American Rutile quarry -near Roseland; anatase,
apatite,
augite,
chalcopyrite, epidote,
garnet, ilmenite, orthopyroxene, quartz (blue), rutile, sphene, zoisite
Allen Copper mine -near Wintergreen; chalcopyrite,
malachite
J. S. Saunders farm (c) -near Lowesville; amethyst
Roadcut
(intersection routes
655 and 724)-near Roseland; blue quartz
Schuyler area soapstone quarries -near
Schuyler;
actinolite, apatite, calcite, chalcopyrite, chlorite, dolomite, galena,
ilmenite, magnetite, millerite, pyrite, serpentine, talc
Apatite Quarry - near Rt.56 and Rt151; rutile, ilmenite,
blue
quartz
Bryant Farm -
near
Bryant, nelsonite, blue quartz
Tye River -
blue
quartz with white quartz
Allen Mine, Wintergreen, Northern Section-Blue Ridge Province, Nelson Co., Virginia, USA
Allen mines (copper) – Location: Nelson County, Sherando quadrangle, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north-northeast of Wintergreen on the southeast side of Crawford Knob (N 4,198,600 E 686,120, Zone 17).
The principal country rocks are chlorite green- stone, schists and phyllites. The rocks have a strike of N75°E and a dip of 30°SE. A main joint has a strike of N42°E and a dip of 74°NW. There are quartz veins up to 12 inches (30 cm) thick that are parallel to the schistosity of the greenstone. The quartz is stained reddish-brown with iron oxide in places and contains chalcopyrite.
Mines were operated from 1885 to 1905. Tunnels were blasted into the mountain with black powder and the ore was taken by tramway down the mountain where it was crushed and smelted. In early 1978, there were six tunnel openings in the main area of the mines, each 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m) across at the entrance. A talus-like dump on the mountainside contained chalcopyrite in quartz as well as pieces of greenstone schist and phyllite with malachite stain.
Ref for Allen Mine.: Rocks & Min.:60:167. A copper mine.
Deposit:: BARTHOLOMEW, M.J., 1977, GEOLOGY OF GREENFIELD AND SHERANDO QUADRANGLES, VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, PUBLICATION 4, 43 P.
Deposit:: SWEET, P.C. AND BELL, S.C., 1980, METALLIC MINERALIZATION IN THE BLUE RIDGE PROVINCE OF
Minerals in Nelson County
The northwestern part of Nelson County is in the Blue Ridge Province and the remainder is in the Piedmont Province. The county is underlain largely by igneous and metamorphic rocks. Some small areas are underlain by sedimentary rocks. During 1972, soapstone was quarried near Schuyler by the Georgia Marble Company, Alberene Stone Division, and was prepared for use as dimension stone in the company's plant at Schuyler. The finished stone was marketed for a variety of architectural, laboratory, and other uses. Feldspar-rtieh rock was quarried and processed near Piney River by the Ceramic and Glass Products Division of International Minerals and Chemical Corporation and marketed as aplite for use primarily by the glass industry. The Dominion Stone Plant, Inc., quarried and crushed aplite near Piney River, chiefly for use as roadstone. Sand was obtained along the Buffalo River near Piedmont and the Rockfish River near Schuyler by the Piedmont Sand Company.
The Roseland District of Nelson and Amherst counties has been an important source of the titanium minerals~ rutile and ilmenite. Mining operations have been conducted in Nelson County near Piney River and Roseland and in Amherst County near towesville and Piney River. Rutile was mined from about 1900 until 1949 and ilmenite was recovered by surface mining of saprolite deposits from 1930 until 1971. A titanium-dioxide pigment plant that utilized this ilmenite was operated at Piney River by the American Cyanamid Company from 1944 until 1971. Sizeable tonnages of apatite, a phosphate mineral, were recovered during the milling operations and stockpiled. A plant was operated at Piney River from 1937 until 1948 to produce phosphorous chemicals from apatite mined with titanium minerals. Some feldspar was recovered during milling operations at Roseland and was sold to manufactures of porcelain and pottery. More than 20 million tons of titanium-bearing saprolite are reported to be present in the district in addition to hard-rock mineralization, and a recent study indicates the possibility of significant placer deposits of titanium minerals.
In the past, iron ore was mined at several localities in eastern Nelson County in the vicinity of Greenway, and manganese ore was mined and prospected at sites near Warminster, Greenway, and Allen Creek. Copper minerals were reportedly mined near Norwood. Soapstone was formerly produced at quarries near Piedmont and. Variety Mills and marketed for a number of uses. Quartzite near Greenway and conglomerate near Faber and Rockfish have been quarried and crushed for use as ballast. Sandstone was quarried near Midway Mills for building stone, and diabase near Gladstone has also been used locally for this purpose. Limestone and marble occur in southeastern Nelson County and have been quarried at several sites for use in local lime kilns, as furnace flux and building stone. Gneiss and schist have also been quarried. Kaolin was produced near Roseland, primarily for use as a filler on paper, and kaolin clay northwest of Piney River has been tested and found potentially suitable for use in refractories and certain ceramic ware. The U.S. Bureau of Mines has done test drilling of several kaolin occurrences in the county. An attempt was made many years ago to mine garnets south of Arrington.
Other minerals found in the county include allanite, graphite, galena, and sphalerite, but the presence of potentially commercial deposits has not been established. Source: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources.
BART THOMPSON KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
W H HARVEY KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST PRODUCER
SANDERS BROTHERS KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
G H PARR KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST PRODUCER
T V HUDSON KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST PRODUCER
C E CAMPBELL KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
J B MASSIE KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST PRODUCER
NATHANIEL KIDD KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
NATHANIEL KIDD GENERAL CHEM CO DEP
CLAY
PAST
PRODUCER
J B MASSIE GENERAL CHEM CO DEP CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
J R CAMPBELL GENERAL CHEM CO DEP CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
DR HARVEY KING KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
DR WOODSON KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
J B MASSIE KAOLIN DEP NO 2 CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
J R CAMPBELL KAOLIN DEPOSIT CLAY PAST
PRODUCER
HAZEL SHADE OCCURRENCE COPPER EXP PROSPECT
DOLAN PROSPECT COPPER RAW PROSPECT
JOE CREEK SHAFT COPPER PAST PRODUCER
PINEY RIVER APLITE QUARRY FELDSPAR PAST
PRODUCER
IMC PINEY RIVER PLANT FELDSPAR PRODUCER
CHURCH TUNNEL IRON PAST PRODUCER
GAY PROSPECT IRON EXP PROSPECT
GREENWAY MINE IRON PAST PRODUCER
GREENWAY MINE IRON PAST PRODUCER
GREENWAY MINE IRON PAST PRODUCER
KIMBALL TUNNEL IRON PAST PRODUCER
LEWIS TUNNEL & PRICE SHAFT IRON PAST
PRODUCER
MEGISSON PROSPECT IRON EXP PROSPECT
UNNAMED TUNNEL IRON PAST PRODUCER
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON EXP PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT IRON RAW PROSPECT
PIEDMONT MINE MANGANESE PAST PRODUCER
CABELL MINE MANGANESE PAST PRODUCER
BUGLEY MINE MANGANESE PAST PRODUCER
SIMPSON MINE MANGANESE PAST PRODUCER
PIEDMONT PROSPECT MANGANESE RAW PROSPECT
PIEDMONT PROSPECT MANGANESE EXP PROSPECT
SIMPSON PROSPECT MANGANESE RAW PROSPECT
SIMPSON PROSPECT MANGANESE EXP PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT MANGANESE EXP PROSPECT
UNNAMED PROSPECT MANGANESE EXP PROSPECT
VON RAVN MINERAL DEPOSITS PLATINUM GROUP PLATINUM EXP
PROSPECT
MINE NUMBER 1 PIT SAND & GRAVEL PAST
PRODUCER
QUARRY NUMBER 6 STONE MISCELLANEOUS DM PAST
PRODUCER
PINEY RIVER APLITE QUARRY STONE MISCELLANEOUS CB
PAST
PRODUCER
PINEY RIVER PLANT STONE MISCELLANEOUS CB PRODUCER
QUARRY STONE SANDSTONE DM PAST PRODUCER
QUARRY STONE GRANITE DM PAST PRODUCER
QUARRY STONE MARBLE DM PAST PRODUCER
QUARRY STONE MARBLE DM PAST PRODUCER
PINEY RIVER APLITE QUARRY STONE GRANITE CB
PRODUCER
QUARRY #15 TALC PRODUCER
ALBERENE STONE CO/ QUARRY #20 TALC PRODUCER
CLIMAX QUARRIES TALC GROUP PAST PRODUCER
R P TAYLOR DEPOSIT TITANIUM EXP PROSPECT
J W ADAMS PROPERTY TITANIUM RUTILE UNKNOWN
E M HUGHES DEPOSIT TITANIUM EXP PROSPECT
TM BOYD DEPOSIT TITANIUM EXP PROSPECT
J D JOHNSON DEPOSIT
TITANIUM EXP PROSPECT
A T STRATTON DEPOSIT TITANIUM EXP PROSPECT
H M GILES JR DEPOSIT TITANIUM EXP PROSPECT
GENERAL ELECTRIC MINE TITANIUM PAST PRODUCER
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. MINE TITANIUM RUTILE PAST
PRODUCER
BOYD URANIUM PROSPECT URANIUM U3O8 CONTENT EXP
PROSPECT