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London and Virginia Mine

Past Producer in Buckingham county in Virginia, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, 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. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10079433
MRDS ID W028971
Record type Site
Current site name London and Virginia Mine
Alternate or previous names Eldridge Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.46417, 37.55145 (WGS84)
Elevation 204
Relative position ABOUT 1.1 KM (0.7 MI) NW OF DILLWYN.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Buckingham(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Dillwyn(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dillwyn(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle James-Buffalo(hydrologic unit)

James(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Buckingham

Comments on the location information

  • 1.21 KM (0.75 MI) NE OF THE INTERSECTION OF U.S. HIGHWAY 15W/STATE HIGHWAY 20.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tennantite Ore
Barite Gangue
Biotite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue
Pyrite Unknown

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

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.46417, 37.55145
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

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

Ore body information

  • General form DISSEMINATED, IRREGULAR
    Strike N 40 DEG E
    Dip STEEPLY SE TO NEARLY VERTICAL
    Width 6.3M
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Disseminated In Quartzite And In Vein, Partially Associated With Sulfides.

Comments on the geologic information

  • QUARTZOSE PARTS OF DEPOSIT CONTAIN BODIES OF PYRITE, WITH EARTHY MASSES OF CHALCOPYRITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1840
Discoverer Mr. Eldridge
Year of first production 1853

Mining district

District name Gold-Pyrite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Amos Pankey
  • Type Owner
    Owner Ashby Pankey

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • THROUGH DRILLING BY BELVILLE GOLD MINES, LTD., AND INCLUDING THE BUCKINGHAM MINE PROPERTY, IT WAS REPORTED THAT 723,000 TONS OF ORE CONTAINING 3.2 PERCENT ZINC, S0 PERCENT PYRITE, AND FRACTIONAL PERCENTAGES OF GOLD, SILVER, COPPER AND LEAD WERE BLOCKED OUT.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 45.7M
    Overall length 167.34M

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN CUTS CARRIED TO DEPTH OF 6 M TO 12 M; LARGE OPEN CUT AND SEVERAL CAVED PITS REPORTED IN 1974. MINE WAS DEVELOPED AT FIRST BY OPEN CUTS UP TO 12 M (40 FT) DEEP AND LATER BY 3 TO 5 SHAFTS UP TO 46 M (150 FT) DEEP, THOUGH ONE SHAFT WAS REPORTEDLY 55 M (180 FT) DEEP.

Comments on development

  • THE PROPERTY WAS FIRST KNOWN AS THE ELDRIDGE MINE AND WORKED FOR SEVERAL YEARS BY MR. ELDRIDGE BEFORE BEING SOLD TO THE LONDON AND VIRGINIA GOLD AND COPPER MINING CO., WHICH WAS FORMED IN LONDON AND INCORPORATED IN VIRGINIA IN 1853. AT FIRST MOST OF THE ORE WAS DERIVED FROM OPEN CUTS. LATER, UP TO FIVE SHAFTS WERE SUNK TO A DEPTH OF AT LEAST 45.7 M (150 FT) AND UNDERGROUND MINING WAS EXTENSIVELY CARRIED ON. OPERATIONS WERE BEING CONDUCTED AT THE SAME TIME AT THE ADJOINING BUCKINGHAM MINE AND THE TWO MINES WERE CONNECTED UNDERGROUND BY A CONTINUOUS DRIVE ALONG THE VEIN. THE MILL ERECTED BY MR. ELDRIDGE WAS OPERATED FOR 15 YEARS AND THE MINE WAS CLOSED DOWN IN 1855. BASED ON THESE DATES, THIS MINE WAS FIRST WORKED IN 1840 OR BEFORE. LATER, ANOTHER MILL WAS ERECTED A FEW HUNDRED YARDS SOUTHEAST OF THE VEIN. IT IS UNCERTAIN IF THIS MILL WAS OPERATED BY THE LONDON AND VIRGINIA GOLD AND COPPER MINING CO., BUT THAT IS WHAT IS IMPLIED, AND BASED ON THE WAY IT WAS WRITTEN THIS MINE MAY HAVE
  • BEEN FIRST WORKED SOME TIME BEFORE 1840. THE TAILINGS AT THE MINE HAVE REPORTEDLY BEEN REWORKED AND $10,000 IN GOLD EXTRACTED FROM THEM. NO MORE PRODUCTION WAS REPORTED UNTIL 1939-40, WHEN THE MINE WAS REOPENED BY AMOS PANKEY. NO REPORT ON THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCTION DURING 1939-40 IS AVAILABLE. IN 1953 THE BELVILLE GOLD MINES LTD. (VIRGINIA MINING CORP.) DRILLED EXPLORATORY HOLES ON THE PROPERTY, UNDER CONTRACT WITH DEFENSE MINERALS EXPLORATION ADMINISTRATION. SINCE THEN THERE HAS BEEN SOME INTEREST IN THE MINE, BUT NO NEW COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION. FIRST EXPLORATION CORPORATION OF DENVER, COLORADO PUT DOWN 2 CORE HOLES AROUND 1982. THE DRILLING SUBSTANTIATED RESULTS FOUND BY DRILLING AT THE MINE IN THE 1950'S AND 1960'S.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    BROWN, W.R., 1969, GEOLOGY OF THE DILLWYN QUADRANGLE, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 10, 77 P

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T.L., 1907, MINERAL RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA: LYNCHBURG, VA., J.P. BELL CO., 618 P.

  • Deposit

    SWEET, P.C., 1971, GOLD MINES AND PROSPECTS IN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA MINERALS, V. 17, NO. 3, P. 25-33.

  • Deposit

    CREDNER, H., 1869, REPORT OF EXPLORATIONS ON THE GOLD FIELDS OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA: AMER. JOUR. MNG., VOL. VII, P. 72.

  • Deposit

    HAMMETT, A.B.J., 1966, THE HISTORY OF GOLD: KERRVILLE, TEXAS, BRASWELL PRINTING CO., 107 P.

  • Deposit

    MANGAN, M., 1983, GOLD-SILVER MINERALIZATION AT THE LONDON-VIRGINIA MINE, BUCKINGHAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY M. S. THESIS, 65P.

  • Deposit

    TABER, S., 1913, GEOLOGY OF THE GOLD BELT IN THE JAMES RIVER BASIN, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 7, 271 P.

  • Deposit

    1853 DIREXPL LONDON AND VIRGINIA GOLD AND COPPER MINING CO

  • Reserve-Resource

    BROWN (1969)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit METALLIFEROUS BED VARIES IN WIDTH FROM 1 M TO 6.3 M, BUT ONLY 1.2 M TO 1.5 M TOWARD THE SW; SHAFT PROVED THE VEIN TO A DEPTH OF 46 M; SCHIST DIPS STEEPLY TO SE. VEIN WIDENS OUT TO AS MUCH AS 15 M (50 FT) IN SOME PLACES. ITS CHARACTER VARIES WITH DEPTH. IN ITS UPPER 15 M (50 FT) IT CONSISTS OF SOFT, COARSE-GRAINED QUARTZ OF BROWNISH COLOR, MIXED WITH RED AND BROWN OXIDE OF IRON AND A LITTLE MICA. FROM 15 TO 30.5 M (50 TO 100 FT) IN DEPTH IT CARRIES VERY LIGHT COLORED PYRITES, AND FROM 30.5 M (100 FT) TO AN UNKNOWN DEPTH (AT LEAST 46 M) THE QUARTZ BECOMES WHITE AND IS CHARGED WITH A MIXTURE OF IRON PYRITES AND GALENA.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1979 Beaulieu, Harvey R. (Le Van, D. C.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-DEC-1987 Sweet, Palmer C. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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