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Whitehall Mine

Past Producer in Spotsylvania county in Virginia, United States with commodities Gold, Tellurium, Lead
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  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 10067654
MRDS ID W000452
Record type Site
Current site name Whitehall Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -77.73831, 38.23921 (WGS84)
Elevation 111
Relative position ABOUT 3.0 KM (1.9 MI) NW OF SHADY GROVE CORNER.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Spotsylvania(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Brokenburg(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fredericksburg(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Washington(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Mattaponi(hydrologic unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Spotsylvania

Comments on the location information

  • 2.17 KM (1.35 MI) ALONG A LOGGING ROAD OFF THE N SIDE OF STATE ROAD 608 ABOUT 2.65 KM (1.65 MI) BY ROAD W OF ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROAD 612.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Tellurium Critical Tertiary
Lead Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • NATIVE TELLURIUM FOUND ENCRUSTING THE GOLD, AND A BISMUTH TELLURIDE MINERAL CONTAINING SELENIUM ARE MENTIONED IN LUTTRELL (1966).

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 273
USGS model code 36a
Deposit model name Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Mark3 model number 27

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Slate
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Ordovician
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Chopawamsic Formation;Quantico Slate
    Rock description Chopawamsic Formation;Quantico Slate

Nearby scientific data

(1) -77.73831, 38.23921
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Columbia Syncline , Ne-Sw Trend
Type of structure Local
Structure description Columbia Syncline

Controls for ore emplacement

  • In Quartz Veins, Also In Slate And Schist

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1806
Year of first production 1848
Year of last production 1884
Production years 1848-1881

Mining district

District name Gold-Pyrite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the production information

  • $1,800,000 FROM 1848 TO 1881 ACCORDING TO RECORDS OF THE PHILADELPHIA MINT. (SWEET, P. C., 1971)

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 30.5M

Comments on the workings information

  • TWO SHAFTS, 27.5 M AND 30.5 M DEEP WERE REPORTED FLOODED IN 1865 (LUTTRELL, 1966). THREE CAVED PITS, THE LARGEST ONE MEASURING 7.6 M BY 2.0 M, SEVERAL SHALLOW CUTS, A LARGE CUT-OUT AREA 22.8 M WIDE BY 4.6 M DEEP, A SMALL TRENCH, AND SEVERAL DUMP PILES CONTAINING SCHIST AND QUARTZ WERE REPORTED IN 1974.

Comments on development

  • GOLD IN PLACE WAS FIRST DISCOVERED IN 1806. THE MINE WAS WORKED BETWEEN THE YEARS 1848 AND 1884, EXCEPT DURING THE CIVIT WAR. SILLIMAN STATES THAT ?10,000 IN GOLD WAS FOUND WITHIN AN AREA OF 20 SQUARE FEET AT THE MINE IN JUST A FEW DAYS. ANOTHER REPORT STATES THAT AT A DEPTH OF 8.5 M (28 FT), IN A SPACE OF 3 SQUARE FEET, ?160,000 OF PURE GOLD WAS OBTAINED (HOTCHKISS, 1881). PROPERTY HAS ALSO BEEN OPERATED AS A PLACER, WITH NUGGETS WORTH $1 TO $3, AND ONE WORTH $35, HAVING BEEN WASHED OUT PRIOR TO CREDNER'S VISIT IN 1865.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SWEET, P.C., 1980, GOLD IN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, PUBLICATION 19, 77 P.

  • Deposit

    SWEET, P. C., 1971, GOLD MINES AND PROSPECTS IN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA MINERALS VOL. 17, PP. 25-35, VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    CLINE, J.H., WATSON, T.L., AND WRIGHT, F.J., 1921, A GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE PYRITE-GOLD BELT IN LOUISA AND SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTIES, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 1 P., SCALE 1:63,360.

  • Deposit

    CREDNER, H., 1868, REPORT OF EXPLORATIONS ON THE GOLD FIELDS OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA: AMER. JOUR. MNG., VOL. VI, P. 371.

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T.L., 1907, GOLD AND SILVER, IN MINERAL RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA: LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, J.P. BELL CO., P. 549-567.

  • Deposit

    HOTCHKISS, J., 1881, GOLD-MINING IN VIRGINIA: THE VIRGINIAS, VOL. 2, P. 182.

  • Deposit

    SILLIMAN, B., 1837, REMARKS ON THE GOLD MINES AND ON PARTS OF THE GOLD REGION OF VIRGINIA: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS, VOL. 32, P. 98-130.

  • Deposit

    1848 DIREXPL WHITEHALL MINING CO.; TWO SHAFTS DEVELOPED IN INTERVALS UNTIL 1884.

  • Deposit

    1974 RECON VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES; SITE INSPECTED BY SWEET, P. C.

  • Production

    LUTTRELL

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit A QUARTZ VEIN CARRYING FREE GOLD AND AURIFEROUS PYRITE WAS OPENED. THE ALLUVIUM, 6.1 M (20 FT) THICK, CONTAINS FREE GOLD IN NUGGETS, AND HAS BEEN WORKED SUCCESSFULTY PRIOR TO 1865.
Deposit $10,000 IN GOLD WAS FOUND WITHIN A 20 SQ FT AREA PRIOR TO 1837. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1972 Wright, Nancy A. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JAN-1982 Trimble, David, 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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