Rhesa Orndorff Prospect
Maurertown, Virginia
38.9994°N 78.5216°W
Mine Overview
The Rhesa Orndorff Prospect is near Maurertown, Virginia. Historically the site has been associated with the Cedar Creek Valley Mining District which is now part of the George Washington National Forest. The site was first discovered in 1892 by Harry Fahrney And Dr. Haffer. Mine operations consist of surface and underground workings. There is one known shaft. Subsurface length extends a maximum of 90 meters (295 feet). The ore mined is composed of limonite and pyrolusite with waste material consisting primarily of chert. The ore body is described as having an irregular shape of unknown dimensions. The host rock in this area is limestone. The Middle Section of the Appalachian Highlands characterize the geomorphology of the surrounding area.
Owner Name and Address
Dr. Haffer
- Type
- Operator
Harry Fahrney
- Type
- Operator
W. Clark
- Type
- Owner
Commodities
Additional textual information about a site or mine.
- Commodity Type Importance
- Iron Metallic Primary
- Manganese Metallic Primary
Deposit
THE ORE IS IN CHERT BEDS 0. 3 TO 0. 6 M (1 TO 2 FEET) THICK SEPARATED BY THIN SANDY CLAY BEDS. AT THE ENTRANCE THE ORE IS CHIEFLY LIMONITE BUT IN DEPTH IT WAS REPORTED TO BE CHIEFLY MANGANESE OXIDE WHICH FILLED CREVICES AND SEAMS IN THE CHERT, AND PARTLY REPLACED IT, AND IN THE CLAY.
Location Info
- Shenandoah , Virginia County / State
- Continent Country State County
- North America The United States Virginia Shenandoah
Notes
APPROXIMATELY 0. 4 KM (0. 25 MI) SW ON STATE ROAD 713 FROM ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROAD 600: TURN NORTHWEST ON DRIVEWAY FOR 0. 6 KM (0. 4 MI) TO HOUSE: PROSPECT IS LOCATED 70 M (230 FEET) NORTH OF THE HOUSE ON THE EAST SIDE AND DOWNHILL FROM THE KENNEL. A SECOND LOCATION IS ACROSS THE CREEK ABOUT 90 M (295 FEET) TO THE NORTH AT UTM COORDINATES N 4319510, E 714640, ZONE +17: ELEV. 361 M (1185 FEET ).; PREVIOUS QUAD DESIGNATION = WARDENSVILLE (1965) 1:24000.
Mining Districts
Formal or informal mining district names.
- District
- Cedar Creek Valley Mining District
Development
2 TUNNELS WERE DRIVEN INTO THE HILLSIDES, ONE ON THE NORTH SIDE AND ONE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE CREEK. 70 TONS OF MANGANESE ORE IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE NORTH TUNNEL AND PLACED ON THE DUMP AT THE EDGE OF THE RUN, BUT MOST OF IT HAS BEEN WASHED AWAY. APPARENTLY NO ORE WAS SHIPPED.
Workings
Workings at the site.
Workings #1
- Type: Surface and Underground
- Sub Surface Length: 90 Meters
Workings
THE NORTH TUNNEL FOLLOWS THE STRIKE OF THE MINERALIZED ZONE 18 M (60 FEET ), AND A LOWER PARALLEL DRIFT, REACHED BY A SLOPE 11 M (35 FEET) LONG DOWN THE DIP OF THE BED, WAS SAID TO GO IN 61 M (200 FEET ). IN 1981, TWO CAVED TUNNELS, SEVERAL PITS AND DUMPS WERE VISIBLE. THE SOUTH TUNNEL FOUND IN 1981 IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE LITERATURE AND NOTHING IS KNOWN OF ITS DIMENSIONS OR ADDITIONAL WORKINGS. TUNNEL ENTRANCE WAS OPENED BY PROPERTY CARETAKER WHO REPORTED COOL AIR COMING OUT, INDICATING THE TUNNEL IS STILL OPEN FARTHER INSIDE.
Orebody
Characteristics of the ore body.
- Strike: north 15 degrees east
- Dip: 35 to 40 degrees southeast
Rocks
Geological materials at the site.
- Class? 1st Order Name? 2nd Order Name? 3rd Order Name? 4th Order Name? Most Specific Name? Begin Time End Time Description?
- Host Rock Oriskany Sandstone; New Scotland Limestone Sedimentary Rock Clastic Sedimentary Rock Sandstone Sandstone Upper Devonian Upper Devonian -
- Host Rock Sedimentary Rock Carbonate Limestone - Limestone - - -
Structure
Geologic structural features affecting or characterizing the site or mine.
- Scale Description
- Local Syncline
- Regional Northeast-Southwest Trend
Physiography
Physiographic area where the resource is found.
- Division Province? Section
- Appalachian Highlands Valley And Ridge Province Middle Section
Nearby Deposits
Other deposits in the same region.
-
Swartz Manganese Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- 0.28 miles
-
Rhesa Orndorff Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Prospect status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- Underground
- 0.29 miles
-
Mary Orndorff Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Prospect status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- Surface And Underground
- 0.84 miles
-
Ralph Orndorff Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- 0.87 miles
-
Mary Orndorff Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- 1.03 miles
-
James Orndorff Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Prospect status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- Underground
- 1.34 miles
-
Frank Peer Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- 1.39 miles
-
Cove Run Prospect A.
- Manganese commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- 1.40 miles
-
Bonnet Hill Mine
- Manganese commodity Site type Mine status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- Surface And Underground
- 1.44 miles
-
James Orndorff Prospect
- Manganese commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Shenandoah, Virginia
- 1.44 miles
Nearby Places
- Maurertown (5.73 miles away)
- Toms Brook (5.74 miles away)
- Wardensville (6.63 miles away)
- Woodstock (8.17 miles away)
- Strasburg (8.78 miles away)
- Lebanon Church (9.09 miles away)
- Baker (12.32 miles away)
- Edinburg (12.56 miles away)
- Middletown (13.08 miles away)
- Delray (14.18 miles away)
- Bentonville (16.00 miles away)
- Shawneeland (16.60 miles away)
- Stephens City (17.29 miles away)
- Lost City (17.46 miles away)
- Riverton (17.69 miles away)
- Rileyville (17.71 miles away)
- Front Royal (18.45 miles away)
- Mount Jackson (18.67 miles away)
- Basye (19.70 miles away)
- Gore (20.91 miles away)
- Capon Bridge (21.13 miles away)
- Augusta (21.37 miles away)
- Luray (23.32 miles away)
Nearby Mining Districts
- Cedar Creek Valley Mining District (0 miles away)
- Wardensville-Halfmoon Mountain Area (3.53 miles away)
- Little Fort Valley Area (5.23 miles away)
Nearby Lands
- George Washington National Forest (0 miles away)
Footnotes
* Mine bounds on map indicate the general area that a mine occupies. For an detailed map, refer to the overseeing BLM field office.
** The mine central point is based on an average of the mine's bounding box(es) and does not necessarily fall on the claim itself.
1 World-class significance is determined by total endowment of the contained commodity. This includes all past production and remaining reserves. Each commodity is considered separately and commodities cannot be combined to arrive at a significant size. The tonnage thresholds are from the mine model grade-tonnage studies. As of June 2008, many entries were classified as significant under less strict rules.
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Notes
MANGANESE ORE WAS MIXED WITH IRON OXIDE AND PHOSPHOROUS: THE LARGE AMOUNT OF IRON, IF IT COULD NOT BE REMOVED, WOULD BAR ITS USE FOR CHEMICAL PURPOSES AND THE PRESENCE OF PHOSPHOROUS WOULD PROHIBIT ITS USE FOR METALLURGICAL PURPOSES.