Austinville East Lead Zinc Mines

Wythe County, Virginia, United States

ZincLeadSilverDolomiteIronCadmium

⌖ Show on map USGS source ↗

Description

Colonel Chiswell, British Army Officer

Commodities

PrimaryZinc, Lead

SecondarySilver, Dolomite

TertiaryIron, Cadmium

Commodity typeB

Deposit

Model228: Mississippi Valley, Appalachian Zn

Deposit sizeL

WorkingsUnknown

Orebody formLENSE: PENCIL SHAPED WITH LENSE-LIKE CROSS SECTION

Ore controlOre Confined To 1300 Feet Within Patterson And Saccharoidal Members Of Shady Dolomite.

Materials

Ore mineralsAnglesite, Galena, Goethite, Hemimorphite, Hydrozincite, Limonite, Smithsonite, Sphalerite

GangueAnhydrite, Barite, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Chert, Dolomite, Fluorite, Marcasite, Pyrite

Geology

Host rockDolomite · Shady Dolomite: Patterson Member (Usgs Usage)=Ribbon Member (Nj Zinc Usage);Shady Dolomite: Saccharoidal Member (Usgs) = Austinville Member (Nj Zinc)

StructureMultiple, Imbricate, Steep Thrust Faults Parallel To Regional Structure; Fries Thrust, Austinville Syncline, Austinville Anticline; Fosters Falls Fault, Logwasher Fault, Van Mater Fault, Stamping Ground Fault, Gleaves Fault, Callahan Fault, Ivanhoe Fault, Blue Grass Fault.

Tectonic settingCarbonate Ramp Homocline: With Upward Shallowing Platform Margin With Skeletal Algal Reef.

AlterationOxidation At Surface On Carbonate Pinnacles And Along Faults To 100 Feet Below Surface; Dolomite Recrystallized In Barren Zone Around Ore ("Met").

Economic & production

Development statusPast Producer

First production1753

Last production1981

Discovery year1753

Identification

Deposit ID10088538

MRDS IDK002907

Alternate namesAustinville, Van Mater Shaft

RegionNA

Data scoreA

Coordinates36.84701, -80.95342

References

BROWN, W.H., 1935, QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF ORE ZONING, AUSTINVILLE MINE, WYTHE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: ECON. GEOL. VOL. 30 NO. 4, P. 425-433.BROWN, W.H., 1953, AUSTINVILLE: MINING ENG., VOL. 5, NO. 12, P. 1216-1221.BROWN, W.H., AND WEINBERG, E.L., 1967, GIOLOGY OF THE AUSTINVILLE-IVANHOE DISTRICT, VIRGINIA, IN RIDGE, J.D., ED., ORE DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES 1933-1967, MAPLE PRESS, YORK, PA.CURRIER, L.W., AND WEINBERG, E.L., 1967: ZINC AND LEAD REGION OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA: VIRGINIA GEOL. SURV. BULL. 43, 122 P.FOLEY, N.K., 1980, MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE AUSTINVILLE DISTRICT, UNPUBL. MS.S THESIS, VIRGINIA POLYTECH INSTITUTE AND UNIV., 84 P.FOLEY, N.K., SINHA, A.K., CRAIG, J.R., 1981, ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF LEAD IN THE AUSTINVILLE-IVANHOE PB-ZN DISTRICT: ECON GEOL, VOL. 76, P. 2012-2017.KOHLER, E., 1870, HISTORY OF AUSTINVILLE, VIRGINIA: UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT IN NEW JERSEY ZINC (GULF AND WEATERN INDUSTRIES, INC.) COMPANY FILES.MCCREATH, A.S., AND D'INVILLIERS, E.V., 1887, THE NEW RIVER-CRIPPLE CREEK MINERAL REGION OF VIRGINIA: HARRISBURG PUBLISHING CO., HARRISBURG, PA, 171 P. WITH MAP.MILLER, J.W., 1985, STATISTICAL MODELING OF AUSTINVILLE MINE: A GUIDE TO EXPLORATION: PH.D. DISSERT./UNIV. OF GEORGIA, ATHENS, 142 P.PHEIL, 4.W., AND READ, J.F., 1980, CAMBRIAN-CARBONATE PLATFORM FACIES, SHADY DOLOMITE, SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA, U.S.A. JOURN SED PET, VOL. 50, NO. 1, P. 91-115.VDMR, 1981, AUSTINVILLE MINE CLOSES: VIRGINIA MINERALS, VOL. 27, NO. 4, NOV. 1981.WATSON, T.L., 1905, LEAD AND ZINC DEPOSITS OF VIRGINIA: GEOL. SURV. VIRGINIA BULL. 1, 150 P.WATSON, T.L., 1907, MINERAL RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA, THE JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION COMM., J.P. BELL CO., LYNCHBURG, VA, 618 P.WEINBERG, E.L., 1963, GEOLOGY OF THE AUSTINVILLE-IVANHOE MINE AREA, IN GEOLOGIC EXCURSIONS IN SW VIRGINIA, VA POLYTECH. INSTIT. ENG. EXTENSION SERIES, GUIDEBOOK II, P. 5-17.WEINBERG, E.L., 1971, SULFIDE MINERALIZATION IN SW VIRGINIA, AUSTINVILLE-IVANHOE MINE, IN GUIDEBOOK TO APPALACHIAN TECTONIC AND SULFIDE MINERALIZATION: GEOL, SOC. AM, SE SECT. MTG., BLACKSBURG, VA, P. 7-23.WEINBERG, E.L., 1980, AUSTINVILLE MINING - 1756 TO PRESENT: VIRGINIA MINERALS, VOL 26, NO. 1, P. 11.WEINBERG, E.L., 1988, FORMERLY NEW JERSEY ZINC COMPANY REGIONAL GEOLOGIST, PERSONAL COMMUNICATION.