62 CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, 1902. [bull. 213. 
Age of the gold-ore deposits. — The statement has frequently been 
made that the gold-bearing quartz veins of eastern United States are 
of pre-Cambrian age. While this may be true of certain areas, there 
seems to be little evidence anywhere in its favor. Gold-quartz veins 
occur, on the other hand, in Ocoee (Cambro-Silurian) rocks in Georgia 
and Tennessee, while in New York the three authenticated occurrences 
of gold-quartz veins are all in rocks of Lower Silurian age. 
In the Dahlonega district, even if the country rocks be regarded as 
pre-Cambrian in age (which the writer would not be inclined to be 
lieve), the structural relations of the ore deposits are such as to make 
it certain that they are not pre-Cambrian. It is possible, indeed, that 
the gold-quartz veins were not formed until late in the Paleozoic. 
PYRITE DEPOSIT IN THE DAHLONEGA DISTRICT. 
The most interesting development of the last year in the Dahlonega 
district has been the opening of a large high-grade body of pyrite in 
the vicinity of the town. The occurrence of this mineral in at least 
one bod}^ of workable size has been known for some time, but until 
1902 the deposit had not been opened up sufficiently to justify any 
statement as to its value. During the last year, however, exploitation 
has been carried far enough to permit some idea being formed as to 
the size, uniformity, and grade of the deposit. 
The writer visited the mine in September, 1902, in company with 
Mr. N. P. Pratt, and the present description is the first based on an 
actual examination of the workings, as access to the incline and tun 
nels had been denied to all previous visitors. 
The property of the Chestatee Pyrites Company is located aboul 
6 miles from Dahlonega, in a direction a little north of east. The 
openings are located on the south side of the Chestatee River, aboul 
2 miles west of its junction with the Tessantee. 
The outcrop of the pyrite body has a direction about N. 45° E. 
while it dips at an angle of about 45° to the northwest. On examin 
ing the stratigraphy it is found that in position, form, and associa 
tions this pyrite deposit closely resembles the typical gold deposits 01 
Dahlonega, as described on pages 59 to 61 of the present bulletin 
The pyrite forms a "bedded" vein at this point, being conformable 
to the quartzose mica-schists which overlie it on the west. The rod 
adjoining the pyrite on the east, however, is of the same type of horn 
blende-schist as that described above in connection with the Dah 
lonega gold veins. As with those deposits, the pyrite body occurs 
on the contact between a normal (and possibly sedimentary) mica 
schist and a hornblende-schist, which is a much metamorphosee 
igneous rock of early date. 
The deposit has been thoroughly opened at two points, in additio 
to the pits and trenches which have been dug in order to test the con f 
tinuity of the deposit. The northeastern opening is a tunnel, drivei 
