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Cranberry Copper Mine

Past Producer in Carroll county in Virginia, United States with commodities Copper, Zinc, Lead, Iron, Iron, Pig Iron, Arsenic
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Ownership information
  18. Production statistics
  19. Workings at the site
  20. Links to other databases
  21. Bibliographic references
  22. General comments
  23. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10106169
MRDS ID W030849
Record type Site
Current site name Cranberry Copper Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -80.78424, 36.80313 (WGS84)
Elevation 768
Relative position 2500 FT (APPROXIMATELY 0.5 MILES) SE OF EARLY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Carroll(county)

Virginia(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Sylvatus(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Galax(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Winston-Salem(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper New(hydrologic unit)

Kanawha(hydrologic accounting unit)

Kanawha(hydrologic subregion)

Ohio(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Virginia Carroll

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION AND ELEVATION GIVEN ARE FOR COLLAPSED PORTAL. PORTAL IS 0.5 MILES SE OF EARLY ALONG U.S. HIGHWAY 52, THEN 500 FT IN A N 60 E DIRECTION UP THE SLOPE. WORKINGS EXTEND 1200 FT TO NE FROM THE PORTAL. LOCATION FIELD CHECKED NOVEMBER 14, 1986.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Lead Tertiary
Iron Tertiary
Iron, Pig Iron Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PAST MINING OPERATIONS CONCENTRATED ON SUPERGENE MINERALS (PRIMARILY CHALCOCITE)

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Cubanite Ore
Cuprite Ore
Galena Ore
Goethite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Actinolite Gangue
Biotite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Muscovite Gangue
Oligoclase Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Low Grade Regional Metamorphism (Almandine Garney Grade)

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 91
USGS model code 24b
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Besshi (Japanese deposits)
Mark3 model number 30

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Lynchburg Group, Ashe Formation
    Rock description Lynchburg Group, Ashe Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Amphibolite

Nearby scientific data

(1) Ashe Formation - Biotite gneiss
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Blue Ridge Anticlinorium, Fries Thrust, 3 Phases Of Deformation Regionally

Ore body information

  • General form POD/LENS
    Strike N. 54 DEG. E.
    Dip 60 DEG. SE.
    Thickness 3M
    Width 7.6M
    Depth to top 12.2M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Lenticular Troughs

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1861
Year of first production 1854

Mining district

District name Cranberry Creek Segment/Gossan Lead District/Southern Section - Blue Ridge Province.

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Edgar C. Moxham
  • Type Owner
    Owner Texas Gulf (Forest Products Division)

Production statistics

  • Year 1859
    Period 1854-1859
    Material ORE CU
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^15% Cu
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Copper Copper 15wt-pct

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVES ARE FOR ENTIRE SEGMENT (BEN WHITE, BROWN AND STEPHENSON, FAIRMONT, AND CRANBERRY MINES); SECOND ESTIMA TE PROBABLY INCLUDES WILD CAT AND SARAH ELLEN SEGMENTS.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 320M
    Overall depth 31.7M

Comments on the workings information

  • 1859: CURREY REPORTS TOTAL DRIVAGE OF LEVELS, 244 M, AND TOTAL DEPTH OF SHAFTS, 76 M. 1986: WORKINGS EXTEND 1200 FT ALONG SURFACE FROM PORTAL, TREND IS N 60 E. THESE WORKINGS CONSIST OF AT LEAST 15 PITS IN 2 PARALLEL LINE APPROXIMATELY 100 FT APART. THE WESTERN PITS ARE QUITE LARGE, 20-30 FT ACROSS AND 15-25 FT DEEP, HAVE SPOIL PILES AROUND THEM, AND LIE ON THE TREND OF THE DEPOSIT. 100 FT TO THE E IS A LINE OF SMALLER PITS, 10 FT WIDE AND 5-10 FT DEEP, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN SHAFTS. OUTSLOPE DUMP AT SW END OF TREND, BEYOND COLLAPSED PORTAL.

Comments on development

  • TENNESSEE AND VIRGINIA MINING CO. OPERATED MINE FROM 1854 TO 1859. IN 1893, E.C. MOXHAM OPERATED THE MINE VIRGINIA IRON, COAL AND COKE CO. DIAMOND-DRILLED A 159.8 M (524 FT) HOLE, HOWEVER NO MINING RESULTED. ; ECON.COM: THE BALTIMORE AND CUBA SMELTING FURNACE WAS IN CONSTRUCTION NEARBY IN 1859 TO PROCESS ORE BY ROASTING (CURREY, 1859). THIS FURNACE IS PROBABLY THE CRANBERRY PLAINS FURNACE REPORTED BY STOSE AND STOSE (1957).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    CURREY, R.O., 1859, A GEOLOGICAL VISIT TO THE VIRGINIA COPPER REGION: KNOXVILLE, TENN., BECKETT, HAWS AND CO.; REPRINTED IN PART UNDER COPPER AND IRON REGION OF THE FLOYD-CARROLL-GRAYSON PLATEAU OF THE BLUE RIDGE IN VIRGINIA, ETC.: THE VIRGINIAS, 1880, V. 1, P. 62-64, 69-71, 74-77, 80-81, 95.

  • Deposit

    ROSS, C.S., 1935, ORIGIN OF THE COPPER DEPOSITS OF THE DUCKTOWN TYPE IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 179, 165 P.

  • Deposit

    WEED, W.H., 1911, COPPER DEPOSITS OF THE APPALACHIAN STATES: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 455, 166 P.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    CONLEY, J.F., 1985, GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA PIEDMONT: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 59, 33P.

  • Deposit

    CRAIG, J.R., HENRY, DONALD K., AND GILBERT, CHARLES, 1978, THE GREAT GOSSAN LEAD IN GAIR, J.E., ED., MASSIVE SULFIDES OF VIRGINIA FIELD TRIP GUIDEBOOK: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN FILE REPORT 78-1068, P.57-84.

  • Deposit

    WRIGHT, R.J., AND RAMAN, N.D., 1948, THE GOSSAN LEAD, CARROLL COUNTY, VIRGINIA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT, 19 P.

  • Deposit

    1854 DIREXPL TENNESSEE VIRGINIA MINING CO.: PRODUCTION BEGUN

  • Deposit

    1893 DIREXPL E.C. MOXHAM: O PERATED MINE

  • Deposit

    1902 DIREXPL VA. IRON, COAL COKE CO.: DRILLED EXPLORATORY HOLE .

  • Deposit

    1911 RECON W.H. WEED: BULL. 455. }1935 RECON C.S. ROSS: PROF. PAPER 179 }1948 RECON R.J. WRIGHT AND N.D. RAMAN: OPEN-FILE REPORT

  • Production

    CURREY (1859), WEED (1911)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: PRE-CIVIL WAR
Deposit GOOD LOCALITY FOR COLLECTING SULFIDE AND GOSSAN SPECIMENS. SOME OF THE SPOIL PILES CONTAIN SULFIDE BLOCKS WITH 2-3% CHALCOPYRITE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT; 3 FIELD OBSERV
Deposit FIGURES ABOVE WERE REPORTED BY CURREY (1859); THICKNESS AND WIDTH WERE ESTIMATES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1987 Meintzer, Robert E. (Le Van, D.C.) Virginia Division of Mineral Resources
Updater 01-APR-1987 Myers, Lesley L. 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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