MISCELLANEOUS  NONMETALLIC  PRODUCTS. 
FLUORSPAR  DEPOSITS  OF  SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS. 
By  H.  Foster  Bain. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Location. — The  fluorspar  mines  which  are  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
occur  in  Pope  and  Hardin  counties,  in  the  extreme  southern  portion 
of  Illinois.  The  principal  mines  are  near  Rosiclare,  Elizabethtown, 
and  Cave  in  Rock,  small  towns  on  the  Ohio  River,  in  Hardin  County. 
An  important  group  of  prospects  is  located  in  the  northwest  part  of 
Hardin  County  and  the  northeast  part  of  Pope  Count}7,  and  there  are 
minor  occurrences  at  various  other  points  in  these  counties,  as  well  as 
in  Saline  and  Johnson  counties.  The  area  forms  the  northern  part  of 
the  Kentucky-Illinois  district,  the  southern  part  of  which  has  been 
described  by  E.  O.  Ulrich  and  W.  S.  Tangier  Smith. a  The  Illinois 
mines  have  been  briefly  described  in  the  State  survey  reports6  and  by 
S.  F.  Emmons,  who  some  }^ears  since  spent  a  few  days  in  the  area.c 
History  of  development. — The  Illinois  mines  were  first  developed  in 
1812,  and  were  for  many  years  worked  intermittently  for  lead.  At  a 
later  period  the  dumps  which  had  accumulated  in  the  course  of  the 
lead  mining  were  reworked  for  fluorspar,  and  still  more  recently  min- 
ing has  been  directed  mainly  to  the  production  of  the  latter  mineral. 
For  many  }^ears  the  Rosiclare  mine  was  almost  the  only  producer,  the 
Empire,  Fairview,  and  others  being  idle  much  of  the  time.  The  rise 
in  the  price  of  zinc  in  1899  attracted  attention  to  the  district,  since 
zinc  ores  occur  sparingly  in  it.  A  great  deal  of  prospecting  has  since 
been  carried  on  in  the  hope  of  finding  bodies  of  that  mineral.  The 
general  failure  to  find  important  deposits  of  zinc  ore  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river  has  directed  renewed  attention  to  the  fluor  spar,  and  a 
determined  effort  is  now  being  made  to  enlarge  the  market  for  this 
product. 
"Contributions  to  economic  geology,  1902:  Bull.  U.S.  Geol.  Survey  No.  213,  1903,  pp.  205-213. 
6Geol.  Survey  Illinois,  vol.  1,  1866,  pp.  350-375. 
cTrans.  Am.  Inst.  Min.  Eng.,  vol.  21,  pp.  31-53,  1893. 
505 
