Southeastern Saline County

The following mines and prospects were isolated from the larger subdistricts discussed above and are grouped by general areas. Most produced only small amounts of ore, although a number of these outlying ore deposits were rich in barite.

Mines in the Southeastern Saline County

Gibbons Mine

This operation was located southeast of Wamble Mountain (Figure 31) east of Illinois Route 34 near the southern border of Saline County. Dates of activity and whether production was achieved are uncertain. This mine is possibly the same as the Big Four Mine discussed by Bain (1905). Weller et al. (1952) listed Gibbons or Gibbons and Cantrell on a table and remarked, “Shallow prospect workings along fault disclosed no fluorspar, galena, or sphalerite” (p. 134). The pits align with a small fault trending N 40°E and having the upper Chesterian Palestine Formation on both sides (Denny et al. 2008a). More Information: 10096684

King or King and Ferguson Prospects

These prospects were located due east of Rudement along the Shawneetown Fault Zone (Figure 31) in the SW¼ SW¼ NW¼, sec. 21, T 10 S, R 7 E. Bain (1905) reported that the King and Ferguson Mine had three shafts along a fault zone striking nearly north–south. Barite, fluorite, and pyrite were present, along with minor galena and very little calcite. According to Weller et al. (1952), at an unspecified later date, the A.B.C. Mining Company opened a group of pits or trenches aligned N 10° E along the fault zone, exposing “sheared remnants of fluorspar veins” (p. 134). Illinois Coal Reports indicated that the A.B.C. Mining Company reported production from 1946 through 1949 and during those years produced approximately 3,500 tons of fluorspar (Davis and Greenspoon 1948; Davis 1949, 1950, 1951). Nelson and Lumm (1986) observed flooded pits at the site and mapped a north-trending fault slice of Chesterian strata juxtaposed with the Lower Pennsylvanian Caseyville Formation on both sides. This operation and the Silver Mine 40 (below) contain the only known economic mineralization associated with the Shawneetown Fault Zone in Illinois. Barite has been mined on a small scale along its eastern extension, the Rough Creek Fault System in Union County, Kentucky (Anderson et al. 1982). More Information: 10083088

Silver Mine 40

Springhouse Magazineowner Brian DeNeal brought this site to the attention of the authors in 2018. Several Harrisburg Daily Register newspaper stories reported the location of this mine, which was owned by George J. Hittinger from Pennsylvania (Brian DeNeal, personal communication with Brett Denny, November 2018). Local sources reported that the ore was unprofitable because it brought only $18 per ton (Aaron 1947). Brian DeNeal provided the authors with a clipping from November 3, 1878, from the Daily Bulletin newspaper in Cairo, Illinois, indicating that the shaft was 10 × 12 feet and 77 feet deep. The article, written by George Hittinger, also indicated that at 60 feet, a drift was turned to the southwest and extended for 32 feet, where another drift was dug 40 feet east. This drift was reported to have encountered mineralization that was 12 feet wide. The article stated that the Shawnee Silver Mining Company was incorporated in Illinois and had issued $250,000 of capital stock, with $90,000 reserved as working capital stock. Hittinger stated that the rock or ore contained “lead, silver, antimony, tin, cadmium, copper, etc. and assays $80 to $100 of rough ore” (n.p.). The article by Hittinger was a solicitation to potential investors; as such, the veracity of the value of the ore is questionable. However, the dates the mine was in operation, the orientation, and the dimensions of the workings provide corroborating evidence to document the mine. When Brett Denny and Brian DeNeal visited the mine in November 2018, they observed a pit near the base of the gulley. A fault was indicated by steeply dipping beds, calcite veining, brecciation, and slickensides. Beds of Kinkaid Limestone strike N 10° E and dip steeply to the east, whereas the Tradewater strata on the west side strike N 40° E and dip 52° NW (Figure 32). The configuration of the beds indicated the presence of a reverse fault, with the east side being upthrown, followed by a later normal component. Abundant calcite and a few fractures were filled with purple fluorspar in the rocks collected.

Unnamed Prospect

Bradbury (1959) described an unnamed prospect on the east bank of the north-flowing Eagle Creek in the NE¼ SE¼ SW¼ of sec. 34, T 10 S, R 7 E. The location is close to another unnamed pit observed at SE¼ NW¼ SE¼ of sec. 34, T 10 S, R 7 E mapped by Denny et al. (2008b). As described by Bradbury, a vein of fluorite and barite up to 15 inches wide was traced 50 feet along strike through shattered Pennsylvanian sandstone. The trend of the vein was N 30° E, dipping 55° SE. Two shafts and several prospect pits were present. At one location, a pit at least 15 feet in diameter was present, with much barite in the mine dump. Vertical slickensides could be observed along a steeply dipping fault on the east side of the pit. The vein was developed along fractures in the Herod Fault Zone, a northeastern extension of the Lusk Creek Fault Zone.

References

Aaron, T.E., 1947, Early settlements of Saline County, in Saline County: A century of history, 1847–1947: Harrisburg, Illinois, Saline County Historical Society, p. 57–74.

Anderson, W.H., R.D. Trace, and P. McGrain, 1982, Barite deposits of Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Series 9, Bulletin 1, 56 p.

Bain, H.F., 1905, The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois: U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 255, 75 p.

Bradbury, J.C., 1959, Barite in the southern Illinois fluorspar district: Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular 265, 14 p.

Davis, H.W., 1949, Fluorspar and cryolite, in E.W. Pehrson and A.F. Matthews, eds., Minerals yearbook 1947: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Division, p. 497–515.

Davis, H.W., 1950, Fluorspar and cryolite, in E.W. Pehrson and A.F. Matthews, eds., Minerals yearbook 1948: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Division, p. 525–544.

Davis, H.W., 1951, Fluorspar and cryolite, in A.F. Matthews and J. Hozik, eds., Minerals yearbook 1949: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, p. 511–530.

Davis, H.W., and G.N. Greenspoon, 1948, Fluorspar and cryolite, in E.W. Pehrson and A.F. Matthews, eds., Minerals yearbook 1946: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Economics and Statistics Division, p. 507–524.

Denny, F.B., A. Goldstein, J.A. Devera, D.A. Williams, Z. Lasemi, and W.J. Nelson, 2008a, The Illinois Kentucky Fluorite District, Hicks Dome, and Garden of the Gods in southeastern Illinois and northwestern Kentucky, in A.H. Maria and R.C. Counts, eds., From the Cincinnati Arch to the Illinois Basin: Geological field excursions along the Ohio River Valley: Geological Society of America, Field Guide 12, p. 11–24.

Denny, F.B., W.J. Nelson, and J.A. Devera, 2008b, Bedrock geology of Herod Quadrangle, Pope, Saline, and Hardin Counties, Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey, USGS-STATEMAP contract report, 2 sheets, 1:24,000; report, 4 p.

Nelson, W.J., and D.K. Lumm, 1986, Geologic map of the Rudement Quadrangle, Saline County, Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois Geologic Quadrangle Map IGQ-3, 1:24,000.

Weller, J.M., R.M. Grogan, and F.E. Tippie, 1952, Geology of the fluorspar deposits of Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey, Bulletin 76, 147 p.