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Orr Mine

Past Producer in Smyth county in Virginia, United States with commodities Barium-Barite, Calcium, Sulfur-Pyrite, Copper, Iron
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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 10080177
MRDS ID W031273
Record type Site
Current site name Orr Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -81.59983, 36.90007 (WGS84)
Elevation 683
Relative position 2.7 MILES S 40 DEG W FROM RIDGEDALE, 1.1 MILES S 50 DEG E FROM RIVERSIDE.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Smyth(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Chatham Hill(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Wytheville(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

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

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

North 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

  • 2.75 MILES, S 27 DEG W FROM BENCH MARK BM EZD 61, 9050 FEET S 20 DEG E FROM BENCH MARK BM EZD 63, 2800 FEET N 32 DEG E FROM THE INTERSECTION OF STATE ROADS 610 AND 763, 2300 FEET SOUTH OF THE NORTH FORK AT HOLSTON RIVER.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Barium-Barite Critical Primary
Calcium Secondary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Iron Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Barite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Limonite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Calcite Unknown

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Beekmantown Formation
    Rock description Beekmantown Formation;Residual Clay And Soil

Nearby scientific data

(1) -81.59983, 36.90007
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trending Thrust Faults.
Type of structure Local
Structure description The Mine Is 2.8 Miles South Of The Saltville Thrust Fault, And 3.8 Miles North Of The Brushy Mountain Thrust Fault.

Ore body information

  • General form LENSE, PINCH AND SWELL, IRREGULAR
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures In The Bedrock

Comments on the geologic information

  • EDMUNDSON REPORTED BARITE MASSES WITH LARGE CRYSTALS OF CALCITE, AND SMALL AMOUNTS OF PYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE, MALACHITE, AND LIMONITE. REGIONAL GEOLOGY FROM BUTTS (1933) AND COOPER (1936).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1875
Year of first production 1897
Year of last production 1906

Mining district

District name Smyth County Barite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Orr
  • Type Owner
    Owner R. M. Orr

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall length 15.24M
    Overall width 6.1M

Comments on the workings information

  • NO DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKINGS IS FOUND IN THE LITERATURE. FIELD EXAMINATION WAS CONDUCTED 12/5/85. WORKINGS CONSIST OF A SINGLE OPEN CUT APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET LONG, 10 TO 15 FEET WIDE, AND 3 TO 5 FEET DEEP TRENDING N 60 DEG E, AND SMALL DUMP PILE. THE MINE IS PARTIALLY FILLED IN AND GROWN OVER.

Comments on development

  • PRODUCTION RECORDS UNKNOWN. EDMUNDSON (1938) STATED THAT BARITE FROM THE PROPERTY WAS HAULED BY WAGON TO THE MILL IN MARION ABOUT 1898 TO 1900. LOCAL RESIDENTS SAY THEY HEARD THE MINE WAS WORKED ABOUT 1900.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    COOPER, B.N., 1936, STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF THE MARION AREA, VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 46-L.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    1900? DIREXPL ? - DUG OPEN CUTS, MINE

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit EDMUNDSON DESCRIBES THE BARITE AS OCCURING IN SMALL REPLACEMENT MASSES IN THE BEEKMANTOWN DOLOMITE. SMALL CRYSTALS AND MASSES (LESS THAN 1 INCH) OF BARITE WAS FOUND ON THE DUMP.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-1980 Trimble, David C. (Sweet, Palmer C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-NOV-1987 Lovett, James A. Virginia Division of Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site