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Saxton-Mcmillan Mines

Past Producer in Bedford county in Virginia, United States with commodities Barium-Barite, Lead, Zinc, 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. 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 10080149
MRDS ID W031239
Record type Site
Current site name Saxton-Mcmillan Mines

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -79.65726, 37.36145 (WGS84)
Relative position MINE IS 0.75 MI E-NE OF IRVING

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Bedford(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Irving(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Roanoke(hydrologic unit)

Roanoke(hydrologic accounting unit)

Chowan-Roanoke(hydrologic subregion)

South Atlantic-Gulf(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Bedford

Comments on the location information

  • 3.6 KM (2.25 MI) WEST OF THAXTON, 1.2 KM (0.75 MI) EAST AND SLIGHTLY NORTH OF IRVING. MINE IS LOCATED ON PROPERTY NORTH OF STATE ROAD 689 AND WEST OF STATE ROAD 688 WHERE SAID ROADS INTERSECT, APPROXIMATELY 400 M (1312 FT) NORTH OF THE NORFOLF AND WESTERN RAILROAD. IT IS AT THE SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST BASE OF TAYLORS MOUNTAIN. NOT FIELD CHECKED.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Biotite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Feldspar Gangue
Hornblende Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Virginia Blue Ridge Complex-Marshall Gneiss-Granite.;Clay Residuum
    Rock description Virginia Blue Ridge Complex-Marshall Gneiss-Granite.;Clay Residuum

Nearby scientific data

(1) -79.65726, 37.36145
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Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Blue Ridge Anticlinorium
Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults, Suck Mountain Fault ?

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Strike N 10-20 DEG E
    Dip 60 DEG SE
    Thickness 0.76M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Vein-Shear Zone

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1866
Year of first production 1866

Mining district

District name Bedford County Area

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Saxton-Mc Millan

Comments on the production information

  • 1866 - "A SMALL QUANTITY WAS SHIPPED TO BALTIMORE", 1906 - "A FEW CARS OF BARITE RECOVERED."

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall length 278.89M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE WAS WORKED BY OPEN CUTS, TRENCHES, AND SHAFTS. THE LARGEST OPEN CUT WAS 91M (300 FT) LONG, 9 M (30 FT) WIDE, AND 12 M (40 FT) DEEP. THE OPEN CUTS TRENDED N 40 E. DIMENSIONS OF TRENCHES AND SHAFTS ARE UNKNOWN. THE SOUTHWESTERN LIMIT OF THE WORKINGS BEGAN ABOUT 244M (800 FT) NORTH OF THE NORFOLK AND WESTERN RAILWAY AND CONTINUED NORTHEAST FOR APPROXIMATELY 305 M (1000 FT). MOST OF THE WORKINGS WERE ON THE MCMILLAN PROPERTY BUT DID EXTEND NORTHEAST ONTO THE ADJOINING SAXTON PROPERTY.

Comments on development

  • THE MINE WAS FIRST OPENED IN 1866, AND A SMALL QUANTITY OF ORE WAS SHIPPED TO BALTIMORE. OPERATIONS WERE ABANDONED WITHIN A FEW YEARS AND THEN THE MINE WAS REOPENED IN 1906. IT WAS REPORTED THAT A BARITE VEIN 30 IN. (0.76 M) THICK WAS MINED FROM BEDROCK. SEVERAL CARLOADS OF BARITE WAS RECOVERED. EXCEPT FOR SOME PROSPECTING THE AREA HAS REMAINED IDLE SINCE 1906. THE WORKINGS CONSIST OF OPEN CUTS, TRENCHES, AND SHAFTS AND EXTEND NE-SW FOR ABOUT 305 M (1000 FT).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    EDMUNDSON, R.S., 1938, BARITE DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 53, 85 P.

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T.L., 1907, SULPHATES, IN MINERAL RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA: LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION COMISSION, PP. 305-335.

  • Deposit

    HAMILTON, C.L., 1964, GEOLOGY OF THE PEAKS OF OTTER AREA, BEDFORD AND BOTETOURT COUNTIES, VIRGINIA: UNPUBLISHED PHD THESIS, VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE.

  • Deposit

    WOODWARD, H.P., 1932, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROANOKE AREA, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 34, 172 P.

  • Deposit

    1866 DIREXPL ? - DUG OPEN PITS AND MINED BARITE

  • Deposit

    1906 DIREXPL ? - DUG TRENCHES AND SHAFTS, MINED

  • Production

    EDMUNDSON (1938)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ONE VEIN WAS REPORTEDLY 0.76 M (30 IN) THICK. BARITE WAS CRYSTALLINE, WHITE, AND CONTAINS SMALL GRAINS OF GALENA AND SPHALERITE. IN LATE 1986, THE SHAFT WAS CAVED AND THE TRENCH HAS BECOME SLUMPED ON THE SIDES; MANY FRAGMENTS OF BARITE WERE PRESENT ON SURFACE; AND SHAFT DIMENSIONS ARE ABOUT 25 FT BY 15 FT AND 4 FT DEEP.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1980 Trimble, David C. (Sweet, Palmer C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-JUL-1987 Sweet, Palmer C. 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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