Kings Mountain Lithium Mine and Plonk Tin Prospect

Producer in Cleveland county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Lithium, Feldspar, Mica, Beryllium, Cesium, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium), Tin
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. Production statistics
  17. Reserves and resources
  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 10078252
MRDS ID W026486
Record type Site
Current site name Kings Mountain Lithium Mine and Plonk Tin Prospect

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -81.35371, 35.22289 (WGS84)
Elevation 274
Relative position TWO KM. SSE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN CITY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cleveland(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Kings Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Gastonia(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Charlotte(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Broad(hydrologic unit)

Santee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Edisto-Santee(hydrologic subregion)

South Atlantic-Gulf(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Cleveland

Comments on the location information

  • ADJACENT TO WESTERN FLANK OF KINGS MOUNTAIN RANGE

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Lithium Critical Primary
Feldspar Secondary
Mica Secondary
Beryllium Critical Tertiary
Cesium Critical Tertiary
Tantalum Critical Tertiary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical Tertiary
Tin Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • LITHIUM - RICH PEGMATITES IN TIN - SPODUMENE BELT; ONE OF TWO LARGE OPERATING MINES IN BELT FOR LITHIUM

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Feldspar Ore
Muscovite Ore
Quartz Ore

Analytical data

Result IN PERCENT, SPODUMENE 20 , QUARTZ 32 , MUSCOVITE 6 , NA FELDSPAR 27 , K FELDSPAR 14 , TRACE

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Rock unit name Roan Gneiss
    Rock description Roan Gneiss
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Rock unit name Carolina Gneiss
    Rock description Carolina Gneiss

Nearby scientific data

(1) -81.35371, 35.22289

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description East Side Of Cherryville Pluton

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR
    Strike NE
    Dip STEEP NW

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Amphibolite Unit

Comments on the geologic information

  • TRACE MINERALS INCLUDE APATITE, BERYL, CASSITERITE, COLUMBITE - TANTALITE, MONTEBRASITE, SPHALERITE, PYRRHOTITE, CHALCOPYRITE, PYRITE, RHODOCROSITE, ARSENOPYRITE

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1931
Year of first production 1951

Mining district

District name Kings Mountain District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Foote Mineral Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1961
    Period 1952 - 1961
    Material ORE LI
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^Tonnage Includes Mostly Overburden But Ore Contains 1.53 Percent Lithia Li2o
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Li2O Ore Lithium Lithium 2wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • MAJOR LITHIA PRODUCING MINE

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1961
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Lithium LiO2 1.53 wt-pct Lithium Major 1961

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ORE CONTAINS 0.005 TO 0.02 PERCENT CB2 O5; 0.001 AND 0.004 PERCENT TA2 O5; 0.05 PERCENT BEO OR 0.375 PERCENT BERYL

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall depth 70M
    Overall length 502.92M
    Overall width 400M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE SIZE INFORMATION 1971 , PRESENT WORKINGS LARGER

Comments on development

  • KEITH'S MAP SHOWS THREE PARALLEL PEGMATITE VEINS, THE INNER ONE 100 M LONG, THE OUTER TWO EACH 200 M LONG, IN A WIDTH OF 150 M; PART OF CAROLINA TIN - LITHIUM PEGMATITE BELT

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Analytical Data

    KESLER, 1961

  • Deposit

    KEITH, ARTHUR, 1931 , GAFFNEY - KINGS MOUNTAIN S. C. - N. C. FOLIO NO. 222 , USGS GEOL. ATLAS OF THE U. S., TEXT 13 P., PEGMATITES LOCATED ON MAP AT 1 : 62,500

  • Deposit

    BROADHURST, S. D., 1956 , LITHIUM RESOURCES OF NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH CAROLINA DEPT. CONS. AND DEVEL., DIV. MINERAL RESOURCES INFO. CIRC. 15 , 37 P., MAP

  • Deposit

    KESLER, THOMAS L., 1961 , EXPLORATION OF THE KINGS MOUNTAIN PEGMATITES, MINING ENGINEERING, VOL. 13 , NO. 9 , P. 1062 TO 1068

  • Deposit

    HORTON, J. WRIGHT, JR., AND BUTLER, J. ROBERT, 1977 , GUIDE TO THE GEOLOGY OF THE KINGS MOUNTAIN BELT IN THE KINGS MOUNTAIN AREA, NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH CAROLINA, FIELD GUIDE FOR GSA, SE SECTION MEETING, WINSTON - SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA, P. 76 TO 149

  • Deposit

    1931 GEOMAP KEITH, A., PEGMATITE LOCATIONS

  • Deposit

    1956 COMPILE BROADHURST, N. C. STATE, HISTORY

  • Deposit

    1961 DIREXPL KESLER, FOOTE MINERAL CO., ANALYSES

  • Deposit

    1977 GEOMAP HORTON, UNI. OF N.C., MINE DESCRIPTION

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PARALLEL SWARM OF THREE LARGE AND SEVERAL SMALLER PEGMATITES IN 400 M WIDE ZONE IN AMPHIBOLITE UNIT; INDIVIDUAL PEGMATITES 60 M THICK, 700 M LONG, MORE THAN 150 M DEEP

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1977 Whitlow, Jesse W. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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