| Basis for focus area |
Polygon around Brewer mining district. Focus area includes Persimmon Fork and Richtex Formations. |
| Identified resources |
Historical production of gold and silver. Identified resources for fluorine (topaz). |
| Production |
Ridgeway mine: 1,500,000 ounces of gold and 900,000 oz Ag; Haile mine: more than 5,000,000 oz Au; Brewer mine (1987-1995): 178,000 oz oxide gold from open pits. |
| Status |
Past mining. Exploration for gold ongoing; Brewer is set to reopen. |
| Estimated resources |
Topaz reserves at the Brewer mine, South Carolina, are about 100,000 tons of schist averaging about 15% topaz; hypothetical resources are estimated at about 800,000 tons of rock. Canadian Company reportedly considering to reopen for Au. |
| Geologic maps |
Hibbard and others (2006), scale 1:500,000; Horton and Dicken (2001), scale 1:250,000; Bell (1980), scale 1:24,000; Barker and Secor (2005), scale 1:24,000; Fries (1942a, plate 4), scale 1:6,000. |
| Geophysical data |
Inadequate Rank 4 aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Persimmon Fork Formation: quartz-sericite schist, quartz granofel; Richtex Formation: juvenile metasedimentary rocks. |
| Deposits |
Haile mine (MRDS dep_id: 10084589), Ridgeway mine (MRDS dep_id: 10056348), Brewer mine (MRDS dep_id: 10069808). |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
MRDS; Shawe (1976). |
| Geochemical evidence |
Elevated values of Zn (200 ppm) in streambed sediments (Bell and McElveen, 1972); Te up to 79 ppm and Bi up to 70 ppm at Haile (Bell and Larson, 1984). |
| Geophysical evidence |
Unknown. |
| Evidence from other sources |
Geologic mapping. |
| Comments |
This includes a large area where there is potential for other disseminated gold sulfide deposits associated with meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks; with low or unknown potential for byproduct critical minerals. |
| Cover thickness and description |
Exposed to covered; cover estimated at less than 10 to greater than 50 m. Cover materials include intensely saprolitized rock and Cretaceous and younger sedimentary rocks. |
| Authors |
Nora K. Foley, Bernard E. Hubbard, R.H. Morrow, IV. |
| New data needs |
Geologic mapping, geochemistry, geophysics. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
1:24,000 scale mapping, Regional mapping, framework studies, and geochemical analyses to assess the resource quality/grade. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High resolution aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. Aeromagnetic data expected to image mafic rocks, lithologic contacts, and associated structures, radiometric data can help with geologic mapping in vegetated terrane; alteration may be imaged. Electromagnetic methods may help image sulfides. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar complete. |
