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Grasty Mn Mine

Past Producer in Campbell county in Virginia, United States with commodity Manganese
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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. Alteration
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  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 10082542
MRDS ID W055385
Record type Site
Current site name Grasty Mn Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -79.30808, 37.16313 (WGS84)
Elevation 246
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position 1.3 MILES N NW OF LYNCH STATION FROM RAILROAD CROSSING OF ROUTE 712 (AZIMUTH 339), Acc Shaft No.2 Used For Location

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Campbell(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Lynch Station(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 Campbell

Comments on the location information

  • 1500 FT N OF JUNCTION OF ROUTE 713 AND ROUTE 627, E OF ROUTE 627 ON AN ELBOW OF CURVE. WORKINGS CAN BE REACHED BY DIRT ROAD FROM NW OR SW N OF POWER LINE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Manganese Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Psilomelane Ore
Pyrolusite Ore
Barite Gangue
Chalcopyrite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Leaching Of Calcareous Quartzite And Marble Causing Slumping And Brecciation.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Rock unit name Mt Athos Member, Alligator Back Formation, Lynchburg Group
    Rock description Mt Athos Member, Alligator Back Formation, Lynchburg Group
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -79.30808, 37.16313
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Smith River Allocthon
Type of structure Local
Structure description Collaple Brecciation

Ore body information

  • General form PARALLEL LENSES
    Strike N 30 E
    Dip 70 SE
    Thickness 3.05M
    Length 36.58M
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 18.29M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Startabound Later Reworked By Meteoric Water

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1895
Year of first production 1938
Year of last production 1943

Mining district

District name James River-Roanoke River Mn, Fe And Ba District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Ottern River Mining Co., W. F. Maginnis
  • Type Owner
    Owner Sam Ogden; Hampton Powell

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 28.35M
    Overall length 121.92M

Comments on the workings information

  • THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT ON THE GRASTY PROPERTY CONSISTED OF 6 SHAFTS ALONG A STRIKE DISTANCE OF 1600 FT WITH A TREND OF N30E. FOUR SHAFTS ARE NE OF RT 627 AND 2 SHAFTS ARE SW OF RT 627. A POWERLINE CUTS ACROSS THE MINERALIZED ZONE, CROSSING THE TREND AT RT 627. THE MOST PRODUCTIVE PART OF THE MN BEARING LENSES WAS AT THE NE END WHERE 3 SHAFTS WERE SUNK TO A DEPTH OF 93 FT AND EXPLORED FOR 400 FT ALONG STRIKE. THESE WORKING WERE FLOODED AND PARTLY CAVED DURING HEAVY RAINS IN 1940. THE NE SECTION OF THE MN BEDS LIES SE OF AN OLD RT 627 CURVE THAT WAS ABONDONED AFTER ROAD IMPROVEMENTS AND NOW LEADS TO A BULLDOZED AREA USED AS A DUMP. THE WORKINGS, SE OF THE DUMP, ARE CAVED, HEAVILY OVERGROWN, AND ALSO FILLED WITH TRASH. FLOAT OF BLUISH-BLACK MN-BEARING NODULES, 5-20 MM IN DIAMETER, IN A GREENISH CLAY MATRIX, AND NODULAR GOETHITE-HEMATITE IN SPONGY, GRAY CALCAREOUS QUARTZITE AND VEIN QUARTZ WERE NOTED. SW ON STRIKE ARE WORKING ALONG THE POWERLINE CUT 100-200 FT NE FROM RT 627. ONE
  • TRENCH (140 FT LONG, 15 FT WIDE, & 8-10 FT DEEP) AND A PIT (5 FT DEEP & 15 FT IN DIAMETER) ARE APPARENTLY OLD BARITE PROSPECTS. NO MN ORE WAS SEEN BUT FLOAT OF HEMATITIC SCHIST AND QUARTZITE, AND MILKY QUARTZ WERE NOTED. ONE MN SHAFT (#4) IS ABOUT 600 FT NE OF RT 627. ON EHT SW SIDE OF RT 627, ON STRIKE WITH THE NE ORE SECTION ARE OTHER PITS, TRENCHES, AND SHAFTS (#5 AND #6). THIN ZONES OF WAD, UP TO 3 FT THICK, WERE ALSO WORKED. THE WORKINGS SW OF RT 627, START AT RT 627 120 FT SOUTH OF THE POWERLINE CROSSING AND CONTINUE FOR 960 FT. SHAFT #5 IS 200 FT AND SHAFT #6 IS 600 FT SW OF RT 627. THE TRENCH IS 30 FT WIDE, 20-40 FT HIGH, AND IS PARTLY FILLED WITH TRASH. IN THE TRENCH ARE EXPOSURES OF "MOTHEATEN" MT. ATHOS CALCAREOUS QUARTZITE. A FEW PIECES OF NODULAR BOTRYOIDAL MN OZIDE WERE NOTED BUT DUMPS ARE LARGELY CONCEALED WITH VEGETATION, PINENEEDLES, LEAVES, AND SOIL. OUTCROPS OF MT.ATHOS QUARTZITE WITH MN STAINS STRIKE N20E AND DIP IS VERTICAL TO STEEPLY SE.

Comments on development

  • SOME MINING MAY HAVE BEEN DONE IN 1890'S. THE GRASTY TRACT AND FIVE ADJOINING PROPERTIES, MAYHEW, BISHOP, MERRITT, DEWS, AND ARTHUR HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVELY PROSPECTED WITH MORE THAN 17,000 FT OF TRENCHES, 14 SHAFTS WITH EXPLORATORY DRIFTS OR CROSSCUTS, AND NUMEROUS SHALLOW PITS BY THE OTTER RIVER MINING COMPANY. THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT ON THE GRASTY PROPERTY CONSISTED OF SIX SHAFTS ALONG A STRIKE DISTANCE OF 1600 FT WITH A TREND OF N30E.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ESPENSHADE, G.H., 1954, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE JAMES RIVER-ROANOKE RIVE MANGANESE DISTRICT, VIRGINIA U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1008, 155P., PL.2, PL.11-12, P.132-134

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1890'S
Deposit ESPENSHADE'S (1954) MAP OF THE WORKINGS SHOWS 2 DISCONNECTED MN LENSES. ONE A SILICEOUS NODULAR ORE IN SANDY CLAY AVERAGES 4-5 FT AND RANGES UP TO 10 FT THICK. THE OTHER ZONE OF 3 SEAMS,1 TO 4 FT THICK, IS ENCLOSED IN CLAY AND SAND BETWEEN QUARTZITE HANGING WALL AND MICACEOUS WAD FOOTWALL. THE ORE STRIKES N30E AND DIPS 70 SE. THE BED IN THE HANGING WALL QUARTZITE ABOVE THE MAIN MN BED ARE BRECCIATED WITH ROTTEN QUARTZITE IN CLAYEY MATRIX, APPARENTLY FROM LEACHING AND SLUMPING
Deposit ESPENSHADE (1954) P.132 NOTES THAT THE GRASTY MINE IS 1 OF 6 ADJOINING PROPERTIES (GRASTY MAYHEW, BISHOP MERRITT, DEWS AND ARTHUR) THAT WERE OWNED OR LEASED BY THE OTTER RIVER MINING CO. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-87 AS 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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