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t rn Appalachians are situated in an area of crystalline m<-k- whose 

 ^nirral strike is northeast and southwest. The auriferous rockH 

 consist of granites, gneisses, schists, slates and shales. The 

 auriferous quartz veins coincide imperfectly with the dip and 

 strike of the strata. 



In Alabama there are 3500 square miles of auriferous crystal- 

 line rocks in Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Elmore, 

 Randolph, Talladega and Tallapoosa Counties. The gold is 

 encased in glassy quartz associated mainly with pyrite. 



In Georgia the auriferous belt extends in a northeasterly 

 direction across the entire state. The associated rocks are sheared 

 acid and basic intrusives. Certain bands of gneisses and am- 

 phibolites have been produced in the shearing, and their fissures 

 are filled with auriferous quartz associated with pyrite. 



The southern Appalachian gold field reaches its maximum im- 

 portance in the Carolinas. From the northern part of South 

 Carolina it extends across the entire state of North Carolina in a 

 northeasterly direction to Virginia. It has a maximum width of 

 50 miles, and is flanked upon the west by an extensive granitic 

 area and upon the cast by Jura-Trias terranes. The gold occurs 

 in fissure veins with a quartz gangue, and as pyritic impregnation 

 deposits with irregular and lenticular quartz intercalations in the 

 schists and slates. 



The age of these ores is in all probability Algonkian for their 

 deposition took place subsequent to the development of the schis- 

 tosity of the Algonkian slates. The gold in the Jura-Trias 

 conglomerate must have been pre-Jura-Triassic. 



The South Mountain belt is situated in the western part of 

 North Carolina. The principal mining region is 25 miles long 

 and about 12 miles wide. The terranes are chiefly biotite 

 schists and hornblende gneisses. The schists are regarded as 

 metamorphosed granites and diorites. They are often garnetif- 

 erous and of special interest as they bear the rare mineral- 

 ziroon, monazite and xenotime. The strike of these terranes 

 is northeasterly and their dip is about 25. The gneisses 

 contain isolated masses of pyroxenite and amphibolites often 

 metamorphosed into talc and serpentine. 



The auriferous quartz veins are noted for their remarkable 

 regularity. Their general strike is N. 60 to N. 70 E. and dip at 

 a steep angle to the northwest. The veins are exceedingly narrow 

 averaging less than 6 in. The gangue is usually a milky 



