Austinville-Ivanhoe Mine, Austinville-Ivanhoe Mining District, New River-Cripple Creek Region, Wythe County, Virginia, USAi

Regional Level Types
Austinville-Ivanhoe Mine	Mine (Inactive)
Austinville-Ivanhoe Mining District	Mining District
New River-Cripple Creek Region	Region
Wythe County	County
Virginia	State
USA	Country

Operated 1756 - 1981.

"By the time the mine closed in the early 1980’s, the deposit was the most continuously mined base metal deposit in North America. Mining operations began in 1756 with the application of surface and shallow underground techniques. Over 21,000 tons of lead ore were extracted during a period of mining that lasted until the 1860’s. Much of this lead was used for ammunition for soldiers in the U.S. Civil war. Iron was mined near Austinville from surficial goethite and limonite during the years ranging from 1800 to the early 1900’s and this was used in 19th century pig iron production. Mining of zinc from oxidized ores (mainly hemimorphite) was initiated during the post-Civil War years and lasted until 1902 when the New Jersey Zinc Company purchased the mine for its zinc oxide potential. During the next quarter century, the company developed reserves of sulfide ore and after the perfection of the flotation process in the 1920’s, a separation plant was built and put into production. During 230 years, over 1,000,000 tons of zinc metal, and 200,000 tons of lead metal were extracted from more than 30,000,000 tons of ore mined at Austinville. In more recent years, 500,000 tons of ore averaging 3 percent zinc and 0.4 percent lead mined each year using modified open stope methods (Weinberg, 1980). The residual dolomite gangue was crushed and sold as agricultural dolomitic limestone. The lead and zinc mine ceased operation in December 1981 and was allowed to flood. In the early 1990’s, a limestone quarrying operation purchased the property and produces and markets crushed limestone for the agricultural market." (USGS Open File Report 02-195)


Commodities (Major) - Lead, Zinc; (Minor) - Dolomite, Silver; (Trace) - Cadmium, Iron
Development Status: Past Producer
Deposit Model: 228: Mississippi Valley, Appalachian Zn
Host Rock Unit: Chattanooga Shale, Carbonaceous, Grayish-Black, Thinly-Laminated, Fissile, None Within Ten Miles Of Ore Zone
Structure: Multiple, 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,
Host Rock: Dolomite, Carbonate
Tectonic Structure: Carbonate Ramp Homocline: With Upward Shallowing Platform Margin With Skeletal Algal Reef.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References