Dyer Mine, Choestoe, Union County, Georgia, USAi

Regional Level Types
Dyer Mine	Mine
Choestoe	Village
Union County	County
Georgia	State
USA	Country

An old mine, considerably removed from the mica mining sections, occurs on Lot 150, southwest of Towns Creek upon the property of Mrs. W. E. Dyer near Choestoe. It is 12 miles southeast of Blairsville by way of the Blairsville-Dahlonega, C. C. C. camp, and W. P. A. roads. The mine is located near the bottom of a hill on the west side of the country road, about 500 feet N. 60° W. of Mrs. Dyer's home.

It is reported that mica was mined here first in 1890. About 1900, or a few years later, Joe Davenport and J. C. Collins ran a drift into the vein and are said to have removed considerable mica. B. E. Dyer prospected here during 1908 removing some promising-looking mica. Mrs. Dyer reports that about 1914 or 1915, a North Carolina miner opened the mine removing a considerable amount of mica, and did not pay for it. Mining was done in 1918 by Luce England, who cleaned out the old drift, and extended it 20 feet farther. A shaft on the hill which intersects some of the old workings was made recently by operators from Gainesville, Georgia.

Numerous drifts and cross-cuts have been made into the hill, thus the search for mica has been rather thorough at this place. When the property was inspected by the writers, November 5, 1942, the entrances to the main workings were accessible, but some cross-cuts and drifts were filled by cave-ins. These cross-cuts and drifts were timbered with chestnut wood, probably shortly after the first World War. Oak timbering, now rather well-decayed, preceded this stage of mining.

At present, the pegmatite is not exposed. According to Smith, who visited the property in 1932, the vein averages nearly two feet in thickness. When the old drift was cleaned out in 1933 by E. G. Elrod, W. S. Maxwell, and W. L. Lane, the vein at the head was found to be less than a foot thick, although locally widening to 22 inches. It lies nearly flat but dips on either side. At this place, its composition is very irregular, consisting of kaolin at some places and of mica and quartz at others. The mica is always associated with the quartz but not on any one side of the vein. Some of the mica removed was badly bent and shattered. One block, weighing 100 pounds and of good clear color, trimmed sheet up to 3 by 3 inches. It is also said that books of mica as large as "cart wheels" were found during the early mining operation. Smith saw a book at the Dyer home, mined by Mr. England, that was about 12 inches across. The mica was flat, ruled part way down on the edges and with mica lying at angles on each side of the stripe. The original drift is said to be 150 feet long and at that time, good mica was exposed there, but mining ceased because the vein dipped a little and water became too abundant.

The country rock consists of mica schist which contains lens-like intercalations of hornblende gneiss. These rocks strike N. 77° E., dipping 36° NW. Practically no quartz or feldspar may be seen at present upon the old dumps. Little scrap mica is present, but the mica which remains is clear and free of spots. The mica is generally of the "A" type, but in large blocks with good flat sheets between the "A" structure; curvature seem to be the principal defect of the mica. It is stated that a considerable amount of 3- by 4-inch mica was trimmed from the blocks.