Cedar Run Mine

Past Producer in Fauquier county in Virginia, United States with commodities Barium-Barite, Sulfur-Pyrite
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. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10067656
MRDS ID W000455
Record type Site
Current site name Cedar Run Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -77.57858, 38.62504 (WGS84)
Elevation 61
Relative position 6.4 KM (4 MI) SOUTHEAST OF CATLETT

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Fauquier(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Nokesville(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Washington West(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Washington(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle Potomac-Anacostia-Occoquan(hydrologic unit)

Potomac(hydrologic accounting unit)

Potomac(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Fauquier
United States Virginia Prince William

Comments on the location information

  • 2.4 KM (1.5 MI) EAST ON STATE ROAD 640 FROM ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROAD 806, TO END OF ROAD. MINE IS EAST OF THE END OF THE ROAD, BEHIND A BUILDING, ABOUT 137.1 M (450 FT) TO 213.4 M (700 FT) SOUTH OF CEDAR RUN.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Bull Run Shales
    Rock description Bull Run Shales
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Potomac Basin
Type of structure Local
Structure description Faulting

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fissures

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1845
Year of first production 1845

Mining district

District name Fauquier County Barite Area

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner James Walton Heirs

Comments on the production information

  • ORE WAS PRODUCED IN OTHER YEARS, BUT THE AMOUNTS NOT KNOWN. MINES CLOSED AROUND 1910.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • "AT THE PRESENT COST OF OPERATING THE MINES COULD NOT MAKE A PROFIT ON THE ORE."

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE WAS WORKED BY 3 SHAFTS, THE DEEPEST ONE WAS 38 M (125 FT), AND NUMEROUS OPEN CUTS. AN INCLINED SHAFT 76.2 M (250 FT) LONG WAS CONNECTED AT ITS SOUTHERN END BY THE DEEPEST VERTICAL SHAFT AT A DEPTH OF 14 M (45 FT). THE ORIGINAL SHAFT WAS 2.4 M (8 FT) SQUARE. ONE OPEN CUT WAS 61 M (200 FT) LONG, 6.1 M (20 FT) WIDE, AND 4.6 M (15 FT) DEEP.

Comments on development

  • MINE WAS OPENED IN 1845 AND SUBSEQUENTLY OPERATED JUST BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, IN 1880, DURING THE 1890'S, AND IN 1903. THE PROPERTY WAS DEVELOPED BY 3 SHAFTS, AN INCLINED TUNNEL, AND NUMEROUS OPEN CUTS. A GRINDING AND PREPARATION MILL WAS BUILT ON SITE AND BURNED DOWN ABOUT 1900. A CRUSHING HOUSE WAS THEN BUILT AND IN 1902 A FLOOD PARTIALLY DESTROYED IT. THE MINE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN CLOSED DOWN IN LATE 1903, THOUGH ROBERTS (1928) REPORTED THE MINE CLOSED DOWN IN 1910. GROUNDWATER FLOODING WAS A CONSTANT PROBLEM DURING MINING OPERATIONS AND MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CLOSING OF THE MINE. THE WORKINGS ARE PARTIALLY FILLED WITH WATER TODAY. IN 1903, 1500 TONS OF BARITE WERE PRODUCED, BUT EARLIER PRODUCTION FIGURES ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ROBERTS, J.K., 1928, VA. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 29, P 133-134.

  • Deposit

    EDMUNDSON, R.S., 1938, VA. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 53, P. 54.

  • Deposit

    LUTTRELL, G.W., 1966,VA. MIN. RES. REPORT 7, P.32-33

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T L, 1907, SULPHATES, IN MINERAL RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA: LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, P 305-327.

  • Deposit

    FURCRON, A.S., 1939, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE WARRENTON QUADRANGLE, VIRGINIA: VGS BULL. 54, P. 67-68.

  • Deposit

    1845 DIREXPL ? - OPENED MINE, RECOVERED BARITE

  • Deposit

    185? DIREXPL ? - MINED

  • Deposit

    1880 DIREXPL ? - MINED

  • Deposit

    189? DIREXPL ? - MINED

  • Deposit

    1903 DIREXPL ? - MINED

  • Production

    LUTTRELL REF.

  • Reserve-Resource

    ROBERTS REFERENCE

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE BARITE VEINS OCCUR IN RED SHALE-SANDSTONE AND IN CRYSTALLINE LIMESTONE. THE SHALE-SANDSTONE AND LIMESTONE UNITS HAVE BEEN BRECCIATED AND THE BARITE VEINS FILL THE FISSURES. THE VEINS ALSO CONTAIN QUARTZ AND CALCITE, AND THEY VARY IN THEIR WIDTH, LENGTH, AND DIRECTION, BUT THE LARGER VEINS WERE REPORTED TO BE 1.2 M (4 FT) TO 2.4 M (8 FT) WIDE. THE BARITE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED BY SHALLOW SOLUTIONS AND FORMS THIN, TABULAR, CLEAVABLE, WHITE MASSES AND VEINS. DIABASE DIKES OCCUR NEARBY, BUT ARE NOT RELATED TO THE BARITE MINERALIZATION. THE ASSOCIATION OF THE ORE WITH THE LIMESTONE REPORTEDLY INCREASES WITH DEPTH.
Deposit THIS WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST BARITE MINE IN VIRGINIA. OPENED IN 1845; WORKED BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR AND IN 1880, 1890'S, AND 1903 BY 3 SHAFTS, AN INCLINED TUNNEL 250 FT. LONG, AND OPEN CUTS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1972 Wright, Nancy A. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-1980 Trimble, David C. (Sweet, Palmer C.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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