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Valzinco Mine

Past Producer in Spotsylvania county in Virginia, United States with commodities Zinc, Copper, Lead, Sulfur-Pyrite
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10067649
MRDS ID W000448
Record type Site
Current site name Valzinco Mine
Alternate or previous names Valzinco-Mineral District

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -77.7972, 38.17616 (WGS84)
Elevation 122
Relative position 2.0 KM (1.2 MI) SSW OF PORTERS, VA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Spotsylvania(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Belmont(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fredericksburg(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Washington(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Pamunkey(hydrologic unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Spotsylvania
United States Virginia Louisa

Comments on the location information

  • 0.6 KM (0.4 MI) ON DIRT ROAD EAST OF JUNCTION WITH STATE ROAD 612, 1.7 KM (1.05 MI) BY ROAD SOUTH OF JUNCTION WITH STATE ROAD 606 AT PORTERS

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Copper Secondary
Lead Tertiary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • HOLLADAY VEIN IS MAINLY SPHALERITE, GALENA AND MINOR CHALCOPYRITE; THE DISCOVERY VEIN CONSISTS OF SPHALERITE, CHALCOPYRITE AND GALENA IN DECREASING ORDER

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Chlorite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Low(?) Grade Metamorphism

Analytical data

Result ORE REMOVED DURING 4 MO PERIOD IN 1940'S: 7.8% ZN, 3.7% PB (FOR ADDITIONAL ANALYSES, SEE GROSH, 1949)

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 184
USGS model code 28a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, kuroko
Mark3 model number 93

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Chopawamsic Formation
    Rock description Chopawamsic Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -77.7972, 38.17616
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Columbia Syncline ; Reg.Trends: Northeast-Southwest
Type of structure Local
Structure description Local Faulting, With The Veins Localized Along The Fault Fissures. Foliation Of Country Rock Strikes N25 Deg E And Dips 60-70 Deg Se

Ore body information

  • General form POD/LENS
    Strike N40 DEG E
    Dip 65 DEG SE
    Thickness 3M

Comments on the geologic information

  • ZONE OF MINERALIZATION IS ABOUT 30 MILES LONG EXTENDING NORTHEAST THROUGH MINERAL AND VALZINCO. ORE OCCURS AS FISSURE ANDFAULT FILLINGS IN PRECAMBRIAN OR CAMBRIAN MICA SCHISTS OR QUARTZ-SERICITE SCHIST; ACID AND BASIC DIKES ARE NUMEROUS AND LARGEPOST-CARBONIFEROUS GRANITE BODIES ARE FOUND A FEW MILES TO THE EAST AND WEST. (MCKNIGHT, 1960?, UNPUBLISHED DATA.) ; GEOL.DESC: THE VEINS ARE IN A MINERALI ZED BELT MARKED BY GOSSAN OUTCROPS EXTENDING INTERMITTENTLY FOR A DISTANCE OF 30 MILES FROM MINERAL, LOUISA CO., NORTHEASTWARD TO THE AUSTIN RUN MINE IN STAFFORD CO.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1909
Year of first production 1909

Mining district

District name Gold-Pyrite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Panaminus Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner New Jersey Zinc Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1918
    Period 1914-1918
    Material ORE PB/ZN
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^5% Pb, 12.5% Zn
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Zinc Zinc 13wt-pct
    Ore Lead Lead 5wt-pct
  • Year 1945
    Period 1942-1945
    Material ORE PB/ZN
    Description Cp_Grade: ^7.8% Zn, 3.7% Pb, Cu Not Reported
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Lead Lead 4wt-pct
    Ore Zinc Zinc 8wt-pct

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1524M
    Overall depth 110M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE WORKED FROM A SINGLE 76 M SHAFT WITH DRIFT LEVELS AT 31, 46, 62, AND 76 M. A WINZE WAS SUNK 37 M FROM THE 76 M LEVEL ABOUT 107 M NE OF THE SHAFT. A SECOND SHAFT WAS SUNK 38 M DEEP FROM A POINT ABOUT 366 M NE OF THE MAIN SHAFT HAVING A SHORT DRIFT RUNNING AT THE 30 M DEPTH. IN 1973, THE CONCRETE MILL FOUNDATION AND A SMALL CONCRETE SILO ARE AT THE MINE SITE. THE DUMP HAS MOSTLY BEEN REMOVED.

Comments on development

  • MINE OPERATED IN 1909-1912 BY THE BERTHA MINERAL CO.; IN 1914-1918 AND 1927 BY THE VA. LEAD AND ZINC CORP.; AND IN 1942-1945 BY PANAMINUS CO. ; ECON.COM: 100-TON PER-DAY MILL ERECTED IN 1942

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BROWN, W H, 1953, STRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE VIRGINIA PIEDMONT, IN MCGRAIN, P (ED), PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN MINERAL SYMPOSIUM, 1950: KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SERIES 9, SPECIAL PUBLICATION 1, P 88-111, VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPRINT SERIES 16, 1954.

  • Deposit

    GROSH, W.A., 1949, INVESTIGATION OF VALZINCO LEAD ZINC MINE, SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 4403, 7 P.

  • Deposit

    LUTTRELL, G.W., 1966, BASE- AND PRECIOUS-METAL AND RELATED ORE DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, MINERAL RESOURCES REPORT 7, 167 P.

  • Deposit

    POOLE, J.W., 1974, NOTES ON SOME ABANDONED COPPER, LEAD, AND ZINC MINES IN THE PIEDMONT OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA MINERALS, V.20, NO.2, P.10-16.

  • Deposit

    MCKNIGHT, 1960, UNPUBLISHED REPORT.

  • Deposit

    1909 DIREXPL BERTHA MINERAL CO: FIRST DEVELOPMENT}1943 DIREXPL U S B M AND PANAMINAS, INC: DRILLED 9 EXPLORATORY HOLS}1955 OTHER NEW JERSEY ZINC CO: CONDUCTED GEOCHEMICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS

  • Production

    GROSCH (1949), POOLE (1974)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MINE SHAFT AND TAILINGS POND ARE INDICATED ON THE BELMONT 7-1/2 MIN. TOPO SHEET. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit MINERALIZATION OCCURS IN 2 BODIES: THE HOLLADAY VEIN (THE LARGER) AND THE DISCOVERY VEIN (114 M EAST OF HOLLADAY VEIN. LENS THICKNESS AVERAGED 1.2 M

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1972 Wright, Nancy A. / Wedow, Helmuth U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-AUG-1979 Beaulieu, Harvey R. (Le Van, D. C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

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

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