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Dark Hollow Mine

Past Producer in Madison county in Virginia, United States with commodity Copper
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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. 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. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080033
MRDS ID W030918
Record type Site
Current site name Dark Hollow Mine
Alternate or previous names Blue Ridge Copper Co. Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.40916, 38.52726 (WGS84)
Elevation 683
Relative position 2.3 KM (1.5 MI) EAST OF BIG MEADOWS AND 1.3 KM (0.8 MI) SE OF FISHERS GAP.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Madison(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Meadows(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Front Royal(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Charlottesville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Rapidan-Upper Rappahannock(hydrologic unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Shenandoah National Park(National Park)

National Park NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Madison

Comments on the location information

  • IN SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Copper Ore
Cuprite Ore
Malachite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Serpentine Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Syenite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Meta-Basalt
    Rock unit name Catoctin Formation;Pedlar Formation
    Rock description Catoctin Formation;Pedlar Formation
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Meta-Basalt
    Rock unit name Catoctin Formation;Pedlar Formation
    Rock description Catoctin Formation;Pedlar Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.40916, 38.52726
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Blue Ridge Anticlinorium, Ne-Sw Trend

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Jointing

Comments on the geologic information

  • ORE IS CONFINED TO THE METABASALT AND IS NOT OBSERVED IN THE SYENITE. ASSOCIATED SERPENTINE IS ASBESTIFORM. OCCURRENCE OF THE ORE IS RELATED TO THE JOINT PLANES.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1847
Year of first production 1850

Mining district

District name Northern Section-Blue Ridge Province

Land status

Ownership category National Park

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Blue Ridge Copper Co.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 21M

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS LIE CLOSE TO METABASALT-SYENITE CONTACT. IN 1973, THE REMAINS OF ONE SMALL PIT AND A CONCRETE FOUNDATION WERE OBSERVED AT THE MINE SITE. EARLIER REPORTS INDICATE A 13 M INCLINED SHAFT WAS SUNK AND A FEW TONS OF ORE REMOVED. A 12M DRIFT RUNS IN A NE DIRECTION FROM THE BOTTOM OF THIS SHAFT. OLDEST SHAFT LOCATED 30M ABOVE THE MOUTH OF THE OTHER AT A POINT ABOUT 75M ABOVE THE CONFLUENCE OF TWO MAIN HEADWATER BRANCHES OF THE ROBINSON RIVER. TWO DRIFTS RUN FROM THE OLDEST SHAFT. ONE RUNS N. 12 DEG. W. FOR 6M, THE OTHER S 12 DEG. E FOR 3M. A THIRD SHAFT WAS BEGUN IN 1904 LOCATED NW OF AND UPHILL FROM THE OLDEST SHAFT.

Comments on development

  • WITH THE COPPER BOOM IN THE LATE 1840'S,THE MINER'S LODE COPPER CO ACQUIRED THE 5000 ACRE DARK HOLLOW TRACT. IN 1850, ORE WAS TRANSPORTED BY DONKEY TO THE FURNACE SPRING SMELTING PLANT NORTH OF STONY MAN.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • 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

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

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    POLLOCK, G. F., 1960, SKYLAND, CHESAPEAKE BOOK CO., 283P.

  • Deposit

    1902 DIREXPL BLUE RIDGE COPPER CO.: 3 SHAFTS SUNK.

  • Deposit

    1973 RECON VA. DIV. OF MINERAL RESOURCES: SITE LOCATED.

  • Production

    WEED (1911)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit COPPER MINERALIZATION OCCURS IN A GANGUE OF QUARTZ, CALCITE, EPIDOTE, AND SERPENTINE IN JOINT PLANES IN EPIDOTIZED CATICTIN GREENSTONE NEAR ITS CONTACT WITH INTRUSIVE MASS OF SYENITE. NATIVE COPPER ALSO OCCURS AS DISEMMINATIONS IN THE GREENSTONE.
Deposit Discovery Year: LATE 1840'S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1979 Beaulieu, Harvey R. (Le Van, D. C.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUL-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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