ALABAMA MICA DEPOSITS 83 



The northern escarpment of the ridge below the mine 

 is abrupt, falling off at a uniformly steep angle of pitch 

 down to the Tallapoosa valley level. 



The deposit of pegmatite opened up is, as to district 

 location, placed near the westerly edge of the zone of 

 mica schists generally constituting the mica belt of Ala- 

 bama, and differs from the formations prevailing in that 

 easterly section of the belt, in respect to being in part 

 made up of basic and igneous rocks, containing horn- 

 blende and other ferro-magnesium schists. Local sur- 

 face occurrences noted, characteristic of this section of 

 the belt, consist of hornblende schists, highly crystalline 

 and translucent quartz, garnetiferous schists, cyanite, 

 etc. 



The pegmatite dyke entered lies in apparent conform- 

 ity with the enclosing formations of garnetiferous red 

 mica schist; has a definite strike of N.40E., dipping S* 

 E., back under the ridge, at an angle (on the surface) of 

 .30 to 40. 



The pegmatite outcrop is traceable on the surface, and 

 is continuously more or less micaized, for a distance of 

 about 200 feet along the strike each way, (N. E. and S. 

 W.), from the therefore central point of first develop- 

 ment, beyond which terminal points, the ridge falling off, 

 it is covered by shallow residual soil, but may be easily 

 uncovered and its continuity and micarization possibly 

 somewhat extended and examined. 



Developments thus far made, consist of surface pits 

 lying in and along the outcrop, but without proper cross 

 cuts to determine the width of the ore body, which how- 

 ever, has been shown to have an observed minimum thick- 

 ness of 10 feet, with neither foot nor hanging wall as yet 

 revealed. 



Characteristic features of the pegmatite are a coarse 

 aggregate of crystalline and semi-crystalline quartz, with 

 feldspar, which has been but very little decomposed or 

 kaolinized. 



The mica carried, and recovered from the pits, is in 



more than usually large crystals very generally sound and 



tight and free from clay stains or inclusions, and was 



: found distributed through the mass; the upper and lower 



