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Nichols Mine

Past Producer in Polk county in Florida, United States with commodities Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Uranium
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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. Alteration
  9. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Ore body information
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Mineral rights holdings
  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 10265152
MRDS ID ISM0367
MAS/MILS ID 0121050011
Record type Site
Current site name Nichols Mine

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Ore Body
Geographic coordinates: -82.035, 27.895 (WGS84)
Elevation 38
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

Nichols(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Saint Petersburg(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Saint Petersburg(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alafia(hydrologic unit)

Tampa Bay(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 030 S 023 E 20 (03,04,05,06,07,08,09,10,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,28,29,32,33, and 3,4 of T31S,R 23E. Florida

Comments on the location information

  • ABOUT 8 KM WEST OF MULBERRY, About 128 Km West of Brewster, About 40 Km East of Tampa, Near Fort Lonesome

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 Ore
Dolomite Gangue
Montmorillonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Clay Altered To Lateritic Aluminum Phosphates
  • (Local) Supergene Uranium Enrichment
  • (Local) Montmorillonite Transformed To Kaolinite

Analytical data

Result LESS THAN 70% TPL

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 244
USGS model code 34d
Deposit model name Phosphate, warm current type

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Sand and Gravel
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Phosphorite
    Rock unit name Bone Valley and Hawthorn Formations

Nearby scientific data

Ore Body (1) -82.035, 27.895
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form BLANKET (COVERS 2000 SQ MI OF THE COASTAL PLAIN)
    Dip SLOPES OF 5 FT/MILE ARE COMMON TO BONE VALLEY FM.
    Thickness 4.1M
    Area 3110HA
    Depth to top 7.1M
    Field Value
    Type of Orebody #1 SEDIMENTARY
    Shape of Orebody #1 MASSIVE
    Type of Orebody #2 STRATABOUND
    Shape of Orebody #2 TABULAR
    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 4
    Avg. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. 7.1
    Min. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. 4
    Total Surface Area (HA) 3110
    Date of Last Modification 850618

Comments on the geologic information

  • DENSITY IS DRY INSITU ORE ASSUMING 20% MOISTURE; PRECISE VALUE IS 1.48 GRAMS PER CUBIC CENTIMENTER. REWORKING, WEATHERING; PLEIS-HOLO
  • Record from S&A said thickness was 3.05 meters.
  • HawthornFormation: Underlies Bone Valley unconformably.
  • A Land-Pebble Deposit Thickness Varies Due To Hawthorn Karst Topography
  • THE BONE VALLEY FM WAS DEPOSITED ON THE ERODED SURFACE OF THE HAWTHORN FM. BY A TRANSGRESSING SEA THAT REWORKED AND SORTED THE HIGHLY PHOSPHATIC RESIDUAL OF THE HAWTHORN FM. PHOSPHATE RECOVERED IS FROM THE LOWER BONE VALLEY-WHICH IS LESS WEATHERED-AND THE UPPER RESIDUAL PART OF THE HAWTHORN. RIGGS (1967) REDEFINED THE STRATIGRAPHY CREATING HAWTHORN GROUP WHICHINCLUDES ROCKS PREVIOUSLY PLACED IN HAWTHORN ANDBONE VALLEY FMS. BONE VALLEY FM. WAS THEN SUBDIVIDED INTO 11 MEMBERS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1915
Mining method Strip-Level
Year of first production 1970
Plant type Beneficiation (Mill)
Milling method Flotation

Mining district

District name Central Florida Phosphate District
District name Land Pebble Phosphate District

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Fee Ownership

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Mobil Mining And Minerals Co.
    ID 0800385
    Interest 100
    Home office Virginia
    Year 1978

Production statistics

  • Year 1973
    Description Crude Ore 6601000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1974
    Description Crude Ore 5989000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1975
    Description Crude Ore 5455000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1976
    Description Crude Ore 5701000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1977
    Description Crude Ore 5545000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1978
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Crude Ore (Estimate) 4843000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1979
    Description Crude Ore 5823000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1980
    Description Crude Ore 5557000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1981
    Description Crude Ore 4758000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1982
    Description Crude Ore 4843000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1983
    Description Crude Ore 298000 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1984
    Description Crude Ore 1978400 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1985
    Description Crude Ore 3731700 Mt Ore/Year
  • Year 1986
    Description Crude Ore 1819000 Mt Ore/Year

Comments on the production information

  • PEBBLE IS 70% OF THE TOTAL PRODUCT AND CONCENTRATE IS 30% OF THE TOTAL PRODUCT. 1.3 MIL TPY CONCENTRATE (1983)

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • 1994 RESERVES GIVEN BY MOBIL. ASSAYS FOR COMMODITIES OTHER THAN P2O5 WERE NOT OBTAINED DURING THE 1985 FIELD VISIT. THESE VALUES WERE ENTERED BY US Bureau of Mines Eastern Field Operations Center (EFOC) AND WERE LEFT IN THE DATA BASE FOR GENERAL INFORMATION.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Area 3901HA
    Field Value
    MAS Development Schedule # 1
    Mining Record # 1
    Status of Mining Method ESTIMATE
    Mining Method STRIP-LEVEL
    Swell Factor .91
    Percent Waste Rock 70.5
    Avg. Overburden Thickness 7.05
    Primary Material Cover SAND, SILT
    Percentage 100
    Hardness of Ore QUICKSAND
    Avg. Bench Height (meters) 0
    Max. Pit Slope (degrees) 60
    Capacity 17860
    Capacity Units MT ORE/DAY
    Unit Production Cost .9
    Units of Production $/MT ORE
    Operating Days per Year 355
    Operating Shifts per Day 3
    Year of Information 1985

Comments on the workings information

  • MAXIMUM SURFACE AREA POTENTIALLY DISTURBED IS MINABLE AREA, NOT TOTAL AREA CONTROLLED. 1940 ACRES CONSIDERED MINABLE IN 1954, OF WHICH 1583 WERE MINED BY THAT YEAR. IN 1974 PRICE IMPROVEMENTS AND NEW TECHNIQUES HAD MADE LOWER GRADE ORE PROFITABLE.

Comments on other economic factors

  • MINE RECOVERY IS 85%.
  • OVERALL MILL RECOVERY IS 74.8%
  • CURRENT PHASE OF MINING BEGAN 1970, SCATTERED MINING SINCE 1915.
  • OCEAN TRANSPORTATION TO TEXAS IS ACTUALLY $0.0042 PER METRIC TON KILOMETER.

Comments on development

  • SURFACE WASHING, FLOTATION, CALCINATION THE ORE IS TRANSPORTED BY PIPELINE TO THE MILL (ON-SITE), BENEFICIATION THROUGH FLOTATION; NON-GEOLOGIC CONSTRAINTS ON DEVELOPMENT OR EXPANSION IN 1-5 YRS. (). DEVELOPMENT(UNKNOWN); EXPLORATION(UNKNOWN); ORE GRADES <32 % P2O5 (<70 % BPL)

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Production

    PA1-PA2) WORLD MINING, WORLD MINES REGISTER, 1981-82

  • Deposit

    GEORGE LOVE, CHIEF GEOLOGIST, MOBIL CHEMICAL CO.; 8/21/87 TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH LEE OSMONSON.

  • Deposit

    U.S. Bureau of Mines. Compilation of proprietary, individual company, production statistics (for the years 1984 through 1986).

  • Deposit

    R.W. HOPPE. PHOSPHATES ARE VITAL TO AGRICULTURE AND FLORIDA MINES FOR ONE THIRD THE WORLDD, IN E/MJ OPERATING HANDBOOK OF SURFACE MINING, MCGRAW-HILL INC. NEW YORK, NY, 1976, PP. 382-392.

  • Deposit

    Central Florida Phosphate Industry area-wide impact assessment program, existing land use, vol. IV, prepared for U.S.E.P.A. by Texas Instruments Incorporated, June 1977.

  • Deposit

    Zellars-Williams, Inc., Evaluation of the phosphate deposits of Florida using the Minerals Availability System, U.S. Bureau of Mines Open File Report 112-78, NTIS: PB 286-648/AS, 1978, 199 p.

  • Deposit

    BRITISH SULPHUR CORP. LTD., 1980: WORLD SURVEY OF PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS, 4TH ED., LONDON

  • Deposit

    E&MJ, INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORY OF MINING, 1979, NEW YORK

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE PROPERTY WAS SHUT DOWN IN JUNE 1986, TEMPORARILY, BUT WILL REMAIN INACTIVE THROUGH 1987.
Deposit One of the duplicate records was made because of PHOSPHORITE STUDIES MOTIVATED BY THE OCCURRENCE OF URANIUM AS A TRACE SUBSTITUENT OF APATITE. PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS ARE COMMONLY LOCATED USING GAMMA RAY LOGGING, AIRBORNE RADIOACTIVITY LOGGING AND GEIGER COUNTER.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 03-OCT-96 Smith, R.C. U.S. Bureau of Mines
Updater 16-DEC-10 Causey, J. Douglas U.S. Geological Survey Added info from duplicate record and deleted them.
Reporter 01-JAN-83 Saam, Henning, G. Bundesanstalt Fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffee (Germany)
Reporter 30-SEP-77 Sutphin, David M. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 04-NOV-02 Nicholson, S.W. U.S. Geological Survey reformated date column; calculated latitude and longitude in decimal degrees; added Location Precision, Continent, Country, State, Commodity Code, Ore Minerals Code fields; changed Major Commodity field. (Dep_ID 10080274)

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 11/30/2002
MSHA mine ID0800385
Mine name (MSHA)NICHOLS MINE
Current operatorAgrifos Mining Llc
Current controller (parent)Agrifos L L C
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.

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