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Ford Mine

Past Producer in Buckingham county in Virginia, United States with commodities Gold, Copper
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  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 10106127
MRDS ID W028970
Record type Site
Current site name Ford Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -78.38194, 37.69366 (WGS84)
Elevation 91
Relative position ABOUT 4.59 KM (2.85 MI) NE OF DIANA MILLS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Buckingham(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Diana Mills(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dillwyn(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Roanoke(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle James-Buffalo(hydrologic unit)

James(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Chesapeake(hydrologic subregion)

Mid Atlantic(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Buckingham

Comments on the location information

  • 0.08 KM (0.05 MI) OFF THE W SIDE OF ROCKY CREEK ABOUT 0.56 KM (0.35 MI) S OF ITS INTERSECTION WITH THE SLATE RIVER.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Epidote Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 273
USGS model code 36a
Deposit model name Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Mark3 model number 27

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Greenstone
    Rock unit name Chopawamsic Formation
    Rock description Chopawamsic Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cambrian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -78.38194, 37.69366
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Long Island Syncline; Arvonia Syncline , Ne-Sw Trend

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Quartz Veins

Comments on the geologic information

  • LENTICULAR QUARTZ CONCRETIONS IN GREENSTONE SCHIST.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1835
Year of first production 1835

Mining district

District name Gold-Pyrite Belt

Land status

Ownership category Private

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Unknown
    Overall depth 18M

Comments on the workings information

  • 7 SMALL DUMP PILES REPORTED 1974; UNPRODUCTIVE SHAFT SUNK. ALSO SEVERAL OPEN CUTS WERE REPORTEDLY DUG.

Comments on development

  • A VEIN IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN 1835, WHICH WAS RICH IN GOLD AT THE SURFACE, BUT AT A DEPTH OF 1.2 TO 1.5 M (4 TO 5 FT) COPPER PYRITE (CHALCOPYRITE) BECAME SO PLENTIFUL AS TO INTERFERE WITH AMALGAMATION, AND THE WORK WAS ABANDONED. LATER, AN 18 M (60 FT) SHAFT WAS SUNK TO STRIKE THE VEIN AT ANOTHER POINT, BUT A FEW LENTICULAR QUARTZ CONCRETIONS CONTAINING CHALCOPYRITE SEEM TO BE ALL THAT WAS FOUND. TWO OTHER SMALL VEINS WERE ALSO EXPOSED IN OPEN CUTS WHICH CONTAINED PYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE AND A LITTLE FREE-GOLD.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SWEET, P.C., 1980, GOLD IN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, PUBLICATION 19 77 P.

  • Deposit

    TABER, S., 1913, GEOLOGY OF THE GOLD BELT IN THE JAMES RIVER BASIN, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 7, 271 P.

  • Deposit

    LUTTRELL, G.W., 1966, BASE-AND PRECIOUS-METAL AND RELATED ORE DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES MINERAL RESOURCES REPORT 7, 167 P.

  • Deposit

    CREDNER, H., 1869, REPORT OF EXPLORATIONS ON THE GOLD FIELDS OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA: AMER. JOUR. MNG., VOL. VII, P. 58.

  • Deposit

    1835 DIREXPL SHAFT SUNK

  • Deposit

    1974 RECON VA. DIV. OF MINERAL RESOURCES: SITE INSPECTED

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit REPORTEDLY RICH IN GOLD NEAR SURFACE, BUT MORE RICH IN COPPER WITH DEPTH.
Deposit CHALCOPYRITE IN ORE INTERFERED WITH AMALGAMATION AND PRODUCTION CEASED UNTIL SHAFT WAS SUNK. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 3 FIELD OBSERV

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1979 Beaulieu, Harvey R. (Le Van, D. C.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-1981 Trimble, David C. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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