CORUNDUM TN UNTTKD STATES. 121 
tioii itself, ;ni(l where tliey eiiconnlered (•onindum i( was in small 
pockets, the remains of lar<ier interior \'eins. 1*1. XIII, />, shows 
one of these interior veins. From the (luantity of eornndnm exposed 
by prospecting and the work done in the shaft, there is withont 
doubt a large quantity of cornndum associated with these peridotite 
I'ocks, and if the mine were more accessil)le to the railroad it would 
oifer one of the l)est corundum ]:>roi)erties in the State. The nearest 
point on the Muri)hy branch of the Southern Railway is 18 miles, 
over a good road. Buck Creek offers amj^le w^ater supply for run- 
ning a mill sufficient to clean wdiatever corundum would be mined 
here. This property is also o^vned by the International Corundum 
and Emery Company, of NeAv York. The ore is not difficult to 
clean, and, as far as can be judged from a superficial examination, 
should make a commercial product that can be used in the mamifac- 
ture of tlie vitrified wdieel. 
In the green amphibolites lying betAveen the peridotite and the 
gneiss and penetrating into the [)erid()tite, corundum of a delicate 
pink to ruby-red color is found quite abundantly. At the top of the 
ridge on the w^est side of the creek several tons w^ere mined. On ac- 
count of the refractoriness of the amphibolite it is not a profitable 
ore to work. 
Herhert mine. — Near the northwestern end of this peridotite mass, 
which extends out from the main mass, is the Herbert mine, wdiich is 
ow^ned by the North Carolina Corundum Company aiid is indicated 
on the map, page 30. The corundum has been found in a number 
of veins containing seams from 3 to (> inches wdde of almost massive 
corundum. As the main portion of the peridotite mass is farther 
to the east, the largest deposits of corundum w^ill undoubtedly be 
associated with this main mass of the peridotite, but there is evidence 
from the work done by this company that there is a commercial 
deposit of this mineral at the Herbert mine. PI. XIV gives a view 
of the main workings of this mine. The N^orth Carolina Corundum 
Company has erected a complete mill for cleaning and preparing the 
corundum for market. This company has also constructed a graded 
road 18 miles in length from the mine to the railroad. A mass of 
solid yellow corundum weighing 125 pounds w^as found near this 
iocalit}^ on the property of Mr. Hugh Ferguson, of Pittsburg, Pa. 
L^hel mine. — This mine is at the foot of the southern slopes of the 
Chunky Gal Mountain, and w^as formerly known as the Shooting 
Creek mine. It is on the headw^aters of Shooting Creek and along 
the side of the Macon-Clay county road. I'he corundum occurs in 
an am})hibolite dike, wdiich is so badly decomposed that very little of 
it remains, except as included masses of the original rock. The sur- 
rounding rock is also very badly decomposed. The tenacious charac- 
