Gunstocker Prospect

Occurrence in Jackson county in North Carolina, United States with commodities Copper, Zinc, Sulfur-Pyrite, Iron, Pig Iron
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10095001
MRDS ID K003537
Record type Site
Current site name Gunstocker Prospect

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -83.11238, 35.29344 (WGS84)
Relative position 0.65 MILE DUE WEST OF CONFLUENCE OF JOHNS CREEK AND CANEY FORK CREEK. THE LOCALITY IS SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST OF THE COMMUNITY OF COWARTS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jackson(county)

North Carolina(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Tuckasegee(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Fontana Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Knoxville(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Tuckasegee(hydrologic unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Tennessee(hydrologic subregion)

Tennessee(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Nantahala National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Croatan National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

National Forests in North Carolina(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States North Carolina Jackson

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Secondary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary
Iron, Pig Iron Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Limonite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Limonite Gossan After Weathering Of Sulfides

Analytical data

Result TVA ANALYSIS (RANKIN AND STUCKEY, 1943): 0.32% TO 0.45% CU
Result 21.9% TO 39.6% FE
Result 22.0% TO 25.7% S
Result AND 29.5% TO 13.8% INSOL.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 184
USGS model code 28a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, kuroko
Mark3 model number 93

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Rock unit name Pegmatites
    Rock description Pegmatites
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Muscovite Schist And Gneiss: Mica-Quartz-Plagioclase Schist Generally Interlayered With Gneissic Micaceous Metasandstone; Schist Locally Graphitic And Sulfidic, Commonly Garnetiferous And/Or Sillimanite Bearing (Hadley And Nelson, 1971)
    Rock description Muscovite Schist And Gneiss: Mica-Quartz-Plagioclase Schist Generally Interlayered With Gneissic Micaceous Metasandstone; Schist Locally Graphitic And Sulfidic, Commonly Garnetiferous And/Or Sillimanite Bearing (Hadley And Nelson, 1971)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -83.11238, 35.29344

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Northeast

Ore body information

  • Strike N 35 E
    Dip NW

Comments on the geologic information

  • A FEW TONS OF ORE LIE ON THE DUMP. PYRRHOTITE PREDOMINATES, WITH SOME PYRITE CUBES, A LITTLE CHALCOPYRITE, AND SCARCE SPHALERITE. ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE RIDGE, A 20-FOOT DEEP BY 20-FOOT WIDE OPEN CUT EXPOSES QUARTZ-BIOTITE GNEISS AND QUARTZ VEINS, BUT SULFIDES WERE NOT OBSERVED. A 10-FOOT DEEP PIT IS ABOUT 600 FEET DOWN THE GULLEY, AND CONSIDERABLE PYRITE AND VEIN QUARTZ ARE PRESENT, ASSOCIATED WITH A 3-FOOT WIDE GOSSAN. THE GOSSAN RANGES FROM 3 TO 10 FEET IN WIDTH, AND WAS TRACED ON THE SURFACE FOR APPROXIMATELY 1,147 FEET. THE SPONGY RED AND BROWNISH LIMONITE LOCALLY CONTAINS SMALL QUARTZ GRAINS AND IN THE INCLINE, POCKETS OF "BLACK COPPER". HENDRY'S REPORT (1932) STATES THAT "IN THE ORE PATCHES OF AUGITE-GARNET GRANITE CARRYING SMALL AMOUNTS OF ORE MATERIAL WERE OBSERVED. THE ORE MINERALS ARE CHALCOPYRITE, PYRITE, BORNITE, AND PYRRHOTITE INTERGROWN WITH GANGUE OF QUARTZ, GARNET, AND AUGITE. THE AVERAGE PERCENT OF COPPER IS REPORTED TO BE FROM 2 TO 4 PERCENT."

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Cox, T. A.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 50.29M

Comments on the workings information

  • TWO PITS AND A TUNNEL HAVE BEEN DUG. THE TUNNEL TRENDS N 80 W FOR 115 FT TO THE GOSSAN, THEN ALONG THE GOSSAN FOR 20 FT, AND THEN A WINZE FOLLOWS THE ORE BODY DOWNWARD FOR ABOUT 30 FT IN A N 35 E DIRECTION. THE THICKNESS OF THE GOSSAN IS AT LEAST 6 FT; ONLY THE FOOTWALL IS EXPOSED IN THE WINZE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HADLEY, J.B., AND NELSON, A.E., 1971, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE KNOXVILLE QUADRANGLE, NORTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, AND SOUTH CAROLINA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISC. GEOL. INV. MAP I-654, 1:250,000

  • Deposit

    ESPENSHADE, G.H., 1944, COPPER DEPOSITS IN JACKSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: USGS OPEN-FILE REPORT, 10 P. HENDRY, L., 1932, GEOLOGY OF THE GUNSTOCKER COPPER MINE, COWARTS, JACKSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: CULLOWHEE, OPEN-FILE REPORT, 2 P

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1975 Hale, Robin C. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUN-1992 Klein, T.L. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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