106 GOLD AND TIN DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 
about $45. It is said that the average of a shipment of ore from these veins gave smelter 
returns of $56. The mill was then erected, but at best saved only 60 per cent of the assay- 
value, and a sample from the tailings pile showed a content of $34 per ton. The writer 
was told that the mill and the one table used were crowded, causing incomplete amalga- 
mation and concentration, and that much fine pyrite was lost. The tailings certainly are 
very fine, and it is probable that a large proportion of slimes was formed. It would seem 
that the use of lighter stamps with 'low discharge and plentiful water feed and of both con- 
centrators might raise the efficiency of extraction. More development might well be carried 
on, however, before further outlay is made on experiments in extraction. 
The Dorothy vein strikes about N. 32° E. and dips about 80° SE. It ranges in width 
from 18 inches to 3 feet, with an average of about 30 inches. The outcrop is plainly visi- 
ble for several hundred feet. A shaft has been sunk 106 feet on it and short levels run in 
each direction from the bottom. This shaft, being located high above a small creek 
which flows across the rock structure between it and the Schlegelmilch shaft, is dry. The 
air in the bottom is bad and necessitates the running of a blower when work is going on. 
But little ore has been taken from this place. It is said that the values fell from about 
$35 near the surface to less than $20 near the bottom of the shaft. 
Darwin mine. — At this old mine, about 2 miles northeast of Smiths Ford of Broad River, 
little is now to be seen except the prominent outcrop of a northeastward-trending quartz 
vein, probably 5 or 6 feet wide. One or two pits and a shallow shaft on the vein are now 
so filled in that they expose nothing of interest. Little indication of sulphides is to be 
seen, although it is said that pyrite and chalcopyrite were fairly abundant. a The vein is 
reported to have been irregular, inclosing numerous horses of the wall rock and thus adding 
to the cost of mining. According to Lieber « some success attended the early operations. 
No work has been done for many years. 
Ross c& Carroll mine. — About three-fourths of a mile north of the Darwin mine is a quartz 
vein on which mining has been done intermittently for a long time and which was last 
worked some years ago by Messrs. Ross & Carroll, of GafTney, S. C. It is often spoken of 
as the Wolf Creek mine. The vein, 2 to 1\ feet wide, outcrops on a prominent ridge and 
has been opened by several pits for about a quarter of a mile. At Wolf Creek the ridge is 
cut down fully 150 feet. The vein continues on the northeast side of the creek, and most 
of the workings, a tunnel and shallow shaft, are on that side. About fifteen years ago a 
stamp mill was erected at the creek and considerable ore put through. It is understood 
that the large proportion of pyrite, in which the gold was mainly contained, made the per- 
centage of recovery low. The writer was told that a few tons of rich ore were hauled to 
Blacksburg for treatment, but that the returns, $52 per ton, were disappointing. 
McGill mine. — This mine, a fraction of a mile northeast of the Ross & Carroll mine, is 
said to be on the continuation of that vein. Work was done many years ago, and again 
somewhat more recently by Maj. J. F. Jones, of Blacksburg. The vein is said to split up 
toward the northeast into a number of small veins too narrow and low in grade to be of. 
profit. On the main vein two shafts, 90 and 80 feet deep respectively, were sunk and 
some good ore was taken from certain pockets or shoots rich in sulphides. It is learned 
that this ore averaged about $25 per ton. 
McCaw mine. — About 2 miles southwest of Smyrna and 1 mile southeast of the McGill 
mine is a property worked in 1904 by Mr. W. B. McCaw, of Yorkville, S. C. A quartz 
vein striking N. 50° E. and dipping very steeply to the northwest occurs in a much decom- 
posed schistose rock, probably amphibolite. The vein, which is something over 2 feet 
wide, has been proved for about 200 feet by several pits. A shaft 35 feet deep was sunk 
on the vein and drifts 30 to 40 feet long run in each direction. A little stoping was done 
above these drifts and a few tons of ore have been shipped, the value assigned being about 
$25 per ton. Pay ore was found only in bunches in the vein and values are said to have 
pinched out in the bottom, although the vein itself continues downward. The shaft is sit- 
uated in low ground, and in consequence fills with water nearly to the collar when pumping 
a Lieber, op. cit., vol. 2, pp. 56-57. 
