pbatt.] CORUNDUM TN NOTCTH CAROLINA. 59 
mass that is known in the Appalachian belt. Fig. 5 (page 22) is a topo- 
graphic map of this formation, and shows the relation of the amphi- 
bolite to the peridotite and the location of the various openings that 
have been made I'm corundum. There has been but very little sys- 
tematic mining for corundum in this locality, and most of the work 
lias been in the nature of prospecting. Numerous cuts and pits have 
been made at a greal many points on the formation, most of which 
have shown the presence of corundum. The principal work is at the 
east end of tin' formation, near the contact of the dunite with the 
gneiss, where a shall LO f eel deep was sunk partially on the contact 
vein. A number of open mils in this same vicinity have penetrated 
into the same vein. This vein is different from mosl of the corundum 
veins in the peridotite rocks, in thai it is composed essentially of 
plagioclase feldspar and hornblende, which bear a similar relation, to 
each other as the feldspar quartz and mica in the pegmatitic dikes. 
PI. X I, . I, is a general view of the Buck Creek formal ion. showing the 
shaft mine and the location of the contact vein thai lias been opened. 
With this exception all the pits and cuts thai have been made are 
within the formation itself, and where they encountered corundum it 
was in small pockets, the remains of Larger dunite veins. PL XL />', 
shows one of these dunite veins. From the amount of corundum 
exposed by prospecting and the work done in the shaft, there is with- 
out doubt a Large amounl of corundum associated with these perido- 
tite roeks, and if the mine were more accessible to the railroad it 
would offer one of the best corundum prospects in the country. At 
the present time, however, the nearest shipping poinl is Murphy, which 
is over LO miles to the west. The nearest point on the Murphy branch 
of the Soul hern Railway is only L8 miles, to which a good road can 
be built that would not cosi much more than the first L 8 miles of the 
road to Murphy. Buck (feck offers ample water supply for running 
a mill sufficient to clean whatever corundum would be mined here. 
This property is also owned by the International Corundum and Emery 
Company, of New York. The ore is not difficult to clean, and, as far 
as can be judged from a superficial examination, should make a com- 
mercial product that can be used in the manufacture of the vitrified 
wheel. 
Blur Ridgt corundum tracts.— Under this head are included the 
Long bands of corundum-bearing quartz-schist that have been found 
in the southeastern part of the county and in the adjoining- county of 
Georgia (Rabun County): Parallel bands of this corundum-bearing 
schist have been followed for a number of miles close to the summit 
of the Chunky Gal and the Yellow mountains. As is stated on page 35, 
the amount of corundum in this schist is probably not over 5 per cent, 
and with such a low percentage of corundum these rocks are not to be 
considered, at the present time at least, as a source of this mineral. 
