Bonsack Prospect

Past Producer in Botetourt county in Virginia, United States with commodities Zinc, Lead, Copper, Sulfur-Pyrite
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Land status
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080203
MRDS ID W031304
Record type Site
Current site name Bonsack Prospect
Alternate or previous names Bonsacks Prospect, Bonsack Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -79.86283, 37.33062 (WGS84)
Elevation 311
Relative position 0.36 MI NNE OF BONSACK RR CROSSING.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Botetourt(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Stewartsville(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 Botetourt

Comments on the location information

  • DRIVE RIGHT (EAST) SIDE OF NORFOLK AND WESTERN RR TRACK 1900 FEET NE FROM CROSSING OF ROUTE 636. BONSACK STATION NO LONGER STANDS.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Primary
Copper Secondary
Sulfur-Pyrite Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • CURRIER (1935) REFERS TO OXIDIZED MINERALS, BUT DOES NOT STATE SPECIES.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Hemimorphite Ore
Smithsonite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Chalcopyrite Gangue
Pyrite Unknown

Analytical data

Result EIGHT CARLOADS TAKEN IN 1880'S FROM SHAFT TO 35 FEET
Result 5 CARS ANALYSED 40.1% ZN AND 3 CARLOADS 36% ZN
Result IN 1888 11,878 TONS OF ORE WERE SHIPPED FROM BONSACK (AV ASSAY NOT KNOWN).

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 228
USGS model code 32b
Deposit model name Mississippi Valley, Appalachian Zn
Mark3 model number 42

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Rome Formation
    Rock description Rome Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -79.86283, 37.33062

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend, Max Meadows Fault, Fries (Blue Ridge) Fault

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR AND LENSE
    Strike N 30 DEG. E
    Dip 55-65 DEG SE
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 27.43M

Comments on the geologic information

  • ORE AT BASE OF ROME; WATSON (1905, P. 73) NOTED REDDISH SHALES EXPOSED JUST ABOVE SHAFT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1887
Discoverer David H. Plaine And John Bartlett
Year of first production 1888
Year of last production 1895

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Washington Zinc Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Walter L. Sutor

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 27.43M

Comments on the workings information

  • INACCESSIBLE SHAFT COVERED OVER ALONG RR CUT OF NORFOLK AND WESTERN. UPDATER NOTED WHITE HEMIMORPHITE, PYRITE, GOETHITE, IN GRAY RECRYSTALLING MASSIVE DOLOMITE WITH WHITE CALCITE JOINT FILLINGS.

Comments on development

  • SHAFT DRIVEN TO 35 FEET WHEN BOULDERS EMBEDDEN IN SPHALERITE FOUND. ORE AVERAGED 36-40.1% ZN; AT 65 FEET MORE SPHALERITE AND CAVE 40X30X20 SPHALERITE VEINS ASSAYED 42-46% ZN; AT 90 FEET 3 FOOT CALAMINE BED ON EITHER SIDE SHAFT ASSAYED 52.37% ZN (KAGEY, D.D., 1983, FROM BARNES, 1958, NEWSPAPER ACCOUNT APPARENTLY BASED ON WASHINGTON ZINC COMPANY RECORDS).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CURRIER, L.W., 1935, ZINC AND LEAD REGION OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 43, 122 P.

  • Deposit

    WATSON, T.L., 1905, LEAD AND ZINC DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1, 156 P.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    KAGEY, D.D., 1983, COMMUNITY AT THE CROSSROADS, A STUDY OF THE VILLAGE OF BONSACK OF THE ROANOKE VALLEY, PRIVATELY PUBLISHED, ROANOKE, VIRGINIA, P. 120-121.

  • Deposit

    ROANOKE TIMES AND WORLD NEWS, NOVEMBER 13, 1958: RAYMOND P. BARNES, "RICH ZINC MINE ONCE MADE BONSACK BIG FREIGHT CENTER."

  • Deposit

    SUTOR, WALTER L., 1987, PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, GLADE CREEK ROAD, BONSACK (RECORDS OF TRANSFER OFMINERAL RIGHTS, DEEDS).

  • Deposit

    KEMP, J.F., 1903 ORE DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, 5TH ED., NEW YORK, P. 249.

  • Deposit

    BARTHALOMEW, MERVIN J., 1981, GEOLOGY OF THE ROANOKE AND STEWARDSVILLE QUADRANGLES, VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION NO. 34, 23 P.

  • Deposit

    DIREXPL PROSPECT SHAFT SUNK

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: LATE 1880'S
Deposit WATSON (1907) NOTED THIS DEPOSIT ONLY AS A PROSPECT WITH A SINGLE SHAFT "LESS THAN 50 FEET" (P. 530). THIS ACCOUNT IS AT VARIANCE WITH KEMP (1903) WHO SAYS "...THE MINE YIELDED RICH EARTHY OXIDIZED ORES, WHICH, HOWEVER, PASSED IN DEPTH TO A VERY INTIMATE AND REBELLIOUS MIXTURE OF ZINC BLENDE AND PYRITE." BARNES (1958) AND KAGEY (1983) ARE SECONDARY, NON-TECHNICAL ACCOUNTS DRAWING FROM OTHER SOURCES BUT INDICATE CONSIDERABLY MORE DEVELOPMENT THAN WATSON REPORTED. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1980 Meintzer, Robert E. (Sweet, P. C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-DEC-1987 Good, Richard S. Virginia Division of Mineral Resources

Beyond USGS

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