1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Lick Fork Prospect

Occurrence in Floyd county in Virginia, United States with commodities Nickel, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Pig Iron
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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. Ore body information
  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 10068222
MRDS ID W001172
Record type Site
Current site name Lick Fork Prospect
Alternate or previous names Mackusick Mine, Flat Run Mine, John Light's Mine, Virginia Nickel Corp Prospect

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -80.20395, 37.08201 (WGS84)
Elevation 518
Relative position 6.20 KM (3.85 MI) WEST OF COPPER HILL.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Floyd(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Check(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Radford(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bluefield(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Roanoke(hydrologic unit)

Roanoke(hydrologic accounting unit)

Chowan-Roanoke(hydrologic subregion)

South Atlantic-Gulf(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Floyd

Comments on the location information

  • ON THE BANK OF LICK FORK, 0.2 KM (0.1 MI) OFF EAST SIDE OF STATE ROAD 653, 2.34 KM (1.45 MI) BY ROAD NE OF ITS JUNCTION WITH STATE ROAD 660.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Nickel Critical Primary
Cobalt Critical Primary
Copper Primary
Iron, Pig Iron Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Andesine Gangue
Biotite Gangue
Pyroxene Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Analytical data

Result WATSON (1907) REPORTS ASSAY OF: 1.75 % NI, FRACTION OF 1 % CU, AND 0.4 % CO.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 91
USGS model code 24b
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Besshi (Japanese deposits)
Mark3 model number 30

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Gabbro
    Rock unit name Virginia Blue Ridge Complex;Gabbro-Pyroxenite Dike;;Diabase Dike
    Rock description Virginia Blue Ridge Complex;Gabbro-Pyroxenite Dike;;Diabase Dike
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Anorthosite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock > Pyroxenite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Anorthosite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock > Pyroxenite
    Rock unit name Virginia Blue Ridge Complex;Gabbro-Pyroxenite Dike;Diabase Dike
    Rock description Virginia Blue Ridge Complex;Gabbro-Pyroxenite Dike;Diabase Dike

Nearby scientific data

(1) -80.20395, 37.08201
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Blue Ridge Anticlinorium
Type of structure Local
Structure description Fries Fault

Ore body information

  • General form POD/LENS

Comments on the geologic information

  • ROCK IN VICINITY IS GNEISSOID QUARTZ MONZONITE WHICH IS CUT BY A COMPOUND DIKE WHICH VARIES FROM A GABBRO TO A PYROXENITE WITH AN OUTER ZONE OF ANORTHOSITE. THE COMPOUND DIKE IS CUT BY A DIABASE DIKE. THE QUARTZ MONZONITE HAS BEEN ALTERED TO GRANODIORITE BY CONTACT METAMORPHISM. THE SULFIDES OCCUR AS LENSES IN THE PYROXENITE AND TO A SMALL EXTENT IN THE ANORTHOSITE. WATSON (1908) POINTS OUT THE CONSTANT ASSOCIATION OF COBALT WITH NICKEL IN THIS TYPE OF DEPOSIT. ; GEOL.DESC: QUARTZ MONZONITE CUT BY A COMPOUND GABBROPYROXENITE DIKE IN WHICH ARE LENSES OF PYRRHOTITE-CHALCOPYRITE-PENTLANDITE, RARE SPHALERITE PRESENT AND SECONDARY VIOLARITE. WATSON(1908) POINTS OUT THE CONSTANT ASSOCIATION OF COBALT WITH NICKEL IN THIS TYPE OF ORE DEPOSIT

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1860
Year of first production 1861

Mining district

District name Southern Section - Blue Ridge Province

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Boston And Virginia Nickel Co
  • Type Owner
    Owner Wanda W Mackusick Estate

Comments on the production information

  • A SMALL AMOUNT OF PYRHOTITE WAS PROBABLY MINED FOR COPPERAS PRIOR TO THE CIVIL WAR. THE REMAINING ORES HAVE NOT PROVEN ECONOMICALLY WORTHWHILE TO DATE.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVES UNKNOWN; PROBABLY SMALL

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 183M

Comments on the workings information

  • OPENINGS IN 4 PLACES MADE BY VA NICKEL CORP DURING VISITS 1972-1975, REMAINS OF FIVE PITS, A HILLSIDE EXCAVATION, SOME CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS, AND A DRAIN PIPE WERE OBSERVED.

Comments on development

  • SITE KNOWN AS OCCURRENCE OF PYRRHOTITE SINCE PRIOR TO CIVIL WAR. 1902-1907 DEVELOPED BY VIRGINIA NICKEL CORP. (FORMERLY FIDELITY EXPLORATION CO). IN 1907, ACQUIRED BY INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL CO, LATER CHANGED TO THE UNITED CHEMICAL AND NICKEL CORP, AFTERWARDS OWNED BY BOSTON AND VIRGINIA NICKEL CO, JAMES MCNAUGHT AND IN 1942 BY MS WANDA W MACKUSICK.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    WATSO, T.L., 1908, AM. INST. MINING METALL. ENGINEERS, TRANS. V. 38, P. 683-697

  • Deposit

    ROSS, C S, 1935, ORIGIN OF THE COPPER DEPOSITS OF THE DUCKTOWN TYPE IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION: U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 179, 165 P.

  • Deposit

    SWEET, P C AND BELL, S C, 1980, METALLIC MINERALIZATION IN THE BLUE RIDGE PROVINCE OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, IN PREPARATION.

  • Deposit

    DIETRICH, R V, 1959, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF FLOYD COUNTY OF THE BLUE RIDGE UPLAND, SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE BULLETIN, ENGINEERING EXPERIMENTAL STATION SERIES NO 134, 160 P.

  • Deposit

    1860 DIREXPL DUG FOR PRODUCTION OF COPPERAS.

  • Deposit

    1907 DIREXPL VA NICKEL CORP.: MADE 4 EXPLORATORY OPENINGS.

  • Deposit

    1927 OTHER C S ROSS: ISSUED REPORT ON PETROGENESIS

  • Deposit

    1974 RECON VA DIV MIN RES: INSPECTED SITE

  • Production

    ROSS (1935)

  • Reserve-Resource

    UNPUBLISHED COBALT REPORT

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit NO RECENT ASSAYS; 600 FT. OF UNDERGROUND WORKINGS AS OF 1907. IN 1975, ONLY SMALL AMOUNTS OF DUMP MATERIAL WERE PRESENT. ONLY IDENTIFIABLE SULFIDE WAS PYRRHOTITE. AREA IS OVERGROWN WITH VEGETATION. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV
Deposit SEE ROSS (1935) FOR PETROGENESIS AND FULL DESCRIPTION OF PETROLOGICAL AND MINERALOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1973 Coury, Anny B. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAY-1979 Meintzer, Robert E. (Le Van, D.C.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site