The gold deposits of Georgia

IC 4

GEORGIA STATE DIVISION OF CONSERVATION
DEPARTMENT OF MINES, MINING AND GEOLOGY A. S. FURCRON, Director

THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Information Circular 4

THE GOLD DEPOSITS
OF
GEORGIA
By Roy A. Wilson

ATLANTA 1934
Reprinted 1965

THE GOLD DEPOSITS OF GEORGIA
By
ROY A. WILSON
(Publishe>d loy permission of the Director, United States Geological Survey)

Note: This article gives the general 1e which yield a reasonable margin of profit ated or locally concentrated in the alluvial

suits of an imvestigation made by the United only with cautious and intelligent applica- deposits, its distribution depending on dis-

States Geological Survey under a grant of tion of modern principles of prospecting, tance of transportation, topography, char-

funds from the .Public Works Administra mining, and milling. The recent increase in acter of the stream bed, and other factors.

tion. The detailed studies will later be the price of gold, in so far as it has not Placer ground usually yields but a few

published by the United States Geological been accompanied by a general rise in cents to the cubic yard of alluvium: rich

Survey in a report on the gold deposits of prices, makes poBBible the opening of mines streaks are rarely found. It is a very gen-

the Southern Appalachitlll11f. Tki., imJestiga- that could not be operated under former eral rule that the richer deposits occur next

tion was the first scientific study of Geor- conditions, but all the hazards of mining to bedrock, because the gold, being heavier

gia/s gold deposits since the publication of still prevail.

than the other materials, has gr.adually

Bulletin 19 of the Georgia Geological Sur The gold in Georgia occurs in placer and worked its way downward to this position

ve11 i3t. 1009. With the amount of money saprolite deposits and in quartz loads in in the constantly shifting alluvium.

available fot this investigation, no pros bed-rock from which these deposits were The history of most gold-mining districts

pecting conld be done and detailed geologic formed (fig. 2).

shows that the placer deposits were first

1uork had to be limited to the Dahlonega Placer depooito.-The gradual eros.ion of discovered and worked before much atten-

a1ea whe1e a detailed topog ,aphic map wo.s a gold-bearing vein or lode gener.ally re- tion was given to "hard rock" or placer

available a?UL whe1a m<"6 p1ospecti!ng mid sults in a mechanical concentration of the mining. This history holds true for Georgia. mining 111a8 13, progress than in a1ty oth~Jr gold at favorable places in the streams that Placer ground is widespread over the gold mea. All active mimes tmd p1ospocts i1~ drain the area, because the gold is heavier belt, but nearly all the promising areas

thtJ other cwea.s 1vt:r-e visited, howtwe1. l and more resistant to physical and chemi- have been worked over once or several

feel that this article will dispel many er- cal destruction than the other minerals of times. Occasionally rich ground has been

roneous beliefs in regard to the gold de- the vein. The gold may be widely dissemin- found, but these deposits have more com-

posits and will point out the proper steps

to take in prospecting and developing a

gold mine.-Rickard W. Smith, State Geo

logist.

I.
General Features
A study of th e golQ deposits of Georgia by the United St.ate:~ Geo logical Survey under aUo tment from the Public Wo rks Administntion and wlth the cooperation of the Georgia Depn1tment oi Forestry and Geological Development forms tl).e basis of a series of short articles of which this is
the first. The gold deposits of Georgia (fig. 1), like
t-hose in all other parts of the worlt!, represent n natural resource which can be wrested :from the el\1th only by much hard labor. That as a rule rewa1ds from this labor will be at best modest and often nil is demonstrated by the history of any goldmining camp, The idea that the gold deposits of Georgia are largely undeveloped and that many rich ore bodies lie buried in the gold belt awaiting intelligent prospecting and development has no basis in fact. Rich deposits of gold which handsomely reward the efforts of those fortunate enough to uncover them are very un. common in any mining district. With rare exceptions, gold occurs in ore bodies of relatively low grade, which require consideruble capital fot their development and

Flrure 1.-Map of North Georgia ebowlnl' the distribution of aold deposita (after S. P. Jones, Geonrla Geol. Survey, Bull. 19, 1909)
..(. ~
F.laure 2.-Diaarammatlc croaa-eectlon of a North Georala stream valley ahowfna the relations of lode, oaprollto, and placer. (Alter G. W. Crlckmay.)

Page 2

manly f urnished modest amounts of gold. removal of the weathered rock, much of it explains the widespread belief that the fu-

During the nineteenth century the State remaining in place to form thick accumu- ture of gold mining in Georgia lies in the

was pretty thoroughly combed over by gold lations. The working of these deposits led exploration of the deeper parts of the de-

miners, and it is doubtful if any undiscov- to a special type of mining, in which a hy- posits with the hope of finding _profitn.ble ore

ered placers of importance exist. Even by draulic giant shooting a stream of water bodies. In areas having favon1blc geolog ic

the time of the gold rush to California, in under high pressure was used to wash conditions this is a definite possibility, but

1849, the placers of Georgia were mostly away the softer weathered rock. This type there is no present basis in fa t fot t ho

worked out. Small patches of unworked of mining was carried on extensively after statement that the gold belt of Georgia con-

ground in some placer areas can still be the Civil War and up to about 30 years tains a second "Mother Lode."

found, and systematic prospecting might ago. With the working out of the higher- In this connection it is important to note

disclose new placer ground of small area. grade deposits along the gold belt, proba- that the lodes of the gold belt are charac-

The f uture of placer mining in Georgia bly only a few areas remain in which hy- terized by small, very irregularly distl'ib-

will be a matter of reworking old deposits draulic mining could be carried on profit- uted veins in which the small ore shoots are

by modern methods, using drag-line exca- ably today.

separated by much barren rnaterial (fig. 3).

vators, dredges, or any system that can The great problem in saprolite mining The difficulties of mining such a deposit

handle large amounts of alluvium more has been the satisfactory recovery of the are apparent.

cheaply than was possible by more primi- fine gold disseminated in the clay. Losses At the time of these studies none of the

tive methods. Working with a drag-line ex- from inability to separate this flour gold deeper mines in the state was accessible.

cavator, three or four men under favorable from the clay have been high, sometimes 40 Most of them had been abandoned for a

~onditions can handle a sufficient amount per cent or more. So far, attempts to find long period. Reliable statistics of produc-

of alluvium each day to make operations an efficient and practical process of separ- tion either have not been kept or are not

profitable, even where the tenor of the de- ation have met with little success. If this available. Underground maps .are general-

posit is as low as 10 Ol' 12 cents to the problem could be solved, certain saprolite ized and ~how little in the way of l'eliable

cubic yaru. At various localities along the deposits that are now considered of little geology. Wod-of-mouth information must

gold belt old methods of placer mining are value might be worked at a profit.

be carefully sifted for data that are accu-

still being used, but miners who are mak- Lode mining.-Lode mining gradually at- rate. The owners or past operators of

ing more than a modest daily wage by such tracted more attention as the higher-grade these mines are prone to err on the side of

methods are exceptional.

placer and saprolite deposits along the gold undue optimism or have forgotten essential

"Panning" is likely to yield traces or belt of Georgia became exhausted. The details. A mine that can be operated at a

''colors" of gold in almost any part of the total amount of underground development profit, and especially one that still contains

belt. This does not prove that the area con- in the state is very small compared with extensive bodies of rich ore, is not likely to

tains valuable deposits. The presence of that in other mining regions, Much of it be abandoned . Litigation, accidental flood-

colors in the pan indicates simply that has been "gophering"-the digging by hand ing, etc., are exceptional causes. The as

traces of gold exist in the alluvium, sapro- in the oxidized and partly weathered zone sumption is reasonable that most of these

lite, or vein, as the case may be. Thorough of the lodes for rich quartz stringers and deeper mines were abandoned because

sampling and prospecting is necessary to pockets. Although a few mines have oper- they failed to yield a profit. Even if they

establish the true value of the deposit.

ated on a fairly extensive scale and pene- were profitable at first, the ore probably

Georgia has much fine gold or "flour" ttated to depths of several hundred feet became too lean to be workable at depths.

gold, which is widespread through the al- below the oxidized zone illlQ the su lph ide It may be that some of these old mines,

luvium and weathered rocks of the gold ore bodies, the lode miners havu genera ll y if reopened and properly explored, could

belt. This fine gold shows up readily in abandoned th eir effort.'! a~ deplb$ of l 00 be operated at a profit under present eco-

careful panning, but its recovery is diffi- feet or less. I ncnlased diffi ulties of mi ning nomic conditions if modern methods of min-

cult and constitutes one of the major and depletion Of richer oro a1e the two ing and mi!ling were utilized. The geo-

problems of gold mining in the State today, common factors behind such abandonment. logic data indicate that exploration will

The limited mining of the quartz lodes probably show low-grade ore bodies, with

Saprolite deposits.-The term "saprolite"

was originally defined by geologists as

"weathered rock in place." Among miners

in Georgia the term is generally restricted

to the weathered portion of the lodes. It

is important to note that the distinction be-

tween the saprolite and lode deposits rests

on the physical condition of the rock and is

not a primary geologic feature. In other

words, that portion of the lode which has

been exposed to the physical and chemical

processes of weathering (hydration, etc.)

forms the saprolite zone. This zone passes

downward into the unaltered, "hard rock"

portion of the lode and has gradually be-

come enriched by the mechanical concen-

tration of gold during the slow breaking

down of the lode in the process of weath-

ering. As in the placer deposits, the richer

portions of saprolites lie next to the un-

altered bedrock. However, the fine gold

may be more thoroughly disseminated

through the deposit.

Saprolite deposits are eharacteristic of the Piedmont region of the southern Appalachians because the geo logic hi story of this region has been favorable to very slow

Figure 3 .-VJew of lode exposed in Black shaft of Cherokee mine in Cherokee county. Shows typical arrangement of small quartz veins intermixed with altered country rock. Phdtograph by R. A. Newton.

Page 3

here and there a richer pocket. The profit the present price of gold or other favorable veys have therefore been largely confined

must ordinarily come from mining these economic factors.

to such areas.

low-grade ore bodies. With very rare ex- It is frequently stated that certain mines Except for minor variations, the geologic

ceptions, the discovery of rich pockets of are not operating because of the difficulty features of Lumpkin county as related to

gold represents something unexpected and of treating the sulphide ores. There is no the mineralization are characteristic of the unplanned for; they are the occasional difficulty in treating sulphide ores if the gold belt as a whole, and the following dis-

"lucky finds" and should be so considered value is there. Modern metallurgical prac- cussion is based upon detailed studies in

in the proper valuation of the property.

tices are readily available to any operator that county.

Too much emphasis should not be placed upon the past history of a mine. The richer ore may have beeu mined out. The character of the remaining ore is the all-important question. No mine is truly on a paying basis until sufficient exploratory work has proved the presence of ore bodies of sufficient size and value to guarantee a return of the capital investment, plus costs of operation, plus a reasonable margin of profit. Until that is established the mine is merely a prospect, subject to all the haz-

who is interested. The "free gold," or that which is not intimately associated with th sulphides (iron pyrite, etc.), has been largely mined in the past because the simpler metallurgy and cheaper mining of the oxidized free-milling ore allow on the average a profit from a lower grade of material than can be worked in the sulphide zone.
II.

The productive areas of this county contain narrow, elongated lodes, trending northeast. The structure of the enclosing formations has controlled to a notable degree the development and mineralization of the gold-bearing lodes. It is believed that an understanding of these structural features will materially aid in prospecting and developing the ore bodies, and for this reason they have been studied in some detail.
Contrary to common belief, the individual

ards attendant on the lack of knowledge

Geologic Features

lodes do not extend for long distances. They

as to what lies below. The advice of com- It is probable that every part of Georgia average a few thousand feet or so in length

petent mining engineerR and geologists will which has shown surface indications of and show local variations in width from

reduce these hazards somewhat but by no gold has been prospected during the last several feet to 100 feet. Greater widths

means eliminate them.
In addition to geologic data, sampling and assaying of the explored ore bodies is important. Gold veins, especially, show wide variations in value, even within a distance of a few feet, and the mean or average of the aRsayed samples will generally be much

100 years. Pits, trenches, old tunnels and shafts, open cuts, and abandoned placers are found in all the areas showing mineralization. It is doubtful if any large area exists that can be regarded as virgin territory for prospecting. Parts of the gold belt where there is no such evidence of past

are exceptional. Some of the lodes lie end to end, with barren areas between, and this arrangement probably explains the local belief that the lodes extend for many miles without a break. At any point in the gold belt ~everal lodes may be developed parallel to one another. They lie either roughly

lower than the highest results obtained. Emphasizing th e highest as~ays obtained in sampling gives an optimistic picture of the property's value which is not warranted. Selective or haphazard sampling of the ore body is equally worthless. Proper sampling requires the utmost caution and skill and is very often an expensive procedure, costing

prospecting were for some reason passed over as unfavorable. Exceptions to this would be lands owned by individuals or families who have not permitted prospecting on their property by outsiders.
Certain partR of the gold belt have been favored by extensive and locally intense mineralization. It is in these areas that

parallel to the belt or-as on Findley Ridge, for example-at an agle to the belt (fig. 4). The position of the lodes is as a rule closely related to the cleavage, grain, or schistosity of the enclosing rock. Excepttions occur, but commonly the lodes trend northeast and dip or slope southeast with
the cleavage of the formations.

hundreds or even several thousand dollars, most of the mining has been done and that These lodes are termed "veins" by the

If the deposit sampled is of fairly large present activities and future possibilities prospectors and miners, but the true veins size. It is obvious that until sufficient exploration has been carried on to open up of production largely lie. The recent sur- consist of the many small irregular-shaped

a considerable portion of the vein or lode,

che most accurate sampling gives only a

partial picture of the true value of the ore

body. A detailed mine map showing the

exact locality of each sample in the shafts,

~rosscuts, drifts, etc., and an assay sheet

co accompany this map are absolutely es-

3ential.

The question of the depth to which profit.tble ore bodies extend in the gold belt of Georgia is still an open one. The answer to thi;; question lies largely in what future underground development will disclose. Present knowledge does not indicate extensive and rich ore bodies in the deeper portions of the lodes. The known facts show that in areas where conditions of mineralization have been favorable, ore bodies that may be profitably mined lie below the water table in the sulphide zone but that only very locally do they contain small rich pockets of gold.

Mining cannot be carried on at a profit everywhere in the Georgia gold belt. There are large areas which show very little or no mineralization. In other areas the gold, though widely distributed, is present in so

small an amount that mining operations of any type cannot be profitable, rbgardless of

Figure 5. Idealized cross section showing charac;tcr of lode and its relation to country rock.

Page 4

masses and lenses of quartz that lie within eralization are in general typical of the

Lumpkin County

the lodes. The typical veins range from an entire Georgia gold belt. In different por- Battle Branch Mine-The mine at pres-

inch to several feet in thickness and from tions of the belt there are peculiar local ent creating the greatest interest in this

a few feet to several hundred feet in features, some of which will be briefly men- area is the Battle Branch mine, a short

length. ' They swell and pinch abruptly. tioned later in descriptions of the active distance ~est of Auraria, close to the Eto-

Commonly, the veins are in the form of properties.

wah River (fig. 6). Exploratory work in

small stringers of quartz which lie parallel

the sulphide zone ha8 opened up some pock-

to the cleavage or schistosity of the enclos-

III.

ets or shots of high-grade ore. The mine

ing rock (fig. 6). The veins are largely the

Present Mining Activity

is under the management of Mr. R. A.

result of a replacement of the country rock Note: Dr. Wilson's articles were written Newton. The history of this property is

which forms part of the lode. The country in August, 1934. In order that the descrip- typical of many of the mines along the gold

rock is composed of schist or granite and is tion of mining and p1ospecting activities belt. "Gophering" for richer streaks in the

in general intricately mixed with the vein might be brought up to date as of Decem- oxidized portion of the. lode and hydraulic

material. The mineralization has generally ber 15, 1934, the State Geologist has re- mining of the saprolite have been carried

been confined to the veins, but it may have visited nwst of the pr01>e1ties and has added on from time to time in the past, mainly

penetrated the altered country rock that numerous notes and insertions, a.ll of which before 1900. The present operations include

forms part of the lode.

are indicated by italics and a1e not to be reopening an inclined shaft into the sul-

The gold is irregularly distributed asc1-ibed to D1. Wilson.-Richard W. Sntith, phide zone and extending a shallow drift

through the vein material, barren masses of quartz and the enclosing rock occurring along with those that carry gold. Com-

State Geologist. Here and there over the gold belt, es-
pecially in localities that have produced

from this shaft. A small amount of stoping has been done along the richer parts of the ore body, In addition to this work, another

monly, the higher tenor tends to be concentrated in localized ore bodies, which vary in shape according to the local structural features of the rock. The deep-lying granitic intrusions, now well exposed over the region, probably formed the source of the mineralizing solutions, which found a more ready passage where such features as rolls in the schistosity, shear planes, joint planes or fissures, or more open cleavage were present.
Technical details relative to the mineralization will be considered more fully in a forthcoming report by the United States Geological Survey. The point emphasized here is that in the area of mineralization the structural features are significant. As an illustration of this point, it is common knowledge among the miners doing under-

gold in the past, the placer and saprolite deposits are worked from time to time by a small group. Most of these miners are local farmers or landowners who operate with pick and shovel and sluice box, discontinuing their gold mining when the water gets too low, when farm work demands their attention, or when more lucrative labor can be obtained. Few of these miners average more than a modest daily wage. An occasional richer find may create much local excitement.
There are several counties where mining operations are of sufficient magnitude to merit more detailed descriptions. Some of these properties have afforded valuable data on the problem of Georgia gold deposits.

shallow tunnel has been extended. Enough f1ee gold was 1'ecoveted by j>anning the ore f1om the 1ich shoots to pay fo1 the cost of deepening the shaft to 200 feet, at which !ovel anothe1 drift has been sta1ted, and fO'r the erection of a small mill. The mill consists of a jaw-c1usher, a 10-stamp Straum circular stamp-mill, amalgam pla.tes to recover the free gold, and a Wilfey table to recover the Bulphides, which are now being stored for later shipment to a smelter. All the o1e f1om the mine, lowgmde and 1ich shoots alike, will be t1eated in the mill. This property typically illustrates the characteristics of lode deposits described in a previous article. The highgrade ore represents the "lucky find" that now and then occurs in gold mining. One

ground work in the gold belt that in many

places the ore forms shoots or chimneys in

the lodes. These ore shoots are in the form

of ellipsoidal masses that average a few

feet in cross section and rarely exceed 100

feet in length. They generally plunge or

"rake" at fairly steep angles within the

lode and to the northeast. The data in hand

show that "rolls" (waves) in the schistose

cleavage of the country rock have deter-

mined the formation of such ore bodies.

The reader can obtain a mental picture

of this structural arrangement of an ore

shoot by comparing the lode with its many

small, irregular veins to a house roof sloping southeast. If the roof had large corrugations running at an angle down the slope and to the northeast, these corrugations would represent the rolls in the schistosity. The ore shoots lie with their long axes roughly parallel to these rolls or corrugations and at points along the length of the lode where struetural conditions have been more favorable for the localization of gold deposition. Quartz stringers may be

I
.' .,. "..
\,
tt,.
,"'""",'
,,
... ~4.:: :;:;o+4o!il

equally well developed between these ore

shoots but show much less mineralization.

Other forms of ore bodies occur, but this type seems especially characteristic of the

_ _ !;__.,__:..:~z:..........~9r__

_.J..._ ___,~ M i Ies

Georgia gold belt. The present surveys indicate that the
above-outlined features of geology and min-

Figure 6. Slrt~tcb. tnnp of Dahlont!'o area showing location of active pro.pertles . t. Topabrl mine, 2 . Battle Branch m'ne, 3. Ba.gg_a Branch pla~er, 4. Saprolite mme, 5, Long Branch placer, 6 . Barlow c.ul, 7. Bunker H1ll placer, 8, Bnar Patch placer, 9. Lockhart
mine, 10. Boly Flald mine, 11 . MeDonald mine.

Page 5

of the interesting things about the miner- fine gold from the clays, a problem which on a saprolite deposit south of the Chesta-

alization in this lode is the close associa- is still in the experimental stage, would tee River.

tion of the gold with galena (lead sul- probably revive this type of mining to Work is beginning on the following prop-

phide).

some extent.

erties as this article is written (August,

Lockhart Mine-The Lockhart mine, a Topabri Mine-The single major hy- 1934): Mr. Robert H. Reid plans to rework

short distance east of Dahlonega on Ya- draulic operation in the county at the pres- the Bunker Hill property, southeast of the

hoola Creek, is another property on which ent time is the Topabri Mine, west of Au- Barlow cut, with a drag-line outfit [not yet

systematic exploration of the deeper part raria, on McKlusky Creek, close to the begun] . The Briar Patch placers, on the

of the lode has been in progress. Mr. W. M. Etowah River. This property is under the Chestatee River south of Dahlonega, a.re to

Grant was in charge of operations. This management of Mr. Bartlett F. Johnston be reworked by the same company that is

mine has had a long history. Past opera- and has been in operation for about three operating the Topabri mine. A modern dam

tions have included hydraulic mining of the years. The material is sluiced down the is being constructed on the river for this

saprolite and extensive gophering for rich- creek through several hundred feet of purpose [now held up until a question of

er pockets in the oxidized zone of the lode. flume equipped with riffles, to a small ripari(J,n rights is settled]. Work has been

The recent operations included the sinking stamp mill near the river, where the started on the old Boly Field property, east

of a vertical shaft to a depth of 148 feet coarser fragments pass through the stamps of Dahlonega and adjacent to the Chesta-

and drifting along the lode from this shaft to a small amalgamation table. The fine tee River [by the Bowsend Mining Co.,

to explore and block out whatever ore material passes into settling tanks and then Tnc.], under the direction of Mr. Charles

might be encountered. Development work over Gibson impact amalgamators. Syste- A. Roberts [and Mr. Herbert G. Campion] .

here is confronted by a problem which matic experimental work has been carried The Chestatee River for about 1000 feet has

should be considered in a]] plans for min- on here for some time on the problem of been diverted into a.n old ~hannel, and in the ing the deeper parts of. the lodes in this recovering fine gold. At p1esent the mine spring they expect to start placer opera-

district. The mineralization is characterized is shut down for the duration of the winter tions in the former channel. In the cours<J

by an abundance of garnet impregnating months.

of this work they uncovered and cleaned out

the veins and altered country rock. This McDonald Mine-The McDonald mine, an old inclined shaft that went 60 fe et into

feature, together with the general tough- several miles northeast of Dahlonega, un- the bedrock with a short drift at the bot-

ness of the country rock, appreciably slows der the management of Mr. Carl McDon- tom. This followed a narrow vein and is

up drilling and breaking of the vein ma- ald, has been operating for several months. thought to be the old Boly Field 8haft said

terial. As the development wmk progressed The exposed lode shows deeply weathered to have been sunk in 181,8 along a rich

it became apparent that a fault parallel to granite containing small stringers and kid- vocket. A wide saprolite zone on both sides

the general strike had at places consider- neys of auriferous quartz with pyrite (iron of the river is now being prospected.

ablu limited the size of the O?'e bodu, both sulphide) . This saprolite material is mined The Reliance Development Corp., in

horizontally and vertically. The work was by washing and with pick and shovel and charge of P. G. Jacobson, E. Samuel/Jon,

stopped and the property abandoned by Mr. is then treated in a small stamp mill,

and F. Lindberg, is p1ospecting the Whim

Grant in November. The lack of success at Placer mining in Lumpkin County is at Hill saP?olite deposit abo1tt seven-eighths of

this particula?' property is an example of present confined to the reworking of a mile north of Auraria. A number of rich

the hazards of mining, but by no m eans stream gravel at several localities by small shoots on this property were "gophered" to

should it deter simila1 ezploratoru work b11 groups using pick and shovel and sluice box water level some 30 to 1,0 years ago.

71rivate capital on other properties where and to two operations on a somewhat larg- The Findley mine on the north end of

geologic conditions appear to be favorable . er scale.

Findley Ridga ?~ear Dahlonega has recently

Barlow Mine-Carey, Inc., under the di- Ban Branch Mine-The Dixie Gold been sold to M1. Cornelius O'Kane of New

rection of Mr. Reg, A. Brett, have cleaned Mining Co., with Mr. William Loffler in Y o1k. Prospecting has been started and it

out, widened, and de epened to 60 feet an old charge, is reworking the stream gravel of is r eported that equipment will soon be in-

shaft in the bottom of the Barlow Cut, Baggs Branch about 2 miles south of Au- stalled for hydra,ulic mining of the remain-

sou theast of Dahlonega, the largest of the rarla. The equipment consists of sluice ing saprolite deposits.

old sap1olite wo1kings in the district. This boxes, a hydraulic lift, and a small hy-

White County

st1uck a sulphide lode about 5',2 feet wide, thought to lie to the west of the main Bar-

draulic giant. Work on this placer was temporarily stopped in October. At present

All t he pxesent mining in White county is con.fincd to r eworking stream placers.

low lode. They have drifted for 160 feet south of the shaft and are now stoping up-

plans are being made to hydraulic mine a .~mall saprolite deposit. The gold in the fine

'l'he top og1aphy of tbis g eneral region ha:~ f avored the development of placers, and

wa?d along the lode. A mill has just been material will be 1ecovered in a sluice box a eons.idetable portion of t he gold obtained

e1ected, consisting of a faw-c?usher, Ellis and the coa1ser material will be treated in a in this county !n the pas.t has come from

ball Chili mill, Ainley centrifuga,l bowl con- small stamp mill.

these deposits.

cent?ator, amalgamation plates, two Erhen- Long Branch Mine-Southeast of Dah- Bean Creek Mine-Mr. T, J. Stevenson

wald flotation cells, and Wilfey table. Th e lonega, at the junction of Long Branch Is operating a drag-line excavator on Bean

[14ee gold will be recove?ed in the Ainley with the Chestatee River, a small chain Creek a short distance from Nacoochee and

bowl and on the plates, and the sulphide elevator has been Installed [by the Ranald several miles north of Cleveland. The al-

concentmtes will be shipped to a smelter. Gold Minin g Co., Mr. W. R. Shillington in luvial debris is scooped out by a one-ton

Lumpkin County has produced a large charge] to excavate the sandy alluvinm; bu cket and passed t hrough a screen separa-

amount of gold from its saprolite deposits. This operation is based on the belief that tol', fro m wh ich t he f\nel' material goes in -

In the period between 1880 and 1895, when the ea.rly placer miners who worked in this t o a sluice box (fig. 7) . Several hundyed

saprolite mining was at its height, nearly area were not equipped to work the water- cuhic yardM of material is handled each

$1,250,000 in gold was produced in this saturated deposits adj11cent to the river. day. This placer ground wa s extensively

county, largely from saprolite deposits. The company hopes to find some rich worked i.n the early dn.ys for its richer

Deep open cu ts scnr the hillsides in many streaks in the gravel next to bedrock. This streaks.

parts of the distr ict, showing that the work has been hindered by the old problem Hudeon Mine-On Dukes Creek, about 3 proml sing saprolite areas were pretty thor- of lack of equipment that would handle the miles south of the Bean Creek area and a oughly mined out. The future of saprolite water. The company has also done some short distance west of the Cleveland-Helen mining lies in working lower-grade depos- prosp ecting on the placer deposits up Long highway, Mr. W. C. Hudson Is mining old its, which were not considered profitable Branch, on the weathered portions of two placer ground with a hydraulic giant. Low in the past. The successful recovery of the narrow lodes just west of the branch, and water has necessitated a temporary shut-

Page 6

down. Operations wme tesumed in Septem- sized. The more complete recovery of the of these properties can be determined only

ber and soon after a t-ich st1eak wns found fine gold is a problem facing all placer op- by additional exploratory work. It will be

that contained a nwmber of fair-sized nug- erations.

necessary to reopen the underground work-

gets.

Cherokee County

ings and sample and assay all the exposed

Dunbar Mine-Mr. A. A. Atwater [and In Cherokee County there are several ore bodies systematically before any sat-

Mr. C. L. Dunbar] has moved in a steam properties which have had a history of isfactory decision can be made as to the

shovel for placer operations on an area profitable operations.

future value of these mines.

about 4 miles north of Cleveland. Recov- Creighton-Franklin Mine - The Creigh-

Forsyth County

el'ies {!o1n this placer proved to be dis:J-p- ton-Franklin mine, 7 miles southeast of A small area of placer ground about 2

pointing and in Novembm the opemtions we1e transferred to Dukes C1eek on the

Ball Ground, on the Etowah River, was at one time the most extensive gold mine in

miles east of Cumming, leased from Dr. Mashburn, of that town, has been operated

Cleveland-Helen highway, adjacent to t.he the State. Owing to accidental flooding, for some time. The material is washed

Hudson mine. Mr. Atwater has ?'ecently died this mine has been abandoned for a num- down by a hydraulic giant. This work stop-

and the work is now in charge of Mt. Dun- ber of years. Its most interesting feature peel in Oct.obc1 due to disagreement among

bar and Mr. L. E. Cobb.

is the depth of the workings, some of the the /easees.

Cox Bottoms M1~ne-Mt. H. L. Schwalbe shafts extending over 500 feet vertically This property illustrates a feature com-

has recently moved a dmg-line excavato?' to below the surface. The available data that mon to most of the placers in the gold belt.

the Cox Bottoms on the Little Tesnatee can be relied upon indicate that the ore The richer gravel lies in lenticular chan-

C1eek, about 4 miles nmth of Cleveland. bodies encountered in the underground nels next to the decomposed bedrock.

This plaeer deposit is saul to hat>e been workings were ellipsoidal chimneys or

Paulding County

pa.?tiallu worked yems ago.

shoots of moderate size associated with Present mmmg activity in Paulding

Poland and Beach Mine-M1. C. 0. Poland nnd Mr. W. B. Beach me prospecting a 1mlphide lode, the "Sprague vein", on Land Lot 1,7, J,t.h District, about five miles no1thwcst of Cleveland, and saprolite deposits on ~he lots adjoining to the southwest. A shaft was sunk on the lode to a drpth of 50 feet and a small stam]Jmill erected, but the work has been temponuily halted by a sudden inflow of water, probably h'om the old wo1kings on the adjoining Blake p1ope1ty.
The future of placer mining in this county, as well as in other parts of the gold belt, will depend on economical operati on by drag-line excavator, steam shovel, dredge, or hydraulic giant; or by any method enabling gravel averaging as little as 10 or 12 cents to the cubic yard to be worked at a profit. Detailed testing of the placer ground before operations are started is strongly recommended. From the information furnished by properly distributed test pits and bore holes many valuable data can be obtained as to the distribution of the gold and the best method of working the deposit. The tendency for the gold to concentrate in the basal portions of the alluvium next to the bedrock is again empha-

conspicuous rolls in the schistosity of the country rock, as described in a previous article. This property ha.~ ?rcent/11 been prospected under the di?ection of Mr. Joseph B. Sitton. It is ?epo?ted that diomond drilling will soon be undertaken in an ef fo>t to detennine the depth of the mine> alization.
301 Mine-Work has been resumed at the 301 mine, about a mile west of Holly Springs, under the direction of Mr. W. H. Fluker, of Thompson, Georgia. An inclined shaft to a vertical depth of 80 feet and short drifts in both directions along the strike of the lode had been completed at the time the property was visited. The ore is treated in a small milL The shaft is being extended to a de]>th of 200 feet a.nd i. now at 150 feet. The lode i. widening slightly and its dip a]Jpeal's t.o be ct little flatte?. Snme chm1ges a1e bdng ma.de in the mill equipment and a small cuanicle plnnt is being added.
Other abandoned mines in this county which were operated on a large scale include the Cherokee, about 4 miles west of Holly Springs, adjacent to the Little River, and the Sixes mine, about 2 miles north of the Cherokee. The productive possibilities

County is largely confined to the Burnt Hickory Ridge district, about halfway between Cartersville and Dallas. In addition to the usual small-scale sluice-box mining, the Old Twillery mine is being worked by shallow trenching in the saprolite of the lode that passes through the property. The ore is treated in a small ball mill. The place1 and saproLite deposits of the old Yo>kville mine, about two and a half miles east of Yo?kville, are now being prospected under the direction of M1. J. Sp>oul Colbc>t.
McDuffie County McDuffie County has had several important mines in past years, but at present the only activity, aside from haphazard "gophering" by local farmers and landowners, is confined to the property of Mr. W. H. Fluker, about 12 miles northwest of Thomson, adjacent to the Little River. A quartz vein has been opened by a shallow shaft. The ore is treated in a small stamp mill. On the Fluker property and distributed over adjacent areas are several mines which have been producers in the past. These include the Columbia, Park, Hamilton, and Seminole or McGruder mines. All these properties have been abandoned for several years, some of them for many years, and

any determination of their future possibili-

ties would require careful examination of

the old workings, which are now inaccessi-

ble.

The geologic .features and character of

mineralization in McDuffie County are in

o;enera! similar to those in other parts of

the r;old belt, but this area shows a more

pronounced development of the veins.

The reader who is interested in further

details should write to the State Geologist

in Atlanta. Bulletins 4-A and 19 of the

Georgia Geological Survey (now out of

print but available at many public libra-

ries) give descriptions of all the properties

of any past importance in the gold belt.

Valuable information relative to methods

of placer mining, lode mining, milling of

gold ores, etc., can be obtained by writing

to the Director of the United States Bureau

. Wh:t:"igure 7.-View showing drag-line excavatot' working placer ground on Bean Creek

In coarse

1te County. Material gravel passes out on

from shove conveyor belt

l

passes to pile a

through revolving sc nd finer sand and clay

rgeoeni~tofrsolmuicewhbiocxh.

of Mines at Washington, D. C.

Page 7

RECORDED PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVER IN GEORGIA, 1830-1933
(From Mineral Resources of the United States1)

Year
1 8 30-1 8 79 ~
1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928

GOLD

SILVER

Troy Ounces

Value

Troy Ounces

Value3

3,870 4,583 4,702 4,772 6,192 7,305 6,192 6,221 5,466
I 5,644
6,023 4,730 3,000 4,688 4,688 1,146 3,135 2,719 2,099 1,161 1,548
526 730
787 1,732 1,090
333 218
37 35 49 155 25 24 460 140 15 34

$14,1 80,5 00

120,000

125,000

250,000

199,000

137,000

136,000

152,500

110,000

104,000

107,605

359

100,000

400

80,000

400

94,734

400

97,200

500

98,652

343

128,000

400

151,000

600

128,000

400

128,600

500

113,000

400

116,700

400

124,500

400

97,800

400

62,000

400

96,900

1,500

96,910

1,040

23,700

300

64,800

700

56,200

200

43,400

200

24,000

300

32,000

600

10,900

200

15,108

75

16,270

67

35,821

138

22,539

74

6,889

46

4,500

45

767

8

732

194

1,022

4

3,224

364

529

2

500

--

9,500

47

2,900

11

300

4

700

5 -

(Continued on last page)

$1,000
1,000 500 500 464 517 517 517 646 443 520 776 520 646 517 248 240 212 216 870 628 203 500 100 100 200 300 100 45 37 70 49 37 44 8 211 4 364 1
---33 7 2 3

Total Value
$14,180, 500 120,000 125,000 250,000 200,000 137,000 136,000 153,500 110,500 104,500 108,069 100,517 80,517 95,251 97,846 99,095 128,520 151,776 128,520 129,246 113,517 116,948 124,740 98,012 62,216 97,770 97,538 23,903 65 ,300 56,300 43,500 24,200 32,300 11,000 15,153 16,307 35,891 22,588 6,926 4,544 775 943 1,026 3,588 530 500 9,533 2,907 302 703

Page 8

RECORDED PRODUCTION OF GOLD AND SILVER IN GEORGIA, 1830-1933 (Cont'd)
(From Mineral Resources of the United States1 )

Year
1929 1930 1931 1932 ]933
TOTALS

GOLD

Troy Ounceo
58 203
88 256 559

I

Value

1,200

4,200

1,827

5,300

11,543'

$17,735,972

SILVER

Troy Ounces

Value3

13

7

23

9

12

3

30

8

65

23

$13,965

Total Value
1,207 4,209 1,830 5,308 11,566 $17,749,937

1Mineral Resources of the United States was published by the Geological Survey from 1880 until 1926 and by the Bureau of Mines after 1927.
2Estimated. See Becker, G. F., Reconnaissance of the goldfields of the Southern Appalachians: U.S. Geol. Survey, Ann. Rep. 16, pt. 3, p. 258, 1895. Also Dunlap, J.P., Gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc in the Eastern States in 1914; U. S. Geol. Survey, Mineral Resources of the U. S., 1914, pt. 1, p. 142, 1916.
8Coinage value of silver at $1.29 per troy ounce used through 1899. From 1900 the yearly current commercial value used.
4Figured at the mint value for fine gold, that is, $20.671835 per fine ounce. Using the average premium received from August to December would add approximately $2,730 to the value of the gold.