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Sarah Ellen Mine

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10079992
MRDS ID W030865
Record type Site
Current site name Sarah Ellen Mine
Alternate or previous names Vaughan Mine, Vaughn Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -80.8198, 36.78064 (WGS84)
Elevation 786
Relative position 2.5 KM (1.6 MI) N35W OF FIVE FORKS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Carroll(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Sylvatus(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Galax(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winston-Salem(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper New(hydrologic unit)

Kanawha(hydrologic accounting unit)

Kanawha(hydrologic subregion)

Ohio(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Carroll

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION AND ELEVATION GIVEN ARE FOR A COLLAPSED PORTAL AT THE NORTHERN OF THE WORKINGS. THESE WORKINGS EXTEND AT LEEAST 2300 FT S55W FROM THE PORTAL, AND PERHAPS AS MUCH AS 6000 FT (1.75 KM). LOCATION FIELD CHECKED APRIL 1987.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Iron Tertiary
Iron, Pig Iron Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PAST MINING OPERATIONS CONCENTRATED ON SUPERGENE MINERALS.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Cubanite Ore
Cuprite Ore
Galena Ore
Goethite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Muscovite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Low Grade Regional Metamorphism

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 Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Lynchburg Group, Ashe Formation
    Rock description Lynchburg Group, Ashe Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Amphibolite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -80.8198, 36.78064
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Blue Ridge Anticlinorium, Fries Thrust, 3 Phases Of Regional Deformation.

Ore body information

  • General form POD/LENS
    Strike N. 65 DEG. E.
    Dip 30-50 DEG SE.
    Width 22.9M
    Depth to top 12.2M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Lenticular Troughs

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1861
Year of first production 1856

Mining district

District name Sarah Ellen Segment/Gossan Lead District/Southern Section-Blue Ridge Province.

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Virginia Iron, Coal And Coke Co. (Vaughan Dobyns Tract, R. A. Harman Tract).
  • Type Owner
    Owner Allied Chemical Corp. (Kirkbride-Vaughan Tract).
  • Type Operator
    Owner Tennessee And Virginia Mining Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1859
    Period 1856-1859
    Material ORE CU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^14% Cu
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Copper Copper 14wt-pct

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • PROBABLY INCLUDES SARAH ELLEN, WILDCAT, AND CRANBERRY CREEK SEGMENTS.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 358.2M
    Overall depth 12.2M

Comments on the workings information

  • 1859: CURREY REPORTED 304.9 M OF LEVELS AND 53.3 M OF SHAFTS. 1987: MUCH OF THE AREA HAS BEEN CLEAR-CUT, BUT NOT BULLDOZED. SMALL PITS, CROSS-CUT TRENCHES, AND POSSIBLE COLLAPSED SHAFTS ARE VISIBLE FROM THE COLLAPSED PORTAL TRENCHES, AND POSSIBLE COLLAPSED SHAFTS ARE VISIBLE FROM THE COLLAPSED PORTAL LOCATION ALMOST UP TO THE INTERSTATE. INTERSTATE 77 CUTS THROUGH THE ORIGINAL EXTENT OF THE SARAH ELLEN WORKINGS, CUTTING THEM INTO SMALLER SEGMENTS AND PROBABLY DESTROYING SOME.

Comments on development

  • MINING OPERATIONS BEGUN IN 1856 AND CEASED PROBABLY IN 1859. ; ECON.COM: ORE WAS SHIPPED TO MAX MEADOWS AND THENCE TO BALTIMORE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CURREY, R.O., 1859, A GEOLOGICAL VISIT TO THE VIRGINIA COPPER REGION: KNOXVILLE, TENN., BECKETT, HAWS AND CO.; REPRINTED IN PART UNDER COPPER AND IRON REGION OF THE FLOYD-CARROLL-GRAYSON PLATEAU OF THE BLUE RIDGE IN VIRGINIA, ETC.: THE VIRGINIAS, 1880, V. 1, P. 62-64, 69-71, 74-77, 80-81, 95.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    WRIGHT, R.J., AND RAMAN, N.D., 1948, THE GOSSAN LEAD, CARROLL COUNTY, VIRGINIA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT, 21 P.

  • Deposit

    WEED, W.H., 1911, COPPER DEPOSITS OF THE APPALACHIAN STATES: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 455, 166 P.

  • Deposit

    CONLEY, JAMES F., 1985, GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA PIEDMONT: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 59, 33 P.

  • Deposit

    1856 DIREXPL TENNESSEE & VIRGINIA MINING CO.: OPENED MINE.

  • Deposit

    1911 RECON W.H. WEED: BULL. 455.

  • Deposit

    1935 RECON C.S. ROSS: PROF. PAPER 179.

  • Deposit

    1939 GEOLMAP VA. GEOL. SURV.: BULL. 72.

  • Deposit

    1948 RECON R.J. WRIGHT & N.D. RAMAN: OPEN-FILE REPORT.

  • Production

    CURREY (1859)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: PRE-CIVIL WAR
Deposit WEED (1911) REFERS TO THIS MINE AS THE VAUGHAN MINE, HOWEVER IT IS FELT THAT THE SARAH ELLEN, WHICH WAS ON THE VAUGHAN TRACT, ENCOMPASSED THOSE WORKINGS. A MR. HEISKELL AND A MR. VAUGHAN WERE IN CHARGE OF OPERATIONS IN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN PARTS RESPECTIVELY (CURRY, 1859 (1880 REPRINT, P. 74). "ORE ZONE" VISIBLE IN DIRT ROAD LEADING UP THE HILL TO THE LOGGING OPERATIONS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1980 Meintzer, Robert E. (Le Van, D.C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-AUG-1987 Myers, Lesley L. Virginia Division of Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

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

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