The geology of the northeastern portion of the Dahlonega gold belt

THE GEOLOGY OF THE NORTHEASTERN PORTION OF THE
DAHLONEGA GOLD BELT
Jerry M. German
Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division Georgia Geologic Survey

,,
THE GEOLOGY OF THE NORTHEASTERN PORTION OF THE DAHLONEGA GOLD BELT
Jerry M. German
. .(
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
J. Leonard Ledbetter, Commissioner
Environmental Protection Division Harold F. Reheis, Assistant Director
G~orgia Geologic Survey William H~ Mclemore, State Geologist
Atlanta 1985
Reprinted 1990
BULLETIN 100

Contents
Page Abstract ..... ~ ................................... .............................................................. . 1 1ntroduction ; ...................................................... , ......................... , .. -.. 1
Previous Investigations d_, ...... , , .. , . ..... -: .. ': ,._. ........ ::., .. ,., ,., . , .. ; .. .1
Stratigraphy ................................................................................................3 Introduction ..........................................................................._............. 3 Pumpkinvine Creek Formation .......................... : . ........................................ ... 3 Pumpkinvine Creek Formation Undifferentiated ......... .- ............................... ... 3 Barlow Gneiss Member ......................................-........................................ 4 Canton Formation .................................................... ~ ............................. 7 Proctor Creek Member ...................... , .. .- ...................................................7 Palmer Creek Member ........................................._.........................................9 Chestatee Member .......................... .- ...... :... , ............................. .- .... , ... 9
Helen Member ................. ; ............... , ;;-~;:: .............. , ..................... , ...... 10
univeter Formation .................. .' ...... ..-.... .... .' .......... : ... .- ................... : ........... 11 Intrusive Rocks ................................................ ~ ..... _............ -.... : . ....... 11 Rocks Northwest and Southeast of the Study Area .................:..... ; ....'.......... , ................. 12 Structure ... .' ..... : ............... .- .................................. ~ .. :--:..~.~-.:.:... ~............... : ... ;: .. -... 12
Metamorphism ..:.....,: .. i..................................................... ~ ............................14
Economic Geology .i., .:.- i;. -...:..... :.......................... 1.......................... . -~.; : ..... 17
Introduction ................:........................................................... .- ..... 17 Mining History and Methods .............................. ; ......................................... 17 Occurrence and Genesis of Gold ...................... , ... ............. : .................................. 17 Massive Sulfide Deposits .... , .. , ....................-...... ........................................ 22 Unique lithologies of Possible Economic Significance . .........:................." ..........................:...... 22
Iron Forma.tion ........ , ............. ' .. i, ,: ~;- ~ ', . , ; ) -. 22 Tourmalinite ......... : ........ ,; .. . .' .. , , , ,: ...... , . : .. .- ..................... 22 Pyritic S<;:hist ...... ,' ... , ........ , ... , .. .- .... .. ; .:; ................... 23 Massive :Kyanite ......... .- .. :. : .... ; .. ,., ............... .-; ............. ~ .: ... ; .......................... 23 Geologi~ Mod~I . : .......: .......... , .. : .. ,. .- .... , : ....... , ............... 23 Summary ..... ~ ............ ........... , ... ,, ......... , ................... 26 References ... , , .:.................... , :, .......... : .. , ........ -.................. 27 ; Appendix , . , .......... ; ....... : .......... ... , : ... , ........................... 29 Plate 1 ................. , ... ~ .......... : ..... -.....; ..... : ..j~ , : ~ in pocket Plate 2 .............. , ....... .... , .... ...... ; .~,........................... in pocket
.,
. '

\ \
iii

. .. ~. . ...

Figure

List of Figures

1.

Geographic extent of the Dahlonega gold belt showing study area .................................... .

2.

Diagrammatic stratigraphic section of lithologic units of the study area ................................. .

3.

Photograph of "chicken track" texture of an amphibolite from the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation ........ .

4.

Photograph of radiating hornblende crystals in the coarsely porphyroblasric facies of the Pumpkinvine Creek

Formation .................................... .................................................. .

5.

Type locality of the Barlow Gneiss Member ......................................................... .

6.

Photograph of a sample of the Barlow Gneiss Member showing flattened porphyroblasts ................ .

7.

Photomicrograph of polycrystalline plagioclase porphyroblast (Barlow Gneiss Member) embedded in a

fine-grained matrix .............................................................................. .

8.

Type locality of the Proctor Creek Member ......................................................... .

9.

Photograph of banded nature of the coarsely porphyroblastic facies of the Proctor Creek Member ....... .

10.

Type locality of the Palmer Creek Member ......................................................... .

11.

Type locality of the Chestatee Member ............................................................ .

12.

Type locality of the Helen Member ................................................................ .

13.

Reference locality of the Helen Member ........................................................... .

14.

Comparison of foliation attitudes southwest and northeast of the Dahlonega area ....................... .

15.

Part of the Dahlonega gold belt showing major structural features ..................................... .

16.

Photomicrograph of garnets in schist of the Canton Formation ........................................ .

17.

Photomicrograph of chlorite after biotite in schist from the Canton .Formation .......................... .

18.

Hydraulic mining near Auraria, Georgia ............................................................ .

19.

Relationship between abandoned gold mines and lithology- Auraria/Dahlonega area ................... .

20.

Concentration of abandoned gold mines along the Barlow Gneiss Member ............................ .

21.

Concentration of abandoned gold mines in the immediate Dahlonega area ............................ .

22.

Photograph of a sample from one of several zones in the pyritic schist that contain >50% pyrite ......... .

23.

Determination of amphibolite protolith based on a plot of FeO*/MgO versus percentage Ti02 .

24.

Determination of amphibolite protolith based on a plot of FeO*/MgO versus ppm Ni ................... .

25.

Determination of amphibolite protolith based on a plot of FeO*/MgO versus ppm Cr ................... .

Page
2 3
4
5 6 6
7 8 8 9 9 10 10 14 15 16 16 18 19 20
21
23
25 25 26

List of Tables

Table

1.

Average modal composition of New Georgia Group lithologies in the study area ......................... .

5

2.

Fabric elements of the Dahlonega gold belt .......................................................... .

13

3.

Comparison of fabric elements in the study area with those in northeastern Georgia and in the Greater Atlanta

area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

4.

Major oxide and selected trace-element analyses of Pumpkinvine Creek and Univeter Formation

amphibolites ................................... : ................................................. .

24

List of Plates

Plate

1.

Geologic map of the northeastern portion of the Dahlonega gold belt with mine locations

(1 :100,000)................................................................................... .

2.

Relationship between the geology and the occurrence of iron formation and tourmalinite- Dawsonville

7.5-minute quadrangle... , ................................................................... .

in pocket in pocket

iv

THE GEOLOGY OF THE NORTHEASTERN

PORTION.OF THE'DAHLQNEGA 'GOLD BELT, ' 1 ._ ~

. ';,
Je,r,ey M, G~rrnan

!

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION.

This investigation encompasses that portion of the Dah!onega go.ld belt extending from Canton in Cherokee County northeastward to the Georgia~ North Carolina State line, and was done to provide modern geologic information on this

l'he Dahlorliega gt>ld b.elt, named for the town bf Dahlonega, Georgia, is a narrqw, ~et;~uence of r-ock units that can be
mapped.f.rom <1t least the Georgia-Alabama Sfafe line northeastward to the Georgia-North t~rolina'State line, a distance

area of potential e<::bnomic importC~nce. P_revious reRorts <;>n
mineral resources of the study area gen~rally -~orisi~t' of site- ' '
by-site descriptio-ns of individual mines1 and, although these reports are valuable, no comprehensive studies of the geology

of approximately' '152 tni (approx. 243 km) (fig. 1). Th.~ belt
vari~s in thickness frorn a maximum of approximately 12.8 mi (appr.ox,-~1.2 km) in Cobb a_nd Paulding Cbunties to less than
0.6 mi (ap.prox.-1 km)' fn Rabun Coun'ty. Although gerrerally

ofthe entire area were made.

coinCiding With the New Georgia Group, the Dahlonega ,gold

The Pumpklnvlne Creek, Canton, and Univeter Formations

b('!lt is actu<JIIy a belt of gold occurrences rather than a distinct

of the New Georgia Group underlie the study area. The

stratigraphic unit.

Pumpkinvine Creek Formation, the structurafly 'lowes't unit in

For over 100 years this 'area Was tile major gold-producing

the sequence, is composed of an-lphibolite with 'minor felsic
gneiss. The Canton Formation, composeQ predominantly of , mica-q1,1artzschi~t and metagraywacke, overlies the Pumpkin-' '

- ragion in Georgia. Substantial increases in the price of gold
over the lastfew years have ge~erated te'newed Interest' in this
ar~a; This study,\-Vhlch was initiated becaLJSE\1 of the need for

vine Creek Formation and is in turn overlain by the Univeter ; , .,, information--on thtr origin_ and geologic setting of these Formatidri, a unit similar to the,P.urnpkinvine (;:reek F.qrrn<Jtiq~ .. , .. d,eposits, encompasses the area frbr'ri' 'Ca'ntoh in Che~okee _

One member, the Barlow Gneiss, was identified within the

' Coi.ihty northeastward to. the Georgia-rNorth Carolina State

Pumpkinvine Creek Formation, and four' members; the-
Proctor Ci'eek, Palmer Creek; Chestatee, and. Helen, ,~ere,
identified, within tb~- Canton Formation..No .n_ew memb~rs . were identified within the U~iv.eter For~atirin: themical data .

line. ,, ,.,._. , ''': , ... ,,
Wor~ ~n this pr~j~ct con~ist~d ofdetail~dgeologic mapping
.and'petr6graphicaiid ge&hemlcahitlidiesi6f~selected safJlples. Pohions.of seventeen 7.5-minuw g~a~ra,11,gl~~ were n:apped

on amphibolites of'the Pumpkinvine creek and Univeter . ,bet""een March 1982 and June 1983 and during November

Formations indicate an abyss(ll_~holl:(\ite affinity... , ,

-1983. GeologiC maps atid maps delineatitig mine workings

The rocks in the study area were metamorphosed fd ' ' '""and unique lithologies of pos&ible. ~cpnbmic significance

staurolite-amphibolite'grad~ approximately 365-rnillion years ,

:were IT) ad~ for e~~h quadrangle. Those maps not included in

ago and have been subjected to at leas_t .three fold events of , .. progre~siv~ly weaker intensity. Outcrop patterns and promi-

this rep?rt' are on open-file at the 'Ce61ogfc Survey office. Mine lotation_s are given on plate J., a_nd p,escriptigns are

nent structural features are assodated'with F1-fe>lds. The study area is bounded by the Shope Fork (pre~ to synmetamorphic)

. :given in, appendix 1.,Detailed information on the southwestern portion of the gold oelfrs found in r'epbrt!ib1 McConri'ell and

and Allatoona (post-peak metamorphic) faults west and by the Chattahoochee fault (peak

on the north-. to post-p'eak

.

'1 '~

Abrams (1983, 1984).

metamorphic) on the southeast.

PREVIOUS INVESTIGAliONS

Gold was mined intermittently from placer, saprolite, or lode deposits inthis area from about 1829 to 1934. Gold occurs within s,ulfidic quartz veins that generally tonform to _the foliati'6n of the enclosing rock. Thase deposits occur in clo~e association with iron formation and certain felsic gneisses an-d along the contacts between amphibolite and mica-quartz schist. Data strongly suggest that the g<)ld was a priinary . 1 constituent of the metavolcanic rocks and was remobilized and concentrated within veins during regional metamorphism and deformation. The weathering of the gold deposits has resulted in an apparent supergene enrichment.
This area comprises rocks that were probably deposited in a back~arc basin which experienced- an initial period of
volcanism followed by extensive dasti'c sedimentation that
was occasionally punctuated by brief episodes of renewed volcanism. Deposition of gold~bearing lithologies generally marked the transitions between volcanic and sedimentary processes.

Many reports have been p~blished on the st(Jdy area. Most

were economic in nature and ericompassE!d areas as small as

one mlrie or as large as the Piedmont of the Southern

Appalachians. 'fhese were mainly published dur-ing the

periods 1879-1~18, 1928-1952, and 1961-1984. '



Many of the earliest repo'rts were on the immediate

Dahlo'nega area. lhe first of these was by Mackintosh (1879)

and was followed by a.general study'ofthe gold fields of the

entire southern Appalachians by Becker (1894). General

studies of gold mining in the Southeast also were puolished

by Blake and jackson (1895) and Brewer (1895). The first siteby~site description of the gold deposits of Georgia was

produced by Yeates and others (1896). Nitze and Wilkins

(1897) described some Georgia gold deposits in their report

on the gold deposits of North .<:;ar.olina and adjacent areas.

Maxwell (1901) described the Crown Mountain Mine at Dahlonega, and Eck~l' (1902) and Lindgren (1906) described

'

1

...

...
_j

!

I

AT~ANTA

r ' D O U G L A S /

~ ~ DEKALB

'"____.. FULT;-O-Nj -------c

~-(//

!CLAYTON;,

'

_J.::

r'

\_ _,_-)" ----~-~ --- I

i

/

tFAYETTE)

j HENRY

\

\ ;'L~

WALTON
0 10 20 Miles 0 10 20 Kilometers

Figure 1. Geographic extent ofthe Dahlonega gold belt showing study area.

' . i~
'",

several deposits at Dahlonega. The first geologic map of the

and hydrologic study of the entire coun~/ln 1964, the

Dahlonega area was made by Keith (1909). jones .(1909)

mineral resources of White County were described by Hurst

published a secorid bulletin on the gold deposits of Georgia;

and Otwell, and those in Habersham County were described .

however, it was not as thorough as the earlier report by Yeates

by Hurst and Crawford. A report by Fairley (1965) on the

and others (1896). In 1918, Shearer and Hull reported on the

Murphy syncline included a portion of the study area in

pyrite deposits of Georgia including those in the study area. A

Cherokee County. Hatcher's (1971, 1974, 1976) works on the

portion of the gold belt was described by Bayley in 1928.

geology of Rabun and Habersham Counties included part of

Crickmay (1933), Wilson (1934), and Anderson (1934) gave

the study :area. Lesure (1971) described gold mobility at the

brief overviews of gold mining within Georgia, and Park and

Calhoun Mine. Murray (1973) mapped a portion of the study

Wilson (1936) described the deposits of the Battle Branch

area for his geologic map of Fulton and Forsyth Counties.

Mine and suggested a hydrothermal origin. A report by

Cook (1978) described the soil geochemistry at the Franklin-

Pardee and Park in 1948 covered the entire Piedmont of the

Creighton Mine. Works by Gillon (1982) and Nelson (1983)

Southern Appalachians. They gave thorough descriptions of

described the geology of a portion of the study area in White

several important mines in Georgia and in several other states.

County.The geology of the Dahlonega area was described by

Kline and Beck (1949) reinvestigated the massive sulfide

Cook and Burnell (1983) and by Cook and others (1984), and

deposit at the Chestatee Copper and Pyrite Mine. Crickmay's

the geochemistry of rocks in. that area was described by

(1952) report on the crystalline rocks of Georgia included a

Burnell and Cook (1984). Otwell (1984) recently described the

brief description of a portion of the study area. Bowen (1961)

gold deposits of White County, and McConnell and Abrams

and Stewart and others(1964)-studied the geology of portions

(1984) d~scribed part of the study area in their report on the

of Dawson County, and Sever (1964) conducted a geologic

Greater Atlanta area.

. ! .I

J

2

STRATIGRAPHY
.lntrodu.ction
The study area comprises lithologies that are an extension
of the New Georgia Group (McConnell atid Abrams, 1984). In
the study area, units in the New Georgia Group (fig. 2) exhibit considerable variability; however, mica-quarti;schist, metagraywacke, and arl)phibolite are the most abundant. These are augmented by lesser am0unts of felsic gneiss, metatrondhjemite) ~eri,cite-quartzschist, and irori formation. Thicknesses of these units are impossible to ascertain reliably due to faulting and multiple folding, but are estimated to range from less than 100 m to several kilometers. For the same reasons, stratigraphic ()fder is problematical; however, units below are described in a probable as~ending order. They are assigned a Late Proterozoic or early Paleozoic age based qn radiometric age dates determined by Dallmeyer (1978).

Pumpkinvine Creek Formation

The Pumpkinvine Creek Eormation i.s a fine-grained amphi-

bolite with interlayered thin units offelsic gneissand sericite

phyllite (McConnell, 1980). Mapping for the present study

revealed thatthis formation fornis.the core of an overturned,

northwest-vergent antiform (herein called the Auraria anti-

form; see plate 1, cross-se~:;tion Af,.') whose dir'ectlon cif

plunge alternates from northeast to southwest several times

i j::' _,,

'

'

sw

along its trace. The Pumpkinvine Creek Formation plunges northeastward beneath the Canton Formation on the eastern edge of Canton, Georgia (McConnell, 1980; McConnell and Abrams, 1984) and reappears approximately 15.6 mi (approx. 25 km) to the northeast. From that point it is exposed continuously northeastward to Dahlonega where it again plunges beneath the Cantor:) Formation. Cook and Burnell (1983) gave a similar structural interpretation regarding this formation in the Dahlonega area and referred to it informally as the Findley Ridge amphibolite. McConnell (1980) reports that the Pumpkinvi.ne Creek Formation occupies the limbs of an antiform southwest of the study area and can be mapped intermittently to the Georgia-Alabama State line. He also reports that his formation may be correlative with the Hillabee Greenstone in Alabama.
PUMPKINVINE CREEK FORMATION UNDIFFERENTIATED
'Rocks mapped as Pumpkinvine Creek Formation undifferentiated inthe study area consist of fine- and mediumgrained amphibolite with lesser amounts of garnet-blcititehornblende~quartzplagioclase gneiss calcite and/or stauroTite, muscovite-bidtite'-plagioclase-quartz gneiss, and iron formation. The amphibolite is dark green to black in color with occasional light banding. It locally contains large laths of hornblende randomly oriented along the foliation (fig. 3). This rock has a simple mineralogy, consisting predominantly

Rose Creek Schist

Univeter Formation undifferentiated

Helen Member

Canton
~ormation
undifferentiated

';i:

Palrner Creek Member .

'i J

;r

'',''

Proctor Creek Member

J=>umpkinvlne creek Formation
Barlqw Gneiss Member

Figure 2. Diagrammatic stratigraphic section of lithologic units in the study area. 3

ctn
0 ..0..... (Ill

I

2

3

4

6

7

8

10 I I

12

13

14

Figure 3. " Chicken track" texture of an amphibolite from the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation .

of green hornblende and plagioclase (albite/ oligoclase) in nearly equal proportions (table 1, sample pcu1). Accessory minerals are epidote, sphene, biotite, chlorite, magnetite, and calcite. Locally, chlorite may comprise up to 15 percent of the rock . The garnet-biotite-hornblende-quartz-plagioclase
gneiss calcite and / or staurolite is locally interlayered with
the amphibolite near the contact with the Canton Formation. This coarsely porphyroblastic and relatively leucocratic lithology possesses a complex mineralogy dominated by plagioclase, quartz, and hornblende (table 1, sample pcu2). The hornblende commonly occurs as radiating laths (rosettes) several centimeters across (fig. 4). Large rolled garnets up to 1.5 em in diameter are numerous. These large hornblende and garnet crystals are embedded in a fine-grained groundmass of quartz and plagioclase with lesser amounts of calcite, staurolite, and biotite. Muscovite, epidote, and chlorite are locally present. McKinstry and Mikkola (1954) described a remarkably similar lithology in the hangingwall of the ore body at the Elizabeth Copper Mine in Vermont.
Iron formation units associated with the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation in the study area are quartzites that locally may contain magnetite, hematite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, mica, garnet, or unidentified manganese minerals. Volumetrically, these are minor units, attaining a maximum thickness of only a few meters. However, economically, they appear to be important indicators of gold deposits since a large number of abandoned gold mines are located along their strike. Iron formation and its significance will be discussed more fully in a later section.
BARLOW GNEISS MEMBER
A mappable unit of muscovite-biotite-plagioclase quartz gneiss within the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation was previously referred to as granite by LaForge and Phalen (1913) and as a sheared granitoid dike by Pardee and Park (1948) . Crickmay (1952) included this gneiss in his Wedowee-Ashland

belt. This unit is herein named the Barlow Gneiss Member for exposures in the inactive Barlow Mine near Dahlonega, Georgia (Campbell Mountain and Dawsonville 7.5-minute quadrangles, fig. 5). This member is exposed in a large hydraulic cut at the indicated type locality on figure 5. The gneiss is locally interlayered with amphibolites; therefore, the boundaries of this member are the last appearances of the muscovite-biotite-plagioclase-quartz gneiss. This member is bounded by undifferentiated amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation. Contacts between the gneiss and amphibolites are sharp.
The Barlow Gneiss Member is a medium- to dark-gray rock that has a pin-striped appearance in most exposures. Porphyroblasts are usually present as flattened crystals or crystal aggregates of either blue quartz or plagioclase up to 0.5 em in diameter (fig. 6) that may be recrystallized crystal fragments. Thin sections of the gneiss show slightly altered plagioclase porphyroblasts embedded in a fine-grained groundmass of quartz, plagioclase, biotite, and muscovite (table 1, sample big; fig. 7). The amphibolites are dark green to black in color and locally exhibit light banding. Their mineralogy is principally plagioclase and hornblende with accessory epidote, sphene, magnetite, chlorite, and calcite.
The Barlow Gneiss Member is well exposed and was used as a marker horizon in deciphering the structure of the area. Its outcrop pattern defines a regional, northwest-vergent antiform and, although generally relatively thin, this member can be mapped from just southwest of Dawsonville to Dahlonega, a distance of approximately 14.7 mi (approx. 23.5 km) (plate 1).
Mineralogical and field evidence strongly suggest that the Barlow Gneiss Member represents the metamorphosed felsic phase of a predominantly mafic volcanic sequence . The areal extent, mineralogy, and texture of this member strongly suggest that its protolith was a crystal tuff. The Barlow Gneiss Member is lithologically similar to and may be correlative with the Gaits Ferry Gneiss as described by McConnell (1980) and McConnell and Abrams (1984).

4

Table 1. Average Modal Composition of New Georgia Group Lithologies in the Study Area.

pcu1 pcu1 big

PC,

PC:~

pic

cs,

c~

h,

Quartz

31 48 56 64 56 40 50 31

Plagioclase

(albite/oligoclase) 40

23

23

3

50 44 tr

Hornblende

53 23

4

Biotite

tr

3 13 32 20 36

7

6

Muscovite

2 12

3

3 tr

3

2 43

Garnet

7

8 10

2

16

Chlorite

3 8

tr

tr

tr

tr

Epidote

2 tr

2

tr

Sphene

2

Magnetite

tr

tr

tr

Calcite

tr

3

2 tr

tr

Staurolite

tr

2

Tourmaline

Kyanite

tr

Pyrite

Graphite

3
tr

pcu - Pumpkinvine Creek Formation undifferentiated big - Barlow Gneiss Member pc - Proctor Creek Member pic - Palmer Creek Member
cs - Chestatee Member h - Helen Member unu - Univeter Formation undifferentiated

hl unu1 unu1

62

5 45

13 43

8

50

3

21

35

2

tr

3

tr

tr

2

tr

tr

5

tr

- -- - - - - - - -

ern
0 0""".1=1 em

I

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 I I

12 13

Figure 4. Radiating hornblende crystals in the coarsely porphyroblastic facies of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.
5

Figure 5. Type locality of the Barlow Gneiss Member of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation (Dawsonville and Ca mpbell Mountain, U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangles).

0
I Of.'lm -= 1 em

3

4

5

I

I

12 13 14 15 16

Figure 6. Sample of the Barlow Gneiss Member showing flattened porphyroblasts.

6

Figure 7.

0 .3 mm
Pol ycrysta llin e pl ag ioclase porph yro bl ast (Barlow Gn eiss M ember) embedded in a fi ne-grain ed matri x.

Canton Formation
The Canton Formation consists of graphitic garnet-mica schist, metagraywacke, and phyllite (McConnell and Abrams, 1984). This unit can be traced into the study area from the southwest at Canton and is traceable from there northeastward to the Lake Burton area northeast of Helen, Georgia, a distance of approximately 64 mi (approx. 107 km) . Most lithologies within this unit appear to be metasedimentary in origin. In the study area the Canton Formation consists of garnet-biotite-muscovite-quartz schist, biotite-muscovite quartzite, graphitic quartz-sericite schist, hornblende-biotite-quartz schist, muscovite-biotite-quartz schist, biotiteplagioclase-quartz gneiss, plagioclase-biotite quartzite, and amphibolite.
Several of the above lithologies are individually mappable while others are components of a mappable sequence. Four members for the Canton Formation can be recognized . They are formally named and described below.
PROCTOR CREEK MEMBER
Lithologies that are herein named the Proctor Creek Member of the Canton Formation were previously mapped as Carolina Gneiss by Keith (1909) and as the WedoweeAshland belt by Crickmay (1952). This member is named for exposures along Proctor Creek near Dawsonville, Georgia (Dawsonville 7.5-minute quadrangle, fig. 8) . The dominant lithology at the indicated type locality on figure 8 is a muscovite-garnet-biotite-quartz schist (table 1, sample pc1).

This schist has a fine- to medium-grained texture and a silvery luster on cleavage surfaces . Subhedral garnets approximately 3 to 5 mm in diameter are common . Accessory minerals include magnetite (?), chlorite, and calcite. Thin lenses of calc-silicate material (i.e., garnet-hornblende-quartz-plagioclase hornfels) 1 to 5 em thick are common. In the Dahlonega area the schist possesses a somewhat different texture marked by coarse porphyroblasts (?)of altered plagioclase rimmed by garnet and biotite (table 1, sample pc2) and locally is more gneissic than schistose. At several locations, distinct layers with coarse porphyroblasts 4 to 8 mm in diameter alternate with layers having fine porphyroblasts 1 to 3 mm in diameter (fig. 9). The interpreted lower boundary of the Proctor Creek Member is the first appearance of iron formation or amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation . This contact is sharp in most exposures and was interpreted as a fault in the immediate Dahlonega area by Cook and Burnell (1983) . The interpreted upper boundary is the first appearance of darker, muscovite- and garnet-poor schist of the Palmer Creek Member (this study) . This contact is poorly exposed but is believed to be gradational.
The Proctor Creek Member is exposed in the limbs of the Auraria antiform from the vicinity of the Dawson-Forsyth County line northeastward to Dahlonega (plate 1). Characteristics of this member at most exposures suggest a shale as its protolith ; however, the coarsely porphyroblastic facies exposed in the vicinity of Dahlonega (fig. 9) could be interpreted as a metatuff.

7

Figure 8. Type locality of the Proctor Creek Member of the Canton Formation (Dawsonville, U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle) .
Figure 9. Banded nature of the coarsely porphyroblastic facies of the Proctor Creek Member.
8

PALMER CREEK MEMBER

The Palmer Creek member is exposed in the limbs and

lithologies herein named the Palmer Creek Member of the Canton Formation were previously mapped as Carolina Gneiss (Keith, 1909) and as Wedowee-Ashland belt (Crickmay, 1952). This member is named for exposures along Palmer

hinge of the Auraria antiform from the vicinity of the Dawson/Forsyth County line northeastward to the Dahlonega area. This member probably is a metamorphosed sequence of fine-grained ~!'!diments with minor mafic tuffs or flows.

Creek near Dawsonville, Georgia (Dawsonville 7.5-minute quadrangle, fig. 10). At the designated type locality on figure

CHESTATI:E MEMBER

10, biotite-quartz schist hornblende and/or garnet is the

The sequence of lithologies herein named the Chestatee

dominant lithology. Garnet-biotite-muscovite-quartz schist

Member was previously /napped as Roan Gneiss by Keith

and minor amphibolite are present locally. The biotite-quartz

(1909) and as part ()f Crickmay's (1952) Wedowee-Ashland

schist is fine- to medium-grained and cleaves readily intp thin

belt. This member is named for exposures along the Chestatee

plates. It locally contains small almandine garnet crystals .River iri lumpkin County, Georgia (Murrayville 7.5-minute

approximately 2 mm in diameter. Hornblende crystals locally qulildrangle, fig. 11). At the, indicated type locality (fig. 11 ), as at

occur as somewhat ragged laths up to 1.5 em long randomly other exposures, several lithologies are present. They include,

oriented along the foliation planes. Accessory minerals are

in order of abundance, amphibolite, hornblende-plagioclase

epidote, plagioclase, magnetite (?), and c~lorite (table 1,

gneiss, muscovite-biotite-quartz-plagioclase gneiss (table 1,

sample pic). Locally, this lithology. has a gneissic texture sample c~ ), and muscovite-pyrite-plagioclase-quartz gneiss

defined by alternating bands of biotihHich and biotite-poor zones that resemble original sedimentary features. The

(table 1, sample cs2). The amphibolite is dark green to black . and ex~ibits textures ranging from finely equigranular to

garnet-biotite-mUSCOVite-quartz Schist is n:'OSt abund~nt ih . coarsely porphyroblastic. In the coarsely porphyroblastic

the Dahlonega area and is similar texturally to the biotite-

rock, leucocratic porphyroblasts occur either as single plagio-

quartz schist. The presence of muscovite gives this rock a ,lighter color and luster. Amphibolites occur as th.ih units

clase c~ystals- resembling metamorphosed phenocrysts or as crystal aggregates of dino~oisite resembling metamorphosed

composed of nearly equal afnounts of hornblende and amygdules. The horriblende-plagioclase gneiss appears to be

plagioclase. Most ofthe amphibolites are not mappable at the a hornblende-poor variety of the amphibolite. The muscovite-

1:24,000 scale.



.biotite-quartz-plagioclase gneiss is a medium-gray rock with

The boundary between the Palmer Creek Member and the a generally homogeneous texture. Porphyroblasts of quartz

Proctor Creek Member is the last occurrence. of the biotite- and/or plagioclase approximately 1 to 3 mm in diameter are

quartz sthist; .The boundary.-, between the Palmer Creek , conspicuous.,- This lithology closely resembles the Barlow

Member and the Chestatee Member (this study) _ls the first Gneiss Member of the Pumpkin~l.ne .C~eek..fqr,matioii. The

occurrence of interlayel"edf~lsie gneiss and amphibolite; The

muscovite-pyrite-plagioclase~qua~tz:- gn~iss is a very leuco-

contact with .the Proctor Creek Member. is -gradational;.,- craticrockwitha uniformtexture~ Fine laminations of pyrite

whereas the contact with the ChestateeMember is .a fault; and muscovite are locally present.

Where the Chestatee-Member is absent (plate 1), the f!almer -.The Chestatee Member:is in shar-p:contactwith the Helen

Creek Member grades into the Helen Member (this study). , Member (this study) to the southeast.,a':Jd;i~;~ filult cont11ct !Nith

The boundary of the Palmer Creek Member in this case Is the the Palmer Creek Member to the northwest (plate 1)_. The

first appearance of biotite-plagioclase-quartz gneiss (meta~

graywacke) of the Helen Member.

Figure 10. Type locality of the Palmer Creek Member of the Canton Formation-(Dawsonville, U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle).

Figure 11. Type locality of the Chestatee Member of the Canton Formation (Murrayville, U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle).

9

:'1

boundaries of the Chestatee Member are the first occurrences of biotite-quartz schist of the Palmer Creek Member to the northwest and metagraywacke of the Helen Member to the southeast.
The Chestatee Member is exposed from near Dawsonville in Dawson County northeastward to the Cavenders Creek area in Lumpkin County (plate 1), and its trace forms a distinct topographic lineament. This member probabiy represents a metamorphosed sequence of felsic and mafic crystal tuffs and mafic flows.
HELEN MEMBER
This sequence of rocks was previously designated as part of the Carolina Gneiss (Keith, 1909) and as part of the WedoweeAshland belt (Crickmay, 1952). More recently, Gillon (1982) informally termed these rocks the Helen sequence for exposures in the vicinity of Helen, Georgia. This terminology was alsq employed by Nelson (1983) and Nelson and Zeitz (1983) for rocks in the same area. To avoid confusion the name Helen is retained for this sequence and herein named the Helen Member of the Canton Formation for exposures in the vicinity of Helen, Georgia (Helen 7.5-minute quadrangle, fig. 12). At the indicated type locality (fig. 12), and elsewhere,
biotite-muscovite-quartz schist garnet and biotite-plagio-
clase-quartz gneiss (metagraywacke) are the dominant lithologies. Plagioclase-biotite quartzite and minor amphibolite may be locally present. Additional exposures may be observed at a reference locaiity along Georgia Highway 60 south of Dahlonega (Murrayville 7.5-minute quadrangle, fig. 13).
The biotite-muscovite-quartz schist garnet and the biotiteplagioclase-quartz gneiss (metagraywacke) occur as an intric~tely interlayered sequence where alternation of layers of equal thickness is common. The schist (table 1, sample h1) is light gray to light brown in color and overall fine to medium grained. It is richer in garnet and muscovite in the southwestern half of its exposed length, becoming garnet-poor, slightly feldspathic, and biotite-rich to the northeast. Where

garnetiferous, the largest garnets are approximately 0.5 em in diameter, euhedral, and exhibit a rolled (pinwheel) texture. Staurolite, chlorite, magnetite(?), and tourmaline are accessory minerals. Graphite is locally abundant. The biotite-plagioclase-quartz gneiss (table 1, sample h2) is medium gray in color with an overall "salt and pepper" appearance. The gneiss is locally conglomeratic with clasts consisting of quartz or plagioclase less than 0.5 em in longest dimension. Matrix
'<>,
Figure 13. Reference locality of the Helen Member of the Canton Formation (Murrayville, U.S. Geologital SLjrvey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle).

:I
;j
:d ; i
I
I ,1
i.,i.
I ll
II
il
II
II
'I '
I
I
Figure 12. Type locality of the Helen Member of the Canton Formation (Helen, U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle).
10

material consists of a fine-grained mixture of quartz and plagioclase plus lesser amounts of biotite, muscovite, garnet, and epidote. Fin~ laminations and graded.beds are observ~.ble'. in hand sampl~s and thin sections. In som.e exposures northeas.t of Pahlone~a~ the quartzcontent;i~ hish e'?ough , (greatet than 70 percent) to .classify this lithology. as .a qua'rtzite. The amphibolites occ:;ur as thin units )nterbedd.ed with the above-mentioned schist and. graeiss.. Spme )lr:nphi-. bolifes are easily mapped over long distances and, therefore, were used as stratigraphic marker horizons. Their mi'neralogy consists predominantly of plagioclase and hornblende with accessory sphene, epidote, chlorite, and magnetite(?). Locally, chlorite and epidote are abundant.
The Helen Member (plate 1) grades into the Urtiveter Formation (this study) and Hatcher's (1974) Tallulah Falls Formation to the southeast and the Palmer Creek Member and Hatcher's (1974, 1976, 1979) Coweeta 'croup to the northwest. It is in fault contact with undifferentiated amphibolite and schist a'nd Gillon's (1982) Richard RU?sell formation to the northwest. It is. in sharp contact with the Chestatee Member, also to the northwest. The boundaries of the Helen Member are defined as the last occurrence ofinterlayered metagrayWacke and biotite-muscovite-quartz schist. .
The Helen Member i~exposed trom just southwestof Lake Burton in Habersham County, where it pinches out, to the vicinity of the Dawson-Forsyth County line, where it is no longer distinguishable from undifferentiated.Canton Formation. The mineralogy, textures, and internal stratigraphy of this member strongly suggest a. predominantly sedimentary origin .. The repetitive nature of the gneiss-schist sequence
a resembles part of turbidite sequence. This member probably
was deposited in. a rapidly subsidiJ;lg basin that. had an occasicinal episode. of volcartie activity, ''

Univeter Formation

The IJnivet'er Forrnation.is>.the.most regionally.,extensive

forrriatlon in the study area, It is exposec;lfrom near Canton in Cherokee County to Lake B~rt(>n in Hab~rsham County, its

trace forming a regional topqgra'phic lineament. Near Canton the Univeter Form<ition con~ists ofamphibolite, hornblende gneiss, .garnet-biot(te-muscovite schist, banded iron form~ tion, a~d garnet-d~lorite schist and is divided into the Lost

Mountain Amphi~olite and .Rose creek Schist Members

(McConnell and AQrams, 1984).

.

. .

;.The Rose Creek: Schist Member can be traced into the southwestern portion of the' study areawhe~e it pinches out

approximately 7 mi.: (approx. 11 km) east of Canton. From that

point to near Clevel;md in White County, separately mappable

units within the Univeter Formation are rare. Between these points, the U~iveter consists affine-grained amphibolite with

minor interlayered plagioclase-hornblende-biotite-quartZ gneiss, ;biotite~mllscovite-quartz schists and iron formatio~.

The am:phibolite (tc:ible 1, sample llnu1) is dark green to blaqk . .with a uniformly fine~grainedtexture. Finely detailed bandin.g
is.~omri:mn. FJttures resembling amygdules, now represented
by ros~ttes cif clinozoisite, are visible in thin section. This

l{tholosy is probably equivalent to the Lost Mountain Amphi-

l:jolite N-tember. Plagioclase-hornblende-biotite-quartz gneiss (table 1~sample unu2) occurs:as thin layers in the amphibolite. The gn~iss is pin-striped in appearance due to distinct, thin,

dark and light mineral bands. At some exposures these two

lithologies form an intricately interlayered sequence.

Nimh bf- Dahlonega other facies within the Univeter
Formation are recognizable and are mappable for ~hort dist'arites. These include finegrained amphibolit~,:,gil,rnl)!t

biot.ite-muscovite-quartz schist and biotite-plagioclase-quartz gn~is~: The schist is a fine~ to medium~g~!lined, rp4: '.}'ith a sil'very 'luster on cleavage si.lrfaces. Mineralogk:i!lty, it i~ very
srrr1ilar 'to the schist of the. hlelen _Member of the 1R<~ntop
Forliiation. The g'neiss is fine-grai(ledand is W!2akly lami~ate~;L,
Accessory minerals are muscovite, epidote1 garnet, and magnetite. Both the garnet-biotite-mus~ovitequartz s~hi~it I
and the biotite-plagioclase-quartz gneiss occur sporadically,

making their stratigraphic relationship to the amphibqlite1

tJncl~ar.



NQrtheast qf 'Jielen, the Univeter Formation grades' into
~ocks. previp,usly mapped as undifferentiated 'tallulaH Palls! Formatiory (Hatch,er, 19~1.~ 1974) arid iis .Gteat Smoky G'rbi.rp'
(i;'latpheri 1976). The&e rocks can, be traced alortg the w~s'fei'fl1
shore oflake Burto;l imd through Rab'uh County to the Ceprgia-I'North ;Carolina State line. (plate 1). They consist of a:
complex ~ssemblage of . plagioclase~biotitEb-quartz ghelss (metagraywacke), pl.agi<;>dase~gatnet-blotite~muscbVite.:..

quartz schist, biotite-quartz sch,lst garnet, hornblendeL

plagioclase gneiss, and amphibolite biotite an'd/br garnet.

The t>verall composition of this assemblage is similar tothe lowE!rm0stmember:of theJallulah Falls Formatioh (Hatch~r, ,1~71;.1974, W?f;,),,byi:sin~e It exhibitsmllch vari~'fitlHaiM~ :,strikt;~;; it Js ,d~slgnated. here:as :tallulah falls: 'Fbrfflation
;.undifferentiate.d. This assemblage is intrudt(d b}''a gtiel~sictb

coa~sely pc;>rphyroblastle; leucm:irati<:: musd:Mte-biotife'qwartz

r,t)~nzonitegn~iss.(Rabun Gheiss cif Hateh~r; 1974/1976)\':

~; ,; ' ' ,'



'

'

'

- ,'



' :



, ""'

I i , " "J ' '

~ ~ 1

~ i. '

' '

lntruSiv.~ RoCks: ~:. -.,;. ~: 'i (.r

: ., Several types of intrusive rocks are present ih the stUdy ':ar~a:They are either fefsk; mafic,or ultramaficin:tomposlti9n

and of limited areal extent. Three relative.ly large Intrusive
bodies are found in the Dahlonega area (piate 1). Th~y consist
of 'two micaceous "granitic" ,,bQdies,, and: .one il}mphibpl~:

bearing "granitic" boqy. The micaceous bodies are t:mWsely

crystalline, leucocratic.rocks and have a weakly to moderately

well-developed foliation. Biotite and muscovite together

comprise approximately 15 percent of the rock. Sericitization

and kaolinlzatlon of .feldspars makes their identification

difficult, althoug~ identifiable feldspars are clearly plagioclase.

No K-feldspar Was observed. The. quartz content is high,

ra,nglng from 65'to 70percent. The easternmost micaceous

"granitic" body was referred to as the Benning granite (Jones,

1909). The amphibole-bearing body has a similar textUre and

of mineralogy and. is also altered. Amphibole makes up 10
percent of this rock. The degree of altetation and thE!.lack suff(cient data pl',event a concise classification of thes~ bodi~s
at although the.y have been referred to. recen'tly met~~

trondhjeniites (~ook afld others, 1984). These bodies c;:rossc~;~t

rocks within the anton Formation and are locally intedayered

with the co.tmtrY..rock.



,

Two biotite trondhjemite dikes are present on the Dillard Quadrangle. Th~ dikes are unmetamorphosed, leucocratic

rocks that consist of a'lblte (72%), quartz (25%), and biotite

(3%). Both dikes strike northeast and are undeformed.

11

Hatcher (1974) assigned them a late Paleozoic age based on

their unmetamorphosed character.

Mafic intrusive bodies are represented in the study area by

olivine diabase dikes. Almost all are confined to the extreme

northeastern end of the study area. The dikes are clearly the

youngest rocks in the study area as demonstrated by their

crosscutting nature. All those examined contain from 10 to 23

percent olivine, are less than 3m wide, and strike northwest.

A few can be traced for several kilometers. A dike on the Ball

Ground East quadrangle in Cherokee County cuts the trace of

the Allatoona Fault.

-

The ultramafic bodies in the study area are found within the

Tallulah Falls Formation and consist of small, isolated, de-

formed masses largely altered to serpentine and/or talc.

Those bodies that are not thoroughly altered were recognized

as enstatite and/or diopside-bearing dunites. These ultramafic

bodies apparently were emplaced prior to the peak of

regional metamorphism.

Rocks Northwest and Southeast of the Study Area
Units that border the study area on the southeast include the Sandy Springs Group and the Tallulah Falls Formation (plate 1). The Sandy Springs Group was described by Higgins (1966, 1968) and later defined by Higgins and McConnell (1978). The Sandy Springs Group consists of biotite gneiss, muscovite-biotite schist, amphibolite, micaceous quartzite, and kyanite-staurolite schist. Migmatization is locally intense. The Tallulah Falls Formation, as defined by Hatcher (1971, 1974, 1976), consists of amphibolite, quartz-plagioclasebiotite-muscovite gneiss, muscovite schist, muscovite-garnet schist kyanite sillimanite, and quartzite. Because of the similarities between the lithologies that make up the Sandy Springs Group and Tallulah Falls Formation, Higgins and McConnell (1978) and Hatcher (1974) considered them to be equivalent.
Those units on the northwest include the Great Smoky Group, Coweeta Group, and Richard Russell formation (plate 1). Great Smoky Group lithologies were recognized to the northwest of the study area between Canton and Dahlonega by Sever (1964), McConnell and Costello (1980, 1982), Costello and others (1982), and McConnell and Abrams (1984). The Great Smoky Group consists of metagraywacke, locally conglomeratic metasandstone, metasiltstone, muscovite-biotitequartz schist kyanite, meta-arkose, and minor amphibolite. Northeast of Dahlonega the study area is bordered by a sequence of lithologies informally termed the Richard Russell formation by Gillon (1982). This unit consists of migmatitic biotite gneiss, garnet-sillimanite-biotite schist, garnet-biotitemuscovite schist, and minor amphibolite. The Coweeta Group is also found along the northwestern border northeast of Dahlonega. Hatcher (1974, 1976, 1979) defined the Coweeta Group as a sequence of muscovite-biotite-quartz-plagioclase gneiss, micaceous quartzite, muscovite-biotite-schist, metaconglomerate, and metagraywacke.
Rocks adjoining the study area due north and northwest of Dahlonega have not been studied in detail. They consist of amphibolite, biotite-quartz schist, and biotite-muscovitequartz schist and may be correlative with Gillon's (1982) Richard Russell formation or other lithologies that comprise the Hayesville thrust sheet as described by Nelson (1983).

STRUCTURE
The structural complexity of the Dahlonega gold belt has long been recognized. Crickmay (1952) characterized this area as a complex zone of pervasive shearing and suggested the existence of extensive faulting. Because of this, he referred to this area as the Dahlonega shear zone. Observations made during the mapping phase of this study tend to corroborate Crick may's remarks on shearing; however, the primary cause for shearing appears to be extremely tight folding rather than faulting. Faulting is present but is largely confined to the borders of the study area.
Three major faults form portions of the boundaries of the study area (plate 1). The Chattahoochee fault forms most of the southeastern boundary, whereas the Allatoona and Shope Fork faults form part of the northwestern boundary. All juxtapose significantly different geologic terrains.
The Chattahoochee fault was first proposed by Hurst (1973), and its trace was subsequently modified by McConnell and Abrams (1982). As observed in the study area, it forms a distinct boundary between the weakly to highly migmatized Sandy Springs Group and unmigmatized schists, amphibolites, and felsic gneiss of the Univeter Formation. Bowen (1961 described cataclastic textures associated witfrthis boundary in southeastern Dawson County, and McConnell and Abrams
(1984) described this boundary as a metamorphic isograd and migmatitic front. This fault was traced by the author from just southwest of Lake Burton in Habersham County southwestward to central Cherokee County. McConnell and Abrams (1984) traced it farther southwestward where it is overridden. by the Blairs Bridge fault.
Hatcher (1978) proposed that one of'the faults on the northwestern boundary of the study area was a continuation of the Hayesville fault which had been observed farther to the northeast in North Carolina. This fault was subsequently called the Allatoona-Hayesville fault by McConnell and Costello (1980). In this report the Allatoona-Hayesville fault is referred to simply as the Allatoona fault. Movement along this fault probably occurred shortly after the peak of regional metamorphism since it truncates the northwestern limb of the Auraria antiform (see cross-section AA', plate 1). Along the Allatoona fault, terrain of the Dahlonega gold belt with a substantial volcanic component was thrust over the predominantly sedimentary Great Smoky Group, forming a distinct boundary between dissimilar terrains. This fault terminates northeast of Dahlonega near the trace of the Shope Fork fault.
The Shope Fork fault was mapped by Hatcher (1976) through Towns and Rabun Counties and was extended into White County by Gillon (1982). Hatcher (1976, 1979) considered movement along this fault to have been pre- or synmetamorphic. The Shope Fork fault can be traced across Lumpkin County north of the study area and separates lithologies resembling the Canton Formation from the Richard Russell formation (Arthur E. Nelson, personal commun., 1984) (plate 1).
The only major fault observed within the interior of the study area is a reverse fault that extends from just southeast of Dawsonville to northeast of Dahlonega where it merges with the Allatoona fault. Movement along this fault transported the Chestatee Member to its present position and is believed

12
'j:
''.

responsible for the discontinuity in strikes between units on

of the Dahlonega area and southeast-vergent northeast of

either side. This fault is probably a splay off the Allatoona fault

there and plunge either southwestward or northeastward.

(see ~ross~section AJ:.',. plate 1) .

Thickening ofunits in the axial areas and thinnil"'gin the limbs

.Tne mc:tjor structural feature of fhe mifitonega belt is the Aura ria antiform, a large, asymmetrical, isotlin~l antiform (plate 1), Jhis fold is northwest~ve~genfan8pluriges alternately

s.ugg~sta flex!Jral flow type of foid~ihg; SubsE;!qu~ntto D2 was anotl'rer episode of deformation (D3 )
.of grea~ly reduced, although quite Widespread, lntensity."fhis

northeastwardanp s9uthwestwar4alorig sfdke. This arttiform extends frorp :P.~uldiflg County (McConnell, 1980) .Mrth~ast~

event (03 ) is characterized by small folds mote open than F1.
T~es~ folds (F2) are co~axlal' With F1 folds and also plunge

. ward to just east of Dahlonega in Lun1pkin C:oUnty'a'n'd is . responsible forth~ outcm~ p~her:ns of major lithold~ies in this area, In Pauldmg, Bartow, and Cherokee Counties the
Auraria antiform is cored by the Gaits Ferry Gneiss (McConnell,

either southwestward or northeastward. They have a wave-
l~ngth qf less than 1 meter and are commonly the most easily
recogn'i~ablefolds at individuMoutcrops. These' folds (F2)are accompanied by a pervasive cre~lilatioti cleavage.

1960; McCpnnell ~nd Abrams, 1984), '1\fhereas 'in the. study area it is con~d by the structurally 'overlying Pumpkinvine

The last deformational event (D4) had~ subtle effect ori the outcrop patterns of c;ertain lithologies. This eve'i'lt is charac~

.CreekJormi}tipn. . .

.,

.

.The f~bric of the lithologies in the study area reflects several

episodes qf deformation. Collectively, they record a succ~ssion

terized by southeasHrending(?) cipeh fblas (F3). This 1 e~ent appears to be responsibl~ forth~ somewhat abrupueversal of foliation dips northeast of Dahlon~ga ih th~ vicinity .of the

of.events ofini~iallystrong ductile deformatioh foll6\lyt:!d by eplsod~s of r.ela,tively. '1\feakprit~!edefOrm~tlo:n. 'tk~, ~~ctile

.. Lumpkir~Whit~ <;:ounty line (fig. 14; also, compare ctoss~ sections AA' and BB', plate'1) and the sinusoidal trace'0f the

p,hase 1s expressed by flexural floW.folds, where~s tllel:itlttle phase is ,expressed by sliCkensides and small fault~. 'fheseare

Auraria antiform also' in the vicinit{ofbahlotfega'(plt~te 1). Also associated with this event are small, high~angle normal

summarized .in table 2 and discussed .in the ensylng text:: The e<}rli~st recognizable event .(D1) is faulting. alo.ng the
Shope Fork fa1Jit. Any induced fabric that may have acc.om~
. pahied thi.s mpvement is not recogni.z~ble in the study area,
probably .due to subsequent over~pririting. 1' .

faults with displacements of only a fell\(;centii;T)eters. The fault planes are generally parallel to a ~~gional joint set and
probably ref,lect movement alon!fpreviollsiy established joint
.. sets, .Numerous slickens'ides accotnpa'ny these faults. ,,n
to Ahi:Jis point it is worthwhile compare stnictural;fabric

The.next recognizable deformational event(D2) is the most

elements of the study area to those observed'in previous

intE)fiSe and is.re~ppnsiblefor the ()Utqop patterns and major

investigations of adjacent areas, ,Table 3 :stJrtJmai'izes and

f.olds (F1) of, the St\JdY area. T~ is' e~erlt ,pr<;>duced a pervnsive . ,. <;om pares fabri.c elementsiqbs~rv~d in this' stu'dy with' those

northeast-striking foliation that is a'xial pl~hiil' to tKesefolds. Minor and major folds prodused durh1~ 'th!s::r:~v,ent) are extremely tight isoclines that are ri~rthwest.:.verg'enlsoutliwest

ops,e.rvedi by Mc.<:;onnell and /\brc!ms (-1984) iri th~ Greater Atlant<1area andby~,Hatcher arl~Hutl'er (1979) IHihdrtheastern Georgia. One interestin!(observatlort :is the'; ab~~nce of

.

.

.

. J~

~ > '

, ' ~ ,

. ;,\t .'

Table 2:Fab~ic .Elements. of the Dahlonega Gold Belt

, (Cheroke~ County-.to Habersham. County) . '

''.

J Generation Fold Style

. Orientation' Typh oflineations;

Tir,ning

Sig' nifi,c..a.n..t.Fe:a:tures ;

; D1

. Pre~to synmeta~ ,tylov~ment along

,1.;

m9rphic

. shopeF?rk fault.

Tight isodin'esf . NE strike; N~ .or Elongation

Ne'ar peak of

For rn.a t ion qf

flexutalflow folcds, SW plunge; NW

thetrnal hletamot~ Auraria antiform;

or SE Yergent. ,

ph ism.

majortectonicshor~

tening; develop~

ment of dominant

s~surface; move7

'

ment along Chatta~

1

hoochee faultW ..

l.soclinal to opE' in; Cc:i~axialto F1 flexural flow folds.

Intersection;

,.Post~peak to

No mesostopic

crenulation axes post~metamorphic expression; move~

trenulation clea~

rrtent along Alla-

vage.

toona fault.

Broad, upright

~E trent;! SW vergent(?)

None recognized

Post-metamorphic. Responsible fdr shift in dip,s qf re~ gional foliation NE of Dahlonega (?) and. folding of Auraria antiform.

13

SW of Dahlonega Area
N

NE of Dahlonega Area
N
B

1m strike
-dip
Figure 14. Comparison of foliation attitudes southwest (A) and northeast (B) of the Dahlonega area.
evidence for Hatcher and Butler's (1979) F1 and F2 and McConnell and Abrams' (1984) F1 in the study area. Another is the correlation between the writer's F1 , Hatcher and Butler's (1979) F3, and McConnell and Abrams' F2. This strongly suggests that the extremely tight folding in the study area (F1) may have completely obliterated any evidence of earlier folding. The correlation between the writer's F1 and McConnell and Abrams' (1984) F2 is also suggested when foldinduced outcrop patterns in part of the Greater Atlanta area and part of the study area are compared (fig. 15).
MET AMORPHISM
Several workers have noted that the Dahlonega gold belt exhibits a distinct mineral assemblage indicative of a slightly lower metamorphic grade than the surrounding terrains (Gillon, 1982; Nelson,.1983; McConnell and Abrams, 1984).

This feature is constant th~o.ughout the study area and served in the past, and in this study, as partial criteria for the delineation of the boundaries of the gold belt.
lithologies in the study area are within the staurolitealmandine subfacies of the almandine-amphibolite facies of regional metamorphism as described by Turner and Verhoogan (1960). This subfacies is characterized by assemblages of quartz, muscovite, almandine, biotite, plagioclase, and staurolite for derivatives of pelitic rocks and by hornblende, plagioClase, almandine, and epidote for derivatives of basic rocks. Staurolite is a key mineral of this metamorphic grade, although kyanite may be rarely present in very aluminous rocks. These assemblages closely reflect those found in fhe lithologies of the study area. Notable deviations include the low anorthite composition of the plagioclase (An10 - An20 ) compared to the norm (An25 - An45 ) given by Turner and Verhoogen (1960) and the coexistence of chlorite and hornblende in some of the basic rocks. These deviations are probably vestiges of green schist facies and, therefore, represent the transition between two metamorphic facies.
One period of prograde regional metamorphism produced the mineral assemblages described above. This event reportedly occurred in the Northern Piedmont approximately 365-million years ago (Dallmeyer, 1978) and was marked by a combination of dynamic and thermal process~s. Mineral textures in certain lithologies suggest that thermal metamorphism continued after the most intense deformation ceased. This is revealed in schists of the Canton Formation by garnets with deformed cores and undeformed rims (fig. 16): and by the presence of a set of anhedral an~a set of euhed'ral, garnets.
A very weak episode of retrograde metamorphism also can be observed. This episode manifests itself in the slight alteration of biotite to chlorite in the schistose lithologies (fig, 17). This alteration is present throughout tlie study area and was reported in adjoining terrains (Hatcher, 1979; McConnell, 1980).

Table 3. Comparison of Fabric Elements in the Study Area with those in Northeastern Georgia and the Greater Atlanta Area.

Northeast Georgia (after Hatcher and Butler, 1979)

Greater Atlanta Area (after McConnell and Abrams, 1984)

This study

F1 Isoclinal recumbent EW-NE
rend (S, rarely observed)

Not recognized

Not recognized

F2 Isoclinal recumbent EW-NE F1 Isoclinal recumbent ENE trend;

trend, dominant 5-surface.

dominant 5-surface.

Not recognized

F3 Upright isoclinal to open, NE trend.

F2 Upright to overturned; isoclinal to open; NE trend; responsible for outcrop patterns.

F1 Extremely tight isoclines; NE trend; NW & SE vergence; dominant S-surface; responsible for outcrop patterns.

F4 Crenulation cleavage, NE trend.

F2a Upright, open, NE trend ..

F2 Isoclinal to open; co-axial to F ; crenulation cleavage.

Not recognized

F3 Open to isoclinal; SW vergence; 5E trend; mainly restricted to Blue Ridge.

Not recognized

F5 Upright, open, NE trend. F6 Upright, open, NW trend.

Not recognized F4 Upright, open, NW trend.

Not recognized
F3 Broad, upright, 5E or NW trend.

I
I

14

J 'I
't.'

J,
spng

,;,

;I!
,.E:XPLANATIOff
(not In stratigraphic order)
I oa I Car)t9n. Forma~iq~, ,,,
,,. , ,: I~o I kellogg; ~,real<' Mafic OO'mplex
' 1 ' ';j.uo 1, Uhiv~ter,~nd Oa~ton fo~;,ations ] Pumpklnvine Creek Formation
,lacgl Acworth Gneiss
jaugl Austell Gneiss
jshgl Sand J:1.iH Gnerss
I lmo Mud creek Formation I I to Taliadaga Belt
I I os Ocoee Supergroup
~pngl Sandy Springs and New . Georgia Groups
~ Corbih.;Gnelss Complex ~ Gaits Ferry Gneiss ~ Sandy Springs Group

' X;\

.. ~.

figure 15. Part of the Dahlonega goI~ belt showing major structural features. F2 outcrop:r;atterns imd unit
names on the western half are after McConnell (1980) and McConhell aiid Ab~ams .(1984).
15

1 mm Figure 16. Garnets in schist of the Canton Formation exhib itin g rotated cores with later euhedral
overgrowths.
0.3 mm Figure 17. Chlorite (ch i) after biotite in schist from the Canton Formation.
16

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY
Introduction
Gold was mined in Georgia almost continuously from about 1829 to 1934 (Paradee and Park, 1948). The intensity of mining activity during this period varied due to the price of gold, the political climate, the depletion of certain types of deposits, and the introduction of new mining technologies. Recorded production during this period for the entire State was just over one-half million ounces (Pardee and Park, 1948). The production breakdown for specific areas of the State is not possible, but clearly the Dahlonega belt accounted for the majority of this amount. Production overall was probably considerably higher than that reported since records were not always kept.
Mining History and Methods I
As in most gold-producing regions, mining methods evolved in response to the depletion of certain types of deposits and the discovery of others. Mining activity in the Dahlonega belt began as placer mining of stream gravels, and, subsequently, extensive areas in the study area were mined in this fashion; some placers were reworked several times. The initial boom associated with this type of mining lasted from 1829 to abol)t 1834 (Pardee and Park, 1948), but the inevitable depletion of the known placer deposits resulted in a period of greatly reduced activity.
The advent in 1868 (Pardee and Park, 1948) of the Dahlonega method of hydraulic mining of saprolite resulted in a renewed surge in activity. This method involved the removal of a large volume of material by the use of a stream of water under high pressure. The relatively soft saprolite was literally washed from the hillsides into a network of sluices from which the gold was collected. Extensive open cuts were made by this method (fig. 18). Hydraulic mining seems to have remained popular up to the time production ceased in the Dahlonega belt.
In several areas extensive underground mining was undertaken, and in most instances, this phase of mini~g succeeded hydraulic methods once unweathered rock was reached. Underground mining in fresh rock was greatly facilitated by the development of a chlorination process for extracting gold from unoxidized sulfidic ore. It is common to see ad its and shafts extending outward in numerous directions along veins at old hydraulic cuts. In other areas, however, most of the activity consisted of underground workings in both fresh rock and saprolite with only a limited amount of surface activity.
This full progression of mining methods seems to have occurred in only a few areas. Overall, placer mining was the most widespread followed by hydraulic mining of saprolite. One reason for the preponderance of these two mining methods over underground methods was that the cost of placer and hydraulic mining was much less. Another is that the weathered portions of the deposits and the placer deposits derived from them tended to contain more gold than fresh rock, probably as a result of mechanical and supergene enrichment. Lesure (1971) was able to demonstrate supergene enrichment of the weathered part of the gold deposit at the Calhoun Mine in Lumpkin County and suggested that this characteristic of the deposit determined the type of mining methods employed there. Supergene enrichment can be assumed for many gold deposits in the

study area, but this does not necessarily indicate that unweathered deposits will have a gold content below ore-grade. A prime example of an unweathered, high-grade deposit is the lode atthe Franklin-Creighton Mine in Cherokee County that contained gold in amounts up to 1.49 oz/ton (Jones, 1909) to a depth of several hundred feet, a depth well below the effects of weathering.
Occurrence and Genesis of Gold
The deteriorated condition of most of the abandoned mines frequently inhibited thorough observations at these old workings. For this reason the observations made by Yeates and others, (1896), Lindgren (1906), jones (1909), and, particularly, Pardee and Park (1948) were used extensively. These early workers indicated that the gold occurs in veins that conform, in most cases, to the foliation of the enclosing rock. These veins are composed. predominantly of quartz with lesser amounts of sericite, biotite, carbonate, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and garnet. Galena, sphalerite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, amphibole, iron oxide minerals, and feldspar were also reported. The geometry of the veins varies widely but is generally tabular, lenticular, or in rare instances, rod-shaped or very irregularly shaped. The veins occur singly or as a zone of several bodies. More detailed descriptions can be found in the above reports.
When plotted on geologic maps, abandoned mines are concentrated in certain areas. These cpncentrations occur along the contacts between amphibolite and mica-quartz schist, within certain fe[s"ic gneisses, and in close association with iron formation units. This apparent lithologic association can be observed at many places throughout the study area
but is best exemplified by two areas des~ribed below.
Figure 19 shows the distribution of abandoned- mines associated With the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation and the adjacent rocks. Mines .are concentrated along the Barlow Gneiss Member of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation and at several points along the Pumpkinvine Creek-Canton Formation contact. These lithologies and contacts probably served as important prospecting tools for the early miners, judging from the amount of activity associated with them here and in other areas.
Anotable concentration of mines can be observed north of Auraria where open-cut and underground mining was confined to the Barlow Gneiss (fig. 20). This felsic gneiss was mined at the Barlow Cut Mine for a continuous distance of approximately 1 km (0.6 mi) along strike and in intermittent areas for several more kilometers at mines to the southwest and northeast. Assays published by Pardee and Park (1948) of cores taken in and adjacent to this gneiss showed high gold values confined almost entirely to this lithology.
Another large concentration occurs along Findley Ridge at Dahlonega (fig. 21). Here, twelve mines are located along a sequence of rocks (igf, fig. 21) that lie between massive amphibolites of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation and schists of the Canton Formation. Mines occur along the entire length of this sequence which consists of interlayered iron formation, biotite-plagioclase-quartz gneiss, sericite-quartz schist, and amphibolite and is interpreted to be part of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation. Cook and Burneil (1983) also recognized this sequence and informally called it the Singleton formation.

17

Figure 18. Hydraulic mining near Auraria, Georgia (circa 1930). Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Archives and History.
18

EXPLANATION

Univeter Formation ~ Univeter Formation undifferentiated

Canton Formation

[TI Helen Member

QU Chestatee Member

[] Palmer Creek Member

.

~ Proctor Creek Member and coarsely porphyroblastic facies (cp).

Iamp I amphibolite

~ pyritic sericlte'quartz schist
chlorite and/or hornblende

Pumpkinvine Creek Formation
[] Pumpkinvine Creek Formation
undifferentiated
[]!] iron formation, metatuff, and amphibolite
~ Barlow Gneiss Member

Rocks Northwest and Southeast of
the Study Area
Ipgs I Great Smoky Group
~Sandy Springs Group ~ amphibolite and schist

Unassigned Intrusive Rocks
[] biotit~ metatrondhjemite [] amphibole metatrondhjemite

e28 mine location

Figure 19. Relationship between abandoned gold mines and lithology-Auraria/Dahlonega area.
19

;_-.......

EXPLANATION
Canton Formation ~ Palmer Creek Member
~ Proctor Creek Member and coarsely porphyroblastic facies (cp) amphibolite ~ pyritic sericite- quartz schist chlorite and/or hornblende
Pumpkinvine Creek Formation ~ Pumpkinvine Creek Formation undifferentiated ~ Barlow Gneiss Member
Unassigned Intrusive Rocks
[_] biotite metatrondhjemite
50 mine 'location

0

0.5 Mile

0

500 Meters

I

I

N
Figure 20. Concentration of abandoned gold mines along the Barlow Gneiss Member. '20

Canton Formation

~ Palm\it Creek Member

1

I I ~ Proctor' Creel< Member and coarsely porphyr0 blastic facies (cp)

amp amphibolite



Pumpl<invine Creel< Formation
~ Pumpkinvine Creek Formation undifferentiated
[Ej!J iron formation, metatuff, and amphibolite [1gJ Barlow Gneiss Member
Unassigned Intrusive Rocks
[Ji] biotite me,tatrondhjemite

72 mine location

Figure 21. Concentration of abandoned gold mines in the immediate Dahlonega area.

21

It can also be noted from figure 19 that mining activity was concentrated along the axis of the Auraria antiform. The occurrence of gold along the antiformal axis, in addition to occurrences along certain contacts, could be interpreted that gold was selectively introduced at these structural and stratigraphic positions from some outside source during an episode of deformation. This theory in a slightly modified form was proposed by earlier workers such as Yeates (1896), jones (1909), and Pardee and Park (1948).
An alternate interpretation, which is best supported by the data, is that the gold was syngenetic. By this interpretation, anomalously high amounts of gold that were present in the environment, probably as a result of exhalative processes, were incorporated in rocks formed in that environment. This is strongly reflected in the obvious lithologic control for most of the gold occurrences. These occurrences are within or are associated with lithologies that are interpreted to be volcanic in origin. It seems unlikely that gold would be selectively introduced into these specific lithologies during some later mineralization event.
As these volcanic lithologies were metamorphosed and deformed, the gold was remobilized and concentrated in veins. Locally, gold was concentrated in crosscutting veins, in veins parallel to the foliation, or in veins in the axes of small folds; however, the regional concentration of gold along the axis of the Auraria antiform is due to the presence of metavolcanic rocks in that position.
Massive Sulfide Deposits
In addition to gold, several massive sulfide deposits were previously mined within the study area. Three abandoned mines are .located in Cherokee County and one in Lumpkin County. Those in Cherokee County include the Dickerson Mine on the Ball Ground West quadrangle and the Swift and Standard Mines on the Ball Ground East quadrangle. Shearer and Hull (1918) reported that the sulfide in the ore at the Cherokee County mines is entirely pyrite, but drilling by New jersey Zinc Company in the mid-1950's revealed approximately one percent copper and zinc (Robert B. Cook, personal commun., 1984). Descriptions by Shearer and Hull (1918) suggest that the orebodies aregenerally lenticular or tabular in shape conforming to the foliation of the host rock. Enclosing lithologies are thinly interlayered amphibolite and
plagioclase hornblende-biotite-quartz gneiss calcite of the
Univeter Formation. The Chestatee Mine (not the same as the gold mine of that name) is located on the Dahlonega quadrangle in Lumpkin County. From descriptions provided by Shearer and Hull (1918) and Kline and Beck (1949), this deposit has similar characteristics to those in Cherokee County, namely its stratabound nature, mineralogy, and geometry. The Chestatee deposit occurs in the vicinity of the contact between amphibolite of the Univeter Formation and metagraywacke, schist, and quartzite of the Helen Member of the Canton Formation. Kline and Beck (1949) noted that the ore body occurs mainly within the amphibolite and, like the ore bodies in Cherokee County, contains small amounts of copper and zinc. The massive sulfide deposits in the study area resemble the volcanogenic Besshi deposits described by Franklin and others (1981).

. Unique Lithologies of Possible Economic Significance
Several minor rock types occur within the Univeter, Canton, and Pumpkinvine Creek Formations that also occur in other parts of the world in close association with base and precious metal deposits or as mineable commodities themselves. These include iron formation, tourmalinite, pyritic schist, and massive kyanite. These rock types are interspersed throughout the above formations and, in most cases, appear to be stratigraphically controlled. The conditions surrounding their occurrences and their economic significances are discussed below.
IRON FORMATION
The occurrence of iron formation in close proximity to base and precious metal deposits or as an ore of these metals has been well documented in recent years (Ridler, 1973; Fripp, 1976; Gibbins, 1979; Abrams and McConnell, 1982; McConnell and Abrams, 1983). In many instances this lithology marks the boundary between periods of tectonic stability and instability. Compositionally, iron formation is dominated by quartz and iron oxide, with varying amounts of aluminous minerals, carbonates, and sulfides. For this reason, several facies based primarily on composition have been recognized (James, 1954; Goodwin, 1956; Gross, 1980).
Iron formation units recognized in the study area are quartzites consisting of alternating bands of magnetite and quartz; disseminated magnetite and unidentified manganese minerals in quartz with varying amounts of mica; masses of microcrystalline spessartine garnet in quartz; varying amounts of pyrite, and rarely arsenopyrite(?), in qu<;J.rtz; and finely disseminated magnetite in a cryptocrystalline groundmass of quarts. Iron formation occurs as thin units, usually less than 1 meter thick, although folding has occasionally produced significantly thicker units of 10 or more meters. These units usually occur very near the contacts between amphibolite and schist, e.g. between the Pumpkinvine Creek and Canton Formations or the Univeter and Canton Formations (plate 2). Lateral variations in composition along strike are also discernible. As mentioned before, abandoned gold mines are clustered along these units.
TOURMALINITE
Tourmaline is a common gangue mineral associated with base and precious metal deposits. The rock tourmalinite has recently been recognized as a possible exploration tool in the search for gold or base metal deposits (Slack, 1982). Slack (1982) defined tourmalinite as a stratabound rock containing 20 percent or more tourmaline by volume. As observed in the study area, this lithology consists largely of distinct zones up to 0.5 meter thick of tourmaline, quartz, and some pyrite within thin amphibolite units. The tourmaline content of the rock commonly exceeds 50 percent. The occurrence of tourmalinite is restricted to two distinct stratigraphic positions within the Canton Formation. One is along the HelenChestatee Member contact and the other is within a thin amphibolite in the Helen Member (plate 2).

22

PYRITIC SCHIST
Pyriti c schists, w hich occur at several locations within the study area, are composed of pyrite, sericite, quartz, chlorite, and amphibole and are locally interlayered with amphibolite. The pyrite o ccurs as finely disseminated crystals or in layers where it constitutes up to SO percent of the rock (fig. 22) . Small outcrops of the schist occur somewhat randomly throughout the Canton and Univeter Formations, but mappable units occur near the Pumpkinvine Creek-Canton contact. One particularly large unit is located in Lumpkin County on the Campbell Mountain and Dawsonville quadrangles, and its mineralogy is like that described above.
Several investigators have described alteration zones associated with metamorphosed massive sulfide deposits (Rui , 1973; Gjelsvik, 1968) as being composed of chlorite, sericite, quartz, and sulfides. Their descriptions of these zones bear strong si milarities to the pyritic schist described above. This suggests that these units may be key lithologies associated with nearby massive sulfide deposits or are a type of disseminated sulfide deposit in themselves. An alternate interpretation is that these schists represent altered felsic and / or mafic volcanic rocks.
MASSIVE KY ANITE
Two small bodies of rock composed predominantly of kyanite with various amounts of quartz and pyrite occur in the study area in Cherokee County. One is located on the Ball Ground East quadrangle and is associated with amphibolite and iron formation of the Univeter Formation, whereas the other is located on th e Ball Ground West qu adrangl e and is associated with graphiti c garnet-biotite-muscovite-quartz schist of the Canton Formation .

The massive kyanite occurren ces strongly resembl e th e pyritic kyanite-quartz granofels at Graves Mountain, Georgia . This granofels was interpreted to have formed as a result of the metamorphism of a hydrothermally altered vitric tuff (Hartley, 1976; Carpenter, 1982). The bodies in the study area could be interpreted as small versions of those rocks found at Graves Mountain. Along strike to the southwest at Reeds Mountain, Georgia, similar rocks were also described by Abrams and McConnell (1982) and McConnell and Abram s (1983, 1984).
GEOLOGIC MODEL
The rocks that constitute the study area reflect a complex interaction between volcanic and sedimentary processes. Taken as a whole, these rocks reflect an initial period of volcanism followed by extensive sedimentation . Initially, the rocks that constitute the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation were deposited. These are now represented by felsic gneisses and amphibolites. The identification of metamorphosed pillows in the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation southwest of the study area (Hurst and )ones, 1973; McConnell and Abrams, 1984), chemical data given by McConnell (1980) , Burnell and Cook (1984), and McConnell and Abrams (1984), and chemical data discussed below indicate that the felsic gneisses and amphibolites were originally interlayered subaqueous basalt flows and felsic and mafic tuffs.
After deposition of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation, the volcanic environment changed to a largely sedimentary one. At this point deposition of the Canton Formation began with the deposition of fine-grained clastics over the volcanic

Figure 22. Sample from one of several zones in the pyritic schist (Dawsonville and Campbell Mountain Quadrangles) that contain> 50% pyrite.
23

sequence of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation. These finegrained clastics are now schists and gneisses of the Proctor Creek and Palmer Creek Members. Fine-grained clastic sedimentation was interrupted by extrusion of the Chestatee Member now consisting of interlayered amphibolites and felsic gneisses. The Chestatee Member was in turn followed by a repetitive sequence of shales and medium-to coarsegrained immature sandstones (or graywackes). This repetitive sequence, resembling part of a turbidite sequence, is now interlayered schist and metagraywacke of the Helen Member. Although the Proctor Creek, Palmer Creek, and Helen Members are predominantly sedimentary in origin, the sequence was punctuated by limited volcanic activity now represented by thin amphibolite units and iron formation. Deposition of the Univeter Formation followed deposition of the Helen Member and probably represents part of a volcanic-sedimentary cycle similarto the Pumpkinvine Creek and Canton Formations.
Chemical analyses of amphibolites of the Pumpkinvine Creek and Univeter Formations in the study area reveal an

abyssal tholeiite affinity, indicating formation on an oceanic ridge or in a back-arc basin (table 4, figs. 23, 24, 25). Although efforts to distinguish between lithologies formed in these two environments based solely on chemistry have been unsuccessful (Rogers, 1982), the occurrence in the study area of an enormous amount of metamorphosed immature sediments favors a back-arc basin environment. This conclusion also was favored by McConnell (1980) and McConnell and Abrams (1984) regarding the same formations southwest of the study area and by Burnell and Cook (1984) for metavolcanic rocks in the Dahlonega area.
An interesting departure from the trend of abyssal tholeiite (back-arc basin) affinities is the island arc/active continental margin affinities of some Univeter Formation samples (figs. 24 and 25). The bimodal character is geographically controlled because samples BGE-3,. C-3, and DAH-7 were collected southwest of Dahlonega, whereas samples CL-12 and H-9 were collected northeast of Dahlonega. More geochemical data are needed on amphibolites of the Univeter Formation before an in-depth interpretation of its original tectonic setting can be made.

Table 4. Major oxide and selected trace-element analyses of Pumpkinvine Creek and Univeter Formation amphibolites.

Major Oxide

M-21

Pumpkinvine Creek Formation M-2 JN-20 DV-33 DV-74

BGE-3

Univeter Formation
:."'~,
C-3 DAH-7 CL-12 H-9

.%Si02 47.7 47.5 45.5 47.5 47.1 %A120 3 14.7 13.7_ 14.6 13.8 14.0

52.4 48.3 58.3 46.0 48.7

15.4 17.2

14.4 16.8

: "'It~~
16.8

',

% Fezo3 6.8

4.2

5.9 5.1

6.0

7.5 6.5

5.8

4.67 4.52

%Fe0

7.2

8.4

5.0 5.7

6.0

5.0 8.1

4.8

4.2

3.6

%Mg0 8.10 8.27 8.90 9.07 8.12

5.20 8.51 4.20 11.2

9.22':

%Ca0 11.8 11.5 14.2 13.1 13.4

7.44 4.20 8.80 13.8 11.1

%Na20

2.17 1.91 1.78 1.89 1.76

3.31 2.77 1.87 1.97 2.32

%Kz0

0.13 0.10 0.11 0.095 0.13

0.11 0.088 0.15 0.31 0.87

%Ti02

2.24 1.85 1.49 1.36 1.49

. 1.30 1.55 0,65 0.77 0.40

%Mn0 0.18 0.21 0.18 0.20 0.18

0.24 0.20 0.18 0.16 0.16

% P20s

0.19 0.16 0.12 0.12 0.12

0.11 0.13 0.069 0.058 0.47

LOI

0.9

1.4

0.8 0.9

0.9

1.0 2.2

0.9

1.3

2.0

Total

102.1 99.2 98.58 98.8 99.2

99

99.7 100.1 101. 2 100.1

Trace Element

ppmV 80 100

55

45

75

ppm Cr 65

50 350 350 280

ppm Ni 60

60 110 100

70

165 240 115

50

65

10

10

5 310

260

20

20

15 250

170

24

,, ~ '' f

i

[,::

10

9

8

x Unlveier Formation

7

Hhls study) '

6

Pumpklnvlne creak Formation

a

Cthls study)

4

Abyssal.
~holellte

o Pumpklnvlne Creek Formation

(MoConnen, 1980)

"

field

c Hlllabea Greenstone

nun and others, 1978)

2

,,
.''>
300 :,, 200

Ti02

%

1 0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

c

0.4

X

0.3

t'

,\

0.2

\:,

,(

Ni

100 90

ppm 8.0

70

60

50
11'1 :
40

30

L

,:-'>

20

''

,;j

'i

I

,.

-r11:1 1'.

'.I

li unlveter Formation
(this s,\~dy)
PumpklnvlnEl Creek Formation
(this studyJ
6 'P~tn_pklnvlne creek Formatliiri
(McConnell, 1980)
c Hlllabee Greenstone (Tull and others, 1978)

. ,;: , "<---\---Field.ofvolcanlo rocks of-
Island arcs and active co,n!lniintal"marglns
X c

2

3

4

6

.6

7

~eO* /M~dl

Figure 23.

. il
Determination of amphibolite protolith based on a plot of FeO*/MgO versus percentage Ti02 (after Miyashiro ahd Shido, 1975). Pumpkinvine (:reek Formation data after McConn1=111 (1980) and Hillabee Greenstone data after lull and others (1978) are plotted for compari~oi-1: . .

2

3

4

FeO'J; MgO

6

7

.,FeO* ,. FeO + 0.9Fe20 8

Figure 24.

. : ")

Determinatiop of amphibolite protolith based on plot of FeO*/MgO versus pp'm Ni (after Miya-

sliiroar;td Shido, 1975).Pumpkinvine Creek For-

mation data after McConnell (1980) and Hillabee

Greenstone data after lull and others (1978) are

plotted for comparison.

- l

25

1000 900 800 700 600 500 400
300
200

Cr
ppm

100 90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

x Univeter Formation (this study)
Pumpkinvine Creek Formation (this study)
o Pumpkinvine Creek Formation (McConnell, 1980)
o Hillabee Greenstone CTull and others, 1978)
Abyssal tholeiite field
D
Field of volcanic rooks of island arcs and active continental margins

10 L-----~~~2~~--3~----~4----~5----~6----~7
FeO*/MgO
FeO'= FeO + 0.9 Fei03

Figure 25.

Determination of amphibolite protolith based on a plot of FeO*/MgO versus ppm Cr (after Miyashiro and Shido, 1975). Pumpkinvine Creek Formation data after McConnell (1980) and Hillabee Greenstone data after lull and others (1978) are plotted for comparison.

Accompanying the deposition of the Pumpkinvine Creek, Canton, and Univeter Formations in the study area was the deposition of volcanogenic gold and massive sulfides. Gold was deposited in all of these formations but was particularly concentrated within felsic volcanic rocks, in the vicirlity of iron formation, and along contacts between volcnic and sedimentary rocks, probably reflecting an exhalativE. :Jrigin in the vicinity of submarine volcanic vents. Venting :ilso was probably active during deposition of the sedimentary sequences of the Canton Formation since several of the gold deposits in this formation are not directly associated with metavolcanic rocks. During regional metamorphism and deformation the gold was remobilized and concentrated in quartz veins that are generally parallel to the regional foliation. Subsequent exposure and weathering of the gold deposits accounted for an apparent supergene enrichment. Massive sulfides that were deposited in rocks of the study area were confined to the Univeter Formation or along the Univeter-Canton Formation contact. The mineralogy and stratigraphic setting of these

massive sulfide deposits are similar to the Besshi deposits described by Franklin and others (1981). Similar volcanogenic origins are expressed by McConnell and Abrams (1984) for gold and massive sulfide deposits in the Pumpkinvine Creek, Canton, and Univeter Formations southwest of the study area.
At some point after their deposition, the lithologies in the study area were metamorphosed to staurolite-amphibolite grade and were deformed during three, possibly four, fold events of progressively lower intensity. Major faulting also accompanied folding and metamorphism. Field data suggest that the Shope Fork fault is the oldest fault in the study area. Movement along this fault was probably pre- to synmetamorphic. Movement along the Chattahoochee fault followed that of the Shope Fork fault and probably occurred at the peak or slightly after the peak of regional metamorphism, coinciding with the formation of the Auraria antiform (F1). The Allatoona fault truncated the Auraria antiform and, therefore, postdates the Chattahoochee fault and the peak of regional metamorphism.
SUMMARY
The rocks that constitute the Dahlonega gold belt consist of metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Pumpkinvine Creek, Canton, and Univeter Formations. These rocks in the study area are a northeastward extension of the New Georgia Group defined by McConnell and Abrams (1984) in west-central Georgia. The Pumpkinvine Creek Formation, the structurally lowest unit in the sequence, is composed of metavolcanic rocks. The Canton Formation, a predominantly metasedimentary unit, overlies the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation, and is overlain in turn by the Univeter Formation, a predominantly metavolcanic unit similar to the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation. One member, the Barlow Gneiss Member, was identified within the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation, and four members, the Proctor Creek, Palmer Creek, Chestatee, and Helen Members, were identified within the Canton Formation. No new members were defined for the Univeter Formation. The protoliths of these three formations were deposited in a rapidly subsiding basin that had substantial volcanic and sedimentary components, as in a back-arc basin. These lithologies were metamorphosed to staurolite-amphibolite grade approximately 365-million years ago during regional metamorphism and were subjected to at least three fold events. The boundaries of the gold belt are largely defined by the pre- to synmetamorphic Shope Fork fault, the peak to post-peak metamorphic Chattahoochee fault, and the post-peak metamorphic Allatoona fault.
GoJd deposition was originally syngenetic and is predominantly associated with iron formation, felsic gneisses, and rocks at or near the contacts between metavolcanic and metasedimentary sequences. During regional metamorphism and deformation gold was remobilized and concentrated in sulfidic quartz veins that largely conform to the foliation of the enclosing rock. In the study area the overall occurrence of gold is lithologically controlled, whereas its local concentrations in these rocks are controlled by small-scale structures (cleavages, folds, etc.). Erosion and weathering of gold" bearing rocks has accounted for a mechanical concentration of gold in placers and an apparent supergene enrichment in saprolite.

26

.'~M~f~~~1~fi~7~~~~-'}i~ti~~~!.'f\~W?"'~''P .
,. . r

Abrtms, C.E., and McCoRnEnFelElR~EKN.Cl.,E-1S982, The relatio'nship~f!:

Franklin, J.M., Lydon,J.W.,and Sangster, D.F., 1981, Volcanicassociated massive sulfide deposits: Economic G~ology

'.-"
: banded iron formati6nto mihesand prospectsotwestern

Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Volume, p. 485-627.

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"$c(map), scale 1:100,000. ' , ,.. ,. , .

band(:ld,.,iron Jorm<Jtion, Rhodesia: Economic Geology,

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Bayley, w:s.,

1928,

Geology

of

t

. h

e

Tate

.i

,, '

quadrangle,

G. eo. rgl;~.;-

,,


the Northwest Territories, in Morton, R.D., ed., Pr6ceedings of the gdldworkshop, D_ecember 3-7,1979, Yellow-

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_.

knife, Northwest Territories: Yellowknife Gold Workshop

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. '

Gjelsvik, T., 1968, Distribution .~f major elements in the wall

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)\:

southeastern Dawson County, Georgia!.M.S.: IhesJs,

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. '

' ' ' ... ' . . . . ' . '':' '

Gross/'G.'I'\;,1980,'A classification of iron formations based on

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. ..

.~
Burnell,

'
j.R.,


Jr.,


and

!
Cook,

R.B~,

'
jr:,

> i

'

1984,

' " "0
The

~ ,

i'

: r

geochemist'ryo(

Hartley, M.E., Ill, 1976, Graves Mountain, in Chowns, T.M.,

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County, Georgia: Geologic Society of America Abstracts

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. . _ 1

rocks along the Savannah River: Georgia Geqlogical Society Guidebook 16, p. 42-52.

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symposium,.Universlty of Georgia Center f6r Contin.dltlg; _ _ _ _ 1974,-An 'introdu'dloh to the Blue Ridge tectonic

Education, p. 197'22.. .

. - .

~: ' __

Cook; R.B., Jr., 1978, Soil geochemistry of the ftahkllh~;

history of. northeast Georgia: Georgia'Geological Society Guidebook 13-A,.60p. __ -

Creighton gold mine, Cherokee County, Georghi i'n 1 . Short contributions .tothe geology of Georgia; Georgia:~

- - . 1976, Introduction to the geology ofth'e eastern . ; .. Blue ~idge of theCarolinaSarid nearby Ge-orgia.: Carolina

Geologic Survey Bulletin 93j 'p. 15-21. . .

... ;, ,,Qeological SocietY' Field Ttip:Guidebooki 53'p.

Cook, R;B., Jr.; and. Burnell, J.R., Jr., 1983, 'Geblogy 'of' thti

---'-"-..;._~~1978, Tectonics of the Weste~n Piedmont arid Blue

Dahlonega district, Georg!a: Geological Sbciety ofAnier-

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ica Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 2, p. 109. .

American Journal of Sden<ie1 V; 278,.p. 276~304.

<;:ook,R.B: Burnell_, J.R.. Ir., and Sibiey, D.E., 1984, Prellrninary ----1979, The Coweeta Group and Coweeta syncline:

. geologic map of the Dahlonega district, Georgia: Georgia

major features of the North Carolina-Georgia Blue

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Ridge: Southeastern Geology, v. 21, no. 1, p. 17-29.

Cpstello, J,O., McConnell, K.l., and Power, W.R., 1982,

f;l!ltcher, R.Q,) Jr., and. B~tler1 J.R., 197~, Guidebook for

... Geology of LatE:! Precambrian and Early PaleozoiC rocks in

. southern Appalachian field trip: the Caledonides in the

. ' and near the Cartersville district, Georgia: Georgia ceo-.

' logical Society Guidebook 17, 40 p.



Crickmay, G.W., 1933, Gold in Ceorgia: Georgia Department

of Forestry and Geological Development (Forestry-Geo-

logical RevieW), v. 3, no. 4 and 5.

_ _ _ _ 1952,'Geology of the crystalline rocks of Georgia:

Georgia Geologic Survey Bulletin 58, 56 p.

Oallmeyer,R.O., 1978, 4'W/8Ar Incremental-release ages of

_ hornblende and biotite across the Georgia Inner Pied..:

.. ,1U1.7S.pA, ) International Ge'ological C, orrel,ati.o'n Pro'g~ra.m.'I

f:iiggins, M.W., 1966, The Ceology of the Brevard line~~en't

. near Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Geologic Survey Bulle'tj'~

~G~

.. .

. .

.

_ _ _ _1968, Ceologic map of the Brevard fauh zone near,

Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Geological Survey (vlap 1~511,

1:48,000.

. . ,, , ,,

Higgins, M.W., and Mcconnell, K.l., 1978, The sandy Spring~

.! . mont: their bearing on late Paleozoic-early Mesotol<; '.: tectonothermaf history: Art~erican journal of Science, v.

to Group and related rocks of the Georgia Piedmont-
nomenclature and stratigraphy, in Short contributions

'. 2i8, p. 124~149. . .

. '

.

.

the geology of Georgia: Georgia Geologic Survey Bulletin

~ckel, E.C., 1902, Gold and pyrite deposits of the bahlone~a

. district, Georgia: United States Geological Survey Bulletin

213, p. 57-63. . . ' .

. .

.. 93, p. 50~55.

.

Hurst, V.,.,-19?~' Geology of the southern Blue Ridgebelt':

p. American journal of Science, v. 273, 643~670.

. .

fairley, W.M., 1965, The Murphy syncline In the Tate'quad- Hurst; V.J., and Crawford, T.J., 1964, Exploration for mineral

~':lngle, Georgia: Georgia Geologic Survey Bulletin,75, 71

. deposits in Habersham County, Georgia: U.S. Depart.~

p:

ment of Commerce Area Redevelopment Adniinistra~

tion, 180 p. _

~7

Hurst, V.)., and jones, L.M., 1973, Origin of amphibolites in the Cartersville-Villa Rica area, Georgia: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 84, p. 905-911.
Hurst, V.j., and Otwell, W.L., 1964, Exploration for mineral deposits in White County, Georgia: U.S. Department of Commerce, Area Redevelopment Administration, Washington, DC, 166 p.
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Keith, A., 1909, Preliminary map of the Dahlonega district: United States Geological Survey Map, scale 1:72,000.
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_ _ _ _ 1983, Geology of the New Georgia Group and associated sulfide and gold deposits: west-central Georgia: Guidebook, Society of Economic Geologists Annual Meeting, Atlanta, 27 p.
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Murray, ].B., 1973, Geologic map of Forsyth and northern Fulton Counties, Georgia: Georgia Geologic Survey (map), scale 1" = 1 mile.
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28

Mine Davis
Di~kerson
Franklin/ Creighton.
Sandow Smith Richards Latham
.,
Chester Frank Burt Standard
Swift
Charles

No. County 1 'Cher~kee

, Type of .Workings
Ad It, 'vertiCal shaft, arid several small pits.

2 Cherok!fe

Ball Ground Sha~t .(now fill-

West

ed) <,~nd several

,rit~ . '

3 CheroRee .Ball Cround. Two open cuts,

:East

several pits, and

a vertical shaft.

4 Cherokee



_!

Ball Ground TWo vertical

East

shafts and sev-

eral pits.

5 Cherokee East

6 ' Cherokee

Ball Ground Placef.wbrkings

,East

along Smithwick

. Creek and one

ad it.

7

Ball Ground

East

8 Cherokee Ball Ground , . East

9 Cherokee ... Ball Ground ' East

10 Cherokee Ball Ground Two inclined

East

shafts.

11 Cherokee

Ball Ground . One inclined

East

shaftand several

pits ..

12 Forsyth

Matt

Placer-workings along two tributaries of the Etowah River, two vertical shafts, and ohe small open cut.

Ceq[ogic.S~Wng

Prod.ucti,~n

Occurs within musco-

nr

vite-gar net-'b lotite-

quartzschistand amphi-

bolite of the Univeter

Formation.

Octu rs \.vithl,t:J interlayered, plagioclasehorrible nde-hiotiteguartzgneissand iunphi-' lJolite of the Univeter Formation.
Occurs wit,hin int~r
layered amphibolite, biotite-hornblendepI ag iocl a se-q 1,1a rtz gneiss, and biotite-plagioclase"quartz gneiss of the Univeter Formation,

nr
Pre-Civil ,War: 2.500 oz. from one open cuV Tota I: 37,50050,000 oz,3

Massive sulfide mine.
i \
. ~~teJ;Jsi,ve yp,der-
ground workings rE)po.rted in,the1 literatl1re.

Occurs within biotitemuscovite-quartz schist of the Sandy Springs 'Group.

nr

Located southeast

of. gold belt..fith-

ologies.

~Exa'ct lo<':~tion unk~~wn.

Occurs ,within. amphi-

.nr

'I' I

bolite of the Univ~ten

:")!;

Formation.

nr

Exact. location

unknown

Occurs withl.n interlayered plagioclasehornblende-biotitequartz gneiss and amphibolite of the Univeter Formation.

nr
Pre-1917: 22,000 tons.4

'Exact loccltion unknown. M~sslve. sulfide mine.

Occurs within plagio- 1906-11:4000 clase-hornblende bio, ' tons4 tite-quartz. gneiss and amphibolite of the Univeter Formation.

Massive sulfide mine.
' q

Occurs within iron for-

nr

mation, amphibolite;

and graphitic-biotite-

garn e't~ mus co vi te-

quartz schist of undif-

ferentiated Canton For-

mation.

workirlgs are associated with the iron formation.

29

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine

7.5 minute

Type of

No. County quadrangle workings

Geologic Setting

Production

Remarks

M'Guire

13 Dawson

Looper Barrett

14 Dawson 15 Dawson

Kin Mori

16 Dawson

Palmour

17 Dawson

Shelton

18 Dawson

Church Lot 19 Dawson

Ellsworth

20 Dawson

Magic

21 Dawson

Amicalola 22 Dawson

Matt Matt

One vertical shaft with an intersecting ad it.

Matt

Placer workings along tributaries of the Etowah River and Bannister Creek.

Matt

Placer workings along an Etowah River tributary, open cuts, and a vertical shaft with adjacent small pits.

Dawsonville Placer workings along Proctor Creek and some of its tributaries.

Dawsonville

Dawsonville Placerworkings along Clear Creek and several small pits.

Dawsonville Placerworkings along Mill Creek and an adit that parallels strike.
Dawsonville Placer workings along tributaries of Russell and Palmer Creeks and one open cut.
Dawsonville Placerworkings along a tributary of Mill Creek.

Occurs within hornblende-gar,net-biotitequartz schist of the Palmer Creek Member.
Occurs within garnetbiotite-muscovitequartz schist of the Proctor Creek Member.
Occurs within iron formation and garnetbiotite-muscovitequartz schist of the Proctor Creek Member.
Occurs within garnetbiotite-muscovitequartz schist of the Proctor Creek Member.
Occurs within iron formation, amphibolite, biotite-hornblendestau rolite-muscovitep Iag iocl ase-q u artz gneiss, and garnet-biotite-quartz-hornb Iend e- pI ag iocl as e gneiss of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.
Occurs within iron formation and garnetbiotite-muscovitequartz schist of the Proctor Creek Member. Occurs within iron formation, amphibolite, biotite-hornblendestau rolite-m uscovitep Ia g iocl ase-q u a rtz gneiss, and garnet-biotite-quartz-hornb Ie.n de-pI agio c !'ase gneiss of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation~
Occurs within biotite-
quarts schist garnet
or hornblende of the Palmer Creek Member.

Pre-1895: 750 oz.l

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

nr

nr

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

Also listed by

Shearer and Hull

(1918) as a pyrite

prospect.

nr

Located slightly

northwest of the

contact with the

Pumpkinvine

Creek Formation.

nr

Located slightly

.. southea~ of the

contact with the

Proctor Creek

Member of the

Canton Forma-

tion.

nr

30

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine

7.5 minute

Type of

No.

County ,q;uadr,angle

workin~s

GeologkSetting

Production

Remarks

Missing Link 23 Dawson

Cooper

24 Dawson

bawsonville
Dawson'vi'lle Pla~er workings along Russell Creek,

Occurs within amphibolite, biotite-hornblende-staurolite-mus-
covite-p Iagi ocl ase-
qLJartz gn~iss, and gar-
net"biotite-quartz~horn
b Iend!=- plagioclase gneiss of the PumpkinVille Creek Formation.

nr Pre-1908: 4 oz. 2

Exact location unknown.
Located slightly southeast of the' ' con~act with the Proctor Creek Member of the Canton Formation.

Hedwig/

25 Lumpkin Dawson~! lie Placer ,wo~kiqgs Occurs .witl;iin musco-

nr

Chicago

along a tributary vite-biotite-plagioclase, ofCampCreek, ,~uartz gneiss (Barlow

open hydraulic Gneiss Member) and cuts, and an ad it. amphibolit~, of the

Pumpkinvine Creek

-----~----,--------'--~-'"--"--'-,-~-~---F-o'rm-~at~io~n~. ~~~~--"-'--""--'-~__:._~~~~~;

Whim Hill 26 Lumpkin Dawsonville Aditsanq sever- Qccurs within musco-

nr

al .small open vite-biotite-plagioclase-

cuts.

quartz gneiss .(Barlow

Gneiss Member).,and

/-,, ...

amphibolite ofthe

Pumpkinvlne Creek

FormatiOili

l ~- ; i

Battle Branch

27 Lumpkin

Dawsonville 'Larg'e open ~lit wii:h s~verM cbl~ lapsed shafts:

Occu~s within: biotite-
quartz schist garnet
or muscovite bf the Pal-

Pre-1895: 4000 oz.11934-35:.7B2 oz.3

Extensive undergro.l;lnd workings are reported. in

mer Creek Member.

the literature.

Betz

28 Lumpkin

One large open Occurs within biotite-

nr

Occurs northwest

cut with acc;om- quartz schist garnet

of the main trend

panying adits. or muscovite of the Pal-

of abandoned

mer Creek Member.

mines.

Mcintosh

. 29 Lumpkin

Dawsonville Several. SmCIII pits.

Occurs within biotite- ..
quqrtz scl)ist,, garnet
or muscovite of the Pal-
mer Creek Member.

Occurs northwest of the main trend of abandoned mines.

Wells

30 Lumpkin Dawsonville Placerworkings Occurs within musco-

nr

along a tributary vitebiotite-plagiocJase"

of the Etowah quartz gneiss (Barlow

River.

Gneiss Member) and

amphibolite of the

Pumpkinvine Creek

formation.

josephine Norrell

31 Lumpkin 32 Lumpkin

Dawsqnville Placer workings along a tributary of the Etowah River.
Dawsonville

Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss (Barlow Cneiss Member) and amphibolite o(the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.

nr
Pre-1895: 700 oz,1

Exact location unknown.

31

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine

7.5 minute

Type of

No. County quadrangle workings

Geologic Setting

Production

Remarks

Rutherford 33 Lumpkin

Stegall

34 Lumpkin

Liberty Bell 35 Lumpkin

Trammel

36 Lumpkin

McClusky

37 Lumpkin

Logan Hill 38 Lumpkin

Mountain Valley

39 Lumpkin

Barlow Cut 40 Lumpkin

Ralston Cut 41 Lumpkin

Gordon Cut 42 Lumpkin

Dawsonville Placer workings along Ralston Branch.
Dawsonville Placer workings along atributary of the Etowah River.
Dawsonville Placer workings along Cane Branch.

Dawsonville One adit.
Dawsonville Placer workings along atributary of the Etowah River.

Dawsonville

An inclined shaft and several small pits and trenches.

Dawsonville One large open cut and placer workings along Town Creek and two of its tributaries.

Dawsonville One large open and Camp- cut with several bell Moun- collapsed shafts. tain

Dawsonville

Placer workings along Ralston Branch and one large open cut.

Dawsonville One large open cut.

Occurs within garnetbiotite-muscovitequartz schist of the Proctor Creek Member.
Occurs within amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.
Occurs along the contact between garnetbiotite-muscovitequartzschist of the Proctor Creek Member and
biotite-quartz schist
garnet or hornblende of the Palmer Creek Member.
Occurs within amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.
Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclase quartz gneiss (Barlow Gneiss Member) and amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.
Occurs within amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.
Occurs within garnetbiotite-muscovitequartz schist ofthe Proctor Creek Member.
Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss and amphibolite of the Barlow Gneiss Member.
Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss and amphibolite of the Barlow Gneiss Member.
Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss of the Barlow Gneiss Member.

nr Pre-1895: 250 oz.1
nr
nr nr
nr nr
nr nr nr

Largest open cut in gold belt; follows strike of Barlow Gneiss.
Follows strike of Barlow Gneiss.
Follows strike of Barlow Gneiss.

Hollaway

43 Lumpkin Dawsonville

nr

Exact location

unknown.

32

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine Etowah
Horner Old Spring Doghead

7.5 minute

Type of

No. County quadrangle wo r~ in,gs

Geologic Setting

44 Lumpkin 45 Lumpkin

Dawsonvple Placerworkings along the Etowah River and wme of its tributaries plus a tun~ nel and vertical shaft.
Campbell Mountain

Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss (Barlow Gneiss Member) and amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.

46 Lumpkin 47 Lumpkin

Campbell Mountain
Campbell Mountain'

Placer workings

along a tributary

of Ralston,

Branch.

, .,

Occurs within ,garnetbiotite- tn u scovitequartz schist ofthe Proctor Creek Member.

Keystone

48 Lumpkin

Bunker Hill 49 lumpkin

Campbell Mountain
Campbell Mountain

' Plater workings along a tributary of Cane Creek and two large. open outs.
Two open cuts

Occurs Within amphibolite and muscovitehi otite-p lagioclaseql1artz gneiSS' of the BarlpWGnejss Member.
Ocd.lrs'withirl 'garnetbiotite- m us1Ciov itequartz schist of the Proctor Creek Member..

Boston Cut 50 Lumpkin

Barsheba

51 Lumpkin

RockHouse 52 Lumpkin

Barlow

53 Lumpkin

Pidgeon Roost

54 Lumpkin

Campl5ell bhe large opeh Mountain cut.
Campbell Mountain

Occurs within musco~ vite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss and amphibolite of the Ba.dow Gneis.s Member.

Campbell Mountain

An ad it, several small pits, and placer workihgs in a tributary of Cane Creek.

Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss 'of the Barlow Gneiss Member.

Campbell Mountain
Campbell Mountain

Placer workings along Cane Creek and some of its tributaries; several open cuts.
Placer workings along a tributary of Cane Creek and two large open cuts.

Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss (Barlow Gneiss Member) and amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation:
Occurs within muscovite-biotite-plagioclasequartz gneiss (!3arlow Gneiss Member) and amphibolite of the Pumpkinvine Creek Formation.

33

Productiol) . nr

Remarks.

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

nr

Exact location

unknown; prob-

ably part of Bar-

low Mine.

nr

,;1 )i

,,

nr

Occurs slightly

southeast of the

rcontactwithamphi-

boliteofthe Pump-

kinvineCreek For-

i mation. ' . ~,

nr

Cut follows strike

of the Barlow

Gneiss.

{.

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

nr

nr

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine Turkey Hill
Calhoun
Chestatee
Briar Patch
Smith
LongBranch Early Skyrme Teal Cabbage Patch Crandell White Rabbit Capps lvey Cut
Fish Trap

7.5 minute

Type of

No. County quadrangle workings

Geologic Setting

Production

55 Lumpkin 56 Lumpkin 57 Lumpkin 58 Lumpkin
59 Lumpkin 60 Lumpkin

Murrayville Several inclined shafts and pits.

Murrayville Several shafts and pits.

Murrayville Placer workings

and Dah- along the Ches-

Ionega

tatee River.

Murrayville

Placer workings in the vicinity of the confluence of Town Creek, Bells Branch, and Ralston Branch with the Etowah River.

Murrayville One open cut.

Murrayville

Occurs within biotite-
quartz schist garnet
or hornblende of the Palmer Creek Member. Occurs within biotite-
quartz schist garnet
or hornblende of the Palmer Creek Member. Occurs within amphibolite and felsic gneiss of the ChestateeMember. Occurs within biotite-
quartz schist garnet
or hornblende of the Palmer Creek Member.
Occurs within biotitequartz-plagioclase gneiss and amphibolite of the Chestatee Member.

nr 1845: 1200 oz. 1
nr nr
nr nr

61 Lumpkin Murrayville

nr

62 Lumpkin Murrayville

nr

63 Lumpkin Murrayville

nr

64 Lumpkin Murrayville

nr

65 Lumpkin Murrayville

nr

66 Lumpkin Dahlonega

nr

67 Lumpkin Dahlonega

nr

68 Lumpkin Dahlonega One large open Occurs within musco-

nr

cut.

vite-biotite-plagioclase-

quartz gneiss of the

Barlow Gneiss Member.

69 Lumpkin Dahlonega Several open Occurs within plagio-

nr

cuts and exten- clase-garnet-biotite-

sive placer work- muscovite-quartz schist

ings along a tri- of the Proctor Creek

butary of the Member.

Chestatee River.

34

Remarks
'1",1'
Exact location unknown. Exact. location unknown. Exact location unknown. Exact location unknown. Exact location unknown. Exact location unknown. Exact location unknown. Exact location unknown.

'' - I .,
<', .

Appendix (Confd)

Mine
Crown Mountain

No. County 70 Lumpkin

Columbia Preacher Griscom Bast Cut

71 Lumpkin 72 Lumpkin 73 Lumpkin 74 Lumpkin

Findley loch hart

75 lumpkin 76 Lumpkin'

Free Jim

77 lumpkin

Singleton

:78. lumpkin

Tah.loneka 79 Lumpkin

Standard i ,.. 80 Lumpkin

Yahoola

81 lumpkin

Consoli- 82 . lumpkin dated

7.5 minute quadrangle

Type qf workin'gs

Geologic Setting

Production

Remarks

Dahlone,ga Several ope,n cuts.
Dahlonega: One largeopen cut.
Dahlonega One large open
'cut.
Dahlo.nega

Occyrs a'IQ'ng the contact between the Pumpkinvine Creek and Canton Formations withih interlayered iron formation, biotite-plagioclase-quartz gneiss, sericite-quartz schist, and amphibolite,
Sa: me as CroWn Mountaid Mine (#70)
Same as Crown Mountain Mine (#70).

Dahlonega Several open cuts, pits, and ad its.

Same as Crown Mountain Mine (#70).

Dahlonega Several adits and Same as Crown Moun-

open cuts.

tain Mine (#70).

Dahlonega One open cut 'I and a vertieal
''shaft
.. '~~ '
Dahlonega Placerworkir)gs

S~tTie asCrbwn Moun~ tain Mine (#70).
Same as Crown Moun-

along a tributary . tain Mine (#70).

of Yahoo Ia

"

Creek, one ad it

and several

'j

small pits.

Dahlonega Dahlonega

Placer workings along a tributary of Yahoo Ia Creek and several open cuts.
Placer workings along a tributary of Yahoola Creek, several open cuts, and one adit.

Same as Crown Mountain Mine (#70).
; ; , ..~,_-._
Same as Crown Mountain Mine (#70).

Dahlonega Several open cuts and one ad it.

Same as Crown Mountain Mine (#70).

Dahlonega Two adits.

Same as Crown Mountain Mine (#70) .

Dahlonega

Placer workings in a tributary of Yahoola Creek, several open cuts, and two ad its.

Same as Crown Mountain Mine (#70).

nr

,,, nr

nr

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

Pre-1895: 15,000

oz.1

~- : 'i,'

1:''

nr

nr
,;

1891-95:665oz.1'

l'
nr

nr nr nr

35

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine

No. County

Mary Henry 83 Lumpkin

Benning Crescent

84 Lumpkin 85 Lumpkin

Lawrence Crisson

86 Lumpkin 87 Lumpkin

Boyd

88 Lumpkin

Cavenders Creek

89 Lumpkin

Cora Lee jumbo

90 Lumpkin 91 Lumpkin

Wood jones

92 Lumpkin 93 Lumpkin

Boly Field

94 Lumpkin

Beers

95 Lumpkin

Dry Hollow 96 Lumpkin

Old Columbia

97 Lumpkin

7.5 minute quadrangle

Type of workings

Geologic Setting

Production

Remarks

Dahlonega One adit
Dahlonega Dahlonega An ad it and one
open cut. Dahlonega Dahlonega An ad it and one
open cut.

Dahlonega

Dahlonega

Placer workings along Cavenders Creek and several pits.

Dahlonega One adit

Dahlonega

Placer workings in a tributary of Cavenders Creek and several pits.

Dahlonega

Dahlonega

Dahlonega

Placer workings along the Chestatee River.

Dahlonega Dahlonega Dahlonega

Placer workings "along the Chestatee River.
An inclined shaft and two pits.
Placer workings along Yahoola Creek.

Occurs within acoarsely crystalline metatrondhjemite.
Occurs within biotitequartz schist of the Palmer Creek Member.
Occurs along the contact between biotitequartz schist of the Palmer Creek Member and metatrondhjemite.
Occurs along the contact between muscovitebiotite-quartz schist of the Palmer Creek Member and metatrondhjemite. Occurs within a metatrondhjemite. Occurs along the contact between amphibolite of the Chestatee Member and biotitemuscovite-quartz schist and metagraywacke of the Helen Member.
Occurs along the contact between amphibolite of the Chestatee Member and biotitemuscovite-quartz schist and metagraywacke of the Helen Member. Same as Boly Fields Mine (#94).
Same as Boly Fields Mine (#94).
Occurs within biotitequartz schist of the Palmer Creek Member.

nr

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

Presently worked

on a very limited

scale.

nr

Exact location

unknown.

Pre-1895:7500oz.1

nr

Ad it was recently

filled.

nr

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

nr nr nr

36

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine

7.5 minute

Type of

No. County quadrangle ' 1 1W6'rkings

Geologic Setting

Productldh

Remarks

Bowen Lot 98 Lumpkin Dahlonega

nr

Exact locatio.n

unknown.

Garnet

99 Lumpkin

Dahlonega Several cuts.

Shockley Lot 100 Lumpkin \

Dahlonega

Occurs within inter-

nr

layered garnet-biotite-

muscovite-quartz schist

and mer()graywacke of

the Helen tvlernber.

--~--------------------------------

nr

Exact location

unkrpwn.

Todd Lot 101 Lumpkin Dahlonega

nr

Exact location

unkr:own.

Buffington. . 102 Lumpkin Dahlonega' Placerworklngs Occurs along>the con-

nr

along a tributary tact between felsic

of the Chestatee gneiss and amphibolite

River and sever of the Chestatee Mem-

al pits.

ber and biotite-quartz,

schist of the Palmer

Creek Member.

Chestatee 103 Lumpkin Copper

Dahlonega .Seven inclined r. shafts.
. !,'

Oc<;:urs along th~ contact between amphibo1ite of the (J niveter Formation and interlayered garnet-biotite-muscovite-quartz schist and metagraywacke bf the Canton Formation.

1S92: 200 tonss; 1918-19: 48,835 tonss .

Massive sulfid~ mine.

Loud

104 White Cleveland ' Place'rWorking( Occul's'ak:>rig the con>

along ToWn tattbetweenamphibo-

Creek atid one lite, iron forrtiation, and of itstributaries. b iotite~rti hs<:dv ite-

quartz schist df the Uni-

veter Formation and

interlayered garnet-bio-

tite-muscovite-quartz.

schist and metagray-

wacke of the Helen iii
Member.

Old

105 White

Cleveland Placerworkings, . Same as Loud Mine

' .

';-- ~

nr

Ash bury

along a tributary (#104).

6J Chateen

Creek and four, .

vertical shafts.

Courtney 106 White

Cleveland

Placer workings along a 'tributary of Town Creek and several open cuts.

Occurs within biotitequartz-pI ag iocl ase gneiss of .~he Sandy Springs Croup.

nr

Not located in

gold belt litholo-

,gies.

Henderson 107 White

Cleveland Placer workings Occurs within biotite-

nr

along a tributary muscov'ite-quar(z schist

of Tesnatee and amphibolite of the

Creek.

Univeter Formation.

37

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine Etries
McAfee Atkinson Matthews Reaves

No. County 108 White
109 White 110 White 111 White 112 White

7.5 minute quadrangle

Type of workings

Cleveland

Placer workings along atributary of Glade Branch plus one open cut.

Cleveland

Placer workings along atributary of Jenny Creek plus three ad its.

Cleveland

Placer workings along atributary of jenny Creek plus several pits.

Cleveland

Placer workings along atributary ofTown Creek.

Cleveland

Geologic Setting Occurs within interlayered garnet-biotite-muscovite-quartz schist and metagraywacke of the Helen Member. Same as Etries Mine (#108).
Same as Etries Mine (#108).
Same as Etries Mine (#108).

Sprague/ Blake

113 White

longstreet 114 White

Wyman

115 White

Hood/Allen

Bell

116 White

Cox/Merritt 117 White

Cowrock
Cowrock
Cowrock Cowrock Cow rock

Placer workings along tributaries of jenny Creek, two adits, an open cut, and several pits.
Placer working along Turner Creek and its tributaries, an open cut, and an adit.
An indined shaft and a pit.
One adit.
One open cut.

The placer workings occur within interlayered garnet-biotite-muscovite-quartz schist and metagraywacke of the Helen Member. Theremaining workings occur within and bordering a coarsely crystalline amphibolite.
Occurs within interlayered garnet-biotitemuscovite-quartz schist, metagraywacke, and amphibolite of the Helen Member of the Canton Formation and iron formation, biotitepI agi oclase-q ua rtz gneiss, and amphibolite of the Univeter Formation.
Occurs within garnetbiotite-muscovitequartz schist and metagraywacke of the Helen Member.
Occurs within amphibolite of the Univeter Formation.
Occurs within amphibolite of the Univeter Formation.

Production nr nr nr nr nr nr
nr
nr nr nr

Remarks
Exact location unknown.

38

Appendix '(Cont'd)

Mine

No. County

Castleberry 118 White

Thurman 119 White

White County/ Thompson

120 White

Yonah/ Calhoun

121 White

Diltz

122 White

Reynolds/ 123 White Hamby

St. George/ 124 White Dean

Conley

125 White

Plattsburg/ 126 White England

7.5 minute quadrangle

Type of workings

Cowrotk Helen

Placer workings alohg Thurmond creek and ohe of its t'ributaries plus severfll pits..
Two adits and several pits.

Helen

Several pits.

, Geologic Setting
Occurs within interc layered garnet-biotitemuscovitequartz schist arid metagraywacke of the Helen Member.
Occurs within amphibolite of the Univeter FOrmation.
Occurs within biotite'pl ag iocl ase-q uartz gheiss of the Univeter FOrmation.

Production nr
nr nr

Helen
Helen Helen Helen Helen Helen

Placer workings along Dukes Creek and its tributaries 'plus several open cuts.

Workings occur over a Pre-1895:. large area within gar- 20,000-50,000 net-biotite-muscovite- oz.1 quartzschi~t, metagray- wacke, andamphibolite
of the Heier\' Member;
b iofite-pia'giocl asequartz gneiss and amphibolite of, the Uni~ veter Formation; and biotite gneiss of the Sandy Springs Group.

Two adits.

Occurs. within inter-

nr

layered biotite-plagio-

.clase-quartz gneiss and

amphibolite of the

Univeter Formation.

Placer workings Occurs within inter-

nr

alongtributari~s layered garnet-biotite-

of Dukes Creek muscovite-quartz schist,

and the Chatta- metagraywacke, and

hoochee River, amphibolite of the

several open Helen Member.

cuts, pits and

a d its.

Placerworkings Occurs within inter-

nr

along tributaries layered garnet-biotite-

of the Chatta- muscovite-quartz schist

hoochee River, and metagraywacke of

several open the Helen Member.

cuts, and several

ad its.

nr

Placer workings Same as St. George/

nr

along a tributary D~an Mine (#124).

of the Chatta-

hoochee River.

Remarks
Mine property is now a subdivision. Extensive underground workings reported in the literature. Some of ,the: workings between Dukes Creek and. th~ town of Helen may be attributable to the Reynolds/ Hamby Mine.
j!
Exact location unknown.

39

Appendix (Cont'd)

Mine Lot10 Childs
Lumsden/ Jones
Hood/ SoqueCiub Wilson

No. County 127 White 128 White
129 White

7.5 minute quadrangle

Type of workings

Helen

Several overlapping. open cuts.

Helen

Placer workings and an open cut along a tributary of Bean Creek.

Helen

Placer workings along Bean Creek and its tributaries.

130 Habersham Lake Burton 131 Habersham Lake Burton

Geologic Setting Same as St. George/ Dean Mine (#124).
Same as St. George/ Dean Mine (#124).
Occurs within biotitemuscovite-quartz schist and amphibolite of the Univeter Formation and migmatitic biotite gneiss of the Sandy Springs Group.

Brooks

132 Habersham Lake Burton

Williams Kennedy Smith Stonesypher

133 Habersham

Lake Burton Placerworkir:~gs along a tributary of Goshen Creek.

134 Habersham Lake Burton Placer workings along a tributary of Goshen Creek.

135 Rabun

Lake Burton Placer workings along Dicks Creek.

136 Rabun

Lake Burton

Occurs within plagioclase-garnet-biotitemuscovite-quartz schist and amphibolite of the Univeter Formation.
Occurs within amphibolite of the Univeter Formation.
Occurs within amphibolite, plagioclase-biotite-quartz gneiss, and biotite-quartz schist of the Tallulah Falls Formation.

Bartley/ Barclay

137 Rabun

Moore Girls 138 Rabun

Hightower Two adits, a

Bald

shaft, and sever-

al pits.

Dillard

An open cut, an ad it, and several pits.

Occurs within muscovite-biotite-quartz-piagioclase gneiss. of the Coweeta Group.
Occurs within muscovite~biotite-quartz-pla gioclase gneiss of the Cmyeeta Group and amphibolite, biotitequartz schist, metagraywacke, and epidote quartzite ofthe Tallulah Falls Formation.

40

Production nr
nr

Remarks

nr

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

Exact location

unknown.

nr

nr nr

nr

Exact location

unknown. Probab-

ly covered by

Lake Burton.

nr

Located north-

west of gold belt

lithologies.

nr

\ \

Appendi:tt (d'ont'd)"

7.5 minute

Type of

'>'i

Mine . No. County ''quadrangle ' 111/orkir'rgs

Lot190 and 139 Rabun

Dillard '"' . Plac~?rWqrkings o'c'durs witlli~ inter-

nr

191

. along~t'ributary Fay'e1red' a'mph\bolite,

of the Little Ten- biotite-quartz' schist,

:. nessee:River: metagraywacke, and

: ~.

epidote quartzite of the

Tallulah Falls Formation.

)

I

,''

nr - not rec()rded

I<

1 Yeates and others (1896)

2 )ones (1909)

3 Pardee and Park (1948)

4 Shearer and Hull (1918)

s Kline and Be~~ (1949)

,.;

,;i''.'

Remarks'

1;1,.r

~' I I ' '{
. ...-. ' ,- ; , ~
i i

I' '"''
...'

'I , ;:/

, i~

_.I

',

I

41