48 GOLD AND TIN DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 
again on the 100-foot level, 75 feet west of the shaft, indicating a dip to the northwest, 
which also corresponds with the interfoliated dike. Here at the 100-foot level it would 
seem from the descriptions that the two dikes of pegmatite unite. It is not known how 
much cassiterite was present in the pegmatite encountered in this last work. Operations 
at the mine were stopped in the summer of 1905. Water was first encountered at 45 feet 
and has necessitated vigorous pumping since the shaft reached the depth of 65 feet. 
The cassiterite occurs in the decomposed kaolin, mixed with mica near the surface, but 
at greater depth the ore becomes hard and fresh. Some of the fresh ore is comparatively 
rich, carrying, probably, over 10 per cent of metallic tin. The average of all the pegmatite 
broken in the mine is said to have been about 0.7 per cent metal. In joints in the fresh 
amphibolite little scales of yellowish sulphide with radial structure were found. It had 
been suggested' that this might be a tin-bearing sulphide, but it proved to be simply pyrite. 
It may be that there is some connection between the ore shoot and the intersection or junc- 
tion of the two pegmatite dikes. No relation was observed, except that the pitch of the; 
two seems to be the same. The junction of the two dikes is apparently west of the ore shoot. 
A little placer tin has been obtained in and near the small stream just east of the mine 
FAIRES MINE. 
The Faires mine is located on the property of Mr. E. C. Faires, about 1 mile southwest of 
Kings Mountain station. The Carolinas Tin and Development Company, of Gaffney, S. C. 
holds an option on it. Some work was done during the summer of 1904, but operations 
were suspended in the autumn. Besides numerous pits, the workings consist of a shaft 40 
feet deep and about 200 feet of drifts and crosscuts at its bottom. Hoisting is done by 
means of a windlass and bucket. 
The country rock here is a dark-colored schist, which is probably amphibolite, although 
decomposition has been so great that a final decision can not be reached. A few hundred 
feet east of the shaft is a prominent outcrop of quartzite. These rocks strike N. 20° to 30 
E., and dip steeply to the northwest. Interfoliated with or cutting at low angles across th 
schist are several dikes of pegmatite. One of the largest dikes seen in the region occurs 
not far west of the shaft, where it outcrops conspicuously and can be traced for a considerable 
distance. Its actual width is not shown, but may be 20 or 30 feet. The step-like outcrop 
of this dike affor4s a good illustration of the irregularity of these deposits. Faulting is 
suggested, but the true explanation is probably found in the presence of several near-by 
overlapping or en echelon lenses. A short distance east of the shaft are the croppings of a 
quartz-tourmaline vein. 
The pegmatite of the Faires mine is the quartz-mica variety, but in most places contains 
more feldspar than that of the Jones mine. The large dike above mentioned contains con- 
siderable spodumene and small green apatite crystals along with albite, quartz, and musco-] 
vite. The smaller dikes contain no spodumene so far as known, but rather more feldspar. 
Muscovite mica is abundant in nearly all the dikes. A considerable quantity of float tin has 
been found upon the surface in the vicinity of one of the narrower dikes. A rather perfect 
double pyramid, weighing about three-fourths of a pound, was found in 1904, and a lump, 
part of a single individual, without crystal faces, was later found near by. It weighs about 
1^ pounds. 
A pit where the float was most abundant exposed a dike of pegmatite about 3 feet wide. 
This dike strikes about N. 30° E. and dips steeply northwestward, being consequently nearly 
or quite parallel to the foliation of the schist. The dike appears not to be continuous, but to 
be made up of narrow sections w T hich pitch steeply to the northeast, and are separated by a 
thin mass of foreign matter, presumably decomposed schist. This division into strips may 
be due to the faulting which in the underground workings is seen to have taken place. One 
of these sections exposed by the pit contains a promising proportion of cassiterite, esti4 
mated at 10 per cent. 
The shaft was started just east of the outcrops of this dike. At its bottom, 40 feet below 
the surface, a crosscut about 40 feet north-northwest cuts what is probably the same dike. 
