Download Guidebook as .pdf (29.1 Mb) - Carolina Geological Society

CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Guidebook for 1995 Annual Meeting
Pages 33-41
GOLD DEPOSITS OF THE WEST SPRINGS AREA, UNION COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
DENNIS J. LAPOINT
Appalachian Resources
P.O. Box 3810
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
INTRODUCTION
Five historic gold mines are reported in the literature for
the West Springs area of the Glen Springs and Cross Anchor
7.5 minute quadrangles in Union county South Carolina
(Figures 1 and 2). There are no reports of production and no
detailed maps or descriptions of the extent of the workings.
A rough estimate, based on the extent of the visible workings
at the Ophir and West mines and on historic descriptions, is
that the district has produced between 30,000 and 50,000
ounces of gold, primarily prior to the Civil War and in the
1890s.
These mines were first described by Tuomey in 1848 as
the Fair Forest mines. The name was from the major drainage
of the region. Tuomey (1848) does not indicate when
gold was first discovered, but mining was well established
by the time of his visit in 1844. Lieber, in his 1858 Survey of
South Carolina, included the mines in the Union district,
which also included deposits to the northeast in the Smyrna
district of York County. At the time of his examination, none
of the West Springs mines were active. Sloan’s (1908) Catalog
of the Mineral Localities of South Carolina presents the
best geologic description of the deposits and includes some
assay data. At the time of his work, the Ophir or Thompson
mine was the only mine active. Other geologists have
redescribed earlier descriptions (McCauley and Butler, 1966:
Maybin, SC Geological Survey files) or have given information
based on their own brief visits (Becker, 1895; Graton,
1906). In part, the lack of detailed information on the deposits
is due to poor access to the old, abandoned workings and
to the non-existence of mining records.
A brief flurry of modern exploration occurred from
1982 (when U.S. Borax drilled the Ophir mine) to 1985
(when FMC and Kennecott drilled the Ophir and West mines
respectively, and American Copper Nickel Corporation
(ACNC) and Boise Cascade were carrying out a joint venture
in regional exploration). Partial results from these programs
are available in the South Carolina Geological Survey
files (Table I and Figure 3). The data are incomplete in that
drill core is available for only two of the three known drilling
programs (FMC and U.S. Borax). Furthermore, the logs are
only brief summary logs or field logs, and assay data are for
gold only. Moreover, the assay data for gold is provided only
for U.S. Borax drilling while FMC provided no drill core or
assay data. Further research is required to better describe
these deposits and their genesis. When compared to other
exploration targets that and to production mines, the West
Springs area merits further exploration.
Table 1. Drill hole summary for Ophir mine, Union County, South Carolina
DRILL HOLE
(Company)
GSU-4D1
(US Borax)
DEPTH
(feet)
307
GSU-4D2 405
GSU-4D3 304
OP 85-1
(FMC)
400
MINERALIZED
INTERVAL (feet)
141-145
195-210
213-251
(226-228)
145-160
175-194
170-245
(185-205)
335-390
INTERCEPT
(feet)
5
15
38
(2)
14
19
75
(20)
35
GRADE
(oz/ton)
0.014
0.046
0.044
0.420
0.018
0.037
0.018
0.045
0.014
LITHOLOGIES
Muscovite quartz schist
Muscovite quartz schist
Musc-biot-qtz schist; qtz
blebs
Marble: 190-194 ft
Microcline-biotite-muscquartz
schist; up to 6%
pyrite; w/quartz-rich layers
OP 85-2 350 None reported Pyrite muscovite qtz schist
OP 85-3 500 110-165 55 0.033 Biot-musc-qtz schist
OP 85-4 400 None reported Amphibolites
OP 85-5 400 None reported Mica qtz schist and amph.
OP 85-6 500
OP 85-7 500
135-150
175-215
(175-190)
295-325
(300-315)
15
40
(15)
30
15
0.017
0.082
0.187
0.012
0.024
Biot-quartzite w/ molybdenite
and microcline-biot-muscqtz
schist; up to 6% pyrite
Microcline-biot-musc-qtz
schist; qtz veins; mafic dike
33