Watson Mine

Plant in Polk county in Florida, United States with commodities Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Uranium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Ore body information
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Mining district
  12. Mineral rights holdings
  13. Land status
  14. Ownership information
  15. Production statistics
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10119288
MRDS ID ISM0376
MAS/MILS ID 0121050014
Record type Site
Current site name Watson Mine
Related records 10024650

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Ore Body
Geographic coordinates: -81.81095, 27.72531 (WGS84)
Elevation 35
Location accuracy 100(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Polk(county)

Florida(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bowling Green(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Bartow(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Fort Pierce(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Peace(hydrologic unit)

Peace(hydrologic accounting unit)

Peace-Tampa Bay(hydrologic subregion)

South Atlantic-Gulf(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Florida Polk

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Tallahassee 032 S 025 E 04 SESENE Florida

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Aluminum Critical Tertiary
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Tertiary
Iron Tertiary
Magnesite Tertiary
Phosphorus-Phosphates Primary
Uranium Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Collophane Unknown
Dolomite Unknown
Montmorillonite Unknown
Quartz Unknown

Nearby scientific data

Ore Body (1) -81.81095, 27.72531

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Thickness 4.4M
    Length 3080M
    Width 3080M
    Area 2875HA
    Depth to top 5.1M
    Field Value
    Type of Orebody #1 SEDIMENTARY
    Shape of Orebody #1 MASSIVE
    Type of Orebody #2 DISSEMINATED
    Shape of Orebody #2 IRREGULAR
    Type of Orebody #3 REPLACEMENT
    Primary mode of Origin SEDIMENTATION
    Secondary mode of Origin RESIDUAL CONCENT
    Primary Ore Control LITHOLOGY
    Secondary Ore Control BEDDING
    Degree of Wallrock Alter. UNKNOWN
    Type of Wallrock Alter. #1 UNKNOWN
    Minimum Depth to Top 2.3
    Avg. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. 5.1
    Min. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. 2.3
    Total Surface Area (HA) 2875
    Date of Last Modification 830413

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Plant
Commodity type Both
Significant No
Discovery year 1906
Mining method Strip-Level
Year of first production 1936
Plant type Beneficiation (Mill)
Plant subcategory Flotation
Milling method Flotation

Mining district

District name Central Florida Phosphate District

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Fee Ownership

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Estech, Inc.
    ID 800187
    Interest 100
    Home office Florida
    Year 1987

Production statistics

  • Year 1971
    Description 3170000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1972
    Description Not Available
  • Year 1973
    Description 3504000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1974
    Description 3877000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1975
    Description 3381000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1976
    Description 4106000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1977
    Description 4147000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1978
    Description 3584000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1979
    Description 2980000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1980
    Description 6208000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1981
    Description 2592000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1982
    Description 2203000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1983
    Description 2286000 Mt Ore
  • Year 1984
    Description 2205700 Mt Ore
  • Year 1985
    Description 2062900 Mt Ore
  • Year 1986
    Description 1847200 Mt Ore

Comments on the production information

  • RESERVES DEPLETED IN 1988. MINE PERMANENLY CLOSED IN 1989

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    U.S. BUREAU OF MINES. COMPILATION OF PROPRIETARY, INDIVIDUAL

  • Deposit

    COMPANY, PRODUCTION STATISTICS (FOR THE YEARS 1984

  • Deposit

    THROUGH 1986).

  • Ownership

    JERRY BALL, ACCOUNTANT FOR ESTECH, INC.; 8/20/87 TELEPHONE

  • Ownership

    CONVERSATION WITH LEE OSMONSON.

  • Deposit

    CENTRAL FLA. PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY AREAWIDE IMPACT ASSESSMENT

  • Deposit

    PROGRAM, EXISTING LAND USE, VOL IV, PREPARED FOR U.S.E.P.A.

  • Deposit

    BY TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC, JUNE 1977.

  • Deposit

    SWIFT AGRI. CHEM. CORP. ANNUAL REPT., 1976

  • Deposit

    ZELLARS-WILLIAMS INC.,EVALUATION OF THE PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS

  • Deposit

    OF FLORIDA USING THE MINERALS AVAILABILITY SYSTEM, BUMINES

  • Deposit

    OPEN FILE REPORT 112-78, NTIS: PB 286 648/AS, 1978, 199 PP.

  • Deposit

    ATLAS AND PLAT BOOK, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA. ROCKFORD MAP PUBL

  • Deposit

    INC., ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, 1977.

  • Deposit

    PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY MINING MASTER PLAN FOR MANATEE CO

  • Deposit

    FLORIDA. SUBMITTED TO THE MANATEE COUNTY ZONING BOARD, 1975

  • Deposit

    STATE MAP OF FLORIDA SHOWING PHOSPHATE DISTRICTS. ZELLARS-

  • Deposit

    WILLIAMS INC., 1977.

  • Deposit

    GENERAL HIGHWAY MAP, POLK COUNTY FLORIDA DEPART. OF TRANS-

  • Deposit

    PORTATION, 1971.

  • Deposit

    BOWLING GREEN, BEREAH QUADRANGLES 7 1/2MINUTE SERIES USGS,

  • Deposit

    1955, 1956.

  • Deposit

    STOWASSER, W. F. PHOSPHATE ROCK. CH. IN BUMINES MINERALS

  • Deposit

    YEARBOOK 1983, V.1, P. 668.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ESTECH GENERAL CHEMICALS CORP. PERSONAL COMMUNICATION DURING COMPANY VISIT IN JANUARY 1985; DIMENSIONS ARE IDEALIZED FOR MINABLE AREA.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 05-APR-1995 Hite, Alan G. U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 03/27/1989
MSHA mine ID0800187
Mine name (MSHA)Watson Mine
Current operatorEstech Inc
Current controller (parent)Beatrice Companies
Mine typeSurface (Metal / non-metal)

MSHA cross-reference per the original MRDS record. Mine status and operator reflect MSHA's last published Mines export (February 2025); MSHA's public bulk feed has been unavailable since, so this may be out of date. See the Mine Data Retrieval System for current status.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.