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  7. Deposit #USGS10080726

Bonnet Hill Mine

Toms Brook, Virginia

39.0172°N 78.505°W

Mine Overview

The Bonnet Hill Mine is near Toms Brook, 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 1848 by William Remsen. The Bonnet Hill Mine was closed at the time of data entry with no known plans to re-open. Past operations took place from 1916 to 1920. Production size when active was considered to be small. Mine operations consist of surface and underground workings. There is one known shaft. Subsurface depth reaches a maximum of 12 meters (39 feet) and extends 92 meters (302 feet) in length. The ore mined is composed of pyrolusite and psilomelane with waste material consisting primarily of chert and limonite. The ore body is irregularly shaped 122 meters (400 feet) long, 18 meters (59 feet) wide, and 2 meters (7 feet) thick. The host rock in this area is limestone. The Middle Section of the Appalachian Highlands characterize the geomorphology of the surrounding area.

Site identification and general characteristics. Learn about USGS mines.

  • Manganese Primary Commodity
  • Site Record Type?
  • Mine Development Status?
  • 1848 Year Discovered?
  • William Remsen Discovered By?
  • 1916 to 1920 Last Year of Production
  • 1916 First Year Of Production?
  • 1920 Last Year Of Production?
  • Small Production Size?
  • Metallic Site Commodity Type?
  • Small Mine Size?

Mine Names

  1. Name? Status?
  2. Bonnet Hill Mine Current

Owner Name and Address

J. Carson Adkerson

Type
Operator

U.S. Forest Service

Type
Owner

Commodities

Additional textual information about a site or mine.

  1. Commodity Type Importance
  2. Manganese Metallic Primary

Deposit

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

THE ORE BODY OCCURS IN CHERT AND CLAY DERIVED FROM WEATHERING OF THE UPPER PART OF THE HELDERBERG LIMESTONE GROUP. IT PARALLELS THE BEDDING OF THE CHERT AND CLAY AND ON THE AVERAGE IS 2. 4 M (8 FEET) THICK IN THE SHAFTS.

Location Info

  1. Continent Country State County
  2. North America The United States Virginia Shenandoah

Notes

ABOUT 2. 2 KM (1. 4 MI) NORTH ON STATE ROAD 746 FROM ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROAD 600 TO END OF ROAD: MINE IS 0. 55 KM (0. 3 MI) SOUTHEAST FROM 746 AT THE CREST ON THE NORTHEAST END OF BONNET HILL.

Land Status

Land status information.

  1. Land Status? Admin Area?
  2. Private -

Mining Districts

Formal or informal mining district names.

  1. District
  2. Cedar Creek Valley Mining District

Development

MINE WAS FIRST WORKED IN 1848 BY WILLIAM REMSEN BUT NO ORE WAS SHIPPED FROM IT AT THAT EARLY DATE. IT WAS NEXT WORKED BY C. M. CLAY UNDER THE TRADE NAME U. S. MANGANESE & MINERAL CO ., BEGINNING IN 1916 AND ENDING IN THE SPRING OF 1919. HIS TOTAL PRODUCTION IS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN 7 CARLOADS, ALL OF WHICH WAS HIGH-GRADE CHEMICAL ORE. 2 CARLOADS OF THIS WERE SHIPPED TO THE NATIONAL CARBON CO ., OF CLEVELAND, OHIO. BEGINNING IN JULY, 1919, THE MINE WAS OPERATED BY J. CARSON ADKERSON, WHO ASSUMED THE LEASE FROM C. M. CLAY AND DR. BLACK. MINE CLOSED IN FEBRUARY, 1920, BECAUSE OF LITIGATION OVER THE MINING LEASE, AND HAS NOT REOPENED SINCE. MR. ADKERSON'S PRODUCTION CONSISTED OF 5 CARLOADS OF ORE, OF WHICH 4 WERE SHIPPED AS METALLURGICAL ORE AND ONE AS CHEMICAL ORE.

Workings

Workings at the site.

Workings #1

  • Type: Surface and Underground
  • Surface Length: 111.56 Meters
  • Sub Surface Length: 92 Meters
  • Sub Surface Depth: 12 Meters

Workings

ORIGINAL WORKINGS CONSISTED OF NUMEROUS PROSPECT PITS UP TO 1. 8 M (6 FEET) DEEP, SEVERAL SHAFTS 9 TO 12 M (30 TO 40 FEET) DEEP, SHORT IRREGULAR DRIFTS RUNNING FROM THE SHAFTS, 2 OPEN CUTS, AND 3 TUNNELS. ALL WORKINGS WERE CAVED BY JULY, 1920. 1 TUNNEL IS ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE RIDGE OTHER TWO TUNNELS ARE ON THE EAST SIDE. ON THE EASTERN SLOPE THE UPPER TUNNEL WAS ABOUT 9 M (30 FEET) BELOW THE CREST OF THE RIDGE AND THE LOWER TUNNEL WAS ABOUT 26 M (85 FEET) BELOW THE CREST AND WAS 91. 5 M (300 FEET) LONG AND TRENDED WEST-NORTHWEST. IN 1982, TWO LARGE OPEN CUTS, 6 TO 12 M (20 TO 40 FEET) DEEP, NUMEROUS CAVED PITS AND SHAFTS UP TO 1. 8 M (6 FEET) DEEP, AND 3 CAVED TUNNELS WITH ASSOCIATED DUMPS WERE SEEN. SEVERAL TRENCHES AND A SMALL OPEN CUT WERE ALSO SEEN. MINOR ORE EVIDENT ON DUMPS.

Concentration Process

Processes that concentrated or enriched the mineralization of the mine.

  1. Concentration Process
  2. Circulating Waters Through The Residuum

Geology

ORE ZONE OCCURS IN CHERT AND CLAY RESIDUUM DERIVED FROM THE WEATHERING OF THE LICKING CREEK AND NEW SCOTLAND LIMESTONES AND AT THE BASE OF THE RIDGELEY SANDSTONE.

Materials

Minerals or other materials present in the mine.

  1. Role? Material?
  2. Gangue/Waste Chert
  3. Gangue/Waste Limonite
  4. Ore Psilomelane
  5. Ore Pyrolusite

Orebody

Characteristics of the ore body.

  • Length:
  • Width: 18.00 meters (59.06 feet)
  • Bottom Depth: 29.00 meters (95.14 feet)
  • Thickness: 2.40 meters (7.87 feet)
  • Strike: northeast
  • Dip: 30 degrees southeast ( average )

Rocks

Geological materials at the site.

  1. Class? 1st Order Name? 2nd Order Name? 3rd Order Name? 4th Order Name? Most Specific Name? Begin Time End Time Description?
  2. Host Rock Ridgeley Sandstone, Licking Creek Limestone, New Scotland Limestone; Clay Residuum Sedimentary Rock Carbonate Limestone Limestone - - -
  3. Host Rock Sedimentary Rock Clastic Sedimentary Rock Sandstone - Sandstone - - -
  4. Host Rock Unconsolidated Deposit Clay, Mud - - Clay, Mud - - -

Structure

Geologic structural features affecting or characterizing the site or mine.

  1. Scale Description
  2. Local Syncline And Anticline
  3. Regional Northeast-Southwest Trend

Tectonic

Tectonic setting in which the site or deposit is situated.

  1. Setting?
  2. Miogeosyncline

Physiography

Physiographic area where the resource is found.

  1. Division Province? Section
  2. Appalachian Highlands Valley And Ridge Province Middle Section

Analytical Data

Results of chemical or mineralogical analysis on materials at or near the site

  1. Line? Analysis Data?
  2. 1 STOSE AND MISER REPORTED 14 ANALYSES OF MANGANESE ORE, BOTH SOFT ORE AND HARD LUMP ORE. THE SAMPLESHOWED 49.58 TO 59.53 PERCENT MN, AVERAGING 55.79 PERCENT MANGANESE: 0.10 TO 1.87 PERCENT IRON, AVERAGING 0.77 PERCENT IRON: THREE SAMPLES WERE ANALYZED FOR PHOSPHORUS, AVERAGING 0.139 PERCENT P : SIX SAMPLES WERE ANALYZED FOR SILICA, AVERAGING 9.09 PERCENT SIO2, HOWEVER, THE SOFT ORE (3 SAMPLES) AVERAGED ONLY 4.27 PERCENT SIO2, THE HARD LUMP ORE AVERAGED 13.91 PERCENT SIO2 (3 SAMPLES).

Ore Control

Controls on emplacement of ore such as faults or other structural features.

  1. Text?
  2. Clay Residuum

Production

Production information

  1. Production Year? Amount Mined? Material? Comment
  2. 1916 57 wt-pct Manganese 57% manganese, 1% iron
  3. 1916-1919 48 wt-pct Manganese ave. 55% manganese,1.1% iron,5.7% sio2,valued at $30,700
  4. 1916-1919 55 wt-pct Manganese ave. 55% manganese,1.1% iron,5.7% sio2,valued at $30,700
  5. 1917 58 wt-pct Manganese 58% manganese,0.75% iron,6% sio2: valued at $16,800
  6. 1918 57 wt-pct Manganese 57+% manganese,0.75% iron,4% sio2: valued at $6,500 (? )
  7. 1919 55 wt-pct Manganese 48% manganese,2% iron,7% sio2: 0.2% p: valued at $3,000
  8. 1919 48 wt-pct Manganese 48% manganese,2% iron,7% sio2: 0.2% p: valued at $3,000

Notes

IN 1916, 40 LT WERE SHIPPED, VALUED AT $4, 400. 1917 DATA INCLUDES GODLOVE MINE PRODUCTION. TOTAL REPORTED PRODUCTION WAS 12 CARLOADS, OF WHICH 8 WERE CHEMICAL ORE AND 4 WERE METALLURGICAL ORE. PRODUCTION FIGURES INDICATE AMOUNT OF ORE MINED, ALL OF WHICH WAS SHIPPED UNLESS NOTED.

Nearby Deposits

Other deposits in the same region.

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  7. Brill Manganese Prospect

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  8. Mccune Manganese Prospect

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  9. Mccune Manganese Prospect

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  10. Rhesa Orndorff Prospect

    • Manganese commodity Site type Prospect status
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Nearby Places

Nearby Mining Districts

Nearby Lands

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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