COPPER  DEPOSITS  IN  GEORGIA. 
By  Walter  Harvey  Weed. 
A  large  number  of  localities  are  known  in  Georgia  at  which  copper 
minerals  have  been  found  in  greater  or  less  quantity.  About  thirty 
years  ago  several  deposits  of  pyrrhotite  carrying  chalcopyrite  were 
worked  in  the  southern  extension  of  the  Ducktown,  Tenn.,  copper 
belt.  Upon  the  exhaustion  of  the  rich  black  sulphide  and  oxide  ores 
these  properties  were  abandoned,  and  nothing  has  been  done  in  recent 
years.  The  records  show  that  the  ore  bodies  are  somewhat  smaller 
than  those  farther  north,  but  the  grade  and  mineral  character  of  the 
ore  is  the  same,  so  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  these  deposits  proving 
of  economic  value. 
In  the  Dahlonega  district  the  gold  veins  have  long  been  known  to 
contain  occasional  bunches  of  copper  ore,  but  so  far  as  known  none  of 
these  veins  offer  any  prospect  of  becoming  copper  producers.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  well-marked  vein  occurring  about  6  miles  east  of  Dah- 
lonega contains  a  large  mass  of  pyrite  carrying  an  average  of  3  per 
cent  of  copper.  This  property  is  being  actively  developed  and  prom- 
ises to  become  an  important  producer  of  pyrite,  which  will  be  used  in 
the  manufacture,  not  only  of  sulphuric  acid  but  of  copper,  which  will 
be  extracted  from  the  sinter  left  after  roasting  the  ore.  This  deposit 
was  described  by  Mr.  Eckel  in  Bull.  213,  but  its  features  are  so 
unusual  that  it  is  worthy  of  further  notice.  Like  the  Dahlonega  gold 
veins  this  deposit  occurs  at  the  contact  between  the  micaceous  schists 
and  a  mass  of  altered  igneous  rock.  An  examination  of  the  locality 
by  Mr.  Eckel  showed  that  there  was  no  ground  for  the  current  and 
long-prevailing  belief  that  the  rocks  of  this  district  are  of  pre-Cambrian 
or  Cambrian  age. 
Another  deposit  of  copper  ore  occurs  at  Villa  Rica,  Carroll  County, 
Ga.,  where  pyrite  containing  copper  is  mined.  In  estimating  the  use- 
fulness of  such  pyrite  deposits  as  producers  of  copper  it  must  be 
remembered  that  experience  the  world  over  has  shown  that  the  cop- 
per contents  gradually  decrease  with  depth,  though  the  pyrite  remains 
unaltered  in  quantity  and  quality. 
For  the  last  three  years  development  work  has  been  in  progress 
180 
