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Belzoro Mine

Past Producer in Goochland county in Virginia, United States with commodities Gold, 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. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10079847
MRDS ID W030590
Record type Site
Current site name Belzoro Mine
Alternate or previous names Belzora Mine, Belzow Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.08971, 37.81311 (WGS84)
Elevation 116
Relative position 1.05 MI (1.69 KM) SE OF CALEDONIA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Goochland(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Caledonia(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dillwyn(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle James-Willis(hydrologic unit)

James(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Goochland

Comments on the location information

  • 0.6 MI (1.0 KM) OFF NE SIDE OF STATE ROAD 610 ABOUT 1.0 MI (1.6 KM) BY ROAD SE OF JUNCTION WITH STATE ROAD 605.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
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 > Schist
    Rock unit name Arvonia Formation;Alluvium
    Rock description Arvonia Formation;Alluvium
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Alluvium

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.08971, 37.81311
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

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

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR, LINEAR
    Strike NE-SW
    Dip 45 DEG SE
    Thickness 1.2M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Veins, Alluvium

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1832
Year of first production 1832

Mining district

District name Gold-Pyrite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Mr Geo. Fisher
  • Type Owner
    Owner Katus Blakey

Comments on the production information

  • $300/DAY MINED FROM VEINS. THE PROPERTY IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE PRODUCED FROM PLACER GRAVELS AND FROM VEINS A TOTAL OF NOT LESS THAN $100,000. THE PLACER GRAVELS DURING THE EARLY OPERATIONS YIELDED $10 PER DAY USING THREE WORKMEN.

Comments on the workings information

  • IN 1974, ABOUT 25 CAVED AND OPEN PITS AND TRENCHES AND THREE CAVED SHAFTS EVIDENT. ORIGINALLY SHAFTS WERE SUNK TO DEPTHS OF FROM 9 TO 18 M (30 TO 60 FT).

Comments on development

  • MINE WAS OPENED IN 1832 AS A PLACER OPERATION AND CONTINUED WITH VARYING SUCCESS UP TO 1849, WHEN MR. GEO. FISHER BOUGHT THE PROPERTY? THE PLACER GRAVELS ARE REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN VERY PRODUCTIVE, ?30,000 HAVING BEEN RECOVERED FROM A LIMITED SECTION KNOWN AS "DRY GULCH." MR. FISHER SANK SEVERAL SHAFTS AND MANY SURFACE CUTS AND PITS WERE OPENED. A 10-STAMP MILL WAS BUILT TO TREAT THE ORES WHICH ARE SAID TO HAVE YIELDED AS HIGH AS $300 PER DAY. ALL MINING OPERATIONS WERE INTERRUPTED BY THE CIVIL WAR. AFTER THE WAR A LITTLE WORK WAS DONE FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT THE MINE HAS REMAINED IDLE SINCE THE MILL BURNED SOME YEARS BEFORE 1913.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    BROWN, C.B., 1937, OUTLINE OF THE GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF GOOCHLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 48, 68 P.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    CREDNER, H., 1869, REPORT OF EXPLORATIONS ON THE GOLD FIELDS OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA: AMER. JOUR. MNG., VOL. VI, P. 393.

  • Deposit

    1832 DIREXPL PLACER MINING

  • Deposit

    1849 DIREXPL MR. GEO. FISHER, DEVELOPED PRODUCTIVE MINE

  • Deposit

    1974 RECON VA. DIV. MIN. RES, MINE RE-LOCATED.

  • Production

    TABER (1913)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit VEIN SYSTEM SAME AS THAT AT YOUNG AMERICAN MINE. (HOUSE VEIN) TWO VEINS 270 M APART AVERAGING 0.9 - 1.2 M THICK, PARALLED BY LARGE NUMBER OF FLAT LENS-LIKE ORE BODIES VARYING FROM 2.5 TO 15 CM IN WIDTH. THESE LENSES ARE NOT CONTINUOUS FOR ANY GREAT DISTANCE, BUT PINCH OUT AND RE-START. NARROW SELVAGE OF CLAY AND GRIT ON EITHER SIDE OF VEINS.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1979 Meintzer (D.C. Levan), Robert E. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-1981 Trimble, David, 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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