Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 27

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294

USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I > Part 27

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In 1885 a book entitled "The Commonwealth of Georgia" was published under the direction of Judge Henderson, commissioner of agriculture. One hundred and fifty-six pages of this book, with geological and mineralogical maps, were devoted to the topography, geology, etc., of Georgia, the matter having been prepared by Mr. A. R. McCutchin, assistant geologist under Dr. Little, from data collected by the survey. Nothing more was done by the state in the way of advertising its mineral resources to the world, until the legislature, which met in the fall of 1889, passed a bill re-organizing the geological survey and making an appropriation for its maintenance for five years, to date from July 1, 1890. Dr. J. W. Spencer, who was appointed state geologist, submitted a report of progress in 1891, of 128 pages, which was devoted to the geology of the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations of southwest Georgia. This was followed in 1893 by a report by Dr. Spencer on the Paleozoic Group of Georgia, of 406 pages. In March and April of 1893 a com- plete change in the personnel of the survey was made by the geological board. Since then the policy of making systematic surveys of the economic mineral depos- its and other geological resources, wherever they may be found in the state, has been followed, by which the public will be able to get monograph reports on each subject, without having to wait for an areal survey to be made of any partic- ular section. This policy is by far the most practical for giving to the public com- plete information as to the economic mineral resources of the state at the earliest possible data. In pursuance of it, a bulletin on the marbles of Georgia was issued in November, 1894, and one on its Corundum deposits came from the press a few months later. Field work is in progress by the geologist and his assistants prepar- atory to issuing a series of such bulletins on the gold, phosphate, marl and bauxite deposits and the water-power and artesian-well systems of the state. The plan of making an economic survey of the geological resources does not preclude a final report which would include both the general and economic geology of the state. The demand for information, as to the economic mineral resources, has been very strong, and the plan adopted for the survey has seemed to meet with universal approval.

185

INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES.

In compiling this article, free use has been made of "The Commonwealth of Georgia," "Mineral Resources of the United States," "Report on the Mineral Indus- tries of the United States at the Eleventh Census," "The Paleozoic Group of Geor- gia," "The Mineral Springs of Georgia," by J. R. Duggan, Bulletins I and 2 of the Geological Survey of Georgia, and such other publications as were available.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF THE STATE.

The ten counties lying in the northwest corner of the state, namely, Dade, Catoosa, Walker, Whitfield, Chattooga, Murray, Gordon, Floyd, Bartow, and Polk, constitute all the territory in the state known at present to belong to the Paleozoic Group. On the south and east of this lies what is now called the Crystal- line Belt, for its true position in geological history is a matter of doubt, the earlier classification as Archaean being at present questioned, at least in part, by many of our most eminent geologists. The southern boundary of this belt is an almost straight line, from Augusta through Macon to Columbus, separating it from the Tertiary and Cretaceous formations. Along the line, separating the Paleozoic from the Crystalline, is a series of metamorphic rocks, including the marble deposits of the state, and the roofing slates of Rockmart and other places in that region. Adjacent to the Crystalline Belt on the south, extending from Columbus to a point about fifteen miles southwest of Macon lies a triangular area, constituting all the Cretaceous exposed in the state, except two small patches, one a fork, whose east limb extends from Macon southeast for about fifteen miles, and whose west limb extends about the same distance in a northwest direction, until it ceases at the line of contact with the Crystalline Belt. This prong is about two miles wide, and its fellow about twice that width. The other patch, about three miles wide and ten miles long, with a northwest and southeast direction, lies between the first and the main area. The western boundary of the Cretaceous is the Chattahoochee river for probably forty miles south of Columbus. A very jagged line from the extreme northeast point of the main area to the southern end of its west boundary consti- tutes the dividing line between the large area of this formation and the Tertiary which bounds it on the south and east. The Tertiary covers the largest area in the state. It lies south of the Crystalline Belt and the Cretaceous formation, and is bounded on the west and south by the state lines, and on the east by the state line and the Quaternary formation of Georgia. This latter occupies a narrow strip along the coast of Georgia, about 100 miles long and 25 miles wide. Beginning a little north of Savannah, its western boundary extends to a point not far east of Trader's Hill on the Florida line, running parallel with its sea line, which is the eastern boundary of the formation. The Paleozoic Group contains deposits of coal, iron ores, lead ore, aluminum ore (bauxite), manganese ore, ochers, graphite, barite, soapstone, roofing-slates, limestones, sandstones and clays. The Crystal- line Belt, which extends from Nova Scotia through Georgia into Alabama, is the gold-bearing formation in Georgia. These rocks are also rich in other minerals, such as corundum, mica, marble, granite and kaolins; and copper, lead, iron and manganese ores, asbestos, graphite, novaculite, pyrite, and soapstone occur in profitable quantities. The Cretaceous formation produces marl, sandstone and limestone, while the Tertiary produces millstone, limonite, marl, hyalite and fire- opal, and the Quaternary, marls and sands.

186

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

MINERALS OCCURRING IN GEORGIA.

Below is given a list of the minerals and rocks, indigenous to Georgia, those of economic value being marked by an (e):

Diamond (e)

b. Fire-opal (e)

Graphite (e)

c. Milk-opal

Pyrite (e)

Corundum

Pyrrhotite (€)

a. Sapphire and Ruby (e)

Tetradymite (e)

b. Corundum (e)

Arsenopyrite (e)

Ilmenite

Antimony (e)

Rutile (e)

Bismuth

Diaspore

Platinum (e)

Calcite

Molybdenite (e)

Dolomite (e)

Gold (e)

Lanthanite

Silver (e)

Andesite

Chalcocite (e)

Spodumene (e)

Harrisite

Amphibole

Covellite

a. Actinolite

Cantonite

b. Tremolite

Chalcopyrite (e)

c. Hornblende

Galena (e)

d. Asbestos (e)

Pyromorphite (e)

e. Smaragdite

Clausthalite

Beryl (e)

Plumbagumite

Garnet (e)

Hitchcockite

Chrysolite (e)

Cassiterite (e)

Zircon (e)

Hematite

Kyanite

a. Specular (e)

Zoisite

b. Red Ocher (e) Limonite

Allanite

a. Bog Iron Ore (e)

Tourmaline (e)

b. Compact (e)

Staurolite

c. Fibrous (e)

Muscovite (e)

d. Yellow Ocher (e) Chromite (e)

Margarite

Bauxite (e)

Prochlorite Talc

Millerite (e)

a. Foliated

b. Steatite or Soapstone (e)

Glauconite

Kaolin (e)

b. Amethyst (e)

Halloysite (e)

c. Quartzite (e)

Pyrophyllite (e)

d. Chert (e)

Xenotime (e)

e. Massive (e)

Apatite (e)

f. Tripoli (e) Opal

Lazulite

Wavellite

a. Hyalite

Barite (e)

Quartz

a. Rock Crystal (e)

Biotite

Pyrolusite (e)

Genthite (e)

Epidote

187

INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES.

ROCKS.

Limestone

Roofing-slates (e)

a. Marble (e)

Hornblende (e)

b. Common Limestone (e)

Diorite (e)

Shales (e)

Chrysolite

Sandstone (e)

Serpentine (e)

Granite (e)

Phosphates (e)

Gneiss (e)

Marls (e)

Mica-Schist (e)

Infusorial Earth (e)

ECONOMIC MINERALS IN WORKABLE QUANTITIES.

Of the above minerals and rocks, the following are found in good paying quan- tities:

Graphite

Asbestos

Pyrite

Garnet,

Muscovite

Chalcopyrite

Steatite

Hematite

Kaolin

Magnetite

Barite

Compact Limonite

Marble

Yellow Ocher

Limestone

Chromite

Sandstone

Bauxite

Granite

Pyrolusite Chert

Gneiss

Massive Quartz

Shales

Tripoli

Phosphate

Infusorial Earth

Marl

The number of minerals whch produce gems and precious stones are compara- tively few, so far as they have been reported, as occurring in this state. The following have been found:

Diamond (g)

Beryl

Sapphire (g)

Garnet

Ruby (g)

Zircon

Rock Crystal (g)

Kyanite

Amethyst (g) Fire-opal (g)

Chrysolite

Rutile

Pyrite

Spodumene

Only those marked (g) have been found as gems and precious stones, but, so far as known, none of these are in workable quantities.

RARE MINERALS.

A number of comparatively rare minerals have been reported from the state and a few which are very rare.

Diamond Tetradymite Automolite

Hyalite Sapphire Ruby

Roofing-slate

Tourmaline

Mica-Slates (e)

Gold

188

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

Molybdenite

Ilmenite

Chalcocite

Rutile

Harrisite

Diaspore

Covellite

Lanthanite

Cantonite

Andesite

Pyromorphite

Spodumene

Clausthalite

Smaragdite

Plumbagumite

Zircon

Hitchcockite

Lazulite

Cassiterite

Allanite

Bauxite

Margarite

Millerite

Pyrochlorite

Genthite

Halloysite

Amethyst

Pyrophyllite

Fire-opal

Wavellite

Milk-opal

Xenotime

Of the above, harrisite from the Canton mine in Cherokee county, is a pseudo- morph of chalcocite (a copper sulphide) after galena, and cantonite is said by Dana to be covellite, another sulphide of copper from the Canton mine, occurring in cubes, with a cubical cleavage. It was regarded by Dr. F. A. Genth as a pseudomorph of covellite after harrisite.

The following minerals and rocks are, or have been in recent years, mined in Georgia:

Asbestos

Limestone

Barite

a. Marble

Bauxite

b. Common

Chalcopyrite

Limonite

Chert

a. Brown Iron Ore

Clay

b. Yellow Ocher

Coal

Marl

Corundum

Muscovite (Mica)

Galena

Pyrite

Gold

Pyrolusite

Granite

Roofing Slate

Graphite

Shale

Halloysite

Steatite

Hematite

Serpentine

Kaolin

ECONOMIC MINERALS.

Iron Ores .- Hematite .- Hematite, when crystallized or crystalline, has a hard- ness of from 5 to 6.5, and its specific gravity is from 4.5 to 5.3. When in this form its luster is metallic and its color steel-gray. It also occurs in an earthy condition, the color then being brownish-red. In composition it is iron sesquioxide, con- taining, when pure, 70 per cent. of metallic iron and 30 per cent. of oxygen.

Fossiliferous hematite occurs in northwest Georgia in large quantities. Here it has resulted from the alteration of limestone, by infiltration of iron oxide derived from the alteration of other minerals. It retains the structure of the original limestone, essentially a mass of broken shells, intermingled with small flattened circular and lenticular concretions. Above the drainage level the calcareous mat- ter of the limestone has been leached out, leaving the ore soft and porous. Below this level the ore still retains most of its calcareous matter, and is compact, being

189

INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES.

known as "hard" ore. The more compact material, which may be called a fer- ruginous limestone, contains from 10 to 40 per cent. of iron, while the soft ore · contains as high as 60 per cent. of iron.

The fossil ore beds in Georgia are mostly confined to the Red mountain series, a part of the Silurian formation.

Localities .- On Dirt Seller mountain, about one and a half miles from Lyerly, in Chattooga county, active operations are being carried on in mining and shipping this ore to Rome, Ga., where it is smelted. The deposit is near the top of the mountain and it is carried from the mine by an incline railroad to the valley below, where it is dumped into cars, which convey it to Lyerly, and thence to Rome. On Shinbone ridge, entering the state from Alabama, the first mines occur at Menlo, where the ore bed is divided into beds of nearly equal thickness, the thickness of the whole deposit varying from two to three feet. The strata dip at 20° north, 50° west, and the ore lies near the surface of the ridge, upon its western side, though the ore-beds are found dipping at an angle of 75°, a short distance from the exposures referred to. The ore continues north- ward through Shinbone ridge, and dips under the mountain to the west. At Bronco the hard ore is worked by a shaft over 200 feet deep. As this mine goes below the drainage level, the soft ore gradually gives place to the compact variety. The soft ore averages 55 per cent. in metallic iron, while the "hard" ore ranges from 40 per cent. downward. At certain depths in this mine several beds of limestone occur, containing no iron.

The ore formation gives rise to ridges about the northern end of Pigeon mountain. It is found in workable quantity on the property of Mr. Dougherty and Mr. Clarkson, at the head of McLamore's cove, where the exposed beds have a thickness of from six to eighteen inches. These beds are more or less covered with shaly soil and the full extent of the deposits is not known, as there are few natural exposures. The ore belts continue northward, along the eastern side of Lookout mountain, almost to the Tennessee line. A short distance south of the Chickamauga & Round Mountain railway the Wessboro mines are in opera- tion. Here the soft ore has a thickness of two feet. The superincumbent earth is removed from the ore until the limits of profitable working are reached; but deep mining is not continued far into the hillsides. East of High Cliff postoffice a separate basin of the Fossil ore bounds an anticlinal valley. The ore here occurs in the red shale and has a thickness of from six to ten inches. In Look- out valley, the Red mountain series, in which the Fossil ore occurs, forms a series of serrated hills, along both sides of the valley. In these rocks the ore is generally met with, and in many places the soft ore near the surface has been extracted to as great a depth as would be permitted by removing the superin- cumbent earth. Only at Rising Fawn has underground mining been resorted to. On the ridges here most of the soft ore has been exhausted, but the hard ore passes down at low angles beneath Lookout mountain. The total thickness of the hard ore beds is seven feet. In one locality only, on Pudding ridge, north of Rising Fawn, is the surface ore as thick as seven feet. The principal layer is only three feet, with the remaining four feet interbedded among shaly seams. In a boring at Rising Fawn the compact ore was found to be seven feet thick at a depth of eighty feet. Throughout the whole valley there are many workings in the foot ridges beneath the table-lands. The soft ore east of New England city has a thickness of seven feet, and is largely used for the manufacture of red ocher.

A limited amount of ore is found near the Alabama line, on the eastern side of Kincade, or Simm's mountain, a part of Taylor's ridge. Some iron bearing sandstones occur at Kitchen's gap, east of Holland. At High Point the ridge

190

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

has been preserved from erosion by the presence of heavy bedded standstones. At various points to the northward the ore is also seen, where it is said to be nearly three feet thick. Northeast of Summerville there is a fossil ore bed of good quality from sixteen to twenty inches thick owned by Mr. Cleghorn. This bed dips 26° S. 40° E., and is somewhat steeper than the eastern face of the mountain, from the summit of which the ore descends thinly covered with shales, which have been removed by sheets in several localities, thus exposing the ore. On the Greenbush-Lafayette road the ore is seen on the eastern side of the moun- tain and in ravines, attaining a thickness of twelve inches. In Dick's ridge, to the northward, on Mr. Hamilton's land, the ore beds are found from ten to twelve inches thick. Blocks of ore are also found on Dick's ridge at Gordon Spring, near Ringgold. The ore crops out on Mr. Simm's land, on the ridge above West Armuchee creek, near Subligna. The ore horizon of Taylor's ridge has suffered from erosion, which has removed much valuable ore from Horn's, Rocky Face and John's mountains, the strata of which reach to the horizon of the fossil ore series.

Analyses of Fossil Hematite .- A partial analysis of the soft iron ore from Shin- bone ridge is here given: Iron, 60.72; silica, 8.28; phosphorus, 0.131. In addition to these components small quantities of alumina and lime were present. This analysis is said to be above the average in quality, both as to the percentage of iron and the small amount of phosphorus, the latter being usually higher in quantity.

The following partial analyses of hard ore, taken from the Bronco mines, on Shinbone ridge, were made by Dr. Gustave Bidtel: I .- Metallic iron, 40.65; silica, 6.30; alumina, 7.00; lime, 21.00; phosphorus, .42. II .- Metallic iron, 41.30; silica, 6.10; lime, 18.64; phosphorus, 3.51. III .- Metallic iron, 45-33; silica, 31.67; lime, 13.62; phosphorus, 9.58.

In the case of analyses II. and III., which, with analysis I., are taken from the report of Dr. J. W. Spencer on the Paleozoic group of Georgia, it is probable that the high percentage of phosphorus is due to clerical or typographical error, and that the amounts should be, respectively, 0.351 and 0.958.

The following analyses were made by Dr. Gustave Bidtel, for the Dade Coal & Iron company, from hard ores mined at Rising Fawn:

Iron.

Insoluble Residue. Caustic Lime.

Phosphorus.

30.38

8.21

26.79

.33I

28.34

10.64

25.71

.289

24.13

8.91

30.48

.269

22.46

9.56

30.79

.337

27.81

II.36

25.56

.270

26.28

9.35

28.39

.268

30.39

9.76

23.56

.368

27.79

8.65

26.87

.285

32.19

9.22

23.04

.304

31.IO

II.67

22.44

.308

28.91

8.46

28.62

.322

29.4I

9.71

27.43

.338

31.08

15.16

24.64

.274

28.87

8.07

26.88

.304

Soft ore from Rising Fawn yielded the following partial analysis: Metallic iron, 59; silica, 9.11 ; phosphorus, .092.

19I

INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES.

The following complete analysis of the fossiliferous hematite from Iron ridge near Burnt Mill in Walker county, is from the first report of progress of the geological survey of Georgia, by Dr. George Little:

Water and organic matter at red heat. I.9I

Iron

54.69

Oxygen

23.44

Insoluble matter

12.57

Alumina

7.42

Phosphorus

.19

Sulphur

Trace

Total

100.22

Specular Hematite .- In some of the foot hills of the mountains in the eastern part of Bartow county, gray, compact, crystalline hematite occurs in stratified beds. A micaceous hematite is found associated with quartz in veins of the crystalline rocks in the Cherokee ridge.

LIMONITE.

Large deposits of compact limonite, commonly known as brown iron ore, are found principally in a broad belt of country between Lookout mountain and the Cohutta range. It occurs in detached beds resting on the concrete rocks of nearly all geological ages. It is probably derived from the alteration of silicates containing considerable iron, which has been washed down and deposited in low places. The beds are more numerous and extensive east of the Chattoogata range. Most of them are confined to a series of cherty ridges; but some of the most extensive beds are in the Chattoogata range, in Snake creek gap, where they occur in the Silurian sandstone. The most westerly occurrence of the brown ore beds is in the ridges, which pass through Lafayette, Walker Co. It is found in this range, a few miles northeast of Lafayette; also near Graysville in Catoosa county, and again near the South Carolina camp ground in Chattooga county. In Bartow, Floyd and Polk counties the brown iron ores are found in large deposits, and have been extensively worked. Extensive beds occur also in the Cohutta range, and in a belt of country east of this, from Fannin to Cherokee. It also occurs in some localities, much farther southeast.

THE BROWN IRON ORES OF POLK COUNTY.

Six belts of brown iron ore in Polk county are well established, viz., first, that in the fault basin north of Indian mountain; second, one running from Etna to Cave Spring; third, the Cedartown belt; fourth, that southeast of Cedartown; fifth, the Fish creek belt; sixth, the Long Station belt. It is true that there are outlying deposits of brown iron ore, especially along the chert ridges; but the deposits in the belts above named are the most valuable. West of Little Cedar creek there is a basin two miles wide and eight miles long, extending from Indian mountain up into Floyd county. In this basin there are several deposits of brown iron ore. On the property of Mr. Linton Sparks, on lots 139 and 140, seventeenth district, there are pockets of good and indifferent ore, side by side. On the ridge near by there are several exposures of thick siliceous beds, some of

192

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

which contain brown ore, rich in iron. These exposures occur on the Stott- Folger and other properties. In addition to these, there are other ferruginous beds, the ores of which are not so rich as those of the ore banks; but they have an advantage over the latter, in that they can be more economically worked. Some of this ore is manganiferous. "Hematite," a siding station on the western system of the Southern railway, is the outlet of these deposits.

On the east side of the valley a chain of ore-bearing ridges, coming in from Alabama, enters Georgia at Etna, on the property of Col. Hamilton. On the western side of the valley, except near Oredell, the hills are slaty and barren. The bottom of the valley is generally underlaid by Cambrian shales or slates; but the ridges to the east are composed of overlying decomposed Knox dolomite. Along the west side of these ridges there are subordinate ore banks. Extensive workings have exposed the ore on the state line to a depth of sixty or seventy feet, without reaching its bottom. While it is throughout a heterogenous mass, still it contains thick beds of solid ore. This ore is less concretionary and more inassive in form than is generally seen farther east in other Knox deposits, and contains more or less included quartz. Beyond Etna, similar ore occurs at Pryor's and Oredell. In an artesian well sunk at Oredell, the ore was found to continue to a depth of 180 feet. The ridges on the eastern side of the valley are characterized, to some extent, by accumulations of hard brown iron ore; but there are also other deposits associated with the quartzose beds of the gray lands. These deposits are generally inferior to those on detached ridges farther from the cherty beds. All these ore beds are convenient to the Southern railway. Farther north, on the eastern side of the railway, other workable beds of the ore are found, before reaching the Floyd line. Thus it is seen that the whole chain of ridges bounding the valley east of the railway constitutes a belt of rich ore ridges. The great iron deposits of the Cedartown district enter Georgia at Esom hill, near which are the Brewster and other banks. These ore banks re-occur at various points, as for example, on Mr. Rice's property near Berry station. The largest group of ore banks is two or three miles south and west of Cedartown, chief among which are the Reed, the Ledbetter, the Peek, the Wood, and other ore deposits, many of which are now included in the proper- ties of the Augusta and the Central mining companies. The ore also appears at Mr. Waddell's and Mr. Frank. Sheflet's, two and a half miles north of Cedar- town, and on other lands. These ore banks rise from a few feet to fifty or a hundred feet above the valley. The ores are usually small, concretionary masses; but there are some blocks or bowlders of large size. Southeast of Cedartown these ore banks are not continuous throughout the belt. Two of the ore-bearing ridges rise up through overlying Chickamauga shales two miles south of Cedar- town. Another iron-bearing locality occurs east of the shale basin south of Cedartown, near Young's mills, and at the Cleveland, the Pittman, the Cox and the Ray ore banks, between Young's and the Crystalline belt, to the south. A few miles east brown ore beds of the Knox series again come to the surface, near Fish creek. At Grady there is a group of extensive ore deposits, belonging to the Cherokee Iron company and the Central Mining company. Other iron- bearing ridges extend southward, as at Hickman's and Simpson's mines (lot 1015, twenty-first district), W. O. Morris's (lots 1088 and 1133), Mrs. Morgan's and Mr. Winn's (lot 1060, twenty-first district). This belt continues northward, with interruptions, to within a mile or two of Seney, and thence into Floyd county. Ore occurs in this belt on the lands of T. H. Peek and others adjacent, lying north of Grady; also on several lots belonging to Messrs. T. Colbert, B. F. West and others, making a continuous belt across the county. Another belt

193

INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES.

lies adjacent to the Southern railway, between Rockmart and Seney, and espe- cially in the vicinity of Long Station is it abundant. From these beds large quantities of ore have been shipped, the principal mines being those of the Central Mining company, the Randall and the Cochrane.

The Deaton mine, situated near Taylorsville, represents the principal working of the Deaton ore series. It is on lots 64 and 81, eighteenth district. The Central Mining company has similar deposits on and adjacent to lot 1076 of the same district, and they also occur on lots 714, 715, 868, 869, 870 and 932, all of the eighteenth district. These accumulations represent residual beds of the series, which rest upon the Chickamauga limestones, and at the edge of the hills of the Rockmart slates; they belong to the sub-carboniferous formation. The back part of the Deaton mine is an almost solid inass of iron ore. The favorable con- ditions of occurrence, and the situation directly upon the railroad permit the loading of the ore at a less cost than any other ore in the state.

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Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 27

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1294

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294