GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA S. W. McCALLIE, State ~ologist
BULLETIN NO. 28
A PRELIMINARY REPORT
ON THE
MINERAL RESOURCES
OF
GEORGIA
REVISED EDITION
BY
S. W. McCALLIE
STATE GEOLOGIST
ATLANTA, GA. STEIN PRINTING CO.
1926
THE ADVISORY BOARD OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA in the Year 1925
(Ex-Officio) Hrs ExcELLENCY, CLIFFORD M. WALKER, Governor of Georgia
PRESIDENT oF THE BoARD HoN. S. G. McLENDON______________________________________________Secretary of State HoN. W. J. SPEER ------------------------------------------------------------State Treasurer HoN. W. A. WRIGHT______________________________________________Comptroller-General HoN. GEORGE M. NAPIER_______________________________________Attorney-General HoN. J. J. BROWN--------------------------------------Commissioner of Agriculture HoN. FORT E. LAND__________________________Commissioner of Public Schools
III
LE'ITER OF TRANSMI'ITAL
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA, ATLANTA, November 1, 19!l5.
To His ExcELLENCY, CLIFFORD M. WALKER, GovERNOR, AND PREsiDENT OF THE ADVISORY BoARD OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA.
Sm: I have the honor to submit herewith a revised edition of the preliminary report on the Mineral Resources of Georgia, to be published as revised edition of Bulletin No. 23, of this Survey.
Very respectfully yours,
S. W. McCALLIE,
State Geologist.
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued.) Fossil Iron Ore - 79-85 LIMESTONE............................................................................................ 85-88 MANGANESE.......................................................................................... 88-95 MARBLES.............................................................................................. 95-103 MARLS..................................................................................................104-105 MICA......................................................................................................106-108 0CHER....................................................................................................108-117 PRECIOUS STONES................................................................................117-125 PYRITE..................................................................................................125-128 RoAD MATERIAL...............................................................................129-134 SAND AND GRAVEL..............................................................................134-136 SERPENTINE. ......................................................................................... 136-138 SLATE....................................................................................................138-143 TALC AND SOAPSTONE..........................................................................144-147 TRIPOLI ................................................................................................ 147-148
w MINERAL ATERS.............................................................................148-149
ARTESIAN WELLS..............................................................................15Q-152 AN INVENTORY OF THE WATER PowERs oF GEORGIA..............152-159 lNDEX.................................................................................................161--164
VI
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES
OPPOSITE pAGE
I Creole Quarry No. 1, Georgia Marble Co., near Tate, Pickens County______ --------------------------------------Frontispiece
II Preliminary Geological Map of Georgia________________________________ 8 III Clay pit of the American Clay Co., Twiggs County____________ 30 IV Plant of the Georgia Vitrified Brick and Clay Company,
Campania, Columbia County__________________________________________ 36 V Track Rock Corundum Mine, Track Rock, Union County 48 VI The Yonah Company's placer mining plant, White
County...----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 VII Mill and chlorination plant, Creighton Gold Mine,
Cherokee County______ -------------------------------------------------------- 64 VIII Stone Mountain, DeKalb County, 16 miles northeast of
Atlanta________________________________________________________________________________ 68
IX Fig. 1-Granite-gneiss quarry, Pine Mountain, Lithonia Fig. 2-Granite-gneiss quarry, showing quarry face and quarry bottom at the surface of the doming mass...----------------------------------------------------------------------- 70
X The Wheeler ore bank near Emerson, Bartow County________ 76 XI The Kinsey ore bank, Sugar Hill, Bartow County______________ 78 XII A view of the underground workings, Kensington Iron
and Coal Company's property, near Estelle, Walker County______ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80 XIII Rising Fawn Furnace, near Rising Fawn, Dade C~unty____ 84 XIV Manganese milling plant of the Blue Ridge Mining Company, two and one-half miles east of Cartersville, Bartow County__________________________________________________________________ 94
XV General view of the works of the Blue Ridge Marble Company, Nelson, Pickens County______________________________________ 100
VII
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XVI Exposure of Miocene marls and clays, Porter's Landing,
Effingham County.............................................................. 104 XVII Settling vats and drying shed of the Cherokee Ocher and
Barytes Co., near Cartersville, Bartow County............ 1Ht XVIII Artesian well, near Brunswick, Glynn County, used to
irrigate a truck farm.......................................................... 150 XIX Public artesian well at Oglethorpe, Macon County.............. 15!! XX Rapids on the Ocoee River, near the Georgia-Tennessee
line. The haziness in the distance is due to sulphur fumes from the Ducktown smelters................................ 156 XXI Dam, power house and transmitter house of the North Georgia Electric Company, at Dunlap Shoals on the Chattahoochee River, near Gainesville, Hall County 158
MAP
Georgia Hydrographic Basins.................................................. 154
VIII
PREFATORY NOTE For some years there has been an ever increasing demand on the State Geological Survey for general information on the State's mineral resources not heretofore supplied in any one of the various publications of the department. To meet this demand this volume has been issued with the hope that it will not only meet the object for which it was published, but also, at the same time, stimulate activity in the development of our mineral resources. It must be borne in mind that this report is by no means intended to be a comprehensive report on the mineral resources of the State, but only a preliminary report covering, in a general way, only the principal economic minerals. To those who wish to pursue the different subjects further than here discussed they will find a number of references after each subject, which will be of especial value. The principal sources of the information found in this report are the various publications of this Survey. These publications, including the reports of Dr. Thos. L. W;ttson and others, have been made use of freely without any marginal reference to the part abstracted; however, the name of the reports from which the information was largely taken will be found in italics at the close of each subject. In addition. there have been a few articles contributed by Mr. Otto Veatch and Dr. T. Poole Maynard formerly assistant State Geologists, due credit for which is indicated by marginal references. In addition acknowledgements are due to Mr. R. H. Haseltine, assistant State Geologist for assistance in revising certain parts of this report. Atlanta, Ga., November 1, 1925.
IX
MINERAL RESOURCES OF GEORGIA
INTRODUCTION'
TOPOGRAPHY
Like most of the States of the Atlantic slope, Georgia does not have . the same topographic character everywhere, but differs considerably
in appearance in different portions. Some parts of the State are mountainous, some have a broadly rolling upland surface trenched by deep and narrow valleys, some are occupied by wide and rather flat-floored valleys, and some parts are nearly level plains. The portions of the State thus characterized by different sorts of topography are not scattered about haphazard, but are grouped in systematic fashion, so that the State as a whole can be divided into several portions-one dominantly mountainous, another chiefly rolling upland, etc., each of which has its own distinctive topographic character (see Pl. I).
That part of the State lying south of a line drawn from Augusta through Milledgeville and Macon to Columbus and comprising about three-fifths of the whole State, although hilly in some portions, is on the whole so flat or so gently rolling that it appears as a broad and somewhat uneven plain. This part is called the Coastal Plain. Near the coast it is low and very nearly level throughout broad areas, but farther inland its surface lies higher and is rolling or even hilly.
North of the Coastal Plain is a broad belt, extending across the State, which is dominantly a rolling upland. Much of its upland surface is nearly flat and appears from a commanding point as a somewhat uneven plain. This part is the Central Upland. Near the main streams its surface is cut by fairly deep valleys and here and there, especially in its northern portion, bold hills or small mountains stand well above the general level of the surface.
1-This introduction is taken largely from the Physical Geography of Georgia, recently published by the State Geological Survey.
2
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGid
Most of the northwestern part of the State is occupied by a broad relatively low-lying area called the Valley. It is really made up of several partly merging valleys with broad and generally flat or gently rolling floors. These valleys are partly separated by a number of mountain ranges, some of which are short, but others of which extend almost unbroken for many miles. In the extreme northwest comer of the State are two broad flat-topped ranges which are not like those in the Valley, but are parts of a plateau-the Lookout Plateau.
The northeastern portion of the State is dominantly mountainous and this part, called the Highland, is the highest and most rugged part of the State and contains a number of peaks that stand more than 4,000 feet above sea level. It is not wholly mountainous, as small and rough-surfaced interior plateaus occupy part of the drainage basins of the rivers, but the mountains are the features that determine the general character of the region.
The State lies in two of the major physiographic divisions of the United States: the Atlantic Plain on the southeast and the Appalachian region on the northwest. They are separated by an irregular line which crosses the State from Augusta through Milledgeville and Macon to Columbus and which coincides at several places with parts of the well-known Fall Line of the Atlantic slope. The Atlantic Plain occupies approximately 60 per cent and Appalachian Georgia 40 per cent of the area of the State.
The part of the Atlantic Plain within the State lies wholly in a single great province-the Coastal Plain-which borders the coast of the United States from southern New England into Mexico. Appalachian Georgia, on the other hand, includes parts of four provinces, all of which extend far beyond the boundaries of the State. These provinces are the Piedmont Upland, the Appalachian Mountains, the Appalachian Valley and Ranges, and the Appalachian Plateaus. Their position and boundaries in the southeastern States are shown in fig. 1. The Piedmont Upland extends from Hudson River to central Alabama and crosses Georgia in a broad belt north of the Coastal Plain. It indudes more than three-fourths of Appalachian Georgia. The Appa-
INTRODUCTION
3
lachian Mountains, which extend across southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina and South Carolina into Georgia, occupy the northeastern part of the State. The Appalachian Valley and Ranges also extend from New York State to central Alabama, crossing the northwestern part of Georgia. The extreme northwest corner of the State lies in the Appalachian Plateaus, another province that extends from New York State into Alabama, but barely enters Georgia. Each province as a whole comprises several sections, but, except in the Piedmont Upland, only a part of one section of each province is in Georgia. In all the provinces each section comprises minor subdivisions that differ in importance and in distinctiveness.
Fig. 1. The Geographic Provinces of the Southeastern United States.
The provinces of the Appalachian region were established and named on the basis of characters and relations displayed elsewhere in the region. The general character and relations of two of them are not
4
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
well shown in Georgia and the names of all four mean little when only the parts of them within the State are considered. It seems best, therefore, in the following descriptions, to give the Georgia parts of the provinces distinctive names of local significance. Thus, the part of the Piedmont Upland within the State has been named the Central Upland, the Georgia part of the Appalachian Mountains has been named the Highland, the Georgia part of the Appalachian Valley and Ranges has been named the Valley, and the part of the Appalachian Plateaus within the State has been named the Lookout Plateau. The positions and outlines of the provinces are shown on Plate II.
CIVIL DIVISIONS
Georgia is divided at present (1925) into 161 counties. All of the counties west of Oconee River and south of Altamaha River, except Glynn and Camden Counties, are divided into sections, districts, and land lots. The lots, the smallest subdivisions, range in size from 40 to 490 acres. The smaller lots are confined to Lumpkin and other counties in the northern part of the State in which gold is found.
East of the Oconee River and north of Altamaha River, the "headright counties" are not subdivided. The average area of the counties is 364 square miles. The largest county is Burke (956 square miles) and the smallest Clarke County (114 square miles). In addition to the divisions above given each county is divided into militia districts to facilitate local government. The State is also divided into Congressional and Senatorial districts, the size of which is determined by the population.
GEOLOGY
The geology of Georgia is as diversified as its topography. The rocks of the State include the classes igneous (chiefly granites), metamorphic (schist, gneiss, marble, etc.), and sedimentary (and or sandstone, clay, shale, limestone). They range in age from recent to ancient (Archean) and in compactness from loose sand to hard quartzite and from soft marl to crystalline marble. They have been classified according to age and lithologic character into formations, the
INTRODUCTION
5
names of which appear in the table on pages 6 and 7 with the youngest at the top. The kind of topography which is characteristic of each formation and the general distribution of the formations are also indicated in the table.
The geologic map, Plate II, shows the distribution of the major divi~ sions of the rocks of Georgia. The oldest rocks (Archean and metamorphic Cambrian) form a broad belt in the Highland and the Central Upland; the Paleozoic rocks, except the metamorphic Cambrian rocks, occupy the northwest comer of the State, in the Valley and the Lookout Plateau; and the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary formations make up the entire Coastal Plain.
The attitude of the bedded rocks is different in each of these three areas. The oldest rocks are crystalline and are intricately contorted and metamorphosed; the Paleozoic rocks are closely folded and faulted at the southeastern side of the Valley, but flatten into gentle undulations toward the northwest; and the much younger sedimentary rocks of the Coastal Plain, which were deposited on the time worn surface of the crystalline rocks, slope gently seaward or are almost level.
Isvs-j ERA TEM
SERIES
Cl
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS IN GEORGIA1
FORMATIONS
PREVAILING LITHOLOGY
ot:c:!:wz)a>a:c-:
--
Recent
Pleistocene Pliocene
Alluvial and swamp deposits; beach and dune sand__ Sand, mud, muck, and peat.
Columbia group. Terrace deposits (O to 50 ft.) ____ -_ Chiefly sand. Charlton formation (0-15 ft.) ______________________ Argillaceous limestone and clay.
(,)
0
N
0 z
11.1
(,)
ca>:ta=:
11.1
1-
Miocene Oligocene
Eocene
2 5 - - ~ ~ ~
Upper Cretaceous
0()
(1)-
()1-11.1
11.1
Jurassic or
2
Triassic
Duplin marl (10-15 ft.>--------------------------- Sandy shell marls and compact bluish sand.
Alum Bluff group (0-150 ft.>---------------~------ Chiefly sand, sandstone and claystone. Chattahoochee formation (0-100 ft.) ___ ------------ Earthy limestone. Vicksburg group: Glendon formation (0-100 ft.) ____ Chert-bearing sand, clay, and gravel on surface,
~ ~
(In western Georgia) Ocala limestone (300 ft.)
white limestone under cover.
(In eastern Georgia)
Barnwell formation (0-200
ft.)
Soft white limestone; red sand and fuller's earth.
~
~
t:-i
Claiborne group (200 ft.) McBean form. (80-100 ft.) Claystone, sand, and sandy limestone.
C".:l
Wilcox formation(0-100 ft) Midway form. (0-400 ft.)
Ripley formation (900 ft.) Eutaw formation (0-560ft) Undifferentiated Ufper
Chiefly laminated sand and clay. Sand, clay, marl, and limestone.
Dark gray sand, clay, and limestone in west; coarse white and pink sand and kaolin in east
;
~
~
Tuscaloosa form.(0-375 ft) Cretaceous (790ft.
Coarse micaceous sand and gravel.
~
Mainly dark gray or black diabase, much jointed Diabase and gabbro dikes_________________________ and weathered.
~
,(,)
0
~
11.1
a.c.1.
(I) :::)
0a:
z.1.1..1.
0
cIaD:
(,)
_ ~~!.f~il!_n 1_?)__ Pennsylvanian
Mississippian
Granites and pegmatites__________________________
Walden sandstone (930-1000 ft.) ___________________ Lookout sandstone (400-500 ft.) ___________________ Pennington shale (515ft.)--------~---------------
Bangor limestone (500-900 ft.) ____________________ Hartselle sandstone (50-550 ft.) ___________________ Floyd shale (0-2000 ft.) ________________________ __ Fort Payne chert (0-510 ft.) _______________________
Massive light-gray biotite-granite; lenses and narrow dikes of muscovite-biotite granite.
Sandstone and sandy shale; coal-bearing. Coarse sandstone or conglomerate and sandy shale.
Gray and reddish shale with beds of sandstone and limestone.
Blue fossiliferous limestone,grading into shale at top. Coarse white sandstone. Black shale grading into limestone. Banded chert with a small amount of limestone.
;
~
~
- -- -oevonhin -or---- Chattanooga shale (0-100 ft.) __ ----- ____ ---------- Fine black shale.
Carboniferous
----~--------
a.:o,>zcz-j
Lower Devonian
Armuchee chert (50-100ft.>--------------------- Bedded chert, rusty and sandy.
SILURIAN
Red Mountain formation (600-1800 ft.)------------ Sandstone and sandy &hale.
~
Q O> zc-
0: 0
--
Middle Ordovician
Lower Ordovician
Upper Cambrian
(Western basin.)
Chickamauga limestone __ (1000-1500 ft.)
(Eastern basin.) Rockmart slate
(1200-3000 ft.)
Chickamauga limestone (100-200 ft.)
Rockmart slate is generally black, includes sandstone and conglomerate.
Chickamauga limestone is generally blue; includes many beds of shale.
Knox dolomite (3000-5000 ft.) ____________________ Thick-bedded,gray,magnesian limestone or dolomite Conasauga formation (1000-4000 ft.)--------------- Olive clay shale and thin-bedded limestone.
Middle Cambrian
!::::!
0
N
ffi
..J
f
caz:
CD
:cE
(.)
Lower Cambrian
--Q-- --(?f.
0
N
0
- z--
...0:
1&1
~
::t
0
(.)
a0.:
c0:
(In the Appalachian Valley) (In the Highland and Cen-
I (I7W 00-m35.0t0oft=.)
a...~....
formation
tral Upland.)
Apison shale (600-1000 ft.)
Rome formation contains variegated sandstone and shale.
Cartersville formation contains sericitic schists and sandstone.
(1000 ft.)
Nottely quartzite(200 ft.) Massive white quartzite.
Shady limestone (800-1500 ft.)
Weisner quartzite (2000-5000 ft.)
Andrews schist. (50-300ft) Calcareous schist, with iron ore. Murphy marble(50-300 ft) Massive white, blue, or banded marble.
~
Valleytown formation
Mica schist with many silicious beds and garnets. ~
(1200-2000 ft.)
Brasstown schist (1200-1500 ft.)
Mica schist spangled with biotite crystals.
~
Tusquitee quartzite (20-600 ft.)
Nantahala slate
White or grayish-white glassy quartzite. Black or dark gray banded slate or phyllite.
~
~
(1000-2000 ft.)
Great Smoky formation Massive gritty sandstone,graywacke,and fine con-
(5000-6500 ft.)
glomerate with many beds of dark slate or phyllite
Hiwassee
I and gray mica schist.
Brevard Dark banded slate with Dark phyllite and schist
slate
schist
beds of quartzite,lime- with beds of limestone
(1500-1800ft) (1000-ft.) stone and limestone and quartzite.
conglomerate.
Pinelog
Fine quartz conglomerate, graywacke, and mica
conglomerate
schist.
Various quartzites and schists _____________________ Massive white or light-colored quartzite, interbed-
ded with mica schists.
Biotite granites _________________________________ Roan gneiss ____________________________________
Carolina gneiss __________________________________
Much squeezed and altered to gneiss and schist. Hornblende gneiss and schist, diorite, and gabbro. Massive and banded mica gneiss, interbedded with
mica schists containing garnet, cyanite and graphite.
1Prepared by Wythe Cooke, M. R. Campbell, Arthur Keith, and Laurence LaForge of the U. S. Geological Survey.
"
EXPLA
c=J TERTIARY
UPPER CRETACEOUS PENNSYLVANIAN CAMBRIAN TO M1551551PPIAN METAMORPHIC CAMBRIAN
[
F L 0 R.
85
84
MAP OF GEORco iA SHOW ING THE LARGE R GEOLOG IC
C0::\11\IERCIAL :MINERALS
A
S
B
E
S
T
O
S
1
LocATION.-The best prospects for asbestos m Georgia, so far as
known, occur in White, Habersham, and Rabun counties. Mineral
specimens of amphibole asbestos have been obtained from a number
of localities in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont Plateau, but most of
these are probably of no more than mineralogical interest. The only
producer of asbestos in the State is the Sall Mountain Asbestos Com-
pany. The mines of this company are located on the east slope of Sall
Mountain, White county, 12 miles west of Clarkesville and near Cleve-
land. Mining has been carried on here since 1894. The asbestos is
fibrous anthophyllite, white or yellowish in color, producing fibers
rarely more than an inch in length. The mineral occurs in small masses,
and doubtless represents the chemical alteration, associated with
dynamic metamorphism, of a basic igneous intrusion in gneiss. The
original discovery consisted of a mass 75 by 50 feet and was mined to
a depth of 50 feet, and the rock produced about 90 per cent. fiber.
The asbestos which is at present produced is inferior and is classed
as No. 2. Two small occurrences of fibrous anthophyllite, now being worked,
also the property of the Sall Mountain Company, have been discovered
two miles north of Cleveland and about five miles southwest of the
Sail Mountain mine. One exposure is about 60 feet wide and 100 feet
long; the other occurrence is roughly circular and 20 or 25 feet in diam-
eter. The fiber reaches a length of about%' inch. A considerable amount
of this has been milled at the plant of the Sail Mountain Asbestos
Company, now located at Gainesville and has given fair results.
There are a number of prospects of asbestos on Wolfpit and Mack
mountains, six to eight miles northeast of the Sall Mountain mines,
mainly on the Martin and Wykle properties. The asbestos seems to
1 -.
Written by Otto Veatch, formerly Assistant State Geologist.
10
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORG!d
be associated with peridotite intrusions both in masses and in "cross fiber" and "slip fiber" veins. The asbestos is closely associated with talc and soapstone. There is a probability of commercial deposits being developed here.
There is an old asbestos mine on the Miller property, two miles northwest of Burton, Rabun county. Asbestos was mined here about 40 years ago and hauled by wagon to Walhalla, South Carolina. The asbestos is the long-fibered, woody variety, and appears in veins both as "cross fiber" and "slip fiber." It appears to have been developed by chemical alteration along cracks in an extensive peridotite intrusion. Analysis of the long fibered, woody variety shows it to be very similar in composition to the anthophyllite at Sail Mountain.
A small amount of asbestos was produced in 1907 by the National Asbestos Company," at Hollywood, near Clarkesville, Habersham county. The asbestos is associated with a small area of peridotite, which has been intruded in a mica-schist. The variety is anthophyllite and occurs both as masses and in small veins in the peridotite. A longfibered, woody asbestos also occurs. Just recently there has been erected on this property an up-to-date plant with a view of working the asbestos on a more or less extensive scale.
GEOLOGY.-The asbestos occurrences are confined mainly to the Piedmont area and are associated in most cases with peridotite intrusions. The peridotites are small in area, usually cut gneisses or micaschists and have a general northeast-southwest trend.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The asbestos occurs as masses of shortfibered anthophyllite and as narrow veins of long-fibered, wood-like asbestos. The fibers of the latter variety are often a foot in length, but are either coarse and brittle, or soft and "rotten," and hence of very little value. At Sail Mountain the rock occurs as small masses, and seems to represent a complete alteration of the original igneous rock. At other localities the asbestos occurs in veins or masses in partially altered peridotite and is associated with more or less talc, chlorite and serpentine.
1 -This property is now in the hands of The American Mineral Grinding Company which is at present making preparations for production.
ASBESTOS
11
CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES.-There are two varieties of asbestos, the amphibole and the chrysotile. The amphibole varieties are mainly fibrous anthophyllite and fibrous actinolite or tremolite. The chrysotile variety has a short, silky fiber, and can be spun and woven into cloth. This variety of asbestos comes mainly from Canada.
Chemical .!lnaly.Yi.Y of Anthophyllite from Sal! .Mountain
Loss on ignition _____________________________ _ Silica, Si0 _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ _ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _
2
AFelurrmicinoax,idAel,2 0F ea -0- -,_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _- -_-_-_-__- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Lime, CaQ__ ___2___ ____________ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ Magnesia, MgO_ ____________ ____ __ ____ __ __ __ _ Manganese, MnO____ ________ ____ __ __ __ __ ____ _
53.71
71..1849 trace 29.62
.64
UsEs.-The finer varieties of asbestos are spun into fireproof cloth. It is a non-conductor of heat and electricity and hence finds a variety of uses for electrical insulation, steam pipe and boiler coverings, etc. It is also used in the manufacture of fire-proof paints and asbestos building material, as lumber, shingles and plaster.
STATISTICs.-The following table taken from Mineral Resources, U.S. Geological Survey, shows the production of asbestos in the United States from 1914 to 1924.
Annual Production of .il.YbutOoY in the United Statu 1914-1924
Year
Quantity
(Short tons)
Value
Year
Quantity
(Short tons)
Value
1914
1,247
1915
1,731
1916
1,479
1917
1,683
1918
1,002
1919
1,161
$ 18,965 76,952 448,214 506,056 124,687 248,265
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
------
1,648 831 67 310
300
--------
$678,231 336,968 10,120 24,826 42,520
-------
REFERENCES ON ASBESTOS 1914-Hopkins, Oliver B. Georgia Geol. Sur. Bull. No. 29, pp. 75-1Sg.
12
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGid
BARYTES
LocATION.-The barytes deposits are almost wholly in the Appalachian Valley division of the northwestern part of Georgia, occurring principally in vicinity of Cartersville, Bartow County, about 40 miles northwest of Atlanta, and in minor quantities and isolated localities from the Alabama line near Esom Hill northeastward to the deposits near Ruralvale, 6 miles south of the Tennessee line. The area including these scattered deposits is 75 miles long and the greatest width near its center is 25 miles. The following 7 counties named in order from the Alabama line northeast to the Tennessee line contain deposits: Polk (?), Floyd, Bartow, Cherokee, Gordon, Murray, Whitfield.
All of the large deposits and all that are being worked at present are in the Cartersville mining district in the southeastern part of Bartow County. A smaller and inactive district includes the old mines near Eton in central Murray County. Other localities are namely: (I) near Bass Ferry, eastern Floyd County, (2) south of Plainville, northeastern Floyd County, (3) southwest of Stilesboro, southwestern Bartow County, (4) north of Kingston, western Bartow County, (5) southwest of Waleska, western Cherokee County, (6) north of Plainville, southwestern Gordon County, and (7) near Ruralvale, eastern Whitfield County. The occurrence reported near Esom Hill, Polk County, is doubtfully in Georgia.
GEOLOGY.-The physiographic boundary between the Appalachian Valley and the Piedmont Plateau is the escarpment of the Cartersville fault, and the fault itself is likewise the line of separation between the Paleozoic sediments of the Valley and the Paleozoic and pre-Paleozoic metamorphosed rocks of the Plateau.
In the Piedmont Plateau, the rocks in which deposits of barytes occur are named beginning with the oldest as follows: Corbin granite, Pinelog conglomerate, and Wilhite slate. In the Appalachian Valley, the rocks with which barytes is associated are in ascending order: Weisner quartzite, Shady limestone, Cartersville shale, Connasauga shale and limestone, and Knox dolomite. These formations, range in age from igneous Archean types to sedimentary Paleozoic types.
BARYTES
13
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The barytes deposits of Georgia may be classified into six types according to their mode of occurrence, namely: (1) vein, (~) replacement, (3) breccia, (4) residual, (5) colluvial, and (6) alluvial. The first three occur in hard rock, or consolidated formations; the last three occur in unconsolidated material.
Residual deposits as here defined form at present the only profitably workable barytes deposits in Georgia. One of the important mines in a residual deposit is the PagaNo. 1 mine, 1,% miles west of Emerson, Bartow County. The colluvial character of a deposit is shown at the Du Pont mine, a quarter of a mile west of Emerson.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PRoPERTIEs.-The barytes is usually massive with a granular structure. In color it is generally white, but some of the boulders frequently have a dark bluish tinge, due to some impurity. The individual boulders generally have a thin yellowish stain of iron on the surface when first mined, but the greater part of this coloring matter, which consists chiefly of a coloring of iron stained clay, can be mostly removed by washing. The chemical composition is shown by the following analyses of samples taken from the mines in Murray county:
Analy.ru of Baryle.r, Jlfurray County
Moisture__________________________
Silica SiOo------------------------Ferric oxide, Fe,O,_________________ Alumina, Al,0 1 ____________________ Barytes, BaSO---------------------
I .38 .27 .33 .20 98.82
II .32 .34 .75 .35 98.24
TotaL______________________ _ 100.00 100.00
METHODS OF MINING AND MILLING.-All of the mining is done by open-cut methods, as these are best suited to the working of unconsolidated hillside deposits. Very little hand mining is now carried on unless a new deposit of doubtful extent is being opened and it is not considered advisable to install equipment until the size of the ore body justifies it. The hillside is opened by a steam shovel and as it advances into the open-cut the working face is loosened by occasional shots of powder. The shovel follows the ore along the side of the hill, skirting clay horses when possible, and, when the horizontal extent of the
14
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORG/d
original ore level has been exhausted, opening a lower level, or second lift, in the deposit. When the deposit is opened, it may have an almost negligible overburden, but farther down the hillside it may lie beneath a barren blanket 15 or !lO feet deep. The largest open-cuts are several hundred feet long and considerably less than a hundred feet deep. They are drained by natural slope through the entrance, by tunnelling through the down-slope wall, or by pumping, but as they are generally above ground-water level, they encounter little mine water.
Essentially, the cleaning of the barytes ore is as simple in operation as the actual mining of it, since the principal part of the concentrating plant is the log-washer which removes the bulk of the impurities by washing in water.
UsEs.-Aside from the characteristics of barium compounds that make barytes of importance in chemical uses, the principal properties of the mineral are whiteness, weight, inertness, and softness. On these distinctive properties its uses depend. The chief use is in the manufacture of paint. For this purpose barytes should not be considered as an adulterant for it has the qualities of a good pigment, possessing a lasting white color that does not blacken from the effects of weather and gases so quickly as does white lead. The barium products in whose manufacture barytes is used may be classed as (I) ground barytes, (!l) lithopone, and (8) barium chemicals.
STATISTICs.-The following table taken from the Mineral Resources of the United States Geological Survey shows the production of Barytes in Georgia from 1914t to 19!l4.
year I Quantity I Value Short Tons
II Year
Quantity Sbort Tons
1914
4,882
1915
31,027
1916
104,784
1917
111,300
1918
69,318
1919
85,303
17,747
1920
84,644
102,825
1921
24,614
401,295
1922
57,045
601,895
1923
83,291
418,178
1924
70,000
667,521
RECENT PRODUCERS OF CRUDE BARYTES:-
1. Bertha Mineral Company, Cartersville.
2. New Riverside Ocher Company, Cartersville.
Value
$790,362 191,442 468,517 . 670,343 564,000
B.dRYTES
15
s. National Pigments & Chemical Company, Cartersville.
4. Thomson, Weinman Company, Cartersville.
5. Paga Mining Company, Cartersville.
6. Sloan and Peebles, Cartersville.
REFERENCES ON BARYTES
1908-Hayes, C. W. and Phalen, W. C. A Commercial Occurrence of Barite near Cartersville, Georgia. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 840-m pp. 8-7, 1908.
1908-Fay, A. H. Barytes. The Mineral Industry, Vol. 17, pp. 7~-78, 1908.
19~o-Hull, J.P. D. Barytes Deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull, 86.
BAUXITE
LocATION.-The bauxite of Georgia occurs m two distinct geological horizons, namely, in the Paleozoic rocks of northwest Georgia and in the Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of south Georgia. The former deposits are limited to six contiguous counties, namely, Walker, Chattooga, Gordon, Bartow, Polk and Floyd, which constitute the middle and south parts of the so-called Paleozoic area. Of these, Bartow and Floyd counties include the vast majority of the ore bodies grouped into fairly well defined districts known as the Hermitage district and the Bobo district. The remaining counties include only one or two deposits each, widely separated, as a rule, from each other.
The Hermitage district is the largest in the Paleozoic area. It includes an area more than 50 square miles, lying between Rome, Kingston and Adairsville, east of the Oostanaula River and north of the Etowah River. It further occupies the contiguous northeastern and northwestern portions, respectively, of Floyd and Bartow counties. As a rule, the deposits are irregularly distributed over the district; but, in some cases, they are sufficiently numerous and near together, to form separate smaller groups, such as the Ridge Valley deposits, etc. The distribution of the ore bodies in this district, as a whole, is a roughly oval-shaped area in outline. The northwestern limits of the area are along a line of contact between the Knox dolomite and the underlying Connasauga shales.
16
GEOLOGIC.dL SURVEY OF GEORGI.d
The Cave Spring section, which is included in the Bobo district, has three distinct deposits grouped along a north-south line, within a half mile of each other, and not more than two miles a little east of south from the town of Cave Spring. These form the most southwesterly known deposits in this part of the State, and are within a comparatively short distance of the Alabama State line. The Bobo district proper consists of a large number of ore banks located between the Southern and the Central of Georgia railroads, about eight miles south of Rome.
The remaining deposits occur in Chattooga, Walker and Gordon counties. The Chattooga county deposits are found in the vicinity of Summerville and Trion Factory, and the Walker county deposits on the Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railroad near Chelsea, while the Gordon county deposits are about one mile northeast of Calhoun.
Recent production of bauxite has been chiefly in points of Georgia in the vicinity of Ellaville and Andersonville, Macon county, and Irwinton, Wilkinson county. Deposits are found also in Baldwin, Twiggs, Schley, Sumter and Stewart counties.
GEOLOGY. The rocks associated with the bauxite deposits of northwest Georgia range from Cambrian to Silurian in age. They include slates, limestones, shales, sandstones and conglomerates, in considerable variety. These have all suffered considerable metamorphism, and in consequence are much changed, as a rule, in lithologic character and structure. The bauxite appears to be confined entirely to the Knox dolomite series of rocks, a magnesian limestone formation of the Cambro-Ordovician age.
The Knox dolomite is the most uniform and persistent formation in the region; and, in connection with the ore deposits, it forms the most important one of the rock terranes. It lies immediately above the Connasauga shales, and has an estimate thickness of 3,000 to 5,000 feet. It is composed of massively bedded, partially crystalline, gray magnesian limestone. An abundance of included silica, in the form of nodules and layers of chert or flint, is a prevailing characteristic of this dolomite. The soluble carbonates of calcium and magnesium are
BdUXITE
17
carried away in solution upon the weathering, leaving the chert and other insoluble portions of the rock, which form a vari-colored siliceous clay with chert fragments as a surface covering. The prevailing depth of this residual material leaves but few exposures of the dolomite visible except where the streams have cut through into the underlying fresh rock. The rocks of the region represent unquestionable sedimentaries; and when originally laid down on the sea bottom, they must have preserved a more or less horizontal position. This original position, however, has been profoundly disturbed, as is shown in the tilting and folding of the rocks at steep and varying angles. In this section, as with Appalachian folds in general, the folds show unequal dips on the two sides of the arch and belong to the unsymmetrical type. They further harmonize with the normal Appalachian type in gentle dips on the southeast sides, and correspondingly steep ones on the northwest. The continued action of the same forces, which produced the folding, resulted in the fracturing and breaking across of the strata in many plares-jaulling.
Two classes of faults have been observed in the region, which show marked differences in many particulars. These are designated by Hayes as minor thrust faults, and major thrust faults. The two apparently bear no close relationship to each other. From field evidence, they were probably formed at different periods of disturbance. The minor thrust faults were likely developed first, and are therefore the older. The two types of faults usually characterize separate or different parts of the area. The distribution of the bauxite seems to have a close connection with the faults.
In South Georgia, the bauxite, as far as has been observed, lies near the contact of the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations and is always contiguous to white clay beds. It lies in the form of horizontal beds directly upon the clays of the Cretaceous and has been observed as bowlders scattered in the soil, together with fragments of pitted and concretionary clay.
MonE OF OccURRENCE.-In some localities, in the Paleozoic area, the deposits occur in regularly stratified beds; in others, they unques-
18
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
tionably represent alteration or residual deposits, while more commonly they form well-defined pocket deposits entirely distinct from the enclosing residual material. Kaolin, and often also iron ore, is invariably associated with the bauxite.
The following types, based on structure, represent the chief varieties of the ore: Pebble ore, Pisolitic ore, Oolitic ore, Vesicular ore, and Amorphous ore. In the first three varieties, the size of the concretions and the character of the matrix are made the basis of differentiation. In the vesicular and amorphous types of ore, the degree of compactness of matrix and concretions and the relative amounts of the two components are the distinguishing factors. In the pebble ore, the matrix is soft, and is not sufficiently strong to hold the pebbles together, when worked or handled; hence they fall apart like loose gravel, when mined. The pebbles vary greatly in size, but the majority of them, perhaps, measure between three-quarters and one and onehalf inches in diameter. They may be simple or complex in structure; perfectly rounded and spherical to irregular in outline; with the nuclei usually powdery and enclosed by hard concentric layers of varying thickness. The pisolitic differs from the pebble type of ore in the size of concretion and the firmness of the matrix. The matrix is usually hard and compact, with the concretions between a quarter and a half inch in diameter, and hard, so that both matrix and concretion break with a conchoidal fracture. The oolitic differs from the pisolitic type by a decrease in size of the concretions. The concretions of this type vary from the size of a pea down to the smallest ore-grain. The vesicular type of ore consists of a compact, dense matrix, from which the concretions have fallen out. In either type of the hard concretionary ore, the concretions, when softer than the matrix, frequently weather upon exposure and fall out, giving a typical vesicular ore on the surface, which grades into the concretionary varieties in the fresh ore underneath. The amorphous ore, as the name implies, consists of the structureless bauxitic clayey matrix, in which concretionary structure is scarcely, if at all, visible. It varies from soft to hard and dense material, closely resembling halloysite.
BAUXITE
19
The Tertiary bauxite deposits, as far as known, always occur in the form of well defined lenticular beds. The different types of ore in this region are praclically the same as in the Paleozoic area, and therefore require no separate description.
HISTORY.-The first discovery of bauxite in America was in 1887, at a point a few miles northeast of Rome, in Floyd county, Georgia. A few fragments of the unknown mineral were picked up on the Holland lot, two miles north of the Ridge Valley Iron Company's furnace at Hermitage. The intimate association, in this locality, of the bauxite with deposits of limonite, which latter deposits had been worked to some extent, led to the discovery of the mineral, bauxite. The bauxite fragments were highly ferruginous and deep-red in color, and were taken by their discoverer, James Holland, to Edward Nichols, President and Acting Chemist of the Ridge Valley Iron Company, thinking they represented an ore of iron. Mr. Nichols attached no special importance to the find at that time; but, shortly afterwards, he made a chemical analysis of the fragments. Finding the percentage of iron low and that of alumina correspondingly high, as compared with iron ores in general, Mr. Nichols identified the material as the mineral, bauxite. He briefly described the discovery and occurrence of the mineral in the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers for 1887.
Bauxite mining in the United States had its beginning in Georgia, when, in April, 1888, the deposits of the mineral on the Holland property, lot 61, 23rd district of Floyd county, were first opened and worked. The first shipments of the ore were made in May, 1889, to the Pennsylvania Salt Company, at Natrona, Pennsylvania, and to Greenwich Point, near Philadelphia. This lot of ore is said to have been used for the manufacture of both alum and the metal, aluminum. In 1889, 728 tons of the ore from Georgia included the total output of bauxite from the United States. Subsequent to the above date, other deposits were opened up in the Paleozoic area, and in a short time bauxite mining became quite active at several localities.
20
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
The Tertiary bauxite deposits of Wilkinson county were discov('red by Mr. Otto Veatch, formerly Assistant State Geologist, on the Honeycutt property in the spring of 1907, while engaged in the study of kaolins of that region. Since the discovery of bauxite in that district a large amount of ore has been shipped and the county at present is an active producer.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The chemical composition of the Georgia bauxites is given in the following table:
AnalyJ'e.r of Georgia Bauxite
Number
H20
AI,Oa
Si02
Fe 2 0a
1
32.66
2
31.70
3
30.03
4
31.40
5
33.06
6
31.36
7
30.53
8
30.16
9
31.23
10
32.20
11
30.70
12
. 30.56
13
32.40
14
32.23
15
31.86
16
30.03
17
31.23
18
30.23
19
31.50
20
30.66
21
29.12
22
26.55
23
32.97
24
30.58
25
I 32.76
26
I 31.03
I
57.18
59.50 54.55 58.55
58.45 57.81 62.52 55.97
57.-50 56.39 62.03
58.96 59.68 59.42 59.16
56.75 57.75 ' 56.91
61.98 57.72 57.58
52.92 60.55 60.64
61.52 62.46
1.86
2.93 1.54 4.54 3.24
7.41 5.36 7.56
3.52 3.08 3.66
5.80 2.60 3.50 4.26
7.84 5.55 8.33
3.22 5.05 9.38 10.17
2.12 2.30 1.18
4.72
6.40 5.40 3.99
2.95 2.65 trace trace
3.51 6.57 4.13
3.44 5.00 4.32 4.48
4.80 3.13 3.56
2.73 0.86 3.51
2.76 2.30 1.96 2.00
2.70 0.23
1.90
0.47 9.09
1.40 1.63 2.36
0.71 1:65 1.40 2.35
0.23 2.90 0.23
none none
1.86 1.87 1.63 1.18
1.90 0.96 7.66
1.89 1.33 1.70
0.81
The first 20 analyses here given were made in the Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from ores from the Paleozoic area and the remaining
analyses by Dr. Edgar Everhart, Chemist of the Geological Survey of Georgia, from ores from the Tertiary deposits.
In its purest form, bauxite contains more or less foreign material, either chemically combined or mechanically admixed. Iron sesquioxide, present in variable amounts, ranging from a trace to percentages equal to and occasionally exceeding that of the alumina, is usually present,
BAUXITE
21
in part replacing the alumina and in part only as an impurity. So common is iron, as a con&tituent or impurity, that it serves as a commercial basis for classifying the ore as light-colored or non-ferruginous bauxite, and red-colored or ferruginous bauxite, averaging from 10 to, in extreme cases, 50 per cent. of iron oxide.
Titanium is invariably present, ranging usually from 1 to 10 per cent., when estimated in the form of titanium dioxide. Analyses indicate that this constituent averages higher in the pisolitic ore and is lowest for the structureless bauxitic clays.
Chemical analyses of the purest bauxites invariably show some silica, which varies from a fraction of one per cent. to several per cent., in the purest ore, and from 30 to 35 per cent. in the low grade types of the material-bauxitic clay. The silica is usually present in the form of the hydrated aluminum silicate clay, which is invariably admixed in varying proportions with the bauxite. It is also present, to some extent, as free silica, as is shown by the microscope.
In addition to these, other common impurities, such as lime, magnesia, phosphoric and carbonic acids, and sometimes the alkalies, soda and potash, amounting to, usually, scarcely more than a trace in each case, are mentioned by various writers. The Georgia bauxite appears generally to be free from these last named impurities.
METHODS OF MINING AND PREPARING THE 0RE.-With one exception, the only systematic mining done in the Georgia area is by means of open cuts or pits and shafts. In case the deposit is located on the ridge-slope, a level cut is made, sufficiently wide for a tramway or for barrows, and deep enough to give a good working face on reaching the ore body. This cut usually serves, also, to drain the working.
The method of mining in open cuts or pits, consists in raising the ore by means of steam hoists or derrickf>. The ore is raised also by means of an inclined cable and cars operated by steam. In the working of shafts, the usual method of hoisting by a hand windlass is practiced, although, in some cases, the steam hoist or derrick doubtless might be employed to some advantage and profit.
22
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORG/d
As a rule, the ore is easy to mine, because of its comparative softness beneath the surface. It is soft enough, in most cases, to be dug up with the pick although blasting is necessary in some cases. Natwithstanding the readiness with which the ore can be removed from its place, more or less expense is involved in mining on account of its variableness in quality, which makes it necessary to assort the ore. Several grades of ore are found in every deposit, and the various grades are separated in the pit by means of screens and hand picking.
The common treatment given the bauxite previous to shipment consists in drying and, occasionally, screening. Log washers also such as are used in treatment of iron and manganese ores have been installed at some mines in North Georgia.
The ore as mined contains a variable, but large, percentage of uncombined water, which adds greatly to the freight charges. It is customary, therefore, at all of the larger mines to dry the ore artificially before shipment, although that from several small deposits of high grade bauxite _i_-s simply air-dried in sheds or on board floors in the sun. The driers used are slightly inclined, rotary-cylinder kilns, about 80 feet long by 8 or 4 feet in diameter. They are usually heated by wood fires, the wet ore passing downward toward the flame. The dried ore is mechanically elevated to overhead bins, from which it is loaded on wagons or trucks by gravity. The drier is said to reduce the weight of the ore 10 per cent.
It is not advisable to heat the ore so highly as to drive off a large part of the combined water. Phillips and Hancock carried on experiments which show that calcining reduces the solubility of the alumina in sulphuric acid of the strength used, although the effect is not great until about 80 per cent of the total combined water is removed. In the type of kiln used it is not likely that more than a very small percentage of the combined water is expelled.
A small amount of the pebble ore is screened to remove admixed sand and clay. The screens used are flat, inclined screens or revolving trommels of about three-eighths inch mesh.
At present, the bauxite mined in Georgia is used almost exclusively in the manufacture of alum and the aluminum alloys and compounds,
BAUXITE
2
and the metal aluminum. More than three-fourths of the ore is consumed, at present in the manufacture of alum while the remainder is employed in the manufacture of the metal aluminum, its alloys and compounds. These proportions are subject, however, to more or less variation from year to year, dependent upon numerous conditions.
Bauxite is also employed to some extent, in the manufacture of certain aluminum salts. used in the manufacture of baking powders and dyes, as well as in iron and steel castings. In addition to the above named uses, bauxite is used in the manufacture of fire-brick and an artificial abrasive called alundum.
STATISTics.-The following table taken from the Mineral Resources, U. S. Geological Survey, shows the production of bauxite in Georgia from 1914 to 19~4.
Year
Quantity Long Tons
1914
*18,547
1915
t28,245
1916
t49,190
1917
52,901
1918
35,637
1919
37,201
-Includes Ala. t-Includes Ala. & Tenn.
Value
Year
Quantity
Value
Long Tons I
!
$ 90,324
1920
144,345
1921
284,810
1922
337,498
1923
265,491
1924
273.155
I
I
34,397 10,200 30,420 22,553 16,140
$300,187 92,600 231,250 141,975 127,022
REFERENCES ON BAUXITE.
1887-Nichols, Edward. Aluminum Ore of Floyd County, Georgia. Am. lnst. Mng. Eng. Trans. Vol. 16, pp. 905-906, 1887.
1893-Spencer, J. W. The Paleozoic Group. The Geology of Ten Counties of Northwestern Georgia and Resources. Ga. Geol. Surv., pp. ~10-~30, 1893.
1895-Hayes, C. W. Bauxite. U. S. Geol. Surv. 16th Ann. Rept., Pt. III, pp. 547-597, 1895.
1901-Watson, Thos. L. The Georgia Bauxite Depo&its; Their Chemical Constituents and Genesis. Am. Geol. Vol. ~7, pp. 199-~~5, 8 pls., 1901.
24
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORG/d
1903-Watson, Thos. L. Bauxite Depo.!il.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. .Surv. Bull. 11, 164 pp., 12 pl.r., 1 map, 190J.
1909-Veatch, Otto. The Bauxite of Wilkin.ron County, Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. BuLL. 18, pp. 430-447, 1909.
1917-Shearer, H. K. Bauxite and Fuller.! Earth of the CoMlal Plain of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey BuLL. J1, pp. 19-140.
CEMENT
LocALITY.-Both natural and Portland cement are made in Georgia. The natural cement rock has been found, so far, at only two localities in commercial quantity, namely, at Cement, Bartow county, and Rossville, Walker county.
The raw materials for the manufacture of Portland cement are utilized at present in Polk county in the vicinity of Rockmart, and in Houston county at Clinchfield. The raw materials, that is, limestone and shale of certain definite chemical composition in close proximity one to the other, are known to occur in Chattooga, Walker and Dade counties and further investigation has shown that the limestones and marbles of the Piedmont Plateau and the limestones and marls of the Coastal Plain are also suitable for the manufacture of Portland cement.
GEOLOGY.-Natural cement is made in Georgia from limestones of two geological formations. The limestones formerly used at Cement, Bartow County are found in the Connasauga formation of Cambrian age, and have been described by Dr. C. W. Hayes of the United States Geological Survey as "being normally composed, at the base, of thin limestones interbedded with shales, then of yellowish or greenish clay shales, and at the top of calcareous shales, grading into blue seamy limestones." The natural cement beds occur near the top ofthe Connasauga formation at Cement. Natural cement and Hydraulic lime were manufactured at one time by the Chickamauga Cement Company at Rossville. The limestone used here is found in the Chickamauga formation of Ordivician age and is exposed over a considerable area. In this vicinity the rocks consist of a blue, thin bedded argillaceous
mestone conta!ning some beds of mottled, purple and dove colored
CEff!ENT
25
limestone, increasing in earthy impurities toward the east and of considerable thickne~~.
The raw materials used in the manufacture of Portland cement at the Southern States Portland Cement Company and at the Georgia Cement and Stone Company, both located near Rockmart in Polk County, are the Chickamauga limestones of Ordivician age and the Rockmart shales, which are the equivalent of the upper portion of the Chickamauga formation, but which are so well defined in this vicinity that they are mapped as a distinct member. These shales immediately overlie the Chickamauga limestones, so that the raw materials used in the manufacture of Portland cement can be obtained from the same quarry. The Chickamauga limestone consists of thin and heavy bedded, high calcium, dark blue, fine grained limestones, interbedded with gray to grayish blue dolomitic limestones. The upper portion of the formation at the property of the Southern States Portland Cement Company consists of dark blue, high calcium lime. However, the formation is usually dolomitic in the upper portion, and the dark blue, high calcium limes occur in more abundance in the lower portion of the formation. No fossils have been found in this vicinity, so that it has been impossible to correlate the individual beds with any degree of certainty.
The shales of the Rockmart formation are of great thickness and the lower portion of the formation has been found to be eminently suitable for the manufacture of Portland cement. The formation consists largely of dark blue to black shales and slates weathering often to olive green and yellow. The lower portion of the formation is remarkably uniform in its lithological character, while the upper portion of the formation is more variable, containing highly ferruginous sandstones, cherty limestones and conglomerates.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The natural cement rock occurs in well defined stratified beds of sedimentary origin at Cement, Bartow County. The beds used in the manufacture of the natural cement differ in chemical composition, some of the beds being highly dolomitic while others are extremely argillaceous, but which on mixing give the re-
26
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
quired chemical composition of a hydraulic cement. The rock used at the Chickamauga Cement Company occurs as thin bedded strata and extends geographically over a considerable area. The limestone used at the Southern States Portland Cement Company occurs as well defined strata which dip at a considerable angle on the eastern portion of the property, so that the limestone can be won by following the strike and plane of the dip. The limestone is considerably folded and on the west side of the fold the beds dip at low angles to the west.
HisTORY.-Natural cement was manufactured in Georgia as early as 1851. Until recently three natural cement plants were operated in the Paleozoic area of Northwest Georgia, The Howard Hydraulic Cement Company, at .Cement Station, Bartow County; The Georgia Cement and Lime Company, at Linwood, Bartow county, and the Chickamauga Cement Company at Rossville, Walker county. At present no nat;ual cement is being produced in the State.
The Portland cement industry began in Georgia in 1903, when the Southern States Portland Cement Company at Rockmart, was organized by Mr. H. P. Vandeventer, at that time secretary and treasurer of the Georgia Slate Company at Rockmart. The Southern States Portland Cement Company bought the property of the Georgia Slate Company with the intention of quarrying the slate and using the waste material resulting from blasting, splitting, sawing, etc., in the manufacture of Portland cement. Limestones were found in the Chickamauga formation north of the town of Rockmart. The Rockmart shales were found to be of suitable composition at the same locality, so that the idea of using waste slate was abandoned and the plant was located on the property where the raw materials were found in juxtaposition. The Georgia Cement and Stone Company formerly the Piedmont Portland Cement Company, Portland, near Rockmart in Polk County, is a producer at present of Portland Cement.
The newest and the most modern Portland cement plant in Georgia, was recently built at Clinchfield, Houston county, on the Georgia, Southern & Florida Railroad. It is owned by the Clinchfield Port-
CEMENT
27
land Cement Corporation. The plant has a capacity of 2,000 barrels of cement per day. It is planned to increase the size of the plant m the near future so that the output will be about 3,000 barrels.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The natural cement rock of the Chickamauga formation is an argillaceous, thin-bedded dark blue limestone resembling the "cement rock" of the Lehigh district of Pennsylvania in its physical properties. The raw material used at the Howard Hydraulic Lime Company consisted of limestones from three beds of the Connasauga formation, each differing in their chemical and physical properties and ranging through an argillaceous siliceous, to a high calcium lime. The limestones of the Chickamauga formation used for making Portland cement in the Rockmart region are dark blue, fine grained, hard, compact limestones and the shales are fine grained semi-crystalline to crystalline, dark blue to black and yellowish green in color.
At Clinchfield the raw materials used are the soft white limestone and fullers earth from the Ocala formation, Eocene, and clay from the Cretaceous.
The following analyses show the character of the constituents which compose the materials used in the manufacture of natural and Portland cement:
N alural Cement
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ____I_ _I_ _n_ _ j__I_I_I_ _
Silica, SiO, _____________________ ---- ____ _
Alumina, AbO,_____ ---------------------Ferric oxide, Fe,O, ______________________ _ Lime, Cao ________________________ -- ___ - _ Magnesia, MgO _________________________ _
22.58
7.23 3.35 48.18 15.00
}n19.50
.
60
J
\
48.86
18.14
27.68
9.10 2.52 57.96 2.52
Total ____________________________ _ 96.22
98.20
99.78
Nos. I and II are from the Howard Hydraulic Lime Company. No. III is from the Chickamauga Cement Company.
28
GEOLOGIC.dL SURVEY OF GEORGI.d
Portland Cement
I --II-- -I-II- -I-V -- -v- - -V-I
Volatile matter_____ -------- _______ 42.86 41.62 42.64 7.10 5.90 6.60
ASilluicmai,nSai,OA,_l 2-0-3-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
.52 .26
LFeimrreic, CoxaiOde_,__F_e_,O__3__-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
1.00 53.04
3.10 1.24 }1.82 .94{
52.67 53.90
57.35 21.18 3.77 4.85
62.60 60.10
}27.30{
22.56 3.94
.66 1.52
- - - - - - Magnesia, MgO ___________________ Tot& _______________________
2.02 99.70
.90 100.11
1.00
---
99.72
2.00 96.25
1.29 .80 97.75 95.52
Nos. I, II and III are limestones of the Chickamauga formation. Nos. IV, V and VI are shales of the Rockmart formation.
UsEs.-Natural and Portland cement are used for so many different purposes and their uses are so rapidly increasing that only a few of the more important uses can be mentioned. Portland cement has replaced natural cement to a large extent where great strength and soundness are required in mammoth construction work, where the material used must be remarkably uniform. Natural cements are used largely as mortars in construction, while Portland cements are used in heavy masonry, and as a paving material, etc.
REFERENCES ON CEMENT
1912-Maynard T. Poole. Lime.rtone.r and Cement Materialr of Norlh Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surr. BuLl. 27, 293 pp. 22 pl., 1912.
1916-Brantley, J. E. Limutone.r and Marlr of the Coa.rtal Plain of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surr. Bull. 21, 300 pp., 11 pl., 1916.
CLAYS~
KAOLINS AND FIRE CLAYS
LocATION.-Kaolin and fire-clay occur in all three of the major geological divisions of the State-the Coastal Plain, the Crystalline area, and Paleozoic area.
The clays of the Fall Line belt are confined to the Cretaceous formation along the northern margin of the Coastal Plain, and occupy a narrow belt extending the entire width of the State from Augusta to Macon and Columbus. The following are localities where the Cre-
~-Written by Otto Veatch formerly Assistant State Geologist.
CLAYS
29
taceous strata are well exposed and where the clays are being mined or utilized. Dry Branch, Twiggs county; Mcintyre, Wilkinson county; Hephzibah, Richmond county; Carr's Stations, on the Georgia Railroad, in Hancock county; Butler, Taylor county; Stephens Pottery, Baldwin county; Lewiston, Gordon, Toomsboro, Gibson and Grovetown.
Fire-clays also occur in the Tertiary formation of the Coastal Plain. A remarkable bed of pure white clay has been discovered on Sweetwater Creek, near Kelley's Mill, in the northern part of Sumter county. White or slightly stained clays are widely distributed in the northern part of Randolph and the southern part of Stewart counties, and are also exposed in the cuts of the Central of Georgia Railway, between Hatcher and Georgetown, Quitman county.
Residual kaolins occur in the Crystalline area, but have received scarcely any development. Small deposits are widely distributed. Deposits which give promise of being of commercial value occur near Union Point, Dallas, Porter Springs, and Jasper.
Bauxite, kaolins and fire-clays occur in the Paleozoic area in Floyd, Bartow, and Chattooga counties. Most of the deposits are near Rome and Cave Spring.
Residual fire-clay, derived from the Knox dolomite, occurs throughout a considerable part of the area underlain by this formation. Clay of this origin is being utilized at Mission Ridge, Walker county.
Flint and plastic clays underlie the coal beds of Dade and Walker counties, but do not possess high refractoriness. An altered Silurian shale, occurring at Aragon, near Rockmart, Polk county, has proved to have some value as a refractory clay.
GEOLOGY.-The kaolins and fire-clays of the State occur in the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations in the Coastal Plain. In the Crystalline area they represent decomposed granite or pegmatite. In the Paleozoic area, the bauxitic clays occur associated with bauxite in the Knox dolomite formation. Residual fire-clays also occur in the Knox dolomite.
MoDE OF OcCURRENCE.-The clays of the Cretaceous and Tertiary occur mainly as pockets or lenticular beds enclosed by sand and sandy
30
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGid
clays. The kaolin of the Crystalline area occurs in veins, sheets and pockets retaining the form of the intrusion from which they are derived. The bauxitic clays of the Paleozoic area are associated with the bauxites, which occur as scattered pocket deposits more or less circular in form. The residual fire-clays from the Knox dolomite also occur in scattered pockets. The fire-clays of the Coal Measures occur as thin layers underlying coal beds.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES.-The clays of the Cretaceous formation are white and stained clays comparatively pure, and closely approach residual kaolins in chemical composition. Selected samples show as high as 99 per cent. clay substance. The purest clays, kaolins and high grade fire-clays run from 40 to 50 per cent. silica and 34 to 40 per cent. alumina; iron oxide is the chief impurity and varies, in a large number of samples analyzed, from .51 per cent. to 2.11 per cent; lime and magnesia are entirely absent or occur in only very minute amounts; the percentage of alkalies is always very small- potash usually exceeds soda; titanium dioxide is always present, sometimes as much as 1.5 and 2 per cent., but, as far as the writer was able to ascertain in the laboratory, it produces no noticeable coloring effect, and its fluxing effect is inappreciable; sulphates and organic matter are rarely present.
The kaolins of the Crystalline area contain high percentages of sand, but when washed are very pure and closely approach kaolinite in composition.
Some of the bauxitic clays tested have been found to approach kaolins in chemical composition and may have some value, in limited quantities, for use in the manufacture of the higher grades of pottery. Others showed a higher percentage of alumina than is found in kaolins, and evidently contained a small percentage of bauxite, AI,O(OH),, which contains 73.9 per cent. of alumina, whereas kaolinite, the assumed base of kaolins, contains only 39.8 per cent. of alumina.
The residual fire-clays of the Knox dolomite contain a very high percentage of silica in the form of small particles of chert and their refractoriness depends mainly upon the silica content. The percentage of iron and alkalies is low.
CLdYS
31
The Coal Measure fire-clays and the Rockmart fire-clays are high in silica, contain a high percentage of fluxes and hence have low fusing points for fire-clays.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIEs.-In texture the Fall Line clays are themselves very fine-grained, but they may often contain rather coarse sand grains. Sieve tests on samples of the crude clays showed about 95 per cent. passing a 200 mesh sieve. In hardness the clays vary from very soft to semi-hard, or slightly mealy, to very hard flint clays which cannot he scratched with the finger nail. Good samples of the soft and semi-hard clays occur in the mines at Dry Branch and Hephzibah, while the hard clay on the Glover place near Gibson is an example of the flint clay. With the exception of the flint clays, all of the Cretaceous clays develop good plasticity, but usually have low air dried strength. In some notable exceptions, however, pure clays were found which showed a maximum air dried strength of 135 pounds per square inch. Most of the clays will show from 10 to 20 or 30 pounds per square inch.
The air shrinkage is usually low, while the fire shrinkage is high and the clays show a strong tendency to crack and check in burning. Leaving out the exceptionally ferruginous clays, the Tuscaloosa clays burn pure white, cream color, or buff, depending upon a number of variable factors. The fusing points of the better clays are high, ranging from cone 30, 8,146 F., to cone 86, 8,862 F.
The bauxitic clays are of various colors, determined by the amount and distribution of iron oxide, white, mottled, pink, yellow and red. The white and pink are freest from impurities, hut even the highly colored clays, which contain bauxite, are highly refractory. Some of the white clays show a fair plasticity, but in the greater part of the clays, there is a prevailing lack of plasticity, which is much to their disadvantage. The air dried tensile strength is low, rarely exceeding 15 pounds per square inch. The air shrinkage is usually low, and the fire shrinkage high, and when burned alone, the clays crack badly, especially the bauxite clays. In point of refractoriness, these clays are excelled by none in the State, and in this property, perhaps, their chief
32
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
value lies. Some of these clays, tested in a Deville furnace, were unfused at cone 36, 3,369l F. The high percentage of alumina, partly bauxite, will make basic brick, which should make such clays valuable for certain uses. The lean bauxitic clays and the low grade bauxites would perhaps have to be calcined (elimination of the combined water, or water of hydration) before burning. All of the bauxite mines contain white clays. The ore has been worked out of some, but the clays remain as a potential source of wealth.
The residual Knox dolomite clays have poor plasticity and strength, and require a strong clay for a bond. The clay used at Mission Ridge fuses at cone SO, 8,146 F.
The Coal Measure clays have fair plasticity, but their fusing points are too low for them to be of much value for refractory products.
The Rockmart altered shale, above mentioned, has poor plasticity and low strength, and a fusing point at about 3,000 F.
UsEs.-The kaolins and fire-clays of the Coastal Plain, particularly those of the Cretaceous, are suitable for paper filler, white ware pottery, electrical porcelain, sanitary ware, fire-clay products, and terra cotta. Most of the clay mined is shipped to Northern markets. The fire-clays of the Paleozoic area are used mainly for fire-brick. The Aragon fire-clay is used in terra cotta and stoneware mixtures. The kaolins of the Crystalline area are undeveloped, but will probably be found suitable for the higher grades of pottery.
BUILDING BRICK, SEWER PIPE, ROOFING TILE, AND OTHER CLAYS.
LocATION.-Clays suitable for use in the manufacture of any of the common clay products are widely distributed. The alluvial clays along the large rivers and the shales afford a good quality of material for common building brick. The clays which have probably been most successfully used are the Pleistocene alluvial clays of the upper part of the Coastal Plain. These clays occur in terraces along the Chattahoochee, Flint, Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Savannah rivers, and are being most successfully used at Columbus, Macon, Milledgeville and Augusta. These, in addition to being excellent brick clays, are suitable for sewer
CLAYS
33
pipe, drain tile, and earthenware, and the better quality offers possibilities for roofing tile. Deposits of alluvial clay near Atlanta and at Rome are extensively utilized for common brick. Residual clays are widely distributed over the northern portion of the State, but are mainly of only local value.
A deposit of roofing tile clay was exploited at one time near Ludowici, Liberty county. The deposit is alluvial in character and is located on Jones Creek, a small tributary of the Altamaha River, and is of Pleistocene age, probably the equivalent of the "second bottom" terrace deposits of the Savannah, Ocmulgee, and Chattahoochee. The clay is 4 to 7 feet in thickness, very fine-grained, has good plasticity and strength and burns to a light red color. Terrace clays along the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Chattahoochee also offer possibilities for roofing tile.
The plastic white clays of the Fall Line belt, together with certain bluish alluvial clays in the Piedmont Plain, furnish ample material for terra cotta products.
UsEs.-The principal clay industry of the State is in the manufacture of common brick, ~3 plants being in operation at present. Large plants are located at M.acon, Atlanta, Augusta and Columbus. There are 7 large sewer pipe plants, 4 face brick plants, 3 hollow building tile plants and 8 plants producing pottery products.
The most up-to-date face brick plant, probably in the South, was completed recently at Gordon, Wilkinson county. The capacity is at present 70,000 bricks per day, but it is expected that the plant will b.e enlarged to a capacity of ~10,000 bricks per day.
SHALES
LocATION.-The shales of Georgia, suitable for clay products, are confined to the Paleozoic area, comprising 10 counties in the northwestern part of the State. The principal shales, most suitable for clay products and most accessible, occur m the Floyd, Rockwood, Rockmart, and Connasauga formations, in Floyd, Bartow, Polk,
34
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORG/d
Whitfield, Murray, Walker and Chattooga counties. There are also areas of so-called "shales" in the Piedmont region, though this rock is highly metamorphosed, semi-crystalline and within itself is of little value for clay products. The shales of the Paleozoic area underlie extensive areas and belts and are at many points accessible to railway lines.
GEOLOGY AND MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The shales range in age from Cambrian to Carboniferous. The "shales" or schists of the Crystalline area are of unknown age, probably Cambrian or pre-Cambrian. They have been greatly folded, faulted and metamorphosed and where undecomposed by weathering agencies are often hard and stony in character. They attain great thickness, the principal shale formations varying from 500 or 600 to 2,000 or 3,000 feet.
CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIEs.-The shales, generally, are deficient in plasticity and have low air-dried strength. The samples tested by this department varied from 20 to 75 pounds per square inch. They have l~w drying and burning shrinkages, burn to a hard body at low temperatures and have low vitrifying points. With a few exceptions they are high in iron oxide, and are red burning. Their slaking properties are generally poor. They can be dried and burned rapidly. They are generally highly siliceous and in some of the formations they are verY. sandy and grade into sandstone. Analyses of samples show that they contain only a trace or a very small percentage of lime, though thin beds of limestone occur in them. The shales of the Cambrian and Silurian formations are generally free from carbonaceous matter, those of the Devonian and Carboniferous may be carbonaceous. The quantity of iron sulphide i.s rarely sufficient to be objectionable.
UsEs.-The shales should be found suitable for common brick, and if properly handled will make a superior quality, notwithstanding their low plasticity. There are also localities where they give promise, either alone or mixed with other clays, of being suitable for vitrified brick. They are being utilized at Calhoun, Plainville and Chatsworth for common, face brick and roofing tile; at Rockmart and Rome for
...../.
SHALES
35
common brick, and at Blowing Springs and Mission Ridge, Walker county, mixed with other clays, for sewer pipe and building brick, respectively. The shales warrant a much further development than they have at present received.
STATISTICs.-The following table taken from the Mineral Resources, U. S. Geological Survey, shows the value of clay products sold in Georgia from 1914 to 1924.
Year
Value
Year
Value
1914
$2,263,034
1915
1,826,842
1916
2,348,781
1917
2,414,368
1918
2,944,869
1919
3, 796,160
1920
$5,572,999
1921
3,357,374
1922
4,157,601
1923
5,739,128
1924
6,032,950
REFERENCES ON CLAYS
1894-Spencer, J. W. The Paleozoic Group. The Geology of Ten Counties of Northwestern Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv., 406 pp., 1894.
1898-Ladd, Geo. E. A Preliminary Report on a Part of lhe ClayJ' of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 6-d, 204 pp., 28 pl.r., 1898.
1899-Ladd, Geo. E. Notes on the Cretaceous and Associated Clays of Middle Georgia. Am. Geol. Vol. XXIII, pp. 240-249, 1899.
1907-Veatch, Otto. Kaolins and Fire-Clays of Central Georgia. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 315, pp. 303-314, 1907.
1907-Veatch, Otto. Kaolin Mining in Georgia. Eng. & Min. Jour. Feb. 9, 1907, pp. 278-279.
1908-Veatch, Otto. Kaolins of the Dry Branch Region. Economic Geology, Vol. III, pp. 109-117, 1908.
1909-Veatch, Otto. Clay DepMilJ' of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv., Bull. 18, 453 pp., 32 pl.r., 3 mapJ', 1909.
1909-Ries, H. Clays, Their Occurrence. Properties and Uses, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, N.Y., 1909.
COAL
LocATION.-The coal deposits are confined to Lookout, Sand and Pigeon mountains, which are located in the extreme northwestern part of the State in Walker, Chattooga and Dade counties. The deposits
36
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
of Walker county occur in Pigeon Mountain and along the eastern side of Lookout Mountain. The most valuable coal seams in this county appear to be in the vicinity of the Durham mines. These mines are located on what is known as Round Mountain, a small elevation located near the central axis of Lookout Mountain. Rourld Mountain, as the name suggests, is a nearly circular mountain having an area of s.everal hundred acres and an elevation of about 800 feet above the surface of Lookout Mountain, on which it is located.
The deposits of Chattooga county are limited to a small area in its extreme northwestern corner along the Georgia-Alabama line. The exposures of coal here, as in Walker county, are near or on the eastern brow of Lookout Mountain at an elevation from 500 to 600 feet above the valley. This county, so far, has produced no coal, but, nevertheless, there are a number of places where promising .exposures occur.
The coal area of Dade county exceeds that of any other county in the State. The deposits are confined to the western side of Lookout and the northern portion of Sand Mountain. The main coal mines of this county are on Sand Mountain in the vicinity of Cole City. In addition to these workings, there has also been a limited amount of coal mined near Rising Fawn, in the southwestern part of the county, only a short distance from the Georgia-Alabama line.
The total coal area of Georgia is about 170 square miles.
GEoLOGY.-The geology of the coal fields of Georgia is quite simple. The Carboniferous and the underlying strata, which were formerly laid down as horizontal beds of sand, clay, etc., on the sea bottom, have been changed by lateral pressure into a number of huge anticlinal and synclinal folds, having a northeast-southwest trend. One of the most prominent of these folds is the Lookout syncline, forming Lookout Mountain. This fold, which has its northern terminus in Tennessee, traverses the northwestern corner of Georgia, and continues southward into Alabama. The width of the fold, as measured by the limits of Lookout Mountain, varies from one to five miles. Its greatest width is just south of McLamore's Cove, near the Georgia-Alabama line, from which point it gradually decreases in width to the north. With a few
,:....-.
COAL
37
local exceptions, the fold is quite symmetrical; that is, the strata from both sides of the mountain dip at about the same angle towards the axis of the fold. At the head of McLamore's Cove, the Lookout syn cline sends off to the northeast a small secondary syncline, forming Pigeon Mountain. These folds are separated from each other by the Chattanooga anticline, which terminates in the head of McLamore's Cove, and extends northeast, along the east side of the mountain, to Chattanooga. East of the Pigeon Mountain syncline, and forming the eastern boundary of the southern extension of the Lookout syncline, is the Chattanooga anticline, which extends for many miles to the northeast.
West of I..ookout Mountain, the structure here described is again repeated. To the extreme "northwest, is the broad syncline of Sand Mountain, followed by the Lookout Valley anticline, which stops short in Deerhead Cove, thus separating from the main syncline, the Fox Mountain syncline, a counterpart of Pigeon Mountain, which, in turn, is limited on the east by the Wills Valley anticline.
In addition to the large geological structural features, above re ferred to, there are minor ones which have a very important bearing on the commercial value of the coal seams. These minor features, which are common in all coal fields, are small folds, faults, and irregularities in the thickness of beds.
AssociATED RocKs.-The coal deposits of Georgia occur in both the Lower and Upper Coal Measures. The Lower Coal Measure con sists of what is known as the Lookout sandstone, which is made up of sandstone, conglomerate, shales and coal. The formation varies in thickness in northwest Georgia from 400 to 500 feet. Its upper limit is defined by a heavy bed of conglomerate often seen forming the uppermost cliffs along the margin of Sand and Lookout mountains. The upper beds of the Lookout formation are made up chiefly of sandstone, with thin beds of argillaceous shale, and from 2 to 5 coal seams. The sandstone, in places, is coarse-grained, and it occasionally passes into a conglomerate. It is often cross-bedded, and, at some points, it shows numerous impressions of fossil plants. The shales associated
38
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
with the sandstone of the upper beds of the Lookout Mountain formation are of a dark or almost black color. The lower portion of the Lookout Mountain formation consists of red and gray shales, with a few thin beds of sandstone and limestone. The shales, forming the upper part of the lower division of the Lookout formation, are usually quite sandy, while those beds occurring at a lower horizon are distinctly argillaceous. Associated with the latter shales are a few thin beds of limestone. These calcareous beds increase in number as the Bangor limestone below is approached. At some points along the western slope of Lookout Mountain, the sandy shales above referred to contain numerous fossils, the most abundant being bryozoa and fragments of crinoid stems.
The Lookout Mountain sandstone in northwest Georgia forms the surface rock along the margin and the upper slopes of Sand and Pigeon mountains. It caps Rocky and Little Sand mountains east of Taylor's Ridge, and occurs in a small isolated area northeast of Ringgold, near the Georgia-Tennessee line. The total exposed area of the Lookout Mountain formation in northwest Georgia is estimated to be about 170 square miles.
The Upper Coal Measures include a siliceous series of rocks known as the Walden sandstone. It forms the upper member of the sandstone and conglomerates of Lookout, Sand and Pigeon mountains, and is confined entirely to the top of these mountains. The formation which is made up of sandstone, conglomerate and shale, with from two to seven seams of coal, attains its greatest thickness at Round Mountain in the vicinity of the Durham coal mines. Its approximate thickness at this point has been placed by Hayes at 930 feet.
The sandstones and conglomerates of the Walden formation differ but little from the sandstones and conglomerates of the underlying formation. The shales are also quite similar; but, as a general rule, the Walden shales are more micaceous and sandy; and, at the same time, they are more fossiliferous; especially is this true of the shales associated with the coals.
COAL
39
HisTORY.-Prior to 1891, all of the coal mined in Georgia was ob-
tained from Dade county, in the vicinity of Cole City. The first mines
operated in this district were opened by Gordon & Russell more than a
half century ago, and the coal was hauled by wagon to Shellmound, a
distance of about six miles.
It is a difficult matter to obtain any very reliable information as
to the aggregate amount of coal taken from the several mines in the
Cole City district from the time of their earliest workings to the present.
The only trustworthy information, as far as the writer is able to ascertain,
is to be found in the Twentieth Annual Report of the United States
Geological Survey, and is as follows:
Years
l Short Tons
Years
Short Tons
1884 _________________ _ 1885 _________________ _ 1886 _________________ _ 1887 _________________ _
150,000 150,000 223,000 313,715
1888 _________________ _ 1889 _________________ _ 1890 _________________ _ 189.L _______ ----------
180,000 225,934 225,337 171,000
Subsequent to the last date here given, the entire coal output for the State is included in one table in the United States report, so that it is practically impossible to say what proportion of each year's production was the output of the Cole City mines. The mines were worked extensively prior to 1884, under the management of ex-Governor Joseph E. Brown and others; but no record of the output is now obtainable.
The following table gives the approximate date of opening and the date of closing the coal mines in the vicinity of Cole City:
Name of Mine
When Opened When Closed
Castle Rock__________________________________ _ Clordon ______________________________________ _ Cole City__________ ------ ____________________ _ New South Wales ____________________________ _ Elijah_______________________________________ _ Rattlesnake. ________________________ - _____ --_Ferndale_____________________________________ _ Pine Mountain _______________________________ -
Raccoon--------------------------------------
Not known
Not known 1881 1882 1884 1890 1892 1898 1901
1878(?) 1881 1891 1885 1892 1899 1901 1898
40
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORG!d
A workable coal seam has long been known to outcrop at the base of Round Mountain. At two or more points, it is said to have been worked to a limited extent prior to the Civil War, when the commercial value of the coal was fully demonstrated by its use in the blacksmith forge. The older excavations at the base of the mountain on the south side, now known as Green's bank, are pointed out as the remains of one of these early workings. Much of the coal used 30 years ago in the blacksmith shops, both on Lookout Mountain and in the adjacent valleys, was obtained from Round Mountain.
Active mining operations might be said to have begun at Round Mountain in 1891, a few months previous to the completion of the Chickamauga and Durham railroad to that point. The first shipments were made in 1892, since which date the mines have been in continuous operation.
CHEMICAL PaoPERTIEs.-The chemical and heating qualities of the Lookout and Sand mountains coal, made under the direction of the
late Dr. W. H. Emerson, of the Georgia School of Technology, are
shown in the following tables:
Number
1 2 3 4 5
Carbon
85.75 86.97 79.41 85.07 84.32
Hydrogen
4.63 4.44 4.60 4.48 4.72
Water
.88 1.06
.93 .77 1.21
Sulphur
.79 .62 .88 .88 .78
Nitrogen
1.44 1.25 1.39 1.50 1.66
Ash
3.17 2.00 9.05 3.42 4.20
Calculated
No. Heating Calorl-
Value
meter
Difference
Difference Per Cent
Heating Value Per Gram of Combustion
Fixed Carbon, Ash
and Moisture free.
1
8,366
8,415
-49
-.6
8,770
79.1
2
8,351
8,409
-58
-.7
8,675
78.4
3
7,821
7,763
+58
+.7
8,624
75.3
4
8,234
8,290
-56
-.7
8,652
78.0
5
8,292
8,211
+81
+1.0
8,680
78.1
I. Lump coal, Durham Mine, Walker County. 2. S. T. Carson's property, Walker County. Vein 120 feet below Durham.
3. S. T. Carson's property, Walker County. Vein 180 feet below Durham. 4. Washed coal, Durham Mine.
5. Unwashed coal, Lookout Coal and Coke Company, Walker County.
COAL
41
The last two columns show that all these coals belong to the same class, the differences not being greater than those that might arise in coal from the same mine from difference of sample, combined with experimental errors. They fall in the lower part of the semi-bituminous class, whose heating value, according to Prof. Wm. Kent, ranges from 8,666 to 8,888 calories, and whose fixed carbon ranges from 75 to 85 per cent.
This class of coals has the maximum heating value, being superior to the anthracites, because of their higher content of hydrogen, and superior to the other bituminous coals, because of their lower content of oxygen. These should be good steam coals and coking coals. N umber 1 is very similar to the Pocahontas of Virginia in compo1>ition and heating value.
The following table, taken from the Mineral Resources, U. S. Geological Survey, shows the production of coal in Georgia from 1914 to 1924:
Year
Quantity Short Tons
Value
. 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918
166,498 134,496 173,554 119,028 66,716
$239,462 231,861 310,093 301,391 239,377
b-Included in undistributed.
Year
Quantity
Value
Short Tons - - - - -
1919
53,337
$198,033
1920
50,156
251,000
1921
33,815
171,000
1922
60,636
246,000
1923
75,620
327,000
1924
(b)
(b)
REFERENCES ON COAL
1893-Spencer, J. W. The Paleozoic Group. The Geology of Ten Counties of Northwestern Georgia and Resources. Ga. Geol. Surv. pp. 247-260, 1893.
1894-Hayes, C. W. Ringgold Folio, Georgia and Tennessee. U.S. Geol. Surv. 1894.
1895-Hayes, C. W. Stevenson Folio, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. U. S. Geol. Surv. 1895.
1904-McCallie, S. W. d Preliminary Report on the Coal Depo.rit.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 12, 121 pp., 14 pl.r., 60 fig.r., 1904.
42
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
COPPER LocATION.-The most extensive deposits of copper, so far located in the State, are to be found in Fannin, Cherokee and Haralson counties. Those in Fannin county are known as the Mobile Mine and "Lot 20." Both of these mines are located in the extreme northern part of the county only a short distance from the Georgia-Tennes!>ee line and within less than three miles of the famous Ducktown copper mining district. These mines may be said to form the southern extension of the Ducktown deposits. The Cherokee copper deposits have been worked at only one place, namely, the Canton Copper mine, located on the Canton-Marietta public road about one and one-fourth miles south of Canton. The Waldrop Copper mine, in Haralson county, is located about four miles northwest of Draketown, near the Haralson-Polk county line. This mine was originally worked as a copper mine, but later as a pyrites mine. In addition to the deposits here named, copper is also known to occur in Lincoln, Lumpkin, and Fulton counties. GEoLOGY.-The copper deposits all occur in what is known as the Crystalline area. Those in Fannin, Cherokee, and Haralson counties are associated with highly metamorphic sediments, probably lower Cambrian in age, while the deposits in Lumpkin, Fulton, and Lincoln counties occur in older rocks, probably Archaean. The rocks associated with the copper deposits consist chiefly of highly metamorphic schist, gneisses, and conglomerate, all of which are usually much folded and contorted. MonE OF OccURRENCE.-The copper ores always occur in veins which are often quite variable, both in width and longitudinal extent. The veins frequently become so variable in width that they may be spoken of as a series of greatly elongated lenses connected by narrow stringers. They have the appearance of having been deposited along crushing or shearing zones and for that reason do not always show welldefined walls. Carl Henrich, in speaking of the copper veins of Fannin county, says:' "All of the ore deposits south of the Ocoee River
1. The Ducktown Ore Deposits, Trans. Am. & Inst. Min. Eng., 1896, Vol. XXV pp. 173-245.
COPPER
43
are smaller than the Ducktown ore deposit proper, the ore-bodies being smaller and further apart. They have certainly much less chance of extent, either horizontally or in depth, besides being much smaller, as a rule. I have, although, seen slopes in the Mobile mine 20 and 24 feet wide in places, which had been filled with solid ore." The orebodies on "Lot 20" are said to reach a maximum width of 15 feet. The ore-bodies at the Canton and the Waldrop mines are similar to those of Fannin county, but they are generally smaller. In strike and dip, the copper veins always conform to the country rock.
CHARACTER OF THE 0REs.-The ores, for convenience of description, may be divided into three zones. The upper or superficial zone extends from the surface to what may be termed the constant waterlevel and consists mainly of porous, reddish or brownish iron ores, known as gossan. This portion of the ore-body, which often extends to a depth of 80 feet or more, contains but little or no copper and is therefore of no commercial value, except as an iron ore. Below the gossan is found the black copper zone, which varies from a few inches to a foot or more in thickness and consist's mainly of black copper oxide, green and blue carbonates, and occasionally a small amount of native copper in the form of shreds or thin leaves. The third zone lies below the black copper and consists of the unaltered part of the orebody. This part of the vein is made up of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, together with quartz, zoisite, hornblende, and other accessory minerals. The ore from this zone carries on an average from 2 to 3 per cent. copper, but in some instances it has been known to run much higher.
HisTORY.-Practically all of the copper mining in Georgia was done prior to or shortly after the Civil War, and was the direct outgrowth of' the discovery of the rich copper deposits in the Ducktown region. It was the prevailing opinion of prospectors at that time that tlie copper-bearing belt of Tennessee extended southwest through Georgia into Alabama, and as a result of this belief there was much prospecting done in Georgia and in a few instances some very favorable prospects were located. Among these prospects were the mines above mentioned, which for a time produced considerable copper. The only reliable data
44
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGld
on the production of copper from these old mines are some notes on "Lot 20." Mining operations appear to have commenced in 1861 and in the following year the lessee, Mr. James Phillips, mined and shipped from the property 35.51 tons, valued at $2,451.80. In 1866 the same lessee mined and sold to the Ducktown smelter 246.64 tons, valued at lj!8,426.87. Subsequent to the last date, the property became involved in a protracted law-suit, and was idle for many years. During the World War the mine was again put in operation and produced a considerable amount of ore. The Mobile mine, located in the same vicinity as "Lot 20," also produced considerable copper in the early sixties, but no reliable record of the production is at hand.
No copper mines are at present operated in the State, though the U. S. Geological Survey, as late as 1906, reported 17,182 pounds of blister copper from the Seminole gold mine in Lincoln county, where a small smelter was operated for a time. This copper was chiefly a by-product obtained from the gold ores of the Seminole mine.
UsEs.-Copper has various uses. At present nearly 50 per cent. of the copper mined in this country is used in the electrical industries for copper wire and for other purposes. Considerable amount is also used in the manufacture of brass and in castings as well as in sheet copper used for roofing and other purposes. A limited amount of copper is used in coinage. The United States one-cent piece contains 95 per cent. copper, while all silver and gold coins contain 10 per cent copper.
REFERENCES ON COPPER
1896--Henrich, Carl. The Ducktown Ore Deposits and Their Treatment of the Ducktown Copper Ores. Am. lnst. Mng. Engrs. Trans. Vol. 25, pp. 173-245, 1896.
1902-McCallie, S. W. The Ducktown Copper District. Eng. & Min'g. Jour. Vol. 24, pp. 439-441, 5 figs., 1902.
1904-Weed, W. H. Copper Deposits of Georgia. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 225, pp. 180-181, 1904.
1904-Watson, Thos. L. The Seminole Copper Deposits of Georgia. U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 225, pp. 182-186, 1904.
1918-Hull, J. P. D. and Shearer, H. K. A preliminary report on a part of the Pyrites Deposits of Georgia. 224 pp. 1918.
CORUNDUM
45
CORUNDUM
LocATION.-The corundum deposits of Georgia occur in the Crystalline area, being found in a narrow belt whose width, as it enters Georgia from North Carolina, is limited to the region between the Laurel Creek corundum mine, Rabun county, and Brasstown Creek valley, Towns county. This represents a distance, east and west, of about forty miles. The belt, which is confined chiefly to the Chattahoochee drainage basin, is supposed to narrow down, to the southward, and enters Alabama from Troup county. Corundum is known to occur in the following counties: Rabun, Towns, Union, Lumpkin, Habersham, Hall, Cherokee, Cobb, Forsyth, Paulding, Douglas, Carroll, Heard, Troup and Walton. The chief corundum output has come from the Laurel Creek mine, located in the extreme northeastern part of Rabun county, about 16 miles from Clayton.
GEOLOGY.-The corundum deposits in Georgia usually. occur in basic magnesian rocks, including chrysolite, anthophylite, serpentinized chrysolites, schistose chlorite and steatite or soapstone. These form igneous intrusions along the lamination l~nes of the crystalline rocks, the gneisses and schists, showing by existing characteristics that they were distended prior to the final folding of this region, and probably at a time when the beds of these crystalline rocks were made a portion of the continent. The great earth movements that uplifted the area developed lines of weakness and cracks, which were apparently filled by an injection of igneous matter. A portion of the rents thus produced are now filled by the basic magnesian silicates, in which the corundum deposits occur. Earth movements, since, have concealed, in a great measure, the metamorphic influences of this molten material, and have likewise folded some of the peridotite alterations into corresponding relations with the schist and gneiss.
A matter of note is the constant presence of hornblende-gneiss, either on one side or the other of these formations. Such being the case, and since these gneissic-hornblende formations, varying from fifty to three hundred feet and more in width, are continuous for miles across the country, they act as an excellent guide in a search for the corundum-
46
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
bearing formations. Gneiss or mica-schist seems always to surround the peridotites, or "chrysolite formations," as they are commonly called, the hornblende-gneiss apparently never coming in close contact with the peridotites. The age to which the rocks associated with the corundum deposits of Georgia belong is probably Archaean or pre-Cambrian.
MonE OF OccURRENCE.--The Georgia corundum occurs in veins intersecting the peridotites and their alterations. Sometimes it occurs in the contact bodies, that is, in the gneiss, mica-schist or hornblendegneiss such an occurrence, however, has not been observed in Georgia. The veins vary in form from those having practically parallel walls which are usually inclined and de&cend to unknown depths to simply lenticular pockets. In width, the veins have been found from one to twelve feet.
The matrix of these veins differs not only in different but in the same, localities. These four types have been noticed, namely: lime-soda feldspar, with quartz and phlogopite, also with vermiculites instead of phlogopite; lime-soda .feldspar with actinolite; a coarse-grained aggregate of lim~-soda feldspar and a black hornblende, (margarite is sometimes present in place of the feldspar); a massive vein made up of a light grass-green amphibole, lime-soda feldspar and a little chromite. All these types have their walls of compact, scaly chlorite, which quite frequently contain corundum. The first type is the most common; and scattered through it, or, as is usually the case of small corundum, in "bunches" or "pockets," occur the various colored varieties of corundum. In such veins, also, immense specimens of massive corundum are found. The second type is apparently rare. In this, only small, irregular pieces of corundum have been found and these usually possess an outer zone of some alteration product of the corundum, usually margarite. The third type is more common than the second but it differs from the first two in its massive, pegmatic character and in its hardness. The feldspar and hornblende are both apparently little altered and are about equally proportionate. Gray, grayish-blue, and slightly pink corundum are evenly distributed through the mass in
CORUNDUL1!
47
irregular grains, varying from the size of a pea to several inches in diameter. Margarite has been observed in such veins largely developed. The fourth type is very rare. It is known. only at one locality. The rock is made up of fine blades of smaragdite, of a beautiful light grassgreen shade, feldspar, and small grains of pink and ruby-red corundum, profusely scattered through the mass.
All varieties of corundum have been found in Georgia. The principal variety is the non-transparent variety. A few gems of the variety, sapphire, have been found at the Hog Creek mine, near Hiwassee, Towns county. T.hese were small, prismatic crystals of ruby color, but somewhat cloudy. A few gems of sapphire are said to have been found at the Laurel Creek mine in Rabun county; this report, however, is not authentic.
The corundum of Georgia is usually pink, gray or blue, these colors frequently occurring in the same specimen. Shades of red and light to dark-blue are common. White corundum is rare, and shades of yellow and brown have not been observed.
Georgia corundum is frequently found in crystals; generally in sixsided prisms, and usually without terminations, though sometimes they are terminated by pyramidal faces. More highly modified forms have been found at the Laurel Creek mine. In the main, however, it occurs in small grains or masses. Massive pieces, weighing several hundred pounds, have frequently been taken from the Laurel Creek mme.
HisTORY.-The gold washers knew of the presence of corundum in Georgia "early in the forties," but they paid no attention to it. About 1852, Mr. Plant, banker at Macon, Georgia, sent a ruby, a small, red hexagonal prism, to Professor Shepard of Amherst College, which was said to have come from a gold mine in Habersham county. Similar brief mention, by writers of the period of 1870, place the knowledge of its presence in Georgia at an early date in the American history of corundum; yet, there seems to have been no systematic search made for the mineral at this time. About 1870, Mr. William R. McConnell, of Hiawassee, Towns county, an enthusiastic explorer, found
48
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGld
a considerable quantity of surface corundum on his estate and, not knowing what it was, he piled it up for later determination. Shortly after, a specimen of this was shown to Rev. C. D. Smith, who immediately recognized it as corundum.
Corundum was first discovered on Laurel Creek in the early seventies by an Englishman, named Thompson. ColonelJencksfollowed this discovery by examination, and worked intermittently during 1873 and 1874. Altogether, only a few months' work was put in, and the find seemed so poor that the property was finally abandoned. On 1880, several men, living in the neighborhood, mined it for asbestos. Their mining was much hampered by the frequent occurrence of hard and heavy rocks, which they were forced to remove. The nature of these rocks was unknown to them; consequently they dumped them to one side. This dump was corundum. Dr. H. S. Lucas of Chester, Massachusetts, who already had been for some time actively engaged in corundum prospecting through North Carolina, hearing of these works, visited the locality and at once purchased the property for the Hampden Emery Company of Massachusetts.
Under the able management of Dr. Lucas, corundum veins were exposed, at Laurel Creek, a plant was established, and what had formerly been a poor asbestos mine soon became one of the main sources of supply to the corundum trade of this country. Work was continued from 1880 to 1892 with eminent success. In the latter year, the hillside, under which they were working the most paying vein, caved in, and for a time work was paralyzed. At this time, they had reached a depth of ISO feet, and were working in a vein averaging 8 feet in width. Up to the summer of 1893, work was carried on unsuccessfully at other points the owners report, while a shaft was being run down through the debris to the main vein. In September of the same year, the mines were closed down. The Track Rock Corundum mine of Union county was also worked to a limited extent about the time the Lucas mine was in operation, but only a limited amount of corundum was ever shipped.
>
CORUNDUM
49
VARIETIES OF CoRuNDUM.-Three varieties of corundum are recognized,. namely, sapphire, corundum and emery. The purer kinds of fine colors, transparent and translucent and useful as gems, are known as sapphires the dull colors, not transparent, are called corundum; while the black or grayish black variety intimately mixed with oxide of iron, either magnetite or hematite, is known as emery.
The variety termed "sapphire" includes all those kinds of corundum, which, on account of their purity in color, transparency and translucency, may be used as gems. Under this head, therefore, are grouped many stones which may be divided into two varieties, namely, the ruby and the sapphire. The ruby is pre-eminently the most important of the "precious stones" of the corundum family. Its marvelous beauty, which induced worship from the ancients, has ever awakened an allied feeling in the hearts of Christians. Stones of true "pigeon blood" color are extremely rare and valuable. Burma, Siam and Ceylon are practically the only commercial fields; and, of these, Burma alone has become celebrated for the production of the true color, though occasionally fine gems are found both in Siam and Ceylon. A perfect ruby of one carat weight, or more, has always taken precedence of the diamond in value. Of the two, equally perfect and five carats in weight, the ruby will bring ten times the price of the diamond. The sapphire was ranked by the ancients almost as high, if it was not held in quite as close esteem, as the ruby. To it, as to the ruby, they ascribed wonderful properties, and prized it exaltedly. As with the ruby, commerce knows only of a few localities in which it is found in sufficient abundance to pay for mining. The finest sapphire comes from India.
The variety "corundum" includes all semi-transparent and translucent kinds of corundum not useful as gems; also, all the dull and opaque kinds, except emery. Three types are commonly distinguished in mines, namely, sand corundum, block corundum, and crystal corun-
50
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGI/1
dum. Sand corundum is a granular corundum, coarse or fine, usually found embedded in a gangue of vermiculites or of decomposed feldspar. In some veins, it occurs free, while in others, alteration or associate minerals, commonly albite, margarite or damourite, wrap it closely, forming a crust, which frequent washing will not remove. The color of sand corundum is usually gray to grayish-blue, although red is common, and all the other colors may be detected. This is much the most productive of corundum found, and, therefore, the most worked. Block Corundum includes the massive corundum with nearly rectangular parting or pseudo-cleavage. The largest specimen of this kind, known to have been found, was taken from the Laurel Creek mine, Rabun county, Georgia, and was said to weigh over 5,000 pounds; other immense blocks have been taken from the same mine, on account of which the mine is frequently called a "block corundum mine." Crystal corundum is quite common, and includes all corundum possessing crystal form. It is present with both the sand and the block corundum, and ranges in size from very minute crystals to those of magnificent proportion. Among the largest crystals ever found were some which were taken from the so-called block corundum veins at Laurel Creek mine during the summer of 1893.
Emery is an intimate mixture of corundum and magnetite or hematite. It is without crystal form, and has the appearance of a finegrained iron ore, which it was thought to be, for some time. Its hardness is due to the presence of corundum; and this, together with its abundance makes it very desirable as an abrasive agent.. No emery has thus far been found in Georgia except on the Stevens property near La Grange, Troup County.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The formula for corundum is written Al,O a. Sapphire and common corundum are considered essentially pure oxides of aluminum, while emery is an intimate mixture of corundum with an oxide of iron, either magnetite or hematite. The following analysis, by the late Dr. W. H. Emerson, of the Georgia School of Technology, shows the composition of a specimen of corundum from the Laurel Creek corundum mine:
CORUNDWI!
51
Analy.ri.r of Corundum, Laurel Creek flfine
Alumina, AI.Oa--- ____________________________ Ferric oxide, Fe20a- _________________________ -
95.51 0. 88
Silica, Si02- ________ ____ __ ____ ___ _____ _______
1.45
Moisture, H20- _______________ ___________ ____
0. 74
Total_________________________________ 98.58
Corundum crys.tals are usually double terminated, six-sided pyramids of six-sided pri&ms, terminated by the basal plane, and, not infrequently, they are in tabular crystals or six-sided plates. Corundum is extremely brittle, except when compact; then it is tough. A broken surface shows an uneven to conchoidal fracture. The hardness of corundum is 9. The density, as compared with that of water as a standard, assumed to be 1, varies but slightly from 4. The luster of emery is metallic; of the other varieties of corundum, it is adamantine to vitreous.
UsEs.-ln addition to gem material, corundum has an extensive use in the arts as an abrasive. These abrasives are usually put on the market in the form of corundum or emery wheels, emery paper, or as a powder. The wheels, which also include corundum bricks, whetstones, etc., are quite varied depending upon the use to which they are to be employed. Emery paper, and also pounded corundum, is put on the market in various grades of fineness. Owing to the great hardness of corundum, these papers and powders have an extended use for abrasive and polishing materials. Corundum has also had a limited use in the manufacture of the metal aluminum, as well as in the manufacture of copper and iron alloys. The latter uses of corundum, however, have now been practically replaced by bauxite, a much cheaper mineral.
STATISTICs.-As previously stated elsewhere in this paper, Georgia has produced no corundum since 1893. From 1880 until 1892, a period of 12 years, Georgia was one of the chief corundum producing States in the Union. In recent years, the corundum mines of Georgia have remained inactive, due chiefly to the low price of corundum and not, as might be supposed, to the exhaustion of the deposits.
REFERENCES ON CORUNDUM
1872-Shepard, C. U. On Corundum Region of North Carolina and Georgia. Am. Jour. Sci., 3rd Ser. Vol. 4, pp. 109-175, 1872.
52
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
I874-Cooke, J.P. Corundum Region of North Carolina and Georgia. Am. Jour. Sci., 3rd Ser. Vol. 9, pp. 48-49, I8'74.
I894-King, F. P. Corundum Depo.ril.r of Georgia. Geol. Surp. Bull. 2, 133 pp., 6 pl.r. 1 map, 1894.
FELDSPAR
LocATION AND MoDE oF OccURRENCE.-The possibly valuable feldspar deposits found in Georgia may be divided into three natural classes: Pegmatite dikes which are of coarse crystallization and contain feldspar of high quality constitute the first class; those of medium or fine pegmatitic texture, the second; and aplitic dikes, the third.
The first class of deposits may become producers of No. I and "standard" grades of spar for pottery manufacture, and as the potash content of this feldspar is usually above I~ per cent they may also serve as a source of that compound. Only a few pegmatite dikes of this standard and sufficiently large to be worked were found. The largest bodies do not exceed a width of about ~0 feet. Those deserving mention here were found in Elbert, Rabun, Putnam and Monroe counties. Dikes of the requisite quality, but less than 6 feet wide were found at several other localities.
Deposits of the second class may provide some "standard" spar but the bulk of their output will probably be of lower grade, owing to the presence of biotite and other iron-bearing minerals. Usually the ratio of soda to potash is nearly I :I in dikes of this class, although the coarser portions are commonly more potassic. As the potash is seldom present in proportions exceeding 8 per cent. it is very doubtful if such deposits can be considered a possible commercial source of potassium salts. Because of their fine texture, deposits of this type are often deeply weathered. Kaolin of good quality may be obtained from some of the dikes, especially those in Greene, Meriwether and Pickens counties. Dikesofthisclassfrom I5 to IOO or more feet in width were found in White, Pickens, Cobb, Paulding, Troup, Meriwether, Jones, Baldwin, Greene, Jackson and Madison counties.
FELDSPdR
53
The aplite dikes of the third class can supply only a low grade feldspar in which soda usually predominates over potash. It is not known that such material is now valued for any purpose, but its composition appears to be suitable for use in the manufacture of some enamels and glasses. Aplite dikes from 10 to 20 feet wide exist in Crawford, Bibb, Jones, Baldwin, Columbia, Wilkes, Spalding and Paulding counties.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The minerals of the feldspar group which are commonly found in pegmatites are in the order of their economic importance: the potash feldspars, microcline and orthoclase; and the soda-lime series, most often represented by albite. All of them are similar in most physical properties, being usually pink, gray or white in color, slightly harder than steel, and possessing two directions of cleavage so placed that a single crystal, when given a sharp blow, breaks up into fragments bounded on four sides by clean, smooth surfaces which meet at, or about, 90 angles. When fresh, these cleavage surfaces possess a bright, almost glassy luster, but if the fragment is somewhat weathered, they become dull and even chalky in appearance, due to the formation of kaolin or other weathering products.
UsEs. Feldspar is used mainly as an ingredient in the raw mixtures of china, porcelain, white ware, glazes and enamels. For this purpose, only the better grades of potash and soda spars are adapted Their usefulness in this connection depends upon their action under heat treatment. Soda and potash spars have no sharp melting points, passing instead through a viscous stage. Day and Allen have determined the melting points and ranges for the feldspars. Microcline gave signs of incipient melting at 1,000 C., but complete fusion was reached only at (or slightly above) 1,300 C. The plagioclase feldspars, containing calcium, show fairly sharp melting points ranging up to 1,532 C. They also, upon cooling, show partly or wholly crystalline masses. The soda and potash feldspar melts, on the other hand, cool without crystallization to a glass. These properties of melting range and non-crystalline melt make the potash and soda spars valuable in pottery bodies and glazes where materials containing considerable
54
GEOLOG/CdL SURVEY OF GEORG/d
calcium are usele!.s. From 20 to 85 per cent of ground feldspar is used in most china or porcelain bodies, where it serves to bond and dissolve the other ingredients, kaolin, ball clay and ground flint. In glazes a greater proportion of the mixture is usually made up of feldspar. Matte effects are likely to occur in them if the feldspar contains appreciable quantities of calcium.
Feldspar is also used as an ingredient in some scouring and polishing soaps; in the manufacture of certain kinds of glass; as a poultry grit; and for surfacing tar or asphalt roofing and decorative concrete.
Lately, much attention has been given to the potash feldspars as a possible source of potassium compounds. Many methods for the extraction of potash from feldspar have been patented, but it is not known that any have yet given satisfactory demonstration of their utility on a commercial basis. Most of these processes depend upon heat treatment with a cheap by-product, such as chloride of lime, or soda, to react with the feldspar rendering its potassium soluble in water or some weak solution. Mter leaching, the residue is to be used in manufacturing a cement and possibly as an ore of aluminum. One important objection which has been raised to many of the patented methods is that they require, for profitable operation, a feldspar containing at least 12 per cent. of potash. Such high grade feldspar is with difficulty obtainable in any great quantities.
PnonucTION.-Only a small amount of feldspar has ever been produced in Georgia. Most of the mineral used in this country has come from Ontario, Maine, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina.
FULLER'S EARTH
LocATION.-The best deposits of fuller's earth occur in the vicinity of Attapulgus, Decatur county and near Whigham, Grady county. In the former locality the fuller's earth has been worked to a considerable extent by the Attapulgus Clay Company. In addition to these de-
FULLER'S EARTH
55
posits there are also deposits of fuller's earth occurring in Bibb, Twiggs, Columbia and other counties near the Fall Line. The deposits in the vicinity of Pike's Peak, Twiggs county, have been rather extensively worked by the General Reduction Company. These latter deposits are usually associated with the Cretaceous kaolin and fire-clays.
GEOLOGY.-The two different deposits of fuller's earth occur in two distinct and separate geological horizons. The deposits found in Decatur and Grady counties are found in the Chattahoochee group which belong to the Oligocene series, while the deposits in Twiggs and the other counties along the Fall Line belong to the Claiborne formation, one of the main divisions of the Eocene rocks.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The fuller's earth deposits in the vicinity of Attapulgus occur as irregular beds extending over considerable area. The beds often show distinct lamination and occasionally thin partings of fine white sand. In thickness the beds are variable, but they often attain a thickness of 5 feet or more of the purest variety of the earth. In the Fall Line District the deposits attain a much greater thickness and in places show but little evidence of stratification. In Twiggs and also in Bibb county it is no uncommon thing for the beds of the fuller's ea~th clays to attain a thickness of fifty feet or more.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES.-Fuller's earth is a clay-like material of various colors. The most common color is light cream or brownish gray. It differs from common clay usually in being porous, carrying a high percentage of combined water as compared with the alumina and in having but little or no plasticity. It also has the property of absorbing greases and oils, a property which has long been recognized and made useof in fulling cloth.
The chemical composition of the variety of fuller's earth now being mined in Georgia is shown by the following analysis' of a sample taken from the mines of the Lester Clay Company at Attapulgus, Decatur county:
1. Analysis by Dr. Edgar Everhart, Chemist of the Geological Survey of Georgia.
56
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGid
Ana/yJ"iJ' of Fullers Earth from Atlapu/gUJ'
Moisture at 100 0---------------------------Loss on ignition______________________________ Silica, SiOa. ___ _______ __ __________ ___________
8.970 10.910 54.110
Alumina, AhOa--------- ------------------- ___ Ferric oxide, Fe20a--------------------------Manganous oxide, MnO_______________________
Lime, CaO________ ---------------------------
Magn~a,MgO______________________________
Sodium oxide, Na20. ------------------------Potassium oxide, KaO-------------------------
TSuitlapnhiuurm, sd_i_o_xi_d_e_,_T__i_0_2_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-__--_-_-_
Phosphorus pentoxide, P .o,____________________
13.028 4.080
.110
. 900 5.860
.183 .486 1..0IX1JO2
.IXJO
Total_________________________________ 99.649
It will be seen by this analysis that the amount of silica runs very high which is usually one of the characteristics of fullet>s earth.
METHOD OF MINING AND PREPARING FOR MARKET.-The method of mining and preparing the fuller's earth for market is quite similar to that adopted in mining and preparing the better varieties of paper and china clays, with the exception, however, the fuller's earths are never washed. The refining process consists of passing the earth through a series of sieves or bolting cloths after it is dried and thoroughly pulverized. By this method of treatment all of the sand and other coarse foreign material are taken out and it forms a uniform texture before it is put on the market. One of the great troubles in preparing the fuller's earth for the trade is the difficulty of getting it properly dried. The material is quite porous and takes up an unusually large amount of water, so that the cost of drying the earth usually constitutes one of the main items of expense in preparing it for the trade.
UsEs.-Fuller's earth, so called on account of it being first used in fulling cloth, is now largely employed in decolorizing and clarifying oils and fats. The peculiar property of this clay-like material is not fully understood, but it is probably due to physical rather than chemical conditions. The method of using these earths in clarifying vegetable oil is usually very simple and consists in first heating the oil in a tank somewhat above the boiling point of water when from 5 to 10 per cent. of earth is added. This mixture is then rapidly stirred for a few minutes when it is filtered, the earth, together with the colored matter, remaining in the filtering cloth, while the clarified oil passes
FULLER'S EdRTH
57
through. Besides the use here given, fuller's earth has also a limited application in the preparation of certain medicines and in the manufacture of soap as well as an absorbent.
STATISTICs.-The following table, taken from the Mineral Resources of the U. S. Geological Survey, shows the production of fuller's earth in Georgia from 1914 to 19!l4. Georgia is at present the largest producer of fuller's earth in the United States.
Year
Quantity
(Short Tons)
Value
Year
Quantity
(Short Tons)
Value
1914
(a)
(a)
1919
1915
45,941*
$470,648
1920
1916
66,311*
690,598
1921
1917
67,397*
709,187
1922
1918
6,251t
73,820
1923
1924
3,173t
(a) (a) ~a) a) (a)
54,037
(a) (a) (a) (a) (a)
*-Fla., Ga. & Mass.
t-Ga. & Mass.
(a)-As there are only two producers the amount of production is not disclosed.
REFERENCES ON FULLER'S EARTH
1902-Vaughan, T. W. Fuller's Earth of Southwest Georgia, Southern Florida. U.S. Geol. Surv. Min. Res. for 1902, pp. 922-984, 1902.
1907-Sellards, E. H. Fuller's Earth. The Mineral Industry, Vol.16, pp. 487-468, 1907.
1909-Veatch, Otto. The Clay Depo.rit.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 18, pp. 207, J09, J17 and J71, 1909.
1917-Shearer, H. K. Bauxite and Fuller.r Earth of lhe Coa.rlal Plain of Ga. Ga. Geol. Sur~Jey Bull. J1, 1917.
GOLD
LocATION.-The gold deposits of Georgia are found in a portion of a broad zone of country stretching from near the center of Alabama northeastward into Maryland and lying principally southeast of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In GeoTgia, this zone takes in the greater portion of the Piedmont Plateau and a part of the physiographic prov-
58
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
inces of the Appalachian mountains. Auriferous areas, in which are found gold-bearing quartz veins and other forms of deposits, occur throughout this region, generally as more or less parallel below of relatively narrow lateral dimensions, but they are found in some localities as small isolated areas or patches.
In Georgia, the larger portion, by far, of the auriferous areas occur in narrow well-defined belts, and show as bands of varying width running nearly parallel in a northeast and southwest direction. In addition to the belts, a few isolated areas are found in the same section in which the belts occur. All of the deposits are north of the Fall Line, a line formed by the junction of the Piedmont region and the Coastal Plain. In Georgia, this line passes approximately through the cities of Columbus, Macon, Milledgeville and Augusta. The belts parallel in a general way the axis of the Blue Ridge mountains and the larger portion of them lie southeast of this axis. These individual belts are here described.
The Dahlonega belt enters Georgia from Alabama and passes through Haralson and Paulding counties, the northwest corner of Cobb and the southeast corner of Bartow counties, traverses Cherokee county and the extreme northwest corner of Forsyth county and from thence passes through Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Habersham and Rabun counties into Macon county, North Carolina. The Dahlonega belt has a length, in Georgia, of about 150 miles and varies in width at different localities from 2 to 6 miles. The Hall county belt commences in the northern part of Fulton county, runs northeast through Milton, the extreme southeast corner of Forsyth, the northwestern part of Gwinnett, and from thence through Hall, Habersham and Rabun counties into North Carolina. T1he length of this belt, in Georgia, is about 100 miles. The McDuffie county belt commences in the northeast corner of Warren county, runs northeast through the northern portion of McDuffie, the extreme southeast corner of Wilkes and from thence through Lincoln county to the Savannah River. Its continuation is probably found in South Carolina and in the North Carolina belt. The McDuffie belt is nearer the Coastal Plain than any other known belt, its distance
GOLD
59
from the Fall Line being about 20 miles. The length of this belt, in Georgia, is about 30 miles with an average width of about 2 miles. The Carroll county belt commences in the we&tern part of Carroll county and, running northeast, passes through a corner of Douglas and thence, traversing a portion of Paulding and Cobb counties, joins the Dahlonega belt at the northern edge of the last named county. As thus outlined, its length is about 50 miles and its greatest width does not probably exceed 2 miles. The Oglethorpe county belt runs northeast through the eastern part of Oglethorpe county. Its length is something like 25 miles and its width is about the same as that of the Carroll county belt. The Madil>on county belt occurs in Madison and Elbert counties, and extends from a point a few miles northeast of Comer in Madison county to a point about 3 miles northeast of Bowman in Elbert county. Its total length, as far as it has been traced, is only about 10 miles. All of the belts, the locations of which have thus far been described, lie, excepting a small portion of the Dahlonega belt in Rabun county, south or southeast of the crest of the Blue Ridge mountains, the most eastern range of the Southern Appalachians. Several belts of minor dimensions are found north of the crest line of the Blue Ridge. The Gumlog belt runs from a point a little south of the Gumlog mine in the northern part of Union county northeast through the northwest corner of Towns county to the Warne mine immediately beyond the State line in North Carolina. Its length, in Georgia, as far as it is known, is about 8 miles. The Coosa Creek belt runs from near the headwaters of Coosa Creek in Union county northeast to a point in the neighborhood of the town of Young Harris in Towns county. Its length is about 15 miles. The Hightower Creek belt runs from near Mountain Scene on the headwaters of Hiawassee River in Towns county northeast to within a few miles of the GeorgiaNorth Carolina line. Its length is about 10 miles.
In addition to the above mentioned well-defined belts, a number of localities are to be noted where gold has been found in isolated areas. The relations, however, of some of these deposits indicate that future prospecting will probably connect a portion of them at least into belts
60
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
with the usual northeast-southwest trend. The counties in which are to be found the more important deposits of the class just described are Fannin, Gilmer, Lincoln, Hall, Cherokee, Meriwether, Forsyth, Wilkes and Murray. ~little gold has also been mined in Hart, Walton, Coweta, Campbell and Newton counties.
GEOLOGY.-The geological formations in which the gold-bearing veins occur are the most ancient in the State, and among the oldest of all the formations of the North American Continent. In Georgia, the rocks of these formations vary in age from Cambrian to Archaean. In the northwestern part of the region, among these ancient rocks, highly altered original sedimentaries are to be found that are usually referred to the Cambrian period. Unaltered, or only slightly altered, intrusive diabases of a later age than Cambrian occur at numerous localities, but their total area is insignificant compared with that of the entire region, when the prevailing rocks are probably Archaean.
A very casual study of the rocks of the Crystalline area will show that the majority of them have been subjected to great shearing stress. Occasionally bodies of granite, probably younger than the neighboring formations, can be found that appear to have been subjected to only a limited amount of pressure, but the major portion of the rocks are gneisses and schists often showing a highly contorted as well as sheared structure. While widespread regional metamorphism is characteristic of the area as a whole, yet, at some points, lines are found along which shearing forces appear to have been especially concentrated.
The auriferous veins were probably formed during the closing period of the last earth crust movement that produced important changes of structure in the rocks. The evidence that their age does not exceed this is found in the fact that the majority of them do not show any large amount of faulting or crushing. All of the veins may not be of the same age and if more definite evidence in regard to age relations was obtainable it might be found that several series of veins are represented in the area. Most geologists who have written on the Southern Appalachian fields arrived at the conclusion that the greater part, at least, of gold deposition antedated Cambrian times.
GOLD
61
Some of the gold deposits of Georgia, that occur as isolated areas, are found in rocks that, from their position, can not reasonably be referred to older formations than the Cambrian. The principal vein of the Cohutta gold mine on Cohutta Mountain, in Murray county, occurs ina metamorphosed sediment, probably belonging to the Ocoee.
In North Carolina, ancient volcanics have been found in the region of the gold deposits and referred to Algonkian times, but in studying the rocks associated with the Georgia deposits, nothing indicating an original surface flow has been observed.
MonE OF OccunRENCE.-The three principal types of gold deposits recognized in Georgia are vein deposits, placer deposits and auriferous saprolites or decomposed rock in place.
Several varieties of veins are to be noted. The predominant types are veins conforming in the main to the trend of the inclosing schists and gneisses, which is usually northeast and southwest. These veins pinch and swell both horizontally and vertically causing one of the greatest difficulties attendant on mining this class of deposits. Bodies of ore fifteen or twenty feet in thickness may occur at some points while a short distance away on the same level a small stringer or seam of quartz may be all that represents a vein. These conditions render it difficult to calculate the amount of ore available. At some mines, it has been noted that the pinches and swells occur with a fair degree of regularity, as at the Franklin, or Creighton mine in Cherokee county, where the ore bodies are said to average 60 or 70 feet in linear extent.
In connection with the veins, conforming with the schistosity of the country rock, is a type of deposits which may be designated as goldbearing zones. These consist, as the name implies, of auriferous zones having in most cases the trend of the formations in which they occur and containing many more or less conformable quartz stringers or lenses of quartz with country rock. They vary from a foot or two to several yards in thickness. Frequently, several more or less parallel zones, ranging from a few to ~0 or SO feet in thickness, occur closely associated, the distribution, as a whole, forming a major zone in some cases several hundred feet in width, the strike of which may, in certain instances
62
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
be followed for miles. In these large zones, the paying values, as would be expected, are limited to bands and restricted areas.
In addition to interfoliated veins, others cutting the schistosity of the inclosing rocks at various angles are not uncommon. It is generally believed that these are more uniform and persistent than the other class. Swells and pinches and other irregularities of structure, however, are frequently met with. These non-interfoliated veins are quite common in the McDuffie belt and a number of them have been good producers.
In size, the veins in Georgia, as in other sections of the Southern Appalachian gold fields, vary from a few inches to over twenty feet in thickness. The outcrop of many of the large veins is very noticeable and shows them in some cases holding their width quite uniformly for a number of rods. The most of the largest veins that have been tested show low values, an average in most cases from $6.00 to $15.00 per ton may be considered good. They have not been sufficiently exploited, however, to establish this as a rule.
The placer deposits bear a close relation to the vein deposits, that is, in sections where the veins are most numerous and carry good values the placers have been found to be proportionately important. The auriferous gravel deposits may be classed as both ancient and modern. It is difficult, however, to draw a line between the two classes at many localities. The valleys of the larger streams, where they run with or across the gold belts, are frequently underlain with quite heavy beds of thoroughly water-worn gravel overtopped with sand and clay. In some cases tenaceous blue clay is mixed with the gravels and forms a layer several feet in thickness immediately above the gravel beds. In the lowest parts of the valleys the gravels are usually near the present level of the streams and are to be found thinning out at varying heights along the slopes of the valleys. The different auriferous gravel deposits so far located are associated with present drainage systems and while placer gold can be obtained at some localities as high as thirty or forty feet above the streams, yet the bulk of the gold that has been mined has come from lower levels. These deposits owe their origin to a flooded
GOLD
63
condition of the streams during a period of subsidence. The changes of level are probably to be referred to the Lafayette or the Columbian period.
Many of the richest placer deposits have been found along the small streams feeding into the larger valleys and in some cases very rich finds have been made in gulches or dry hollows, as they are termed, near the smaller streams. These latter deposits grade into the modern deposits previously mentioned as formed by rain-wash and gravitative action.
The saprolite deposits form a rather unique class of gold deposits. The rocks of this section of Georgia are deeply decayed at many localities. The decayed product is found in place, there having been no invasion of the region by glaciers during the period when removal of decomposed rock material by ice erosion was taking place in more northern localities.
In these auriferous bodies of decomposed rock more or less disintegrated quartz veins and many small stringers of quartz are usually present. The gold, generally freed from sulphides, is found both in the quartz and in the rotten rock. In some cases the veins of quartz may be very small, occurring as numerous tiny stringers and seams, and in other cases some individual veins may be of sufficient size to form workable ore bodies. In the latter case, these larger veins are sometimes mined independently as ordinary vein deposits, as the surrounding saprolite material grades into undecomposed rock below and can no longer be worked by hydraulicking.
Although these deposits are largely worked by washing, and have been described under the heading of placers by several writers, they are not to be confounded with true placer deposits in which the gold has been concentrated by the transporting power of water. In saprolite deposits a certain amount of concentration of gold has taken place by removal of some portions of the rock ingredients in solution while the insoluble or only slightly soluble gold is left behind.
HisTORY.-Omitting the traditions of the early Spanish mining, gold, according to White's Statistics of Georgia, was first discovered
64
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
in the State on Dukes Creek, White county, in 18!l9. Another account places the first discovery in 1828. The latter discovery is reported to have been made near Nacoochee, White county, by a negro servant of Major Logan, while on his way from Rutherford, North Carolina, where gold mines had just been opened. The deposits along the N acoochee River, are said to have attracted the negro's attention and a pan test resulted in the discovery of gold. It is also reported that the first discovery of gold was made on the Calhoun property in Lumpkin county, near Dahlonega. Living witnesses are said to substantiate the last named discovery, but whether or not it antedates the White county discoveries is not known. It seems quite likely that the early discoveries succeeded each other so rapidly that it is now practically impossible to establish the date of priority.
Only a few months after the announcement of the occurrence of gold in North Georgia, hundreds of miners were busily engaged on various streams throughout the section in search of the yellow metal. Governor Gilmer, in a letter dated May 6th, 1830, says: "I am in doubt as to what ought to be done with the gold-diggers. They, with their various attendants, foragers and suppliers, make up between six and ten thousand persons. They occupy the country between the Chestatee and Etowah riv.ers, near the mountains, gold being found in the greatest quantity, deposited in the small streams which flow into those rivers." It was during this year that the first deposit of gold from Georgia, amounting to $212,000 was made at the U. S. Mint. The most active mining region, at the time, was in Lumpkin county, in the vicinity of Dahlonega. So important had these gold fields become, that the U. S. Government established a branch mint here, in 1838. The mint continued in operation, until1861, and coined 1,381,784 pieces, valued at $6,115,569. The total gold production of Georgia to date has been approximately $18,000,000.
The greatest annual output, from the State, occurred in 1843 when the total yield of the various mines, then in operation was $582,782.50. Since the above date, the output has greatly fluctuated from year to year. However, the total yield has gradually decreased, due mainly
:. 0
GOLD
65
to the exhaustion of the placer mines, the source from which the greater part of the Georgia gold has been derived. At present the output is negligible due to high cost of production and the low purchasing value of the gold dollar.
METHODS OF SAVlNG THE GoLD.-The methods adopted in saving the gold are variable, depending upon the condition of the ore and the nature of the gold. In vein mining, where the ore has been oxidized and the gold is in a free state, the process adopted is usually amalgamation, but where the gold occurs in sulphurets Lhe barrel chlorination has been chiefly resorted to. The latter method of ore treatment, which was in operation at the Creighton mine for several years, is here described. The ore, after having been crushed by stamps, passes over the amalgamated plates where about 50 per cent. of the gold is collected, while the remainder is carried off in the sulphides to the concentrators where the greater part of the quartz and other gangue material is removed, leaving concentrates co~sisting of about 80 per cent. sulphides. The concentrates are carried, in a small car, from the mill to the chlorination plant near by, and are there roasted in a double-hearth reverberatory furnace for 24 hours. This reduces the sulphides to a fraction of 1 per cent., and leaves the gold in such a condition that it can be readily acted upon chemically. From the furnace room, the roasted concentrates are elevated to the third story of the building and are there dumped into a small car, which conveys them to the chlorination barrel. This consists of an oblong iron cask; lined inside with lead, and provided with a charging door, which can be hermetically sealed. It is mounted on an axis and revolves slowly while in use. The motion keeps its contents continually agitated and greatly facilitates the chemical action, which would otherwise be very slow and incomplete. The barrel is charged by placing into it one ton of the roasted concentrates with a sufficient amount of water to render it semi-fluid. To this is added about 12 pounds of chloride of lime and an equivalent amount of sulphuric acid. It is then sealed and revolved on its axis from 4 to 6 hours, when the gold is found to have been acted upon by the nascent chlorine gas, changing it to gold chloride.
66
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
The pulpy material is now removed from the barrel to specially prepared filters, where the gold chloride is leached out with water, and the solution is then transferred to storage tanks. From these tanks, the solution passes to the precipitating tanks, where the gold is thrown down by means of ferrous sulphate. The gold precipitate is finally collected, dried, mixed with soda and borax, melted in a crucible and cast into ingots.
The placer and saprolite deposits are chiefly worked by the hydraulic process. The latter deposits, which consist mainly of decomposed rock in place, are mainly worked by slU:icing the material through flumes to mills located at some point below the level of the cuts thus formed. A portion of the gold is generally saved by amalgamation in the sluice boxes and the fine portion of the sluiced material is conducted to ore bins behind the batteries of the mills in which it is to be treated. The larger pieces of quartz and partially decomposed rock are removed by grizzlies or some similar contrivance before the current reaches the ore bins, and this material is frequently crushed at the more extensive plants in a separate mill.
In addition to the above methods, a limited amount of work has also been carried on in some of the rivers by means of dredge boats.
PRODUCTION.-In 1925 practically all the gold produced in the State was taken from the Columbia mine, McDuffie county, near Harlem and at Pine Mountain near Villa Rica in Douglas County. The ore at both of these mines is treated in modern cyanide plants.
There is considerable prospecting being done in the Dahlonega district, but there is but little production.
REFERENCES ON GOLD IN GEORGIA
1896-Becker, Geo. F. Gold Fields of the Southern Appalachians. U.S. Geol. Surv. 16th Ann. Rept., pt. 3, pp. 272-281, 1895.
1897-McCallie, S. W. Gold Depo.rit.r of Georgia. Paper read before the International Gold .Mining Convention, Denver, Colo. 17 pp., 1 map, 1897.
1898-Yeates, McCallie & King. .d. Preliminary Report on a Part of the Gold Depo.rit.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 4-.d, 542 pp., 21 plY., 1 map, 1898.
GRANITES AND GNEISSES
67
1908-Fluker, W. H. Gold Mining in McDuffie county, Georgia. Am. Inst. Min'g. Eng. Trans. Vol. 33, pp. 119-125, 1903.
1908-Eckel, Edwin C. Gold and Pyrite Deposits of Dahlonega District, Georgia. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 213, pp. 57-63, 1903.
1906-Lindgren, Waldemar. The Gold Deposits of Dahlonega, Georgia. U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 293, pp. 119-128, 1906.
1909-Jones S. Percy. Gold Depo.ril.r of Georgia (2nd Report). Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 19, 283 pp. 8 plr. 2 map.r, 1909.
GRANITES AND GNEISSES
LocATION.-The granites and gneisses of Georgia are confined to what is known as the Piedmont Plateau. This area includes, with the exception of ten northwestern counties, all of that part of the State north of the Fall Line, which line extends from Augusta through Macon to Columbus. Both granites and gneisses are widely distributed throughout this area, but at present the quarrying of these stones is confined to less than a score of counties. The principal centers of the quarrying industry are at Stone Mountain, Lithonia, Elberton, Oglethorpe, Lexington, Sparta, Eatonton, Odessa, and Newnan. In addition to these main quarrying centers, openings of greater or less dimensions have been made in nearly every county of the Crystalline area where a limited amount of stone has been quarried from time to time for local purposes. With the exception of the mica and hornblende schists the granites and gneisses are the prevailing rocks of the Crystalline area, and they may therefore be said to be practically inexhaustible.
GEOLOGY.-The Crystalline area is composed of completely bolocrystalline rocks, which afford at present but little evidence of ever having been deposited as sediments. Whatever may have been their origin and structure in the beginning, they have been subjected to so many vicissitudes of profound dynamic metamorphism, mainly through pressure and recrystallization, that proof of sedimentation with a few exceptions is scant. This metamorphism has induced a secondary foliation in the rocks by arranging the mineral constituents
68
GEOL,O.. GICAL SURVEY OF GEORGI.d
along parallel lines, which evidently bear little or no relation to the possible original bedding planes in many of these rocks.
The rocks consist principally of granites, gneisses and schists, cut by a series of younger basic eruptions, principally diabases and diorites. Along the northwestern limits and in other parts of the area, basic ferro-magnesian silicate rocks of igneous origin, containing the corundum deposits, are found crossing the State. Along the eastern, middle northern, and southwestern parts of the area are found belts of quartzite and, in some places, limestone.
Throughout the area the rocks have a prevailing southeast dip approximating 50 and strike from 20 to 30 west of south. Local variations, however, in both dip and strike are wide-spread and marked over the region.
At present, nothing can be said definitely concerning the origin of the schists of the Piedmont region but it is certain that all the granites and gneisses thus far studied are of igneous origin and represent several periods of intrusion, varying from Archaean to Carboniferous times.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The granite rocks of the State appear for the most part, in large, flat, horizontal masses; as dome-shaped areas of steep and gentle slopes; as large, well rounded boulders scattered over the surface and partially buried in the residual decay; and as ledges exposed along the streams and in ravines, as well as in dikes from one to many feet in width. The outcrops of the flat, horizontal masses vary in extent, from one to fifty or more acres; while the dome-shaped areas contain from fifty to many hundred acres of exposed rock. The best illustrations of the former occur in Hancock, Heard, Meriwether and Pike counties. Stone Mountain in DeKalb county, which rises to an elevation of 686 feet above the surrounding lowland plain, and which has a basal circumference of approximately seven miles, is the most extensive of the dome-shaped masses. The great Confederate memorial is being carved on this intrusive mass. Pine, Arabia, Collinsville, McDaniel and Rock-Chapel mountains, belonging to the Lithonia belt of contorted granite-gneiss, may be mentioned as examples of some of the other dome-shaped areas, which vary from 75
c:..
"<"c:.''.:
0 rn
"c:':
GRdNITES dND GNEISSES
69
to 200 feet in elevation. A scanty granitic soil-covering occurs in places over the larger outcrops. In this, a stunted growth of gnarled cedars, mosses and lichens is usually found. The growth of cedars has become so prevalent over some of the exposures that the outcrops are referred to, locally, as "cedar-rock." In other cases, a few of the flat horizontal masses are known as "flat-rock," on account of the extent and nature of the outcrop. Cedars, mosses and lichens constitute the bulk of vegetation found covering the rock outcrops.
HisTORY.-Among the first granite quarries opened up in the State were those at Stone Mountain. Records show that some rock was quarried from the somewhat disintegrated and decomposed ledges of the ridge as early as 1845 or 1850. The first systematic quarrying, however, was begun in 1869, when the Stone Mountain Granite and Railway Company was chartered by Messrs. John T. Glenn, S. M. Inman and J. A. Alexander, citizens of Atlanta. In 1882, the present owners, the Venable Brothers, of Atlanta, purchased the entire property of 2,200 acres and immediately began developments for extensive quarrying. The annual shipments outside of the State rapidly increased from ten car-loads, under the management of the former company, to twenty thousand car-loads under that of the Venable Brothers.
It was through the efforts of the Venable Brothers, that the development of this property gained for Georgia the high rank and reputatation the State now holds among the other granite-producing States in the Union as a granite producer. For some years, DeKalb county, limited exclusively to the output from the Stone Mountain and Lithonia areas, produced all' the granite shipped outside of the State; and, in amount of production, it has always ranked first among the numerous granite-producing counties in the State. As early as 1898, the Stone Mountain quarries were capable of yielding a total capacity of 25,000 paving blocks per day. Two years prior to the last date given, the first quarry, namely, the Coggins Quarry, was opened up in Elbert county, which was followed by the quarries at Lexington, Sparta and at other points.
70
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES.-The chemical composition of the Georgia granites and gneisses is shown by the following analyses:
Name of Quarry
..;
c~;;
A,ai
..;
ec::
cc:::1
C..l,)"C;;cI
0 .,;
.oc_:: :::-s
-CO"
E ::i
.;..;.;,;
c::
If ::i:
.c a~".'
..;
"CI 0
Cl)
c
:0;;:: !!!!
s
0
1-
I
~
Henry Pettus, Wilkes county________ 74.64 14.0011.05 1.7610.37 7.77 0.41 100. 00
------------ Stone Mountain. __________________ 71.66 16.050.86 1.070.17 4.924.66 1.00 100.39
Swift and Etheridge________________ 70.38 16.47 1.17 1. 72 0.31 5.62
100.96
r" Dioapmeonnindg)B__l_u_e__G__r_a_n_it_e___C_o_.__(_M__a_i_n 70.30 16.17 1.19 2.61 0.31 4.88 4. 72 0.63 100.81
Lexington Blue Gr. Co._____________ 70.03 15.62 1.31 2.45 0.52 5.42 4.820. 77 100.94
Greenville Granite Co. ______________ Coggins __________________________
69.88 16.42 1.96 1. 78 0.36 5.63 4.45 0.39 100.87 69.74 16.72 1.45 1. 93 0.36 5.33 4.84 0.47 100.84
Carmichael, Campbell county _______ 69.55 16.72 0.99 1.69 0.27 3.94 5.88 0.27 99.31
Diamond Blue Granite Company
(Average from minor openings) ____ 69.53 16.46 1.15 2.10 0.85 4.915.0010.91 100.91
Swift and Wilcox, Elbert county____ 69.45 15.931.31 1. 91 0.55 5.164.330.50 99.14
Linch, Putnam county _____________ 69.34 17.011.74 2.77 0.61 4.544.690.26 100.96
Tate and Oliver, Elbert county______ R. D. Cole, Coweta county _________
69.25 69.08
16.04(72 17.671.41
1.89 3.27
0.31 0.64
4.9414.5210.43 3.29 4.5610.56
99.1 0 100.48
Echols Mill, Oglethorpe Co. _________ 68.81 17.67 1.13 2.17 0.50 3.904.970.30 99.45
Sam Hill, Coweta county___________ 68.79 16.4810.98 1. 76 1.30 5.8514.7410.38 100.28
Turner, Spalding county____________ 68.76 16.8010.99 2.72 1.00 3. 7014.8210.29 99.08
T. B. Tigner, Meriwether county ____ 63.27 19.93 2.82 2.89 0.49 4.85 4.140.86 99.25
------------- A. M Hill________________________ 62.52 23.58 3.24 1.55 ~-8-.-5-7-- 0.54 100. 00
------------ ---------~
Georgia Quincy Granite Company____ 70.9015.8611.37 2.15 0.02 4.6215.05 0. 50 100.47 L. N. Calloway, Baldwin county_____ 69.37 16.991.99 2.03 0.84 4.54 3.44 0. 55 99.75 Crossley, near Lithonia, DeKalb county 76.00 13.11 0. 92 1.0610.27 4.69 3.8810.31100.24
PHYSICAL PROPERTIEs.-The following table gives the specific
gravity, ratio of absorption, weight per cubic foot, and number of cubic
feet contained in one ton (2,000 lbs.)
Specific Gravity
I I I ARbsaotiroptoiofn
peWr eCiguhbtic Foot
CuNbuicmbFeeret Stone in 2,000 lbs.
Lexington Blue Granite Co ____ 2.666
0.092
166.25
12.0
Diamond Blue Granite Co _____ Echols Mill __________________ Greenville Granite Co _________
2.666 2.657 2.662
0.088 ----0.086
166.62 166.06 166.37
12.0 12.0 12.0
Swift & Wilcox Quarry________ 2.652
0.090
165.75
12.0
Swift & Wilcox Flat Rock _____ Tate and Oliver ______________ Coggins _________,____________ Childs _______________________ Stone Mountain______________ Odessa ______________________ SnelL. ______________________ Lithonia _____________________
Flat Rock, Heard county ______
2.645 2.670 2.840 2.665 2.686 2.642 2.642 2.686 2.648
0.092 0.093 0.090 0.092 0.067 0.056 0.075 0.052
-----
165.31 166.87 177.50 166.56 167.90 165.12 165.12 167.90 165.50
12.0 11.9 10.7 12.0 11.9 12.1 12.1 11.9 12.0
MINERAL RESOURCES OF GEORGIA
PLA'f E xi- Fig. 1
hg. 2
GR AN ITE- GNEISs Q uAnHIES, PINE MouNTAIN, LITHONIA, GEORGIA. Fw. 2
THE Q UARRY-FACE A ' D THE QuARRY BOTTOM AT THE URFACE OF THE DoMING MAss.
rrows
GR.dNITES .dND GNEISSES
71
The following table gives the results of crushing tests made at Purdue University, LaFayette, Indiana, on specimens of stone from Stone Mountain and Lithonia:
Locality
I J t h o n i a _______________ I J t h o n i a _______________ Lithonia _______________ Lithonia _______________ IJthonia _______________ Lithonia _______________ LLiitthhoonniiaa______-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_-_-_IJthonia _______________ I J t h o n i a _______________ IJthonia _______________ Lithonia _______________ Stone Mountain________ Stone Mountain ________ Stone Mountain________ Stone Mountain________ Stone Mountain________ Stone Mountain________
CRUSHING TEST. Dimensions
Crushed at
Crushed at Lbs. per Sq.
Pounds
Inch
2.02 in. x 2.04 in. x 2.07 in. 2.02 in. x 2.01 in. x 2.06 in.
2.01 in. x 2.01 in. x 2.01 in. 2.01 in. x 2.00 in. x 2.00 in.
2.02 in. x 2.08 in. x 2.02 in. 2.02 in. x 2.05 in. x 2.02 in.
2.06 in. x 2.02 in. x 2.02 in. 2.04 in. x 2.04 in. x 2.06 in.
2.04 in. x 2.03 in. x 2.03 in. 2.04 in. x 2.04 in. x 2.05 in. 2.02 in. x 2.02 in. x 2.01 in. 2.01 in. x 2.02 in. x 2.04 in.
2.00 in. x 2.01 in. x 2.02 in. 1.99 in. x 2.01 in. x 1.99 in. 2.04 in. x 2.04 in. x 2.05 in.
2.04 in. x 2.07 in. x 2.05 in. 2.01 in. x 2.03 in. x 2.02 in.
2.02 in. x 2.05 in. x 2.01 in.
80,000 61,000
80,000 80,700 75,700 64,000 78,700 71,700 79,700 79,700 74,700 70,700 50,000 57,700 53,700 55,700 54,700 52,700
-----15,024 19,801
-----18,017 15,455 18,913 17,229 19,246 19,151 18,307 17,413 12,438 14,425 12,904 13,190 13,406 12,726
UsEs.-The granites and gneisses of Georgia constitute one of the most extensive and important building and monumental stones of the State. They occur in inexhaustible quantities and are profusely distributed throughout the Crystalline area. One of the most interesting and the largest granite masses is that of Stone Mountain, located in DeKalb county, 17 miles northeast of Atlanta. The stone obtained from these quarries is a light-colored muscovite granite possessing remarkable strength and is quite free from all chemical and physical defects. The stone has extensive use as a building material and is also largely employed in street improvement. There is likely no granite in the South more widely known and more generally used than that furnished by the Stone Mountain quarries. It not only has an extensive local use, but much of it is shipped beyond the borders of the State.
Another granite, or more correctly speaking a gneiss, of almost as much economic importance as the Stone Mountain granite, is the
72
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
Lithonia granite. This stone, which differs chiefly from the Stone Mountain granite in having laminated structure, covers a consider~ area in the eastern part of DeKalb and the contiguous parts of Rockdale and Gwinnett counties. The Lithonia quarries are very extensive and furnish large quantities of stone for street improvement as well as for general building purposes. Granites and gneisses, similar to
. the above, are found in ma'ny localities in North Georgia, but only
at a few points have they been quarried to any extent.
In addition to the granites and gneisses above mentioned there are other granites which possess qualities that especially fit them for monumental stone. Some of the granites of this character which in the last few years have become quite popular as decorative stone are those obtained from the Elberton, the Oglesby, the Lexington, and the Meriwether quarries. These monumental granites are fine grained biotite granites, unusually free from injurious minerals, and admitting of a very brilliant polish. They have but few equals if any superiors in the United States as a monumental stone, and it is only a question of time when the Georgia monumental granite industry will be of very great commercial value to the State.
Besides the uses above enumerated, the Georgia granite and gneisses also have an extended use in paving and curbing as well as in road ballast and concrete work.
STATISTics.-The following figures taken from Mineral Resources U.S. Geological Survey, show the value of the Georgia granite products by years, from 1914 to 19~4, inclusive:
Year
Value
Year
Value
1914
$958,831
1915
660,454
1916
813,068
1917
568,143
1918
558,296
1919
866,922
1920
$ 934,182
1921
1,023,081
1922
1,057,823
1923
1,462,297
1924
1,438,281
GRAPHITE
73
The Tenth Census, in 1880, placed Georgia as the twelfth granite producing State in the Union. The value of the granite product in the State for that year was estimated at $64,480. The next decade, ending 1890, witnessed a remarkable growth in, and development of, the granite industry in the State, revealed in the enormous increase in production. The rapid advancement, made during this period, is shown in the Eleventh Census report for 1890, where Georgia is ranked as sixth among the granite producing States. The valuation of the granite production by States, for 1889, placed Georgia ahead of New Hampshire, which has long been known as the "Granite State."
In 1921 Georgia ranked ninth, being exceeded by Vermont, Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Maine, New Hampshire and Minnesota.
REFERENCES ON GRANITE AND GNEISSES
1901-Watson, Thos. L. The Granitic Rocks of Georgia and Their Relationship. Am. Geol. Vol. 27, pp. 199-225, 8 pls., 1901.
1901-Watson, Thos. L. On the Origin of the Phenocrysts in the Porphyritic Granites of Georgia. Jour. of Geol. Vol. 9, pp. 97-122, 1901.
1901-Watson, Thos. L. Weathering of Granitic Rocks of Georgia. Geol. Sue. of Am. Bull. Vol. 12, pp. 93-108, 1901.
1902-Watson, Thos. L. Granife.r and Gneiue.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Sur~. Bull. 9-.d, J67 pp., J2 plr., 5 map.r, 1902.
GRAPHITE
LocATION.-Graphite, in limited quantities, is found in a large number of counties in the Piedmont Plateau. The most noted occurrences are in Bartow, Cobb and Pickens counties. It is also known to occur in Cherokee, Douglas, Elbert, Hall, Heard, Madison, Rabun, Habersham, Spalding and other counties. The Bartow county deposits, as so far developed, are in the immediate vicinity of Emerson, where they were worked more or less continuously for some years. The most promising deposits of Pickens county are probably those in the vicinity of Sharp Top Mountain, about 5 miles west of Jasper.
I
74
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
GEOLOGY.-All of the graphite deposits of the State are associated with highly metamorphic slates, gneisses and schists. In the Emerson district, these rocks are lower Cambrian in age. The graphite in Cherokee and Pickens counties probably also occurs in Cambrian rocks, while the occurrences in the counties further to the east will probably be found to be with pre-Cambrian or Archaean rocks.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-In most cases, the graphite occurs interbedded with the slates and schists, as in the Emerson district, but it is also met with in irregular veins or as impregnations. A good illustration of the last two modes of occurrence is to be seen in the vicinity of Sharp Top Mountain, Pickens county. Here, it is found chiefly as impregnations in the gneisses, though, at one point, it is to be seen as a well defined vein traversing these rocks. In addition to these occurrences, the graphite is also occasionally met with in the form of small irregular pockets in the schists and gneisses.
HisTORY.-Mining graphite, or more properly speaking, the mining of graphite schist, was begun in the Emerson district by Joseph F. Allison in 1892. About ten years subsequent to this date the American Graphite Company also began mining in the same district. These two plants practically produced all of the graphite material put upon the market up to the present date. At several localities, notably, in the vicinity of Sharp Top Mountain, Pickens county, there has been considerable prospecting, but none of the prospects have ever become regular producers. For several years there has been no production of graphite material.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-Graphite occurs in two forms, namely, the amorphous and the crystalline. The former variety, which is of an earth nature, is by far the most abundant variety met with in Georgia, and is the kind mined in the Emerson district, where it forms from 2 to 4 per cent. of the schist with which it is associated. The crystalline variety, which mostly occurs in the form of scales or flakes, is not so often met with. Nevertheless, good specimens of this variety have been found in Cobb, Pickens, Spalding, and other counties.
IRON ORES
75
A sample of graphite from Cobb county gives the following analysis:
Volatile matter__ ----------------_-----------Graphite (C) _______________ -------------_____ Alsh_________________________________________
Total ________________________________ _
2.26 82.26 15.48 100.00
Samples of graphite from Spalding county showed over 90 per cent. graphite (carbon).
UsEs.-All of the graphite material mined in Georgia was used as a filler for commercial fertilizers. Graphite is highly refractory and is therefore largely used in the manufacture of crucibles, which have to withstand intense heat. Graphite is also used in making lead pencils, lubricants, foundry facing, stove polish, electrotyping and in paint.
REFERENCES ON GRAPHITE
1901-McCallie, S. W. Mineral Resources of Georgia. Int. Mng. Cong. 4th Ses. Proceedings, pp. SS-42, 1901.
1908-Ihne, F. W. Graphite Mining m the United States. The Mining Industry, pp. 488-500, 1908.
IRON ORES
BROWN IRON ORE
LOCATION.-Brown iron ore is widely distributed throughout the State, but the main deposits of commercial importance appear to be confined to the Appalachian Valley and the Piedmont Plateau. The most extensive deposits of the Appalachian Valley, so far developed, occur in Polk, Bartow and Floyd counties. The Polk county deposits occur chiefly in the following districts: the Cedartown district, the Fish Creek district, the Wray district, the Esom Hill district, the Etna Valley district, and the Aragon district. Each of these several districts has somewhat indistinct boundaries; However, they are completely separated from each other.
The Bartow county deposits arrange themselves into the following groups, namely, the Eastern district, the Iron Hill district, and the
76
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
Linwood district. The most important of these three divisions is the Eastern district, which is confined chiefly to the eastern part of the county. The deposits of this district begin about two miles south of Emerson and extend in a northerly direction to Sugar Hill, a distance of about 16 miles. A few years ago some of the most important brown iron mines in the State, such as the Sugar Hill mines, were located in this district. The Iron Hill district occurs in the vicinity of Logan post office, 7 miles southwest of Kingston. The brown iron ores of Floyd county occur in the vicinity of Cave Spring and Silver Creek. In addition to these several localities valuable deposits have been worked in Gordon, Murray and other counties in the northwestern part of the State. At present most of the ore produced in the State comes frol,Il the Cedartown district.
The brown iron ore deposits of the Piedmont Plateau have not been so extensively developed as in the Appalachian Valley, nevertheless, the deposits are widely distributed and will in the future, probably, become an important source of brown iron ore. Some of the more promising deposits in this section of the State are to be found in Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer, Fannin and Meriwether counties.
GEoLOGY.-The brown iron ores of the Appalachian Valley are associated chiefly with the Weisner quartzite, the Knox dolomite, and the Chickamauga limestone-rocks of Cambrian and Ordovician age. The deposits in Pickens, Gilmer and Fannin counties are associated with the marbles which are Cambrian, while other deposits, such as those in Meriwether county, occur with older rocks, probably Archaean.
MonE OF OccURRENCE.-The brown iron ores occur chiefly in the form of pockets, or irregular deposits, in the residual clays. The deposits are quite variable in size. They frequently contain only a few carloads of ore; but, generally, they are far more extensive and often cover a considerable area. Some of the deposits in the Cedartown district have been worked, on a more or less extensive scale, for more than twenty years without exhausting the supply of ore. It is not uncommon to find the deposits extending over five or six acres, but it must be borne in mind that the ore does not occur in equal abundance
""
0
_,
""""'
IRON ORES
77
over the entire area. On the contrary, it is often traversed and intersected by clay "horses," or barren areas, so that when the ore is removed the surface frequently presents the appearance of an old land surface, much dissected by erosion. The depth to which the ore ex.: tends seems to be as variable as the superficial extension of the deposits themselves. In some cases they are quite superficial, being only a few feet in thickness; while, in other cases, they appear to extend to considerable depths. In many places deposits have been worked to a depth of 50 feet or more without reaching the limit. It is not uncommon to find the ore extending below the water-level. In some instances, the deposits on the hill-slope are found to extend into the valley below, where the ore occurs in considerable abundance in the stream beds. The ore, in the individual deposit, is found mostly in the form of boulders or gravel in the residual clays. The proportion which the ore bears to the entire material mined varies greatly. In some of the most valuable deposits the ore will average, probably, 50 per cent., or more, of the material mined; but, generally, it falls far short of that average.
In addition to the above described form of ore deposits, there are irregular vein deposits. A good illustration of this class of deposit is to be seen at what is known as the Wheeler ore bank, located among the quartzite ridges, about ~~ miles northeast of Emerson. The vein here is quite variable in thickness, and it has been successfully worked along its outcropping for more than a quarter of a mile to the depth, in places, of 40 feet or more. The walling on either side of the vein consists of highly contorted mica-schists, which, in places, have been replaced by brown iron ore. The veins usually conform, in strike and dip, to the country rock; but there is no evidence, whatever, that the ore is a stratified deposit. On the contrary, all the facts go to show that it has resulted from precipitation from chalybeate water circulating in an open fissure or by a replacement of limestone.
HisTORY.-Probably the first iron furnace put in blast in Georgia was that erected on Stamp Creek in Bartow county about 1840. It is reported that as early as 1853 five blast furnaces were operated at one time in this county. All these furnaces, the remains of which are\, still
1
78
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
to be seen on Stamp Creek and the Etowah River, were small charcoal furnaces with a capacity varying from two to four tons per day. The ore supplying them was obtained from ore banks in their immediate vicinity, or was picked up from the surface of the cultivated fields. The iron industry, thus begun on a small scale in Bartow county gradually grew in importance until the Civil War. At this time, the furnaces had been greatly enlarged and othe:wise improved and the Cooper iron works, located on the Etowah River, were in full operation.
Mter Sherman's invasion of Georgia, all the furnaces were left in ruins, and no effort was made to rebuild until about 1870, when a few were again put in blast and operated for a short time. About the time the furnaces in Bartow county were shut down, the Cherokee furnace at Cedartown and the Etna furnace in Etna Valley, Polk county, went into blast. These were both charcoal furnaces, the former having a capacity of 50 tons and the latter 25 tons per day. Later, two furnaces were put into operation in Floyd county-one at Rome and the other at Hermitage. Each of the above named furnaces were operated. for a time, with considerable energy, but all are now inactive. It is to be hoped that new furnaces will be built in the State in the near future, as a stimulus to the iron mining industry. The high freight rates to furnaces outside the State at present is the chief cause for the small production of ore.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES.-The following analyses\ of specimens taken from the Ledbetter mine in the Cedartown district show the general composition of the brown iron ores :
Analy.re.r of Brown Iron Ore
No.
Fe
p
Insoluble Si02 Mn
Remarks
1 51.89 .824 9.63 -------- -------- 40 feet below surface
2 53.65 .871
5.82 -------- -------- 35 feet below surface
3 50.13 1.583 8.14 -------- -------- 10 feet below surface
4 50.04 1.103 8.11 -------- -------- 6 feet below surface
5 55.45 .567 -------- 6.82 -------- Fine red gravel
6 53.13 .363 7.30 -------- --------
7 42.81 1.083 16.47 -------- -------- 6 feet below surface
8 50.62 .637 8.32 -------- --------
9 51.72 1,262 -------- -------- --------
10 52.89 .863
7.98 -------- .567
1. Analyses made by A. M. Lloyd, Atlanta, Ga.
< ca:
0
."c '
0
1/!
"'
IRON ORES
79
FOSSIL IRON ORES
LocATION.-The fossil or Clinton iron ores of Georgia are confined to four counties in the extreme northwestern part of the State. These counties, namely, Dade, Walker, Catoosa, and Chattooga, all of which, with the exception of the last named, are located along the GeorgiaTennessee line only a few miles south of Chattanooga.
The fossil iron ores of Dade county occur in Lookout Valley and Johnson's Crook. The deposits of Lookout Valley are found in two lines of outcroppings extending from the Georgia-Tennessee line to Deerhead Cove, a distance of about 18 miles. The outcroppings on the east side of the valley occur along the minor ridges at the base of Lookout Mountain, while those on the western side occur along the minor ridge at the base of Sand Mountain. The total length of these two almost parallel lines of ore outcroppings, not considering their minor meanderings along the various hollows and hillslopes, is approximately 40 miles. In Johnson's Crook the ores likewise form two main lines of outcroppings similar to those of Lookout Valley. The eastern line of outcroppings, which appears along the base of Lookout Mountain, has a length of about seven miles, while the western line of outcroppings along the base of Fox Mountain, extends only about one-hal that distance. Thus it will be seen that the aggregate length of outcroppings of the fossil iron ores in Dade county does not fall far short of 50 miles.
The fossil iron ores of Walker county outcrop along the eastern side of Lookout Mountain from the Georgia-Tennessee line to the head of McLamore Cove. From this point the line of outcroppings turns at an acute angle to the northeast and continues for about 12 miles along the western foothills of Pigeon Mountain. Here it abruptly turns to the southwest and follows the eastern foothills of Pigeon and Lookout mountains, through the western part of Walker and Chattooga counties to the Georgia-Alabama line a short distance south of Menlo. This line of outcroppings, which has a total length of about 70 miles, has but one break in its continuity. This break, which is due to a fault, occurs in the vicinity of Flintstone, only a few miles south of the Geor-
80
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
gia-Tennessee line. The length of the break in the outcroppings due to the fault does not exceed three miles and is more than counterbalanced by a second line of outcroppings appearing only a mile or so further to the east.
All along Lookout and Pigeon mountains the ores occur generally along a lin~ of low hills or ridges at the base of the mountains. At some points there occur small narrow valleys between this series of hills and the main mountains. The dip of the ore along this line of outcroppings is usually at a low angle toward the axis of the mountains, but in some cases the dip is at a high angle, and in a few instances the ore beds are entirely overturned, thus giving rise to two lines of outcroppings instead of one. This complicated structure is to be seen at several points in the mines located in the vicinity of High Point.
In addition to the above outcroppings, the fossil iron ores are found also further to the east along Gaylor's and Taylor's ridges and Dirtseller Mountain. Gaylor's Ridge, located in the extreme southwestern corner of Chattooga county, is a typical synclinal ridge, having a maximum elevation of about 700 feet above the adjacent valleys. This ridge extends to the northeast a distance of four or five miles, stopping only a short distance southwest of the southern terminus of Taylor's Ridge. The iron ore of Gaylor's Ridge is confined mainly to its western side, where it is exposed at numerous points.
About six miles north of Gaylor's Ridge and running parallel with it is Dirtseller Mountain. This mountain, like Gaylor's Ridge, is synclinal, extending beyond the Georgia-Tennessee line some miles into Alabama. That portion of Dirtseller Mountain confined to Georgia, in which the fossil ores occur, has a length of only about four miles. The ores occur on both sides of this mountain, outcropping near the summit and dipping at a low angle towards its central axis.
The most eastern outcroppings of the fossil iron ores of importance occur in Taylor's Ridge in the central part of Catoosa and the western part of Walker and Chattooga counties. This ridge, known in Tennessee as White Oak Mountain, intersects the State line a few miles north of Ringgold and extends in a southwesterly direction for more
IRON ORES
8
than 50 miles, terminating only a short distance east of the GeorgiaAlabama line. Throughout the entire course of the ridge the fossil iron ores are nearly everywhere present, and at several points they have been more or less extensively exploited. This is especially true in Chattooga county a short distance from Summerville, where the ores have been mined almost continuously for some years.
The total length of all of these several different lines of outcroppings aggregate approximately 175 miles.
GEOLOGY.-The Red Mountain formation, of Silurian Age consists of shales and sandstones with a few thin strata of limestone and one or more beds of fossil iron ore. The sandstones of this formation become well developed in Chattoogata and Horn mountains and also in Taylor's Ridge, but in Dade and the western part of Walker counties shale predominates. The thickness of the formation varies from 600 to 1,800 feet, the greater thickness being confined to that part of the area where the sandstone is best developed.
The structural geology of the region where the fossil iron ores occur is that commonly met with in regions where the strata have been subjected to intense lateral strain, resulting in a series of rather closepressed, parallel folds and a number of faults of greater or less throw. The folds are more numerous, and at the same time closer pressed along the eastern than the folds along the western margin. This is especially noticeable if a comparison is made between the strata of Sand, Lookout and Pigeon mountains and the strata east of Taylor's Ridge.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The fossil iron ores occur in regular stratified beds varying from a few inches to several feet in thickness. They consist, commercially speaking, of two varieties, namely, the hard ore and the soft ore. The soft ore, which forms the weathered outcrop of the hard ore and which differs from the hard ore mainly in the loss by weathering of calcium carbonate, rarely ever extends more than a short distance beneath the surface.
The physical structure of the soft ore is very variable. It is not always, as the name implies, a soft, friable, earthy, unconsolidated ma-
82
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGI/I
terial, but may consist of a very hard, rather closely compacted mass. The latter, when taken from its natural bedding, frequently breaks into prismatic blocks, and is often spoken of by the miners as "block ore." The prismatic structure of these ores is due to a series of joints formed apparently during the folding of the rocks.
The hard ores, or the unweathered part of the ore bed, differ from the soft ore as above stated, chiefly in high percentage of calcium carbonate, and also in being harder and of more compact structure. They occupy a position near the center of the Red Mountain formation. The workable beds are rarely more than three in number, more usually they are limited to only one, though at several places two have been successfully worked to a greater or less extent.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The main mass of the ore consists of iron oxide often in the form of rounded oolitic flaxseedlike particles, or in the form of casts of fossils. The oolitic particles, which have an average diameter of about one-sixteenth of an inch, are usually somewhat flattened, the longer axis being parallel with the bedding of the ore. In some of the beds these particles make up the greater part of the ore, while in other beds they are almost entirely wanting. They are also quite variable in the same bed from place to place, often occurring more or less in patches, or are confined to thin layers. The fossil casts, consisting largely of the fragments of crinoid stems and bryozoans, are present in nearly all of the ore; even the most oolitic beds contain them in greater or less numbers. As a general rule these fossil casts form the larger part of the Georgia ores.
The chemical composition of the fossil ores is shown by the following analys~s:
IRON ORES .dna(11.re.r of Fouil I ron Ore.r Constituents Determined
83 II
Hygroscopic water_____________________________________
.10
.65
Combinedwater_______________________________________
2.04
3.57
Ferrous oxide, FeO_ _____ ___ ___ _______ ___ ___ ____ _____ __
2. 65
none
Ferric oxide, Fe 20 3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ ____ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ ___ _ _ Alumina, AhOs-------"-------------------------------Manganous oxide, MnO_ _____ __ ______ _____ __ ___ ___ __ ___
45.29 3..1248
81.57 5.57
.43
Lime, CaQ___________ ___ __ ____ ___ ___ ____ ___ ______ ___ __ 21.41
.29
Magnesia, 'MgO ________________________ ------------ __ _ Silica, Si0 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Sulphur, S_2__ ____ ____ ______ ____ ___ __ ___ ____ ___ ____ ____
.44 7. 28 trace
.42
6.55 .25
Phosphorus pentoxide, P,o,___ ____ _____ ____ __ __ ____ _____
1.17
.45
1---------1-------- Carbon dioxide, CQ,___________________________________ Total _________________________________________ _
16.50 100.30
none 99.75
Sample No. 1 in the above analyses is what is known as hard ore and sample No. 2 is what is known as soft ore. These two analyses give a fine average of these two different classes of ores.
METHOD OF MINING.--There are two different methods usually adopted in mining fossil iron ores, namely, by stripping and by underground work. Stripping, which is generally employed where the amount of overburden does not exceed 15 feet, consists in removing the earth and partially decomposed rock by scrapes and other devices, after which the ore is raised or dug up by means of the pick or crowbar. This method is nearly always employed in mining the soft ore and is much less expensive than underground mining, unless the overburden is quite heavy. As a general rule, the first mining at nearly all of the workings is by stripping, but as the dip of the ore bed is often at a high angle, this method, within a few rods from the outcropping at most, always gives way to underground work, which is carried on practically in the same way as coal mining.
UsEs.--The fossil iron ores have in past years when worked on a large scale been used mainly for making iron. At the present time, however, production is small and the ore is ground and used for ocher in the paint industry.
84
GEOLOGICAL,_SURVEY OF GEORGIA
STATliSTICs.-The following table taken from the Mineral Resources U.S. Geological Survey, shows the combined production of brown iron ore and fossil iron ore from 1914 to 1924.
Year
-
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
Quantity (Long Tons)
66,222 101 '719 252,143 211,501 262,003 74,007
Value
$119,363 186,083 413,259 524,175 878,612 294,619
Year
Quantity
(Long Tons)
Value
1920
104,482
$460,633
1921
3,822
13,678
1922
28,566
77,636
1923
117,286
300,712
1924
112,059
285,128
In addition to the two varieties of iron ores above described, there
also occur in the various localities in the Crystalline area prospects of
magnetic iron ores. Among these may be mentioned the deposits in
Greene county, near Union Point; the deposits in Lumpkin county,
near Dahlonega; the deposits in Haralson county, near Draketown;
and the deposits in Cobb county, near Marietta. No magnetic ores
have been produced to date, though there has been considerable pros-
pecting.
REFERENCES ON IRON ORES
1893-Spencer, J. W. The Paleozoic Group. The Geology of Ten Coulllties of Northwest Georgia and Resources. Ga. Geol. Surv. pp. 15Q-156, 406, 1893.
1894-Hayes, C. W. Ringgold Folio, Georgia and Tennessee. U. S. Geol. Surv., 1894.
1895-Hayes, C. W. Stevenson Fol'io, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. U. S. Geol. Surv., 1895.
1900-McCallie, S. W. Some Notes on the Brown Iron Ores of Georgia. Eng. and Mng. Jour. Vol. LXIX, pp. 255-256, 1900.
1900-McCallie, S. W. Notes on the Fossil Iron Ores of Georgia. Eng. and Mng. Jour. Vol. LXX, pp. 757-758, 1900.
1900-McCallie, S. W. A Preliminary Report on a Part of the Iron Oru of Polk, Barlow and Floyd Counlie.r, Georgia. Ga. Geol. Sur11. Bull. 10-A, 190 pp., 8 pl.r., 1 map, 1900.
=
c
LIMESTONES
85
1900-Hayes, C. W. Geological Relation of the Iron Ores in the Cartersville District, Georgia. Am. Inst. Mng. Engs., pp. 9-11, Feb. 1900.
1902-Hayes, C. W. Rome Folio, Georgia. U.S. Geol. Surv. 1902. 1908-McCallie, S. W. Fouil Iron Ore.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surf'. Bull. 17, 199 pp., 24 plY., J map.r, 1908. 1909-Burchard, E. F. Tonnage Estimates of Clinton Iron Ore in tha Chattanooga Region of Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 380, pp. 169-187, 1909. 1924-Haseltine, R. H. Iron Ores of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. 41, 222 pp., 10 pls., 7 figs., 1924.
LIMESTONES
LoCATION.-Limestones are found in the three physiographic provinces of Georgia, namely, the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau and the Appalachian Valley.
In the Coastal Plain, limestones occur in many counties, but they are of economic importance only at certain localities.
In the Piedmont area the limestones have usually become recrystallized into marbles. They occur as marbles in Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, and Cherokee counties and in less important areas in Hall and other counties in the Piedmont Plateau.
The limestones of the Appalachian Valley region are most abundant and of great economic importance. They occur in Polk, Floyd, Bartow, Chattooga, Gordon, Walker, Dade, Catoosa, Whitfield, and Murray counties.
GEOLOGY.-In the Coastal Plain, limestones of the Tertiary age occur in the Chattahoochee group, and in the Vicksburg, Ocala, Clairborne and Midway formations. They also occur in the Ripley formation of upper Cretaceous age. The Piedmont region of Georgia contains limestones and marbles which are of Cambrian and pre-Cambrian age.
The Appalachian area affords the greatest abundance of limestone in the State. In this area limestones occur in the following forma-
86
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
tions, namely, the Connasauga formation, and Shady limestone of Cambrian age, the Knox dolomite of Cambro-Ordovician age, the Chickamauga formation of Ordovician age, and the Floyd and Bangor limestones of the lower Carboniferous age.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-All of the limestones are of sedimentary origin, in most cases formed from the fossil remains of organisms, while in some cases they may be largely of inorganic origin.
The limestones of the Coastal Plain usually occur as thin bedded argillaceous limestone and marls, consisting often of unconsolidated shells, while those of the Piedmont area occur as stratified layers, the bedding planes of which have generally been obliterated by the pressure to which these rocks have been subjected. The limestones of the Appalachian area are stratified, sometimes semi-crystalline and of many and various colors.
HISTORY.-The history of the lime industry m Georgia dates back to the earliest settlers. It has been recognized since very early times that the burning of limestone produced a product which when applied to the soil increased its productive value. Limestones were first used for agricultural purposes and in mortar for building. The lime industry is still in its infancy in Georgia and it ha11l only been in recent years that the true value of limestones has been recognized as among the most important of our economic resources.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The term limestone is used in a very general sense. It includes those rocks unconsolidated or consolidated which are made up largely of calcium carbonate with varying amounts of silica, alumina and iron oxide, the alkalies, etc. When calcium carbonate is replaced largely by magnesium carbonate it is then k~own as a dolomite. The physical characteristics will vary from the one extreme of unconsolidated shell marl Lo the consolidated various colored true limestones through to the crystalline marbles.
The following are analyses1 of some of the typical limestones from the Paleozoic rocks of Northwest Georgia:
1. Analyses by Dr. Edgar Everhart, Chemist, Geological Survey of Georgia.
LLI!ESTONE
87
Analy.re.r of Lime:rlone
II
Ill
Lime, CaO____________________________________ _ Magnesia, MgO _______________________________ _
Alumina, AhOa--- --------- _- ---- _______ --- ___ }
SFuerlrpihcuorxtirdieo,xiFdee2, 0sao_,____________________________________________________ _
Phosphorus pentoxide, P 20------- ______________ _ Silica, SiOs. __________________________________ _ Clay bases____________________________________ _ Moisture _____________________________________ _ Undetermined_________________________________ _
Total ____________________________________ _
36.76 15.24
.84 .00 trace .91 .54
45.71
100.00
54.38 .25 .24
trace 1.75
.30 43.08
100.00
53.13 .60
1.42 .60
1.82
42.43 100.00
I. Knox dolomite, Ladd Lime C~., lower strata, Cartersville, Ga. II. Floyd limestone. This is an average sample of the old Huffaker Lime quarry, Huffaker, Floyd county, Ga. III. Bangor limestone taken on the property of Mr. J. B. Reeves on the west side of Little Sand Mountain, about 4! miles north of Crystal Springs, Ga.
UsEs.-Probably no other rock is used for such a variety of pur-
poses as limestone. It is used for lime in building, for paving, curb-
ing, flagging, mortar, rubble, riprap, and when crushed it is used for
railroad ballast and road building. Limestone is also extensively used
for concrete, for furnace flux, for agricultural purposes as a fertilizer,
for natural and Portland cements, etc., etc.
STATISTICs.-The following table taken from Mineral Resources U. S. Geological Survey, gives the value of the production of limesstone in Georgia for the years 1914 to 1924.
Year
Value
Year
Value
1914
$ 89,216
1915
86,254
1916
82,799
1917
155,172
1918
192,515
1919
213,968
1920
$324,653
1921
355,796
1922
424,242
1923
389,511
1924
383,130
REFERENCES ON LIMESTONES
1898-Spencer, J. W. The Paleozoic Group. The Geology of Ten Counties of Northwestern Georgia and Resources. Ga. Geol. Surv. pp. 42-54, 77-146, 261-!l71, 1898.
88
GEOLOGIC.dL SURVEY OF GEORGI.d
1896-McCallie, S. W. .d Preliminary Report on a Part oflhePhosphalu and .Marl.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 5-.d, 98 pp., 1896.
1901-McCallie, S. W. A Preliminary Report on the Road.r and Road-Building .Malerial.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 8, pp. 98-104, 1901.
1907-McCallie, S. W. .Marbles of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 1, 126 pp., 1907.
1909-Veatch, Otto. Second Report on Clays of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 18, pp. 73-106, 1909.
1912-Maynard, T. Poole. Limestones and Cement Materials of North Ga., Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. 27, 296 pp., 1912.
1917-Brantley, J. E. Limestones and Marls of the Coastal Plain of Ga. Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. 21, 300 pp., 1917.
MANGANESE"
LocATION.-The manganese deposits of Georgia occur in the northern part of the State in the Piedmont Plateau and Appalachian Valley provinces. Their wide geographic distribution is shown by their occurrence in Lincoln County near the Georgia-South Carolina state line, in Towns County near North Carolina, in Whitfield and Catoosa counties near Tennessee, and in Polk and Haralson counties east of the Georgia-Alabama state line. The principal deposits, however, are within rather well-defined areas chiefly on the west side of, and approximately parallel to, the Cartersville fault. They may be conveniently described by mining districts. These districts have geographic and geologic features peculiar to each. The Cartersville district is the oldest mining district and the largest producer. The Cave Spring district ranks second in importance, though its production as compared with that of Cartersville has been very small. The six principal mining districts are, (1) Cartersville district, (2) Cave Spring district, (3) Draketown district, (4) Tunnel Hill district, (5) VarnellCohutta district, and (6) Doogan Mountain district. Besides these, there are several isolated deposits.
The deposits may be classified according to the rocks with which they occur. Thus there are (I) deposits in semicrystalline and pre-
1 Taken largely from the report on Manganese Deposits of Georgia by Hull, La Forge and Crane
MdNGdNESE
89
Cambrian schists and quartzites, (2) deposits m Weisner quartzite and Shady (Beaver) limestone, (3) deposits in Knox dolomite, and (4) deposits in Holston marble and Tellico sandstone. The formations range in age from pre-Cambrian to Ordovician, inclusive. The deposits in the pre-Cambrian s&ists and quartzites are concentrated in pockets or lenses gen~ally in contact with the country rock and are comparatively small deposits. The deposits in the Weisner quartzite and Shady limestone occur in various forms in the clay above the quartzite and in the lower part of the limestone residuum. They form the largest and most important deposits of the State, as at Cartersville. The deposits in the clay overlying the Knox dolomite rank second in size and are best shown in the Cave Spring district. The deposits in the residuum of the Holston marble and Tellico sandstone are not large, but they produce exceptionally rich ore.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The manganese deposits of Georgia may be classified according to their mode of occurrence or formation. Thus the following types are recognized together with the form of the ore in each type of deposit.
Typu of mangane.re depo.ril.r and ore.r according lo mode of occurrence
Deposit (in clay and hard rock)
Ore (crystallized and amorphous)
1. ResiduaL__________________ Bedded, concretionary, stalactitic, nodular, pellet, powder, irregular ma.sses.
2. Replacement_-------------- Same as in 1. 3. Vein-and fracture-filling______ Bedded, stalactitic, irregular, coatinga. 4. Detrital____________________ Part or all of 1-3, and breccia.
No one of these types is exclusive; they overlap. Nor is any one deposit composed of only one type of ore; they are mixed. As a rule vein and fracture-fillings do not form workable deposits. However, the ore bodies of the Cartersville district particularly, which have as their foot wall the Weisner quartzite and as their hanging wall the weathered clay of the Shady limestone, may be rightly classed as bedded veins. Thus the vein type ranks with the others in importance.
90
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORG/d
HxsTORY.-The first definite record of tonnage of ma;nganese ore
produced in Georgia was in 1866. From that time until 1880 the aver-
age yearly production was 1,425 tons. From 1880 to the present time
the production has been widely variable. During the World War
period, due to the importance of manganese in the munition industry'
the production reached its maximum, and since that time has been
comparatively small. Almost all the strictly manganese ore has been
produced in the Cartersville district. Small shipments have been
made from the Cave Spring district, Varnell-Cohutta di!trict and
Blue Ridge. Likewise almost all the ferruginous manganese ore has
been produced in the Cartersville district. The total production of
high grade ore in this district is over 100,000 tons. The largest
shipments of manganiferous iron ore have been made from the Cave
Spring district.
CHEMICAL PRoPERTIEs.-Only the oxides of manganese occur in
Georgia in commercial quantities. Of these pyrolusite and psilomelane
greatly predominate, with some manganite and braunite, and much
of the earthy oxide, wad. These cannot always be separated; but
they usually occur admixed in varying proportions.
The following analyses of manganese ore from the Cartersville and
the Cave Spring districts show the character of the ores:
Analy.ru of Manganue Ore
Manganese
Iron
Silica
Phosphorus
Moisture
41.248 41.630 42.856 44.308 39.893 47.080 46.400 48.350 39.690 41.410 40.310 49.320 47.250 43.710 46.749 42.685 42.938 42.578 42.307 45.189
9.100 1.990 10 ..4,91 4.595 10.210 5.600
------
-----5.850
----------------------------
1.746 1.729 5.240 1.500 2.400 7.840
14.400 10.820 7.300 10.950 12.720
low
5.250 2.600 11.860 4.500 3.760 3.780 5.610 7.100 13.050 10.000 8.009 11.950 10.390 7.602
0.109 0.050 0.139 0.156 0.106 0.194 0.277 0.122 0.210 0.134 0.127 0.208 0.198 0.236 0.059
-----------
0.089 0.072 0.035
2.000 4.000 6.000 6.000 6.000
------------
------
------------__-_-_--,.-._ ----------------------------------------------
.MdNGdNESE
91
PHYSICAL PROPERTIEs.-With the exception of the wad, the ore is usually either partially or wholly crystalline, with druses of minute crystals of pyrolusite abundant through the masses, and is of a dark steel-blue color and the nodular type nearly always displays the complete or partial layered or concentric structure characteristic of concretionary masses. Fine gravel and crystalline masses, lump and needle ore compose the bulk of some of the ore bodies. Stalactitic and mamallary structures are often beautifully developed.
METHODS OF MINING AND PREPARING THE 0RE.-The method of mining depends largely upon the location of the deposit and its depth below the surface. Open-cut and pit, shaft and tunnel work are employed in mining the manganese ores. The three methods are often used together to advantage in the same place, especially where the ores begin at or near the surface and continue irregularly to some depth below. In such cases, open-cut and pit work is first used; and, from the bottom of the open work, shafts are sunk and drifts are run at different. levels from the shafts. Tunneling becomes necessary in most of the steeper slope deposits. In the lower deposits, especially those of the valley bottoms, shafting and tunneling are most advantageously employed. In most of the tunnels and shafts it becomes necessary, from the nature of the clays, to timber the openings in order to prevent caving.
The simplest method employed in the preparation of manganese ore for use in furnaces is dry-mining, which consists in passing the ore or wash-dirt as mined over a screen, the undersize or material passing through the screen being discarded, for the time being at least, and that remaining upon the screen being a finished product.
This method of procedure is both simple and crude, but lends itself conveniently to small scale operations, where the only capital that the miner has is his muscle. Further, the method is also employed in the earlier stages of development and working of large deposits before a washing plant has been erected and indeed before a definite method of treatment has been decided upon. Dry-mining may, however, be a matter of necessity rather than choice, as when the pro-
92
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
perty is at considerable distance from water and the expense of pipe lines is prohibitive.
The preparation of manganese ore as usually practised is by log washers with certain accessory equipment, which may or may not be essential, depending upon existing conditions.
A standard log washing plant consists of the following parts:
1. A grizzly for separating the rock and lump ore from the washdirt.
~- A log washer for removing the bulk of the clay, fine sand, and other wastes from the ore.
S. A revolving screen or trammel for separating the larger pieces of ore and waste from the smaller sizes for subsequent treatment.
4. A picking belt for assisting in sorting the waste rock from ore, permitting it to be done conveniently and rapidly.
5. One or more jigs for completing the cleansing of the ores and making a further separation of waste from the manganese.
6. Settling and mud ponds for removing the clay resulting from washing the ore, in order that it be not allowed to enter the streams and that it may be used over again in the plant.
7. The last part of the equipment, which is a very important adjunct to the plant, is the water supply. Water is furnished by pump and pipe line, often from considerable distance, or as is frequently done by flume from source of supply somewhat higher than the plant.
UsEs.-The uses of manganese ores (including manganiferous ores) and manganese compounds may be grouped in three classes: metallurgical, chemical, and minor uses. The most important use for manganese and manganiferous ores is in the manufacture of the iron and manganese alloys, spiegeleisen and ferromanganese which are used in the manufacture of steel. The Georgia ores are used chiefly for this purpose. Low-grade manganiferous ores are used in making pig iron.
Of the chemical uses, probably the most important is in the manufacture of chlorine. Manganese compounds are also used as coloring materials.
.11/JNG/JNESE
93
Probably the most recent use for manganese IS in a certain non-
,
ferrous mixture which is used for the production of the necessary charcoal for gas Jmasks by the carbonization of fruit stones.
METALLURGICAL USES
(.Hanganue and manganijerou.r ore.r)
I. ,Alloys with iron 1. Ferromanganese, spiegeleisen, silicomanganese, silicospiegel ~. Hadfield's manganese steel 8. Quaternary manganese steels (1) Manganese-nickel, manganese-chromium, and manganese-silicon steel
II. Alloys with metals other than iron
1. Cupromanganese, manganese bronze, manganese brass, silver bronze, manganese amalgam, manganese-aluminum alloys, Heusler's alloys
III. Flux
1. Smelting of copper, lead, and silver ores
CHEMICAL USES
(.Hangane.re oxide.r)
I. Oxidizing agents 1. Chlorine, bromine, and oxygen manufacture !t. Disinfectants (I) Sodium permanganate 8. Decolorizer of glass (I) Removes green iron impurity 4. Dryer in varnishes and paints 5. Leclanche cell 6. Dry cell 7. Explosives and bleaching (I) Potassium permanganate
94
GEOLOGICL'lL SURVEY OF GEORGIL'l
II. Coloring materials
1. Calico printing and dyeing (1) "Manganese brown"
2. Coloring glass, pottery, door knobs, bricks, soap (1) Red, pink, violet, yellow, brown, black
8. Paints (I) Wad for chocolate and brown (2) Barium manganate for "manganese green" (3) "Nuremberg violet"
MINOR USES
I. Mordant in fixing colors in dyeing (manganous oxide) II. Compounds for medical, chemical, and manufacturing purposes III. Ornamental purposes (pink rhodonite)
STATISTICs.-The following table taken from the Mineral Resources, U.S. Geological Survey shows the production of manganese in Georgia from 1914 to 1924.
Year
Quantity
Value
Year
Quantity
Value
1914
------
--------
1920
341
$ 9,512
1915
3,168
$ 33,927
1921
13,302
40,928
1916
(a)
(a)
1922
1,033
(a)
1917
16,895
208,256
1923
31,750
147,226
1918
17,455
343,497
1924
21,628
108,546
1919
3,774
(a)
(a)-Included in undistributed.
REFERENCES ON MANGANESE
189Q-Penrose, R. A. F., Jr. Manganese, Its Uses, Ores and Deposits. Ark. Geol. Surv. Rept., Vol. 1, pp. 417-430, 1890.
1893-Spencer, J. W. The Paleozoic Group. The Geology of Ten Counties of Northwestern Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv., pp. 191-199, 1893.
1904-Watson, Thos. L. Geological Relations of Manganese Ore Deposits of Georgia. Am. Inst. Mng. Engs. Trans. Vol. 34, pp. 207258, 97o-978, 1904.
:i
7"'.'
0
c~
:::: 0
t....o ~
' c.;
0 , v f:.
7.
~ c
%'-'
o-;;..
"' 0
"'!-
:0: :2"
c::
c.:
~_,
c"-
!%
_,
0...
.MARBLES
95
1907-Harder, E. G. Manganese Ores. U. S. Geol. Surv. Min. Res. for 1907, pt. I, pp. 87-110, 1907.
1908-Watson, Thos. L. Manganue DepoJ'tbf of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surf'. Bull. 14, 195 pp., 8 plt., 2 mapJ', 1908.
1919-Hull, J. P. D., La Forge, Lawrence and Crane, W. R. ll1angane.J'e Depo.!il.J' of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surl'ey Bull. 35, 290 pp. 26 pl. 2 map.!, 1919.
MARBLES
LocATION.-All of the marbles of Georgia, which have so far been
worked on a commercial scale, occur along the Louisville & Nash-
ville R. R., in the northern part of the State. They are confined to a
na:rrow belt, about sixty miles long and from one to three miles wide,
traversing in a southwesterly direction the counties of Fannin, Gilmer,
Pickens and Cherokee. , That portion of the counties in which the
marbles are found, is usually quite hilly; and, in places it becomes
even mountainous, with peaks reaching an altitude of more than 4,000
feet above sea-levd. The average elevation of the-region is only about
1,500 feet.
'
In many instances the marbles form the floor of the narrow val-
leys; but, more frequently, they are exposed along the adjacent hill-
slopes, where they often form bold bluffs from 40 to 50 feet in height.
The general trend of the ridges and valleys is northeast and southwest,
conforming in direction to the strike of the rocks of the region; how-
ever, in some cases, as in the vicinity of Marble Hill, the course of the
valleys and ridges may vary considerably from the general northeast
and southwest trend. The streams are small but they are always
rapid, and often furnish ample power for operating machinery for
sawing marbles and for other purposes. The most important streams
are Long Swamp, Tolona, and Turniptown creeks. At many places
along these streams the valleys in which they flow often become sud-
denly contracted, thus forming narrow deep gorges, where storage
dams for water-powers may be constructed at small cost. In general,
the topography of the marble belt may be said to be that commonly
96
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
met with throughout the Southern Appalachian region, where the streams are rapidly deepening their channels in rocks of variable hardness.
GEOLOGY.-The marbles occur near the western margin of what is knownas the Crystalline areaoftheState. The rocks associated with the marbles are chiefly of sedimentary origin; though there occur in places also rocks of igneous origin. The sedimentary rocks include the clay slates, the mica-schist or mica-slates, the quartzites and conglomerates, and the gneisses, while the igneous rocks are chiefly coarsegrained granites or pegmatites and hornblende rocks. The present interpretation of the geology of the marble belt is indicated by the table given below:
Lower Cambrian
Notteley quartzite
Murphy Marble (5o-soo feet)
Valleytown formation Brasstown Schist Tusquitee quartzite Nantahala Slate Great Smoky formation
Archean
Biotite granites Roan Gneiss (hornblende gneiss and schist, di{ orite and gabbro) Carolina gneiss
A detailed study of the formations in the Tate area, where the marbles have been most exten;ively worked, was made during the past summer (1925). Many samples of rocks were collected formicroscopical investigation, and no doubt much will be learned concerning the relative age of these formations.
MonE OF OccURRENCE.-The marble usually occurs along only one line of outcroppings, but at a few places, notably in Pickens county and also in Fannin county, there are two lines of outcrops. It varies in texture from very coarse to very fine grained. The latter variety usually has a laminated structure and carries considerable impuri-
r
\
.3f.dRBLES
97
ties, such as mica, while the former is almost entirely free from impurities, and also has but few seams or cutters, thus being well suited for building and monumental stone.
HisTORY.-In 1840, Fritz T. Simmons began quarrying marble on a small scale in Longswamp Valley near Tate, Pickens county. This seems to have been the first systematic work done in the State, toward developing the Georgia marbles. Previous to this time, however, the Cherokee Indians, who originally inhabited this section of the country, worked the marble to a limited extent into bowls and various other forms.
The stone worked by Simmons is said to have been obtained from outcroppings and weathered boulders exposed along the hillside, and was not always of the best quality. The impure and more or less laminated varieties were frequently selected on account of the ease with which they could be worked. At first, all the work required in getting out and polishing the stone, which was then used exclusively for tombstones, was executed by hand. The great amount of manual labor thus spent on the stones, before they were ready for erection in church yards, made them so costly that only the wealthy were able to buy; and, as a result, the demand was so limited that only a few hands were necessary to supply the trade. About two years after Simmons began work he erected a mill with one gang of saws on the east branch of Longswamp Creek, near Marble Hill postoffice. This was the first mill put up in the county for sawing marble. The mill, as a whole, is said to have been somewhat primitive affair but the mode of cutting the marble was the same as is now employed in our best mills. A short time after this, another mill was built by Simmons and Hurlick on the west branch of Longswamp Creek, two miles east of Jasper. It was run, though not continuously, for four or five years, when work in both the mill and the quarry located near by was temporarily suspended. Mr. Simmons, who had now associated with him as a partner, Mr. Margum, of Marietta, began work on a more extensive scale at the original quarry, near which the Southern Marble works are now located. The firm continued operations for only a
98
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
few years; but, during that time, it got out a great many tombstones, many of which can be seen in church yards throughout the surrounding country.
In 1850, Tate, Adkinson & Company opened a quarry in the vicinity of the Georgia Marble Works, and erected two mills on the creek, one above and the other below the quarry. Each mill had two gangs of saws, which enabled the company to turn out a greater amount of work than any previously organized. Owing to this increased facility for the production of marble, the firm now found it necessary to employ an agent to travel through the counties of North Georgia to solicit orders for tombstones. When a number of these stones, sufficient to make a wagon-load, had been sold, a delivery wagon, drawn by six mules, was started out on the road, to deliver the stones to the respective buyers as it traveled through the country. This mode of transportation, in a mountainous country, where the roads were usually rough and steep, added greatly to the original cost of the stone. Common, plain tombstones, that now bring from ten to twelve dollars per set, then sold at thirty or forty dollars. After continuing operations for only about two years, this firm was succeeded by Rankin, Summy & Hurlick, which was the last company to do any work in the immediate vicinity of the Georgia Marble works, until the present company was organized. In 1854, Summy & Hurlick, who ten years before had opened a quarry two miles east of Jasper, again renewed the work at that place. They erected there a mill with four gangs of saws and continued successful operations for about six years, when the works were abandoned on account of the Civil War. Immediately after the war, the quarry was worked by Robinson, Richardson & Besinger for nearly two years; but it was afterwards abandoned, until 1885, when the property fell into the hands of the Perseverance Marble Company, organized by Jas. P. Harrison and others. This company at once made a considerable outlay of money in erecting a steam-mill, opening up new quarries, etc. Steam-drills and all the machinery necessary to carry on a first-class quarry were secured. The works, which now employed a number of hands, continued opera-
MARBLES
99
tions for only about three years, turning out, in the meantime, a great deal of marble, which was used for various purposes.
The Georgia Marble Company was organized in May 1884, with a capital of $1,500,000. This date marks the beginning of a very important epoch in the history of the development of the marble industry in Pickens County. Previous to this time, Georgia marble was practically unknown to the trade as a building stone, and had only a very local use for tombstones, etc.; but, on account of the superior quality of the marble, and the energy and business-like methods of this and other companies soon organized, it has found its way to all parts of the United States, where it is now used in the construction of some of the most costly buildings. The first work of the Georgia Marble Company, after securing control of nearly seven thousand acres, was to construct and equip a branch railroad from the quarries to the main line of the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad, (now the Atlanta, Knoxville & Northern Division of the Louisville & Nashville R. R.) This gave ready means of transportation to all parts of the country. The mills and quarries were then put in operation at a total cost of nearly $800,000 and have been run continuously ever since with a gradual increasing output.
The Southern Marble Quarries, which are located about four miles east of Tate, at Marble Hill Post Office, were opened in 1885 by Miles & Horne, contractors for the State Capitol of Georgia. The staircase and the tiling, except the border tiles, used in this building, were secured at these works. Mter a few years of operation these quarries were purchased by the Ga. Marble Company which has operated them up to the present time.
The Piedmont Marble Company was organized in 1886, the quarries being located only a short distance from those of the Southern Marble Company. The Piedmont quarries are now owned by The Georgia Marble Company and are not operated.
The Amicalola quarry of the Georgia Marble Company, was first opened in 1892, when it was known as the Herndon quarry. It was operated for about 5 years by the Atlanta Marble Company, was
100
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
then purchased by the Amicalola Marble Company and subsequently passed into the hands of its present owners. It is located about 1 mile south of Marble Hill Post Office. It has been almost continuously operated up to the present time.
THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES of the Georgia marbles are shown by the following analyses1 of samples of the stone which are now most abundantly put on the market:
Chemical Analy.ru
Marbles Calcium Magne- Ferric ox-
oxide
sium
ide and
oxide alumina
Insoluble Loss on lg- Total siliceous nition matter
No.!_ _____ 54.06 No.2 ______ 32.73
.90 19.37
.10 .35
No.3 ______ 55.00
1.12
.15
No.4 ______ 31.53
21.30
.24
No.5 ______ 31.61
21.06
.78
No.6 ______ 54.41
.75
.32
No.7 ______ 54.67
1.01
.42
No.8 ______ 52.77
.82
3.28
No.9 ______ 24.07
17.24
.43
No. 10_____ 30.42
19.86
.91
No. 11 _____ 31.89
19.64
.74
2.12
.73 .35 .10 1.01
1.62 .76
1.43
21.76 4.23
1.73
42.86 46.58 44.16 47.26 46.49 43.13 43.49 41.85 37.08
}Undetermined
100.04
99.76 100.76 100.43
100.95 100.23
100.35 100.15 100.58
------------
PHYSICAL PROPERTIEs.-The Georgia marbles vary in texture from fine to coarse grained. The former variety, which varies from uniform white to dark, clouded and flesh colored, has a great strength and low absorption powers, as shown by the following tests:
1 Analyses made by the late Dr. W. H. Emerson, Professor of Chemistry, Georgia School of Technology.
MARBLES
101
NAME
QUARRY
Cru.rhing Te.rl
.5
.5
. ~
8.-
~i-:
.5
I
~
'i
!i.;
. -~E"~'
()
i ...:::1
O
'i
.2
~"cc' .
"~
ta5
~8. <
== . !!'8.
fc
:~.!
~ =-g@
. ., s i~: ';):;; t,;tG~:I.5- r;;.
>c
1...-;.e~,:..,.a,-
'irs,c8.
g '5.!
'i.S.S-
() a:
..." >b
:<";
:::1
I!
i""' f!&i
"' ~
REMARKS
Kennesaw
No. L------ Kennesaw .99X .99 Bed 10,000 10,204 12,244 ----- ----- Cracked on edge be-
fore bursting
Kennesaw
No.2-------- Kennesaw l.OOxl.OO Bed. 11,400 11,400 13,680 2.717 169.8 Burst suddenly
KeNnon. eas._aw______ Creole No.I Creole No.2
Kennesaw Georgia ... Georgia ...
1. OOXl.OO l.OOxl.OO l.OOxl.OO
Bed. 10,672 10,672 Bed. 13,900 13,900 Bed. 13,100 13.100
12.806 16,680 15,700
----- ----- Burst With exiJlosion
-----
2.763
1--7-2-.-6
Burst Burst
With With
exiJlosion exiJlosion
Creole Etowah Etowah
No.3 No.1 No.2
Georgia... Georgia ___ Georgia ___
l.OOxl.OO l.OOxl.OO .99x .99
Bed. 13,200 13,200 Bed. 13,200 13,200 Bed. 12,000 12,244
15,840 15,840 14,692
----- -----
-----
2.707
1--6-9-.1-
Etowah No.3 Georgia... .99X .98 Bed. 12.300 12,540 15,048 ----- -----
SoNuot.hJe.r_n______ Southern. .99xl.OO Bed. 11,300 11,414 13,696 ----- -----
Southern
No.2-------- Southern. .99xl.OO Bed. 10,900 11,010 13,212 2.734 171.8
Southern
No.3-------- Southern. .98xl.OO Bed. 10,800 11.020 13.224 ----- -----
Ah.mrplion Te.rl
NAME
Weight, after reWeight, after dry- maining in water
ing for 24 hours. for 72 hours.
Approximate percentage of absorption.
Kennesaw__ ------ _______ Creole ___________________ Etowah _________________
Southern, No.!_ _________ Southern, No.2__________
45.160 grammes 44.320 grammes 42.215 grammes 46.170 grammes 44.440 grammes
45.200 grammes 44.335 grammes 42.240 gra=es 46.200 grammes 44.475 grammes
.008 per cent. .004 per cent. .005 per cent. .006 per cent. .008 per cent.
UsEs.-Georgia marbles are used chiefly for building and monumental purposes and also interior decorat~on. Prior to 1891, the use of the stone was confined to interior finish and monumental stock, but in that year facilities for handling exterior work were added and the first building undertaken was the Equitable building, Atlanta. The stone has now a wide use for building purposes. Costly buildings, such as State capitols, post-offices, etc., made of Georgia marble are distributed from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Canadian to the Mexican boundaries. The new Capitol of Porto .Rico is being
102
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
constructed out of Georgia Marble. There is probably no building stone in this country, in recent years, which has gained such a wide spread use and given such universal satisfaction as the Georgia marble. The growth of the use of the st,one has also been equally as phenominal in monumental work. These monuments have not only an extensive sale in the South, but also throughout the North and West. The marble, furthermore, has an extensive use for interior finish and decoration. It is especially well suited for wainscoting, tiling and other interior purposes.
As a building marble, the Georgia stone has but few, if any, equals in the United States. Its purity and great strength, together with its extremely low absorption properties, fit it for all classes of exterior work, and at the same time, even in the most rigid climate, give it a lasting property, surpassed by but few building stones. The dark and flesh color of the stone, which is due principally to the presence of graphite and iron oxide, minerals but little affected by atmospheric or organic agencies, are as unchangeable as the marble itself.
In addition to building, interior finish, and monumental uses, the Georgia marble is also used to a limited extent for fluxing and for the manufacture of carbonic oxide and magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts), and calcium sulphate. For the latter purposes, only the marble is used which runs high in magnesia.
STATISTics.-The value of the annual production of Georgia Marble from 1914 to 1924 is given in the following table, taken from Mineral Resources U.S. Geological Survey:
Year
Value
Year
Value
1914
$1,190,742
1920
$2,255,557
1915
973,605
1921
1,545,158
1916
903,343
1922
1,867,228
1917
1,073,783
1923
2,090,486
1918
1,152,444
1924
2,651,217
1919
1,574,687
In addition to the marble above described, there occurs in the Silurian series of rocks in the northwest corner of Whitfield county a nar-
MARBLES
103
row belt of dark chocolate and grayish marbles, about one mile east of Red Clay and extends nearly parallel with the Southern Railway for about 10 miles. It is well exposed about one mile east of Varnell's Station on the Eslinger farm, where it was worked to a limited extent several years ago. This marble belongs to the same stratum which traverses the valleys of East Tennessee, and which is so extensively worked in the vicinity of Knoxville.
The color of the stone is quite variable. It is generally of a dark chocolate color, variegated with white; but there also occurs, in more or less abundance, a light-gray and a beautiful pink. These various colors are frequently found at the same place, occupying different layers of the same stratum, or they may blend into one another, so that almost any shade of color, from a dark chocolate to a light gray, can be secured. The light gray, which is always the most solid and the most completely crystallized, is generally traversed by dark, irregular lines, that add variety to an otherwise monotonous light gray surface. The exposures are mostly in the form of bowlders or large disconnected masses, which appear to be due to the surface weathering of thick layers of marble, with a somewhat jointed structure.
For more complete information on the marbles of Georgia, see Bull. No. 1 revised, published by the Geological Survey of Georgia.
REFERENCES ON MARBLE
1884-Merrill, Geo. P. Report on the Building Stones of the United States and Statistics of the Quarry Industry. lOth U. S. Census, Vol. X, 1884.
1894-McCallie, S. W. A Preliminary Report on the Marhle.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Sur~. Bull. 1, 87 pp., 1894.
1899-Day, W. C. Georgia Marble. U. S. Geol. Surv. 20th Ann. Rept., Vol. VI, pp. 374-375, 1898-1899.
1907-McCallie, S. W. A Preliminary Report on the Marhle.r of Georgia (2nd Edition). Ga. Geol. Sur~. Bull. 1, 126 pp. 52 pl.r. 2 map.r, 1907.
1912-La Forge, Laurence and Phalen, W. C. Geology of the Ellijay quadrangle U. S. Geol. Survey folio No. 157, 19l!l.
104
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
MARLS
LocATION.-The marls are confined to the Coastal Plain and they are widely distributed throughout this area. The best exposures of this material are to be found along the Chattahoochee, Flint and the Savannah rivers. Good exposures are also to be seen along the Allapaha River in Echols county and the Big Satilla River in Camden county, as well as along the Altamaha in Wayne county. In addition to these occurrences, more or less extensive beds are frequently met with along the smaller streams throughout the Coastal Plain.
GEOLOGY.-The most extensive and probably the best variety of marls are the so-called glauconitic or greensand marls, which occur in the Cretaceous and Eocene formations. These beds are well exposed along the Chattahoochee River and are also to be seen at various points as far east as Perry in Houston county. Beds of marl occur also in the Oligocene, Miocene and even in the Pliocene formations. They seem to be especially well developed in the Miocene along the Savannah River in Effingham and Screven counties.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The marls through the Coastal Plain always occur in more or less continuous beds associated with the limestones, sands and clays. The greensand marl beds often attain a thickness of many feet and are usually quite uniform throughout. The exposures along stream beds often present quite favorable conditions for cheap mining by means of open cuts. The overburden in many cases attains only a few feet which insures low cost in mining.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-By the term marl, as here used, is meant any calcareous clay or sand which carries a small percentage of plant food, especially phosphoric acid and potash. When the calcareous material is in the form of comminuted shells it is known as shell marl, and when glauconite is present in considerable abundance it is often called greensand marl. These various marls are usually soft, earthy-like material which can be mined with picks and shovels. They are quite variable in color, but more generally they are gray, greenish gray or sometimes almost black.
MARLS
105
There is quite a variation in the chemical composition of the Georgia marls as shown by the following analyses1 :
.!lnaly.re.r of .Marl!
II
Loss on ignition____________________
32.91
2.54
Lime, CaQ_________________________
35.54
Magnesia, MnQ____________________
.10
Alumina, AI.Oa--------------------
2.20
Ferric Titani
uomxiddei,oxFied2e0,
a--------------Ti0 2____________
--
__
Sulphur, S_________________________
2.72 .08
..7015
Phosphorus pentoxide, P 20 6__________
.64
4.55
Silica, Si02------------------------
25.81
76.18
1-----1---
TotaL ___ --- ________ --- __ ______ __ __ ____ _ 100.00 100.00
Sample No. 1, in the above table, was obtained from the bank of the Flint River at Montezuma, Macon county, and sample No. 2 was obtained from the Savannah River at Porters Landing, Effingham county.
UsEs.-Marl is chiefly used asa fertilizer. Itsvalueforthispurpose depends upon the amount of lime, phosphoric aci~ and potash present. Dr. Wiley, Chemist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture;in speaking of the marls, says that the chief agricultural constituent of marl is always lime carbonate, which acts in a beneficial way on stiff clay soils and others deficient in lime. In addition to the lime, many marls also carry a considerable amount of phosphoric acid and potash which are important plant foods.
Besides the use of marls for agricultural purposes they have also been found valuable, when composed largely of calcium carbonate, for making Portland cement.
REFERENCES ON MARLS
1876-White, H. C. Marl and Its Uses. Handbook of Georgia. Ga. Dept. of Agr. pp. 88-101, 1876.
1896-McCallie, S. W. The Pho.rphale.r and .Marl! of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 5-A, 98 pp., J plr., 1896.
1917-Brantley, J. E. Limestones & Marls of the Coastal Plain of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. ~1, ~89 pp., 18 pl., 1917.
1. Analysis by Dr. Edgar Everhart, Chemist of the Geological Survey of Georgia.
106
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
MICA
LocALITY -Mica is widely distributed throughout the Piedmont Plateau. There is scarcely a county in this part of the State which has not one or more prospects. Mica has been. worked to a limited extent in Cherokee, Lumpkin, Union, Hall, Upson and Rabun counties. Some of the most promising prospects in Cherokee county are in the vicinity of Holly Springs and Toonigh, and in the Hickory Flats di~! trict about 10 miles southeast of Canton. In the last named locality, considerable mica has been mined and put on the market in the last few years. The Lumpkin and Union county deposits, as so far developed, occur near the Lumkpin-Union county line, about 12 miles north of Dahlonega. Much of the mica from this district has been mined by the Pitner Mica Company, which formerly erected and put into operation a plant for grindilng mica near Gaddistown, Union county. Mica has been mined in Rabun county at the Kell mica mine, 10 miles east of Clayton, and in Hall county near Gainesville. ~n addition to these localities good mica prospects are found in Monroe, Elbert, Habersham, Pickens, Cobb, Gwinnett, as well as in a large number of other counties in the Piedmont Plateau. The largest production in recent years has come from Upson county.
GEOLOGY.-Mica is always associated with pegmatite or coarsegrained granites, which occur usually in the form of dikes. These probably differ in age, but they all appear to be much younger than the rocks with which they are associated. It seems most probable that they originated during the volcanic activity, which brought to a close the Paleozoic times. The unsheared and uncrushed condition of the mica'-carrying dikes shows that the mountain making forces of the region have been inactive since the intrusion of the dike materials.
MoDE OF OccuRRENCE.-Mica occurs both in pegmatite dikes and in veins. The dikes, as well as the veins, are variable in thickness and longitudinal extent, and at the same time the amount of merchantable mica in the different parts of the individual dikes or veins are also quite
MICA
107
variable. These conditions are met with in practically all of the mica prospects, and as a result mica mining is always a somewhat hazardous business. The veins differ from the dikes chiefly in being smaller in size and in having a banded structure, due to the arrangement of the mica, feldspar and quartz, the three principal minerals present. In the dikes, on the other hand, the different minerals have no definite order of arrangement. They may occur in bunches or segregations or may even be pretty evenly distributed throughout the dike. Both the dikes and the veins sometimes cut the country rock, the gneisses and schists, but more generally they conform to the schistosity of these enclosing rocks.
VARIETIES OF MICA.-There are a large number of varieties of mica, but only two, namely, muscovite and phlogopite, are used to any extent in the arts. The former variety, which appears to be the only mica of commercial value in Georgia, is a potash mica. This variety may be white, gray, yellow, brown or green. A reddish brown variety is often designated as "rum" or "ruby" mica. The main features which determine the value of sheet mica is flexibility, transparency, and freedom from foreign minerals, such as iron oxide, together ~ith the size of the individual sheets.
UsEs.-Mica finds use in the industries and arts in two forms known as "sheet" and "ground" mica. The largest use of sheet mica is as an insulating material in electrical machinery, switch boards, lamp sockets, spark plugs, etc. The best grade of clear mica is still used as glazing material in stove doors, lamp chimneys, shades and goggles. The electrical trade prefers clear mica, but uses also large quantities of material which would be useless for glazing because of the amount of "specking." Sheets of various sizes, rings and discs are the usual shapes employed. Insulating material is also manufactured by building up layers of small and thin pieces of mica known as "thin splittings" with shellac or some other insulating binder. The product is cut or punched just as the sheets of whole mica.
Ground mica is of two varieties. The "wet ground" product is used mainly to give luster to wall papers. It has other decorative possi-
108
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
bilities m tinsel and some paints, especially the so-called metallic varieties. "Dry ground" mica enters into the composition of many lubricants. Mixed with shellac, it serves as an electrical insulator. Coarser ground mica is often applied to the surface of prepared tar roofing to prevent sticking and also finds use as packing for the insulation of heated pipes. The coarse grade is known as "bran mica."
The only plant in Georgia now preparing crude mica for the market is the grinding plant of the Mica Products Company located at East Point, a suburb of Atlanta.
STATISTICS.-The following table taken from the Mineral Resources U. S. Geol. Survey, shows the production of mica from 1914 to 1924:
Year
Value
Year
Value
1914
(a)
1915
$ 635
1916
2,094
1917
13,541
1918
80,050
1Q19
20,460
1920
$16,707
1921
4,340
1922
11,330
1923
(a)
1924
3,694
(a)-Figures not to be disclosed.
REFERENCES ON MICA
1899-Holmes, J. A. Mica Deposits of the United States. U. S. Geol. Surv. 20th Ann.. Rept. pt. 6, pp. 691-707, 1899.
1905-Cirkel, Fritz. Mica: Its Occurrence, Exploitation and Uses. Can. Dept. of Interior, Mines Branch, 169 pp., 38 figs., 1 map, 1905.
1907-Sterrett, Douglas B. Mica Deposits of Western North Carolina. N. C. Geol. and Econ. Surv. Econ. Paper 14, pp. 82-107, figs. 5, 1907.
1915-Galpin, S. L. Feldspar and Mica Deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. 30. 192 pp., 9 pl., 1 map, 1915.
OCHER
LocATION.-The ocher deposits of Georgia now being worked are located in Bartow county in the vicinity of Cartersville. The Belt
OCHER
109
in which the ocher occurs has an approximate length of about eight miles in a nearly north-south direction. As indicated by natural outcrops and prospect pits, the belt is a very narrow one, not exceeding two miles at the widest point. It has its beginning at a point to the west of Emerson on the John P. Stegall property, about two miles south of the Etowah River, and is easily traced in a northward direction, about one mile east of Cartersville, to a point north and to the west of Rowland Springs. Beyond this point, surface indications disappear and no openings have been made; hence it cannot be traced, although diligent prospecting may possibly reveal a further northward extension of the belt. Less than two miles southeast of the town of Cartersville, the Etowah River cuts directly across the north-south axis of the belt. In cutting across the quartzite ridge at this point, an excellent natural exposure of the ocher beds in place is afforded. Here the ocher has been extensively mined and one of the largest and best equipped plants in the district is located.
GEOLOGY.-The ocher is entirely limited to the Weisner (Cambrian) quartzite, and as stated above, it occurs along a somewhat continuous belt, extending from Emerson on the south side of the Etowah River northward to Rowland Springs, a north-south distance of approximately eight miles. Exposures of the fresh rock indicate that the ocher occupies an extensively shattered zone in the quartzite. It is found in place in the hard and fresh shattered quartzite, and in a similar position in the residual clays derived from the decay of the quartzite. Examples of both occurrences are abundant in the region. The theory, which most satisfactorily explains the formation of these deposits, would probably indicate ocher occurring at considerable depths below the surface which might or might not prove workable. At the river ocher plant, two miles southeast of Cartersville, tunnels have been driven for some distance into the quartzite ridge at or near water level in the river, and the same quality and quantity of the ocher are indicated as at higher levels. Mine openings for ocher elsewhere in the district are usually located at some distance above the drainage level of the surrounding region. No clue therefore as to
no
GEOLOGIC.Il.L SURVEY OF GEORGI.Il
depth of the ocher or vertical range of the deposits is furnished by any of the workings in the region.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-So far as mining developments have been made in the area the ocher has nearly equal occurrence in the fresh and in the decayed quartzite. At every point examined its position in the residual clays is in all respects similar to that in the hard and fresh rock, indicating that since its formation some portions of the quartzite have favored decay more than others. With respect then to the character of the enclosing material (rock) the mode of occurrence of the ocher is best described separately under occurrence in the fresh rock and occurrences in the residual decay.
In the fresh rock the ocher forms a series of extremely irregular branching veins, which intersect this shattered quartzite without any apparent system. They frequently expand into bodies of considerable size; and when the ocher is removed, rooms 6 to 10 feet in diameter are sometimes left connected by narrow winding passages. The mining of the ocher has left the point of the ridge completely honey-combed with these irregular passages and rooms.
The contact between the ocher and enclosing quartzite is never sharp and distinct, but always shows a more or less gradual transition from the hard vitreous quartzite to the soft ore which may be easily crushed between the fingers. The quartzite first becomes stained a light yellow and loses its compact, close-grained texture. This phase .passes into a second, in which the rock is perceptibly porous, having a rough fracture and a harsh "feel," and containing enough ocher to soil the fingers. In the next phase the ocher preponderates, but is held together by a more or less continuous skeleton of silica, although it can be readily removed with a pick. The final stage in the transition is the soft yellow ocher, filling the veins, which crumbles on drying, and contains only a small proportion of silica in the form of sand grains.
The intermediate zone between the pure ocher and the quartzite is usually a few inches in thickness, although it may be several feet between the extremes, and, on the other hand, sometimes only a fraction of an inch.
OCHER
Ill
In the residual clays the ocher cuts the enclosing clays in a very irregular manner, forming a series of irregular branching deposits which correspond to veins in the fresh rock. The ore bodies narrow and widen, thin and thicken throughout their extent. Irregularity obtains both as to vertical and lateral distribution of the deposits. The contact between the ocher bodies and the surrounding clays is never entirely sharp, but a more or less gradual transition from the clays to the pure ocher is usually shown. The ocher-charged clays at the point of contact lessen considerably in the ocher content a short distance away and is entirely absent in the clays at some distance from the contact. As is the case with the ocher bodies in the fresh rock the transition zone between the clay and the pure ocher is quite variable from a few inches or less to as many feet between the extremes.
HISTORY.-The first authentic record of ocher mined in Bartow county, Georgia, dates back to the year 1877, when Mr. E. H. Woodward began mining ocher on a property located near the limits of the town of Cartersville. The crude ocher was hauled in wagons to Cartersville and prepared for market. At this time Mr. Woodward was also engaged in mining manganese on the Dobbins property, six miles northeast of Cartersville.
In the year 1878, Mr. A. P. Silva, who for several years had been engaged in the extensive mining of manganese in the district, mined some ocher on a small scale. In the same year Mr. M. F. Pritchett purchased the ocher interests of Woodward and Silva, and the ocher mined was hauled to Cartersville, where it was washed and dried preparatory to shipping. He used for drying the ocher a brick furnace about thirty feet long and four feet wide with thin sheet iron for the bottom and a fire box located at one end.
Pritchett sold his interest to Maltby and Jones in 1879. Mining was continued on the same properties, but under improved methods. Hauling the crude material to Cartersville was also continued, where it was prepared for market. The only mines worked were located on the Larey property near the wooden bridge across the Etowah River, two and a half miles southeast of Cartersville on the Emerson road.
112
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
In 1890 the property was again sold to the Georgia Peruvian Ocher Company, composed of western capitalists. Improved methods in the preparation of the ocher for market were introduced by the company. For the reason that the wagon road was better to Emerson than to Cartersville, the plant was moved to the former place, two miles south of the mine. The first shipment of American ocher to Europe is reported to have been in December, 1890, from the mines of this Company near Cartersville, Georgia. The shipment consisted of a consignment of 50 tons to England.
Systematic mining and preparation of the ocher with the use of modern machinery and improved methods, properly dates perhaps from the year 1891, when J. C. Oram of Vermont, and E. P. Earle of New York, both experienced ocher men, became interested in the company. Both of these men had handled ocher for years in the East and it was due to them that the ocher industry became firmly established in Bartow county, Georgia. Up to this time the ocher had been dried with steam in large vats fitted with steam pipes along the bottom of the vats. Mr. Oram first introduced the natural process of air-drying in vats dug in the ground. The capacity of the vats was a car-load or more of the ocher when dry. The last two plants established in the district, namely, The Blue Ridge Ocher Company and The Riverside Ocher Company, have now put in equipment for steam drying, but formerly used only the natural or air-drying process.
In 1893, Mr. W. B. Shaffer bought the property adjoining the Larey property, directly at the entrance to the wooden bridge across the Etowah River on the Emerson road, and established the Standard Peruvian Ocher Company. Mr. Garrett Linderman purchased in 1896 the Shaffer plant and property, becoming owner of both the Shaffer and Oram mines and mill and is operating at present as the Georgia Peruvian Ocher Company. All the machinery and other equipment were moved from Emerson to the present site of the bridge and a commodious modern plant installed at the mines for preparing the ocher for market.
MI NE il AL RESOUHCES 0~' OEOUGIA
!'LATE XVI I
S}; TTLING V ATS AND DRYI NG S HED OF THE C H EROKEE O c u En AI\D BARYTES Co . , NEAn CARTERS \ . ILL E, B ARTOW CouNTY, GEORGIA.
OCHER
113
In 1898 a second plant, known as the Cherokee Ocher and Barytes Company was installed for the purpose of mining and shipping ocher, by Messrs. Akin and Baxter, one mile east of the Western and Atlantic depot in Cartersville
In 1899 a third plant, known as the Blue Ridge Ocher Company, was added by Messrs. Hull and Postell, located about two and a half miles east of Cartersville. The last and fourth plant to be established in the district was the Riverside Ocher Company, in 1902, owned by a syndicate in Warrior's Mark, Pennsylvania. The plant is located two and a half miles nearly due east from Cartersville and, like the others, is in all respects an up-to-date plant.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The chemical composition of both the crude and the refined ocher is shown in the following analyses made by theN. P. Pratt Laboratory in Atlanta, Ga:
Table of Chemical AnalyJ'u of lhe Ocher
_"_1_._. _ I
IV v VI VII VIII
Ferric oxide, Fe20s--------- 72.29 56.29 65.49 54.60 67.37 61.40 67.32 62.79
Alumina, AhOs------------- 5.55 10.15 7.20 6.68 6.85 7.14 5.86 6.94 Ferrous oxide, FeO _________ 0.46 0.39 ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -----Manganese dioxide, Mn02___ 0.87 0.54 1.80 1.50 2.04 2.00 ------ -----Silica, Si02 (free, sand) ______ 6.65 8.94 7.76 17.42 6.54 11.89 9.14 6.20
Silica, siSlici0a2tes)(_c_o_m__b_i_n_e_d___a_s H20 at 105C______________
3.98 0.55
9.49 2.08
6.85 10.08 0.40 0.48
6.61 0.96
5.84 0.46
6.35 0.78
9.78 0.50
- -- - - - - - - - H20 above 105C___________
9.22 11.34 10.50 9.24
--
9.63 9.37
--
9.60 --------
TotaL __ ------------ 99.57 99.22 100.00 100.00 100.00 98.10 99.05 ------
All of these ochers are refined by washing, except numbers I and II.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES.-The ocher as it appears in the Cartersville District presents but little diversity of appearance. The principal difference in appearance to be noted is that of color. In this area, the color of the ocher which varies from a dark to a light, bright yellow is conditioned principally, if not entirely, by the amount of clay or argillaceous matter admixed with it, which in turn is dependent upon
114
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORG!d
the character of the rock which the ocher replaces. Where the ocher replaces the pure quartz rock, it is invariably of the light, bright yellow color and it contains comparatively little admixed clay; while the ocher bodies found replacing the interbedded siliceous shales of the Weisner formation contain considerable clay, and the ocher is darker in color and is of inferior grade. On this basis, two grades of the ocher are distinguished: (a) bright yellow and (b) dark yellow containing much clay and of inferior quality.
The bodies of pure ocher consist of a yellow powder of extremely finely divided particles of hydrated ferric oxide, clay-like in character, in which the water content is high and the material soft enough to be spaded up. As the ocher grades from the soft clay-like bodies, through that bound together by a quartz skeleton into the hard and firm quartz rock, the color gradually fades and finally disappears in the absence of the yellow powder from the rock.
Aside from the argillaceous matter or clay, the other impurities, silica and manganese oxide, exercise but little if any effect on the physical appearance of the pure ocher. Silica is constantly present; but is rarely sufficiently coarse-grained in the purer beds of ocher to impart any perceptible gritty "feel." In the other phases of the ocher the harsh "feel" is apparent from the skeleton of silica binding the ocher powder together. Manganese oxide, usually present only in small trace, gives a slight greenish tint to the refined ocher.
METHODS OF MINING AND PREPARING OcHER.-The method of mining consists of tunnels driven into the ridges with shorter drifts or tunnels worked from the main ones at suitable points. By this method a number of levels, one above the other, have been worked on several of the properties, but much more extensively on the Georgia Peruvian Ocher Company. On this property the natural section exposed by the river cutting across the quartzite ridge, has been worked back some distance from the river by blasting. At this point about half of the entire section from top to bottom is of the shattered rock almost entirely replaced by the ocher held together by the hard siliceous skeleton, which can be easily and profitably worked in this way.
OCHER
115
Timbering is necessary in tunneling as both the clay and the crushed and shattered quartzite are apt to cave in.
None of the ocher is marketed in the crude state. To obtain the merchantable product the only preparation necessary is the separation of the ocher from its mechanically admixed impurities and otherwise preparing it for market by washing, drying, pulverizing and packing.
After the ocher has been mined it is carried on an inclined tramway from the mines to the washer and dumped into a long trough or box filled with running water. A central shaft, armed with iron blades arranged in the shape of a broken helix, revolves lengthwise in the box and violently agitates the ore. The very finely divided particles of ocher remain suspended in and are floated by the water, which escapes through the openings near the top of the box into a race or flume which empties into a series of vats a short distance away where the ocher is allowed to settle. The water is in large part syphoned from the vats by means of rubber hose. After the ocher has settled and as much of the water syphoned off by the hose as possible, further expulsion of the water is by means of evaporation. The ocher is removed from the vats just as soon as it is stiff enough to handle. It is then placed on drying racks under the shed where the drying process is completed. The time required for evaporation sufficient to ,admit of handling the ocher, after syphoning off the water from the vats to transferring to the racks under the shed, will average about ten days in clear summer weather. It requires from eight to twelve days of similar weather to complete the drying on the racks before removing the ocher to the pulverizer.
Artificial drying is in vats or tanks arranged in series, and in which iron pipes are run at close intervals along the sides and bottoms for steam heating. Drying by this method requires usually not longer than one or two days, when the ocher is ready to be removed to the racks and the drying continued for the usual time, eight to twelve days, before the ocher is dry enough to pulverize. While the time is considerably shortened by the steam drying over the natural evaporation by the sun, the ocher is less desirable than the sun-dried material.
116
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
The reason for this is that near the pipe& the heat is strong enough to partially dehydrate or calcine the ocher, changing its color from yellow to dark red.
After being thoroughly dried on the racks, the ocher is removed to a room where it is pulverized and packed under steam pressure. Packing is in barrels and bags of uniform size. Capacity of the barrels is from 350 to 400 pounds, and that of the bags ~10 to ~0 pounds.
UsEs.-The principal use made of the yellow ocher mined in Bartow county, up to the present time, is in the manufacture of linoleums and oil cloths. For this consumption the important markets were formerly in England and Scotland, to which the bulk of the Cartersville product was exported. A large percentage of the ocher is used at present for a similar purpose in the plants in the United States namely manufacturing linoleums and oil cloths. It is used to a limited extent also in the manufacture of paints.
Until recently the American ochers have been considered inferior to the imported ochers from other countries for the manufacture of paints. Gradually, however, the excellent qualities of t~e Cartersville ocher for paint purposes are beginning to be recognized and it may be confidently predicted that in the future an increasing demand will be ~ade for this product in paint manufacture. By reason of its high grade character, containing proportionately a smaller amount of impurities and a larger amount of iron oxide than most of the yellow ochers produced in the United States, the Cartersville ocher yields on calcining a rather desirable red pigment, which must eventually make its way into the markets. The Cartersville ocher is further used in a variety of minor ways, the demand for which is very limited.
The principal markets heretofore for the Georgia product were foreign, and they included points in England, Scotland, Ireland, and to some extent, Germany. It was also shipped for use to many of the larger towns both in the North and in the South.
PRECIOUS STONES
117
STATISTICs.-The production of ocher in Georgia from 1890 to 1908 inclusive is shown in the following table taken from Mineral Resources U. S. Geological Survey:
Year
Quantity
Short Tons
Value
1890
800
$12,800
1891
600
9,000
1892
1,748
26,800
1893
2,600
39,000
1894
1,690
17,840
1895
2,105
31,080
1896
2,981
28,005
1897
2,608
36,600
1898
2,858
30,798
1899
3,212
39,505
Year
Quantity
Short Tons
Value
1900
6,828
$73,172
1901
5,077
49,176
1902
3,688
38,423
1903
5,212
47,908
1904
4,752
44,142
1905
4,209
43,481
1906
5,550
58,350
1907
5,600
57,100
1908
6,035
63,851
----
-----
-------
REFERENCES ON OCHER
1904-Watson, Thos. L. The Yellow Ocher Deposits of Cartersville District, Bartow County, Georgia. Am. Inst. Mng. Eng. Trans. Vol. 34, pp. 643-666, 1904.
1906-Watson, Thos. L. The Ocher Depo.ril.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 13, 81 pp., 10 pl.r., 5 map.r, 1906.
1907-Burchard, E. F. Georgia Ocher Deposits. U. S. Geol. Surv. Min. Res. pp. 700-702, 1907.
PRECIOUS STONES,
A large variety of minerals suitable for gems and other ornamental objects and cabinet specimens has been found in the State. No systematic mining for gems, however, has been carried on and the finds have been accidental, or incidental to gold, corundum, and other mining. Nearly all of the minerals are found in the Piedmont Plateau and the mountainous section of the northeastern part of the State, but a few, such as opal, chalcedony, jasper and agate, occur in the Coastal Plain.
1. Written by Otto Veatch, formerly Assistant State Geologist.
118
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
DIAMONDs.-A number of diamonds has been reported at various times, most of them said to have been found in early placer gold mining. The following is a list of counties in which it is said that diamonds have been found. The list has been compiled from old books1 and the reports of individuals.
Hall, White, Habersham, Banks, Lumpkin, Dawson, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Cherokee, Clayton, Bartow, Haralson, Carroll, Paulding, Cobb and Twiggs counties are reported to have furnished one or more stones each. Most of the finds, it must be admitted, lack satisfactory verification, and in some instances one is led to suspect that pure deception has been practiced, and that in still other cases other minerals, as very clear quartz crystals, have been honestly mistaken for diamonds. However, there are a few well authenticated finds, which place the existence of diamond-bearing rock in Georgia not beyond the bounds of a probability.
The first diamond, of which there is any record, is reported to have been found in Hall county, in 1843 by Dr. M. F. Stevenson, while panning for gold. The locality is near Winn's, or Williams' Ferry, and at the mouth of a small branch which enters Muddy Creek at a point about one-half mile from its junction with the Chattahoochee River. The genuineness of the find is not disputed. The locality was visited by the writer in January, 1908, and the remains of the old placer workings were found. The branch is only about three-fourths of a mile in length, and a close examination of its drainage basin was conducted. The only rock found is a gray granite which is occasionally cut by thin pegmatite veins and thin quartz veins. The source of the diamond remains obscure.
The report that diamonds have been found in the gravel along Stockeneter Branch at The Glades, 13 miles northeast of Gainesville, should be considered reliable. But here again, there is no clue to their source.
1. The Geology and Mineralogy of Georgia, M. F. Stevenson, 1871. White's Statistics of Georgia, 1849. Handbook of Georgia, Thos. P. Janes, Dept. of Agriculture, 1876. Commonwealth of Georgia, J. T. Henderson, Dept. of Agriculture, 1885.
PRECIOUS STONES
119
The rock within the drainage basin of the branch is granite cut by thin pegmatite veins and quartz veins.
Some credence should be given to the reports of diamonds during the early placer gold mi.ning of White county. Authentic finds1 are also mentioned in White, Lumpkin, Hall and Dawson counties, but no localities are given.
It was a popular belief, and is yet so to some extent, that a belt of sand-:_,, stone and quartz schist, the so-called itacolumite, in Hall, Banks and Habersham counties, would prove to be the source of diamonds, and several were reported to have been found in this rock. These reported finds, however, are open to much doubt. The above belief was based on a resemblance, or fancied resemblance, of this sandstone to the itacolumite of Brazil. It is now thought that the itacolumite of Brazil is not the source of the diamonds found there, but that they originated / in clay-schists intruded by pegmatite.2
In 1887, a diamond was found on the property of Daniel Light, one and a half miles northwest of Morrow Station, Clayton county. The stone was found at the top of a small hill and near the old house of Daniel Light, a:ad was discovered in plowing. A shaft was sunk and the soil and disintegrated rock were washed, prospecting for diamonds at this point, but without success. The only rock exposed in this neighborhood is a gray biotite granite which produces a red soil. The genuineness of this find can hardly be disputed, but again the source of the stone is involved in obscurity.
A number of diamonds is reported to have been found on the Nelson property about 11 miles southeast of Macon in Twiggs county. The geological formations here are lower Cretaceous and Eocene sands and clays.
The recent authority find3 of a diamond in Lee county, Alabama, a few miles from Columbus, Georgia, should be mentioned here.
RuBY AND SAPPHIRE.-The ruby and sapphire are corundum gems, and while no very fine gem material has yet been discovered in Georgia,
1. Commonwealth of Georgia, J. T. Henderson, p. 140. 2. 0. C. Farrington, Gems and Gem Minerals, p. 80. 3. Mineral Resources of the United States, 1905, p. 731.
120
GEOLOGIC.dL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
there is always the possibility of discoveries, since there are a large number of corundum occurrences in the State. The name ruby is applied to crystals of gem corundum of some shade of red, and sapphire, to all other colors and to the transparent, colorless crystals.
Small rubies have been found at the Hog Creek corundum mine, in Towns county, but their value is impaired from a slight cloudiness. Some of these are on exhibition in the State Museum. A small ruby is also reported to have been found in Habersham county, and sent to Professor Shepard of Amherst College, in 1852, by Mr. Plant of Macon, Georgia.1 Blocks of corundum showing blue and red colors are not uncommon, and might furnish an ornamental stone of some value.
Occurrences of corundum are known in Rabun, Towns, Union, Habersham, Lumpkin, Hall, Forsyth, Cherokee, Walton, Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, Carroll, Heard, Troup and Upson counties. Beautiful blue specimens have been obtained from the Laurel Creek mine, Rabun county; the Little and Lovegood property, near Monroe, Walton county; and the Prather farm in Paulding county, seven miles southwest of Acworth. Red corundum specimens have been obtained from the McTire property, Paulding county, six miles north of Douglasville; from the Bell Creek and Hog Creek mines in Towns county; near Gainesville, Hall county, and from lot 133, lith district, Habersham county, beautiful specimens of red corundum coated with pale green margarite.
QuARTz.-Quartz occurs both crystalline and non-crystalline or crypto-crystalline, and though one of the most common minerals, exhibits a number of forms of value for gems and other ornamental objects.
The clear, transparent crystalline variety is termed rock crystal, and many localities where it occurs in Georgia are known. However, no large crystals, which are of considerable value, anything like the size of those found in California and North Carolina, have yet been obtained. Beautiful specimens are on exhibition in the State Museum, from Rabun, Forsyth, Jones, Wilkes, Franklin and Fulton counties.
1. F. P. King, Corundum Deposits of Ga. Bull. No.2, Geol. Surv. of Ga., p. 18.
PRECIOUS STONES
121
There are also cut stones from rock crystal from the farm of H. H. Howell, Upson county, and beautiful opalescent quartz, cut en cabochon from the Kell mica mine, Rabun county, and the Dobbins farm, near Griffin, Spalding county.
Amethyst is a violet, or purple, variety of crystalline quartz.. Rabun county has furnished some of the finest amethysts obtained in this country, but no systematic search for them has been instituted. Amethystine quartz is very common in the crystalline rocks of the State, but it is only rarely that crystals suitable for cutting into gems are found.
Pretty specimens of rose quartz, showing opalescence have been obtained from the Kell mica mine, Rabun county.
Crystals of smoky quartz have been found which afford fair stones when cut. Specimens have been obtained from the Chapman mica mine, Elbert county, Franklin county, Towns county, and small crystals, showing liquid inclusions, from near Thomaston, and from Talbot county. A smoky quartz crystal given to the State Museum by Prof. L. P. Smith of LaGrange, has been cut into very pretty gems. A rock crystal five and a half inches in length, showing a faint smokiness and a remarkable complex crystalline structure, was found on the J. A. Turpin farm, near Clayton, Rabun county.
A specimen of rutilated quartz was found in the northern part of Cherokee county, but the exact locality is not known. A cluster of quartz crystals from Dr. E. D. Little's farm, near Sheltonville, Forsyth county, showing hematite inclusions; rose-colored specimens, showing parallel crystallization, from Rabun county, and white, opaque crystal groups, from near Statham, Jackson county, are worthy of mention here, since they form fine mineral specimens.
NoN-CRYSTALLINE QuARTz.-The varieties under this head, which are found in the State, are chalcedony, agate and jasper.
Corals which have been replaced by chalcedony occur in upper Oligocene strata in Lowndes, Brooks and Thomas counties, and a number of beautiful specimens have been found. Small specimens of chalcedony containing dendritic markings, "moss agate," have been ob-
122
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
served by the writer at the "Rock House" near Cordele, Crisp county, and a bluish-gray agate chalcedony, on the Withlacoochee River in Brooks county, which it is believed would make pretty ornamental objects when polished.
Small masses of agate, red with thin white streaks, from near Roundoak, Jones county, and faint blue agate, with rusty streaks and bluishgray banding, from the State Farm, Milledgeville, polish well and are suitable for watch charms. There is also in the State Museum pretty polished specimens of a red agate from Fulton county, the gift of Mr. N. P. Pratt, and a black and white banded agate from the National Cemetery at Marietta. An agate, showing straight, parallel bands of red and white is found at Wilmot's ravine, near Thomaston.
Jasper in red, yellow, brownish and black colors occurs, but no quantity of commercial importance has yet been developed. A reddishbrown jasper which polishes well occurs near Roundoak, Jones county; brown jasper is found two miles west of Clarkesville; red jasper along Flint River near Albany; a yellow-brown jasper, one and a half miles south of Elko, Houston county. The stone at the last named locality represents the siliceous replacement of an Oligocene limestone.
0PAL.-No occurrence of precious opal is known. A fire opal has been found near Chalker, Washington county. This occurrence is mentioned by Dana.1 The opal appears as small masses in quartzite of Eocene age, the so-called "buhrstone" of this region which seems to represent the silicification of a sand which contained calcareous shells, and the opal fills the spaces left by the dissolution of the shells. Opal is observed at a number of localities in the "buhrstone" in the central part of the State but is usually milky or porcelain-like and is probably of no more than scientific interest.
Hyalite, a clear, glassy variety of opal, has been found in thin incrustations in cracks in the peridotite intrusions at the Laurel Creek corundum mine, and at the old Miller asbestos mine, Rabun county. The occurrence of hyalite in Burke county, mentioned by Dana,1
1. System of Mineralogy, 6th edition, 1893, p,l97.
PRECIOUS STONES
123
is probably at Stony Bluff on the Savannah River, where mammillary incrustations appear in a flint rock of Eocene age.
BERYL.-Beryl is a silicate of alumina and glucina. Emerald, a gem more precious than the diamond, is a rich deep green variety, the color of which is believed to be due to a minute amount of chromium. The common beryl has been found at a number of localities in the State, but is rarely of gem value. A pale blue crystal, from the property of W. T. Smith, Moccasin district, Rabun county, and a pale green crystal from Captain Buck's farm, 8 miles east of Clayton, have sufficient transparency to be of small gem value. Large crystals occur on the Swanson property near LaGrange, but none are of gem value.
GARNET.-Almandine, the common iron-alumina garnet, is widely distributed in mica-schists and other metamorphic rocks in the crystalline area of the State, and in such quantities in places that it has been . mined for an abrasive. It is usually in crystals, but sometimes massive, and is a deep red in color. The crystals have nearly always a rusty coating due to alteration from weathering. This variety of garnet is very common in Hall, Lumpkin, Dawson, Cherokee and other counties, appearing often in very large dodecahedral crystals, but, so far as known, has yielded nothing of gem value, although a small mass found near Porter Springs, Lumpkin county, has a rich red color and a few small stones could probably be obtained from it. It is reasonable to predict, however, that careful search would reveal much material that could be used either for gems, or watch jewels.
Essonite, the calcium-aluminum variety, which has a yellowish brown or cinnamon color, has been found in Fannin county, but the exact locality is not known.
MooNSTONE.-Moonstone, some form of feldspar, exhibits a beautiful, pale blue opalescence and is prized as a gem stone. Fair gems have been cut from specimens obtained from the Addison Lowe farm near Buford, Forsyth county, and from the Hightower place, 8 miles southwest of Thomaston.
RuTILE.-Rutile is an oxide of titanium, usually black or reddishbrown in color. It crystallizes in the tetragonal sys~em and often occurs
124
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
in twin crystals and reticulated groups which form natural ornaments. It also exhibits a natural polish, has an adamantine luster and is often cut for gems. Graves Mountain, Lincoln county, furnishes probably the finest crystals of any locality in the world. According to G. F. Kunz,1 $20,000 worth of crystals have been sold from this locality for cabinet specimens.
ZIRCON.-Zircon, a silicate of zirconia, is a heavy mineral, having an adamantine luster, and when in transparent crystals, produces a gem almost equal to the diamond in luster, but lacks the play of colors. The brownish-red zircons are hyacinths.
Opaque crystals have been found at The Glades mines, Hall county, but not of gem value.
KYANITE.-Kyanite is a silicate of alumina, which occurs in long bladed, bluish crystals, though it may exhibit other colors, and has a hardness of 5-7. It is sometimes cut into gems. Good mineral specimens have been found in Cobb, Habersham, and Upson counties, and are on exhibition in the State Museum.
LAZULITE.-Lazulite is a phosphate of alumina, containing magnesia and ferrous iron. It occurs in fine, pale-blue crystals imbedded in quartzite at Graves Mountain, Lincoln county, and should prove of some value as an ornamental stone.
EPIDOTE.-Epidote, a hydrous calcium, aluminum silicate, containing iron, has a very limited use in jewelry. It usually exhibits a yellowish-green color, but is also greenish-black and other shades. Epidote has been found at a number of localities, but nothing of gem value has yet been obtained. Yellowish-green crystals are found at Black Rock Mountain, Rabun county. A fine greenish-black crystal, measuring two and a half by one and a fourth inches, was sent to the Geological Department by Mr. A. Wood of Commerce. The specimen is probably too dark in color, but would otherwise be suitable for gem purposes.
1. History of Gems found in North Carolina, N.C. Geol. Surv., Bull. No. 12, 1907, p. 52.
PYRITE
125
STAUROLITE.-Staurolite, in cruciform crystals, occurs in Fannin and Cherokee counties, and forms natural ornaments, which are sometimes known as fairy stones. No transparent crystals have been found.
FLOURITE.-Flourite is a mineral having the composition, flourine, 48.9 per cent., calcium, 51.1 per cent. It occurs in transparent crystals of a variety of colors, but on account of its softness, 4 in the scale of hardness, has a very limited use in jewelry. Beautiful purple crystals occur in the Knox dolomite formation, near Graysville, C_atoosa county.
PEARLs.-A few valuable pearls have been obtained from the shells of mussels in streams in the northwestern part of the State. The pearls obtained from the oyster along the coast lack luster and are of little or no value.
REFERENCES ON PRECIOUS STONES
1849-White, George. Statistics of Georgia, 1849. 1871-Stevenson, M. F. The Geology and Mineralogy of Georgia, 1871. 1876-Janes, Thos. P. Handbook of Georgia, Dept. of Agr. Atlanta, 1876. 1885-Henderson, J. T. Commonwealth of Georgia, Dept. of Agr., Atlanta, p. 140, 1885. 1901-Kunz, Geo. F. U. S. Geol. Surv. Min. Res. for 1888, 1900, 1901. 1903-Farrington, 0. C. Gems and Gem Minerals, p. 86, 1903.
PYRITE
LocATION.-The pyrite deposits of commercial importance appear to be all confined to the Piedmont Plateau. These deposits are met with in a number of counties, the most important localities are in the following counties: Carroll, Haralson, Paulding, Cobb, Cherokee and Lumpkin. The Carroll county deposits have been worked rather extensively at the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company's mine about two and a half miles north of Villa Rica and at Reid's Mountain on the
126
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
Central of Georgia Railway, two miles southeast of Bremen. Both of these mines are now inactive. The Haralson county prospect, known as the Smith-McCandless Pyrite Mine, is situated near the HaralsonPaulding county line, four miles north of Draketown. Another prospect in this county is the Waldrop mine, originally worked as a copper mine, four miles northwest of Draketown. The Cobb county deposits are near Acworth. Considerable pyrite was mined some years ago in Paulding county at the intersection of the Southern and Seaboard railroads, two miles west of Hiram. The Standard mine on the site of the old Creighton gold mine in Cherokee county, has produced considerable pyrites. Another prospect in the same locality is the Blake mine. The main deposit in Lumpkin county occurs on the Chestatee River six miles northeast of Dahlonega. Pyrite was first taken from the deposit in 189~, but not until 1917 was any extensive development carried on. At that time the construction of a dam and power house and branch railroad was started. However, due probably to the ending of the World War, work did not progress far and at present the mine is inactive.
GEoLOGY.-All of the pyrite deposits enumerated in the above localities occur in the Crystalline area associated with gneisses, schists and graywackes which are supposed to be of Archean age, and limestones of a much later age. A few deposits in Fannin and Cherokee counties are probably lower Cambrian.
The pyrite deposits of Georgia show great variations in character of ore and associated rocks. It is believed that all may be classified under four general types, as follows: (I) metamorphosed pyrite veins, generally associated with Roan gneiss; (~) limestone replacements (Ducktown type); (3) pyrrhotite veins; and (4) disseminated deposits in basic rocks. Deposits of the first two types only are known to be of commercial importance.
HrsTORY.-The discovery and exploration of the Georgia pyrite veins started with the period of gold mining, about 1830. The early gold miners, however, desired only oxidized ores, and as it was fo~nd
PYRITE
127
that the deposits of pure pyrite carry little or no gold, and the goldbearing veins are largely quartz with relatively small amounts of pyrite, little work was done on the larger pyrite deposits. With the discovery of the Ducktown copper deposits in the late forties a period of extensive prospecting commenced, and continued until the outbreak of the Civil War. During this period pits were sunk on almost all showings of pyrite or gossan in the State, and very few pyrite deposits have been discovered since which do not show traces of the work of the old copper prospectors. But in spite of all the prospecting, the only deposits found rich enough in copper to be worked even on a small scale were the No. !'lO and Mobile mines in the Ducktown district and the Canton copper mine, Cherokee county.
Duri,ng the twenty years following the Civil War some attempts were made to mine copper, but at that time pyrite was not considered as a source of sulphuric acid. In the early eighties the Georgia Chemical Company of Atlanta erected the first pyrite-burning acid plant in the South, and to supply this plant the present Tallapoosa and Little Bob mines were opened. The Atlanta plant was operated only a few years, and in 1890 the only pyrite-burning plant in the United States was a small one at Natrona, Pennsylvania. About that time the price of Sicilian sulphur rose from $!'l!'l.OO to $36.00 per ton, and many acid plants were equipped to burn pyrite, but only lump burners were used, and the Spanish ore was imported at such a low price that there was little incentive for developing domestic mines.
The first really successful pyrite mine in Georgia was the Villa Rica mine of the Va.-Carolina Chemical Company, which was opened in 1899 and worked almost continuously until 1917. Between 1905 and 1915 the Southern Star, Reeds Mountain, and the Swift mines were worked but the price of pyrite at that time was too low to make the operations profitable. The Standard mine was operated continuously for about 5 years' (1913-1918). At the present time no pyritelis being produced in the State.
CHARACTER OF THE 0REs.-The ores occur both massive and in a finely granular condition. The latter form of the ore~is generally met
128
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
with in the Blake mine, and the former in the mine near Villa Rica. These ores often occur quite pure and need no further treatment after being taken from the mine. More generally, however, they not only have to be carefully hand-picked, but also crushed and concentrated before put on the market. The most common minerals associated with the pyrite are quartz, mica, copper pyrite, calcite horneblende, and occasionally galena.
UsEs: The only important use of pyrite is in the manufacture of sulphuric acid. This compound is used in almost all the industries, and its production and price, next after iron and steel production, forms the most reliable barometer of general economic and commercial conditions. Under normal pre-war conditions over two-thirds of the sulphuric acid produced was used in the manufacture of fertilizers. Under war conditions there was an enormously increased demand, since the acid was used in large quantities in the production of practically all high explosives.
REFERENCES ON PYRITE
1901-McCallie, S. W. Mineral Resources of Georgia. Int. Ming. Cong. 4th Ses. Pro. pp. 33-42, 1901.
1907-Rutledge, J.J. Pyrites. The Mineral Industry, pp. 839-851,1907. 1918-Hull, J. P. D. and Shearer, H. K. A preliminary report on a part of the pyrite deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 88, pp. 224, 1918.
RO.dD JlfdTERI.dL
129
ROAD MATERIAL
The road-building materials of Georgia are quite abundant and fairly well distributed throughout the State. In describing these materials, the State will be divided into three divisions, namely, the Paleozoic, the Crystalline, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary areas corresponding to the three great geological divisions of the State.
THE PALEOZOIC AREA
The materials used for road construction in this part of the State, which comprises all or part of the following ten counties, Polk, Floyd, Bartow, Gordon, Murray, Whitfield, Catoosa, Chattooga, Walker, and Dade, consist of limestones, <:herts, shales, and sandstones. The limestones of the area are very abundant, and are well suited for macadamizing purposes. They may be separated into three divisions, namely, Knox Dolomite, Chickamauga Limestone, and Bangor or Mountain Limestone.
THE KNox DoLOMITE is the most extensive of the three formations. It attains a thickness, in places, of more than 3,000 feet and occurs in the form of a number of broad and narrow bands, traversing the area in a northeast and southwest direction, giving rise usually to broad, rounded ridges. The formation consists largely of compact, heavybedded, light-gray magnesian limestone, sometimes oolitic and always containing a considerable amount of siliceous material in the form of chert, hereafter to be described. The uniform texture and the crystalline structure of the dolomite well suit it for macadamizing purposes. In fact, it would be a difficult matter to find a calcareous deposit better adapted for road material than some of the beds of this formation. The stone is easily quarried, and is readily crushed by the rock-breaker; but it has, at the same time, sufficient toughness to form a durable wearing surface.
THE CHICKAMAUGA LIMESTONE overlies and is co-extensive with the Knox Dolomite. It occurs in the form of narrow belts, more or less parallel and often valley-forming. The formation is so called from the Chickamauga Valley, where it reaches its greatest development. Its
130
GEOLOGIC.dL SURVEY OF GEORGI.d
various beds differ considerably, both in physical structure and mineral composition. Much of the Chickamauga limestone weathers into shale having a knotty structure. Such material is often used for road surfacing without being crushed; but its wear, on account of its fragile nature, is usually unsatisfactory. The compact, blue variety of this stone, on the other hand, makes an excellent macadam. It has been extensively used for this purpose, both in Chattanooga and in Chickamauga Park.
THE BANGOR LIMESTONE, which is of Carboniferous age, is a pure dove-colored limestone attaining a thickness of about 900 feet. The formation is well exposed along the flanks of Pigeon and Lookout mountains, where it outcrops beneath the sandstones. The extent of the area covered by this formation is limited mainly to the narrow belts at the base of the above named mountains and, as a consequence, it will probably never become of very great importance in road construction.
THE CHERT DEPOSITS of the Paleozoic area are quite extensive and are widely distributed throughout the area. They occur in two different geological formations, namely the Knox Dolomite and the Fort Payne Chert, the latter being the lowest member of the Carboniferous formation. The chert of the Knox Dolomite is co-extensive with the dolomite itself, and it is often by far the more important deposit of the two, from a road-building standpoint. It occurs in the dolomite in the form of nodules, and also in beds, frequently several feet in thickness. In the weathering of the dolomite, the chert remains as a residual product, in the form of gray flinty nodules. It has been extensively used for several years for surfacing roads and streets throughout North Georgia. The material is well suited for roads of light travel, but where traffic is heavy it is inferior to limestone. It possesses an excellent binding quality, but, after long drought and much travel, it becomes somewhat dusty.
THE FoRT PAYNE CHERT is a siliceous limestone, varying in thickness from 50 to 200 feet. Its lower layers consist largely of heavy beds of chert, resembling very closely the chert of the Knox Dolomite.
ROAD .MATERIAL
131
This formation, like the Mountain Limestone, occurs along the base of Taylor's Ridge and Horn Mountain, further east. The siliceous nature of the formation is well exhibited along the Southern Railway, about one mile south of Sugar Valley station. The chert of the Fort Payne formation is usually distinguished from the Knox Dolomite cherts by its numerous fossils. It is, in places, very fossiliferous, being made up largely of the stems of crinoids, which are cemented together by a siliceous matrix.
In addition to the materials above mentioned, shales, siliceous gravel, and also sandstone occur in the Paleozoic area, but such material is usually inferior for road construction.
THE CRYSTALLINE AREA
The road building materials of the Crystalline area consist of granite, gneiss, diorite, schists, quartzite, marble, massive quartz, and trap rock.
THE GRANITE is widely distributed throughout the Crystalline area, where it occurs in the form of large intrusive masses in the gneisses and schists. These granite masses often cover hundreds of acres, and occasionally, as in the case of Stone Mountain, form dome-shaped masses rising many feet above the surrounding country. In texture, these granites differ widely. They vary from an exceedingly finegrained, homogeneous, monumental stone to a very coarse-grained granite or pegmatite. The fine-grained varieties are quite extensively quarried at several localities in the State for building and monumental stone; and also for street paving purposes. The physical tests, which have been made on these granites, show that they have great strength, and are therefore among the best of this class of stone for road material.
GNEISS is far more abundant in the Crystalline area than granite, and, as a general rule, it is much more suitable for road material. The gneisses are divided into two well-known varieties, namely, the true gneiss, made up of quartz, feldspar and mica, and the hornblende gneiss, which contains, in addition to these minerals, hornblende as an essential constituent. Hornblende gneiss is generally superior to the true
132
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
gneiss for road purposes, on account of its finer texture and greater toughness. It occurs, in places, throughout North Georgia, where it is found in narrow belts underlying the so-called red lands. The true gneiss makes a fair road surfacing material when it is fine-grained and composed largely of quartz. Nevertheless, owing to the small amount of iron present its binding property is always inferior to that of the hornblende gneiss.
DIORITE, which is more or less abundant throughout North Georgia, is a green or dark gray rock resembling very closely in general appearance both the hornblende gneiss and the hornblende schist. It occurs mostly in the form of narrow belts or zones, intercalated with the gneisses and schists.
TRAP RocK or diabase is very generally distributed throughout the Crystalline area. It occurs always in the form of dikes, which vary in thickness from a few inches to several rods. These dikes which have originated from the filling up of fissures by molten matter forced up from below, have a generally northwest and southeast trend and a nearly vertical dip. The best exposures of dikes are to be seen along the several railroads traversing the Crystalline area. Here, they are frequently exposed in cuts to the depth of 20 feet or more and their _relation to the gneisses and schists, together with their mode of weather'ing, can be easily studied. These rocks are of dark gray or black color, u~ually fine-grained and quite difficult to break with a hammer. As a road surfacing material, this class of rocks has no equal. Its great hardness and its remarkable toughness, together with its excellent binding quality, make it an ideal road-building material. Other rocks of the Crystalline area, but inferior to those mentioned for road material, are hornblende-schist, mica-schist, quartzite, and marble.
THE CRETACEOUS-TERTIARY AREA
The road-building materials of the Cretaceous-Tertiary area are limestone, or flint, and gravel. In the vicinity of the coast, shells also have had a limited use in road surfacing.
THE LIMESTONES of South Georgia outcrop at many points throughout the Coastal Plain. They are exposed most abundantly along the
ROAD J11ATERIAL
133
streams in the vicinity of lime-sinks or lakes. They are also occasionally seen in the cuts of the various railroads traversing that part of the State. These limestones are usually soft and of a porous nature; though, occasionally, they become quite compact and are partly crystalline. The softer varieties, in places, consist mainly of fragments of shells and a limited amount of sand cemented together by a calcareous matrix. This class of limestone has been used to a considerable extent for road and street surfacing in South Georgia, where it seems to give satisfaction. The material readily cements into a compact hardened surface, comparatively free from dust. The cheapness with which these soft limestones can be prepared and put in place on the roadbeds, makes them the most valuable material of the Cretaceous-Tertiary area for road surfacing. The hard limestones of South Georgia appear to have but little use, so far, in road constructions. Nevertheless, they are more or less widely distributed, and seem to be fairly well adapted to that purpose.
BuHRSTONE or flint is quite abundant in Decatur county and also in a number of other counties in South Georgia. It is usually of a porous nature, and has evidently originated from the silicification of the limestone, with which it is frequently associated. These siliceous deposits sometimes occur in more or less continuous layers, often three feet or more in thickness; but, as a general thing, they appear as bowlders or detached masses imbedded in the sands or clays. The buhrstone is quite brittle, and it could hardly be used alone to advantage for road surfacing, but if mixed with the soft limestones, which often are found near by, it would probably make a fair road surface.
GRAVEL DEPOSITS are quite plentiful along the northern border of the Cretaceous-Tertiary area, where they are often seen in thick beds outcropping beneath the superficial layers of sand. The pebbles are all water-worn, and evidently mark the limit of an old shore line. They are often cemented by ferruginous, sandy clays, and make excellent material for road surfacing. Many exposures of these gravel deposits are to be seen in the vicinity of Augusta, Milledgeville, Macon and
134
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORG!d
Columbus. Besides the road material above mentioned as occurring in the Coastal Plain, there is another very important material for road construction, which should not be overlooked. The material here referred to is a somewhat sandy tough clay, which is nearly everywhere present, just beneath the superficial layer of sand that mantels the entire Coastal Plain. By the use of this clay with a proper mixture of sand a most excellent sand-clay road can be made at a small cost.
REFERENCES ON ROAD MATERIAL
1901-McCallie, S. W. A Preliminary Report on lhe Road.r and Road-Building Jlfaferialr of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Sur11. Bull. 8, 264 pp., 27 plY., 28 jig.!., 1901.
1902.-Watson, T. L. A part of the Granites and Gneisses of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. 9, 368 pp., 32 pl.
1912.-Maynard, T. Poole. Limestones and Cement Materials of North Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 27, 296 pp., 22 pl.
1917-Brantley, J. E. Limestone and Marls of Coastal Plain of Georgia. Ga. Geol Surv. Bull. 21, 289 pp., 18 pl.
1921-Teas L. P. Sand and Gravel Deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 37, 383 pp., 20 pl.
SAND AND GRAVEL
LocATION.-Sand and gravel are both widely distributed throughout the State. They are especially abundant in the northern part of the Coastal Plain. Excellent deposits of sand are to be seen near Howard on the Central of Georgia Railway in Taylor county; at Junction City in Talbot county; on Bull Creek, three miles east of Columbus in Muscogee county; on the west side of the Flint River at Bainbridge, Decatur county; on the Flint River, just opposite Albany, Dougherty county; on the east bank of Little Ogeechee River, one and a half miles northeast of Lumber City, Telfair county and on the east bank of the Oconee River at Dublin, Laurens county. In addition to these various localities there are numerous other localities throughout the Coastal Plain where more or less extensive deposits of sand and gravel may be found.
SAND AND GRAVEL
135
In the Piedmont Plateau and the Appalachian Valley the sands
and gravels are mostly found along the streams, but, nevertheless,
they occur even here in the older formation in some places forming
stratified beds of considerable extent, as in the vicinity of Emerson,
Bartow county, and on Rocky Face Mountain in Whitfield county.
In the latter case the sand is in a form of friable sandstone, but it is
easily crushed. A remarkably pure bed of white sand occurs near the
base of Sharp Top Mountain, about four miles west of Jasper, Piek-
ens county, and another deposit of similar character may be seen on
the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, a few hundred yards north of
Turniptown Creek, Gilmer county.
GEOLOGY.-The sands and gravel of the Coastal Plain vary in age
from Cretaceous to Pleistocene, but the most important are of Pleisto-
cene age. The sands and gravel of the Piedmont Plateau, with the
exception of the stream sand and gravel which are all recent, are prob-
ably Cambrian, while those of the Paleozoic area vary from Cambrian
to Carboniferous.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The sands of the Coastal Plain attain a
t~kness of 30 feet or more. Most of them appear to be local thick-
enings of what is known as the Columbia formation, which mantles
the entire Coastal Plain. In the Piedmont Plateau and the Paleozoic
area, they occur in regular beds, except those which form in the stream
beds which occur mostly as irregular deposits of small lateral extent.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The sands are often quite pure, as is shown
by the following analyses :1
--------------~--~- __1_1___11_1___1v_j__v ___v_1_
Loss on ignition_________________________ .22 .33 . 56 . 30 . 52 .08
Ferric oxide, Fe.Oa_ _____ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ _ .71 .46 .14 .20 1. 43 .03
Titanium dioxide, Ti0 3___________________
.09 .13 trace
.09 .11 ------
Alumina Ah0 3, by difference____________________ ------------------ 1 1.02 .07
Undetermined___________________________ 1. 36 .81 1. 85 1. 27 ------ ------
Silica, Si0 2_____________________________ 97.62 98.27 97.45 98.14 96.92 99.82
TotaL ___________________________ 100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00
I. Sand from Albany, Dougherty county. II. Sand from Taylor county. III. Sand from Lumber City, Telfair county. IV. Sand from Whitfield county. V. Sand from Emerson, Bartow county. _ _-;--V_I.'-:--'Sand from near Jasper, Pickens county.
1. Analyses by Dr. Edgar Everhart, Chemist of the Geological Survey ofGeorgia.
136
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
UsEs.-Sand has an extensive use for various kinds of structural work. A considerable amount is also used for molding purposes and glass sand, as well as for locomotive purposes, and for furnace sand. Gravel is largely used for tar roofing, road surfacing, etc.
STATISTics.-The production of sand and gravel in Georgia from 1914 to 1924, as shown by the Mineral Resources U. S. Geological Survey, is given in the following table:
Year
Quantity
Short Tons
Value
Year
Quantity
Short Tons
Value
1914
260,425
$ 80,130
1920
375,052 $231,858
1915
572,309
191,447
1921
329,048
177,745
1916
483,615
126,799
1922
461,359
191,420
1917
380,154
138,182
1923
595,117
300,621
1918
270,071
121,655
1924
897,347
~42,754
1919
362,487
181,844
REFERENCES ON SAND AND GRAVEL
1906-Burchard, E. F. Glass Sand, Sand and Gravel. U. S. Geol. Survey, Min. Res. for 1906, pp. 9mJ-1000.
1921-Teas, L. P. Sand and Gravel Deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 37, 383 pp. 20 pl., 1921.
SERPENTINE
LoCATION.-The only deposit of serpentine, so far worked in Georgia, occurs at the Verde Antique Marble Quarry in Cherokee county, about two miles southwest of Holly Springs. The stone is of igneous origin, and is probably pre-Cambrian in age.
HISTORY.-Prior to the quarrying of stone for interior finish and decorative purposes, the property was worked in a small way for talc, a mineral which originally seemed to have been more or less abundant near the contact of the serpentine with the enclosing schist. The first stone quarried for the trade was taken out some 30 years ago by the American Marble Company, which at that time owned and operated the large marble mill at Marietta, now known as the Kennesaw Marble
I
SERPENTINE
137
Works. The American Marble Company operated the quarry only for a short time, when the property was leased to the Verde Antique Marble Company of Chicago, for a term of fifty years. The last named company has now been in possession of the property for several years, and has operated the quarry at irregular intervals during this period. At present, however, the quarry is inactive.
ExTENT AND MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-The extent of the deposit is limited to a small area not over 600 feet in length and with a maximum width of not over 150 feet. In shape it is roughly lenticular, being widest near the center and decreasing gradually in width towards both ends. Its fon:n suggests an intrusion which has forced its way upward through the schist, the surrounding country rock. The weathered outcrops, with their rugged and irregular surfaces, form large masses projecting in places 10 feet or more above the general ground level.
STRUCTURE AND PHYSICAL CHARACTER.-With the exception of the slight tendency, in places, to schistosity, the stone is distinctly massive, breaking as readily in one direction as another; but, at the same time, the stone is by no means uniform in structure or in mineral <7omposition. One of the most striking physical characters of the serpentine is the veined condition which adds to its beauty. These veins, which are always present, vary in size from a mere microscopic line to a half-inch or so in width, are often so arranged as to form a complete network. In addition to these smaller veins, there are also present large veins frequently four or five inches in width and occasionally several feet in length. The latter are sometimes open, and seriously interfere in quarrying stones of large size, while the former are always closed. The origin of the two systems of veins appears to be entirely different, the larger being due apparently to rock movement and the other to cleavage lines of the original minerals. The vein fillings in the two different systems are also different. In the larger veins, the filling, which is usually of a light color, consists mainly of ferruginous dolomite and talc, while in the smaller veins the filling appears to be mainly a dark greenish serpentine containing p.umerous granules of magnetite. The main mass of the stone, which fills the meshes between
138
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
the individual veins, is chiefly pyroxenite with horneblende, which minerals give to the stone a greenish gray color, often splotched with black.
UsEs.-The stone is used almost exclusively for interior finish and decorations. It is especially adapted for stairways, corridors, mantels and pedestals for statuary. A good example of the pleasing effect of the stone for interior finish may be seen in the entrance of the corridors of the Grant Building and in the smoking room at the Terminal Station, Atlanta. The cost of quarrying, due chiefly to the unsound condition of the stone, makes the Georgia serpentine so expensive that, so far it has not had a very extensive use. The increase of soundness, however, with the depth, seems to make the future outlook for the stone more promising.
REFERENCES ON SERPENTINE
1907-McCallie, S. W. .d Preliminary Reporl on lhe .Marblu of Georgia (2nd Edition). Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. 1, pp. 114-117, 1907.
1914-Hopkins, 0. B. Asbestos Talc and Soapstone Deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey Bull. 29, 319 pp., 21 pl.
SLATE'
LocATION.-Slate is found in Georgia in Bartow and Polk counties. The largest area of shale and slate extends from the vicinity of Free Bridge, about three miles south of Cartersville, following somewhat parallel to the great Cartersville fault line in a general southwest direction to about five miles south of Rockmart. This slate belt has its greatest width in the Rockmart region, thinning in both a northeast and southwest direction. Another belt of slate occurs in the vicinity of Cedartown, Polk county, becoming of more importance southwest of the town. Slate is also found in Gordon and Murray counties.
GEOLOGY.-Most, if not all, slates of commercial value are found in formations of Paleozoic age. In general, the pre-Cambrian rocks have
1. Written by T. Poole Maynard, formerly Assistant State G~ologist.
I
SLATE
139
been too intensely metamorphosed, while those of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age are not sufficiently consolidated. The Georgia slates, as well as those of other states in the Appalachian province, belong to the Cambrian and Ordovician systems of early Paleozoic age. The slates of the Rockmart formation (Ordovician) have been most extensively developed.
Slates can occur only near the borders of granite land masses which served as sources of supply of the original materials. Thus, the slate deposits of Georgia, although they belong to three geologic formations, all occur just northwest of the old continental mass of pre-Cambrian rocks.
HisTORY.-The first to recognize the value of the Rockmart slates in Georgia was Joseph G. Blance. He owned the property now controlled by the Cherokee Slate Company, where he made the first opening about 1850; although the oldest real quarry is said to be one on the property of the Southern States Portland Cement Company, lot 925. Blance was the grandfather of J. F. Dever, and members of the Dever family were interested in the slate industry until the greater part of their property was sold to the Cherokee Slate Company in 1907.
Lot 925 was owned by Colonel Seaborn Jones, who started development at about the same time as Blance.
The quarries were operated from 1850 until the outbreak of the Civil War. Work was stopped during the war and for a number of years after. About 1880 the quarries were reopened, and from that year until 1900 was the period of greatest development. The largest reported production was in 1894, with 5,000 squares, valued at $22,500. Until 1883 the slate was hauled in wagons to Rome and Cartersville, but in that year the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad, now the Southern Railway, was completed, and two years later the East & West Alabama Railway, now the Seaboard Air Line, was built.
The total production of slate in Georgia reported in the United States Geological Survey Mineral Resources from 1879 to 1917 was 38,097 squares, valued at $165,918. Besides this amount there has been the production of the years when no statistics were published on account of there being less than three operators, and the unreported
140
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
production of slate quarried by individuals for their own use, so the total production of the Rockmart district must have been about 50,000 squares.
Since 1906 there have not been more than two producers in any year, so the production can not be given, but it has been very small. The Ellis Davis & Son quarry was worked in 1909 and 1910, and the most recent work done in the district was by Ollie Davis, who made a small opening in 1913.
The decline of slate quarrying in the Rockmart district seems to have been due to the death of some of the older operators, together with increased cost of labor, as the average price per square of slates produced in the United States has increased steadily since 1901, when it reached the low point of $3.01 per square. Also, the unsystematic methods of working most of the quarries made the overburden and waste increasingly difficult and expensive to handle. No serious attempt was made to utilize the waste, which probably amounted to over 90 per cent of the slate quarried, and no mill stock was produced, although much of the Rockmart slate is well suited for that use.
The green slate belt of Bartow, Gordon and Murray counties was first prospected by G. W. Davis, .a practical slate miner from Pennsylvania, who had been employed in the Rockmart district. He noticed fragments of slate in the cars used in transporting rock from the cuts on the Cartersville and Etowah line of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which was then under construction. Mter the completion of the railroad, about 1908, Davis went along the line for the purpose of locating the most promising prospects. Most of the test pits in the district were sunk under his direction.
The only work on a commercial scale ever done in the green slate belt was at th~ quarry of the Georgia Green Slate Company, which was opened in -1910 and operated for about a year. According to J. R. Smith, vice-president of the company, $20,000 worth of slate was sold at a price of $7.00 per square at the quarry. This was nearly double the average price paid for slate at that time, and shows that the product was in good demand. The principal difficulties in working
.
SLATE
141
were the inexperience of the workmen and the large amount of waste produced on account of the broken character of the slate. The quarry was finally closed by a strike, after which no attempt was made to reopen it until about 5 years ago. At that time the Richardson Slate Company took over the proierty. A large grinding plant was erected and at present is in operation. The material is used for surfacing composition roofing.
The silver-gray and purplish slates of the Cartersville formation, near White, Bartow county, have been known for a number of years, and several small pits were dug by G. W. Davis. However, the unusual composition of these slates was not known until a sample collected was analyzed in 1916. Mter the announcement of this discovery, exploration work was done and options taken on properties by s~veral companies, with the intention of using the slates for the extraction of potash. Nothing definite was accomplished, however.
At present only a small amount of slate is produced in Georgia.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL -PROPERTIES-Texture and structure, the physical characteristics of slate, are of more practical importance than the chemical composition, which may vary widely. "Texture" refers to the relations of the individual mineral particles, as distinguished from "structure," which refers to relationships involving larger masses of rock, such as bedding, cleavage, grain, faults, joints, etc.
The majority of the minerals of slates are too finely crystalline to be visible to the naked eye, so the textures must be studied in thin sections under the microscope. By this means they are seen to have a wide range of texture. Some, as the high-potash slates from Bartow county, have a texture approaching that of sericite schists, with uniformly fine and parallel scales of mica. This texture produces smooth and lustrous cleavage surfaces. The Georgia green slates have very finely lenticular texture, giving them a smooth and slightly lustrous cleavage. However, many of the slates from this belt contain crystals of chlorite of much larger size than the mica particles, and irregularly oriented, and these crystals produce small elevations and depressions
142
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
on the cleavage surfaces. The Rockmart slates are made up of mineral grains which are on the average much coarser than those of the green and silver-gray slates, and in addition they have a strongly marked lenticular texture, although the size of the lenses varies in slates from different quarries. The lenses are flattened and elongated parallel to the cleavage, which crosses the bedding ribbons at any angle. They are made up of masses of crystals of quartz, feldspar, or irregularly oriented sericite flakes evidently due to the alteration of feldspar, around which the bands of mica and carbonaceous matter bend. Some of the lenses are as large as I by 0.25 mm., although the average size is much smaller. This texture produces a cleavage which, although good and straight, is lusterless and roughish.
The small beds due to minor changes in composition of the slate deposits are known as "ribbons." The Rockmart slates, as a rule, are strongly ribboned, the variation in the bands being principally in the carbonaceous matter. The Cartersville high-potash slates show no ribbons. The Georgia green slates are ribboned, but the variation is slight. In general the cleavage of the slates does not coincide with the bedding.
.As a rule the ferrous oxide and magnesia are high in green slate_!, while potash predominates in gray slates, although carbonaceo!!,S coloring matter may hide the green color of chlorite. Thus, in the Georgia green slates the ferrous oxide is high and the magnesia moderately high, showing a high percentage of chlorite, which accounts for the color. The Rockmart slates also have rather high ferrous iron and magnesia, but the green color of chlorite is obscured by the carbonaceous matter present. The light gray Cartersville slates have 1~ contents of ferrous iron and magnesia, with correspondingly highpotash.
The chemical composition of roofing slates varies rather widely. The average compositions of slates from New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania and the principal varieties of Georgia slates are shown in the following table:
SL.dTE AVERAGE ANALYSES OF SLATES.
Constituents
2
3
143 4
Silica (SiO.) -----------------------AFelurrmicinoaxi(dAe l(.F0e3.)O--s)-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__ Ferrous oxide (FeO) __________________ Magnesia (MgO ______________________
LSoimdae ((NCaaO.O))_______-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__
PIgontiatsiohn(K(le.Oss) C__O_ ,-)-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_-__ Moisture ____________________________ Carbon dioxide (CO,) _________________ Titanium dioxide (TiO.) _______________ Phosphorus pentoxide (P.06) __ .________ Sulphur trioxide (SOa) ________________ Sulphur (S) _____ ----------------- ____ Manganous oxide (MnO) ______________ Barium oxide (BaO) __________________
Total _________________________
61.51 15.39 2.21 4.34 3.23 1.47 1.22 3.90 3.53
.67 1.55
.75
.22
99.99
56.74 17.65 1.10 4.58 2.89 3.18 1.66 3.42 3.81
.21 2.64
.94 .08 .18 .68 .02 .00
99.78
55.39 21.15 1.58 5.64 2.55
1.64 1.33 2.96 4.83
.22 1.59
.74 .15
.31 .06
100.14
56.73 19.27 5.57 1.89 1.93
.01 .49 8.85 3.77 .38 .00 .88
99.77
1. Average of 15 analyses of slates from New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania. U.S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 586, p. 51, 1914.
2. Average of 5 analyses of slates from the Rockmart formation, Polk county, Georgia.
3. Average of 8 analyses of green slates from the Conasauga formation, Bartow and Gordon counties, Georgia.
4. Average of 6 analyses of slates and shales from the Cartersville formation, Bartow County, Georgia.
UsEs.-Slate is used most extensively for roofing and for many other purposes, namely, burial vaults, platforms, steps, window and door sills wainscoting, hearths, electrical bases and switchboard&, school slates, floor tiles, lavatories, sinks, laundry tubs, mantles, etc.
REFERENCES ON SLATE
1893-Spencer, J. W. The Paleozoic Group. The Geology of Ten Counties of Northwest Georgia and Resources, pp. 35, fl75, 1893.
1906-Dale, Nelson T. Slate Deposits and Slate Industry of the United States. U.S. Geol. Surv., Bull. fl75, pp. 59-60, 1906.
1918-Shearer, H. K. Slate Deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 34, 188 pp. ~6 pl., 1918.
144
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
TALC AND SOAPSTONE1 LocATION.-Talc has been found at a large number of localities in the northern part of the State, but commercial deposits have been developed at only a few places. Soapstone, impure talc, and talcose schist, consisting mainly of talc with other minerals as chlorite, anthophyllite, actinolite, magnetite and pyrite, is rather widely distributed, but has only a small local value for hearth slabs for fire places and for building stone. Two companies are at present producing talc, the Cohutta Talc Company and the Georgia Talc Company. The mills of the above Ct,>mpanies are located at Chatsworth, Murray county, and the mines are on Fort and Cohutta mountains about three miles distant. Talc has been mined at Fort and Cohutta mountains for a period of about 40 years and in all about 140 pits~ tunnels and shafts have been dug in exploration and mining work. The mineral represents an alteration of peridotite which has been intruded in quartzite and quartz schist. The talc occurs on the borders of the intrusions, is mainly massive and in the nature of soapstone, and the beds. are reported to vary in thickness from 2 to 30 feet. The peridotite has a northeast-southwest strike and shows a dip of 30 to 45 .southeast. The talc is sawed or turned into pencils, and pulverized, mainly for foundry facing. The impurities, or "grit," are magnetite, quartz and pyrite. Small veins of very pure talc, foliated or in plates, appear, but are in limited quantity. Associated secondary minerals are chlorite, serpentine, asbestos, and magnesite or dolomite, but none of these are of commercial importance. A considerable amount of prospecting has been done on the Dickey property, one-half mile south of Mineral Bluff, Fannin county. The talc occurs in parallel beds, inclosed by a quartz schist of sedimentary origin. The beds have a thicknes~ of about five feet and have a strong dip to the southeast. The talc is massive and bluish-gray in color. The principal objection to this material for pencils and gas tips is the large amount of "grit," principally pyrite, which it contains. A small amount of talc has been mined from a deposit three and a half miles south of Blue Ridge, on the Louisville and Nashville Rail-
1. Written by Otto Veatch, formerly Assistant State Geologist.
TALC AND SOAPSTONE
145
road. The country rock is an argillaceous schist which contains beds of quartzite and ocher. The talc is massive and white. It may have resulted from the alteration of a thin intercalated layer of the Murphy .marble.
A large amount of prospecting work for talc has been carried on about two miles west of Ball Ground. The talc is massive, non-crystalline, and white. It has prob'ably been derived from a dolomitic marble.
A small amount of very pure talc occurs in veins in the serpentinized pyroxene at the quarry of the Verde Antique Marble Company, near Holly Springs, Cherokee county.
Talc is reported to have been mined several years ago at the old Hawes soapstone mine, three miles southwest of Holly Springs. The talc here is both massive and micaceous or foliated and has formed along the borders of a pyroxenite intrusion, leaving a core of partially serpentinized pyroxenite. The igneous intrusion is cutting a mica schist, and has a surface area of about 300 x 75 feet. There is a probability of talc of good quality being found at continued depths along the contact with the schist.
There are a large number of other localities where talc and soapstone have been found. Habersham, Rabun, White, Lumpkin, Cherokee, and Paulding counties furnish most of these localities. A few of the deposits may have some future commercial value, but many of the occurrences are of no more than mineralogical or geological interest.
GEOLOGY.-The talc and soapstone deposits are confined to the Crystalline area of the State, and are associated with peridotite and pyroxenite intrusions and highly metamorphosed sediments, and are of probable Cambrian or pre-Cambrian age.
MoDE OF OccURRENCE.-Talc occurs mainly as an alteration product of certain magnesium silicates. Three different sources have been distinguished in Georgia: (I) from the alteration of peridotite intrusions; (2) from the alteration of pyroxenite intrusions; (3) from the alteration of magnesian sediments, dolomite or magnesian shale. The talc associated with the peridotites is derived most probably mainly from the
146
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
chemical alteration of olivine. It exists in largest quantity along th~ outer edges of the intrusions, but in a few localities it appears that the whole of a peridotite intrusion has been converted into soapstone or talc schist. The talc associated with the peridotites is usually massive. This type has been found in Murray, White, Rabun, Habersham, and Lumpkin counties. Talc of the second type is found associated with the pyroxenite areas of Cherokee county. Beautiful specimens of apple-green foliated and mica-like talc have been obtained from the Verde Antique quarry near Holly Springs. It also occurs massive and there are small dikes of soapstone which probably represent the complete alteration of pyroxenite. The third class of talc deposits is found in Cherokee and Fannin counties, and has resulted from chemical changes in connection with intense dynamic metamorphism of the original sediments.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PRoPERTIEs.-Talc is a white, gray or greenish mineral, and is very soft and has a greasy feel. It is a silicate of magnesia, having the chemical formula, H.Mg. (SiO.).. It is unattacked by ordinary acids and is resistant to heat. Soapstone is usually considered an impure form of talc. It is massive or schistose and contains, in addition to talc, such minerals as chlorite, actinolite, anthophyllite, magnetite and pyrite. It is soft, however, and easily sawed or cut into desired shapes.
UsEs.-The principal uses of talc are: pencill3 for foundry marking, foundry facing, gas tips, paper filler, base for lubricants, fire-proof paints, and toilet powders. Soapstone is used for hearthstones, furnace lining, laundry tubs, etc.
STATISTICs.-The production of talc and soapstone in Georgia has been variable, ranging from about 500 to 6,477 short tons annually with values ranging from $4,000 to $77,213.
REFERENCES ON TALC AND SOAPSTONE
1882-Mell, P. H., Jr. The Southern Soapstones, Kaolins, and Fireclays, and Their Uses. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., Trans. Vol. 10, pp. 318822, 1882.
TRIPOLI
147
10oo-Pratt, J. H. Talc and Pyrophyllite Deposits of North Carolina. N.C. Geol. Surv., 1900.
1908-Vail, R. H. Talc and Soapstone in the United States. Mineral Industry. Vol. XVII, pp. 792-798, 1908.
1914-Hopkins, 0. B. Asbestos, Talc and Soapstone Deposits of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey BulL 29, 319 pp., 1914.
TRIPOLI
LocATION.-A light, porous, siliceous stone, locally known as tripoli or rotten stone, occurs in Murray, Whitfield, Chattooga, and other counties in Northwest Georgia. One of the best known deposits in Murray county is on the Tilton property, near Spring Place. There are several localities in Whitfield county where it is known to occur. It has been extensively worked near the Western an<l Atlantic Railroad on the Hamilton property, a short distance north of the corporate limits of Dalton. Similar works are also to be seen in Chattooga county near Lyerly.
GEOLOGY.-Tripoli, or rotten stone, is a residual product derived from the Knox dolomite. The material appears to be confined to certain beds of this formation where it occurs in the form of irregular beds associated with impure kaolin and chert. In some localities it seems to be in pockets, but more generally it is found in beds showing ill defined lines of stratification. The beds may vary from a few inches to several feet in thickness, but as a general rule the thickest beds carry more or less inferior material, which has to be discarded. Mining has been generally carried on by open cuts, but in some places, as at the Hamilton mine, near Dalton, underground mining was resorted to.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIEs.-The two following analyses1 show the
chemical composition of some of the Georgia tripoli:
Water H20- _______ -- ___ --------- __ Silica, Si02- ______ -- __ ---- ____ -- __ _ Claybases_________________________
2. 94 84.84 12.22
.62 92.11 7.27
TotaL _____________________ _ 100.00 100.00
1. Analyses by Dr. Edgar Everhart, Chemist of the State Geological Survey of Georgia.
148
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
UsEs.-Tripoli, or rotten stone, mined in Georgia is said to be used largely in the manufacture of scouring soaps and polishing powders. The material is also employed in the paint industry and as a woodfiller as well as for making filter stone. It is a poor conductor of heat, and has a limited use for safe packing, steam-pipe covering, etc.
Georgia has produced only a limited amount of tripoli. There is no production at the present time.
REFERENCES ON TRIPOLI 1907-Phalen, W. C. Abrasive Materials. U. S. Geol. Surv. Min. Res. for 1907, pt. II, pp. 607-626, 1907.
MINERAL WATERS
LocATION.-Mineral springs of greater or less importance are widely
distributed throughout the State. They are specially abundant in the Piedmont Plateau and Appalachian Valley where one or more having a local reputation are met with in nearly every county. These springs
are especially abundant in the mountainous region of the Crystalline area where many of them have become sites of prominent summer resorts. Among the springs of this character may be mentioned Warm Springs and White Sulphur Springs of MeriJether county, Bowden
Lithia Springs of Douglas county, Indian Springs of Jackson county, White Sulphur Springs of Hall county, White Path Spring of Gilmer county, and Porter Spring of Lumpkin county. Springs of like reputa-
tion in the Appalachian Valley are the Catoosa Springs of Catoosa county, Menlo Spring of Chattooga county, and Cohutta Springs of Murray county. In addition to the class of springs here referred to,
there are also a large number of springs without accommodation for guests, but the owners of these springs do a more or less extensive busi-
ness in selling water for table or medicinal purposes. The list of springs
which have sold water at one time or another, are as follows:
Benscott Lithia Springs, Austell, Cobb county. Bowden Lithia Springs, Lithia Springs, Douglas county. Catoosa Springs, Catoosa Spring, Catoosa county. Cox Mineral Spring, Waynesboro, Douglas county. Daniel Mineral Spring, Union Point, Greene county. Electric Lithia Spring, Hillman, Taliaferro county. High Rock Magnesia Spring, near Atlanta, Fulton couJJ.ty. Major's Spring, Menlo, Chattooga county.
.11/NERd.L Wd.TERS
149
Miller's Spring, Milledgeville, Baldwin county: Miona Spring, near Oglethorpe, Macon county. Point Andrew Spring, Macon, Bibb county. Powder Springs, Powder Spljngs, Cobb county. Utoy Spring, near.Atlanta, Fulton county. White Elk Spring, near Macon, Bibb county. White Oak Mineral Spring, Macon, Bibb county.
STATISTics.-The following table, taken from Mineral Resources
U.S. Geological Survey, gives the quantity and value of mineral waters
annually from 1914 to 1924:
Year
Quantity (Gals)
Value
Quantity
Year
(Gals)
Value
1914
652,566
$49,659
1919
364,310
$39,282
1915
746,068
53,779
1920
343,888
31,868
1916
618,367
45,210
1921
306,637
22,757
1917
411,127
37,441 I 1922
424,290
36,856
1918
314,388
27,810
I
I
1923
637,907
58,810
Value of .Mineral fl_e.rourcu of Georgia for 1924
Asbestos, Coal and Coke _______________________ $ 344,940
Barytes-------------------------------------Bauxite-_____________________________________
Brick and Tile ____ --------- ____________ ------_ Clay_________________________________________
Fullers earth and manganese____________________ Granite______________________________________
Iron ore and ocher (latter estimated)_____________ Lime and limestone____________________________ Marble_______________________________________
Mica, Talc and Soapstone______________________ Portland Cement and Slate _____________________
Sand and GraveL_____________________________
517041,,270789 6,032, 950 1,214,570 1,193,374 1, 438,281
485,128 507,098 2,651,217 34,242 1,566,286 242,754
TotaL ___________________________________ $16, 386,827
REFERENCES ON MINERAL WATERS 1872-Walton, Geo. E. Mineral Springs ~f the United States and Canada, 1872. 1873-Moorman, J. J. Mineral Springs of North America, 1873. 1881-Duggan, J. R. .Mineral Spring.r of Georgia, 1881. 1886-Peal, A. C. Mineral Springs of the United States. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 32, pp. 81-85, 1886. 1899-Crook, James K. Mineral Waters of the United States and Their Therapeutic Uses, 1899. 1906-Fuller, M. L. Peculiar Mineral Waters from Crystalline Rocks of Georgia. U.S. Geol. Surv. W.-S. and lrg. Paper 160, pp. 86-91, 1906. 1908-McCallie, S. W. Underground Waler.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Sur~J. Bull. 15, pp. 222-252, 1908. 1913-McCallie, S. W. Mineral Springs of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surv. Bull. 20, 190 pp., 24 pls. 1913.
150
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
ARTESIAN WELLS
LocATION.-The artesian wells of Georgia are practically all confined to the Coastal Plain, which is the only part of the State where the geological conditions are favorable for artesian water supply in large quantities. A considerable number of deep, non-flowing bored wells are also found in the Crystalline and Paleozoic areas, but as a general rule these wells furnish only a limited amount of water and they can not always be relied upon for continuous supply, as they are often effected by long droughts.
GEOLOGY.-The essential geological conditions for successful flowing artesian wells are as follows: an inclined, porous water-bearing stratum, outcropping at a greater elevation than the surface of the ground at the location of the proposed well; a water-tight continuous bed, both above and below the water-bearing stratum; and a sufficient rainfall to supply the water-bearing &trll.tum at its outcropping with sufficient water for continuous flow. The conditions here enumerated are met with throughout the Coastal Plain of the State.
The most prolific source of artesian water supply in South Georgia is probably the Eocene limestones. The Vicksburg limestone, also is the source of water supply for a very large number of wells. Scarcely less important, but covering a much less area, is the Cretaceous formation, which supplies the deep wells with water along the Chattahoochee River below Columbus as far south as Fort Gaines. Still other formations that are water carriers of considerable importance, near the coast, are Miocene and Pliocene limestones and sands.
HISTORY.-The first successful artesian well sunk m Georgia was put down by the late Col. John P. Fort on his plantation in Dougherty county in 1881, sixteen miles west of Albany. This well was commenced with a very crude outfit in February and after six months of continuous labor and mishaps it was completed at a depth of 550 feet. This well furnished a good flow of water and demonstrated the practicability of obtaining artesian water in South Georgia. Four years after the completion of the above named well, Capt. D. G. Purse put down a
,0..
Q o.l
,w
0
"0 '
~
z z
;.-
-'
"
ARTESIAN WELLS
151
successful deep well in Savannah. The successful completion of these two wells in different parts of South Georgia greatly stimulated well boring throughout the entire region, and in a short time the majority of the large towns had constructed deep wells. The total number of deep wells in the Coastal Plain now aggregate over a hundred.
THE CHEMICAL CoMPOSITION oF THE WATERs.-The most common solids found in the artesian waters of South Georgia are the various carbonates, sulphates, and chlorides of the alkalies and alkaline earths, together with silica, alumina, and iron, while the gases most commonly met with are hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide.
The mineral constituents vary from 70 to 1,160 parts per million, the average being above 130 parts per million. The total amount of these constituents present, and the ratio they bear to each other, depend largely upon the character of the water-bearing strata, from which the water is obtained. Thus, water from highly calcareous rocks, such as the Eocene limestone, will carry a higher percentage of mineral matter than waters from the Cretaceous sands. In the one case, the . chief mineral constituent is carbonate of lime, and in the other, silica. The water-bearing strata of the Cretaceous rocks are usually sands, and they therefore almost invariably yield soft waters. This is especially true of that part of the formation west of the Flint River, as is shown by the analysis of the water from the lower water-bearing stratum of the Albany well, and also by the analyses of the waters from the deep wells at Montezuma, Fort Gaines, and Blakely, all of which probably get their water-supply from the Cretaceous sands.
In contrast with these soft Cretaceous waters, are the almost universally hard Eocene and Miocene waters. These hard waters supply the deep wells of a greater part of the Coastal Plain. They are encountered in the Savannah and Waycross wells at depths varying from 400 to 500 feet, and are the main source of the deep well supply, as far north as Dublin and Hawkinsville. These waters usually carry from 50 to 175 parts per million of calcium carbonate.
The general use of the artesian waters throughout South Georgia has greatly benefited the health of the region. The use of these waters
152
GEOLOGICdL SURVEY OF GEORG/d
has undoubtedly lessened the prevalence of malarial fever and has otherwise had a beneficial effect on the general health of all the town11 and communities where they have been freely used.
CosT OF ARTESIAN WELLs.-The cost of artesian wells is quite variable, depending upon the character of the formation to be pene-' trated, the size of the bore-hole, and the depth of the well. One of the greatest difficulties encountered in putting down deep wells in South Georgia is the quick-sands, but by the use of what is known as the "jetting process" of well boring these sands can usually be penetrated at comparatively small cost. It might be stated that, as a general rule, the price by contract for 4 inch wells, including casing, will vary from $2.00 to $4.00 per fool.
UsEs.-The artesian waters of South Georgia are used largely for domestic and manufacturing purposes. Most of the towns throughout the Coastal Plain are supplied by these waters. In addition to these general uses the waters have a limited use for irrigation purposes and . in a ffw places where there are extremely large flows, they have been utilized for power purposes.
REFERENCES ON ARTESIAN WELLS 1898-McCallie, S. W. Arle.rian Well Sy.rlem of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surf'. Bull. 7, 214 pp., 7 pl.r. 5 fig.r., 1898. 1904-McCallie, S. W. Source of Water Supply of Georgia Cities and Towns. U. S. Geol. Surv. Water Supply and Irrigation, Paper 102, 1904. 1905-McCallie, S. W. Experiment Relating to Problem of Well Contaminating at Quitman, Georgia. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Supply and Irrigation, Paper 110, 1905. 1908-McCallie, S. W. Underground Waler.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Surp. Bull. 15, J70 pp., 28 pl.r., 5 fig.r., 1 map, 1908.
AN INVENTORY OF THE WATER POWERS OF GEORGIA1
From 1894 to 1923, the Geological Survey of Georgia, in co-operation
with the U. S. Geological Survey, was continuously engaged in collect-
!. The writer is under obligations to Mr. M. R. Hall, formerly District Manager Water Resources Branch, U. S. Geological Survey, for assistance in collecting data for this paper.
~flNERAL HESOO HCES OF GEORGIA
PLATE Xl X
P uBLIC AnTI, SIAN W ELL A-r OcLETHOHPE, ~'[ ACON Cou--.:TY, GEoncr ,,.
WdTER POWERS
153
ing data in regard to our streams. While this information is by no means yet complete, sufficient information is now at hand to enable us to calculate with considerable degree of certainty the approximate water power of the State. For convenience of description, the water powers will here be described under the following hydrographic basins: The Savannah basin, the Ogeechee basin, the Altamaha basin, the Apalachicola basin, the Mobile basin, and the Tennessee basin.
THE SAVANNAH DRAINAGE BASIN.-The Savannah drainage basin above Augusta, Georgia, where practically all of the water power is found, comprises an area of 7,800 square miles. The main water powers of this basin, occurring in Georgia, are found on the following streams: The Savannah River (formed by the Tugaloo and the Seneca rivers, 100 miles above Augusta) the Tugaloo River, the Chattooga River, the Tallulah River~ the Broad River, the South Broad River, the Hudson Fork, the Middle Broad River, the Beaver Dam Creek. The indicated horse power of these several rivers is here given,
Indicated HoNepower of lhe Sallannah Rifler Drainage BMin
Section of River
Minimum horsepower
Minimum horsepower during six highwater months
Savannah River: From Augusta to Seneca River___________
Tugaloo River: From mouth to mouth of Tallulah River__
Chattooga River: From Tallulah River to West Fork________
TaFllruolmahmRoivuethr: to head____________________
Broad River: From mouth to opposite Carnesville ______
South Broad River: From mouth to S. A. L. Railroad bridge___
Hudson Fork: From mouth to opposite Homer, Georgia __
Middle Broad River: From mouth to opposite Carnesville_______
Beaver Dam Creek: From mouth to opposite Elberton_ - __ - _--
Total ___________________________
92,890 15,160 21,300 24,350 15,632 1,780 1,830 1,270 1,250 175,464
139,070 22,730 31,900 37,370 29,494 2,460 2,700 1,620 1,840 269,184
,
154
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
THE 0GEECHEE DRAINAGE BABIN.-This basin, which is the smallest of the several drainage basins above named, lies almost wholly within the Coastal Plain immediately south and west of the Savannah basin. The drainage area above Millen is 1,900 square miles. The chief stream is the Ogeechee River, formed by the junction of the Williamson Swamp and the Rocky Comfort creeks. The indicated horsepower of the Ogeechee drainage basin is given in the following table:
Indicated Hor.J"epower of the Ogeechee RifJer Drainage BMin
Section of River
Minimum horsepower
Minimum horsepower during six highwater months
OgAeet cMheielleRni_v_e_r:___________________________ CaAnnt oGurcohveeelaRnidv_e_r_: _______________________
Total ___________________________
3,110 785
3,895
7,770 1,960 9,730
THE ALTAMAHA DRAINAGE BASIN.-The Altamaha drainage basin is one of the largest drainage systems of the State. The main streams forming the system, namely, the Oconee and the Ocmulgee rivers, rise in the northern central part of the State and after flowing many miles to the southeast, finally unite in Montgomery county to form the Altamaha, which, in turn, continues to the southeast, entering the Atlantic Ocean at Darien. In addition to the two rivers above named, the more important streams of this basin are the Middle Oconee River, North Oconee River, Mulberry Fork, Apalachee River, South River, Alcovy River, Yellow River, and the Ohoopee River. Practically all of the water power of the streams here mentioned, with the exception of the Ohoopee River, is confined to the Piedmont Plateau north of Macon. The estimated horsepower of these individual streams is as follows:
TENNESSEE
NORTH CAROLINA
FLORIDA
GEORGIA HYDROGRAPHIC BASINS.
WdTER POWERS
155
Indicated Hor.repower of the .dllamaha Ri11er Drainage Ba.rin
Section of River.
Minimum Minimum horsepower
horsepower
during six high-
water months.
Oconee River:
From Milledgeville to junction of Middle
and North rivers_______________________ 17,480
26,510
Middle Oconee River:
From mouth to head____________________
2, 748
4,371
North Oconee River:
From mouth to opposite Maysville________
3,350
5,360
Mulberry Fork:
From mouth to Mathis' bridge___________
13
340
Apalachee River:
From mouth to High Falls bridge_________
1 , 760
2,885
Ocmulgee River:
From Macon to Yellow River____________ 12,640
21,060
South River:
From Yellow River to Southern Railway
way bridge___________________________
2,887
4,910
Towaliga River:
From mouth to head of High Shoals______
742
1,464
Alcovy River:
From foot of Newton Factory Shoals to
Dabney's bridge______________________
1,031
2,062
Yellow River:
From mouth to head of Si=ons' dam____
3,179
6,690
Ohoopee River:
At Reidsville___________________________
1,050
2,620
1-----------1------------------
Total_____________________________ 47,088
78,272
THE APALACHICOLA DRAINAGE BASIN.--The Chattahoochee River is the most important river of this basin. It rises in the high Blue Ridge mountains in the extreme northern part of the State and after flowing to the southwest and south for more than 400 miles finally unites with the Flint River at the Georgia-Florida line to form the Apalachicola River. The drainage area of the Chattahoochee River above Columbus, where the main water power occurs, is 4,900 square miles. Other important streams of the Apalachicola basin are the Flint River, Ichawaynochaway Creek, Muckalee River, Big Potato Creek, and Sweetwater Creek. The estimated available horsepower of these streams is here given.
156
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
Indicated Hor.repower of the Apalachicola RiPer Drainage Ba.rin
.
Section of River
Minimum Minimum horsepower
horsepower
during six high
water months
Chattahoochee River: From Columbus to Santee Creek _________
Flint River: From Albany to head of Flat Shoals ______
Ichawaynochaway Creek: From mouth to____________________ -- ___
Muckalee River (including Kinchafoonee CFrroemek)m: outh to_________________________
PoFtarotomCmreoeukt:h to_________________________
Sweetwater Creek: From mouth to head of Austell Shoals ______
Total _____________________________
118,570 45,774 2,620
4,580 1,800
442 173,786
189,190 75,950 4,710
7,360 3,240 1,100 281,550
THE MoBILE DRAINAGE BAsiN.-This basin, so called because its waters enter the Gulf through the Mobile River, is drained by the Coosa River and its tributaries, the most important of which .are the Etowah River, Coosawattee River, Cartecay River, Connasauga River, and Chattooga River. That part of the basin in Georgia includes a large part of northwest Georgia to the north and east of Rome and comprises an area of 4,649 square miles. The estimated horsepower of the above named streams are here given.
Indicated Hor.repower of the Mobile Drainage Ba.rin
Section of River
Minimum horsepower
Etowah River: From mouth to head__ -- ________________
Chattooga River: From above Little River to opposite Summerville ____ -------- _________________
Coosawattee River: From mouth to Ellijay __________________
Cartecay River: Fro~ Ellijay to mouth of Pumpkin Creek__
Connasauga River: FroRmiverB_e_a_v_e_r_d_a_le___to___h_e_a_d__a__n_d__o_n___J_a_c_k
Total ___________________________
26,697
687 18,900 4,590
6,650 58,524
Minimum horsepower during six high water months.
40,039
1,180 35,840 6,880
11,865 95,804
:::
= 0
0
0"'
"'
!"
r.. 0
~<
:>: 0
="::>'
(/)
0
0
(/)
=.".J,'
"=z'
=
..
WdTER POWERS
157
TENNESSEE DRAINAGE BABIN.-Two small detached catchment areas belonging to the Tennessee basin occur in the extreme northern part of the State, one along the Georgia-North Carolina line and the other along the Georgia-Tennessee line. The main streams of the former area are the Ocoee, the Hiawassee and the Nottely rivers, while those of the latter are Chickamauga River, West Chickamauga Creek, and North Chickamauga Creek. The approximate horsepower of these several streams is as follows:
Indicated Hor.repower of the Tenne.r.ree Rifler Drainage Ba.rin
Section of River
Minimum horsepower
Minimum horsepower during six high water months.
Chickamauga River: From mouth to near head _______________
West Chickamauga Creek: From mouth to near head _______________
North Chickamauga Creek: From mouth to near head _______________
Oconee River and Tributaries ______________ Hiwassee River and Tributaries ____________ Nottely River ____________________________
Total _____________________________
368 425 1,330 22,536 3,650 5,586 33,895
736 835 2,650 44,072 6,720 10,320 65,333
THE AGGREGATE WATER PowEa.-The aggregate horsepower of all the streams above named is here given:
Aggregate Hor.repower of the Riller.r of Georgia
River Basins
Minimum horsepower
Minimum horsepower during six high
water months.
Savannah Basin _________________________ _ Ogeechee Basin__________________________ _ Altamaha Basin_________________________ _ Apalachicola Basin ______________________ _ Mobile Basin ___________________________ _ Tennessee Basin_________________________ _
Total ____________________________ _
175,462 3,895 47,088
173,786 57,524 33,895 491,650
269,184 9,730 78,272
281,550 95,804 65,333 799,873
158
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGI.d
In nearly all of the above estimates only 90 per cent. of the actual fall of .the streams has been given and the indicated horsepower has been reduced in most cases to 80 per cent., so that the results are thought to be quite conservative and well within the practical working limits. In these estimates, we have made no allowance whatever for storage, which, in many cases, would increase the minimum power from two to three times, nor have we taken into consideration a great number of small streams which would probably aggregate a power approximately equal to the water-power now being utilized by the State.
Omitting for the present these two factors, which would, no doubt, increase the water-power more than two-fold, we still have, at the annual lowest known stream stage, an approximate aggregate of 500,000 horsepower. This power, if produced by steam, would require an annual consumption of about 7,000,000 tons of coal, or more than onehalf of the coal production of Alabama in 1907. The money value of this power, reckoning a horsepower at $20.00 per annum, is $10,000,000, which is nearly equal to the State's annual income from taxes and all other sources.
By the use of storage dams or by the use of auxiliary steam power for short periods during the dry season, fully 1,000,000 horsepower, at a low estimate could be utilized. The enormity of this power may be better und~rstood when it is stated that the combined labors of Alabama's coal miners in 1907, consisting of an army of more than 20,000 strong could not supply the furnaces with coal which would be necessary to produce a steam power equal to Georgia's water power.
Summary of Georgia Hydro-Electric Production for 1924
Georgia Railway & Power Company _____________________346,157 ,634 KWH CCoenlutmrabl uosf PGoeworegriaCRoamilpwaanyY__-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_12763,,328379,,230202 KKWWHH Augusta-Aiken Railway & Electric Co.___________________ 54,843,476 KWH West Point Electric Co. (Estimated) _____________________ 18,894,940 KWH Athens Railway & Electric Company_____________________ 18,721,692 KWH Georgia-Alabama Company_____________________________ 20,664,880 KWH Eagle & Phoenix Mills (Estimated) ______________________ 11,424,000 KWH Towaliga Falls Power Company (Estimated) ------------- 7,022,440 KWH Bainbridge Power Company____________________________ 1,687,590 KWH All other hydro-powers (Estimated) _____________________ 20,000,000 KWH
1rotal____________________________________________ 679,043,174 KWH
MJNEllAL llESOUJl CES 0~' GEORGIA
PLATE XXI
I
AND Tn ANS MI TTEH H o u sE OF T rnJ Nonr~ rr G~~o na r. A HATTAHooc rrEE Rt vEn, NEAH GArNESnLLE, H .\LL
SHOA r.s ON Trr E
WATER POWERS
159
Summary of de11eloped water power.r in Georgia
NAME OF COMPANIES
Present develo:oment
H.P.
Augusta Canal, Savannah River Wheels at Steven Mills--------------------
11,458
Stevens Creek Power, Savannah River. Georgia-Carolina Power Com:oany
31,250
Elberton Light & Power Com:oany, Beaverdam Creek----------------------
360
Georgia Railway & Power com:oany: Tualglaulloaoh_F__a_l_l_s__o_n__T__a_l_l_u_l_a__h__R__iv__e_r_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-,-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
TYeornroahra--.--__-_-.--__-.-.--_.-.--__-.-.-.-_-_-_-_-.-.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gregg Shoals on Savannah River-----------------------------------------Dunla:o Power (Gainesville) on Chattahoochee River-------------------Bull Sluice Power on Chattahoochee River.-----------------------------New Bridge Plant (Gainesville) Chestatee River--------------------------
108,000 80,000 37,500 30,000 1,520 3,000 16,800 1,500
Habersham Mills Com:oany, SoQue River-------------------------------------
1,050
Chestatee PYrites & Chemical Co. Plant, Chestatee River-------------------
1,000
Roswell Mfg. Com:oany, Vickery's Creek-------------------------------------
400
Bainbridge Power Com:oany, S:oring Creek.----------------------------------
1,400
Ga.-Ala. Power Com:oany: Albany Plant on Flint River and Muckafoonee Creek-------------------Credille Plant on Pataula Creek-------------------------------------------
13,550 2,500
Athens Electric Ry. Co., Oconee River:
I
Mitchells Bridge. _____ .. ---- _______ --------.-.-------------------------------
1,025
Tallasee Shoals-------------------------------------------------------------Barnett Shoals---------------------------------------------------------------
1,300 5,600
Oconee River Mills, Milledgeville_____________________________________________ _
1,000
Porterdale Mills, Yellow River____________ ----.--------------------------------
1,400
Towaliga Falls, Towaliga River.. ---------------------------------------------
5,000
Panola Electric Com:oany, South River---------------------------------------
360
Central Georgia Power Com:oanY. Jackson Dam, Ocmulgee River ________ _ 24,000
West Point Mfg. Co.. Chattahoochee River: Langdale Plant----------------------------------------------------------Riverdale Plant--------------------------------------------------------------
3,600 1,000
CoNGluoomarbtthuRsHoPicgokwh_l_ea_r_n_Cd_o_s__m____:_o___a__n__y___,___C____h__a___t_t_-a_-h-_-_o-_o____c__h__e____e____R__i__v___e___r__:_______-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_ Part of City Mills Power___________________________________________________ _
Bartletts Ferry--- ____________ . ___.... _.._._..._...-.------------------------
City Mills Power, Chattahoochee River______________________________________ _
Mill
''1 '!
Eagle & Phoenix Mills, Chattahoochee River--------------------------------
25,600 10,700 1,076 80,000
600 5,900
Etowah Mills, Etowah River--------------------------------------------------8-8-5------
Total.... ______________________________________________ -------------_____
510,334
The estimated horsepower above given, is in water-wheel capacity.
The smaller developed water powers of the State have not been in-
cluded in the above estimates on account of the great difficulty in se-
curing reliable data. Had these powers been included the above total
present developed water powers would be increased by possibly as mucp as 10,000 horse power.
;.
-
160
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA
REFERENCES ON WATER POWERS
1896-Anderson, C. C. and Hall, B. M. A Preliminary Report on
a Pari of lhe Water Power.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol. Sur"ey, Bull. No. :J,
150 pp., 10 pl.r., 2 map.r, 1896.
'
1907-Hall, B. M. and M. R. Water Resources of Georgia. U.S.
Geol. Survey Water Supply Paper No. 197, 342 pp., 1907.
1908-Hall, B. M. and M. R. Waler Power.r of Georgia. Ga. Geol.
Sur"ey Bull. 16, 424 pp., 14 pl.r., I map, 1908.
1909-Hall, M. R. Surface Water Supply of the South Atlantic
Coast and Eastern Gulf of Mexico. U. S. Geol. Survey Water Supply
Paper No. 242, 226 pp., 1907-8
1911-McCallie, S. W. and U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Drainage
Investigations in Georgia. Ga. Geol. Survey. Bull. 25, 123 pp., 7 pl.,
1911.
INDEX
Page A
AAglmataen. d__i_n.e________-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_--_1l2223
Amethysts.. --------- ___________________ ---121 Artesian wells... ---- _________ ---------150-152
Chefmroimca_l__c_o__J_ll_i_)_o_s_i_t_io__n___o_f__w__a__t_er.1s51-152
CGoesotloogfy___o_f-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-______________ ..115520 History of_________________ ---------150-151 Location of_--------- ___ -------- ______ .150 RUesefesroefn_c_e_s__o__n_._.____-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-1.15522
Asbestos _________________ Chemical proi>erties
-o-f-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_.9__-1u1
LGoecoalotigoynooff___________-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_______________9_-1100
Mode of Physical Referenc
occurrence of. ________________ I>rOI>erties of__________________ es on __________________________
uulQ
Statistics of____________________________ .11 Uses of__________________________ --------11
B
Bangor limestone. ___________________ -----130 Barytes_____ --------- _____ ---------------12-15
CGheoemloigcyaloIf>_r_o__i>__e_rt_i_e_s__o_f_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-.1123 Location of___________________ ----------12 MMoedt heoodfs oocfcmu rirneinncge a__n_d___m__i l_l_i_n_g__._._._._l3_-_1l43 PPhr oydsui ccaelrIs>orof i_>_e__rt_i_e_s_____________-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-___.1_ 4. -.1153 References on. _________ ------------- ___ 15 Statistics of_______________________ ------14 BauUxistee_s-.-.-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-.-1-5--1244 CGheoemloigcyaloIf>_r_o_i_>_e__rt_i_e_s_o__f_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-2.106--2117 History of______ ------------- _______ ..19-20 Location of. ______________________ ---15-16 Methods of mining and I>rei>aring
for market ____________________ ---21-23 Mode of occurrence of. _____________ l7-l9 RSteafteirsetniccsesofo_n____________________________________-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-.2233 Tertiary dei>osits of_________________ l9-20 Uses of__________________________________ 23
BBeorbyoLd-i-s-t-r-i-c--t.--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-1..2136 Brown iron ores-------------------------75-78
See also, Iron ores. BuilSdeienaglsbor,icCklacylasY. s--------------------33-34 Buhrstone____________________________ -----133
c
CCaamvei>SbIe>lrli,nMg .SRec.ticoint_e_d_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_-_--l76 Ceme!J.t materiaL _________ --------------24-28
CGheoemloigcyaloIf>_r_o_i_>__e_rt_i_e_s__o_f_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-2.274--2285 LHoisctaotriyono_f______________-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_2_6_-_2274
Mode of occurrence._ ---------------25-26
Page
Physical I>rOI>erties of---------------27-28 RUesfeesr. e__n_c_e_s__o__n_-_-_----__-_-_-_-_--.--.-_-.-.-.-_-_-_---_---c-.-.2288
Chert dei>osits--------- __ ------------------130 Chickamauga limestone. The------------129
Civil divisions._ -----------------------------4
ClaYBSu-i-l-d- _in--g--b-r-i-c-k--.-_-__-_-_-_-_-_----------------------------.2382---3335 LUosecsatoifo-n__. ___________._____________.___._._._._.___.______ ..-.3__2_-3333
Fire, ClaYS------------_-------- ______ 29-33 Chemical I>rOI>erties of____________30-31 LGoecoalotigoynooff-_-_-_-_-_-.-.-.--_-.-_-----.-_-_---_---_-_-----.-2-9--3300 Mode of occurrenCEL- ----------------30 Physical I>rOI>erties oL-----------31-33 Uses of_---------------------------- ___33
Kaolins. __ ----------- ________ --------28--32 Chemical I>roi>erties of------------30-31
r;g!~fln~r::~~~ ~~ ~: :::::::::::::::2~~
Mode of occurrence of._ ----------29-30 Physical I>roi>erties of___________ ..31-33 ReUfseersenocfe_s--o-n--c--l-a-y-s-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__________________3362
RoCohfeinmgi,catillIe>crOlaIY>eSrt-ie--s-o--f-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_3333--3344 Location of. _______________________ 33-34 Uses____ "- ________________ ... _____ ._-- .34
SeLwoecraIt>iioi>ne colfa_Y__S__-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_3333--3344 Uses_______________________________ .33-34
Shales__________________________ .. __ -.33-35 Chemical proi>erties of______ ________34
f'g~g~oJc::::::::: :::::::::::::3~~
Mode of occurrence------------------34 PUhseyss_i_c_a_l__I>__ro_i_>_e_r_t_.i_e_s__o_f___._._. _____________._.___._-..3344 Statistics of clays ____________________ 35
CoaLA--s-s-o--c-i-a-t-e-d--r-o-c--k-s-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_3_537-4-318 Chemical I>rOI>erties of___________ _4U-41
ii~Jg:V o~~:::::::::::::::::::::::J~~~
LocationtoL _________________ ---- ..35-36 References on coaL _________________ _4l Cooke. C. Wythe, cited---------------------7 Coi>I>er----------------------------------.42-44 Character of ore-----------------------.43
r!ii{y!~t~~:::::::::::::::::::::::=~~~u
RMeofdeereonfcoesccounr.re__n_c_e__o_f_.__________________________-_4_2-.4434 Uses of. _____________________________ -_- .44 Corals_______________________________________ l21 Corundum______________________________ -45-52 Chemical Proi>erties of______________ 50-51
ii~1g:V0~~---: :::::::::::::::::::::::~t!~
LMoocdaetioofnoocfc_u__rr-e-n--c-e--o-f---_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_________4_6--4475 Physical I>roi>erties of. _____________ 50-51 RSteafteirsetniccsesofo__n_._.___-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_5_1_-_5521 Uses of. _____________________ -------- ___ .51 Varieties of. ________________________ .49-50
162
INDEX
Page
Cretaceous-Terti!Ll"Y area.........l32-134 See also, Rolld Jlll;\terial.
CrysUilline area... ----------------- .132-134 See also, Rolld Jlll;\terial.
D
Diabase. ____ --- .. ------- .... __ --- ... __ .132 DiiUIIOnds......................118-119 Diorite.... ____ ----- ........ --- ........132
E
EEmpiedrostoen,W.. _H__._, _a_n__a_l_y_s_i_s__b_Y_ --_-_-.-_-_-_-_-_-__4.1.,114214 Essonite------------------------------------123
F
Farrington, 0. C. cited------------------119 Feldspar.. -------------------------------52--54
LCohceamtiicoanl opfr.o.p..e.r-t-i-e-sof.-.-_-_---.-.-.-.-_-_-_-.-.-5-2--5583 Mode of occurrence.. --------------52-53 PhYsical properties of------------------58 PUrsoesd.u.c..t.io__n..o.f.-.-.------------_-_-_-_-.-_-.-_-.-.-_-.-.-.-.-5-3--5544 Fire-clays.... ----------------------------29-33 See also, Clays. Flourite...... -----------------------------125 Fort Payne chert---------------------130-131 Fossil iron ores--------------------------79-84 See also, Iron ores. Fuller's emh----------------------------54-57 CGheoemloigcyalopf.ro.p..e.rt.ie__s__o-f-----.-.-.-.-__-_-_-_--.-_5__5_-.5565 LMoectahtoidosn ooff _m__i_n_i_n g- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _- -_5__4_-_5fi56 Mode of occurrence of----------------55 PhYsical properties of............55-56 References on-------------------------57 Statistics of..... ------------- . -- .... __ .57 uses-------------------------------------56
G
GGeaornloegt-y-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-.-.---------.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--__--.-.-.-_-_1.42-38 Geologic formations... ---- ........ _.....6-7 Gneiss-----------------------67-73 and 131-132
See also. Road material. Gold--------------------------------------57-67
Geology of................ -- .........60-61 History of...... __ ........... -- ....63-65 Location of. ______ ------------ .......57-60 Methods of savi.ng...................65-66 Mode of occurrence.................61-63 References on..----------------------66-67 Statistics of------------------------- __ ..66 Granite................................131-132 See also. Road material. Granites !lld gneisses...................07-73 Chemical properties of.................70 Geology of-....................67-68 History of--------------------------- ....69 Location of--------------------------67 Mode of occurrence of............68-69 PhYsical properties of-...........70-71 References on... -----------------------73 Statistics of.... --- ........... --- ...72-73 G r aUp sheist e. .... .. .___..._....... ._.._-: --.-.-. -. .-- -_-._- -... .. .__. ......7718--7725 Chemical properties of.............74 Geology of------------------------------74 History of----------------------------:.74 Location of.... ------------------------73 Mode of occurrence...................74
Page
PhYsical properties of..................74 RUesefesroenf.c.e_s__o__n_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.__._._._._._._._._._._.7755 Gravel deposits........................l38-l34 See also, Rolld material.
H
Henderson, J. T . cited ..............118,119 Hermitage district. location of............l6 Hog Creek mine, rubies found at........l20 H y a l i t e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l22-123
I
Iron ores.......... ----- .. ------- .. -----75-85 Brown........ ------------------------75-78 Chemical properties of...............78 Geology ot............................76 History OL------------------------77-78 Location of------------------------75-76 Mode of occurrence of............76-77 Fossil..... : ........... __ ...... ---- ....79-85 Chemical properties of- ...........82-83 Geology of----------------------------81 Location oL----------------------79-81 Method of mining of.................83 Mode of occurrence of............81-82 PhYsical properties of............82-83 Uses of.............. ____ ..............83 References on.......................84-85 Statistics of............. ___ ..... __ ....84
K
Keith. Arthur. cited.-----------------------7 King, F. P .. cited.........................l20 Kaolins.... _.............................29 ,33
See also, Clays. Knox dolomite....... ----------------------129
See also, Road material. Ky!llite..............................l24
L
LaForge, Laurence. cited...................7 L a z u l i t e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Light, Daniel. diamonds found on
property of-------------------------119 Limestone........ ------------------------85-88
Chemical properties of..............86-87 Geology of...........................85-86 History oL.----------------------------86 Location of........... __ .......... ~ ....85 Mode of occurrence of.................86 PhYsical properties of...............86-87 References on........................87-88 Statistics of.......... _.............. _...87 Uses-------------------------------------87
M
Mack Mountain. asbestos on...............9 M!llganese......... ----------------------88-95
Chemical properties of.................90 Chemical uses of.......................93 History of...............................90 Location of.......... __ ......... __ .88-89 Method of mining and prepa.ring
the ore....... -----------------------91 Metalurgical Uses of ..................93 Minor Uses of--.........................94 Mode of occurrence of..............89-90 PhYsical properties of.................91 References on.......................94-95 Statisti!s of.......... ___ .... ___ ----- ....94 Uses---------------------------------92-94
INDEX
163
Page
Marbles...---........---_------. __ . 95-103 Absorotion tests of--------------------101 Chemical vro:oerties of.........100 Crushing tests of----------------------101 Geology of...... ------------ ........96 History of---------------------------97-100 LMoocdaetioofnoocfc.u-r-r-e--n-c-e--o--f-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--995&-9-967 Physical vro:oerties of............lOO References on.... ---------------------103 Statistics on..-----------------------102 Uses of________ ---------------------101-102
Maris...... --- . ____ ..... ----.---- .. ---.104-105 Chemical vroverties of........104-105 Geology of-----------------------------104 Location ........ -----------------------104 Mode of occurrence.................l04 Physical vroverties of-------------104-105 References on... ----------------------105 Uses of_._. ___ ...... ------ ......... --- .105
Martin and Wykle vroverties...............9 Maynard T. Poole, va:oers by..25-29,13S-143 Mica................ -------------------106--108
Geology of... _..... __ .............. _..106 Location of... __ .-- ....... --- ..........106 Mode of occurrence of ------------106--107 References on... ----------------------108 Statistics of..... ------------ .... --- .... 108 Uses of... -- .... ------- ...... ______ ..107 MillVeravrireotiveesrotyf.__--. -_-_-.-.-.-.-.-.-_-_-.-.-.-.--.-_-_-.-.--__--.-_1_ .0170 Mineral resources. value 1924 ------------149 Mineral waters._. ---------------------148-149 Location of.. __ ....... ---_ .... _...148-149 RSteafteirsetniccsesoof_n__._._.__--.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-------------. -__-_--.1.14499 Moonstone......... ------------------------123 Morrow Station, diamond found near...119
N
National Asbestos Comvany. -------------10 Natural Cement... ---------------------25-29 Natural Cement, analyses of..............28 Nelson vroverty, diamonds revorted on.119 Non-crystalline Quartz.----- ---------121-122
0 Ocher.. --------------------------------108-117
Chemicalvroverties of----------------113 Geology......... -------------------109-110 History of........ -- .... -.........111-113 Location of.. ----------------------108-109 Method of mining and vrevaring.114-116 Mode of occurrence of...........110-111 Physicalvroverties of-------------113-114 References on.. -----------------------117 Statistics on....... -------------- .....117 OvaULse.s..o.L..-.-.-.-.-.-_-_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-.-.-.-.-.-_-__--.-.-1-2-21-11263
p Paleozoic area, the.-------------------129-131
See also, Road material. Pearls.. _... _. _. __ ------ .. --- .... ___ .125 Portland cement-------------------------25-29 Portland cement. analyses of.............28 Precious stones... ---------------------117-125 PyriCteh.a.r.a-c- .te..r.o..f._._._.__._-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_._._._._._._...112275--112288
HGeisotloorgyyooff........--_-_-__-_--.-.-_-_-.-.-_-_-_-_-_-.-_-_-_-.-1-2-6--1-12267 Location of.. ___ -------- ...........125-126 References on........... ---------------128 Uses of... --- ___ ------- .. ---------------128
Q Q u a r t z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120-122
Page R
Road material...----------------------129-134 Cretaceous-Tertiary area, the----132-134 Buhrstone of------------------------133 Gravel devosits of-------------------133 Limestone of-------------------------132 C rDyisot ar iltlei noefa. -r-e-a-,- -t.h-e-----------_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_1_3__1-1. 13322 Granite of.. ----- ___________________ .131 Gneiss of_-. -------------------------131 Trav rock of-------------------------132 Paleozoic area, the----------------129-131 Bangor limestone of----------------130 Chert devosits oL------------------130 Chickamauga limestone of---------129 Fort Payne chert of-----------------130 Knox dolomite of-------------------129 References on-----------------------134
Roofing tile... --------------------------i!S-34 See also, Clays.
Rose Quartz.------------------------- ___ ..121 RubY..---------------------------------119-120 Rutilated Quartz______ --------------- -----120 Rutile... -------------------------------123-124
8
Ball Mountain Asbestos ComvanY------9-10 Sand and graveL---------------------134-136
CGheoelmogicyaolvf_r_o_v__e_r_t-i-e.s_.o_f_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-.-_-.113355 Location of ___ --------------------134-135 Mode of occurrence of----------------135 RSteafteirsetniccsesofo_n__._____-_-__-_-_-_--.-_-.-_-_-_-_-_-_-_------------113366 Uses oL-------------------------------136 Savvhire-------------------------------119-120 SeroEexntetinnteo..f....-_-__.-__-_-_-_-.-_-_.---.---.---_-__-_-_-_-_.---. _____...113376 History oL... ~ __ . __ ------. __ . ___ .136--137 Location of_. __ . __ . ____ --- ____ ._. ___ ...136 Mode of occurrence of----------------137 Physical vroverties of.... ------------137 References on. __ ----------------------133 Structure of_ .... ------- _________ --- ...137 Uses of.-.- .. -.----. __ --- ______ . ______ ..138 Sewer ville claYS-------------------------iiS-34 See also, Clays. ShaSleese..a.l-s-o-.--C-l-a-y--s-.--------------------- .34-36 Slate._--------- ------------------------li!S-143 Chemicalvro:oerties of------------141-143 HGeisotloorgyyoofL__-_-_-_-__-_--------_-.-_-_-_-_-.-_-_-_------.l.i.i1S3-91-13491 Location of._ .. __ .---------.-- ______ ...133 Physicalvro:oerties of-------------141-143 RUesefesroenf.c_e__s.o--n.-_-_-_-.-_-_--. -_-__--.-_-_-_-_-_-.-_-_-_-_-------1.14433 Smoky Quartz. ----------------------------121 Staurolite.... _----- -----------------------125 Stevenson. M. F.. cited--------------------118 StockeneterBranch, diamond found on.118
T
Talc and soavstone-------------------144-147 Chemicalvro:oerties oL--------------146 LGoecoalotigoynooff-.--__-_--._--.-_-_-_-.-_-----.-_-.-_-------.---.1--4-41-14455 Mode of occurrence of.. ----------145-146 Physical vro:oerties oL---------------146 RSteafteirsetniccsesofo_n_-_-__-_--.-_-:-_-_-_-_----------_--.---.-_1._46. _-_-.114476 Uses of. ___ --- __ ---------- __ -- __ ---- __ .146
Tovogravhy--. -----------------------.-- ..1-4 Trav-rock----------------------------------132 Trilloli.-- ------------------------------147-148
Chemical vroverties of----------------147
164
INDEX
Page
Geology of-----------------------------147 Location of_______ -"------------------147 RUesefesroefn_c_e_s__o__n_-_-_-_-_-_-_--------------------------------------114488
v
Value of Mineral Resources. 1924.........149 Veatch Otto, pai>ers by 9-12. 29-36, 117-125.
144-147
w
WatAerggproewgeartse. oifn_v_e__n_t_o__r_y__o_f_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_--.1.51527--116508 Altamaha drainage basin, the_______ l54 Indicated horsepower on___________ l55 Apalachicola drainage basin. the....l55 Indicated horsepower on-----------158
Page
Mobile drainage basin, the-----------156
Indicated horsepower on-----------156 Ogeechee drainage basin. the________ 154
Indicated horset>ower on___________ 154
RS ae fvearne nncaehs dorna-i-n-a- -g-e- -b- -a-s-i-n- -. -t-h- -e-_-_-_-_-_-_-_115593
Indicated horsepower on-----------153 Sudmucmtiaorny. o19f24H..y.d. r_o__-_E__le__c_t_r_i_c_ -P_r-o__---.158
Tennessee drainage basin. the.......157 Indicated horsepower on___________ l57
Watson. Thos. L. reference to .....73,88,ll6
White. Geo. cited-------William's ferry, diamond
-f-o--u-n--d--a--L--.-.-.-.-.UuSs
Wo1fpit Mountain, asbestos on-----------~9
z
Zircon _______ ---- _________ ----_--_-.--_ .124