Miles Mine

Past Producer in Smyth county in Virginia, United States with commodity Barium-Barite
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. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  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 10067262
MRDS ID VA01751
Record type Site
Current site name Miles Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -81.5715, 36.82202 (WGS84)
Elevation 686
Relative position 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DOWNTOWN MARION

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Smyth(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Marion(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Wytheville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winston-Salem(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

South Fork Holston(hydrologic unit)

French Broad-Holston(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Smyth

Comments on the location information

  • PREVIOUS DESCRIPTIONS INCLUDE THE MILES-GARDNER MINES TOGETHER. FROM FIELD WORK AND PERSONAL COMMUNICATION (GRAHM GARDNER) SEPARATE MILES AND GARDNER MINE SITES WERE LOCATED AND WILL BE DESCRIBED AS TWO MINES. UTM COORDINATES AND ELEVATION LOCATE THE CENTER OF THE WORKINGS. THE MILES MINE IS .83 MILES S 52 DEGREES 2 FROM THE INTERSECTION OF STATE ROAD 659 AND 665 AT EBENEZER CHURCH, 3100 FEET N 25 DEGREES E FROM BENCH MARK BM 23 AT MCMULLIN, 1000 FEET SOUTH OF THE MIDDLE FORK OF HOLSTON RIVER.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Beekmantown Formation
    Rock description Beekmantown;Residual Clay And Soil

Nearby scientific data

(1) -81.5715, 36.82202

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Northeast-Southwest Trending Thrust Faults
Type of structure Local
Structure description Mine Is Located On The Southern Flank Of The Marion Dome, 1 Mile North Of Seven Springs Thrust Fault.

Ore body information

  • General form LENSE, PINCH AND SWELL , IRREGULAR
    Strike EAST-WEST
    Dip 12 DEGREES SE
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures In The Bedrock

Comments on the geologic information

  • BEEKMANTOWN OUTCROPS HERE AS FINE GRAINED, DARK GRAY LIMESTONE WITH 1 INCH THICK DISCONTINUOUS CHERTY BANDS. STRIKE IS EAST-WEST, AND DIP IS 13 DEGREES SOUTH. REGIONAL GEOLOGY FROM C. BUTTS (1933), B. COOPER (1936), AND B. FRENCH (1967).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1875
Discoverer Miles (?)
Year of first production 1875
Year of last production 1902

Mining district

District name Smyth County Barite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Miles
  • Type Owner
    Owner G. Gardiner, L. Ellis

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall depth 15.24M
    Overall length 91.44M
    Overall width 182.88M

Comments on the workings information

  • EDMUNDSON (1938) REPORTED WORKINGS CONSISTED OF SEVERAL SHALLOW OPEN CUTS ABOUT 50 FEET LONG AND TWO SHAFTS 50 FEET DEEP. FIELD EXAMINATION CONDUCTED 11/20/85. NUMEROUS SHALLOW PITS AND OPEN CUTS UP TO 40 FEET LONG, 15 FEET WIDE AND 5 FEET DEEP FOUND ALONG HILL CREST. LOCAL RESIDENTS STATE THAT SOME PITS WERE FILLED IN AND GRADED LEVEL AT THE END OF THE ROAD FOR THE RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION.

Comments on development

  • MINING PROBABLY BEGAN BETWEEN 1875 AND 1885. MINE DEVELOPMENT INCLUDED SURFACE WORKINGS AND TWO SHALLOW (50 FEET DEEP) SHAFTS. WORKINGS EXTENDED FROM THE MILES FARM (MILES MINE) TO THE ADJOINING GARDNER FARM (GARDNER MINE). GRAHAM GARDINER (PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, 1985) STATED THE MINE WAS ON HIS FAMILY'S PROPERTY AND WAS WORKED PRIOR TO 1902.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BUTTS, CHARLES, 1933, GEOLOGY MAP OF THE APPALACHIAN VALLEY OF VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 42.

  • Deposit

    COOPER, B.N., 1936, STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF THE MARION AREA, VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 46-L.

  • Deposit

    EDMUNDSON, R.S., 1938, BARITE DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 53.

  • Deposit

    FRENCH, B.E., 1967, THE GEOLOGY OF THE MARION DOME, V.P.I. MASTERS THESIS (UNPUBLISHED).

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DEPOSIT IS NOT EXPOSED NOR DESCRIBED IN THE LITERATURE. AS WITH THE OTHER DEPOSITS IN THE DISTRICT, BARITE MOST LIKELY OCCURS AS VEINS AND REPLACEMENT MASSES ALONG FRACTURES IN THE BEDROCK, AND AS IRREGULAR FRAGMENTS IN THE OVERLYING RESIDUAL CLAY AND SOIL.
Deposit SEPARATE LOCATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED FOR THE MILES AND GARDNER MINES, WHICH WERE PREVIOUSLY LISTED WITH 1 DESCRIPTION AND 1 LOCATION. EDMUNDSON STATES THE MILES MINE DEPOSIT IS ALONG THE SAME MINERALIZED ZONE AS THE H.P. COPENHAVER AND SHAMKLIN MINES, BUT IT HAS BEEN A RELATIVELY UNIMPORTANT PRODUCER. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV; 5 PERS COMM

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-1987 Lovett, James A. (Sweet Palmer C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

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