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Morefield Mine

Past Producer in Amelia county in Virginia, United States with commodities Feldspar, Mica, Beryllium, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium), Lithium, Copper, Manganese, 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 10084287
MRDS ID W101536
Record type Site
Current site name Morefield Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -77.91388, 37.36062 (WGS84)
Elevation 95
Relative position 6 KM (3.8 MI) NE OF AMELIA COURT H0USE.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Amelia(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Amelia Court House(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Petersburg(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Richmond(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Appomattox(hydrologic unit)

James(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Amelia

Comments on the location information

  • ABOUT A.6 KM (1.0 MI) SE ON STATE ROAD 628 FROM ITS INTERSECTION WITH U.S. HIGHWAY 360, TURN NE ON DIRT ROAD FOR 0.6 KM (0.4 MI).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Feldspar Primary
Mica Primary
Beryllium Critical Secondary
Tantalum Critical Secondary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical Secondary
Lithium Critical Secondary
Copper Secondary
Manganese Critical Secondary
Sulfur-Pyrite Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • FELDSPAR INCLUDE GEM AMAZONITE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Albite Ore
Beryl Ore
Cassiterite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Manganotantalite Ore
Microlite Ore
Muscovite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrolusite Ore
Rutile Ore
Topaz Ore
Apatite Gangue
Biotite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Labradorite Gangue
Monazite Gangue
Oligoclase Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue
Zircon Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite > Diabase
    Rock unit name Diabase Dikes
    Rock description Diabase Dikes
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Gneiss, Schist Chopawamsic Formation
    Rock description Gneiss, Schist Chopawamsic Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -77.91388, 37.36062
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ne-Sw Trend
Type of structure Local
Structure description Faults

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR TO IRREGULAR
    Strike N 53 E (AVG)
    Dip 80 NW
    Length 457M
    Width 9.1M
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 6M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fracture, Foliation Planes, Dike

Comments on the geologic information

  • FOR DRILL-HOLE LOGS, ANALYSES, AND DESCRIPTION OF DRILLING TECHNIQUES USED DURING WORK DONE BY THE U.S. BUREAU OF MINES SEE GEEHAN (1953).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1929
Discoverer Silas V. Morefield
Year of first production 1929

Mining district

District name Amelia District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner W. D. Baltzby (Powhatan Mining Co.)/D. R. Boyles
  • Type Owner
    Owner W. D. Baltzby / D. R. Boyles

Comments on the production information

  • ORIGINAL DATA IS SHORT TONS OR POUNDS. MOREFIELD SHIPPED ABOUT 3 CARLOADS OF AMAZONSTONE (PERTHITE) AND 2.5 TONS (2.3 MET TONS) OF BERYL BETWEEN 1929-1931. USBM RECOVERED ABOUT 500 POUNDS OF PLACER BERYL FROM THE STREAM S OF THE PIT (BROWN, 1962).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • AT LEAST SEVERAL THOUSAND POUNDS OF RECOVERABLE MICA THAT WOULD YIELD 2% TO 5% SHEET MATERIAL AND A FAIRLY LARGE TONNAGE OF SCRAP MICA PROBABLY COULD BE OBRAINED. WITHIN THE PEGMATITE 2 TO 3 POUNDS OF TANTALITE-COLUMBITE PER TON IS SUGGESTED BY SAMPLES TAKEN; THROUGH SELECTIVE MINING (ALONG ALBITE-RICH WALL ZONE), THE TENOR MIGHT BE RAISED TO AS MUCH AS 5 POUNDS PER TON. ADDITIONAL RESERVES OF TANTALUM ARE PESENT IN THE DUMP AND PLACER MATERIAL. ONE SMALL PLACER SE OF THE OPEN CUT CONTAINS 0.2 POUNDS PER CUBIC YARD AND THE OLD DUMPS CONTAIN 0.25 POUNDS PER CUBIC YARD. A FEW TONS OF PHENAKITE PROBABLY EXISTS AND MUCH MORE MAY BE PRESENT.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 6M
    Overall depth 35M

Comments on the workings information

  • MAIN OPENING IS AN IRREGULAR CUT 76 M (250 FT) LONG, 3-15 M (10-50 FT) WIDE AND 1.5 TO 9 M (5 TO 30 FT) DEEP. A SHAFT 35 M (115 FT ) DEEP WAS DUG AT THE SW END OF THE CUT. ORIGINALLY THE SHAFT WAS DUG TO 14 M (45 FT). IN 1943-1944, MOREFIELD ENLARGED AND DEEPED THE SHAFT; AT THE COLLAR THE SHAFT WAS 5 M BY 5 M ( 16 BY 16 FT) AND 18M (60 FT) DEEP. IN 1948, THE USBM DEEPENED THE SHAFT TO 35M (115 FT), THE NEW SHAFT SEGMENT IS 1.8M BY 2.4M (6 BY 8 FT). TWO SHORT DRIFTS AT THE 14M (45 FT)LEVEL WERE ENLARGED, AND SEVERAL HOLES WERE DRILLED TO ESTABLISH THE POSITION OF THE PEGMATITE WALLS. AT THE 30.5M (100 FT) LEVEL A DRIFT WAS DRIVEN AT LEAST 23 M (75 FT) SW, MAINLY ALONG THE SOUTHEASTERN WALL OF THE PEGMATITE. A RAISE FROM THIS DRIFT EXTENDED TO ABOUT THE 14M (45 FT) LEVEL SW OF THE SHAFT. ALL TOTALED, THERE WAS 40 M (130 FT) OF DRIFTS, A 18 M (60 FT) RAISE, AND A SMALL STOPE. THREE PROSPECT HOLES ARE NE AND E OF THE CUT, AND AT LEAST 6 TRENCHES AND SHALLOW PITS ARE SCATTERED ALONG
  • STRIKE SW OF THE CUT. THE SOUTHWESTERN TRENCHES ARE 40 TO 55 M (130 - 180 FT) LONG, 4M (13 FT) WIDE, AND 0.6 - 6 M (2 - 20 FT) DEEP.

Comments on development

  • AND A POTENTIAL MICA PRODUCER. BALTZBY HAS DEWATERED THE MAIN MOREFIELD SHAFT (PUT IN BY THE USBM?) AND IS EXTENDING THE DRIFT TO THE SW ALONG STRIKE BY MEANS OF BLASTING.
  • MINE WAS OPENED IN 1929 BY S.V. MOREFIELD, THE OWNER, WHO MINED BY OPEN CUT METHODS UNTIL 1931. THE MINE WAS THEN LEASED TO W.W. HOWE, OF THE SEABOARD FELDSPAR CO., AND WAS WORKED FOR 3 YEARS. MOREFIELD THEN RESUMED OPERATIONS. THE MINE WAS LEASE TO THE MINERALS SEPERATION CORP. OF NORTH AMERICA IN 1942, LATER WAS TAKEN OVER BY THE METALS RESERVE COMPANY, AND FINALLY WAS RETURNED TO MOREFIELD IN JANUARY 1943. THE U.S. BUREAU OF MINES EXPLORED THE DEPOSIT DURING THE SUMMER AND FALL OF 1943. THE EXPLORATION INVOLVED CUTTING 4 TRENCHES SW OF THE CUT AND 1 TRENCH NE OF THE CUT TO ESTABLISH THE POSITION OF THE PEGMATITE BODY. SUBSURFACE DISTRIBUTION WAS DETERMINED BY MEANS OF 5 INCLINED DIAMOND-DRILL HOLES. THE PROPERTY WAS LEASED IN SEPT. 1947 BY THE U.S. BUREAU OF MINES, AND EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND MINING WERE CARRIED OUT UNTIL MARCH 1949. W. D. BALTZBY OF THE POWHATAN MINING CO. AQUIRED THE PROPERTY IN MARCH, 1985. THE MINE WAS REOPENED IN THE SPRING OF 1986, AS A COLLECTING SITE

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SWEET, P. C, AND PENICK, D. A., JR., 1986, MOREFIELD PEGMATITE MINE REOPENS-VIRGINIA'S ONLY ACTIVE UNDERGROUND GEM MINE; VIRGINIA MINERALS, VOL. 32, NO. 2: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

  • Deposit

    LEMME, R. W., JAHNS, R.H., AND GRIFFITTS, W. R., 1952, MICA DEPOSITS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN PIEDMONT, PART 2. AMELIA DISTRICT, VIRGINIA, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 248-B, PP 103-139.

  • Deposit

    PEGAU, A. A., 1932, PEGMATITE DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 33, 123 P.

  • Deposit

    GLASS, J. J., 1935, THE PEGMATITE MINERALS FROM NEAR AMELIA, VIRGINIA; THE AMERICAN MINERALOGIST, VOL. 20, NO. 11, PP. 741-768.

  • Deposit

    BROWN, W. R., 1962, MICA AND FELDSPAR DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, MINERAL RESOURCES REPORT 3, 195 P.

  • Deposit

    1929 DIREXPL S.V. MOREFIELD - DUG OPEN CUTS, MINED

  • Deposit

    1931 DIREXPL SEABOARD FELDSPAR CO. - MINED OPEN CUTS

  • Deposit

    1934 DIREXPL S.V. MOREFIELD - MINED OPEN CUTS

  • Production

    LEMKE, ET AL. (1952)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PEGMATITE DIKE THINS WITH DEPTH AND IS IRREGULARLY ZONED. CORE IS SMOKY QUARTZ INTERGROWN ON ITS BORDERS WITH LARGE CRYSTALS OF BERYL AND TOPAZ. INTERMEDIATE ZONE IS PERTHITE AND QUARTZ WITH SOME CLEAVELANDITE. THE WALL ZONE IS COMPOSED OF MUSCOVITE, ALBITE, PERTHITE, AND QUARTZ. BIOTITE AND QUARTZ MAKE UP THE BORDER ZONE. BIOTITE GNEISS AND BIOTITE-HORNBLENDE SCHIST FORM THE HOST COUNTRY ROCK. DIABASE DIKES CUT ACROSS THE DEPOSITIN SEVERAL LOCATIONS WITH NORTH TO NORTHWEST TRENDS. ALL THE ROCKS ARE THOROUGHLY WEATHERED TO DEPTHS RANGING FROM 3 TO MORE THAN 9 M (10 TO MORE THAN 30 FT). THE PEGMATITE DIKE IS SHARPLY DISCORDANT AND APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN EMPLACED ALONG A PERSISTENT FRACTURE, BUT SEVERAL BRANCHING QUARTZ VEINS AND PEGMATITE MASSES ARE CONFORMABLE WITH THE WALL ROCK FOLIATIONS. TOPAZ OCCURS ONLY IN THE INTERMEDIATE ZONE. TANTALITE-COLUMBITE AND MANGANOTANTALITE ARE WIDESPREAD ACCESSORY CONSTITUENTS OF THE WALL ZONE AND CHARACTERISTICALLY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ALBITE
Deposit (CLEAVELANDITE). SOME MANGANOTANTALITE WAS FOUND IN THE INNER ZONES ALSO. CASSITERITE AND MICROLITE ARE ALSO FOUND ASSOCIATED WITH ALBITE-RICH PARTS OF THE DEPOSIT. PHENAKITE OCCURS SOLELY IN THE CORE AND INNER INTERMEDIATE ZONE AND PROBABLY REPRESENTS ONLY 0.1 % OF SUCH PEGMATITE. MOST OF THE ECONOMICALLY DESIRABLE MINERALS ARE CONCENTRATED IN OR ALONG THE QUARTZ CORE OR THE PERTHITE-RICH INNER INTERMEDIATE ZONE, OR IN BOTH OF THESE ZONES. MOST OF THE SHEET MICA WAS OBTAINED FROMTHE SW HALF OF THE CUT AND CHIEFLY ALONG THE CONTACT BETWEEN THE WALL ZONE AND THE INNER INTERMEDIATE ZONE. AT LEAST 2/3 OF THE PEGMATITE WITHIN THE CORE AND INTERMEDIATE ZONES IS FELDSPAR, OF WHICH 60 % IS PERTHITE. A LARGE FRACTION OF THE COARSE-GRAINED FELDSPAR IS SO INTERMINGLED WITH QUARTZ THAT MILLING IS REQUIRED. BERYL IS CONCENTRATED IN THE SW END OF THE CUT IN THE CORE AND INTERMEDIATE ZONES.
Deposit RELATIVE TO OTHER PEGMATITES IN VIRGINIA, THIS MINE WAS A LARGE PRODUCER. IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS A COLLECTING SITE FOR MANY UNUSUAL MINERALS OF NO COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE. CRIB ENTRY W031177 BY TRIMBLE COPIED INTO THIS RECORD AND W031177 DOES NOT (OR SHOULD NOT) EXIST. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-1983 Whitlow, S. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUL-1987 Sweet, Palmer C. (Trimble, David C.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Maps centered on this site