Bishop Mine, Lynch Station, Campbell County, Virginia, USAi

Regional Level Types
Bishop Mine	Mine (Overgrown)
Lynch Station	Unincorporated Community
Campbell County	County
Virginia	State
USA	Country

According to Barwood (2003), iron was mined in the vicinity of Lynch Station from the American Revolution to the 1880s, and manganese was sought from 1868 intermittently to 1945. Crystallized turquoise specimens found in the Bishop copper prospect first came to the attention of geologists in 1909 (the first published report is Sterrett, 1910), but the origin of the prospect is not reported. According to the map in Barwood (2003) (taken from Espenshade, 1954), the coordinates on the map above are those of the Bishop manganese mine. The copper prospect, where the turquoise was found, lies on the south bank of the creek about 300 m southwest of the manganese mine at approximately lat 37.14906, long -79.32099.

The locality was rediscovered by collectors in 1941, after which a number of collectors visited the site, and it was opened to collectors on a fee basis in 1963. A significant quantity of specimens was collected over the next decade, but "the site appears to have retreated into obscurity some time after the 1970s and is presently overgrown." (Barwood, 2003).

"Although quite a number of turquoise crystals were found in 1962 [in the noted Virginia locality], good crystals are still considered very rare. Much of the material was weathered, and the true turquoise color was not present in most crystals, which made the distinction between poor and good specimens apparent." (Speckels, 1965).

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10080128

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References