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American Rutile Mine

Past Producer in Nelson county in Virginia, United States with commodities Titanium, Metal, Mineral Pigments, Phosphorus-Phosphates
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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. Production statistics
  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 10080115
MRDS ID W031195
Record type Site
Current site name American Rutile Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.97391, 37.74395 (WGS84)
Elevation 204
Relative position 0.5 KM (0.3 MI) SSE OF ROSELAND.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nelson(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Arrington(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 Nelson

Comments on the location information

  • ON NE SIDE OF DIRT ROAD 0.3 KM (0.2 MI) BY ROAD SOUTH OF JUNCTION WITH STATE ROAD 655, 1.3 KM (0.8 MI) SE OF JUNCTION WITH VA. HWY. 151. ADDITIONAL WORKINGS AT UTM GRID N4179400, E678750.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Titanium, Metal Critical Primary
Mineral Pigments Primary
Phosphorus-Phosphates Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • TIO2 PRODUCED PRIMARILY FOR PIGMENT.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Apatite Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Rutile Ore
Actinolite Gangue
Biotite Gangue
Graphite Gangue
Microcline Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Tremolite Gangue

Analytical data

Result UNALTERED ROCK: 4.54-5.45% TIO2, 2.12-2.81% P2O5
Result SAPROLITE: 8.61% TIO2, 5.13% P2O5.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Anorthosite
    Rock unit name Diabase Dike;Roseland Anorthosite;Massive Charnockite
    Rock description Diabase Dike;Roseland Anorthosite;Massive Charnockite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Anorthosite
    Rock unit name Diabase Dike;Roseland Anorthosite;Altered Massive Charnockite
    Rock description Diabase Dike;Roseland Anorthosite;Altered Massive Charnockite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.97391, 37.74395
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

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

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shear Zones

Comments on the geologic information

  • AGE RELATIONSHIP OF ANORTHOSITE AND HYPERSTHENE GRANITE IS UNCERTAIN.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1900
Year of first production 1900

Mining district

District name Roseland

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner American Rutile Co. Div. Of Metal And Thermit Corp. (Later M And T Chem. Corp.)
  • Type Owner
    Owner J. W. Adams And Ms. J. H. Morley

Production statistics

  • Year 1919
    Material CONC RUTI
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Rutile: 94-96% Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    TiO2 Conc. Titanium Titanium 95wt-pct
  • Year 1920
    Material CONC RUTI
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Rutile: 94-96% Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    TiO2 Conc. Titanium Titanium 95wt-pct
  • Year 1920
    Material CONC ILME
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Ilmenite: 50% Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    TiO2 Conc. Titanium Titanium 50wt-pct
  • Year 1922
    Material CONC ILME
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Ilmenite: 54% Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    TiO2 Conc. Titanium Titanium 54wt-pct
  • Year 1922
    Material CONC RUTI
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Rutile: 95% Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    TiO2 Conc. Titanium Titanium 95wt-pct
  • Year 1923
    Material CONC ILME
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Ilmenite: 52% Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    TiO2 Conc. Titanium Titanium 52wt-pct
  • Year 1923
    Material CONC RUTI
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Ap_Grade: ^Rutile: 95% Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    TiO2 Conc. Titanium Titanium 95wt-pct
  • Year 1923
    Period 1922-1923
    Material TI
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^Rutile & Ilmenite, As Tio2
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Copper Copper 6948g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • MINE CLOSED JULY, 1949 DUE TO LOW GRADE ORE. IN 1935 MILL UPGRADED TO HANDLE 300T RAW ORE/DAY WITH PLANS TO INCREASE TO 500T/DAY.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Area 6.3HA

Comments on the workings information

  • TWO PITS, 150 X 305 M AND 60 X 275 M. PITS MINED TO DEPTH OF 15 TO 23 M. IN 1977 PITS WERE LARGELY WATER-FILLED AND MILL WAS DISMANTLED.

Comments on development

  • OPERATIONS BEGUN IN 1900, ORE BEING SHIPPED TO CHARLOTTE, N.C. FOR CONCENTRATION. MILL ERECTED IN 1902. IN 1909/1910, GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. LEASED AND OPERATED MINE AND PLANT FOR PART OF YEAR. THEREAFTER, MINE WAS OPERATED INTERMITTENTLY BY AMERICAN RUTILE CO. UNTIL 1949. BUREAU OF MINES INSPECTED AREA AND DRILLED SEVERAL HOLES DURING 1958-1960. ; MILL.CAP: 136 (?) ; ECON.YEAR: 1936

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Analytical Data

    SRC.REF: SWANSON, V.F. AND SHELTON, J.E., 1962, FLOTATION OF TITANIUM MINERALS FROM THE ROSELAND ANORTHOSITE, NEAR ROSELAND, NELSON COUNTY, VA.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES, REP. INV. 5953, 21 P.

  • Deposit

    FISH, G.E., JR., 1962, TITANIUM RESOURCES OF NELSON AND AMHERST COUNTIES, VA., (IN TWO PARTS), 1. SAPROLITE ORES: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES, REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 6094, 44 P.

  • Deposit

    HERZ, N., 1969, THE ROSELAND ALKALIC ANORTHOSITE MASSIF, VIRGINIA, IN ISACHSEN, Y.W. (ED.), ORIGIN OF ANORTHOSITE AND RELATED ROCKS: NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE SERVICE, MEMOIR 18, P. 357-367.

  • Deposit

    ROSS, C.S., 1941, OCCURRENCE AND ORIGIN OF THE TITANIUM DEPOSITS OF NELSON AND AMHERST COUNTIES, VIRGINIA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 198, 59 P.

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T.L. AND TABER, S., 1913, GEOLOGY OF THE TITANIUM AND APATITE DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 3-A, 308 P.

  • Deposit

    1900 DIREXPL AMERICAN RUTILE CO.: BEGAN MINING OPERATION

  • Deposit

    1958 DIREXPL U.S. BUREAU OF MINES: CONDUCTED EXAMINATION OF PROPERTY.

  • Production

    U.S. GEOL. SURV. MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE U.S., 1903-1931; U.S. BUREAU OF MINES MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1932-1949.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit IN FIRST PART OF CENTURY THIS WAS THE SOLE DOMESTIC SUPPLIER OF RUTILE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1979 Meintzer, Robert E. (Le Van, D.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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