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Minor podiform chromite deposit, 1 of 1 in Cecil county (in Maryland)
Sections of this page: [Geologic] - [Economic] - [Reference]
| Other names | Lowe's mine |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State or province | Pennsylvania |
| Geographic location: | 39°43'16"N,
76°10'13"W (-76.170278, 39.721111) |
| Geographic context: | (click for info) |
| Deposit type | minor podiform chromite |
| Model type | Banded Podiform |
| Deposit form | irregular pipelike body, stringers |
| Deposit texture | coarse massive, spotted |
| Ore type | Metallurgical |
| Age of deposit | Lower Ordovician (490±20 Ma) |
| Age (m.y.) | 490million years |
| Area of deposit | 317.2sq m |
| Ore body length | 52m |
| Ore body width | 6.1m |
| Mineralogy | chromite maucherite millerite hematite brucite magnesite hydromagnesite clinochlore penninite kammererite chrysotile talc deweylite sepiolite antigorite williamsite |
| Host rock type | serpentine |
| Host rock length | 41800 |
| Host rock width | 2400 |
| Paleotectonic setting | suprasubduction |
| Ophiolite zone | cumulate |
| Deposits < 10km | podiform chromite, placer chromite |
| Rocks within 5km | serpentine dunite wehrlite websterite pyroxenite gabbro granite granodiorite gneiss mica schist chlorite schist quartzite |
| Geologic map unit | -76.1702777777778, 39.7211111111111 |
| Nearby scientific data | Find additional scientific data near this location |
| Discovery date | <1838 | |
|---|---|---|
| Startup date | <1838 | |
| Tonnage | 0.007 | million metric tons |
| Mine depth | 73 | m |
| Ore depth | 0 | m |
| Cr2O3 grade | 50 | percent |
| Cr % | 35.1 | percent |
| Fe % | 12 | percent |
| Cr:Fe ratio | 2.9 | |
| Al2O3 % | 11 | percent |
| Si2O2 % | 4.4 | percent |
| Comments | Closed in 1919. Disseminated ore averaged 30% Cr2O3. Deposit extended into Lancaster County, PA from Cecil County, MD. Due to flooding, some ore remains at depth, probably about 30 t per m depth based on the size of the deposit being mined at the bottom of the shaft. |
|---|---|
| References | Gordon, S.G., 1922, The chromite deposits of the State Line serpentines: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia Proceedings, v. 73, 1921, p. 449-454. Glenn, W., 1896, Chrome in the southern Appalachian region: New York, American Institute of Mining Engineers Transactions v. 25, p. 481-499. Laurent, R., and Kacira, N., 1987, Chromite deposits in the Appalachian ophiolites, in Stowe, C.W., ed., Evolution of chromium ore fields: New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, p. 169-193. Pearre, N., and Heyl, A., 1959, The history of chromite mining in Pennsylvania and Maryland: Pennsylvania Geological Survey Information Circular 14, 23 p. Gater, A.E., 1991, Shear zone control on mineral deposits in the State-line serpentinite, Pennsylvania Piedmont: Ore Geology Reviews, v. 6, p. 171-184. Knopf, E.B., 1922, Chrome ores of southeastern Pennsylvania and Maryland, in Ransome, F.L., and Burchard, E.F., eds., Contributions to economic geology, Part 1.--Metals and nonmetals except fuels: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 725, p. 85-99. Pearre, N.C., and Heyl, A.V., Jr., 1960, Chromite and other mineral deposits in serpentine rocks of the Piedmont Upland, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1082-K, p. 707-833. Wylie, A.G., and Candela, P.A., 1999, Metallic mineral deposits--Chromite (Chapter 40E), in Shultz, C.H., ed., The geology of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geological Survey Special Publication 1: Pennsylvania Geological Survey and Pittsburgh Geological Society, p. 589-595. |