North Carolina Talc And Mining Co.

Comments on the production information

  • THE TALC IS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN OF FINE QUALITY.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 36.58M

Comments on the workings information

  • SHAFT IS 80 FEET DEEP, WITH APPENDED DRIFTS TO LOWER LEVELS. THE TALC LENSES WERE CONNECTED BY THIN SEAMS OF TALC.

Comments on development

  • TALC WAS DISCOVERED IN A WELL AT ABOUT 10 FEET BELOW RIVER LEVEL, AND THE SHAFT WAS SUNK TO INTERCEPT THE LENSE. ACCORDING TO VAN HORN (1948), "AFTER 10 OR 12 YEARS OF OPERATION...THE WATER FINALLY PROVED TOO MUCH IN SPITE OF 16 PUMPS, POWERED BY WATER WHEEL AND STEAM, WORKING DAY AND NIGHT, AND THE MINE WAS ABANDONED." THE INDIVIDUAL HOLDINGS OF THE NANTAHALA TALC AND MARBLE COMPANY AND THE NORTH CAROLINA TALC AND MINING COMPANY ARE NOT RECORDED; THEIR OPERATIONS WERE COMBINED AS A SINGLE PROPERTY. NO RECORDS EXIST AS TO DETAILS OF MINE WORKINGS OR GEOLOGY. ; ECON.COM: EXCESSIVE WATER PROBLEM FORCED CLOSING OF THE MINE. MODERN GROUTING METHODS AND ELECTRIC PUMPS MAY SOLVE THAT PROBLEM

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 (VAN HORN, 1948).

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.