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Mcdonald Mine

Past Producer in Smyth county in Virginia, United States with commodity Barium-Barite
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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. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080176
MRDS ID W031270
Record type Site
Current site name Mcdonald Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -81.47038, 36.85257 (WGS84)
Elevation 707
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position 2.9 MILES NORTHEAST OF DOWNTOWN MARION., Est Within 300 Feet ?

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Smyth(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Atkins(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Wytheville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

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

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

South Fork Holston(hydrologic unit)

French Broad-Holston(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Smyth

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION COORDINATES AND ELEVATION ONLY APPROXIMATED. FIELD EXAMINATION CONDUCTED 12/5/85. NO WORKINGS WERE LOCATED. LOCAL RESIDENTS DID NOT KNOW OF ANY WORKINGS IN THIS AREA. THE PROPERTY OWNER SOUTH INTERSTATE RT 81, (ROY PRICE, PERSONAL COMMUNICATION) SUGGESTED THE WORKINGS MAY HAVE BEEN FILLED IN OR CUT THROUGH DURING CONSTRUCTION OF I-81. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1986)

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Clay Residuum;Beekmantown Formation
    Rock description Clay Residuum;Beekmantown Formation
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -81.47038, 36.85257
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Walker Mountain Thrust Block
Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults, Mcmullen Syncline, Seven Springs Fault, Marion Dome. Area Of The Deposit Is Located Approximated 1400 Feet North Of Seven Springs Thrust Fault.

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Clay Residuum

Comments on the geologic information

  • NO BEDROCK WAS VISIBLE IN THE WORKINGS, BUT THE PROPERTY IS PROBABLY UNDERLAIN BY THE BEEKMANTOWN FORMATION. REGIONAL GEOLOGY FROM C. BUTTS (1933).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1875
Year of first production 1875

Mining district

District name Smyth County Barite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Roy Price

Comments on the workings information

  • 3 OPEN CUTS WERE DUG, EACH ABOUT 15 M (50 FT) LONG, 4.6 M (15 FT) WIDE, AND 3 M (10 FT) DEEP. APPARENTLY ONLY SMALL SCALE SURFACE WORKINGS. FIELD EXAMINATION CONDUCTED 12/5/85 AND 1/7/86. NO WORKINGS WERE LOCATED. LOCATION GIVEN BY EDMUNDSON (1938) PLOTS UP NEAR INTERSTATE RT 81 AND A LARGE CEMETRARY SOUTH OF RT. I-81. LOCAL RESIDENTS DID NOT KNOW ANY HISTORY OR LOCATION OF THE MINE. MOST LIKELY THE WORKINGS HAVE BEEN FILLED IN WITH CONSTRUCTIO OF I-81 OR WITH LANDSCAPING NEAR THE CEMETARY.

Comments on development

  • MINE WAS PROBABLY WORKED BETWEEN 1875 AND 1885. IT WAS WORKED THROUGH 3 OPEN CUTS. EDMUNDSON (1938) DESCRIBES ONLY SURFACE WORKINGS IN THE RIDIDUAL CLAY (MATERIAL NOT IN PLACE).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    BUTTS, CHARLES, 1933, GEOLOGY MAP OF THE APPALACHIAN VALLEY IN VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA GEOLOGIC SURVEY BULLETIN 42.

  • Deposit

    DIREXPL ? - DUG OPEN CUTS, MINED

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit BARITE OCCURRED IN RESIDUAL CLAY. NO BEDROCK WAS SEEN IN THE WORKINGS AND THE ONLY BARITE NOW FOUND IS ON THE SURFACE SOUTHWEST OF THE WORKINGS.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-80 Trimble, David C. (Sweet, Palmer C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-SEP-87 Lovett, James A. 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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