Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Bul 6
Bul 6
. 'Wrr,r,rerr
lfoneps MnNN, Cha'irman,
G ou ermor of Vit gi,ni'a.
X. A. Ar,nnBMAN,
Pres'id,cnt of the Uni,aersi,ty of Vi,rginia.
P. B. BennrNcpn,
Presid,ent of tlte Virgi;nia Polytechruic Insti'tute.
E. W. lVrcuor,s,
Buperintend,ent of the Vi,rgi'nia Military Insti,tute.
A. M. Bowurn,
Member of the House of Del'egates.
CONTENTS
P.a,en
IxrnoouctroN
PsnlrMrNlnv Gnxrne:,rrtns 7
Geographic position of Virginia..... 7
Surface features of the State---
The Coastal Plain province----.-...-....---.-..-- I
The Piedmont Plateau province-..-.-.--. 10
The Appalachian Mountains province.."-.-. 11
Effects of weathering antl erosion---.--.-"-.-...".-.:...----. 12
Diversity of resources-"- 72
Inorv Onos lrvo Prc fnorv-..-..----".-... l3
M-ErqeeNnsp Onns .------.....-. 23
Gor,o ervo Srr-vun---..-....-.. 27
Coppnn 3l
50
Brick clays 53
X'ire clays '15
Pottery clays --..--"..-...- 56
Kaolin -..-.....-. 56
Lrlrn .c.NoCrunrvr.".--.-.--, 59
Lime -.....-.--.-.- 60
Cement 63
S.nrvn -e.nn Gru.vnr,..-.-.-...-. 67
PAGE
Asna.srvn MATERTALS 9r
corundum 9l
Corundum
""d "-"t;-----..---.-.---..---...-..-.-----...:.:..-.-
91
Emery ---...--... 91
Millstones (buhrstones) 9l
Srr-rce --,.----.-. 93
Quartz ....---..-- 93
Chert ---.-........ 93
Diatomaceous earth -.---...-.-.. 93
MrcA ............. 91
X'nr,ospen 96
AsBEsTos 97
Ter,c eno Soepsrorvr...-.. 98
Benrrns 702
GYPSUM 105
Ser,r -.......-...... 1u6
Mrnorur, Plrwrs r07
M.rnr- ...---..-.... t07
Pvnrro .E rvo PvgnHorrlu...-..------------- 108
AnsnNrc 111
PHospu.e,tn LT2
Gn.Lpntrn 113
'l'o His Ercellency, Hon. Wm. Hod,ges Marun, Goaernor of Vi,rgini'a, and'
Chairm,an of the State Geologi,cul Com,m,iss'ion:
Srn:-I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication, as
Bulletin No. VI of tbe Virginia Geological Survey Series of Reports,
a Biennial Report on the Mineral Production of Virginia during the
Calendar Years 1909 and 1910, prepared by the Director of the Survey.
In this report is given full information descriptive of the mining
industry in Virginia during the calendar years 1909 and 1910.
Trrorvres L. Wersow,
Di'rector.
INTRODUCTION
Virginia is possessed of an abundance and variety of mineral
materials. Many of these have been worked since early colonial days,
especiaily the coal, iron ores, and brick clays. About 40 materials
are now exploited, many of them on a large scale, which afford a basis
of important commercial enterprises, and give to the State prominence'
in a varied and extensive mining indust?y. Most of the materials now
produced. can be developed still further with an increased production
in f,uture years. Some of these have been developed within recent
vears, and others still have not yet been exploited.
This bulletin gives full inforrnation descriptive of the mining
industry in Virginia during the calendar years 1909 ancl 1910, includ-
ing a brief treatment of the distribution, occurrence, development, and
produetion of the mineral materials of the State. It has been prepared
with the hope that it will be of service to those now engaged in
exploitation o{ our resources, or otherwise interested in them, The
statistics of mineral production in Virginia for the calendar year 1909
were collected by the Federal Survey in coiiperation with the Bureau of
the Census and furnished by courtesy of the Federal Survey to the'
Virginia Geological Survey. The statistics for the calendar year 1910,
were collected by the Virginia Geological Survey in cod,peration with,
the llnitecl States Geological Survey. The total number of productive
operations is large, including a variety of subjects, as is indicated in
the tables of annual production below. The aggregate value of their
output in 1910, according to returns received at the State Survey office,.
amounted tn 822,7 55,1,67.
The statistics of production and. value of the mineral resources of
Virginia for 1909 and 1910 are given below in tabular form. The
figures are well above the totals of most of the materials recorded'iu
previous years. The increase in 1909 and 1910 over that of 1908 is
especially noticeable in the large industries and in many of the smaller
ones.
There are given in the tables below the production and value of
the various mineral materials in Virginia for the years 1906 to 1910,,
inclusive.
MINXRAL PRODUCTION.OF VIRGINIA.
Total value.
aEstimated.
,,
blncludes aebestoe, natural_
_cement,
poriland cement, gypsum, mica, ocher,
pottery,quartz (flint), salt, sand-lime brick, and titanium. ""'
IN'IRODUCTION.
alnclucles natural and Portland cement, feldspar, gypsum, ocher, rutile, and
sand-lime brick.
MINERAI PRODUCTION OF YIRGINIA.
$ 1,957,367
4,752,217 4,25r,056
Coke . t,347,478 2,415,769
Copper 224,162 29,14r
2,500
Gems and precious stones.. 3,750
Gold (mines rePort) 488,250
Granite
fron ores . ... ;.. . Long tons 837,847 1,693,188
Iron, pig Long tons 391,134 5,550,000
Short tons 166,695 635,946
Limestone 342,656
4,600
40,922
Millstones and sandstone..
Mineral wateis Gallons .. 1,504,530 203,455
Long tons 174,176 423,283
Sand and gravel . Short tons 847,476 281,177
Fine ounces 4,825 2,509
Silver . 40,880 180,775
Slate . Squa,res
Talc and soapstone Short tons 26,5t1 523,942
Short tons o6 6,298
Zinc .... . .. 799,086
Other productsa ..
Total.
alncludes barytes, Portland cement, -feldspar., gypsum, manganese ore, manganif-
i:utile, salt, and sand-lime brick'
elrous ore, ocher,
MINERAL PRODUCTION 01' VIRGINIA.
PRELIMINARY GENIIRALITIES
Ir
t:
I
le
IY
oo
L
o
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R$
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s iHiF
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TIIE COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE.
2
72 MINERAL PRODUCTION ON' VIRGINIA.
in the table on page 21; The sulphicles and carbonate, especially the
former, oecur in many places, but they do not form as yet an important
source of the metal.
The iron ores of Virginia may be classified as follows:a
Prnolroxr Rporon:
1. Hematite. Specular hematite associatetl with magnetite in the James River
valleY.
2. Brown ore. Gossan ore forming a capping of pyrrhotite tleposits in south-
western Yirginia, ancl pyrite deposits in northern and central Virginia.
3. Magnetite. Associated with gneisses, schists, ancl crystalline limestones, in
central and southwestern Virginia, ancl with basic intrusions in the Blue
Ridge.
Alrlr,ecnten RsctoN:
t. Hematite.
(a) Siliceous specular hematite interbedded with lower Cambrian shale
and quartzite in the Blue Ritlge.
(b) 3'ossil (red) hematite interbeclded rvith shale anil santlstone of Clinton
(Rockwood) formation in western antl southwestern Virginia.
2. Brown ore.
(a) 'oMountain" ores of the Blue Ritlge antl the Nerm River district, asso-
cia.ted with lower Cambrian quartzite and with residual material
above it derivetl from the quartzite ancl from the overlying forma-
tions.
(b) "Valley" ores associated with residual material of the Shady lime'
stone in the New River district. A few tleposits of this nature
occur with other limestones of the Shenandbah group along the
BIue Ridge.
(c) Oriskany ores replacing the Lewistown limestone directly under the
"Monterey" (Oriskany) sandstone in the western part of the
Appalachian region.
3. Magnefite. Magnetite and hematite associated with limonite and iron
carbonate in the upper part of the Shenandoah group locally in south-
western Virginia.
4. Iron carbonate. Iron carbonate occurring with limestone magnetite in the
upper part of the Shenandoah. group locally in southwestern Virginia,
and as ironstone coneretions in the Martinsburg and Romney shales.
fn recent years, the iron ores of the Piedmont region have con-
tributed only a very minor part of the total production of the ores in
the State, though small quantities of magnetite and limonite (brown
ore) are produced annually from this region.
Magnetite deposits, usuaily having the form of lenticular beds
or elongated pods and interlaminated with gneisses, schists and, in
places, limestones, are widely distributed through the Piedmont region,
frorn 6 inches to 2.5 feet. The ores mined are chiefly of the soft
vari,ety, and are of lower grade than those of the Alleghany County
district.
The "mountain" brown ores, so called because of their occurrence
along the flanks or at the base of a sandstone or quartzite ridge, extend
along the west slope of the Blue Bidge from near Front Royaf in
Warren County, to a point south of Roanoke, and along the east side
of the New River-Cripple Creek district, in Pulaski County, and along
and near to the Wythe-Carroll counties bound.ary. The ore deposits are
associated with Cambrian quartzite or its residual material, usually
the latter, show great variation in for"rn and texture, and range in iron
content from 35 to 50 per cent and in silica content from 10 to 30
per cent, with usually high manganese and phosphorus. They are of
lower grade than the valley or limestone brown ores, and are regarded
as concentrations by meteoric water, the iron having been derivedl
ldrrgely if not entirely from the overlying shale and limestone
formations.
The val1ey or limestone brown ores are distributed at intervals
throughout the Valley region west of the Blue Ridge, in association
witli the residual clays derived from the limestone by processes of
decay. The principa^l occurrence of these ores is in the New River-
'Wythe
Cripple Creek district of and Pulaski counties, in residual clays
deriyed from the Shady (lower mernber of the Shenandoah group)
limestone. A large number of mines have been operated in this district.
fn the northern and central Yalley region the limestone brolvn ores.
are not so abundant, there being less than a doze r deposits t,hat have
been worked. between Roanoke, and the Maryiand boundary. The
ores of this region, called the Blue Ridge belt, occur in residual clays
ilerived from the Natural Bridge limestone.
The ore is disseminated" through the residual clay in varying con-
centrations ranging from large porous masses down to pellets the size'
of a pea. The proportion of clay to ore in the workable deposits varies.
considerably, usually from 5 to 1 to 25 to L.a The ores are usually
rieher than the t'mountain" ores ranging in iron content from 40 to 55r,
aHarder, E. C. Bulletin 380, U. S, Geological Survey, 1909, p.244.
18 MINERAL PRODUOTION Or. I'IBGINIA.
per cent, and in silica content from 5 to 20 per cent, with usually
less than 1 per cent of manganese and enough phosphorus to be classed
as a non-Bessemer ore.
The valley or limestone brown ores are residual deposits, the iron
of which was originally disseminated through the rocks and, under
favorable conditions, has been concentrated during the process ot'
weathering and erosion.
The Oriskany brown ores are the most important of the iron ores
mined at present in Virginia. The principal district of Oriskany ores
includes the counties of Alieghany, Botetourt, and Craig, from which
nearly all the ore mined.of this type is produced. Minor deposits occur
on Draper Mountain, in Pulaski and Wythe counties I on Peters
Mountain, Giles County; in the Buffalo Gap area, Augusta County;
in Massanutten Mountain, Shenandoah County; and on North
Mountain, in Shenandoah and Frederick counties.a
These ores are limited to a defnite horizon, in the Lewistown
(Helderbergian) limestone, immediately below the Monterey (Oris-
kany) sandstone. They represent replacements of the upper portion of
the limestone. The ore was derived from the overlying l)evonian
black shales by meteoric waters. Where the shales were of sufficient
thickness and the underlying Monterey sandstone sufficientiy thin and
fractured, the iron-bearing solutions penetrated into the underlying
limestone and, under favorable conditions, replaced the' calcium
carbonate by iron dxide, forming the ore bodies.
The ore deposits are continuous for considerable distances along
the strike with great variations in thickness of the ore bodies shown.
ranging up to 75 feet with a probable average of 15 to 25 feei. The
ore, usually fairly solid but frequently porous with the eavities con-
taining clay, ranges between 35 and 50 per cent of metallic iron. They
are usually high in silica and manganese, resembling in this particular
the "mountain" ores.
The principal Oriskany brown ore minesb in the State are Liberty
and Yan Buren Furnace mines, in Shenandoah County; the Buffalo
Gap and Ferrol mines, in Augusta County; the Victoria and Long-
dale rnines, north of Longdale, Alleghany Count.y; the Dolly Ann,
- ,Harder, Er C. Ibid., p. 246.
bop. cit., p. 248.
IRON ORES AND .PIG IRON. 1.9
arncludes west virginia, but practically the total production was from virginia.
234,772 $ 582,068
t47,298 272,768
168,148 398,928
r27,185 202,W9
14,001 31,216
130,326b 2r5,939
The average price, per long ton of the difierent varieties of iron
ore produced in virginia during 1910 foilows: Brown hematite 82.07,
red hematite $1.?4, and magnetite $1.50. These prices represent the
value of the ore at the mouth of the mine, and are taken directly from
the replies of the producers.
The production of pig iron in virgiiiia during 1909 amounted to
391,134 long tons, valued. at $5,550,000, as compared with 320,458
long tons, valued at $4,5?8,000 in 1908, an increase in quantity of
70,676long tons or 22.05 per cent, and in value of $9?2'000 ot 2L'27
per cent. The 1910 production of pig iron in virginia amounted to
444,976long tons, valued at $61150,000, an increase over the production
of the preceding year of 53,842long tons in cluantity, and $600,000 in
value.
There is given in the table below the production of pig iron in Yir-
ginia for the years 1905 to 1910, inclusive.
99 MINERAI, PRODUCT]ON OI' VIRGINIA.
Quantity Value
Year Long tons Value per f,on
Princess Furnace co..... ........GIen wilton " .' " "'Glen Wllton
Pulaskl Iron Co..... ....Pulaski """Alilsonia' Buchanan'
CriPPIe Creek, Foster
Fa[s. antt Pu]aski
Sanalers & St. Clair. '.....Troutville '"""" "'Iroutville
Scherr, A. C. antl others . . Charleston, W' Va " " ' Grottoes
MANGANESE ORES.
Virginia has more known deposits o{ manganese, they extend over
a larger territory, a larger number of localities have been wolke_dt
and more manganese has been produced than in any other state in the
LTnion. Manganese ores oceur in each of the three major geologic
provinees of the State, namely, the Coastal Piain or Tidewater belt,
the Piedmont prorrince or crystalline area, and the Appalachian
Mountajns province or Paleozoic area. Of these the Mountain (Valley)
province has yielderl the principal production, with extensive opera-
iioos uod a large total procluction from the Piedmont province. Only
MINERAI, PRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
... .Crimora
.. .Evington
....Comnton
..Compton
'. D. No. 2..Ivanhoe
' .Mt. Athos
.
. . . Stanleyton
. . ..Evington
Y. ......Stuarts Draft
., Troutville
. . .Marion
. .' IIt. Athos
GOID AND SIMR. 2l
places within the belt in exploiting old and new properties. The
principal gold belt is crossed by innumerable streams bordered by
placers, many of which have been worked over several times.
The principal rocks of the gold belt are micaceous schists and
gneisses, often garnetiferous and chloritic, and in places hornblendic.
They include both altered sediments and igneous masses. The pre-
vailing strike is l[. 20o 8., and the dip is toward the east and southeast
at varying angles, frequently steep, and in many cases nearly vertical.
Granite masses and basic igneous rocks occur in the region, sometimes
sheared from dynamic causes.
The gold-bearing veins are chiefly qaartz, which vary in texture
from large crystalline masses to ver;r fine saccharoidal grains. fn
structure, they vary from massive to thin platy or schistose bodies;
both usually penetrated. by closely spaced irregular fractures. The
principal metallic content is auriferous pyrite, which at times is
copper-bearing and contains more or less admixed chalcopyrite.
Within the weathered. zone, extending from the surface down to local
rvaterlevel and of varying depth, tbe quafiz is more or less porous and-
discolored or stained with iron oxide from the oxidation of the sulphide
minerals, and the liberation of free or elementary gold. Below the
local water-level the veins are fresh, the sulphides are rlnaltered, and
elementary gold is less frequent in occurrence. The early operations
were confinecl largely to the oxidized portions of the veins which yieldecl
a free-milling ore that was easy of treatment. Since then, operations
chiefly. include the mining of sulphurets or the sulphicle bodies, which
require a different metaliurgical treatment of the ores in order to
extvact and recover the gold.
The golcl-bearing veins conform in the main to the structure, strike
and dip of the inclosing rocks, a fact which has caused various explana-
tions to be advanced for their origin by tlifferent observers. Although
the veins conform in the main to the dip and strike of the inclosing
rocks, the correspondence is far from being exact, {or they frequently
cut the schists at small angles both in dip and strike.
Excepting quafiz and pyrite, the gangue minerals in the gold veins
of Virginia comprise the following species: Chalcopyrite, native
copper, galena, mispickel (arsenopyrite), pyromorphite, tetrahedrite,
GOLD AND SILVER, 29
total production of gold was 181.41 fine ounces valued at $3,?50, and
of silver 4,825 fine ounces valued atr 82,509, an increase.in value over
that of 1908 of $1,299 of gold ancl $2,384 of silver. Eight mines
contributed to the production, five of which were placers and three
deep mines. According to McOaskey, the deep mines yielded J4,075
tons of ore, 250 tons of which were siliceous gold ore of an average
value of $2.09 per ton, and 73,825 tons were copper ores and pyrite
cinder yielding 35 cents in precious metals and 16.2 pounds of copper
per ton.
. In 1910, the production of golcl anrl silver in Virginia showed a
marked decrease over that of 1909. The total production of gold was
42.96 fine ounces valued at $888, and of silver 128 fine ounces valued
at liti9.
There is given in the table below, compiled from the production
reports of the United States Mint and Mineral Resources of the Unitecl
States, the production of gold and silver in Virginia by years.
In the subjoined table are given the quantity and value of gold and
silver produced in Virginia for the years 1906,7907,1908, 1909,
and 1910.
COPPER. 8t
Gold Silver
Year
Quantity in Quantity in
fine ozs. Yalue flne ozs. Value
COPPER.
Copper ores are found in many counties of the State and in a
varietv of occurrences. They are confined to the crystalline rocks of
the Piedmont Plateau and the Blue Ridge Mountains, and to the
Triassic red beds, which form numerous small areas in the Piedmont
province:
The known geographic areas of these ores in the State are:
I. Trrn PrsnuoNr Roctow:
(1) The Virgilina district, which includes Halifax and Charlotte counfies
in VirEinia. and Person and Granville counties in North Carolina.
(2) The deposits on or near Southwest Mountain in Albemarle County, and
those near New Canton, Arvonia, and Dillwyn, in Buckingham County.
(3) The pyrite boclies in Louisa, Stafford, and Prince William counties,
mined principally for their sulphur content, but carry at times
sufficient copper to warrant saving.
II. Tnn NoB,rHnnN Br,un Rrocn Rucrom:
Includes those deposits from near Front Royal southward, embracing parts
of Warren, n'auquier, Rappahannock, Madison, Page, antl Greene counties.
UI. Trrn Sourrrwpsr VrnerNr.l Rnerorv:
Includes the "Gossan lreads" of the I'loyd-Carroll-Grayson counties plateau.
prospected in the early fifties, and the rich secondary copper ores
found beneath the gossan were boxed and shipped to Baltimore. Dur
ing 1854-5, there were eight producing mines on the "Gossan Lead" I
the aggregate amount of ore shipped {or the six months from January,
1855, to July, 1855, being 1,454,363 pounds. The ore averaged about
25 per cent copper. The copper content of the sulphide masses is too
iow (averaging less than 1 per cent metallic copper) to work for copper
alone, but the vein is mined on Chestnut Ridge and the ore treated at
Pulaski for sulphur, so that the residue is availabie for copper.
The northern Biue Ridge region, which extends from near Front
Royal southward, embracing parts of six counties, has been extensir.ely
prospected, and many mines have been developed, but as yet wiih little
production of the metal. The ores of the Blue Ridge region consisi
chiefly of cuprite and native copper, small amounts of green and blue
carbonates, and less of the sulphides, bornite and chalcopyrite. The
native copper often occurs as nucleal masses surrounded by cuprite.
Bornite is in excess of chalcopyrite. The ore occurs along crevices and
joints in small, irregular shaped lenses of qaartz, and as disseminated
grains through the more epidotized portions of the basalt. It occurs
mostl,v where the rocks are fractured and epidotized. When ore-
bearing, the rocks are yellowish green in color, due largeJy to the for-
n:ration of epidote and, in part, of chlorite.
I)uring the early part of the iast century, attempts were made to
mine the sparsely disserninated copper ores in the red sandstones and
shales of Triassic age over parts of Loudoun, Culpeper, and Orange
counties. While considerable work was clone, the ores appear to be too
generally diffused in the rocks to be of commercial value. No veins
have been found and no well-defined horizons are known, the ores
occurring for the most part as films or thin coatings of malachite on the
joint surfaces, and as disseminated grains of the sulphide and phos-
phate of coppe through the rocks. Rich specimens of copper glance
and copper phosphate are sometimes obtained, but they are by no
means abundant.
The production of copper in Virginia during 1909 was 22+,162
pounds, valued at $29,747, as compared with 24,775 pounds in 1908,
LOAD AND ZINC. 35
TIN.
Though not existence of tin ore in the
a producer of tin, the
Irish Creek,area of Rockbridge County has been known for many years'
and in 1883 and later the deposits were opened in several places. The
frish Creek area is about 4 miles long in a northeast-southwest
direction and 3 miles wide, embracing a total atea of 12 square miles'
The immecliate rocks of the area are of granitic composition, composed-
principally of a coarse aggregate of qtartz and feldspar (orthoclase
uoa uiUitu;, with hornblende, and in places some epidote' Dikes of
fine-grained altered diabase cut the granitic rocks in all directions,
and apparently are frequently associated with the tin-bearing veins.
The tin ore (cassiterite) occurs principally in greisen veins, which.
traverse the granite in all directions and have steep though
varying
dips.Theveinsareusuallyllarrow,notexceedingafootandless'
though a greater thickness is frequent and some of the veins measure
several feet across. The cassiterite is disseminated in small
crystals'
COAL.
The first coal mined in the united states was in the Richmond
basin, where mines were opened and worked on the James River, near
Richmond, as early as 1750. The production {rom the Richmond basin
increased until 1832 (the production in 1g2g being 100,2g0 tons),
when it began to decline. rn 1908, redevelopme,nt of the mines at
COAL. 39
I. The coal deposits of the Piedmont province. Includes the' Richmoncl Coal Basil,
-;h; r"i'r.*t"g
which covers p;#" ;f-u"J-emala., five counties: Henrico, chesterfielcl'
powhatan, gooofriu"a, "thi.
-
is the only a.rea,of free-burning
coal in the easteri'pirii;; ;i;h; United States that-is locatetl ,immetliately
-rut*uille
adiacent to tia"#'i"t.'-fit" area' rn'hich covers parts of Prince
btiward. Cumberland, ancl Buckingham counties'
Il.ThecoaldepositsoftheMo.untainprovince,.whichinclutleanumberofseparate
u.ro." the state in a southwesterly clirection from x'rederick
areas extentting-north
C;ilt; the to the Tennessee bounclary cin the south'
(r)Thex'reclerickCounty.Area...IncludingtheMountairlFalls.distrietin
the southw";st"r" p"iti"" the county" and near the west virginia line.
"r
(2)TheAugustaCountyArea..IncludestheNorthRiver'clistrictinthe
oorttwe*tloin.t o'i errg"tt" County ancl the contiguous part of Rock-
ingham CountY.
40 MTNERAL pRoDucrroN _oF vrRerNrA.
(3) The Botetourt county Area. rncrudes the southwest corner of Botetourt
County.
(+) tle.Montgoyery-pulaski counties Area. rncludes price and
Brush moun-
. tains in Mortgomery counfy, and cloyd
in pulaski County. ""* rittii-lnliiei mountains
'(5) The
Bland-wyt]re^ counties Area. rneludes smal area in the soufhern
part of Brand county and in the northernap;",;i'w;th" ---
co,rrty.
(6) Tlg Soutiwest.Virginie. A1ga. X'orms the southeastern portion
Kanawha basin, ind comprises the_ pocahoni;;-;;-i,iri_C;p of the
Big stone.Gap coa!-fierds or tne totto*i"g-"""trii".t i#"*irr, an. the
Scott, Buchanln, Wise, and Lee. Russell,
1,550 scluare .miles, with the original suppiy of coal placed at 22'-
b00,000;000 short tons. Campbell and Parker state that from this
there had- been produced, at the close of 1907, a total of 57,229,152
short tons, representing an exhaustion of 86,000,000 tons' "The pro-
duction in 190? was 4,?10,895 shoi"t tons, equivalent to an exhaustion
of little over ?,000,000 tons, so that the coal left in the ground in
\rirginia at the cl0se of 190? was 2,000 times the exhaustion repre-
sented. by the production of that yeat'"
The Pocahontas and Big stone Gap coal flelds are the most ex-
tensively deYeloped coal fields in the Yirginia portion of the Appala-
chian region.
A goodly number of coal beds are found within the total vertical
limits of t[" geological formations composing the Pocahontas field.
Some of these are thin, but at least six workable beds have beeri-opened
in places. Not all of these are workable, however, at any one locality,
uoi in places only one is worked. The superior quality of the
Pocahontas coal has long established it as the best steam coal in the
world. It produces an excellent coke, but, as a ru1e, the lump coal is
placed d.ireltly upon the market for general purposes, while {he slack
and fine coal'go direct to the ovens for coking'
The Big stoue Gap coal field in Yirginia embraces parts of Lee,
Scott, and Wise counties. Although opened' up nearly ten years after
the famous Pocahontas fielcl, it is much the largest producer of eoal
and coke, and wise county is the largest coal- and coke-producing
county in the State. Wise County contributes at present about 60
per cent of the State's total eoal production'
There are eight workable seams of coal in the district, ranging
in tlrickness from 3.5 to 72 fteet, includ.ed within a vertical distance
of about 1,200 feet. of these, the four highest have their greatest
development in the western part of the district'
The coal mining industry in virginia showed a marked. increase
during the years 1909 and. 1910 over that o{ previous years. virginia
was one of the few states whose production in 1909 exceedqd that of
1g0?, which was due to the increased. production in wise county and
to active d,evelopment in Russell County. The production in Wise
County increased from 2,558,8?4 short tons in 1908 to 2,847,448 tons
42 MTNERAL pRoDUCTToN o-E yrRGrNrA.
The accompanying table gives the quantity and, value of coal pro-
duced in Virginia from 1890 to 1910, inclusive.
1890. .. 784,0tL
1891.....:..... 736,399
L892... 675,205
1893. .. 820,339
1894. .. 1,299,083
1895. . . t,368,324
1896. . . t,254,723 $ 848,851
1897. .. r,528,302 1,021,918
1898. . . r,8t5,274 t,070,4L7
1899. .. 2,705,79L L,304,24L
1900. . . 2,393,754 2,123,222
1901. . . 2,725,873 2,353,989
1902. .. 3,182,993 2,543,595
1903. . . 3,45r,307 3,302,149
1904. . . 3,583,914 3,076,011
1905. . . 4,275,27r 3,777,325
1906. . . 4,254,879 4,183,991
1907. . . 4,710,895 4,807,533
1908 4,259,042 3,868,524
1909. . . 4,752,2t7 4,25t,056
1910. .. 6,507,997 5,877,486
6,M2 (d)
980,014 1,187,146
2,558,874 3,730,992
"'"'iai'"'
249,67L . td)
(d)
464,261 797,096
200 792,763r
COKE.
I urruo Ovens
I cou, o..u Coke
produced
Total value
Year lish- of coke at
I menf,s
I
tsnorttons)j (short
iildt"s_ tons) ovens
;l
1883
1890
I,
2
200
bbu
0
250
I
39,000
251,683
25,340
165,847
$ 44,345
278,724
1900 7 a2,33L 300 r,083,827 685,156 t,464,556
1903 16 a4,251 142 1,860,225 L,176,439 2,724,047
1904 16 a4,345 68 1,636,905 1,101,716 1,772,7L7
1905 16 a4,549 0 2,t84,369 r,499,48t 2,869,452
1906 18 a4,641 695 2,296,227 1,577,659 3,611,659
1907 19 a5,333 50 2,264,72A 1,545,280 3,765,733
1908 t9 4,853 158 t,785,28t 1,162,051 2,L2L,980
1909 19 5,469 100 2,060,518 1,347,478 2,415,769
1910 18 a5,389 100 2,3L0,742 1,493,655 2,73I,349
used in the manufabture of coke in the state during the years 1909 and
1910 was unwashed. Of the 2,3L0,742 short tons of coal made into
coke during 7gLO, 7,554,?84 tons were run-of-mine and 755,958 tons
were slack.
The character of the coal used. in coke-making in virginia during
1gg0, 1900, and" from 1903 to 1910, inclusive, is shown in the table
below.
Run-of-Mine Slack
Total
Unwashed Washed Unwashed Washed
StonesaD Colllerv Co. .. . . ... . '. .GlaB-orgar' "'" ' " ' 'G-Iamorgan
Bii*b;?td"db-;;i"& c;i; a;: .::........."Dorchesler ..' ' '' ' '' ' 'Mannils
Tireri,ial"o",-Coai & core c;: :.:::::: ....Roan-oke "!omq creek and rnmau
'"....Dorchester
'fo1'".?'6;";i^6'c;i"-co........::':.''....'Dorchester
OU MINERAL PRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
Product 1905
Common-
Quantity 237,161,000 232,697,000 197,052,000
$1,51-2,442.00 $1,536,312.00 $1,285,374;00
Average per thousand. $6'63 $6.60 $6.52
Vitrifled-
Quantity (a)
Varue ....... ..: :... .:::::::::::::: h)
Average per thousand $10.00
Front-
Quantity
-1. 22,755,000 19,989,000
V;lue .. . .. ::: :: :: ::. :: ::: : :: :: :: $352,297.00 $290411.00
Average per thousand $ $ $14.53
Fancy or ornamental. Value. (a)
Fire. Value (a) $21 ,| (a)
Drain tile. Yalue. $4,500 $4 $6,250.00
Sewer pipe. Value .
Pottery:
Earthenware and stoneware. Valuc..
Porcelain electrical supBlies. Yalue. .
Miscellaneous. Yalue .
afncluded in miscellaneous.
value of. po,ttery products for virginia from tg05 to lgl0,
.lncluoeo
,!1h: unoer mrseeuaneous.
inclusive, is
CLAYS AND CLAY PRODUCTS. 53
Product
I '*' I '*, | *'o
Brick:
Common-
. Q_uantity .'.. .": .. 185,738,000 249,794,000 229,982,000
Value . $1,219,946.00 $1,540,648.00 $1,460,460.00
Average per thousand $6.57 $6.35
Yitrifled-
Quantity
Value .
Average per thousand..... .
24,717,000 20,813,000
$333,057.00 $294,348.00
$13.81 $13.48 $14.14
Fancy or ornamental. Yalue. (a) (a) (a)
Fire. Value (a) (a) (a)
Drain tile. Value. $6,298.00 $5,276.00
(a)
Sewer pipe. Yalue . (a)
Pottery:
Earthenware and stoneware. Yalue..
Porcelain electrical supplies. Yalue. . (b)
Miscellaneous. Yalue $77,364.00
alncludecl in miscellaneous.
bThe value of pottery proclucts for Virginia from 1906 to 1910, inclusive, is
included under miscellaneous.
BRICK Cf,IIYS.
Clays suitable for the manufacture of common and front brick,
particnlarly the former, arg widely distributed throughout the State.
fn fact, nearly every county in Virginia contains clay suitable for the
manufacture of common brick, and, in most cases, the deposits are of
such character that common brick of the best quality can be made. The
brick-yards can be located usually near railroad transportation, and
fuel for burning the brick can be obtained, as a rule, at a minimum
priee. Virginia clays used in the manufacture of common brick are
of two types, residual and sedimentary, discussed on page 50.
The total number of common and front brick manufactured in
Virginia in 1909 was 274,571,000, valued at $1,8?3,?05, as against
203,596,000, valued at $1,466,569 in 1908, an increase of ?0,915,000
54 MTNERAL pRoDuorroN oF vrRerNrA
75,874 $ 462,t37
1,r20 9,600
15,790 fiz,23r
9,t25 57,584
31,728 201,600
r6,692 97,7L8
15,019 94,687
2,650 17,500
81,796a 497,59ta
ty,
u-harlotte, culpeper, Frederick,_Grayson, Gre_enesville, Halifax, Henry, rsle of wighl.
*llq_ 9"9t9", -Lancaster, Lee, T,unsn6ut*, Montgomery, Norfolk, Ndtloway, Oraige"
slgtsylvania, Prince George, P-rincess_A_nue,_Rockbridge, Russell, scott, slienandoi'h,
Spottsylvania, Sussex, Tazewell, and War#ick.
blncludes flalifax, I{enrico, and Rockingham.
CI,AYS AND CIAY PRODUOTS. DO
229,982 $1,460,460
I'IRE CLII'YS.
POTTEB,Y Cf,I\YS.
The pottery industry in virginia is a sman one. The total value
of pottery produets made in \rirginia in 190g amounted to g86,?46, as
against 837,777 in 1908. This represents a decrease of 91,081. The
value of, pottery products made in the state during 1g10 is included
under "Miscellaneous" in the table on page 53.
KAOI,IN.
The production of kaolin in virginia has been derived almost
entirely from the decofnposed pegmatite dikes, which intersect the
crystalline rocks of the Piedmont region. Deposits oi.inis type have
been worked in Amelia, Ilenry, and Nelson eounties, aird are known to
occur but not developed in many other of the piedmont counties. of
these, Ilenry is the principal producing county at present.
The production of kaolin in virginia is small, and is included
under t'Other products" in the tables on pages 5 and 6, showing the
mineral production in Virginia for the years 1909 and 1910.
f,IME.
During recent years, lime-making in Virginia has been confined
to the counties west of the Blue Ridge; where there are numerous plants
engaged in the industry. There occur abundant limestones throughout
this region admirably adapted to the making of lime. These iange
from very pure limestones to those high in magnesia. The former
when burned or calcined yietd "high limes" oy "fat limes,', while the
latter produce ('Iean)' or magnesian limes. Most of the lime made in
Virginia be,longs to the first class, and is especially valued by the
builders and farmers.
The crystailine limestones of the Piedmont Plateau yield when
calcined a good grade of lime. Formerly, numerous small kilns were
operated within the limits of this region for the production of lime
to supply only immediate local demands. In recent years, however,
these have been abandoned, and at present no lime is burned from the
Piedmont limestones.
The shell marls of the Coastal Plain region are dug and used
locally, in the natural state, as fertilizer on the farming iands. These
marls frequently form extensive deposits of considerable purity, and
since they occur as loose incoherent material, and usually in a finely
comminuted state, they can be easily dug and readily applied in the
natural state to the soil.
The total prod.uction of lime in Virginia in 1909 was 166,695
short tons, valued at $635,946, as compared with 707,209 shorr rons,
valued at $4241374 in 1908. This represents an increase of approxi-
mately 55.5 per cent in quantity (59,486 short tons) and 49.8 per
cent in value ($217,572). The average price per ton in 1909 was
$3.87t/z as against S3.95 in 1908. This production was distributed
over twelve counties and forty-nine producers. The counties produc-
ing lime in 1909 were Augusta, Botetourt, Frederick, Giles, Loudoun,
Montgomery, Rockbriilge, Rockingham, Russell, Shenandoah, Tazewell,
and'Warren.
I,IME. 61
1909 1910
Augusta
Botetourb
3,035 $ 10,552 I,671 $ 5,795
30,521 115,069 25,137 95,0t2
Frederick 29,668 102,500 28,323 106,258
Montgomery 13,370 69,708 (a) (a)
Rockingham 4,652 16,258 4,548 16,829
Shcnandoah 32,L64 r3L,677 45,798 198,186
Other countiesa ....... 53,285 190.182 35,780 14L,437
alncludes during 1909, Giles, Loudoun, Rockbridgg Russell, Tazewell, ancl Warren;
ancl during 1910 those of 1909 and the aclditional counties, Montgomery, Norfolk, and
Roanoke.
62 MINERAL PBODUOTION O3 VIRGINIA.
1910
Stuart Land & Cattle Co. ... . . .. .Etk Gartlen . ..Elk Garalen
Tazewell Whtte Lime Works' . . .. . .North Tazewell . .. . .. .North Tazewell
Thompson, T. W. .. .. .. . ..Elinton . . ... .Etntod
Wheelbarger-Rumsey IJime Cor. .. . .Brialgewater ..Brltlgew&ter
WhiteseU, D. 9... ........'......Stuarts Draft ........Stuarts Draft
Ivine & lMright, ..Sprtng Creek .........Sprin9 Creek
Wing&te & Mccbee' . .. . ..Roanoke ... ...Roenoke
Woodstock Ltme Co., Inc. .. . . . .. . .Wooatstock . .. . .. '... .wooilstock
CEMENT.
Although the cement industry may be said to be in its infancy in
Virginia, yet the manufacture of this important economic product has
been carried on for many years at one locality, and for a less timo
at another. Natural cement has been burned at Balcony Talls for over
64 MINERAIJ PRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
a half century. The demand for a cheap and trustworthy cement for
use in the construction of masonty, locks, and walls on the James River
canalr led to the discovery of the hydraulic properties of the rock
used at this plant. Since that time a natural cement has been manu-
factured at this locality almost continuously, the James River Cement
Company operating the plant at present. The rock used is a blue,
argillaceous limestone of Lower Cambrian age, with arl average thick-
ness of 12 fieet.
There are only two plants for the manufacture of Portland cement
in Virginia in ope,ration at present, namely, that of the Virginia
Portland Cement Company at Fordwick, Augusta County, and that of
the Norfolk Portland Cement Corporation at Norfo1k. The Forclwick
plant has a capacity of 1,250,000 barrels, and is selling the Old Dom-
inion cement in the North as well as in the South. The materials used
by this plant in the manufacture of OId Dominion cement are Lewis-
town iimestone and shale. The f\-orfolk plant is the first plant built
in the South to manufacture Portland cement from shell marl as the
principal calcareous material instead of the hard rock-limestone.
The marl and clay deposits used by this plant are located on branches
of James River near Smithfield and Chuckatuck.
Two additional plants of large, capacity have been granted charters
for the manufacture of Portland cement in Tidewater (Coastal Plain)
Vilginia. These are the Jamestown Portland Cement Company's
plant to be located at Yorkto'wn, and the Colonial Portland Cement
Company's plant to be located near Grove. The raw materials to bo
used by these plants for the manufacture of Portland cement will be
the Miocene marls and clays of the immediate area.
There being only two plants in Virginia producing Portland
cement in 1910, the flgures of production are combined with those of
another subject in order to avoid disclosing individual operations.
Virginia possesses an abundance of raw materials from which
cement can be made-an economic resource which will prove of great
value. The Appalachian Valley and the various mountains and valleys
westward, arl area of 350 or more miles long and averaging 50 rniles
in width, contains limestones and shales equal in value and abundance
to those of any other region. The State Geological Survey has issued a
CEMENT. 65
Of these, the limestones and shales of Ordovician age are the most
promising on account of their abundance, widespread distribution, and
usually favorable chemical composition. The lewistown limestone
is now used in the manufacture of Portland cement at Craigsville,
Augusta County, and the Greenbrier limestone will probably become
an important source of cement materiaL in southwestern Virginia.
The most important cement materials of western Virginia are
found in the pure and argillaceous limestones of Cambrian and Ordo-
vician age, arrd iu the calcareous and argillaceous phases of the
Ordovician shale,s. These shales and limestones have a wider distribu-
tion and are usually more accessible than other cement rock horizons
of the State, such as the Lewistown of Helderbergian age, and the
Mississippian or Subcarboniferous (Greenbrier) limestone. In gen-
eral the entire Valley of Virginia is underlain by the Cambrian and
Ordovician limestones, while the shales usually outcrop along the base
of the mountains bounding it. In a similar manner, many of the
valleys west of the Great Valley show these limestones and shales,
higher formations occurring on the separate ridges.
Three classes or groups of hydraulic cementsb are reeognized, and
materials for their manufacture occur in Virginia. Named in the
ord.er of their importance, these are : ( 1) Portland cement, (2)
Natural cement, and (3) Puzzolan cement.
aBassler, R. S., Virginia, Geological Survey, Bulletin No. II-A, 1909.
blbid., 1909, pp. 5-32.
Eckel, E. C., Cements, Limes, and Plasters: Their Materials, Manufacture, and
Properties. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1907.
66 rwrNDBArr pnoDncrroN oF vrRerNrA.
1906
Sand-
Glass .
Molding $ 37,899 26,654 $ 15,466
Building ...... 96,248 272,396 9r,265
Fire .. 405 1,000 500
nngine 3,580 4,370 L,970
Furnace 2,665 21,376 8,028
Other . 330 8,602 4,072
Grai'el 13,453 780 650
Sand-
Glass . 700 $ 450
Molding 35,5t7 24,954
Building . ..... 25L,t70 88,340
Fire .. ""
Dngine 6,651 1,00d' 1,165
Furnace It,295 5,339 2,088
Othera 670 22,494 10,628
Gravel 242,988 447,201 87,79r
llotal . .... ..
alncludes for lgl0 polishing and filtration sand.
SAND AND GRAVEL. 69
SAND.f,IME BRICK.
The term sarld-lime brick is used ((to cover all brick made by mixinq
sand or gravel with a relatively small percentage of sraked lime,
pressing the mixture into formin a brick mold, and drying and hard.en-
ing the product either by sun heat or artificial methods.,,a
The manufacture of sand-lime brick in virginia commenced only
a few years ago. The total number of sand-Iime brick produced in
1908 was 6,181,000 brick, valued at gBG,g84, of which 6,128,000 were
common brick valued at 936,184. on account of there being only
two producers of sand.-lime brick in the state during 1909, the figures
are given under "Other products,, in the table on page B, in ord.er to
avoid disclosing indiviclual production. The 1910 production of sand-
lime brick in Yirginia is included under "other products" in the tabre
on page 6.
LIST O!' SAND.I,IME BRICK OPER,ATOR,S
OPSAAEOB OAFICD
Cape Elenry Granlte Brick Corporatlon East Raalfortt .East Raalforal
New Rlver gantlstone Brlck Co. ,,.East Badford .East Radforal
NortoD Slllca Brlck Co.
Old Domlnion Granite Brlek Co. ..Cape Charles .Cape Charles
Ytrgtnia Sand-Llme Brlck Co. ....Norfolk ...,..Norfolk
aEckel, E. C. Cements, Limes, anrl Plasters: Their Materials, Manufacture, and
Properties, John Wiley ancl Sons, New York, lg0?.
STONE. ?1
STONE.
The total value of the different kinds of stone quarried' for the
period of years for which statistics are given, shows that the quarrying
of limestone is the largest industry in stone, with granite next, and
slate third. For the past several years granite has been of first impor-
tance, although the difference in the an:rual value of its production
,12
MINERAIJ PRODUOTION OF VIRGINIA.
GRANITE.
'
Granites, including the foliated type gneisses, have verJ, rvicle dis-
tribution throughout the virginia Pieclmont region, constitutins one
of the dominant rock types. The general excellence of the virginia
granites as a building and ornamental stone has long been established
in the commercial world. There is not a county within the limits of
the Piedmont region that does not contain some granite, but the quarry-
ing industry has thus far been limitecl to iess than half a d.ozen
counties. The principal producing areas of massive granites are d.is-
tributed along the eastern border of the Piedmont prateau. They
include (1) the Petersburg arca, (2) the Richmond area, ancl (B) the
Fredericksblrrg area. The priucipal counties composing these areas
are Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, Ifenrico, and Spottsylvania. A small
amount of granite has been quarried in a number of other counties
within the limits of the Piedmont to supply strictly a rocal demand.
The granites of the State are chiefly granular aggregates of the
minerals quartz, feldspar, and mica. rrornblencle and lpidote are
irnportant minerals in the granites of a few localities in the state, the
latter being conspicuous in the variety of granite known as unakite,
which is found in Madison, Page, and Grayson counties. Basecl then
on mineral composition, we have the following varieties of virginia
granite: (1) Biotite granite, under which vastly the majority of the
granites of the state belo'g; (2) muscovite granitel (B) hornblentie-
biotite granite; and (a) epiilote granite.
The chemical composition of the granites in the Richmond, peters-
burg, and Fredericksburg areas is shown in the table of analyses on page
,a
GRANITE. 73
Use 1901
$ 40,763 $ 21,158
8,300 12,500
n0 '" "2'8,8,10''
45,737
52,444 51,6L2
t7,253 t4,845
) 29,796
r 7,977
15,833 j
I
43,02s
26,2,5,5
L7,215
9,850 6,133
Crushed stone.....J Railroad ballast I 38,850 7,841 25,554
( Concrete ) 42,3t7 46,588
Other 1,000
Average Value
Number per 1,000
MARBLE.
Marbles are found in the Mountain province west of the Blue Riclge
and in the Piedmont province to the east, but there has been but slight
attempt to develop them, owing chiefly to a lack of definite'knowledge
of their extent and quality. Bands occur in some of the limestones
of the Mountain provincel especially in the Shenandoah ancl Chicka-
mauga formations, of a color and texture which adapt them to orna-
mental purposes. These show a yariety of color and texture. White,
gray, red, and black colors are found. These marbles have not received
the attention which they apparently merit in places, and the develop-
ments thus far are slight.
Onyx marbles are fairly abundant in the limestone caves and
caverns of the Yalley region, but it is probable that these will rank
as ttuniques" rather than objects of commercial value. Iarge deposits
of onyx marbles are found near Bridgewater in Rockingham County,
but they have not been investigated and very little is known of their
quality.
Marbles of excellent quality occur in the vicinity of Goose Creek,
Loudoun County. Samples of the white marble are not excelled for
purity of color, f.neness of grain, and general excellence, by that of
any other marble in the United States. At Goose Creek, the rnarble
bed is ahout 52 feet thick and has been worked to a considerable depth.
The varieties shown are chiefly white, but there occur, also, banded,
blue and white, serpentinized white and green, pink and white, and
green and white. These beds are pure, and thb stone is of great
beauty and takes a good polish. The lack of transporation facilities
has thus far prevented. extensive quarrying.
Undeveloped areas of marbles are known in Grayson, Campbell,
Nelson, and Pittsylvania counties. Openings were made in some of
these many years ago and the stone burned into lime.
There has been no production of marble in Virginia for several
Years'
rrMEsroNE
Limestone has its greatest distribution in the region west of the
Blue Ridge wherye it forms one of the dominant rock types. It has
hatl only a limitecl use for building purposes, but has been extensively
?8 MINENAL PBODUOTION OF VIRGINIA.
County
Augusta $ 5,081
Botetourt 59,695
Roanoke 13,511
Roekbridge 37,28L
Other countiesa .. 227,088
Total . $342,656
1902
275
168
300 2L0
7,875 16,205 32,37L
11,580 9,238 5,668
220,001 199,989
11,318 1,665 .. 1'.1::?
$569,205 $442.978 $212,660 | $260,343
80 MINERAIJ PRODUOTION OF VIRGINIA.
L907
SANDSTONE.
Sandstones and quartzites occur in each of the three larger divi-
sions of the State, but quarrying
has been limited to only a few of
the more accessible arcas. There are large areas of these rocks not
yet developed. because chiefly of their remoteness from lines of railway
and large centers.
The principal sandstone and quartzite formations in the State
rnay be classified as follows:
Coesrer, Pletrv:
l. Cretaceous sandstones along the "fall-line."
Prnplrorr Pletpeu:
2. Older quartzites in crystalline area of unknown age.
3. Newark (Triassic) sandstones.
Arpe.r,ecurew Mourstetns :
4. Cambrian sandstones.
5. Silurian sanclstones.
6. Devonian sandstones.
7. Carboniferous sandstones
SANDSTONE. 83
tional stone, the silurian sandstones have not been quarried except for
immediate local needs. The oriskanv sandstone of Devonian age is
geterally too friable to make a good building stone.
The carboniferous comprises the greatest total thickness of sand-
s{ones of any single geologic system in the state. The rocks
beronging
t'o this systeur are limited in distribution to certain parts
of the region
west of the Blue Ridge, and. are in part Mississippian
and in part
Pennsylvanian in age. The Carboniie"ous sandstirres
porr"r, thor"
qualities in some localities which make them desirabie -for
brrilding
purposes, but as yet they have seld.om been quarqied.,
owing largely to
a lack of demand for the stone and ample transportatioi facilities.
They have been quarried in places in southwest virginia
for rocar use
as a building stone and for heavy masonry.
,The production of sandstone in the state is slight, and it varies
greatly aecording to the loeal demands. The value
of in" annual pro-
duetion of sandstone from 1900 to 1g10, inclusive, is
shown in the
accompanying table.
Virgini,a, 1900_1910.
_
Year Value
1900
1901. $ 6,000
5,303
1902
2,500
1903
4,471
1904 t3,522
1905
2,000
1906
5,100
1907 (a)
1908
2,600
1909
28,574
1910.
25,080
SLI\TE.
Slate suitable for rooiing and other pruposes has been found in
many localities within tlie limits o{ the State, and quarries have been
worked in Albemarle, Amherst, Buckingham, Fauquier, and Fluvanna
counties. There are five principal slate areas and. several minor belts
in Yirginia, which, named in the order of their present commercial
importance, are: (1) The Arvonia belt in Buckingham and Fluvanna
corrnties; (2) the Keswick-Esmont belt in Albemarie County; (3)
the Snowden belt in Amherst and Bedford counties; (a) the Warren-
ton belt in Fauquier and Culpeper counties; and (5) the Quantico
'William counties. These
belt in Spottsylvania, Sta,#ord, and Prince
areas are being studied and mapped by the State Geological Survev
when, upon the eompletion of the chemical and microscopical studies, a
volume will be published for distribution. of the slate areas worked,
the Arvonia and Keswick-Esmont belts are conunercially the most
important at present.
The slate produced in the Arvonia district is the most widely
known in the south. The quarries are distributed along }Iunts Creek,
for some distance north-northeast and south-southwest of Arvonia, a
station on the Buckingham Branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
way, which is the shipping point. The quarries are vely extensive, the
largest averaging about 500 feet along the cleavage, 350 feet across,
and &50 feet deep. The bedding and cleavage of the slate are
identical, striking N. 33' to 37" E., and clipping ?0" to 90o southeast,
with a probable average of about 85o. The slate is very dark gray in
color, with a faint greenish hue I is of minutely granular crystalline
texture, and very lustrous surface. According to Dale, it is siightly
graphitic and magnetitic, does not effervesce in coid clilute hytlro-
chloric aeid., and is very sonor'ous. Dale gives the constituents of the
slate in order of their abundance as muscovite and sericite, quart'2,
biotite, carbonate, graphite (or carbonaceous matter), pyrite, chlorite,
magnetite, with accessory plagiocl ase, zircon, hematite, tourmaline,
and rutile.
Although Dale,s results on the microscopic stuily of the Arvonia
slate show the presence o{ some carbonate, an appreciable amount of
ferrous earbonate can not be present, for the use 6f these slates on
86 MTNEB,AI pRoDUCTToN oF vrRcrNrA.
1903 29,646
1904 $115,356 $3.89
31,852 130,208 4.08
1905 36,102 t46,786
1906 4.07
39,068 172,857 4.42
1C07 37,172 L73,670 4.68
1908 4L,678 194,356 4.66
1909 40,880 180,775 4.42
1910 31,787 748,721 4.68
CRUSHED STONE.
The state-wide interest in good roads construction and improve-
ment, and in the building of new lines of railway in virginia during
the past year, have greatly increased the demand for crushed stone.
This material is used exclusively for road.-making, railroad ballast, and
concrete. The value of the production of crushed stone in virginia in
1909 was $470,897 and in 1910, 841+,480, as compared with
$298,674 in 1908.
CRUSIIED STONE. 89
FURNACE FLUX.
Limestone, used in smelting operations for flux, is quarried and
shipped to the numerous b ast furnaces in the state. The utilization
of limestone as flux constitutes the largest consumption of the virginia
stone. Each of the principal limestone horizons in western virginia
supplies some storre as flux to the iron furnaces, but the Cambro-
Ordovician and. Lewistown (ilfelderbergian) limestones a,re the
principal sources of stone for this purpose. of the total production of
limestone in the State in 7909, 62.29 per cent was sold as flux and
utilized in the blast furnaces, and in 1910, G2.44 per cent was sold for
the same purposes. Table on page 80 shows the total value of the
limestone production in virginia for all uses in 1909 to be g}4z,6b6,
of which $273,444 was the total value of limestone used as flux. The
1910 production of limestone was valued at g471rg03,.of which $294,668
worth was used as flux.
There are given in the table below the annual production and
value of limestone as furnace flux in Virginia from 1g02 to 1g10,
inclusive.
ABRASIVE MATERIALS. 91
Quantity
ABBASIVE MATSRIALS.
lJnder this head are included corundum, emery, and millstones,
but in 1909 ancl 1910 the only abrasive material produced was mill-
stones, which were quarried in Montgomery County.
Millstones (Buhrstones)
Under this name is included a siliceous conglomerate of quite
variable structure, used in the form of flat-circular disks for grinding
purposes.
?
92 MINEBAI, PNODUCTION OF \NRGINIA.
Year
$ 11,435
9,8t2
4,759
8,186
15,611
4,684
7,954
t2,348
1910... 5,273
SII,ICA. 93
SILICA.
Under this heading are included three forms of silica which have
rather wide distribution in the State. These are qnattz, chert, and
diatomaceous earth.
QUABTZ.
Quartz has wide distribution in the Stato. It occurs as an essen-
tial constituent in granite, gneiss, and mica schist of the crystalline
atea; as the dominant constituent in the sandstones, quartzites, and
conglomerates of the Piedmont and Valley regions; ard in the
form of sand. over parts of each of the larger geologic divisions of the
State. A principal occurrence of quartz in Virginia, that is of com-
mercial value, is in the form of pegmatite dikes and quartz veins
penetrating the older metamorphic rocks of the Piedmont region.
There was no reported production oL qaafiz in 1909 anil 1910.
CIIDRT.
Chert, known also as hornstone, a term appliecl to any impure flinty
roek, including the jaspers, is a chalcedonic variety of silica. Chert
has wide distribution in certain betls of the Shenandoah or Yalley
limmtone of the Valley region, in the form of irregular nod.ular
masses of light nearly white, red, brown, and black colors. No special
use has yet been made of the Virginia chert
, DIATOMAOEOUS EARTE.
Diatomaceous earth, known in the trade under the name of ttsilica,"
'(iufusorial earthr" or "tripoli," is composed of minute shells or tests
of microscopic plants known as diatoms. It was first reported from
the vicinity of Richmontl, Virginia, and for that reason received the
name of '(Richmond earlh." under which term it is sometimes referred
to in the literature. Because of its ocourrence at Bermuda llundred,
on the James River, it has also been called "Bennuda earth."
94 MINERAL PRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
MICA.
Commercial mica, which includes the varieties known as museovite
and phlogopite, usually occurs in pegmatite dikes penetrating granites,
gneisses, and schists. The pegmatites usually consist of a coarse
crystallization of quartz and feldspar in varying proportions, with or
without mica, and other accessory minerals. They vary in thickness
from a few inches to several hundred feet, are often irregular in out-
line, and may be parallel to or break across the schistosity of the
inclosing rocks. fn small veins the mica is frequently too smal} in
size to have commercial value. Both the qaartz and the feldspar of
the pegmatites are of value, and are sometimes mined with the mica
and utiiized in the manufacture of pottery and for abrasives.
Pegmatites containing commercial mica are somewhat abundantiy
developed in many of the Virginia Piedmont counties, and many ex-
cellent surface indications for mica occur, but as yet prospecting and
mining have been confi.ned to only a few of them. Mica has been either
prospected. or mined irr the following counties in Virginia: 'Near
Amelia and Jetersville, Amelia County; near New London and at
Lowry, Bedford County; Goochland County; near Chatham, Pittsyl-
vania County; hear Axton and at Ridgeway, Ilenry County; near
Ilewlitts, Hanover County; near Farmville antl at Prospect, Prinee
Edwarcl County; Amherst and Charlotte counties. Indications of
noica occur also in Buckingham, Caroline, Cumberland, Fra:rklin,
Powhatan, antl Spottsylvania counties.
95
FELDSPAN,.
ASBESTOS.
County. A second belt occurs in the same vicinity near the eastern
base of Jack's Mountain; a third still further west about one mile
from Rocky lVlount I and a fourth yet more to the west on the eastern
slope of Grassy Hi1l. The stone has been quarried in a small way ilt
several places in Franklin County, near Rocky Mount, and used. strictly
for local purposes. Extensive quarrying operations are in force in the
Albemarle-Nelson counties' portion of the belt, which is <iescribed
below.
In Amelia County, south of Chula, and about four miles from
Amelia, soapstone of good quality was quarried quite extensively many
years ago. A second more extensive area of soapstone of excellent
quality occurs on the north side of Flat Creek, about four and a half
'Walnut
miles north of Jetersville. On the headwaters of Creek, a
tributary to Flat Creek, soapstone has been quarried to some extent.
Quarrying was begun in 1904, and during the summer of 1906
numerous other smaller openings were made nearby. This property is
controlled by the Tip Top Soapstone Company, and much preliminary
work was in progress during 1908 preparatory to systematic quarry-
ing in 1909.
In Louisa County, soapstone of good quality is reported to have
been quarried near Oakland a"nd Trevilians.
In Fairfax County, soapstone occurs two miles east of Annandale,
one mile east of Tenley, and east of Falls Church. fn each of these
locaiities, the soapstone occurs as lenticular bodies closely associated"
with basic eruptive rocks, and were probably derived from peridotite
and pyroxenite. All of these bodies have been worked to some extent,
and in the A:rnanilale area mueh stone has been quarried and sawed.
Tho stone is of good quality; even-grained, and of uniform light bluish-
green color, without seams and schistose planes developed in it. Small
quarries of soapstone are operated in Fairfax County, near Olifton
and Wiehle. At the {ormer, soapstone is ground, but at Wiehle it is
sold in the crude state just as it is taken from the quarry.
In llenry County, near Spencer's store, quarries of soapstone
were opened some years ago. The material was of excellent qualrty,
and blocks of any required dimensions were reported to have been
100 MINERAI PRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
quarried. These were sawn out and then finished by planing. They
were used in the foundations of houses and for other purposes.
' In Albemarle and Nelson counties, the soapsto"" U"ft is a short
distance west of Green Mountain, and, to the east, near and. approxi-
rnately parallel to, Hawkins, Finley, Ball, and Appleberry mountains.
rt has a general northeast-southwest direction, and is three to five miles
southeast of the main line of the southern. Railway, which it roughly
parallels. Quarries have been opened on the belt at numerous points
for a distance of nearly 30 miles. several of the most extensivery
worked quarries have reached depths of more than 120 feet. The
larger quarries are well equipped with all necessary modern machinery
for getting out the stone, including channeling machines for quarrying
the rock, and at each quany is a mill for sawing, dressing,, rubbing,
and polishing the stone, and other machines for grooving and clrilling
holes. The excellent quality of this stone adapts it to a wide lsnge of
uses, the prinoipai ones including laundry tubs, sanitary purposes'
electrical purposes, sinks, and. cooking utensils.
fn Stafford County, soapstone o,f good quality occurs near Garri-
sonville.
The production of talc and soapstone in Yirginia during 1909
showed a marked increase o''er that of 1g08. The figures were 26,b7L
short tons, valued at 9523,942, as ccimpared with 19,616 shorr tons,
valued at $458,252 in 1908, an increase in cluantity of 6,8gb tons,
and in value of $65,690, or 1"4.3 per cent. The 1g0g production was
obtained from 1l- producers, operating in five counties, namely, Nelson,.
Fairfax, Albemarle, Amelia, and Campbell. Only a small proportion
of the total quantity of talc and soapstone quarried in virginia is sord
in the crude state. The talc and. soapstone production is classifiecl in
the following four groups: Rough or crude, sawed into slabs, manu-
faetured articles, and ground.
The production of talc and soapstone in Virginia during 191O
amounted.to 25,908'short tons, valued at $b10,?81, as oompared with
26,5L1 short tons, valued at, $523,942 in 1909. These figures represent
a decrease in quantity of 603 tons, and in value of g18,161, or 2.b
per cent. The.1910 production was obtained from 9 producers operar*
ing in four counties, as against 11 producers operating io fio. counties
TALC AND SOAPSTONE' 101
duringlg0g.Althoughtherewasadeclineinthetotalproduction,
practilaily half of the qua""ies operating increased in production.
fU" f Sfb production *u* fro* the four following counties: Aibe-
marle, CaJpbell, Fair{ax, and Nelson' Of the total production'
1'38&
tons were sold as crude talc, and' 21502 ions were sold
in the form of
manu-
slabs. More than 82 per cent of the production was sold, as
factured. products, chiefly as laundry tubs'
the following table are.given the quantity and value
In of talc
1909 and 1910'
and soapstone produced in Virginia during the years
accord.ins to the condition in which it was marketed'
Prod,uction of Talc and, Soapstone i'n Virgi'ni'a duri'ng 1909 and' 1910'
accor d,i'ng to u arieti,es.
1909
QuantitY QuantitY
Short tons Value Short tons Value
mill stock.
Thereisgiveninthetablebelowtheyearlyprod'uctionoftalo
and soapston"io Vi"gioia from 1905 to 1910r'inclusi,ve:
U"#r;:"ff^:' Vi'rgi'noa, in
Prod,uction of .Tatc
"* .1e05-1e10'
Quantity Value
17,665 $425,090
1905. ..
590,800
1906. ..
23,624
26,278 631,880
1907. ..
458,252
19,616
1908. ..
523,942
.
26,511
1909. .
510,781
. 25,908
1910. .
10? MINERAIT PEODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
BARYTES.
Barytes has been mined for many years in various parts
of the
state. rt occurs in many counties, u"1 tL" industry has been confined
to only a few of them. The eounties in which it is found are: (1)
those east of the Blue Ridge in the crystarline area, and. incrude
Amherst, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbel1, Fauquier, louisa.
Nelson,
orange, and Prince'william; and (2) those counties west of
the Btue
and comprise 3land, Botetourt, Frederick, Montgomery, Rock_
Iilgg
bridge, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Warren, Walhiogon, and
IV4nu. Of these, Bedford, Campbell, pittsylvania, u; prince
William counties, of the piedmont province, uod Ro**"il, Sm;rth, and
Tazewell cou:rties, of the Mountain province, have practically yielded
the entire production of the State.
Geologically, the barytes deposits found in the piedmont region
are associated either with the crystalline metamorphic rocks (lime-
stone, ohiefly) of probable cambrian age, or with the Triassic red
shale-sandstone series, and those of the Mountain region
are usually
associated with the shenandoah limestone of cambro-ordovician
agl
or its residual decay.
rn the Triassic area of prince william county, barytes mined
about four miles south of east from catlett is associated with recl
shale and impure limestone, usually filling fractures of variable
width
BARYTES. 103
in the red shale, and in thin, tabular, cleavable masses in the lime-
stone. During 1908, deposits of barytes of gooil quality and in
quantity are reported to have been opened in the vicinity of Bealton,
Fauquier County.
In the crystalline area, the principal production of barytes has
been from Campbell, Bedford, Louisa, ancl Pittsylvania counties. The
Campbetl-Pittsyivania counties area is traeed for a distance of about
50 miles southwestward, beginning in the middle western portion of
Campbell County, several miles east of Evington, and about 15 miles
south of lyn'chburg to three or more miles south of Sandy level, in the
northwestern part of Pittsylvania Oounty. The most exteursively
worked deposits in this area ate grouped about two centers, Evington,
in Campbell County, at the northeast, and Toshes and Sandy Level, in
?ittsylvania County, at the southwest extremity of the area.
The barytes in the extreme northwest corner of Pittsylvania County
has been more extensively worked than in arry other part of the belt.
It has been developed by a large number of mines, grouped in two
nearly para1lel belts on either side of Pig River, just south of its
entrance into Roanoke River.
Numerous openings have been made at different points ou the belt
between the two centers mentioned above, many of which have been
extensively worked and have prod"uced large quantities of excellent ore.
The barytes occurs in the Campbell-Pittsylvania counties belt in
intimate association with the crystalline limestone as irregular len-
ticular bodies or pockets, which measure from 100 to 200 feet or more,
replacing the limestone. tr'or the depths thus far attained in mining,
there is immediately above and below the limestone, a variable thick-
ness of a nearly black clayey mass, usually preserving the foliation of
the original rock from which it was derived., and colored black from
manganese oxide. Through this black clayey mass are usually dis-
tributed, in inegular fashion, lumps and nodules of barytes of large
and srnall sizes.
Near Thaxton, in Betlford County, barytes occurs filtiog a fracture
in a foliated granite of coarso grain. About three miies south of east
from Linclsay, in Louisa County, barytes has been mined from a
number of test pits and several shafts. The barytes occurs in pockets
104 MTNEBAL pRoDUCTtoN oF vrRerNrA.
GYPSUM.
SALT.
salt brines and rock salt occur in the Holston valley of southwest
Yirginia in association with gypsum. The salt aod gypso* deposits
are confined to a narrow northeast-southwest valley of tG North
Fork
of the rlolston River, extending from plasterco to within three miles
of chatham Hill, a distance of about 16 miles. The interbedded salt
and gypsnm shales with beds of rock salt and gypsum are regarded
as
of Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) aqe.
A bhaft was sunk in 1g40 which i*It a bed of rock sart at a
depth of.210 feet. A large number of wers have been bored, ranging
in depth from 300 to 1,400 feet, the greatest depth reached being
2,380 feet. The first borings for salt in this varley were in the otd
swampy ]ake-covered area o'ear the present site of the town of salt-
ville. Mining of the rock salt has not been attempted, the entire sart
product being derived from the salt brines of the wells. The entire
salt industry at present is confined to the immediate vicinity of salt-
ville, and is controlled by the Mathieson Alkali 'W-orks.
rn the early history of operations and, indeed, until within recent
years, the product marketed was salt, which for many years amounted
to between a half million and a mi]lion bushels of sait per vear. The
Mathieson Alkali 'works stopped the making of salt in 1908, and
from that time until 1908 the brines were utilized exclusively for
the manufacture of sodium carbonate and caustic soda. The product
was of superior merit, from the start, and, because of this fact, a rarge
and growing trade has been acquired. The manuf acture of salt was
again resumed in 1g08 by the company, but, since there was only one
operato, the figures of value of the production had to be combined
with those of another subject, in order not to disclose private business.
The same conilition holds in respect to the procluction fo,r the years
1909 and 1910, hence the figures are combined with those of another
subject.
MINERAI, PAINTS. 10?
MINERAI, PAINTS.
Ocher of more or less purity is found, and has been mined to some
extent in each of the principal geologic divi-oicns of the State, namely,
the Coastal Plain, the Pierlmont Plateau, and the Valley region. It
has been mined at the following iocalities in Virginia: In the extreme
eastern part of Chesterfield County, near Bermuda I{undred, on the
Appomattox River I in the little Catoctin Mountain, near teesburg,
in Loudoun County; near Bedforcl City, in Bed{ord County; neal'
Keezletown, in Rockingham County; from the western base of the
Southwest Massanutten Mountain, near Stanleyton, in Page County;
and near Shenandoah Station, in Page and Rockingham counties.
In adclition to these, ocher deposits are found. rather wiclely dis-
tributed over the Yalley and Piedmont provinces,'and to some extent
over the Coastal Plain, which have not been worked. fn the Vailey
and Piedmont provinces, the ocher deposits are frequently associated
with beds of iron ore. Deposits of ocher varying in color from red,
vellow, and brown, and which seem particularly promising but not
yet developed, are found in Campbell ancl Bedford counties I near Bon
Air, in Ch'esterfied County; near Fairfield, in Bockbridge County;
'Waynesboro, in Augusta County; and near Roaring Run, in
near
Craig County. The production of ocher in Virginia during 1909 anil
1910 is combined with another subject in order to avoid disclosing
incliviclual figures.
I,IST O!'MINDnAL PAINT OPEnATORS
OPDBATOR ox,x,rcE MINE
Bermuda Ocher Co. ......New York ..i,.,.....Bermtila Hudalred
Butterworth, R ....' ".Butterworth .......-.Pride
F*r'azer Paint Co.,,.. .,..Detroit, Mich .,,.....Bedfortl City
Stigleman, w. T. ,. .. . .. .Snowville ...... '....Snowville
Yirginia Ocher Corporatlon.a . .. .. Irwin, Pe , .,. .Stanleyton
an'ormerly Page Ocher Corporation, Stanleyton.
MAR,I,.
Calcareous and greensand marls are widely distributecl over the
Coastal Plain or Tidewater region of Virginia. Calcareous rnarls are
also found in places in the Valley region west of the Blue Ridge. They
have not been developed in Virginia, however, except for local use.
'Ihe greensand marl is Eocene in age, and is formed chiefly along
the ihner margiq or western portion of the Coastal Plaiq, where it is
108 MINEEAL. PRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
most extensiveXy developed ones in the llnited States, and the product
from them constitutes nearly 50 per cent of the total output of pyrite
in the Unitecl States.
The pyrite mines in Louisa County were worked at different timee
for iron, copper, and pyrite. They were first opened and worked for
iron in 1834, when the gossan overlying the pyrite for a depth of from
40 to 60 feet was mined for iron-making in the local furnaces. The
Prince'William Oounty mine, near Dumfries, was first opened in 188g,
but was not continuously operated until several years later.
The pyrite deposits in Louisa and Prince 'Williarn counties ocour
as lenticular bod.ies, usually of large size, lying conformable or nearly
so with the structure (foliation) of the inclosing rock. The lenses
foliow each other in the direction of strike, and may or may not be
connectecl by thin and, lean stringers of ore. The spacing between
the ends of lenses is variable. fn a few instances, partial overlap of
the lenses has been observed. The lenses vary much in size, those in
the Louisa County mines measuring several hundred feet long and as
rnuch as 60 to 80 feet in thickness.
As developecl by the extensive mining operations, the ore-bodies
are marked, in places, by rolls and swells and by pinching and narrow-
ing. The inclosing rocks. are metamorphic crystalline schists, chiefly
micaceous, with more or less of the minerals, hornbiende and garnet,
developed in places. The normal rock is a mica-quartz schist, but
mica schist without quartz, largely altered to chlorite, quartz-sericite
schist, talcose and chloritic schists, and hornblendic schist, occur.
Bands and stringers of more or less pure limestone are found in the
walls near the ore bodies. Associated with these, is a considerable
development of lime-bearing silicate minerals.
The ore consists of the massive-granular t;rye, which varies in
texture from very fine- to moderately coarse-grained. Some of it is
very hard and non-friable, but much of it is quite friable, and in
some mines practically all the ore is of the latter type. Much of the
ore is admixed with white granular calcite and some qtafiz. Chal-
copyrite, sphalerite, galenite, pyrrhotite, and magnetite are associated
with the pyrite in small quantity. Chalcopyrite is present in sufficient
quantity at some mines to warrant the saving of the copper from
110 IITNTBAL pnoDuotrroN oF wnctrNra.
Average price
Quantity Value per ton
ARSENIC.
Yirginia has not been a producer of arsenic for several years. In
1903, the United States Arsenic Mines Company, of Pittsburg, Penn-
sy.lvania, began the mining of arsenopyrite (mispickel) at Brinton, in
Floytl, Oounty. An extensive plant, erected for refining the product,
was started, iu 190r[, with the monthly capacity increased after
tranuary, 1905, to 90 tons of pure white arsenic. Operations were
temporarily abandoned several years ago, and owing to the low price of
white arsenic the Sloyd Couuty mines did nqt operete in 1909 and
1910. A company was organizetl in 1910 to manufactu:e ?aris green
from the whito arsenic nrade at the Floyd County arsenic mine, and a
plant was establishecl at Norfolk, Virginia.
The mines .are located 14 miles southeast of Christiansburg, at
Brinton, Floyd Oounty. The ore is arsenopyrite, a tlouble sulphitle
of arsenic and iron, associated with pyrite, and occurs in ((veindt
tLz MINERAL PRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA.
PgOSPHATE.
Three forms of phosphatic material occur in the State; namely,
(1) the marls of the Coastal Plain region, (2) pebble phosphate west
of the Blue Ridge near Clifton Forge, and (S) dikes of nelsonite*a.
rock eo'nposed normally of a mixture of the minerals ilmenite and
apatite ocdurring in Nelson and Roanoke counties.
The shell and greensand marls of the Ooastal Plain region fre-
quently carry a small but variable percentage of phosphoric acid.
These marls are not rich enough, however, in phosphorio acid to render
them of co-"rercial value as a source of phosphate.
West of the Blue Riclge, the occurrence of phosphatic nodules has
been observed at the base of Devonian black shale, at Olifton Forge,
but the extent of this material is yet unknown.
The nelsonite dikes in Nelson County are numerous and extend.
over a considerable area. Much variation is shown in the mineral
composition of the rock composing the dikes. Normally, the rock is a
granular mixture of the minerals white apatite and black'ilmenite in
variable proportion. Either mineral may predominate over the other
in quantity. Near Rose's Mill, the ilmenite of some of the dikes is
largely or entirely replaced by rutile giving at times a rock composed.
essentially of apatite and rutile with little or no ilmenite. In the
vicinity of Lovingston, some of the dikes are composed principally of
magnetite and biotite with a variable amount of apatite, whiie others
aro made up almost entirely of apatite. Chemical analyses of the
nelsonite, collected from dikes over different parts of the area, show the
calcium phosphate to range as high as 33 per cent.
The occurrence of the roek nelsonite in this county has been known
for many vears, and it has been prospected in a small way by open
pits, cuts, and shafts at a number of places, chiefly near Roseland,
Bryant, Rose's MiIl, and Lovingston. The development work in the
'lrelsonite dikes, near Rose's Mil], by the General Electric Company,
was for the minoral rutile and not for the phosphate mineral apatite.
GRAPEITE. 113
GRAPHITE.
Graphite is rather widely tlistributed through the Piedmont region,
occurring chiefly in tbe schists and gneisses, but as yet no actual
production of the mineral has been reported. The occurrenco of
graphite has been noted in the following counties: Albemarle, Amelia,
Buckingham, Charlotte, loudoun, Louisa, Nelson, Orange, and
Powhatan.
Probably the most encouraging occurrence of the mineral is in the
northern part of Albemarle County, between Free Union and Boons-
ville, near Buck Mountain. The graphite occurs here in irregular
vein-like masses in gneisses and syenites and their residual decay. It
is of good quality, and blocks weighing several hundred pounds aro
easily extracted. The Naylor.Bruce Graphlls Company acquired the
property several years ago and made some developments on it, but
closed ilown within a short time without any production.
BUTILE (Titanium).
The only locality in the Atlantic States where rutile has been
mined in quantity is in the Tye River-Ilat Creek area of Nelson
County. The area is a large one, located in the foot-hills region of the
Blue Ritlge, and is distant about 7 miles northwest of the main line of
the Southenr Railway. A seaond area of commercial rutile was dis-
covered. recently in Goochland and llanover counties about 20 miles
west and northwest of Richmond.
Two tlistinct types of rutile are mined in the Nelson Counry area.
In the first type, designated. pegmatite rutile, the rutile occurs chiefly
as dissominated gtains of variable size in an igneous rock of very
coarse- to medium-grained crystallization of feldspars and blue
rt4 MINXRAL PRODUOTION OT' VIRGINIA.
gneiss. Both the enclosing gneiss and the pegmatites are usually
deeply weathered. The pegmatite dikes show a somewhat marked
foliatecl st,ructure clue probably to pressure efiects chiefly. Rutile in
very large quantity, ranging from fine grains to masses weighing several
po,unds, is scattered loose over the surface and in the soil. Masses of
rutile weighing up to several hundreds pounds have been found on the'
Nuckols farm. More or less ilmenite is assoeiated with the rutile and
both occur as constitnents of the pegmatite.
The mtile deposits of Virginia have been studied in tletail by the
Virginia Geological Survey, and a volume setting forth the results at
considerable length will be publishecl shortly.
According to }Iess the total value of rutile concentrates produced
in 1909 in the Nelson County area was estimated at $101000. The
production of rutile in Virginia during 1910 was 556 short tons.
valued at $44.480.
LISI' OF' RU'III,N (TITANIUM) OPERATORS
OPERATOR OX'X'ICD MIND
Amerlcan Rutile Co. ....Washlngton, D. C".'.Roseland
General Electric Co. ... . .Schenectady, N. Y. ... .Bose's. Mill i
Myer, August
-A. ........ ..Richmontl '....Gouldln
l{lctrots, C... ...'...Peers ...'."'Peers
MINER,AL WATEBS.
'Ihe mineral waters of \rirginia are an important source of revenue
in the Stato. Virginia has a very large number of spring resorts, and
a great variety and abundance of well-known commercial waters-
Yirginia is second only to New York in the number of springs that:
are utilized commerciallX, md exceeds Nerr York in the number of'
reeorts.
All classes of mineral waters are found in the State, and some'
of these are among the most celebrated in ,the country. They
are
naturally clividecl into (1) those containing minoral salts in suc.h
proportion as to give them medicinal value, and (2) those approxi-
mately pure waters which are sold extensively for table or d.omestic uge-
The production of rnineral waters for 1909, exclusive of 83,?54
gallons used. in the manufacture of soft drinks, was 1,504,530 gallons,
valued at $203,455, these figures representing a decreage from the
116 MINEBAII PBODUCTION O!' VIRGINIA.
PRECIOUS STONES.
A variety of minerals of gem grade has been found in the crystal-
line rocks of the Piedmont province of Virginia. Some counties in
this ar'ea, which seemingly ofier good possibilities for the occurrence
of gem material, have not yet been exploited' for this purpose' The
known counties which have either produced. gem materials, or contain
mi:rerals which might be of desirable gem grade, are Amelia, Amherst,
Sedford, Buckingham, Fairfax, Ilanover, Nelson, and Spottsylvania'
of these, Amelia county is the best known and has produced the largest
variety and quantity of gem material. This material has come from
the mica mines opened in the pegmatite dikes near Ameiia Oourthouse.
Those minerals lrrown to occur in Virginia which have been used,
or are probably capable of being used, for gem material are quafiz
including several varieties, garnet including soveral varieties, allanite,
kyanite, .fluorite (ohlorophane), feldspar including several speciee,
microlite, apatite, beryl, turquoise, columbite, and helvite. Although
120 MTNERAL pRoDucrroN oF vrncrNra.
these minerals occur in Yirginia not all of them have been found to be
of gem grade.
The value of the production of precious stones in virginia for
1g09
was $2,500. There was no reported production of prec-ioos
stones in
Virginia during the year 1910.
INDEX
Abrasive materials, 91-93, Crusheil stone, 88-90.
Corunclum and emerY, 91. Ballast antl concrete, 89.
Corundum, 91. Road materials, 89.
Emery, 91. Value of procluction of, 91.
List of operators, 93. Diatomaceous earth, 93-94.
, 9l-92.
Millstones (buhrstones) Diversity of resources, 12-13.
Proiluction of, 92. Effects of weatheiing and erosion, 12.
Analvses. sranite, 73. Emery, 91.
eppdtacliiah Mountains province, The Erosion, weathering and, effects of, 12.
lr. Features. surface of, the State, 7-ll.
Arsenic. ltl-112. Feldspar, 96.
Asbesto;, 97-98. List of operators, 96.
List of operators, 98. Fire clays, 55'
Ballast and concrete, 89'
Barytes, 102-104. Flux, furnace, 90-9I'
List of onerators, 104. Production of, 91.
Prottuctio'n of, 104. Turnace flux, 90-91'
Brick clays, 53-55. Production of, 91.
Protluction of, 54-55. Golcl and silver, 27-30.
Brick. sand-lime, 70. Production of, 30-Bl.
I"ist of oPerators, 70. Granite, ,72-76.
Cement, 63-67. Analyses of, 73.
lime ancl, 59-67. f,ist of ooerators, 76.
List of opeiators, 67. Proiluctio:n of , 7 4-7 5.
Chert, 93. Graphite, 113.
Clav products, clavs and, 50-59. Gravel. sand and, 67 -70.
Clays'and clay Prbducts, 50-59. l, st of oPerators, 69-70.
Brick clays, 53-55. Production of, 68.
Production of. 54-55' "iist of 105-106.
Gvpsum.
X'ire clays, 55. operators, 106.
Kaolin. 56. Introduction,
--Tables, 1-6.
List of oPerators, 56-59. mineral production of Virginia,
Pottery clays, 56. 2-6.
Produ6tion of, 52, 53,54-55. Iron ores ano Pig iron, 13-23'
Clays, brick, 53-55. List of onerators, 22-23.
Production of. 54-55. Statistics'of production of . 20, 21, 22'
flre, 55. Kaolin. 56.
potterY, 56. Lead ancl zitc,35-37.
Coal,38-45. . Production of, 37.
List of operators. 44-45. l,ime, 60-63.
Statigtici of produetion of, 43-44. List of operators, 62-63.
Coastal Plain Province, The, 9. Production and value of, 6l-62.
Cobalt, nickel and, 38. Lime and cement, 59-67.
Coke, 46-49. Lime, 60-63'
List of operators, 49. List of operators, 62-63.
Statistics of manufacture of, 48, 49' Productioin antl value of, 61-62.
Concrete. ballast antl, 89. Cement, 63-67.
Copper, 3l-35. List of oPerators, 67.
Piocluction of, 34-35. Limestong 77-82.
Corunclum, 91. List of oPerators, 80-82.
Corunclum antl emerY, 91. Value an-d Production of' 79-80.
Corundum, 91. List of sprinls of mineral waters, 1I7-
Smery, 91. I 19.
122 INDEX.