DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR .

THE

FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS

OF

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

BY

H. FOSTER BAIJST

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1905

CONTENTS.

Pago.

Letter of transmittal.....---............-.....---..--.....-...-.--......- 9

Introduction.-_-_..._..._.._.,__.__._.__...._.___.._._.__.__._--..._--..._ 11

Location ......................................................... 11

? History of development ............................................. 12

. Previous geologic work............. ............................... 1.3

Scope of this report.....................:......................... 14

Physiography............................................................. 14

General relations ............................ ........................ 14

Topography ..............................................:........... 15

Karbers Ridge........................................... 15

Upland plain . ......-....--....-....--....-.--...-.-..--- 16

River valleys ---.......---.-......-...-..'.-...-..--...-... 16

Geology ................................................................. 17

General statement................................ '. ............ ...... 17

Description of sedimentary formations ............................... . 18

Devonian rocks ................................................... 18

Ohio shale................................................... 18

Character ......'......................................... 18

Thickness ............................................... 19

Distribution.................................:............. 19

Name -..---...-.,...........-.....---.....--.....-.-.--. 19

Carboniferous rocks .--...........-........-........-.-.'.-...-... 19

Tullahoma formation ...................................... .. 19

Character ....-...'........................ .........-....- 19

Thickness ............................................... 20

Distribution and relations................ ^.............. 20

Name and correlation ........... ......................... 20

St. Louis limestone ........................................... 20

.. Character ............. '..... .............................. 20

Thickness .......... ...................................... 20

Distribution and relations................................ 21

_ Name and correlation. _.-----..-..-.....-----.--_-------- 21

Ste. Genevieve limestone -.....-..-.--..-.._.--.....--....-..- 21

Character and thickness............ ...................... 21

Distribution .......................... .................. 22

Name and correlation..................................... 22

Cypress sandstone .....-..-.-.....-.......---.....---..--..-. 23

Character and thickness.--...........--....-..---.-...-.. 23

Distribution and relations................................ 23

Name and correlation............... .........----....... 23

Tribune limestone ............................................. 24

Character and relations .--.....-.-.--.-.-.-.-.......-.-... 24

Birdsville formation _.......-............-.....-....-.---.-... 24

Character ............................................... 24

Thickness-....-..-....-.-...-.---.-..--.-.....--.-..----. 25

Distribution .............'...-.-------------..---.-------- 25

Name .....--.-.-..----..--.-.-.-----..----------------.- 25

3
4 CONTENTS.

Geology Continued. PageDescription of sedimentary formations Continued. 

Carboniferous rocks Continued.

Mansfield sandstone...-__-._..-..._.__._..___._____.__.__.___ 25

Character......'.......................................... 25

Distribution ....-.._-_-._...._-___.._._._..._._...._._._...- 26

Name and correlation .......'...................... ._,.. 26

Tertiary deposits.--_._-------._.-_.._-_....._____._._._._..___.._. 26

Quaternary deposits -'--_-..-._-.._.._ ............................ 27

Loess loam ....... .._._.____.___..,...__.._________,___.._.__.__ 27

Alluvium ----._-._..-_.._.__._.___.__.__-__.___.____.___.___. 27

Description of igneous rocks ......................................... 27

General statement................................................ 27

Orr's landing ...................... ..._......_.......... 28

Eosiclare quarry._...'______.__.____..________.___._._.__. 28

Downey's bluff.----..-.........-....-.-..-.-..-...-.--... 29

Soward farm ............................................ 30

Mix farm................................................ 30

Golconda................................................ 30

Geologic structure .................................................... 31

General relations ................................................. 31

Hicks dome...--._......._.:. ................................... 31

) Faults........................................................... 32

Quartzite reefs................................................... 33

Dip................................................................ 33

Geologic history ...................................................... 34

Periods of sedimentation ......................................... 34

Deformation and intrusion of igneous rocks....................... 35

Period of erosion ..................^............................. 35

The ore deposits.. ........................................................ 36

General character. .^................................................. 36

Minerals present ............................ .......................... 36

Gangue minerals --....-........ ................................... 36

Fluorite.................-.......'...'..........-------- 36

Calcite ..........:......... ............................ 37

Quartz .................................................. 37

Barite................................................... 37

Dolomite ................................................. 38

Kaolin....................... ........ ................. 38

Original metallic minerals.-........-.......-.-..-.--.. .'........... 38

Galena ............................................ 38

Blende..... ............ T .;..........:.................... 38

Pyrite ................................. .............. 39

Chalcopyrite -.......----.-.....-....,.-..--........ .-.-.-- 39

Stibnite.........-......--......-....-..-.-.--..---.- 39

Secondary minerals .................... ............--.-..----.-. 39

Cerussite .............. ................................... 39

Smithsonite..................................... .......... 39

Limonite ................ ............-.-..-.......-.-.-.-. 39

Malachite...-.--..--........-..----...-.-.-.------..-.-.-. 39

Copper -_-....-.--..-.-.-...... --..---.----:.------.----. 39

Paragenesis and association ..................-.......-..--.------ 40
CONTENTS. 5

The ore deposits Continued. Page.

Mode of occurrence..__.__._.__...-.-._______.__._._--__._..-..-.---_- 40

Form and character of the ore bodies..................... .40

Ore shoots ...... -...-.-....--..--..-..-....-....--.-.----. 41

Structural relations..----..-.-..------__-..-..-.---.._--. 41

Relations to topography and underground water level .... 42

Alteration of ores.. ._ ......'. ............ -..........---.-.. 42

Age----..---.---...-------.-.----------..-.------_---.--. 43

Genesis and value..-.....-..-..-.....-......-...-....-..- 48

Description of mines and prospects................................... 48

^ Rosiclare area....................'.-..-.-.-..................--.-. 48

Resume of geology. ....I................................. 43

Fairview mine.-....-.-----------.-.-.-----.---.--..-.-..- 44

Rosiclare mine........................................... 45

Blue vein__..______,-...-.--. ............................ 47

Daisy vein.....-.....-..-.-.....--.......-..-....-...--... 47

Clementvein .._-...------.----.-.-.-..---..------------- 47

Hicks area..... ............. .-.-...:.-.--.......-.-................ 48

Resume of geology...-......:---.---.-......-............. 48

Empire mine.-..-.----.. --.-....---..-.-...........-....- 48

Hubbard shaft.........-......................'............. 50

Big Joe mine .......-.----.-.----.------.-..--..-.--.--.. 50

Hutchinsonmine ..,.--...... ..--...'--.....-.-..-...-... 51

Rainey mine........-----.-.....-............. ............ 51

Baldwin mine .-...,------....-:. .-..-...--...--..... 51

Hicks mine .........-----.--.....-..--..--..-.-.-.-.-.... 52

Hamp mine............---.-.---..-.-,.-...-..---..-.--.-.- 52

Scattered mines in Hardin County.......... ........................ 52

General statement..-----.-...--..------........-----.--. 52

, Pellmine.--.........-.-..--....----.-.-.--..--......--.... 53

Stewart mine .......-.......-.-.-.-...-.--.-.--..-...-... 53

Oxford and Watson mine ................................ 53

Cook mine...-..--.._-...-..--..---.----- ...... ..---....---- 53

Parkenson mine ....- .-..-.....---..--...--.....-.--...... 53

Gordon mine ..--...-..----.-....-...-.. ................ 54

Lead Hill................................................. 54

Eureka mine ........................ ....--..-.-....-.... 58

Scattered mines in Pope County.................................. 58

General relations ...----.-...--.-.--...--- --....------.-. 58

Pittsburg mine ......--..-.-..--.-.-.-.....-.....--..-.-. 58

McClellan mine.....---.---.-..-..-....-..--.--.----.--.-. 59

Luella mine............................... ..-.....--.-..,. 59

Taylors Spring........................................... 59

Moore mine..........-.------....--.-.-..-...-....--.--..-. 59

Wright mine _-...-..-.---.-.-............-....-....-.... 59

Golconda prospects ..-.--......-.-----..-.-.--..-..--..--- 60

Bay City mine .--.-..--..------.-,..--------..-......--.. 60

Mines in Saline County .....-..--....-...-.--....-.---.........--- 60

General relations .....-.-.-...--..--..-..--......--...... 60

King and Fergnsen mine ............ .---.....-.-..-....-. 60

Big Four mine.--..----------------------....-....--.---- 61
6 CONTENTS.

The ore deposits Continued. Page.

Genesis of the ores ..........................................^......... 61

Original source of material ...................................... 61

, Ore minerals .....-...--..------....--............--..-...--..- 61

Gangue minerals ...-.--..-..----.--.......-...-.- ...-...-.-- 63

Process of concentration .............. ........................... 66

Economic importance and future of the district ........................... 67

Sources and uses of fluorspar ..................... ................ 67

Future production........I.... .................................. 69

Guides for prospecting ...-'--.--..--...---..................-.... 70

Index ..........^......i................................................. 71
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

PLATE I. General geologic map of the Kentucky-Illinois fluorspar district.. 14

II. Geologic map of the Rosiclare district:........-.--....-.-----...- 18

III. Geologic map of the Hicks district...... ...-......-....--..-.--- 22

IV. Map and cross section, Rosiclare to Karbers. Ridge ____---.-.--_. 30

V. Interbanded fluorspar and limestone from Lead Hill. ............ 54

VI. Photomicrographs of fluorspar bands in ore body at Lead Hill... 56

Pia. 1. Sketch showing areas covered by detailed maps -..--..... ----------- 11

7

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

Washington, D. <7., July 16,1904.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of 

a paper entitled " Fluorspar Deposits of Southern Illinois," by 

H. Foster Bain, and to recommend that it be published as a bulletin.

This paper embodies the results obtained in a detailed study of the 

fluorspar deposits of this important district, the study having been 

undertaken in connection with the investigation of the lead and zinc 

deposits of the Mississippi Valley region. The area coverecUis at 

present the most important producer of fluorspar in the Tinned 

States.

Very respectfully, C. W. HAYES,

Geologist in Charge of Geology. «

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director United States Geological Survey.

9

THE FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.

By H. FOSTER BAIN.

INTRODUCTION.

LOCATION.

The fluorspar mines which are the subject of this report are 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 Countv. An imporFIG. 1. Sketch showing areas covered by detailed maps.

tant group of prospects is located in the northwest part of Hardin 

County and northeast part of Pope County, and there are minor 

occurrences at various other points in these counties and also in 

Saline and Johnson counties. The area forms the northern part of 

the Kentucky-Illinois district. Its outline and general situation are

11
12 FLUOBSPAK DEPO8ITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BOLL. 255.

indicated on the accompanying map, PL I. In fig. 1 are indicated 

the particular areas surveyed in detail in the preparation of this 

report.

HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT. .

Attention seems to have been first attracted to the KentuckyIllinois district by the occurrence of the brilliant colored fluorite. 

In early American geologic literature there are numerous references ° to this fluorspar, or " fluate of lime," as it was then called. It 

was usually noted as coming from Shawneetown, 111., since that was 

the nearest town of any size. The galena which occurs associated 

with the fluorite was probably noticed very early in the nineteenth 

century, but it was not until some years after the settlement of the 

country that any serious attempt was made to mine it. The first 

important mining venture seems to have been that of a company 

headed by President Andrew Jackson, which undertook development 

near the site of the present Columbia mines, in Crittenden County, 

Ky., in 1835. In Illinois the first mining was at Rosiclare in 1842. 

Lead was mined and smelted at various points in the district previous 

to the civil war, though it seems never to have been remunerative in a 

large way. Various observers speak of the mining as having been 

stopped, or as being carried on in only a small way from 1851 6 to 

1876.° As late, however, as 1884 competent observers considered 

some at least of the properties worthy of development .for lead alone,d 

and there is even now a small output of lead.

In Illinois fluorspar seems to have been first discovered in place in 

1839, when it was encountered with galena in sinking a well on the

Anderson farm, now the property of the Fairview Fluorspar Company. In 1841 a second well not far from the first also encountered 

the lode, but no attempt seems to have ever been made to exploit 

either of these finds. In 1842 Mr. William Pell discovered spar and 

galena somewhere near the site of the present Eosiclare mine, and 

Marshall and White undertook its development. Frpm that time on 

mining appears to have been carried on more or less continuously in 

this vicinity, at first under the direction of certain well-known Mis-

» Am. Jour. Sci., 1st ser., vol. 1, 1818, pp. 52-53; vol. 2, 1820, p. 176; vol. 3, 1821, p. 

243. Schoolcraft, H. R., A View of the Lead Mines of Missouri, 1819, p. 191. Cleaveland, Parker, Mineralogy, 1822, p. 202. Brush, J. G., Am. Jour. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 14, 

1852, p. 112.

"Norwood, J. G., Geol. Survey Illinois, vol. 1, 1866, p. 367. Owen, D. D., Geol. Survey Kentucky, vol. 1, 1856, p. 87. Whitney, J. D., Rept. Geol. Survey upper Mississippi 

lead region, 1862, p. 205.

c Norwood, C. J., Geol. Survey Kentucky, vol. 1, new ser., 1876, p. 493.

<* Bilers, Anton, and Raymond, R. W., Manuscript report on the property of the Mineral 

City Mining and Smelting Company, Hardin County, 111.
BAIN.] HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT. 13

souri operators, Messrs. Valle, Anson, and others, and in recent 

years with the ownership in local and eastern hands.

Shipments of fluorspar began apparently in the early seventies, and 

since 1880 have been regularly reported. In 1891, when the district 

was visited by Mr. S. F. Emmons, large bodies of spar had been developed, though, as seems to have been usually true since the beginning 

of mining in this region, only one or two mines were actually shipping.

Zinc was early noted a in the district and from time to time small 

trial shipments were made. With the rise in the price of zinc in 

1899, a period of active prospecting for zinc ore began. The discovery of the Old Jim mine in Kentucky stimulated the search and the 

whole district was gone over with considerable care by local prospectors. Very few important deposits of zinc ore were found, but 

the size and purity of the fluorspar deposits became for the first time 

adequately appreciated. There has since been an active and intelligent campaign to widen the market for spar and to increase its production. Incidentally some lead and zinc is being found and mined, 

though so far no important bodies of either have been developed in 

the Illinois portion of the district.

PREVIOUS GEOLOGIC WORK.

The Kentucky-Illinois district has been visited by but few geologists. The official reports of the States include brief reports B upon 

the district. Aside from these the most important paper is one by 

Mr. S. F. Emmons,0 which was based upon a brief visit to the Eosiclare mines made in 1891. Mr. J. S. Diller a has published a description, with analysis, of the mica-peridotite forming the Flannery dike 

in Kentucky, based upon specimens collected by Mr. E. O. Ulrich. 

Brief notes upon the mining industry have been published by Mr. W. 

E. Burk,e and a description of the Old Jim mine has been given in 

the Engineering and Mining Journal.f Short notes on development of the district have been given in connection with the statistics 

of production annually published by the United States Geological 

Survey in the Mineral Resources, and notes on the fluorite as a mineral have appeared in other parts of these volumes.

"Owen, D. D., op. cit., p. 87.

6 Kentucky: Owen, D. D., Geol. Survey'Kentucky, vol. 1, pp. 87-88. Norwood, C. J.,

Geol. Survey Kentucky, new set-., vol. 1, .1.876, pp. 440-493. Illinois: Worthen, A. H.,

Engclmann, Henry> and Norwood, J. G., Geol. Hardln County, Geol. Survey Illinois,

vol. 1, 1866, pp. 350-375. Engelmann, Henry, Massac and Pope counties, Geol. Survey

, Illinois, vol. 1, 1866, pp. 428-495.

0 Fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois': Trans. Am. Inst. Mln. Eng., vol. 21, 1893, 

pp. 31-53.

« Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 44, 1892, pp. 288-289.

"Mineral Industry, 1901, vol. 9, pp. 292-295. 

. ' Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 74, 1902, pp. 413-414.
14 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255. 

SCOPE OF THIS REPORT.

The present paper is essentially a preliminary statement of results 

based upon work done in 1903 in the Illinois portion of the KentuckyIllinois district. In this work the writer had the field assistance of 

Mr. A. F. Crider, and the benefit of both field and office consultation 

with Mr. E. O. Ulrich, whose thorough familiarity with the Kentucky' 

mines and the stratigraphy of the entire region contributed greatly 

to the work. Mr. Albert Johannsen has furnished petrographic notes, 

which are incorporated in the general description of the dike rocks. 

The report is intended to supplement the fuller discussion given by 

Mr. Ulrich and Mr. W. S. Tangier Smith of the district in general 

and the Kentucky mines in particular.* Brief statements concerning 

both portions of the district have already been published.6

PHYSIOGRAPHT.

GENERAL RELATIONS.

The Kentucky-Illinois fluorspar district lies well toward the middle of the Mississippi Valley, that great level-floored basin which 

occupies the continental interior of the United States. The district 

is somewhat nearer the Appalachian than the Kocky Mountain border of the valley and about midway between the Great Lakes and the 

Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi Valley, though a monotonous plain 

when contrasted with its surroundings, has been differentiated into a 

number of physiographic provinces, which stand in somewhat marked 

contrast with one another. Of these, three the Allegheny Plateaus, 

the Gulf Plains, and the Ozark Plateau meet within this district, 

while the Prairie Plains join it on the north.

The Allegheny Plateaus are represented by the Interior Lowland, 

as defined by Mr. C. W. Hayes.c This occupies much of the mining 

district in Kentucky and includes the upland between the Ohio River 

and Karbers Ridge, in Pope and Hardin counties, 111. The Gulf 

Plains include the southern portion of Pope and the adjacent part of 

Massac County, in Illinois, and that portion of Kentucky which lies 

west of the Tennessee River. The more exact limits are shown, covered with Tertiary and Cretaceous deposits, on the accompanying general geologic map of the district (PL I). The Ozark Plateau is represented by a long, narrow ridge of highland stretching across southern Illinois from about Grand Tower, on the Mississippi, to Shawneetown, on the Ohio. This plateau is represented in Pope and Hardin

0 Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 36, in press.

6 Ulrich and Smith, Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 213, 1903, pp. 205-213. Bain, Bull. 

U. S. Geol. Survey No. 225, 1904, pp. 505-511.

c Hayes, C. W., Southern Appalachians : Mon. Nat. Geog. Soc., vol. 1, 1895, p. 310.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 255 PL.l

\ . ' ^ -J ! af-gJli, '

\ To-k iNf^G/H

ROSiCLARE

FAIRVIEW

LEAD HILL

EUREKA

H AMP

EMPIRE

HUBBARD

STUART

PELL

MCCLELLAN

pirrsBURG

WRIGHT

BAY CITY

COLUMBIA

MEMPHIS

OLUJIM

TABS

18 SATTERF1ELD

19 DODOS 

ZO SENATOR

21 KODGE

22 ROYAL

23 MANN

LEGEND

JULIUS BIEN iCO.LITH.N.Y.

Cretaceous 

andTerLiai*v

Pennsylvania] i 

f CoQi^ieasiires)

Devonian

(Blackstate}

Dikes

GENER\L1ZED GEOLOGIC MAP

OF THE

KENTUCKY-ILLINOIS FLUORSPAll DISTRICT

Scale

1904

15 miles
WAIN.] PHYSIOGRAPHY. 15

counties by Karbers Ridge, and its northern limit is defined by the 

South Fork of Saline River and certain tributaries of the Big Muddy. 

The Interior Lowland has in this area a general altitude of 500 feet. 

It merges with the Gulf Plains along a sinuous line marking the overlap of Tertiary deposits upon an erosion plain beveling older rocks. 

It abuts sharply against the Ozark Plateau, which rises abruptly 

200 to 250 feet above it, and which also overlooks the Prairie Plains 

to the north, which lies here at a general altitude of about 450 feet. 

Below the Interior Lowland and the Gulf Plains the Ohio and other 

rivers of the district have cut important channels to a general controlling base of 300 feet.

TOPOGRAPHY.

Karbers Ridge Crossing the northern portion of Pope and

Hardin counties is a belt of high land presenting an abrupt escarpment face to the south. It is limited on the south approximately 

by the southern boundary of the Mansfield sandstone (see PI. I). 

The escarpment rises 150 to 200 feet above the rolling plain at its 

base. The ridge itself is narrow and in Pope County reaches out 

in long, finger-like minor ridges between the southward-flowing 

streams. The main ridge rises to TOO or 750 feet above sea level, 

and is the most notable topographic feature of southern Illinois. 

As already indicated, it extends westward to the Mississippi, beyond 

which it is represented in the Ozark Plateau. To the east it becomes 

less and less distinct until lost in the uplands of western Kentucky..

In Hardin County it has a general east-west course and is excellently displayed. In T. 3 N., R. 8 E., and T. 3 K, R. 9 E., it is very 

sharply defined, the southward-fronting escarpment forming a great 

frowning wall. In Pope County the trend, of the escarpment becomes more southwesterly. About 5 miles northwest of Golconda it is 

crossed by the road to Raum, the ridge here forming a narrow projecting point of high land between the branches of Lusk and Little 

Grand Pierre creeks. It rises here to nearly 800 a feet above sea, 

approximately 230 feet above the general upland at its base and 

500 feet above the river at Golconda. Farther west it has not been 

especially studied.

On the north side the ridge in Gallatin County presents an 

even more striking front. From its base stretches the great plain 

of central Illinois, underlain by the soft beds of the Coal Measures. 

Farther west the northern boundary is not so well defined.

Various names have been applied to this ridge at different points. 

There has been as yet no adequate physiographic study of the region 

as a whole, and for the present no attempt need be made to define and

a All elevations are based on barometer determinations and are approximate only.
16 ' FLUOESPAE DEPOSITS OF 80UTHEBN ILLINOIS. [BOLL. 255.

name the entire ridge. For convenience that portion developed in 

Pope and Hardin counties will be called by the local name " Karbers 

Ridge," a name also applied to a small village at the base of its south 

front.

Upland plain. At a lower level and extending southward from 

Karbers Ridge to the Ohio River is a rolling, broken plain sloping 

gently from about 600 feet elevation at the north to 500 feet at the 

south. While somewhat irregular in detail, it is in general a markedly level plain. The high Shetlerville Hills rise somewhat above it, 

but aside from them all the country south of Karbers Ridge in Illinois is at or below the level of this plain. In Kentucky there are 

several hills which rise above it, and in both States the rivers and 

their tributaries have reduced considerable areas to a lower level. 

Along the north side of the' Ohio such a lower plain is locally developed between Elizabethtown and Cave in Rock. Here a strip approximately parallel to the river and 2 miles wide has been reduced 

to an altitude of about 440 to 460 feet. North of this strip the country rises very abruptly to 550 or 600 feet, after which the even 

upland plain is preserved, except for the interruptions due to river 

valleys, to the foot of Karbers Ridge. North of Golconda there is a 

distinct bench at about 480 feet above sea, while above that, at 550 to 

575 feet, is the general upland plain.

The upland plain is developed upon various sorts of rocks. Limestones, sandstones, and shales outcrop at various points within its 

limits, and all have been cut down to a common level. Locally the 

individual formations influence the topography, as northeast of 

Elizabethtown, where the St. Louis limestone underlies the lower 

plain mentioned, and as in the case of the Shetlerville Hills, twin 

peaks, conspicuous from every point upon the upland, which are 

largely composed of the hard sandstone and conglomerate of the 

Mansfield. The plain is a true peneplain and marks an ancient baselevel of erosion. It was formed at a time when the surface of the 

earth was undisturbed for so long a time that the streams broadened 

their valleys until the hills between were almost entirely cut away. 

The time at which this occurred is approximately fixed by the fact 

that in southern Pope County the plain passes very gradually beneath 

the gravels and sands which are believed to be of Tertiary age. In 

southern Illinois also this plain marks the northwestern limit of the 

Interior Lowland, whose age has been fixed as Tertiary at a number 

of points."

River valleys. Into the upland plain the rivers have cut their 

valleys. For the most part these are rather narrow and sharp walled. 

The Ohio, the master stream of the area, has a low-water level of 290 

feet from Golconda to Elizabethtown. It flows between high rock

a Hayes, loc. cit.
BAIN.] TOPOGKAPHY GEOLOGY. ' . 17

walls for the greater part of its course. At 345 feet there is at several 

points a wide development of bottom land, as at Elizabethtowii, Rosiclare, and near the mouth of Lusk Creek at Golconda. From Bay 

City the low land extends west in a broad belt, known as the Bay 

Bottoms, to Cache River, in Johnson County. In periods of flood an 

independent connection between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers is 

established by this route. At Rosiclare the bottom is likewise subject 

to overflow. The Ohio makes the impression of being very imperfectly adjusted to its valley. The great Bay Bottoms cut directly 

through the upland, but are traversed by only insignificant streams, 

while at various points along the Ohio the valley seems none too 

large for the stream. The arrangement of tributaries is also erratic. 

Near the mouth of Grand Pierre Creek are tributaries which head 

within a few feet of the Ohio, but flow northward and by a roundabout way into the minor stream. There are no topographic maps of 

the region and no good drainage maps, so that it is unsafe to make 

many generalizations. It seems clear, however, that the streams are 

poorly adjusted and that they show evidence of superposition. Their 

courses Avere for the most part determined when the present upland 

was a lowland, and with its uplift they have cut directly downward 

without much adjustment through hard and soft rocks alike. The 

most important tributaries of the Ohio Big Creek, Grand Pierre 

Creek, and Lusk Creek have cut back across the upland until their 

headwaters are at work upon the south slope of Karbers Ridge. At 

several places the tributaries of these streams on the south and those 

of the Saline River on the north have cut entirely through the ridge, 

forming passes or gaps. Packers Gap, near the headwaters of Gr$ id 

Pierre Creek, is one of the best known. \

GEOLOGY.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

Both igneous and sedimentary rocks occur in this district. The 

former are represented in a number of dikes found near the Ohio 

River and are all, so far as known, of the same general class of 

rocks. The sedimentary formations represent four different systems Devonian, Carboniferous, Tertiary, and Quaternary. The 

Devonian outcrops are confined to a limited area in northern Hardin 

County; the Tertiary gravels are found only in southern Pope 

County; the Carboniferous occupies the larger part of the territory, while the loess loam of the Quaternary extends as a thin 

mantle over the Avhole. The Carboniferous rocks consist for the 

most part of formations belonging to the Mississippian series, the 

Mansfield sandstone alone representing the Pennsylvanian. In the 

Bull. 255 05 M 2
18 FLUORSPAE DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BOLL. 255.

division and classification of the Carboniferous, the scheme used 

by Mr. Ulrich in his discussion of the adjacent Kentucky district 

has been adopted in its entirety, with the exception that, as a matter 

of practical convenience in preliminary mapping, the dividing line 

between the St. Louis and the Tullahoma is drawn at a slightly 

higher horizon than the one recognized by him, and the Spergen 

Hill discriminated by him between the St. Louis and the Ste. Genevieve was not recognized in the course of this work. Mr. Ulrich considers the Birdsville and Tribune formations the equivalent of 

Kaskaskia as originally defined, and these with the Cypress and 

the Ste.' Genevieve as making up the Chester. In the earlier work 

of Engelmann and Worthen a the lines were somewhat differently 

drawn, but for reasons which Mr. Ulrich has elsewhere discussed it is 

impracticable to follow them exactly. A general tabular arrangement of the formations is presented below.

Table of formations, southern Illinois.

System.

Tertiary ...........

Carboniferous .-.-..

Devoniaii .... ... .

Formation.

Lafayette (?) ......

Mansfield -..-.-.-.

Birdsville -......-.

Tribune -...--..._.

Cypress ...... ......

Ste. Genevieve .... 

St. Louis -.._-.-_-.

Tullahoma ........

Ohio.... ..........

Character.

Gravels.

Sandstone and conglomerate.

Sandstone, shale, and thin limestones.

Limestones.

Heavy-bedded sandstone.

Oolitic limestones.

Chert and limestone.

DESCRIPTION OF SEDIMENTARY FORMATIONS.

DEVONIAN ROCKS. 

OHIO SHALE.

Character. The Ohio shale as developed in this area is a black, 

fissile shale or slate. It splits in very thin sheets parallel to the 

original bedding and is very uniform in character. The only exception to this statement is that at the top a thin bed was observed which 

Mr. Ulrich considers the equivalent of a similar bed forming the top 

of the formation in middle Tennessee.** In it there are small, rounded

« Geol. Illinois, vol. 1, pp. 76-83, 348-495. 

"Geologic Atlas U. S., folio'95, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 2.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 255 PL.

Elizabethto

GEOLOGIC MAP

OF THE

RO SIC L ARE D1S TRIC T

osiclare

O 

ownev Bluff ILLINOIS

BY

H.FOSTER BAIN, ASSISTED BY 

E.O.ULRICH AND A.F. CRIDER

LEG EN D

L amp rophy re

(dikes and sheets)

Mansiield 

sandstone

(sandstone and 

conglomerate/

Strike and dip

JULIUS BIEN ft CO.L1TH
CAIN.] DEVONIAN AND CAKBONIFEEOUS BOCKS. 19

pebbles of black material, probably phosphate of lime. There is also 

a certain amount of a green, flaky material, probably glauconite. 

This bed is very thin.and was observed at only one point.

Thickness. The total thickness of the. formation is unknown, as 

its bottom is not exposed and there are no drill holes passing through 

it. A careful estimate was made by Mr. IJlrich and the writer; at 

least 50 feet are exposed, and probably 100 feet or more are present. It is difficult to make an exact estimate owing to imperfect 

exposures and variable dips.

Distribution. No exposures of the shale are known except in the 

vicinity of Hicks, in Ha rdin County. The shale here outcrops over 

two areas, as indicated on PL III. It is found here in the bottom of 

streams, but is covered by younger rocks of the hills. It occurs in a

series of exposures showing dips outward from a common center and 

indicating that it is brought to the surfa.ce in a low dome. The general relations are indicated on the special map of the Hicks area and 

in the cross section from Rosiclare to Karbers Ridge (PL IV).

Name. in. the older publications this shale was referred to merely 

as the Devonian black shale. It is believed to be the equivalent of the 

Chattanooga shale of Tennessee, the New Albany shale of Indiana, 

and the Ohio shale of Ohio. The latter, being the oldest geographic 

name used for it, is adopted in the present discussion. -"

CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS. 

TULLAI-IOMA FORMATION.

Character. The Tullahoma, as developed in Hardin County, consists for the most part of flint or chert. It includes some shale and 

a subordinate amount of nonmagnesian limestone, but the latter is 

rarely exposed, as it has usually been dissolved, and merely a gentle 

talus slope of flint fragments remains. Mr. Ulrich, in discussing 

the formation as developed along Hicks Branch, recognizes the following divisions:

In the basal 50 feet the shales predominate in the ratio of about 2 to 1. In 

the next 50 feet the layers of shale and chert constitute about equal proportions of the mass, while an occasional layer of limestone is intercalated. In 

the third 50 feet the shale decreases to little or nothing, while the chert and 

limestone bands alternate mid are about equally important. In the fourth 50 

feet shales are practically absent, the limestone lias become somewhat heavier, 

though irregularly bedded, and the chert is proportionately less abundant. At 

the top there are 25 feet or more of slightly clierty, light-colored, massive 

or laminated limestone, containing fenestellid Bryozoa.

In this report the line between the Tullahoma and the St. Louis 

is draAvn at the top of these beds or at the lowest ledge marked by 

the common presence of the easily recognized coral Lonsdalia (Litho-
20 FLUORSIJAK DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. I.UULL. 255.

strotiori). Mr. Ulrich would class.the upper 25 feet of strata as 

above described with the succeeding formation rather than with the 

Tullahoma.

Thickness. Exact measurements of the thickness of the formation 

are not available, but checked estimates, based upon dip measurements and barometer observations, place it at 200 to 225 feet.

Distribution and relations. The Tullahoma outcrops in northwestern Hardin County in a belt around the dome of Ohio shale 

near Hicks. Its area of outcrop is limited in turn by a similar belt 

of St. Louis limestone, the next succeeding formation. So far as 

known the formation does not come to the surface elsewhere in these 

counties, though it is quite possible that small areas are exposed in 

the faulted region east of that represented on the Hicks special map. 

In Kentucky, Mr. Ulrich has recognized the formation near Smithland and near Princeton. It rests with slight uncomformity upon 

the Devonian shale below. The relations to the St. Louis are less 

clear, and it can only be stated that there is no obvious unconformity 

in the>Hicks area.

Name and correlation. The name Tullahoma is derived from a 

locality in Tennessee, where it was applied by Safford in 1900 to the 

equivalent beds. The formation represents early Mississippian time, 

including probably that within .which the Kinderhook, Burlington, 

and Keokuk formations were deposited along the Mississippi. It 

shows only general faunal relationships to these formations, and it 

is impracticable to make detailed correlations with them.

ST. LOUIS LIMESTONE.

Character. The St. Louis limestone is for the most part a finegrained, dark-colored rock, breaking with a sharp conchoidal fracture. It is moderately thin bedded and apparently nonmagnesian. 

It is characterized by the presence of abundant chert nodules, which 

are irregularly rounded and are most marked along bedding planes. 

They frequently show a distinct concentric structure, and individual 

nodules 3 to 4 inches in diameter are very prominent and characteristic on weathered or fractured surfaces.

The St. Louis limestone is apparently exceptionally soluble, and 

its areas of outcrop are marked by numerous sink holes, which often 

contain ponds of water. The irregular surface and large number of 

ponds remind one strongly of a drift-covered surface.

Thickness. A thickness of 105 feet of limestone is exposed at Jacks 

Point on the Ohio, near Elizabeth. The beds have a low dip, which, 

if maintained, would give a total of several hundred feet as the thickness exposed along the Ohio, but of this there is no certainty. Mr.
HAm.] . CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS. 21

Ulrich estimates the thickness of- the formation in this district at 300 

to 400 feet.

Distribution and relations. The St. Louis outcrops over a considerable area in Hardin County. In the vicinity of Hicks it surrounds 

the belt of Tullah'oma, and is itself surrounded by the Ste. Genevieve. 

To the southeast of Hicks it is cut off by a fault (PL IV), which 

brings it into juxtaposition Avith the Birdsville and the Mansfield 

sandstones. To the east and beyond the limits of the detailed maps 

the relations are less certainly known, but faulting seems to have 

largely determined the boundary lines of its areas of outcrop.

The limestone covers a considerable area adjacent to the Ohio River 

and extending from Cave in Rock to Rosiclare. It extends from the 

river back to Lead Hill, a maximum distance of 3 miles, and its north 

boundary is in part at least determined by a fault plane, At Elizabethtown the limestone is well displayed in the river bank and may 

be seen immediately in front of the Rose Hotel. It is exposed at 

intervals down to the small stream entering the river a quarter of a 

mile below Orr's landing, where the Ste. Genevieve limestone makes 

its appearance. The relations of the two are not altogether clear. 

The rocks along the stream dip toward it on either side, and the presence of barite, fluorspar, and quartz seems to indicate a certain amount 

of fracturing of the rock. There is, however, no certain evidence of 

faulting, and the relations may be those of simple conformity. Between this point and Big Creek Bridge (PL II) there are practically 

no outcrops. At this point the relations of the St. Louis to the Ste. 

Genevieve are almost certainly those of faulting, such as quite certainly are the relations of the St. Louis and the Cypress sandstone.

Name and Correlation. St. Louis is a well-known name, long 

applied to the beds here mapped under it. Engelmann, in his early 

work in this region, correlated these beds with those exposed and 

studied at St. Louis, and there are no reasons for questioning his 

conclusions.

STE. OENEVIEVE LIMESTONE.

Character and thickness. The Ste. Genevieve limestone is in many 

instances lithologically similar to both the St. Louis limestone below 

and the Tribune above. It is fine grained, medium bedded, and nonmagnesian. Its most common distinguishing characteristic is the 

presence of massive oolitic beds, which may easily be distinguished 

from the occasional beds of oolite in the other formations by their 

thickness, massiveness, and light color. The formation has also an 

abundant and characteristic fauna which is readily recognized. Amplexus geniculatus and Platycrinus huntsvilli may be mentioned 

among the most widespread of its characteristic fossils. Mr. TJlrich
22 . FLUOKSPAK DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BOLL. 255.

recognizes three members within the formation. They may be de-. 

scribed as below:

Generalized section Ste. Genevieve limestone, southern Illinois.

Thickness 

'in feet.

Ohara member. Limestone, fine grained, thin bedded, in part shaly and 

always associated with shale________________________ 30-107.

Rosiclave member. Calciferous sandstone; in weathered exposures 

showing much sand and usually marked cross-bedding; in uuweathered surfaces predominantly calcareous material and easily 

overlooked ______________________________ 1-25

Fredonia member. Mainly oolitic limestones, white and light blue, 

interbedded with crinoidal, crystalline, and fine-grained limestones_ 113

Total ___i______.____________._..___.________ 144-245

While the whole of the formation is fossiliferous, the Ohara member is particularly so, the shaly bands being crowded with fossils. 

One of these bands, occurring usually about 30 feet above the Rosiclare sandstone and being about 8 feet thick, forms a horizon easity 

recognized and hence of considerable importance in stratigraphic 

work. From it at Shetlerville the following fossils, as determined 

by Mr. Ulrich, were obtained:

Zaphrentis pellsensis. Cleiothyris sublamellosa.

Amplexus geniculatus. Cleiothyris hirsuta.

Pentremites florealis. Seminula trinuclea.

Spirifer leidyi. Dielasma formosa.

Spiriferina norwoodi. Dielasma turgidum.

Spiriferina transversa.

Distribution. The Ste. Genevieve limestone is very widely distributed in both Pope and Hardin counties. It is shown on the 

accompanying maps (Pis. II and III), both surrounding the St.

Louis limestone near Hicks and outcropping between it and the 

Cypress sandstone in the Rosiclare area. In addition, it occurs both 

east and north of Cave in Rock, near Shetlerville, Eichorn, and at 

various other points which will be more particularly noted in 

describing the various mines. Its significance in the present discussion arises from the fact that the important ore bodies so far 

found have been in most cases closely associated with this limestone.

Name and correlation. In the work of Engelmann and Worthen 

the Ste. Genevieve limestone was not discriminated from the St. 

Louis and the general group to which the name Chester was applied. 

The Fredonia member seems to have been considered to belong with 

the St. Louis, while the Eosiclare and Ohara members were sometimes 

included with the overlying beds and sometimes not.0

These discrepancies came mainly from the fact that faulting was 

not recognized as important in interpreting the stratigraphy of the

a See sections, p. 78 and p. 397, Geol. Survey Illinois, vol. 1, 1866.
CARBONIFEROUS
BAIN.] CAEBONIFEROUS BOCKS. 23

district. Mr. Ulrich recognizes these beds as the equivalents of 

those to which Shumard originally gave the name Ste. Genevieve in 

Missouri, and that name is accordingly applied to them here.

Princeton limestone is a name for the beds which has obtained, a 

certain amount of local use, but which is considered synonymous 

with Ste. Genevieve. On account, principally, of the affinities of its 

fauna, Mr. Ulrich regards the Ste. Genevieve as the base of the 

Chester group. < Mr. Keyes tt considered it to belong to the St. Louis, 

to which it is much more closely related lithologically than to the 

overlying Cypress sandstone.

CYPRESS SANDSTONE.

Character and thickness. Above the Ste. Genevieve is a massive to 

heavy-bedded sandstone almost wholly quartzose. So far as has 

been observed, this formation contains very little shale or argillaceous

matter. The lower portion of the sandstone is characteristically 

heavy bedded, but the upper portion is somewhat thinner bedded to 

flaggy. Near the middle is frequently a thin bed of chert-bearing 

limestone carrying a characteristic fauna..

The thickness of the formation in this area may be estimated at 

80 to 100 feet.

Distribution and relations. No attempt has been made in the maps 

so far prepared to separate the Cypress from the Tribune and Birdsville. It would be possible to do so only on good base maps and with 

time for detailed studies. The Cypress sandstone is doubtless present at many points in both Hardin and Pope counties, but may easily 

be confused with certain phases of both the Birdsville and the Mansfield. It may, however, be seen typically developed at both Rosiclare and Shetlerville. At the former localit}^ it caps the Ste. 

Genevieve limestone in Downeys Bluff, the basal heavy-bedded sandstone being present. At Shetlerville these basal beds are less typically exposed, but the thin limestone member and the overlying 

flaggy sandstone were recognized by Mr. Ulrich.

Name and correlation. Cypress sandstone is a name originally 

proposed by Engelmann b for this formation. Equivalent beds have 

been called Big Clifty sandstone by Mr. Norwood,0 and Aux Vases by 

Mr. Keyes.d In the early geologic literature of the region most of 

the exposures of this sandstone were referred to the " Ferruginous 

sandstone," a term also applied at times to what is here called the 

Mansfield sandstone.

0 Geol. Survey Missouri, vol. 4, 1894, pp. 30, 76. 

6 Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci., vol. 2, p. 189. 

0 Geol. Survey Kentucky, new ser., vol. 1, p. 369. 

" Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 3, p. 296.
24 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

TRIBUNE LIMESTONE.

. Character and relations. At the Fairview mine the foot wall of 

the vein at the surface consists of a coarse, crystalline, nonmagnesian 

limestone, light gray to white in color and. containing minor quantities of oolite and of chert. The following fossils were collected from 

it and recognized by Mr. Ulrich : "

Zaphrentis spinulifern. Zeacrinus manhiforrnis.

Pentremites godonii. Lyropora rana.

Pentremites pyriformis. Lyropora subquadrata.

Pentremites tuberculata. Spirifer increbescens.

Stenopora cervinus. Spirifer leidyi.

On the basis of these fossils he determined this limestone to be the 

same as that at Tribune, Ky., representing the middle Chester. It 

is impossible at Fairview to determine much regarding the relations 

of the limestone. It is cut off on all sides by faults, and it's thickness 

is somewhat uncertain. The shaft at a depth, of 200 feet shows similar limestone on the foot wall. Whether it is indeed the same or 

represents the Ste. Genevieve can not be positively ascertained, since 

it is impossible to make a complete examination of the wall rock from 

the top to the bottom of the shaft. At the first or 30-foot level Eilers 

mentions calcareous shale, and at the same level disintegrated sandy 

material may now be observed. This may possibly represent the 

Cypress sandstone, and, if so, the Tribune would here have a thickness, of less than 50 feet. The Tribune limestone has not been definitely recognized at any other point in the two counties, though 

there are at a number of points thick limestones which may possibly 

represent it. At none of them, however, were the fossils found which 

are considered to be peculiarly characteristic of it.

BIRDSVILLE FORMATION.

Character. This formation includes sandstones, shales, and limestones. In distinction from the Cypress sandstone below and the 

Mansfield above, the Birdsville sandstones are particularly thin 

bedded. They seldom show massive character, and do not, so far as 

observed, give rise to sharp bluffs and canyons. They frequently 

grade into shales, becoming less and less sandy until true argillaceous shale is found. The latter is occasionally thin bedded, black, 

and fissile, and contains thin coal beds. Interbedded with the shale 

and the sandstone are thin limestone beds. The latter are usually 

somewhat argillaceous and are chert bearing. They are usually only 

a few feet thick, though one body having a maximum of 50 feet 

occurs in the formation.

The general impression of the formation as a whole which one 

gains from traveling over it is that it is mainly a sandstone. It may
T-.AIN..I OARBONIFEBOUS EOCKS. 25

usually be discriminated from the sandstones above and below by the 

interbedded limestones and calcareous shales, which are easily recognized by the common presence of various species of Archimedes. . Thickness. Not enough detailed observations were made in Illinois; to allow an estimate of its thickness to be made. Mr. Ulrich 

estimates it at 400 to 680 feet, and it can only be said that so far as 

general impressions go this estimate seems sufficiently conservative.

Distribution. The Birdsville is the most widespread of the Chester formations in southern Illinois. It outcrops over much of Hardin, Pope, and various counties to the west. On the maps accompanying this report the greater portion of the area assigned to the 

Birdsville, Tribune, and Cypress formations, which for convenience 

are mapped together, is really occupied by the Birdsville: Outside 

of these areas the larger portion of the region shown on the general 

map (PI. I) as underlain by the Mississippian has the Birdsville 

formation at the surface. The particular areas underlain by the 

earlier formation have already been described.

Since the Tribune limestone is not generally recognized, its absence 

is presumably due to faulting, by which the Birdsville and Cypress 

are brought together. Such faults are not easily detected, since 

rocks of similar lithologic character are brought into juxtaposition. 

In the Rosiclare area there are probably a number of such faults 

which are not indicated on the special map (PI. II). The sandstone in the western part of section 28, for example, is presumably 

Cypress, since it rests in apparent conformity upon the Ste. Genevieve, 

and shows a normal erosion ecfge. In section 30 the sandstone at the 

surface is interbedded with thin limestones, characteristic of the 

Birdsville, and yet between the two there is neither any sign of the 

Tribune limestone nor of a fault such as the stratigraphy calls for. 

This raises a question as to the integrity of the Tribune formation, a 

question which can not be settled on the basis of the evidence locally 

available. The determination must accordingly rest upon Mr. Ulrich's 

wider studies, and on this basis faulting would have to be inferred as 

indicated.

Name. The name Birdsville was given to the formation by Mr. 

Ulrich from the typical exposures near Birdsville, Ky.

MANSFIELD SANDSTONE.

Character. The topmost member of the Carboniferous within the 

district is a massive to thick-bedded sandstone, which is especially 

characterized by the common presence of small well-rounded pebbles. These are mainly of clear white quartz, but some chert is also 

present. In the absence of the pebbles it is difficult to distinguish 

the Mansfield from the Cypress and certain beds in the Birdsville.
26 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. tBOLL. 255.

It is quite possible that outliers of it have been overlooked. It very 

commonly carries small flakes of mica, and these are rare, at least 

in the' other sandstones. This fact is of material assistance in recognizing it. The formation seems to rest unconformably on the Birdsville.

Distribution, The Mansfield sandstone outcrops around the northern arid eastern sides of the district, and its edge practically marks 

the limit of the productive territory. It rises in sharp bluffs, forming Karbers Kidge, as already discussed. South of this escarpment 

there are a number of outliers formed of fault blocks let down into 

the older formations. A few of them are indicated on the general 

map. No attempt has been made to map all of them, and the Mansfield has not been especially studied in the course of this work, and 

no estimate of its thickness was made.

Name and correlation. The name used here for these beds is that 

adopted by the Indiana geological survey. Formerly the beds were 

commonly referred to as the Conglomerate measures or the Millstone 

grit. The Mansfield forms the base of the Pennsylvanian series of 

coal measures and is regarded as of late Pottsville age.

TERTIARY DEPOSITS.

In the southern part of Pope County, including the highland south 

of Bay Bottoms, scattered pebbles and thin beds of gravel make their 

appearance on top .of the Carboniferous formations. The pebbles are 

well rounded and seemingly waterworn. They vary in size from a 

half inch to two inches in diameter and exhibit considerable heterogeneity as to both composition and material. Pieces of quartz, quartzite, sandstone, and chert are common. The chert frequently contains 

fragments of fossils, so far as observed, of common Carboniferous

species. The pebbles were not observed elsewhere in the district, 

but near the old shaft immediately east of .the main working shaft 

of the Rosiclare mine there are numerous similar pebbles scattered 

over the surface. Among them was one rounded and apparently 

waterworn pebble of galena showing quartz crystals in a small druse. 

It is possible that these represent remnants of a former extension of 

the formation. In general all the pebbles observed are such as might 

have been derived from the destruction of local formations.

No special study of these gravels was made, nor were the green 

sands, said by Worthen to accompany them in Pulaski County." 

examined. Worthen determined these beds to be of Tertiary age, 

Mr. McGee 6 has referred them more specifically to the Lafayette 

formation.

« Geol. Survey Illinois, vol. 1, 1866, pp. 44-47.

»Twelfth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1891, p. 469.
BAIN.] DE8CBIPTION OF SEDIMENTARY FORMATIONS. 27

QUATERNARY DEPOSITS. 

LOESS LOAM.

Throughout the two counties there is commonly a surface material 

of light-buff, pebbleless clay or loam. This is spread as a thin mantle 

over the underlying rocks, and over the flat uplands, in particular, is 

widespread. On the slopes it is eut away or so mixed with residual 

material as to be indistinguishable. In places the sand contributed 

to it by the decomposition of the local rocks is very abundant. In 

other places, however, it exhibits all the characteristics of upland 

loess of the glaciated area farther north, and it is doubtless a phase 

of one of the older loess sheets which have been there discriminated.

ALLUVIUM.

Along the Ohio and many of its tributaries are numerous broad,

flat bottom lands underlain by alluvium. No attempt has been made 

to discriminate them on the accompanying maps, nor has any study 

been made of the interesting and complex river history which they in 

part record.

DESCRIPTION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

The discovery of intrusive igneous rocks in Illinois was very recent.- 

In 1889 Mr. Ulrich, while working for the Kentucky Geological Survey, discovered the Flannery dike in Crittenden County, Ky., and in 

1892 Mr. J. S. Diller described the rock. From time to time other 

dikes were found in that State, until now a considerable number are 

known. In 1902 Mr. W. S. Tangier Smith located the Mix dike above 

Golconda, that being the first found in Illinois. In the course of the 

work in 1903 a number of additional dikes were found, and there are 

doubtless others which as yet remain undiscovered. Near Hicks Mr. 

Crider found considerable mica in one of the streams, and Mr. F. 

Julius Fohs has furnished a specimen of a mica-bearing rock picked 

up nearby. So far, however, it has proved impossible to find material 

in place.

The dikes so far found are indicated on the. accompanying maps. 

In no case has a dike been traced any considerable distance, and Avith 

two exceptions they are found only in the bluffs of the Ohio and for 

a short distance inland. The dike in Downey's bluff at Rosiclare 

sends off a thin sheet which is intruded into beds of the Ohara member 

of the Ste. Genevieve. The dike at Orr's landing has a thin stringer 

running off into the St. Louis limestone. With these exceptions the 

igneous rock so far as known occurs only in normal, vertical dikes.
28 FLUOKSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. (.TOLL. 255.

The individual occurrences are described below, grouped by localities, the petrographic notes being by Mr. Albert Johannsen, of the 

United States Geological Survey. He makes the following general 

observations on the rocks, based on an examination of material from 

both the Kentucky and Illinois occurrences:

So far as they can be determined front the altered state of most of the rocks, 

they fall into two groups, mica-peridotites and lamprophyres, the majority of 

the specimens belonging to the latter. In all the specimens (of the lamprophyre) the original minerals are so much altered to calcite that subdivision is 

impossible, for in no case is there any of the feldspar remaining. It is possible 

that there was originally no feldspar, although the disposition of the particles 

and replacement products seems to point in some of the thin sections to a groundmass originally in lath-shaped crystals.

There is a sharp distinction between the mica-peridotites and the lainprophyres, however, in that in the former, olivine, either partially or entirely serpentiuized, is clearly shown, while in the latter there is no indication of its ever 

having occurred; again, in the.latter there is a remarkable and unusual occurrence of apatite. This occurs in nearly all of the lamprophyre. slides in large, 

perfectly fresh, short, thick prisms, their unchanged condition making a striking contrast with the state of alteration of the remainder of the sections. The 

presence of phlogopite in both groups, rather than a more usual variety of mica, 

connects them in a manner.

Orr's landing. About a quarter of a mile below Orr's landing 

(SW. \ NE. I sec. 33, T. 12 S., R. 8 E.) the St. Louis limestone is 

cut near the water's edge by a vertical dike about 10 inches thick. 

This shows, on superficial examination, very little igneous material. 

The bulk of the dike is made up of clastic material, consisting of 

rounded pebbles of limestone and quartzite. These attain a maximum diameter of 6 inches, and, while the country rock is St. Louis 

limestone, they include lithologic types not found in that formation. 

The pebbles are in a matrix of dark calcareous material, in which, on

examination, Mr. Johamisen found much pyrite, some magnetite, 

quartz, and large apatites. He regards it as a lamprophyre now 

nearly entirely altered to calcite. There are 3 to 4 inches of calcite 

parallel to the dike material and separating it from the wall, and in 

small seams intersecting the whole calcite and fluorite are developed 

together. On the east side of the dike a narrow irregular crack leads 

off through the limestone for a number of feet. Along either side 

of this crack the limestone is altered and darkened for about 2 inches. 

This somewhat peculiar dike seems to represent the intrusion of 

liquid and not entirely dry magma into an open crevice partially 

choked by gravel and waterworii material washed in from above. 

There has been apparently some slight alteration of the limestone, 

though the nature of this alteration has not been studied, and whether

O 7

the introduction of the fluorine was incident to it is wholly unknown. 

Rosiclare quarry. In the quarries in the Ste. Genevieve limestone
BAIN.] . IGNEOUS ROCKS. 29

immediately above Rosiclare landing there are two dikes which Mr. 

Johannsen describes as follows:

Megascopic-ally the rock is much altered, and at first sight it appears to be a 

conglomerate with included fragments of shale. These shaly particles are, however, an alteration product of mica, as is shown by thin sections 'under the 

microscope. Microscopical examination shows the rock to be almost entirely 

altered to calcite. Large apatites, iron oxide, chlorite, and serpentine occur.

The two dikes are about 10 feet apart, and are each about 10 inches 

thick. They are vertical and apparently do not mark faulting planes. 

The limestone in contact with them shows no-apparent alteration, but 

parallel with them and disposed on either side are a number of prominent veins of calcite carrying smaller amounts of fluorite. The whole 

system of veins and dikes has a course about N. 45° W.

A single specimen of ordinary diabase was obtained from near1 here 

in the town of Hosiclare. It was found in digging a well, but as the 

relations are not known it possibly represents material brought clown 

the river during Glacial times, and until further data are available it 

can hardly be considered as representing another dike.

Downey^s bluff. In the high bluff between Kosiclare and Fairview 

landings is one of the most interesting of the occurrences. The rock 

is found here both in a well-defined dike, cutting the point of the hill 

with a course N. 31° 30' W., and in a thin sheet intruded between 

beds of the limestone lying above the Rosiclare sandstone member. 

The dike itself is 4 to 5 feet wide. The main sheet running off from 

it is 6 inches thick, and about 3 inches above this is a second sheet 

barely 1 inch thick. The two are connected by very thin stringers 

of igneous material, indicating apparently a condition of high fluidity. The dike does not mark a faulting plane, though on the northwest side of'the hill the sheet is cut off by an east-west fault of 70 

feet, with downthrow to the north. .The dike has been traced to 

the north about 1,000 feet to a spring, beyond which it is either 

cut off by the fault or fails to outcrop because of the presence of 

alluvium.

Despite the penetration of the rock into the thinnest crevices of 

the limestone, there is no macroscopic evidence of the alteration of 

the latter by contact metamorphism. Mr. Johannsen examined a 

number of specimens of the contact rocks, and notes that " there is 

nothing to indicate a .change caused by the intrusion." His petrographic description of the rock, which he determines as a lamprophyre, is as follows: 

Megascopically this is a very dark porphyritic rock, consisting of a finegrained groundmass full of phenocrysts of dark mica and pyroxene. The mica 

generally occurs in basal sections of about 1 mm., though occasionally crystals 

of over a centimeter occur. The crystals of pyroxene are of small dimensions.
30 FLUOESEAE DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BOLL. 255,

Under the microscope the structure is holocrystalline porphyritic, the groundmass being much less in amount than the phenocrysts. The phenocrysts are 

irregular in outline and of varying sizes, and are, in the order of their importance, mica, pyroxene, apatite, iron oxide, and, possibly, perofskite. The mica 

occurs in large crystals and is chiefly phlogopite, with biotite in lesser amount. 

The iron mineral is titanite and, possibly, considerable titaniferous magnetite. 

Pyrite occurs in several of the slides. The pyroxene is usually much altered, 

but in section No. 4 there are remnants of a pleochroic angite. The grouudmass 

is largely altered to calcite. The secondary products are calcite, serpentine 

(from pyroxene), leucoxene, and quartz.

Saward farm. Northwest of Bosiclare (W. -| sec. 31) is an interesting occurrence of dike form which possibly indicates the presence 

of igneous rock a little below the surface. The rock itself is clastic, 

and shows both angular and rounded fragments of limestone, with 

flakes and bits of black shale cemented by a limestone matrix. Some 

very altered ferruginous material may represent igneous rock, but 

this is uncertain. From the mode of occurrence it is possible that 

this represents a fissure filling, largely of material brought up from 

below by the intrusion underneath. It is mentioned merely as a place 

at which it is thought igneous rock may yet be found in situ.

Mix farm. There are two dikes known in Pope County. One of 

them is that discovered in 1902 on the Charles Mix farm, a few miles 

above Golconda (sec. 8, T. 13 S., R. 7 E.). It cuts Chester sandstone, 

presumably of Birdsville age, and has a course about N. 40° W. It 

shows only in the river bluff, and apparently the intruded rock has 

not been in any way altered. Mr. Johannsen determines the rock to 

be a mica-peridotite, somewhat similar to that described by Diller, 

and describes it as follows:

The hand specimen consists of a dark, granular, mottled black and white

groundmass, with phenocrysts of mica and pyroxene. Under the microscope 

they very ' closely resemble the sections of the Flaunery dike. They consist 

chiefly of phlogopite, serpentine, ilmenite, leucoxene, perofskite, magnetite, and 

a little pyroxene and olivine. The oliviue is only partially altered to serpentine.

Golconda. The second occurrence of dike material noted in Pope 

County is that found a short distance west of Golconda, at the Gilbert prospect. This dike is 4 to 5 feet thick, vertical, and cuts Chester presumably Birdsville -sandstone and shale without faulting 

them. Mr. Johannsen describes the rock as follows.:

A pyroxene-larnprophyre, consisting of much calcite, chlorite, iron oxide, some 

phlogopite, leucoxene, and some serpentine after pyroxene and, doubtfully, after 

olivine. The iron oxide is ilmenite, and probably some titaniferous magnetite 

occurring in cubical crystals. A little hematite occurs.
U.S.GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO.255 PL.IV

LEGEND

Lamprophyre j «

I dikes and sTwets .> ' £

Mansfield sandstone

.. saJitLstane (mil

Birisville.Tribiiue 

and Cypress sandstone

''.scfudsrmic and s7t(i2e4ithui

.

/ oolitic limestone.)

Tullahoina limestone

Ohio shale S > 

(black shale) > °

MAP AND CROSS SECTION, RO SIC LAKE TO KAKBRRS RIDOE.TLL.

BY 

H.FOSTER BAIN,ASSISTED BYARCRIDKR ANT) K.O.CLRFCH

ScaJo 

o IE 1 2 3 trailes
BAIN.] . GEOLOGY. 31

GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE.

GENERAL RELATIONS.

The structure of this district stands in marked contrast with that 

of the remaining portion of Illinois. The widespread presence of extensive faulting and the intrusion of igneous rocks set it off sharply 

from the genera] surrounding region. If the Kentucky-Illinois district be considered as a whole, it seems to represent a portion of an 

extensive northwest-southeast monocline or, possibly, the northeast 

half of a dome whose remaining portion has disappeared beneath 

the Tertiary deposits of the Mississippi embayment. To the north 

and east the Mansfield sandstone dips sharply away and becomes 

deeply buried beneath the Coal Measures strata. To the south and

west the beds pass, with little dip and no uniformity, beneath the 

later sediments. Loughridge gives data suggestive of faulting along 

the contact,0 and it may be that'beneath the Cenozoic beds of that 

region there is deeply buried a structural remnant corresponding 

to that remaining on the other side of the district. Be that as it may, 

there are within the district many evidences of local disturbance. 

These include a sharply defined little dome near Hicks, in Hardin 

County, and numerous faults throughout the territory. (PI. IV.)

HICKS DOME.

This is a nearly complete uplift' about 7 miles in diameter. Since 

the black shale of the Devonian is brought up to the topographic 

level of the upper Birdsville within 3. miles, a vertical uplift of at 

least 1,000 to 1,500 feet has taken place. To the southeast the dome 

is cut off by a normal fault of 1,000 feet or more, by which Mansfield 

sandstone is brought into contact with St. Louis limestone. Around 

the edges of the dome, as in the vicinity of the Empire mines, there 

are numerous normal faults, though none of them, so far as has been 

determined, have much throw. Their presence none the less renders 

it improbable that the dome was raised by ordinary lateral thrust 

and indicates rather vertically acting forces. This conclusion is reenforced by the fact that normal faulting, almost exclusively, occurs 

in the district as a whole.

Around the edge of the dome the rocks have quaquaversal dips of 

high angle. Along Hicks Branch, in sec. 26, T. 11 S., R. 8 E., the 

dips are 10° to 20° to the south and west. On the northeast the dip 

in section 17 is 5°. On the southeast, in section 31, it is 11°," and on 

the southwest, in section 35, the.dip is 8°. The dip decreases from 

the center outward. The occurrence of the St. Louis along Hicks

0 Geol. Survey Kentucky, Jackson Purchase Region, 1888, p. 267.
32 FLUOKSPAK DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

Branch, and along a branch of Big Creek in section 20 (PL III), 

indicates a local irregularity in the dome.

There are no known occurrences of igneous rock connected with the 

Hicks dome, but the presence of unusual quantities of mica in the 

streams at one or two points lends color to the suspicion of their 

presence.

FAULTS.

Normal faults are found throughout the two counties. A number 

of these are represented upon the accompanying maps, and their 

particular relation to the ore deposits will be discussed later. The 

throw varies from an imperceptible amount to 1,000 feet or more. 

All the Carboniferous formations are affected. East of Cave in 

Eock the Mansfield sandstone and the Ste. Genevieve limestone are 

brought together. On Hog Thief Branch (sec. 30, T. 11 S., R. 9 E.) 

the St. Louis limestone is brought into contact.with the Mansfield 

and with either Cypress or Birdsville sandstone. In .the region 

beween Elizabethtown and Karbers Ridge there are many faults, 

and rapid changes in strata may be noted in traversing an}^ of the 

roads. In Pope County, from the Ohio and the Bay Bottoms to the 

encircling escarpment of Mansfield sandstone, faulting is a common 

phenomenon, and in Gallatin County (sec. 21, T. 12 S., R. 7 E.) the 

Mansfield itself is cut by faults in numerous directions.

There is no regularity as to the trend of the fault planes, though 

a majority of those so far studied have a general course north of east. 

The individual fault planes are rarely traceable more than 1 or 2 

miles, but along the same general course faulting occurs for 12 to 15 

miles. For example, from the Empire mine (sec. 34, T. 11 S., R. 7

E.) to the Wright prospect (sec. 3, T, 13 S., R 5 E.) there is a succession of prospects and evidence of disturbance of the beds, though 

there is small probability of a continuous fault. From the Rosiclare 

and Fairview mines the general course of the faulting may be projected southwest to Bay City, and along the line frequent evidence 

of disturbances will be found, while at Bay City there is also mineralization.

On the other hand, there is usually clear evidence that the individual faults are of limited length. They occupy en echelon positions and are by no means exactly parallel. This is illustrated on 

the special map of the Rosiclare district, where the various fault 

planes are offset as indicated, and vary in direction nearly 30°. 

This tendency of fault planes to take a course at a slight angle with 

what appears to mark the line of major stress is believed to be the 

expression of a general law. The reason is not well understood, but 

seems to lie in the character of the rocks and the direction of the
BAIN.] GEOLOGIC STEUCTUEE. 33

stress. It is perhaps due to the presence of a slight horizontal element in the latter.-

The fault planes are usually vertical. The Rosiclare vein, occurring along such a plane, has been mined to a depth of 300 feet, and 

in that depth is so nearly vertical that the shaft is still within the 

vein. The Fairview vein has an average dip to the west of 79° 30'. 

The Hamp vein dips S. 68°. The Empire vein dips E. 73°. Even 

these departures from the vertical seem, on the whole, to be exceptional, and the total effect of the faulting has been to divide the 

nearly horizontal rocks into a series of polygonal blocks, \vhich 

have been raised or lowered .with reference to one another, but with 

very little horizontal displacement. This type of structure, while 

perhaps common, has been but little discussed. Mr. G. K. Gilbert 

some years ago pictured ° it, and Powell gave it the name " diverse

displacement." It is, as he remarks, the Kaibab structure on a small 

scale. Recently Prof. W. H. Hobbs has called attention b to faulting 

somewhat similar in character; and in the Globe district of Arizona 

Mr. F. L. Ransome has described an intricate system of small normal 

faults, apparently very much like these.0 In the Columbia folio,d 

Hayes and' Ulrich have mapped one block of strata, evidently 

bounded by similar fault planes, but with this exception the structure has not been described from the Mississippi Valley. Its occurrence here is quite in keeping with the general peculiarities of the 

district, which set it off from the remaining portion of the geologic 

province within which it occurs.

QTJARTZITE REEFS.

The fault planes are commonly marked by the development parallel with them of closely spaced fractures. Where these affect sandstones and the latter have been changed to quartzite by the addition 

of silica, reefs or ridges of quartzite, not unlike dikes in topographic 

expression, are formed. These afford the most obvious means of 

recognizing fault planes. The juxtaposition of rocks of diverse 

lithologic character, such as sandstone and limestone, is also indicative of faulting, though occasionally the outcropping edge of a limestone interbedded with sandstone and shale becomes deceptive.

DIP.

Near fault planes the rocks often dip at a high angle, and this 

seems to be especially true in the western part of the district, where

o Powell, Geology of the Uinta Mountains, 1876, figs. 4 and 5, pp. 16-17. 

» Twenty-first Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 3, pp. 19-162.

c Geology of the Globe copper district: Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 12, 1903, pp. 

97-106.

" Geologic Atlas U. S., folio 95, U. S. Geol. Survey.

Bull. 255 05 M 3
34 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

deformation apparently has been accomplished in part through 

monoclinal folding rather than fracturing. At the Wright prospect, 

near Rock, the sandstone and shale in the creek strike N. 60° E. 

and dip 42° NW. About 500 feet farther west the strike is N. 45° 

E. and the dip 40° SE. About a mile and a half east of Resort (sec. 

9, T. 13 S., R. 5 E.) there is a considerable belt of limestone striking 

N. 35° E. and dipping sharply to the southeast. Near the Luella 

mines (sec. 10, T. 12* S., R. 6 E.) dips as high as 50° were observed, 

and in a belt approximately parallel to the fault plane sandstone, 

shale, and limestone pass successively beneath the surface. Near 

Packers Gap (NE. £ sec. 16, T. 11 S., R. 7 E.) heavy beds of sandstone striking N. 80° W. have a dip SW. 49° and show evidence 

of some displacement between the beds. North of Elizabethtown on 

the Patton land (sec. 21, T. 11 S., R. 9 E.) there is a belt of rocks 

1,200 feet across, dipping 10° SE. and striking N. 30° E. The rocks 

include sandstone, shale, and thin limestones, such as characterize the 

Birdsville formation. There are minor faults and local evidences 

of thrust.

These varying dips are notably irregular, and in no case studied 

did they indicate a regular system of folds. Occasionally, in connection with the displacement, comprehensive stresses have been generated, but these seem to have been entirely local in their effect and 

incident to the general deformation by diverse displacement.

GEOLOGIC HISTORY.

PERIODS OF SEDIMENTATION.

Of the pre-Devonian history of this area nothing is definitely

known. There are no exposures of earlier rocks in the district and 

there are no drill records reaching below the black shale. In the 

adjacent Ozark region, resting on pre-Cambrian granites and porphyries, are Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian rocks, consisting 

largely of magnesian limestones, dolomites, and sandstones. The 

contemporaneous rocks in the region south and east are largely nonmagnesian limestones and shales. In the absence of data it i§ uncertain what kind of rocks were deposited here, and it can only be inferred that in pre-Devonian time the area was one of sedimentation, 

interrupted at intervals by periods of erosion. From Devonian until 

late in the Carboniferous at least, similar conditions prevailed. At 

times the area was covered by the sea and at times it formed part of 

the land. The details of this history have not been made out, and., 

so far as known, are not significant from the present point of view.
BAIN.] GEOLOGIC HISTORY. 35 

DEFORMATION AND INTRUSION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

At some time after the deposition of the Mansfield sandstone, and 

presumably after the deposition of a considerable thickness of coal 

measures, the region was uplifted and exposed to erosion. This may 

well have been merely a recurrence of uplift along a line marked out 

by previous deformation, since in the total unlikeness of the pre-St. 

Louis Carboniferous beds of this district to those along the Missis-' 

sippi to the northwest there is evidence of an old barrier between the 

two provinces. However that may be, the particular uplift mentioned 

was either in the Carboniferous or later. It was accompanied or succeeded by fracturing and diverse displacement, and since this form of 

deformation probably occurs only when the beds are lightly loaded it 

took place either before any great thickness of coal-measure shales 

was deposited over the region or after they were eroded. If account 

be taken of the large amount of erosion which the Mississippi Valley 

has undergone in Mesozoic and Cenozoic time, it seems probable that 

this uplift occurred after a considerable thickness of rocks later 

than any now known in the area was deposited. In central and 

southern Illinois there are 1,000 feet or more of coal measures which 

are unrepresented in Pope and Hardin counties. As these beds are 

nowhere preserved in the fault blocks of the latter area, there would 

seem to have been first an uplift of the district as a whole, followed 

by erosion, and this in turn by fracturing and displacement of the 

individual blocks of strata.

While the hypothesis is not perhaps susceptible of absolute demonstration, the intrusion of the igneous material seems to have accompanied the fracturing and displacement. The relations of the dikes 

to the faults are not clear. In general the dikes seem to occupy fractures along which there is practically no faulting, and the deep fault 

planes are not occupied by igneous material, though they are frequently the locus of veins. The occurrence in the north flank of 

Downey's bluff of a fault cutting the small sheet of peridotite of 

course merely proves that some faults are later than some intrusions.

No attempt to fix more definitely the age of the dikes and deformation will be made, as any suggestion would rest wholly on analogy 

with neighboring regions showing similar phenomena, and there 

are none sufficiently close to give much weight to such suggestions.

PERIOD OF EROSION.

Since the deformation, the faulting, and the intrusion of the 

dike material there has been prolonged erosion of the area. It is 

extremely probable that this erosion has occurred in two or more 

cycles, but of the earlier ones there is now no demonstrable evidence.
36 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

The upland plain previously discussed marks the last of the important cycles of erosion, and its' age has already been suggested 

to be Lafayette or late Tertiary. At the completion of this cycle 

Karbers Ridge, the Shetlerville Hills, and certain areas in Kentucky 

remained as monadnocks rising above the plain. Since its completion the country has been elevated as a whole 200 feet or more, and 

the streams have cut their present channels. This elevation seems 

not to have been continuous, since there are traces of incomplete 

peneplains below the main one and above the bottoms of the rivers.

THE ORE DEPOSITS.

GENERAL CHARACTER.

The ore deposits of Pope and Hard in counties are vein deposits 

occurring along faulting fissures. The vein material consists essentially of fluorspar and calcite, or " calc spar," as it is locally called. 

Associated with these minerals are minor amounts of the lead and 

zinc sulphides, galena and blende. There are also traces of other 

sulphides, notably those containing copper and antimony. Surface 

alteration is relatively unimportant, though some carbonate of zinc 

occurs, and in the adjacent portion of Kentucky one or two bodies of 

it have been mined. No traces of secondary enrichment have been 

observed." Within the area are certain bodies of limonite. which were 

formerly mined, but which are now unimportant. Fluorspar is the 

only mineral now mined in quantity, and the deposits afford, therefore, an instance of what is ordinarily, and was here originally, merely 

a gangue mineral, being the one which giyes value to the ore.

MINERALS PRESENT.

GANGUE MINERALS.

Fluorite. This district is characterized by the peculiar and remarkable abundance of the calcium fluoride, CaF,, corresponding in composition to 51 per cent of calcium and 49 per cent of fluorine (specific gravity, 3.01 to 3.25). This mineral occurs in large bodies of 

unusual purity, shipments running 98 to 99 per cent being constantly 

made. Very little running less than 95 per cent finds sale except at 

reduced price. The mineral is metallized, and in druses and open 

spaces well-developed crystals are not uncommon. On these the 

faces of the cube are best developed, but modifications due to the 

octahedron may be frequently noted. For the most part the fluorite 

occurs in great vertical sheets or veins clearly crystallized, but not 

showing crystal form. The octahedral cleavage is always well developed, so much so, in fact, that jig concentrates consist largely of 

imperfect tetrahedra and octahedra. Cleavage forms are easily ob-
GANGUE MINEEALS. 37

tained, and many very perfect ones adorn local cabinets. In the 

veins a ribbon structure giving the appearance of onyx is occasionally 

seen. This seems to be dependent upon the distribution of coloring 

matter. In general the spar is white, but purple, amethyst, green, 

and golden yellow are also present, in the order of abundance given. 

The cause of the color was not investigated. Mr. Tangier Smith, 

from his studies of the Kentucky fluorspar, concluded that the differences in color were determined by the condition of the coloring 

matter, probably hydrocarbons. presentThe fluorspar is almost universally known by the shortened name of 

spar, and the clear transparent varieties are known as glass spar. No 

fluorine minerals other than fluorspar were found in the region, 

except that in the dike rocks there are unusual quantities of apatite 

and mica, both of which usually contain fluorite.

Calcite. The most universal accompaniment of the fluorspar is 

calcite or calcium carbonate, CaC03 , corresponding to 56 per cent of 

calcium oxide and 44 per cent of carbon dioxide (specific gravity, 2.71 

to 2.72).

This mineral in its impure form constitutes the larger part of the 

limestones of the region and also .occurs in the shales and some of the 

sandstones. It is the common cementing material where the rocks 

have been brecciated or fractured, and occurs alone forming important veins, as well as with the fluorite. It is commonly not transparent 

and rarely occurs showing crystal form, though the usual scalenohedra with rhombohedral terminations occur. The- mineral is not 

itself valuable. It is locally considered an indication of the presence 

of fluorite and the ore minerals, but occurs so commonly without them 

that it is of small value in this particular. Calcite is frequently 

referred to locally as " calc."

Quartz. In connection with the mineralization of the veins, large 

quantities of silica, SiO2 , have been added to that already present in 

the sandstones and other rocks. This silica has been deposited especially between the grains of sand of the original sandstones along the 

veins, firmly cementing the^rock and giving rise to the quartzite reefs 

already mentioned. In druses in the vein and elsewhere the silica 

has also crystallized, forming small pyramidal crystals, some transparent and others jet black.

Barite. Somewhat widely distributed but in relatively smaller 

quantity than the minerals enumerated above is barite, the barium 

sulphate, BaSO4 (specific gravity, 4.3 to 4.6). This occurs as a massive, white, crystalline substance intimately intergrown with the 

other minerals. Occasionally on the free surfaces of druses it shows 

crystal form, small tabular crystals clustered so as to form mammillary aggregations being characteristic. In this it resembles the barite 

occurring in southeastern Missouri. The larger clear crystals, such as
38 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHFRN ILLINOIS. [BOLL. 255.

occur in southwestern Missouri, were not noted, though possibly present. The mineral is locally known by the common name, heavy spar.

Dolomite. The double carbonate of magnesium and calcium, while 

possibly present in occasional small quantities, was nowhere noted, 

though Mr. .Fohs has shown the writer the iron-mariganese-magnesium-calcium carbonate, ankerite, from one of the Kentucky mines. 

Dolomite is probably present, but onty in very small quantity, a fact 

of some possible significance as related to the genesis of the ores.

Kaolin. The hydrous silicate of- alumina (2H2O,Al2O3 ,2SiO2 ) 

occurs near the Pittsburg mine in considerable quantity. It does not 

seem to be directly related to the ores, and its origin is in doubt.

ORIGINAL METALLIC MINERALS.

Galena. The sulphide of lead, PbS, containing 13.4 per cent of 

sulphur and 86.6 per cent of lead (specific gravity, 7.6), is probably 

the most abundant and widespread of the original metallic minerals. 

It occurs in the usual cubical crystals, occasionally showing the faces 

of both cube and octahedron. It is intimately associated with other 

sulphides and with gangue minerals. - The galena of this district is 

argentiferous, at least to a degree notably beyond that of other deposits in the Mississippi Valley. Whitney ° gives an assay showing 

the presence of 9^ ounces of silver to the ton in galena from Eosiclare, and Eilers quotes the statement of the owners of the old Mineral City property to the effect that 8 to 14 ounces were commonly 

found in the ore yielding 12 to 20 ounces in the pig. Whether this 

amount is constant or not is uncertain, and no attempt has been made, 

so far as is known, to save the silver, nor does its presence affect the 

price of the lead.

The lead ore now obtained comes mainly from the jigs employed to 

clean the fluorite, and its production is incidental to the preparation 

of the latter for the market. Large bodies of galena corresponding to 

those formerly mined do not seem to be anywhere in sight at present.

Blende. The zinc sulphide,ZnS (sulphur,33 per cent; zinc, 67 per 

cent; specific gravity, 3.9 to 4.1), locally known as " jack," is, next to 

galena, the most abundant of the sulphides. It occurs crystallized 

but rarely with crystal form. The blende present is usually quite 

pure, being a brown " rosin jack," and apparently rather free from 

any admixture of pyrite. While many hand specimens and even 

small quantities of ore can be found running high in blende, no 

considerable bodies rich enough to warrant independent mining were 

exposed when the area was visited. At the Rosiclare mill middlings 

containing zinc are being accumulated with a view to possible future 

sale.

0 Whitney, J. D., Geol. Survey Illinois, vol. 1, 1866, p. 189.
BAIN.] SECONDARY MINERALS. 39

Pyrite. The iron sulphide, probably in the main pyrite, FeS2 , is 

as usual widely disseminated. It is, however, distinctly subordinate 

in quantity, and in this particular the district is in contrast with many 

of the mining districts of the West.

Chalcopyrite. The copper-iron sulphide, CuFeS, (sulphur, 35 per 

cent; copper, 34.5 per cent; iron, 30.5 per cent; specific gravity, 

4.1 to 4.3), occurs in minute quantities, and small crystals may frequently be observed by carefully examining the ores.. It is not of any 

economic importance here.

Stihnite. The antimony sulphide, Sb2 S.^ (sulphur, 28.6 per cent; 

antimony, 71.4. per cent; specific gravity, 4.52 to 4.62), has been reported by Mr. Bisland, of the Fairview mine, and Eilers mentions its 

presence and also that of a mineral taken to be jamesonite. He speaks 

of these as being in such small quantity as to interpose no difficulties 

in smelting and to be of no value.

SECONDARY MINERALS.

Gerussite. The lead carbonate is reported to have been found in 

small quantities in the early days of the mining industry. It has 

long since disappeared and probably never was abundant.

Smithsonite. Zinc carbonate, ZnCO;! (carbon dioxide, 35.2 per 

cent; zinc oxide. 64.8 per cent: specific gravity, 4.30 to 4.45), occurs 

frequently in connection with the alteration of the blende. It is 

a rusty-looking material, not unlike some of the weathered chert in 

appearance, but readily distinguished by its weight. The only body 

of any size noted in the course of the survey was" at the Empire mine, 

and the quantity present here, while undetermined, was not impressive.

Limonite. The hydrous oxide of iron occurs in the region in considerable abundance, and formerly, there were two furnaces- the 

Martha and the Illinois making iron from it. The ores are low 

grade, as judged by present standards, and, as they bear no obvious 

relationship to the minerals under investigation, were not especially 

studied. Small bodies of impure iron oxide or ocher are here, as 

usual, widespread.

Malachite. The copper carbonate, 2CuCO3 ,Cu(OH) 2 , occurs as 

a greenish stain at a number of points, particularly at the so-called 

" copper vein " near Elizabethtown. The quantities observed were 

everywhere inconsiderable.

Copper. Small flakes of native copper may be occasionally observed in the Rosiclare ores. They seem to be due to local reduction 

of the minute quantities of chalcopyrite.
40 FLUOKSPAB DEPOSITS OF SOUTHEKN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255. 

PARAGENESIS AND ASSOCIATION.

No definite order of deposition of the original minerals cai be made 

out. The various metallic sulphides and gangue minerals seem to 

have crystallized at the same time, and beyond the general fact of the 

replacement of calcite by fluorite there seems to be no system in their 

deposition. All of the sulphides.occur completely surrounded by the 

fluorite. There are none of the common evidences of secondary 

enrichment, and in the veins the oxidation incident to the long period 

of erosion subsequent to the formation of the ore bodies has left few 

traces. Apparently the sulphides, being practically sealed up in fluorite, are, so long as they remain in the vein, almost entirely unaffected 

by surface waters. Minor exceptions are noted in the descriptions of 

the individual mines. In general the ore bodies are believed to be 

practically unmodified ores of primary deposition, or of first concentraction, as Professor Van Hise defines the term."

MODE OF OCCURRENCE.

Form and character of the ore bodies. The deposits of this district 

form typical fissure veins. The ore ^bodies are tabular; they occur 

along planes that mark extensive faulting and that cut across the 

strike and dip of the strata. Ore and gangue minerals in considerable variety are present, and both fissure filling and metasomatic processes have operated in their formation. The ore bodies are unusual 

in respect to thickness frequently 10 to 12 feet, and occasionally 25 

feet or more and in the great purity and abundance of the fluorite.

The development work at Kosiclare gives some idea of the size of 

at least one of the ore bodies. Mining has been carried on for practically the whole distance of three-fourths of a mile along the vein.

For the greater portion of this length the stopes have been 10 to 20 

feet wide in very clean ore. In the Fairview shaft, at one end, levels 

at a depth of 200 feet shoAv the presence of a vein of undiminished 

strength and an ore body of the full normal thickness. At the other 

end the Rosiclare shaft shows the same thing to a depth of 300 feet. 

Beyond these shafts very little work has been done, but even if the 

vein or ore shoot the two terms here seem almost synonymous 

goes no farther laterally, a very large body of spar is shown.

This is the largest body of fluorspar yet developed in the two 

counties, but it is also the only place at which any considerable sinking and drifting have been done. As the mine descriptions show, 

there are a number of other points at which present indications point 

to large ore bodies.

0 Van Hise, C. R., Some principles controlling the disposition of ores: Trans. Am. Inst. 

Min. Eng., vol. 30, 1901, p. 173.
UAIN.] MODE OF OCCURRENCE. 41

In general the great width of the vein is probably due to the facility with Avhich the less soluble calcium fluorite is formed in the place 

of calcium carbonate Avhenever fluorine is available. This has 

resulted in extensive replacement of the limestone wall through 

metasomatic processes, as was long since pointed out by Emmons." 

The detailed microscopic evidence of this is given in connection with 

the description of the Lead Hill mine. This process is not believed, 

however, to have operated to the exclusion of normal vein filling in 

open cavities, since, for example, in the McClellan mine, later 

described, there is a considerable body of clear fluorspar where both 

walls are sandstone and where, accordingly, there is little opportunity 

for simple replacement. The occasional banding of the ore, while 

not conclusive evidence, and often, indeed, the reverse, points, nevertheless, to the same conclusion. The cooperation, of the two processes 

of open fissure filling and metasomatism is, as Mr. Lindgren has 

shown,6 normal and quite in accord with what should be expected.

In connection with the veins, the wall rock, where composed of 

sandstone, is commonly converted to a quartzite. As this is a local 

phenomenon, the quartzite occurring only along the- veins, it points 

apparently to the introduction of considerable amounts of silica at' 

the time the ore bodies were found a conclusion apparently confirmed by the presence of crystals of quartz intimately intergrown 

with the ore minerals.

Ore shoots. So far as is known, the ore does not occur in regular 

ore shoots. In view, however, of the small amount of development 

work and the smaller amount of mining so far done, this appearance 

may be deceptive. The Fairview-Rosiclare ore body, if it be 

regarded as a single ore shoot, is certainly one of unusual size.

Structural relations. The veins are developed, as already indicated, along fault planes, but these are neither necessarily nor frequently planes of major faulting. The Hamp mine, which shows 

an excellent'body of ore, is in a vein where there has been very little 

faulting. At the Empire mine, while there has been considerable 

faulting in the vicinity, the ore body is found along a plane which 

seemingly marks very little displacement. This is, however, a common phenomenon. For some reason not well understood, the large 

faults do not form the locus of ore bodies any more commonly than 

smaller faults in their vicinitj'.

The ore bodies so far developed are usually found where one wall is 

a sandstone and the other a limestone, generally the Ste. Genevieve. 

The Fairview and Rosiclare may be cited as examples. They also 

occur where both walls are limestones, as at the Hamp and Empire,

" Loc. clt,. p. 51.

6 Lindgren, Waldemar, Metasomatic processes In fissure veins: Trans. Am. Inst. Mln. 

Eng., vol. 30, 1901, pp. 578-692.
42 FLUOESPAE DEPOSITS OF SOUTHEEN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

and where both are sandstones, as at the McClellan and probably the 

Daisy. Since the faulting is deep enough to cut a considerable succession of sandstones and limestones, it is obvious that if the ores continue to any depth the relations at the surface may change, even to the 

point of reversal. In such a region as this it is also true that the fault 

planes which bring limestone into contact with sandstone are most 

easily recognized, and hence are the ones first prospected. Under the 

circumstances the seeming close relation of the ores with the Ste. 

Genevieve limestone may be deceptive, though in the absence of deep 

mining judgment on the point must be suspended.

Relations to topography and underground water level. -The ore 

bodies do not seem to bear any close relation to topography. They 

are found on the upland, as at the Empire; in hillsides, as at the Lead 

Hill mine, and under bottom land, as at the Rosiclare. In general 

they are on the slope, since there is very little level ground in the district. There is not, however, that close relation to topography which, 

for example, is characteristic of the ore bodies of the Lake Superior 

iron ranges.*

The relations to underground water level appear to be equally 

fortuitous. In general, the mines are relatively dry and the small 

amount of water handled seems to be entirely of local origin. At 

the Rosiclare mine it is clearly oxidizing and varies with local rainfall. As this is the deepest mine, it would presumably have tapped 

anjr deep waters which might occur in the veins, and yet the total 

amount of water pumped under ordinary conditions is very small, 

being estimated at 75 gallons per minute. In general, the mines, 

where of any depth at all, are below the local level of underground 

water.

Alteration of ores. The ores are very little altered. Beyond the

occasional occurrence of small bodies of zinc carbonate near the surface, there are none of the usual signs of decay and alteration common to sulphide ores. Even where oxidation has been carried to some 

depth, as at the Hubbard and Cook mines, it has not much affected 

the vein matter, but has proceeded rather along cross fractures or 

through the country rock. In the long period of erosion in which 

the upper portion of these veins was cut off, very little material was 

carried down into the vein. That which was eroded seems to have 

been mechanically broken off or to have been dissolved and carried 

away without local reconcentration. In the presence of the more 

easily soluble limestone, surface waters do not attack with any vigor 

the fluorite or the minerals confined within it, and so the vein material as now exposed is practically unaltered. The bodies of zinc carbonate occasionally found mark local and exceptional reconcentrations.

0 Van Hise, C. R., Twenty-first Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 3, 1901, pp. 329-330.
BAIN.] MINES AND PROSPECTS. 43

Age. The ores were formed after the period of deformation, 

which, as has already been shown, was late in the Carboniferous or 

after the close of that period. They originated before the Lafayette 

peneplain was cut, and they do not seem to be forming now. They 

may be as old as the Permian or as young as middle Tertiary, but it 

is impossible to fix their age more definitely on the 1 basis of local 

evidence.

Genesis and value. These topics will be discussed in detail after 

the description of the individual mines.

DESCRIPTION OF MINES AND PROSPECTS. 

ROSICLARE AREA.

Resume of geology. The formations exposed near Rosiclare have 

already been discussed, but a brief resume with certain additional 

details will help in understanding the mine descriptions.

The southeastern portion of the area (PI. II), extending from 

Elizabethtown to Orr's landing and back to the crossing of Big 

Creek by the Golconda road, is underlain by the St. Louis limestone. 

This formation is brought into faulting contact with the Chester 

formations, though probably in part at least the boundary between 

it and the Ste. Genevieve is a normal erosion boundary. So far as 

known no ore bodies have been found in the St. Louis of this vicinity. 

Small amounts of fluorspar occur in cavities in the rock, and there are 

several well-developed veins of calcite, the more prominent ones being 

represented on the map.

The central portion of the area is underlain by a broad belt of 

Chester formations trending northeast and southwest. These are in 

part in faulting contact with each other. Only the Ste. Genevieve 

limestone is mapped separately. The beds have a very gentle clip to 

the northwest, the highest beds noted being in sections 30 and 31.

The Mansfield sandstone occupies the northwestern corner of the 

area, and the irregular boundary, the presence of outliers, and the 

absence of faulting phenomena indicate that it rests upon the Chester 

with a normal erosion contact.

Igneous rocks outcrop at three points along the Ohio, cutting the 

St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve limestones. There are two other doubtful occurrences known.

The veins occur along fault planes having in most cases a northeastsouthwest trend and falling within a single vein system crossing the 

area from section 8 to section 21. The area has up to the present 

proved the most productive in the whole district, but this may have 

been due as much to the nearness of the mines to the river as to the 

size of the ore bodies.
44 FLUOESPAE DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

Fairview mine. The first discovery of fluorspar in place and the 

.first attempt to mine it seem to have been made upon the property 

now owned by the Fairview Fluorspar Company. There are several 

veins on the property, and ore is reported to have been discovered 

in 1842. No attempt seems to have been made to operate until 1862, 

when the Good Hope shaft was started. From that year until 1874 

the work was practically continuous, the ore being smelted as well 

as mined on the property. Three successive smelters were built; two 

were destroyed by fire, and the third was torn down about fifteen 

years ago. The dumps of fluorspar which accumulated during these 

years when the lead alone was of value were worked up and sold in 

the years 1889 and 1890. From 1891 to 1895 the property was operated under lease by the owners of the Rosiclare mine, and a large 

tonnage of spar was disposed of. The Good Hope vein is now being 

reopened, and in the course of the present survey a number of the 

old stopes on this vein were visited. Since the reopening of the 

mine had only begun at the time it was visited, the following notes 

are based to some extent upon the published descriptipns of J. G. 

Norwood ° and S. F. Emmons & and an unpublished report on the 

property made in 1884 by Messrs. Anton, Filers and E. W. Raymond 

and courteously placed at the disposal of the Surve}^ by the present 

manager, Mr. T. P. Bisland.

The Good Hope vein occurs along a fault trending N. 21° E. 

and dipping 79° 30' NW. The hanging wall is composed at the 

surface of a coarse sandstone showing no pebbles and believed to 

belong to the Chester. The foot wall at the main shaft is the Tribune 

limestone, as determined by Mr. Ulrich. A short distance to the 

southwest a shaft near the sawmill shoAvs the foot wrall to consist of

a sandy shale similar to that occurring normally some distance above 

the Tribune limestone. This would point to a cross fault between 

the two shafts with a downthrow to the south. The downthrow of 

the main fault is to the west. The amount of the displacement is unknown, but is certainly 100 feet and prdbably much more. The 

Avails underground are marked by vertical striations near the main 

shaft and in-the north drifts. In the south drifts the striations are 

at angles to the northeast. The hanging wall is sandstone or very 

sandy shale to a depth of 150 feet at least. The foot wall shows 

limestone at the surface and again at 210 feet, but a considerable 

portion of the wall between is unbroken, and sandy material occurs 

at a depth of 30 feet.

The underground workings show a clean, hard hanging Avail. The 

foot Avail is usually less well defined and is broken by a series of

0 Geol. Survey Illinois, vol. 1, 1866, pp. 366-372.

» Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 21, 1893, pp. 31-53.
MINES AND PEOSPECT8. 45

splits running off from the main vein. These have a course about 

N. 39° E. The old working extends to a depth of 213 feet, and drifts 

have been run in both directions at depths of 30, 60, 135,160, and 210 

feet. At present such of these stopes as can be entered show considerable bodies of clear fluorspar, mainly white, but with subordinate 

amounts of purple. In the fluorspar are small bunches of galena and 

blende. Minor amounts of pyrite and chalcopyrite occur and stibnite 

and jamesonite are reported. While the sulphides occasionally 

occupy distinct veinlets or occur in definite bands, they are more commonly completely intergrown with the spar. Calcite is also extensively developed, especially in the foot wall. No distinct crustification indicating a definite order of deposition of the various minerals 

can be made out, and there are no satisfactory evidences of differences 

in the character of the ore body at different levels. Certain of the 

old Stopes showed chambers of considerable size, 15 to 16 feet wide, 

20 to 25 feet high, and 40 feet or more long, with roof and face of 

fluorspar. In view of the fact that the property was formerly 

worked for galena alone, these chambers corroborate the statements 

made by Norwood and others as to the large size of the bodies of 

lead ore formerly found. Mr. Eilers estimated that at the time of his 

visit there was in one stope a body of ore 20 feet wide, 20 feet high, 

and 50 to 60 feet long, which would run 10 to 15 per cent galena. At 

the same time another stope 138 feet long was yielding ore which the 

owners stated ran 13 per cent of dressed galena. At present there are 

no considerable bodies of galena in sight, as all available ore of that 

kind had evidently been removed before mining stopped. It has 

been estimated, hoAvever, that there are. reserves of 25,000 tons of 

fluorspar in the ground now open.

From the main shaft the vein has been opened a distance of 

approximately 150 feet in each direction. To the northeast, however, the vein has been mined through a number of other shafts 

up to the boundary line of the property, and. practically continuous 

stoping has been done from the Fairview to the Kosiclare shaft. 

While the ore body is thus continuous from one mine to the other, 

the recent work indicates that the two mines are on separate fault 

planes. If the Rosiclare vein be projected to the southwest on an 

accurate base it passes through one, at least, of the shafts which 

mark the Anderson Well vein, the first to be discovered. The course 

of the latter as generally given in N. 3° E., while the Rosiclare vein 

runs N. 18° E. (true). Since, however, the Anderson Well vein 

was never worked, not much importance is to be attached to the 

early determination of its course.

Rosiclare mine. The Rosiclare mine has probably the longest 

record of nearly continuous production in the district. It is also the
46 FLUOKSPAK DEPOSITS OF SOUTHEEN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

deepest, the shaft now being down 300 feet, and for many years it 

was the only important producer of fluorspar. It is located about 

a half mile back from the Ohio and slightly farther from the Fairview mine. As already stated, it is believed to be on a different vein, 

though the ore body continues from one mine to the other.

The hanging Avail consists of the same sandstone as at the Fairview. Samples taken from below the surface show that it has been 

altered to a hard quartzite by the deposition of silica between the 

sand grains. The foot wall at the bottom of the shaft is a finegrained " plucky" limestone, which Mr. Ulrich considers to be 

probably St. Louis. At the surface the foot wall is not exposed, 

but from general relations it is presumed to be Ste. -Genevieve. At 

a shaft across the road and to the northeast of the main working 

shaft, the dump shows fragments of limestone of possibly Tribune 

or Birdsville age, but it is impossible to determine the relations. 

Still farther to the northeast sandstone covers the whole surface.

The shaft is 300 feet deep, and development has been carried both 

to the northeast and to the southwest with underhand stoping. The 

vein is vertical and the walls where uncovered are well defined. The 

hanging wall is extensively exposed and shows numerous striations, 

which are horizontal. The foot wall is usually covered by a thick 

body of calcite.

The vein stuff consists essentially of fluorspar and calcite, with 

minor amounts of lead and zinc sulphide and occasional specimens of 

pyrite and chalcopyrite. Near the hanging wall there is ordinarily a 

band 1 to 2 inches thick of the sulphides, but they also occur throughout the fluorspar and intimately mixed with it. On one specimen of 

the blende a greenish-yellow material suggestive of greenockite (cadmium sulphide) was observed, and a small flake of native copper was 

also seen. The sulphides occur intimately inter-grown and also intergrown with the gangue minerals. Along water channels the blende 

is occasionally altered to zinc carbonate, and in druses crystals of 

quartz occur frequently. No special order of deposition of the sulphides can be made out, and no differences in character with depth are 

apparent, either in them or in the fluorspar. The fluorspar occurs in 

great thickness and makes up the greater portion of the vein. This 

is usually 10 to 12 feet wide, but stopes 26 feet wide are now open. 

The whole face of such a stope is made up of practically clear fluorspar, with some intergrown calcite, particularly toward the foot wall. 

Ordinarily the calcite occurs for the most part back of a facing or 

fault plane, showing striations and separating the cleaner fluorspar 

from the mixed spar and calcite. A thickness of 14 feet of the latter between this facing and the true limestone foot wall has been 

observed.
MINES AND PROSPECTS. 47

The vein shows numerous slips and minor fault planes between the 

main walls. These seem to represent post-mineral fracturing, though 

the main facing mentioned above would more probably represent an 

original foot wall, back of which fluorspar and calcite have metasomatically replaced the limestone. Within the vein the fluorspar 

shows in great clear banded surfaces resembling onyx. If these represent replacement of the limestone instead of cavity filling, the material has so completely recrystallized as to destroy all evidence of the 

bedding. Running through the ore body are druses and channels 

lined with crystals of fluorspar, calcite, and quartz. These are water 

channels and seemingly carry surface oxidizing wT aters, as is shown by 

their action on the zinc and iron sulphides. The whole of the workings are below water level, and approximately 75 gallons per minute 

are pumped in ordinary seasons. In wet weather this amount is 

materially increased.

Blue vein. Northwest of the Rosiclare mine and on the property 

of the Fairview Fluorspar Company is the Blue vein, one of the 

first known in the district. Norwood describes it as 6 to 11 feet wide, 

with a sharp dip to the east and a course N. 29° E. He also mentions a cross vein, about 100 yards to the west, with a course N. 35° E. 

and a thickness of 3 feet. Neither of these veins has been worked 

for some time, and at present the dump shows only fragments of 

sandstone, shale, fluorspar, calcite, galena, and blende. The vein 

took its name from the quantities of blue fluorspar found in it.

Daisy vein. A shaft on this vein was open at the time of Mr. Eminons's visit to the region, and he speaks of it as being 40 feet deep. 

The vein is said to have been very productive, but the workings have 

been abandoned for some years. At present fluorite may be seen on 

the dump and in small bunches attached to the quartzite foot wall. 

The vein has an apparent course N. 38° E. and a dip to the north-' 

west of 69°. The hanging wall is apparently composed of shale, and 

there are no fragments of limestone on the dump. These relations 

suggest that the Daisy vein marks the position of the fault supposed 

to cut off the Cypress sandstone from the Birdsville formation, and 

to account for the absence of the Tribune limestone over most of the 

area.

A short distance northwest of the Daisy vein a fault is indicated 

on the special map as marking the boundary between the Ste. Genevieve limestone and' the sandstone. There is no direct evidence of 

faulting here, but the abrupt termination of the sandstone along a 

sharp line is very suggestive of it.

Clement vein. This vein occurs along the contact of the Ste. Genevie ve limestone to the east and the higher Chester beds to the west. 

There seems, however, to be but slight faulting. The vein has a
48 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

general course N. 45° E. Near the fault and on the hanging-wall 

side the sandstone is tilted to an angle of 44°. The old Eureka 

workings, which were open at the time Mr. Emmons visited the area, 

were on this vein. A large amount of spar was shipped from them 

and the vein was proved to a depth of 80 feet.

At present the Marion Mineral Company is sinking a shaft farther to the northeast. The vein stuff consists of brecciated limestone 

with purple and white fluorspar crystallized with calcite. In druses 

the spar, calcite, and some small quartz crystals are crystallized 

together.

In the vicinity there are several faults and a number of small, prospects. These are represented on the map. One of the most interesting of the faults is east of Big Creek and is locally known as the 

" Copper vein." It has a course N. 37° W., and shows limestone on 

both walls. At the surface is a reef of highly silicified limestone 

projecting above the ground. The vein is about 6 feet wide and 

consists of a breccia of limestone cemented by calcite and with some 

crystals of quartz. Stains of malachite occur, but no other, metallic 

mineral was observed. The surface outcrop shows cavities left by 

the leaching out of some flat, tabular crystals, possibly barite. The 

vein is of interest because of the unusual character of'its contents 

and its course, nearly at right angles to the others discussed. It has 

not, so far, proved of any value and seems to belong with the barren 

calcite veins near by.

HICKS AREA.

Resume of geology. The Hicks area includes the greater part of 

a small structural dome in which beds from the Devonian black shale

to the Mansfield conglomerate are exposed. The mines are confined 

exclusively to the area of outcrop of the Chester formations, and to a 

very notable degree the ore is developed in or near the Ste. Genevieve 

limestone (PI. III).

Empire mine. The Empire is perhaps the best known of the mines 

back from the Ohio River. It has been worked at different times for 

a riumber of years and has made several shipments. In the vicinity 

there are a number of faults which for the most part seem to be of 

small throw. The more important ones only are represented on 

the accompanying map. The Empire vein follows a fault with a 

course N. 48° E. and a dip 73° SE. At the shaft limestone is found 

on both sides of the vein, and the amount of faulting does not seem 

large. The fault is normal, with downthrow to the east. This is 

indicated by the upturning of the shale partings in the beds of the 

hanging wall and by the general relations of the rocks. In the 

field north of the mine the Rosiclare and Ohara members of the Ste.
BAIN.] - MINES AND PROSPECTS. 49

Gene vie ve limestone may be identified, and near the shaft sandstone, 

presumably Cypress, rests on the limestone with a normal erosion 

boundary. In some open cuts, and in the bed of the stream crossing the vein northeast of the shaft, limestone may be seen on both 

side,s of the fault, and while the identification of the hanging wall 

is not positive the rock is apparently the Ste. Genevieve. Still 

farther to the northeast shaly and cherty beds take their place. Mr. 

Ulrich identifies them as probably Birdsville, and this would require 

a small block of higher strata faulted down to the general level. 

This block is indicated on the map, but with no pretensions to accuracy of outline.

From the shaft the Empire vein has not been traced far to the 

southwest, the presence of sandstone on both sides making surface 

identification somewhat uncertain. Fluorspar is, however, reported 

from its probable extension in section 34. From the shaft south the 

sandstone seems to be cut off to the east by a second fault extending 

from-the Empire to the Hubbard shaft, and at a number of points 

along this line fluorspar has been found.

The workings of the Crystal Fluorspar Mining Company consist of a large open cut and a shaft sunk on the vein, which was 127 

feet deep when visited, and has since been continued to a depth of 

160 feet. In the open cut a wall of solid white fluorspar was at one 

point exposed, dipping to the east parallel to the,hanging wall of the 

vein. Against it and in the V-shaped angle between it and a perpendicular plane to the surface was a body of zinc carbonate. This is 

said to run 38 to 40 per cent of metallic zinc, and has the appearance 

of being of fair grade. The amount exposed was not large, and the 

total amount present is wholly unknown. It is associated with residual clay, and seems to represent surface concentration against the 

hanging wall of the vein.

In the shaft a vein usually.from 6 to 10 feet wide and with welldeveloped walls is shown. The vein matter consists of brecciated 

limestone cemented by fluorspar and calcite intimately intergrown. 

In this matrix galena, blende, pyrite, and chalcopyrite occur, the two 

first named being frequently in considerable abundance. The sulphides, particularly the blende, show a tendency to replace the fragments of limestone and also to some extent the wall rock. Occasionally they are segregated in a distinct band, which in one place is 

as much as 4 inches thick and occurs along the hanging wall. It is 

rather noticeable that the sulphides are for the most part very fine 

grained and are intimately associated with the wall rock and the 

gangue. The dark shaly material found in the hanging wall is 

rather widely distributed through the breccia. 

Bull. 255 05 M i
50 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.- [BULL. 255.

The fluorspar occurs largely interbanded with calcite, but a band 

of clear spar from 1 to 4 feet wide is found almost continuously from 

the top to the bottom of the shaft, either on foot wall or hanging wall. 

A total thickness of 6^ feet is reported from one point in the shaft. 

The workings are now some distance below water level. There are no 

marked differences in the character of the ore at different levels 

except the presence of the zinc carbonate in the open cut, and there 

are no evidences of secondary enrichment or redistribution of the ores. 

As no drifts have been run and no stopes opened, it is impossible to 

make any estimate of the amount of ore opened. A considerable 

amount of the fluorspar seen could be shipped as mined, but to save 

the zinc and lead and the remaining portion would require careful 

milling, with rather fine crushing and concentration.

In the field north of the mine, as well as the fields to the south, 

fluorspar occurs in the soil at a number of points, but the development work is not sufficiently advanced to show the character and 

relations of the veins. In the SW. £ NE. \ sec. 34 the hillside is 

literally covered with clear glassy spar in a great variety of beautiful 

colors. A number of shallow pits here show its wide distribution.

Hitbbard shaft. In. section 34, southwest of the Empire, is the 

shaft being put down by Mr. H. B. Pierce and his associates of the 

Grand Pierre Mining Company. This shaft is about 60 feet deep 

and in limestone, apparently the Ste. Genevieve. This was encountered at a depth of 12 feet. In an open cut near by are sandy beds' 

belonging to the higher formations. The shaft seems to be on an 

intersection of two or more crevices, the main one, as shown in the 

open cut, having a course N. 45° E. The crevice is vertical and the 

amount of faulting does not seem to be great. In the shaft the vein 

was obscured by the presence of red surface clay, but brecciated limestone with a matrix of calcite and fluorspar was made out. A short 

distance to the northeast, near the creek, is a reef of brecciated quartzite with some fluorspar in the cementing material. In a trench cut 

across the reef the beds are seen to dip to the southeast. At a number 

of points over the low ground adjacent large quantities of " glassy " 

spar have been dug from shallow depths. The spar is variously 

colored and is so widely distributed as to indicate the presence of a 

few cross fractures.

Big Joe mine. In section 27, northwest of the Empire mine, spar 

has been found at a number of points. At the Big Joe the surface 

formation is sandstone, probably belonging to the Birdsville formation. The vein has a course N. 15° E. and has been developed to -a 

depth of 60 feet. There are apparently two veins, with a block of 

quartzitic sandstone between. At a depth of 20 feet the quartzite 

gives place to black sandy shale, which occupies the space between
BAIN.] MINES AND PROSPECTS. 51

two veins of fluorspar, each 8 to 12 inches thick. Apparently the 

shale has been thrust upward, or rather both the foot wall and hanging, wall of the vein as a whole have moved downward, leaving the 

shale as a wedge between the two walls. There are small veins of 

galena one-fourth inch thick which come down to the shale and are 

there cut off abruptly. It is reported that 200 pounds of lead were 

shipped from a surface pocket at this shaft. A small amount of 

blende and occasional pieces of pyrite have been found in the vein. 

It is said that the last work. done on this property showed fluorspar, calcite, and galena distributed pretty well over the bottom of 

the shaft.

The same vein, presumably, has been opened on the ground south 

of the Big Joe and has yielded several hundred pounds of lead ore. 

There are there, as at the Big Joe, parallel crevices, and fluorspar, 

calcite, galena, and blende occur, intimately intermingled in crevices 

in the quartzitic sandstone.

Two small prospects have also been opened near Mr. Jesse Crab's 

house, not far from the Big Joe. They show the usual association of 

ores, a small vertical vein about 2 feet thick crossing the quartzite.

In the northeast quarter of the same section a vein 2 feet or more 

in width of deep-purple spar shows in the bed of a small creek. The 

vein has a course N. 58° E. and lies between the St. Louis and Ste. 

Genevieve limestones. No work has been done on this vein, but the 

spar has the appearance of being very clean.

Hutchinson mine. In SE. £ SW. £ sec. 22 Mr. James Hutchinson 

has. an open pit, in which are a series of parallel crevices running 

through the sandstone with a course about the same as at the Big Joe. 

The crevices are vertical and narrow. White, purple, and green fluorspar occur, with a minor amount of galena.

Rainey mine. In SW. £ SE. £ of the same section (22) is an open 

pit located on the contact between the Ste. Genevieve and the Birdsville formations. Limestone shows on both sides of the pit, but in 

the hill above to the west is blue shale, and a short distance beyond 

sandstone occurs. There seems to be some slight faulting here, with 

downthrow to the north. The course of the vein is N. 25° E. The 

vein is 12 to 18 inches wide and shows fluorspar, galena, and blende. 

Minor amounts of zinc carbonate have been formed by the alteration 

of the blende.'

Baldwin mine. This is. located in SW. £ SW. |- sec. 23, and consists of an open cut about 10 feet deep. It exposes a vertical vein 

about 6 inches wide cutting the Ste. Genevieve limestone and having 

a course about N. 40° E. The limestone is slightly brecciated, but 

the bulk of the vein stuff consists of purple fluorspar and white calcite, with minor amounts of galena and blende.
52 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

Hicks mine. This is in the same section as the Baldwin and is 

supposed to be on a continuation of that vein. When visited it was 

- a prospect only, the fluorspar having been located by means of a 

.post-hole digger. A body of clear spar somewhat over 2 feet thick 

was indicated.

In another portion of the SE. £ NW. £ sec. 23 two small open 

cuts show the presence of a 3-inch vein of purple spar, with considerable calcite, cutting across the Ste. Genevieve limestone Avith a course 

. N. 20° E. ' Slickensides indicate some faulting, and the downthrow 

is apparently to the west. ° 

liamp mine. On the northeast flank of the Hicks dome is a second 

group of prospects, of which the Hamp mine is the most important 

yet developed. This mine is on a well-developed fissure cutting the 

Ste. Genevieve limestone with a course N. 60° E. There seems to 

have been very little displacement, since the Rosiclare sandstone 

member of the formation occurs at nearly the same elevation on both 

sides. The vein dips SE. 68° and crosses the beds on both dip and 

strike, the dip of the strata .being 10° NW. The vein consists of very 

clean " ribbon" fluorspar, mainly white in color, but with some 

purple near the surface. There is very little calcite developed with 

it. Some galena is found and very subordinate amounts of blende. 

The property is being developed by two shafts, the deeper being at 

last accounts 61 feet down, and showing at the bottom 6 feet of clear 

white fluorspar.

East of the Hamp mine there are a number of small prospects 

showing spar, as indicated on the map. None of these have been 

developed enough to make clear the relations of the ore bodies. 

Northwest of the area also (sec.-11, T. 11 S., R. 7 E.), on the Wright

land, some prospecting has been done in an area of complexly 

faulted and slightly folded rocks.

SCATTERED MINES IN HAEDIN COUNTY.

General statement. At a number of points throughout the county 

and outside of the areas specially mapped there are occurrences of 

spar and lead, and at a few places some mining has been carried on, 

As many of these places as possible were visited in 1903, and brief 

notes on a number of them are given below. The largest number 

of these mines is near Eichorn, which is located in sec. 11, T. 12 S., 

R. 7 E. The Pell, Stewart, Cook, Oxford and Watson, Parkenson, 

and Gordon are in this vicinity, the two last named being in Pope 

County. At Lead Hill, north of Cave in Rock, mining has also been 

carried on at a number of points. In the country back of Lead Hill, 

extending to Rock Creek, are a number of prospects, including the 

Showalter, Pattou, and a second Eureka. This enumeration does 

not exhaust the list, but includes most of those personally visited.
MINES AND PROSPECTS. 53

Pell mine. This property is located in sec. 24, T. 12 S., E. 7 E., 

on Threemile Creek, near St. Joseph Church. There is a wellequipped hoisting plant and concentrating mill, not now in operation 

and said to have been run but a short time. The shaft- is reported 

to be 95 feet deep and sunk on the vein, which apparently dips to 

the east. The course of the vein seems to be about N. 20° to 30° E. 

The dump pile consists mainly of limestone, with some sandstone. 

The vein stuff evidently includes brecciated limestone, with calcite, 

fluorite, galena, and blende acting as the cementing material. The 

sulphides occur also in cracks in the limestone, and to some extent 

disseminated in and replacing the rock. The stock pile shows some 

fluorite of good grade, and a small amount of zinc carbonate with 

occasional stains of malachite. The ore bins shoAv a fairly clean 

grade of rosin blende and some well-cleaned galena. Financial difficulties and dissensions in the management are given as reasons for 

the property being idle.

Stewart mine. This property, operated by the American Mines 

Company, is located northwest of the Pell, in-section 14. Several 

small shafts have been sunk on a nearly vertical vein running N. 20° 

E. between Cypress sandstone on the east and Ste. Genevieve limestone on the west. This vein has been traced for about a half mile 

along its course, and Avhere seen showed from 2 to 3 feet of purple 

and white spar with small amounts of barite and some small .black 

quartz crystals.

Oxford and Watson -mine. This property is near the Stewart, in 

SW. i NE. £ and NW. I SE. I sec, 13. A small prospect shaft has 

been sunk in the limestone, probably Ste. Genevieve, and near the 

sandstone. It has developed the presence of a breccia of which the 

fragments are limestone and the cementing material is mainly 

calcite. A few crystals of blende and galena were observed, but no 

considerable body of ore has been found.

Cook mine. This is a small prospect shaft 70 feet deep about a 

half mile northeast of the Oxford and Watson. It is on the contact 

between the sandstone and limestone and shows considerable calcite 

and some fluorite in the north side of the shaft. At 56 feet the east 

side of the shaft was entirely occupied by red clay.

Parkenson mine. This property is a couple of miles southwest of 

the Stewart and just across the line in Pope County (NE. | sec. 27, 

T. 12 S., E. 7 E.). The country rock here is sandstone, presumably 

belonging to the Cypress formation, and while there has evidently 

been some faulting, it has not been enough to bring the limestone 

to the surface. The property was not in operation when visited, 

but the dump'showed the presence in small quantity of fluorite, 

blende, and barite. The course of the vein seemed to be N. 30° E.
54 PLUOBSPAE DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

Gordon mine. On the same quarter section and possibly on the 

same vein as the Parkenson is the Gordon shaft, also not being worked 

when visited. Here, again, the sandstone shows some brecciation, 

and fluorite, calcite, barite, blende, and galena occur. The barite and 

blende seem to be especially abundant and are apparently of good 

grade.

Lead Hill. About 3 miles from the river, at Cave in Rock, there 

is an abrupt rise of 80 feet and a mural escarpment fronts the irregular plain developed over the area of St. Louis limestone. At the 

foot of this escarpment and parallel to it is a fault which may be 

traced somewhat south of east for nearly 3 miles. Along this escarpment, particularly in sections 3 and 4, T. 12 S., R. 9 E., mining has 

been carried on for a number of years, and formerly enough lead was 

taken out to give its name to the locality.

In 1903 the Cleveland-Illinois Fluorspar Company was operating 

a mine about on the line between sections 2 and 3. The company was 

working a bedded or sheet deposit in the Fredonia member of the 

Ste. Genevieve limestone and just under the Rosiclare sandstone. 

A number of short drifts were run into the hill, and the workings 

were conducted on a modified room-and-pillar system. The ore 

body varies in thickness from 18 inches to 6 feet, thinning as the 

workings extend into the hill. The vein stuff consists to a minor 

extent of brecciated limestone, but for the most part of interbanded 

limestone and fluorite with minor amounts of calcite and galena. 

At the top of the ore there is a band of green sandy shale a few inches 

thick, and the fluorite extends into this between the laminae. Breccia is only locally developed, and banded limestone and fluorite. 

such as is illustrated in PL V, is more common. In this specimen 

the' individual bands of purple and white fluorite are one-half to

three-fourths of an inch thick, and are separated by layers of equal 

thickness made up of very impure limestone containing notable quantities of silica and iron oxide. This banding represents horizontal 

bedding, and the fluorite has evidently been introduced along the 

stratification planes, uniting with the calcium of the limestone and 

excluding the impurities. These were partly, no doubt, carried off, 

but also in part remain trapped between the growing crystals of 

fluorite and in the bands of unreplaced limestone.

These relations are perhaps made clearer by the photomicrographs 

of PI. VI. In A is shown, in natural light, a portion of one of the 

fluorspar bands. Traces of bedding may be observed, and the iron 

oxides and other impurities are so arranged as to mark the outlines of 

granular material, presumably the original calcite.

In B the same section is shown between crossed nicols. The fluorite appears entirely black, while the small points of light indicate
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 255 PL. V

INTERBANDED FLUORSPAR AND LIMESTONE FROM LEAD HILL.
PLATE VI.

55
PLATE VI.

PPIOTOMICROGRAPHS OF FLUORSPAR BANDS IN ORE BODY AT LEAD HILL.

A. Natural light, showing granular outline of original calcite particles.

B. Polarized light, showing complete penetration of original calcite (white)

by fluorine now forming fluorspar (black). 

C. Natural light, showing preservation of original bedding plane in clear

fluorspar.

56
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 255 PL. VI

PHOTOMICROGRAPHS OF FLUORSPAR BANDS IN ORE BODY AT LEAD HILL.
BAIN.] MINES AND PROSPECTS. . 57

the presence of minute grains and crystals of calcite and quartz. The 

bedding may still be made out, but the outlines of the calcite crystals 

are completely obscured. The very intimate association of the calcite. 

and fluorite are notable and indicate the entire penetration of the rock 

by the fluorine. The calcite of the large crystal in the lower portion 

of the field has been partly replaced by fluorite, the bounding planes 

being evidently determined by the cleavage planes of the calcite. The 

calcite is under strain, as is indicated by the undulatory extinction

In G a view is shown, in natural light, of the central portion of 

one of the bands of fluorite. Running through this band is an irregular plane, which might readily be mistaken for such a surface as is 

produced by the interlocking of crystals making up the comb structure of ordinary banded ore deposits. In this case, however, the 

irregularities of the line bear no relation to the optical orientation of 

the crystals, and the line is furthermore of the exact character common in sedimentary beds between individual layers, particularly 

where the beds have been under slight pressure, so as to produce 

sty 1 elites.

The above evidence warrants the conclusion that in this ore body 

the fluorine has been introduced along horizontal bedding planes and 

that fluorite has metasomatically replaced the calcite of the limestone, 

producing a banded structure without crystallization in free spaces. 

On the whole it forms -an interesting and typical example of the 

phenomenon of pseudo-crustification, discussed some years ago by 

Mr. Emmons.0 In this case horizontal bedding planes rather than 

vertical shearing planes are concerned.

With the metasomatic replacement of the rock there has been also 

some free growth of crystals wherever space has been available in 

druses or the brecciated rock. Very beautiful specimens of golden, 

purple, and white fluorspar occur, showing the cube with occasional 

modifications by octahedral faces.

The introduction of the fluorine solutions was doubtless from the 

main fault along the foot of the hill, and occurred before the development of the present topography. The calcareous sandstone forming 

the Rosiclare member of the limestone was the particular localizing 

agent, as it forms a firm roof over the mine, and, being of unusual 

thickness, 25 feet, was a competent stratum under mild stresses. 

This had the effect of opening up the upper bedding planes of the 

limestone and allowing slight local brecciation, so as to afford entrance 

to the solutions.

The main fault at the foot of the hill is complicated by the presence 

of a number of minor faults. Along one of these near the mine is an

0 Structural features of ore deposits: Trails. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 16, 1888, pp. 

804-839.
58 FLUOESPAE DEPOSITS OF SOUTHEEN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

important development of barite, which is particularly interesting in 

view .of the absence of that mineral in the ore body on the hill. The 

relations of the two were not made out.

South of Lead Hill, near Cave in Rock, and between that place and 

Elizabethtown, there are a number of faults and some prospecting 

has been done. So far as could be learned no considerable bodies of 

ore have been found.

Eureka mine.- North of Lead Hill the rocks are faulted and disturbed at a number of points and prospecting has been carried on, 

without, however, so far as known, developing any ore bodies of consequence. A possible exception is the old Eureka mine, not the same 

as that near Rosiclare (sec. 23, T. 11 S., E. 9 E.), which is said to 

have yielded several tons of galena. The works are now abandoned, 

but at the shaft a fault plane running N. 60° E. may be seen separating sandstones believed to be Mansfield to the north and Chester to 

the south. The dump shows small pieces of galena, fluorspar, and 

calcite.

SCATTERED MINES IN POPE COUNTY.

General relations. Much the larger portion of Pope County north 

of Bay Bottoms is underlain by sandstones of the Mansfield and 

Chester formations. The general absence of the Ste. Genevieve and 

lower limestones makes it difficult to recognize faulting, and so, while 

disturbances of the strata have been noted at a number of points and 

prospecting is widespread, relatively little has been determined with 

regard to the stratigraphy of the region. There is one belt of mines 

extending from the vicinity of the Empire mine'to the "Old Clay 

diggings" of the Pittsburg Mining Company near Raum. A second, 

or possibly a continuation of the first belt, includes a number of prospects near Aliens Spring. Near Golconda there are a few veins and 

some prospecting has been done, and northeast of town are the Parkenson and Gordon mines, already discussed. Near Bay City considerable lead ore is said to have been mined. These mines and prospects will be discussed in the above order.

Pittsburg mine. The Pittsburg Mining Company has sunk two 

shafts and driven one tunnel into a narrow belt of limestone outcropping in the general sandstone region near Raum. The limestone is dark, flinty, and not very fossiliferous. It seems to be of 

St. Louis age. It outcrops in a belt about 200 feet wide, having a 

general course N. 35° E., and is said to be traceable for several miles. 

The sandstone to the northwest, at least, is probably Mansfield. 

That to the southeast is of undetermined age. The limestone is 

much broken and there are considerable bodies of breccia. Galena 

and blende occur in small veinlets through the limestone and in the
SCATTERED MINES IN POPE COUNTY. 59

matrix of the breccia. They are associated with calcite and white 

and purple fluorite, which form the main cementing material. The. 

blende is a bright rosin " jack," and the company is now reported to 

be erecting a mill for concentrating the ore.

Near the works is the kaolin pit from which the property takes its 

local name, " Old Clay diggings." The pit has been abandoned for 

a 'half century, but its size indicates that considerable bodies of 

kaolin were shipped. The kaolin occurs apparently on the contact 

between the limestone and the sandstone, which, as now exposed, has 

weathered to a bright-red color. The origin of the kaolin is unknown. No igneous rocks have been found in or near the mine.

McClellan mine. Northeast of the Pittsburg mine (section 11) 

limestone is again seen, but its age was not determined. The general 

country rock is sandstone. A shaft 40 feet deep has developed evidences of faulting and a body of very clear fluorspar 6 to 7 feet 

thick. No sulphides were noted. There seems to be a system of 

veins running from N. 15° E. to N. 35° E. These mark fault planes, 

some of which bring limestone to the surface and some do not.

In an adjacent section (3) there is a well-developed quartzite reef, 

marking a fault plane in the Chester sandstone and shale. A small 

body of zinc carbonate was found near it.

Luella mine. Southwest of the last-mentioned locality (sec. 10, 

T. 12 S., R. 6 E.) and apparently on the same belt of faulting the 

rocks are disturbed and fluorspar is introduced along the sides of an 

infaulted block of limestone. A considerable amount of white spar 

appears here at the surface, some of which seems to be sandy. There 

is also a pit showing a small body of kaolin, but the relations could 

not be determined owing to the limited amount of development.

Taylors Spring. Comparatively little prospecting has been done 

in the region about Aliens Spring and Bock, though faulting is common and float mineral has been found at several points. Near Taylors Spring (sec. 31, T. 12 S., R. 6.E.) the sandstone has a dip of 22° 

S., strike N. 55° E., and shows quartzitic facies. In the field near by 

small pieces of fluorite and galena have been found.

Moore mine. On the Moore farm, near Taylors Spring, an open 

cut has been made in sandstone and shale, and small pieces of fluorite 

and galena have been found.

Wright mine. In section 3, T. 12 S., R. 5 E., a small shaft has been 

sunk in shales and sandstone, probably of Birdsville age. The 

rocks dip at high angles, 30° to 47°, and in conflicting directions in 

this' vicinity, and evidently have been considerably disturbed. Calcite and pyrite were the only minerals found in sinking, and no welldeveloped vein was located.

Southwest of this work, in section 9 (NE. £ NE. £), the beds are 

again disturbed, and belts of Birdsville of considerable width are
60 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

given high angles of dip. A number of prospect shafts have shown 

some brecciation of the rock arid the presence of calcite as a cementing 

material.

Golconda prospects. About- a mile south of Golconda, on the 

river bank, faulting has brought the Mansfield sandstone of the.bluffs 

into contact with the Chester formations. Parallel to the fault the' 

sandstone is sheeted or sheared and a minor amount of barite has been 

introduced. No other minerals occur.

West of Golconda the Chester comes in abruptly, replacing the 

Mansfield, and there seem to be several minor parallel faults and 

crevices. In one .of the latter, showing in the first railway cut west 

of the town, is the Gilbert dike, which was prospected for mineral to 

a.depth of 70 feet in 1903 without favorable results.

Bay City mine. Near Bay City the rocks are broken by fault 

planes presumed to represent the Rosiclare-Fairview system of faulting. Along these planes fluorite, galena, and blende have been deposited, and an effort is being made to mine them. The Black mine 

is located in section 26, T. 14 S., R. 6 E., on a low hill rising about 

25 feet above the Ohio River bottom land and cut off from the main 

bluff by a low col. Near the old shaft there are clear evidences of 

faulting in the sandstone which forms the surface material. The 

dump shows a brecciated limestone cemented by calcite and fluorite 

and canning galena and blende. A small amount of zinc carbonate 

also occurs. The vein dips to the west, and a new shaft was being 

sunk to intersect it. In the hillside near by there is a narrow belt 

of limestone running about parallel with the fault upon which the 

ore has been found.

MINES IN SALINE COUNTY.

General relations. Near the southern border of Saline County, not 

far from the Pope County line, small quantities of galena and fluorite 

have been found and some prospecting is going on. The country is 

rugged, the area including a part of Karbers Ridge. The rocks consist mainly of Mansfield sandstone, with subordinate areas of the 

later coal measures and some infaulted blocks of Chester limestone.

King and Fergusen mine. This property is in section 21, T. 10 S., 

R. 7 E. The surface rocks consist mainly of sandstone, with subordinate amounts of black shale and limestone. They have been considerably disturbed and dip occasionally at high angles. There are 

three shafts. At the first the beds strike nearly north and south 

and dip 52° to the east. This shaft has been sunk on a thin bed of 

black shale, and there is apparently no displacement, though a minor 

amount of dip faulting may be present. Barite and fluorite are 

found in small amounts crystallized together in broken quartzitic
BAIN.] GENESIS OF THE OEES. 61

sandstone. There are a few small crystals of galena. Calcite seems 

to be entirely absent. In the second shaft a limestone is present and 

small amounts of galena and fluorspar show. In the third, located 

farther south, near a contact of limestone and sandstone, small 

amounts of galena, pyrite, and fluorspar occur in cracks in the limestone.

Big Four mine. On the Miller land, section 32, a shaft has been 

sunk 30 feet in Chester limestone. This rock is apparently in place 

and undisturbed, though near it pieces of brecciated limestone 

cemented by calcite were picked up, and in the same vicinity there 

are small pieces of blende and evidences of faulting! In general it 

may be said that in the vicinity small quantities of the sulphides and 

of fluorspar are A\7 idely disseminated and the rocks are faulted and 

broken in a manner favorable to ore deposition. At the time the 

area was visited, however, 110 considerable bodies of ore had been 

located. Later prospecting is said to have given more encouraging 

results.

GENESIS OF THE ORES.

It is impossible in the present condition of knowledge to make an 

exact and final statement as to the origin of the ores of this district. 

The best that can be done is to indicate certain alternative hypotheses 

and to discuss their possible conflicts and agreements. In view of 

the unusual character of the ores and the interest attaching to them, 

it is believed worth while to do this, even though it be admitted at 

the outset that the explanation ofi'ered is founded on hypothesis, 

though in accord with the facts as known.

ORIGINAL, SOURCE OF MATERIAL.

The ore bodies represent concentrations of material normally present in rocks in a disseminated form. The minerals entering into 

their composition must have come either from the sedimentary rocks 

exposed at the surface and continuing for some depth below, or from 

deeper lying igneous rocks of which the dikes present at the surface 

represent offshoots. Neglecting calcite, pyrite,. and other minerals 

widely distributed, attention may be concentrated on the rarer 

metallic sulphides galena, blende, and stibnite and on the fluorite. 

The discussion of their possible origin will be taken up in order.

ORE MINERALS.

The common ore minerals of this district, neglecting secondary 

and derived forms, are galena and blende. These sulphides of lead 

and zinc occur in both igneous and sedimentary rocks and are widely
62 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

disseminated. Large bodies in unaltered limestone are especially 

characteristic of the Mississippi Valley and they show throughout 

the world a tendency toward segregation in dolomite and limestone. 

The lead and zinc deposits found at other points in the Mississippi 

Valley, excluding those of southwestern Arkansas, are believed to 

represent concentrations from the surrounding limestone brought 

about by the activities of ordinary meteoric water. Specifically, it 

is believed that they represent material originally deposited in the 

dolomites of the Cambro-Silurian and later concentrated in their 

present situations." The evidence for this will not be reviewed here. 

In certain particulars the ores of this district differ from those found 

elsewhere in the valley, and this raises a question as to the applicability to them of the theories worked out from a study of the others. 

These differences are as follows:

(1) The antimony occurring in connection with the lead is found 

elsewhere in this region only in southwestern Arkansas, where the 

relations are entirely distinct from those normal to the Mississippi 

Valley. The lead ores of the valley are always particularly free from 

antimony, so much so as to class them as soft ores in distinction from 

the western or hard ores.

(2) The fact that the galena is slightly argentiferous is also distinctive. The amount of silver present is not great, but is none the 

less large when contrasted with that found elsewhere in the region. 

The folloAving analyses made by Messrs. Chandler and Kimball were 

published some years ago by Whitney,6 and indicate the amount of 

this difference.

Analyses of galena from southern Illinois.

Troy ounces silver per

2,000 pounds lead.

Rosiclare, 111 __________________:__________________ 92 

Massac County, 111________________.._______________ 1| 

Mineral Point, Wis__,________________________________ 3 

Rockville, Wis _____________'____________________ J 

Marsden lode (near Galena), Ill__________________________ ^

The amount of silver is small and its occurrence seems irregular, 

but that it is ever present to the amount indicated is striking. H. A. 

Wheeler has recently discussed this point in connection with the 

occurrence near Fredericktown, Mo., and in Algonkian felsites of a 

narrow vein of nonargentiferous galena.0 He argues from this that 

the neighboring lead deposits in the limestone were deposited by 

ascending waters of presumably deep-seated origin. If it prove gen0 Preliminary report on lead and zinc deposits of the Ozark region: Twenty-second 

Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, pp. 23-227.

»Whitney, J. D., Geol. Survey Illinois, vol. 1, 186G, pp. 188-189. 

» Wheeler, H. A., Eng. and Min. Jour., March 31, 1904.
i-AiN.] ORIGINAL SOURCE OF ORE MATERIAL. 63

erally true that the galena of the older rocks in this region is nonargentiferous, this Avould seem to emphasize the unusual character of 

the conditions under which such deposits as those of southern Illinois 

originated and would point to the improbability of the whole of the 

material entering into the composition of the ore bodies being derived 

from the normal rocks of the region.

(3) The marked development of fluorite in connection with the 

lead and zinc is wholly exceptional for this region. In none of the 

other lead and zinc districts has this mineral ever been noted, despite 

its showy character; and in the Joplin district the country rock, so 

far as Mr. Steiger's analyses go, fails to show a trace of fluorine. 

While any negative evidence derived from country rock is not considered strong evidence, it is at least suggestive.

(4) The presence of numerous and important fault planes and the 

association of the ores with them are peculiarly characteristic of this 

district. While faulting is not absent elsewhere, and, indeed, is 

believed to have a high significance as regards the genesis of the Joplin ores, it is nowhere as important as here, and in none of the other 

districts do the ores so persistently follow the fault planes. In this 

particular the ore bodies found here are more like those of the Western States than like those of the Mississippi Valley generally.

(5) The presence of igneous rock in the vicinity of the ore bodies 

is, so far as known, wholly restricted to this particular district.

These various facts point to the conclusion that, while it would 

perhaps be possible to consider the lead and zinc found here as being 

in the same category with that found elsewhere in the Mississippi 

Valley, the probability is that either its source was unusual or the conditions under which it was concentrated were entirely different from 

those prevailing elsewhere. The most notable peculiarities in each 

particular seem connected with the presence in the district of igneous 

rock. '

GANGUE MINERALS.

The gangue minerals associated with the ore bodies of this district 

a,re those common in the Mississippi Valley, with the exception of the 

fluorite. Calcite, quartz, and barite are found in all the districts, 

though not in equal amounts. There is a striking and peculiar 

absence of dolomite, which elsewhere is a constant associate of galena 

and blende. Whether this absence is due to the derivation of the 

ores from the immediately surrounding rocks, which are nonmagnesian, or from some entirely new source, or whether the Cambrian 

and Silurian rocks underlying the district are here nonmagnesian, is 

uncertain. The greatest peculiarity of the ore bodies, however, is the 

presence of large quantities of fluorite. This mineral is somewhat
64 FLUOKSP^K DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

widely distributed, principally in metamorphic rocks. In the United 

States it occurs from Maine to Virginia in. the Piedmont and Appalachian areas.0 In the Western States it is not uncommonly found in 

small quantities in connection with metalliferous veins. In the Mississippi Valley it is .exceedingly rare. At one or two localities in central Kentucky and Tennessee it occurs in nonmagnesian limestones. 

From Tennessee it is now being shipped. It is reported to occur in 

druses in the St. Louis limestone at St. Louis, and Mr. Ulrich has 

observed a few crystals in the Ste. Genevieve limestone at the type 

locality for that formation. With these exceptions it is not known 

to occur at any point in the valley, and it is entirely absent from 

all the lead and. zinc deposits of the region, except those of this 

particular district and the small deposits in central" Kentucky near 

Lexington.

Abroad the most important localities for the production of fluorspar are the north of England and certain Saxon mining localities 

in Germany. The English deposits occur in limestones of about 

the same age as those of southern Illinois, and in many particulars 

the occurrences are similar. This extends even to a close similarity 

in the dike rocks present in both districts. In Saxony the fluorspar 

occurs near Freiberg in veins and druses in gneisses, schists, and 

slates, cut by dikes of quartz-porphyry and by gabbro. It is associated with argentiferous galena, blende, stibnite, and many complex 

compounds not found in the Kentucky-Illinois district. 6

Fluorine itself has been found in sea water, in boiler incrustations 

of ocean vessels,6' and Dana found it in calcareous corals. It occurs 

in the bones of marine animals, and was found in small quantities 

in the manganese nodules brought up by the Challenger nets from a

depth of 2,375 fathoms.* '

From these notes it appears that fluorite may well be expected to 

occur in small quantity in limestones and other sedimentary rocks, 

but that its presence in unaltered limestones is very rare, .and that 

the only important bodies of fluorite known and worked commercially are in limestones which have been intruded with igneous rock. 

Both Mr. Emmons and Mr. Tangier Smith have shown that the 

apparently unaltered limestones of this district contain small quantities of fluorine.

"Dana, Mineralology, 6th ed., 1892, p. 163.

"Von Cotta, B., Treatise on Ore Deposits (Prime translation), 1870, p. 98. 

c Pumpelly, Raphael, Geol. Survey Kentucky, 2d ser., vol. 2, pt. S, p. 46. 

d Deep-sea deposits, Report Challenger Expedition, p. 421.
BAIN.] ORIGINAL SOUECE OF ORE MATERIAL. 65

Mr. Smith's analyses, made by Mr. George Steiger, of the United 

States Geological Survey, are quoted below.

Analyses of limestone from Kentucky and Missouri.

MgO .................................

CaO. ................................

F... ..................................

BaO ..................................

Organic matter .:.....................

I.

Per cent. 

0.15

55. 16

.04

None.

Trace.

n.

Per cent. 

1.48

51.75

.10

None.

(a)

ill.

Per cent. 

0.19

49.94

.10

.02

IV.

Percent. 

1.88

52 24

None.

None.

(«)

« Doubtful trace.

I. Ste. Genevieve limestone from near View, Ky.

II. Ste. Geuevieve limestone from near Crider, Ky.

III. St. Louis limestone from CrittencTen County, Ky.

IV. Limestone from Shoal Creek, southeast of Joplin, Mo.

While there is always doiibt attaching to the origin of these minute 

' quantities of material, and it is impossible to make sure that they do 

not represent secondarily-introduced material, it would seem that the 

limestone is at least a possible competent source of the fluorite.

As a constituent of igneous rocks fluorite is common. It enters into 

the composition of a number of widely disseminated minerals, including the common variety of apatite, certain micas, and topaz. Of these 

the first two named occur in unusual abundance in the dike rocks of 

this vicinity, though it is not certain that the particular minerals 

found here are fluorine bearing. Analyses of the freshest dike rock 

available, made in the Geological Survey laboratory by Mr. George 

Steiger, gave the following results:

Fluorine in analyses of. dike rock of southern Illinois and Kentucky.

Per cent. 

Downey dike, Rosiolare, 111_________ - -___.. None.

Mix dike, Golconda, 111__________________-___-____ 0.13

Hard dike, Marion, Ky____________ _ _____________ None.

It is of interest to recall in this connection the fact that in even the 

most altered of the igneous rocks the.apatite, presumably the mineral 

carrying the largest amount of fluorine, is fresh and unaltered.

Fluorine has commonly been observed in connection with volcanic 

outbursts, and fluorite is one of the most common minerals connected 

with volcanic rocks. .At Cripple Creek, Colorado, and many other 

western camps it is abundant in intrusive and extrusive rocks of Terage.

So far, then, the igneous rocks form a very probable source of the 

Bull. 255 05 M 5
66 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL. 255.

fluorine, but the evidence that the material did actually come from 

them is weak. If it is of any such origin, it presumably was not 

segregated during the weathering of the rocks and, recalling the 

field evidence, there seems little connection between particular dikes 

and individual ore bodies.

. PROCESS OF.CONCENTRATION.

There are two broadly contrasted methods by which the present ore 

bodies may have been concentrated. The first is by the action of the 

normal meteoric waters of the region, which may here, as in other 

districts, have gathered the disseminated material from the country 

rocks into the veins. The second is by the action of heated waters, 

either originally meteoric or derived from the intruded igneous rock, 

or in part from each source. It is believed that the evidence points 

to heated waters having been the agency by which the ores were segregated and that they obtained an essential portion of their load from 

a large mass of lower-lying intruded rock, of which the dikes are the 

offshoots.

It has already been pointed out that the ore bodies show no sign 

of secondary enrichment, and apparently the surface wraters now in 

the region can only operate to destroy rather than re-form the ore 

bodies. As compared with limestone, fluorite is relatively insoluble 

in cold water, though still more soluble than barite, which is very 

commonly concentrated by such waters. In the presence of an abundance of calcium carbonate in the surface waters mass action would 

demand that the waters largely exhaust their powers in working 

upon the country rock rather than the vein minerals. This seems 

to accord with the facts of the field, since the crystals of fluorspar in 

druses, which might be considered to represent reconcentration, are 

relatively rare, and,-as has been seen, the sulphides, which are very 

delicate indices of the process of reconcentration, show no clear 

evidence of such action, but point rather to its absence. It is difficult to believe, therefore, that such waters have gathered minutely 

disseminated quantities of fluorite from the surrounding limestone 

and formed the veins as they now occur. It is also to be remembered 

that in other districts of commercial importance in the Mississippi 

Valley, where such waters have been shown to be effective, both the 

ores and the gangue differ in the important particulars already 

enumerated.

If it be held that the waters which formed the ores were heated 

waters, but that they, derived their load from the St. Louis, Ste. 

Genevieve, and surrounding limestones, it may be pointed out that the 

normal tendency of heated waters rising along faulting fissures would 

undoubtedly be toward deposition and dissemination pf material 

rather than toward its segregation. This would seem .to indicate
WAIN.] PEOCESS OF CONCENTEATION. 67

that the waters were loaded beiore reaching these horizons rather 

than the reverse, and would make the association of the fluorspar 

with the Ste. Genevieve a matter dependent upon the precipitating 

action of the latter rather than the reverse. This does not exclude 

the possibility of minor contributions to the veins from the surrounding country rock, though it may be pointed out that it is to the 

lower-lying Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian rocks that one 

would look for any considerable quantity of lead and zinc if the 

general analogy of the other districts in the Mississippi Valley be 

considered important. This Avas indicated in an earlier general 

paper on the lead and zinc deposits of the valley.0 The published 

data then available prove to have been somewhat misleading, and the 

analogy is now believed to be less close than was suggested.

It is probable that the unusual quantity of apatite in the dike

material, and to a less extent the large micas, indicate a magma in

which fluorine was present, and that this fluorine was given off to 

the underground waters during the period of cooling and consolidation of the underlying mass of rock.

The association of the minerals and the common phenomena of 

marked silicification of the hanging wall are interpreted as indicating 

deposition from heated ascending solutions carrying fluosilicates 

of zinc, lead, copper, iron, barium, and calcium. These are believed to have been broken up and precipitated by descending cold 

waters, which possibly also furnished the sulphur to combine with 

the metals, though it is not improbable that sulphur was an original 

constituent of the rising solutions.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE AND FUTURE OF THE DISTRICT.

SOURCES AND USES OF FLUORSPAR.

The Kentucky-Illinois district is not only the main American 

source of fluorspar, but is the only one from which spar reaches the 

general market. Since 1882 the district has produced 260,000 tons 

of spar, having a total value of $1,521,029.

There are no data for determining the production of the Illinois 

mines separately. For many years they produced practically all the 

output. Recently the Kentucky mines have been developed, and 

now are producing more than those north of the Ohio. In the following table are given the output and value of fluorspar in the United 

States for 1902 and 1903, the figures being taken from Mineral 

Resources of the United States, 1903.

"Van Hise, C. It., aud Bain, IT. Foster, Lead and Zinc Deposits of the Mississippi Valley, U. S. A., read before the Institution of Mining Engineers, London, 1902.
68 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [BULL'. 255. 

Production of fluorspar in the United States in 1902 and 1903, by States.

Arizona and Tennessee, ..-.-.--..-.-.

Kentucky ..........................

Illinois ..............................

Total.............. ............

10

Quantity.

Short tonn.

 628

29, 030

18,360

48,018

)2.

Value.

$6, 872

143, 410

121,532

271.814

19

Quantity.

Short tons. 

275

30, 835

11,413

42, 523

03.

Value.

$2, 037

153,960

57, 620

213,617

The spar is shipped in part by the Illinois Central Railway and in 

part on the Ohio River. Prices are fixed by Pittsburg quotations, less 

freight and commissions. At Pittsburg the American spar comes 

into competition with English and German material imported 

through New York. The American mines supply the western trade 

and about half of the Pittsburg demand. The importers control the 

eastern trade and determine prices at Pittsburg.

There are three main uses for fluorspar. The highest grade, running less than 1 per cent of silica, and white in color, is sold either 

ground or in lump, for use in the enameling, chemical, and glass 

trades. It brings the highest price, recent New York quotations 

being $8 to $10-a ton unground and $11.50 to $13.50 ground. The 

price at the western mines is about a dollar less per ton than the New 

York price, to offset differences in freight rates to competing territory. There is a limited market for this grade of spar, and it probably would not be extended much even at lower prices, since the 

amount used is determined by conditions wholly outside the cost of

the spar. On the other hand, it is a question'whether even a higher

price could not well be obtained for this grade.

The second grade of spar is used in steel making, and is sold 

unground as lump or gravel. It includes colored spar and may run 

as high as 4 per cent silica, though mostly sold with a 3 per cent 

guaranty. It is demanded for open-hearth work because of the great 

fluidity which it gives the slag. At present at least 20,000 tons are 

used annually in this work, at a cost to the user of from $6 to $8 per 

ton. Importers have now a slight advantage in the Pittsburg 

market on this grade of ore. It is probable that when a steady supply 

of fluorspar at the present or slightly lower prices .can be guaranteed 

in steel-making centers the market can rapidly be expanded, and this 

affords the most hopeful outlook for spar producers. In many ways 

fluorspar has advantages over other fluxing materials now used.

The lowest grade of spar, including all running over 4 per cent
BAIN.] SOUECES AND USES OF FLUORSPAR. - 69

silica, or spar mixed with calcite, can be used in foundry work, and 

while the price is and always must be low, there is possible an almost 

unlimited market. It is probable that systematic eiforts to introduce 

the low-grade material into this trade would be highly beneficial to 

the industry as a whole. While there would be little profit in mining foundry spar, it would allow the production of No. 2 spar in 

quantity and at prices demanded by steel makers. With the exhaustion of bessemer grades of iron there will be an increased demand 

for fluorspar, though even now demand is ahead of supply for steelmaking grades. Since at any increase in prices it becomes cheaper 

to use less efficient fluxes, it follows that Avhile the output can be 

increased prices probably can not be much changed.

Wiijh these facts in mind it is seen that the fluorspar mines of the 

Kentucky-Illinois district will have for many years a large and 

growing market to Supply. Their only competitors are the importers, 

and competition Avith them is mainly a matter of transportation costs. 

It is not certain that this competition will always be keen as now, since 

foreign producers have an important and growing trade outside 

the United States. Mines in the Rocky Mountain region and other 

Western States can not be expected to disturb the fluorspar market. 

Such fluorspar as occurs in connection with the ores of that region 

will probably always have a sufficient local market. The quantity 

present is not important in any western district yet described, and 

local smelters make an allowance for lime, which, entirely aside from 

the cost of transportation, is likely to prevent shipments of spar to 

' the East.

FUTURE PRODUCTION.

'The opinion already given as to the genesis of the ores indicates 

the belief of the author that they will prove permanent in depth to 

' horizons below which they'can not be worked because of increasing 

cost. The low value of the ore places a somewhat severe limitation 

upon the future depth of mining, and it is possible that this feature 

alone will in most situations preclude work to a depth greater than 

.1,000 feet. It is also possible that changes in the character of the 

country rock may influence disastrously the size and character of the 

ore bodies. It has been impossible to get any data on the character 

of the rock which occurs in this area beneath the Ohio shale. Normalty a considerable thickness of dolomites and limestones would be 

expected to be present, but they may be absent, and it is not impossible that the supposed igneous mass occurs below the shale. In all 

the mines so far located in Illinois the shale lies 500 to 1,000 feet or 

more below present workings.
70 FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. [HULL. 255.

There are no data at hand for predictions as to change in character 

and richness of the ores with depth. Changes in the country rock 

may be expected to have an important influence, and so far the Ste. 

Genevieve and other Chester formations have proved most favorable. In the Illinois mines nothing suggesting rearrangement of the 

ores and secondary enrichment coincident with degradation of the 

surface was observed. At the Empire mine carbonates gave place 

to sulphides within the first hundred feet, and below that level no 

change was observed.

In the Kentucky mines a number of deposits of first-grade fluorspar 

are said to have given out or lost grade Avith depth. The significance 

of this fact is uncertain. Whether it is to be correlated with change 

in wall rock, or indicates only the usual irregular distribution of ore 

in depth as well as along a vein, is not clear. In no case was development carried on to determine whether the ore would come in again at 

lower levels. If it be true that the diminution in size of the ore bodies 

was related to topography rather than stratigraphy, it can only be 

stated that the best obtainable evidence in Illinois does not warrant 

the belief that the rule is universal. The character and size of the 

ore bodies certainly do not bear any constant relation to the present 

land surface.

In the light of these facts and the wide prospecting which has been 

going on in the district, little encouragement is offered to the hope of 

finding important bodies of lead and zinc on the northern side, at 

least, of the river, but it is believed that the fluorspar deposits afford 

the basis for an important and growing industry.

GUIDES FOR PROSPECTING.

Fluorite is such a distinctive and easily recognized mineral that it 

is not often overlooked. Its presence, or that of galena or blende, is 

usually sufficient to warrant careful prospecting for an ore body. 

Calcite, on the other hand, is so common that its presence is not 

often significant. The presence of faulting fissures may usually be 

recognized by the fact that rocks of unlike character are brought into 

contact along straight lines or by the presence of the quartzite reefs 

already discussed. To a less extent any disturbance of the strata is 

in this district probably connected with faulting. When a body of 

spar has been formed along a fault contact it should first be prospected by a few shallow shafts along the strike to determine its extent. 

That proving favorable, regular sinking may be undertaken with 

some confidence. In general it is to be remembered that the material 

is of low value and expensive installations are not warranted. While 

some lead and zinc may be saved in mining the spar, it is not thought 

that they are generally of first importance.
INDEX

A. ' Pago.

Allegheny Plateaus, extension of, in Kentucky-Illinois district.......... 14

Aliens Spring, mines near.................. 58

prospecting near ....................... 59

Alluvium, occurrence and character of.... 27

American Mines Company, property of.... 53

Amplexus geniculatus, occurrence of...... 21,22

Analyses of limestone ...................... 65

Anderson well, discovery of fluorspar in... 12,45 

Anson, , development by............. 13

An timony, occurrence of................... 36, G2

Anton, Eilers, and Eaymond, II. W., on lead

mining......................... 12

Apatite, presence of, evidence of........... 67

Arixona, production of fluorspar in ........ 68

Aux Vases sandstone, equivalent of ....... 23

B.

Bain, PI. Foster, on lead and /inc.. ........ 67

Baldwin mine, description of.............. 51

Barite, character of........................ 37-38

occurrence of............................ 60,03

Bay Bottoms, location of................... 17

rocks near.............................. 26

Bay City mine, description of.............. 60

'Big Clifty sandstone, equivalent of ........ 23

Big Creek, location and character of....... -17

rocks on................................ Rl

Big Four mine, description of.............. 61

Big Joe mine, description of................ 50-51

Birdsville formation, character of....... 38,24-25

name of ................................ 25

occurrence of............... 18,24-25,30,46,49

Bisland, T. P., information from........... 44

on stibnite.............................. 39

Black mine, description of................. 60

Blende, character of........................ 38

concentration of........................ 62

occurrence of........................... 36

Blue vein, description of................... 47

Brush, G. J., on fluorspar................... 12

Bryozoa, occurrence of..................... 19

Burk, W. E.,on Kentucky-Illinois district. 13

Calc. SeeCalcite.

Calcite, character of.....'................... 37

occurrence of.......................... 36,63

Carboniferous rocks, character and occurrence of......................... 17-26

Carboniferous time, uplift in............... 35

Page.

Cave in Rock,faults near................... 32

fluorspar mi nes hear.................... 11,54

fossils near............................. 58

rocks near.............................. 21,22

Cerussite, character of...................... 39

Chalcopyrite, character of ................. 39

Chandler and Kimball, analysis by........ 62

Chattanooga shale, equivalent of.......... 19

Chester group, equivalents of .......... j... 18,22

occurrence of................. 30,42,48,58,60

Cleiothyris hirsuta, occurrence of.......... 22

sublamellosa, occurrence of............ 22

Cleaveland, Parker, on fluorspar........... 12

Clements vein, description of.............. 47-48

Cleveland-Illinois Fluorspar Company,

property of..................... 54

Coal measures, occurrence of.............. 15,31

Columbia mines, development of.......... 12

Concentration, processes of ................ 66-67

Conglomerate measures, equivalent of..... 26

Cook mine, description of.................. 53

Copper, character of........................ 39

occurrence of.......'.................... 36

Copper vein, fault at....................... 48

Crabb, Jesse, house of, prospects at........ 51

Crider, A. F., assistance of................. 14

mica found by ......................... 27

Crider, Ky., limestone from, analysis of... 65 

Cross section from Rosiclare to Karbers

Ridge, diagram showing ....... 30

Crystal Fluorspar Mining Company, workings of.......................... 49

Cypress sandstone, character of............ 18-23

occurrence of...................... 18,23,25,49

D.

Daisy vein, description of.................. 47

rocks at ................................ 42

Dana, J. D., on fluorite..................... 64

Depth, effect of, on ores..................... 70

Development of fluorspar district, history

of............................... 12-13

Devonian rocks, character of .............. 17-18

occurrence of........................ 17-18,48

Diabase, occurrence of....................... 29

Dielasma formosa, occurrence of........... 22

turgidum, occurrence of ............... 22

Dikes, occurrence.and character of......'.. 27-30

Diller, J.S.,on Kentucky mica-peridotite.. 13,30. 

Dip, character of ........................... 33-34

Discovery of fluorspar...................... 12

Displacement, diverse, occurrence of....... 33

71
72 INDEX.

Dolomite, absence o£.....

character of ..........

Downey dike, fluorine in. 

Downey's bluff, fault at..

Page.

63

38

.. 05

35

rocks at and near....................... 23,2

Eichorn, mines near................J....... 52

rocks near.......;...................... 22

Eilers, Anton, and Raymond, on Fairview

mine ............................... 44-45

on Fairview rocks....................... 24

on galena............................... 38

on lead mining......................... 12

on stibnite.............................. 39

Elevations in Illinois district, statement of. 15 

Elizabethtown, faults near................. 32

fluorspar mines near .................... 11

rocks near.............................. 21,39

Emmons, S. F., on Fairview mine.....:.... 44

on fluorine.............................. 64

on fl uorspar ............................ 13

on ore deposits ......................... 57

on replacement ........................ 41

Empire mine,description of................ 48-50

faults at............................. 31,33,41

rocks in ................................ 31,41

Engelmann, Henry, on Cypress sandstone. 23 

on Illinois geology...................... 18

on Kentucky-Illinois district........... 13

on St. Louis limestone.................. 21

Engelmann and Worthen, onSte.Genevieve

limestone....................... 22

Erosion, periods of ......................... 35-36

Eureka mine, description of................ 58

F'.

Fairview Fluorspar Company, property of. 12,44,47 

Fairview mine, description of.............. 44-45

developments at, disclosures of......... 40

fault at................................. 33

rocksat................................. 24 41

Faulting, character of...................... 32-33.

detection of............................. 70

occurrence of.............:............. 21,

24,25,31-33,41-42,47-48,57-58,60 

significance of.......................... 63

Ferruginous sandstone, equivalents of..... 23

Flannery dike, location of.................. 27

Fluate of lime, occurrence of............... 12-13

Fluorite, character of...................... 36-37

occurrence of .................... 36-37,63-65

character and occurrence of........... 36-37

discovery of............................ 12

prices and uses of...................... 67-69

sources and production of.............. 61-70

Fluorspar and limestone, interbanded, view

ofFluorspar band, photomicrographs of.....

photomicrographs of, comment on.... 

Fohs, F. Julius, acknowledgments to .....

on ankerite............................

Formations of southern Illinois, table of.. 

Fossils, occurrence of...................... 19-24

Fredonia member, equivalent of........... 22

occurrence and character of............ 22

54

56

54,57

27

38

18

G.

Galena, analyses of......................... 62

character of............................ 38

concentration of........................ 62

occurrence of..................... 12,26,36,60

Galena, 111., galena from near, analysis of. 62 

Gallatin County, faults in.................. 32

topography in.......................... 15

Geologic work, in district, summary of .... 13-14

Geology of Illinois district, account of...... 17-36

Gilbert, G. K., on diverse displacement.... 33

Gilbert dike, location of.................... CO

Glass spar. See Fluorspar.

Golconda, mines near ....................... 58

prospects near.......................... GO

rocks near.............................. 30

Good Hope shaft, opening of............... 44

Gordon mine, description of................ 54

location of.............................. -58

Grand Plerre Creek, location and character of........................... 17

Grand Pierre Mining Company, work of... 50 

Gulf Plateau, extension of, in KentuckyIllinois district................. 14

topography of.......................... 14

H.

Hamp mine, discription of................. 52

faults at................................ 33,41

rocks in ................................ 41

Hard dike, fluorine in....................... 65

Hardin County, dome in ................... 31

mines and prospects in, descriptions

of............................ 11,52-58

ore deposits in, character of............ 36

rocks in .......................... 17,19-23,25

topography of.......................... 14-15

Hayes, C. W., letter of transmittal by...... 9

on Interior Lowland ................... 14

Hayes and Ulrich, on faulting .............. 33

Hicks, dome near .......................... 31

faults near.............................. 21

rocks near........................... 19-22,27

Hicks Branch, rocks on..................... 19,31

Hicks area, geologic map of................ 22

geology of, re'sume' of................... 48

mines and prospects of.................. 48-52

Hicks mine, description of...:............. 52

History, geologic, sketch of................ 34-36

Hobbs, W. H., on faulting.................. 33

Hog Thief Branch, fault near.............. 32

Hubbard sha'f t, description of.............. 50

Hutchinson, James, mine of, description of. 51

I.

Igneous rocks, deformation and intrusion

of, history of ................... 35

occurrence of ........................ 17-27,43

significance of...................... 63

Illinois, fluorspar production of............ 68

1 imestones from, anal ysis of............ 65

Indiana geological survey, on Mansffeld

sandstone ...................... 26

Interior Lowland, location of.............. 14-15

topography of.....................:.... 15

Iron, oxide of, occurrence of............... 39
INDEX. 73

j.

Jackson, Andrew, development by company headed by................. 12

Jacks Point, rocks at......................: 20

 Johannsen, Albert, assistance of........... 14

on Kentucky-Illinois igneous rocks.... 28-30

Johnson County,, fluorspar mines in ....... 11

Joplin, Mo., limestone from, analysis of... 65

K.

Kaibab structure, character of............. 33

Kaolin, character of ....................... 38

occurrence of.......................... 59

Karbers Eidge, cross section from llosiclare to......................... 30

faults near ............................. 32

location and character of.....'......... 14-16

origin of................................ 36

rocks Of ................................ 26

Kaskaskia, equivalents of.................. 18

Kentucky, Crittenden County, fluorspar 

raining in ......................

Critteiiden County, limestone from, 

» analysis of......................

rocks in ................................

limestone from, analysis of.............

production of fluorspar in..............

rocks in ................................

Kentucky-Illinois fluorspar district, geologic map of....................

location of.............................. 11,14

index map showing................ 14

Keyes, C. R., on Cypress sandstone and Ste.

Genevieve limestone........... 23

King and Fergusen mine, description of... 60-61

L,.

Lafayette (?) gravels, character and occurrence of ........................

Lead, production of........................

Lead Hill, fluorspar and limestone from, 

view of.........................

mines near.............................

r^cks near..............................

Lead Hill mine, description of.............

replacement in.........................

Lead sulphide, occurrence of..............

Limestone, analyses of.....................

Limestone and fluorspar, interbanded, 

view of.........................

Limonite, character of ......................

occurrence of...........................

Lindgren, Waldemar, on replacement......

Loess, occurrence and character of........

Lonsdalia (Lithostrotion), occurrence of...

Loughridge, R. H., on Kentucky-Illinois

district .........................

Luella mine, description of ................

Lusk Creek, location and character of.....

Lyropora rana, occurrence of..............

subquadrata, occurrence of ............

M.

McClellan mine, description of 

replacement in.............

rocks in ....................

18

12,13

fyl 

52 

21 

54 

41 

36 

65

54 

39 

36 

41

18,27 

19-20

31

59

17

22

24

, Page. 

McGee, W J, on Lafayette formation ....... 26

Malachite, character of.................... 39

Mansfield sandstone, character of.......' 18,25-26

equivalent of........................... 23

name of .................................. 26

occurrence of......... 16-18,26,31,43,48,58,60

Map, geologic, of Hicks district............ 22

of Kentucky-Illinois district ........... 14

Of Rosiclare district.................... . 18

Map, index, of Kentucky-Illinois district.. 11 

Marion Mineral Company, work by ........ 48

Marsden lode, galena from, analysis of..... 62

Marshall, , development by.............. 12

Massac County, galena from, analysis of... 62 

topography of.......................... 14

Mica, occurrence of........................ 27

Miller farm, mine on................ '....... 61

Millstone grit, equivalent of................ 26

Mineral deposits, age of.................... 43

relations of topography, water level,

and............................. 42

Mineral Point, Wis., galena from, analysis

Of............................... 62

paragenesis of.......................... 40

Minerals, gangue, character of....... 36-38,63-66

source of ............................... 63-66

Minerals, ore, character and source of...... 61-63

Minerals, original metallic, character of... 38-39 

Minerals, secondary, character of'. ......... 39

Mines and prospects, descriptions of....... 43-67

Mississippian rocks, occurrence of.......... 17,20.

Missouri, limestone from, analysis of....... 65

Mix, Charles, farm of, rocks on ............ 30

Mix dike, fluorine in........................ 65

location of.............................. 27

Moore farm, prospects on................... 59

]sr.

New Albany shale, equivalent of.......... 19

Norwood, J. G., on Blue vein......... i..... 47

on Cypress sandstone................... 23

on Fairview mine ...................... 44-45

on lead mining......................... 12

on Kentucky-Illinois district .......... 13

O.

Ohara member, occurrence and character of 22,48

Ohio River, elevations on and character of. 16-17

fluorspar mines on...................... 11

Ohio shale, character and equivalents of .. 18-19

occurrence of............................ 18-48

Old clay diggings, location of.............. 59

Old Jim mine, discovery and description of. 13 

Ore deposits, general character of.... 36-37,40-41

minerals in............................. 36^10

mode of occurrence of.................. 40^13

 materials of, source of.................. 61

structural relations of ...................41-42

Ore shoots, occurrence and character of.... 41

Ores, alteration of.......................... 42

character of ............................ 70

genesis of............................... 61-67

Orr's landing, rocks at...................... 28

Owen, D. D., on lead mining............... 12

on Kentucky-Illinois district........... 13

on zinc ................................. 13
INDEX.

' Page.

Oxford and Watson mine, description of... 53 

Oxidation, occurrence of................... 42-43

Ozark Plateau, extinction of, in KentuckyIllinois district................. 14-15

topography of...... v .................. 14-15

. P.

Packers Gap, location of.................... 17

Paragenesis of minerals .................... 40

Parkenson mine, description of............ 53

location of.............................. 58

Patton mine, location of.................... 52

Pell, mines near............................ 53

Pell, William, fluorspar found by .......... 12

Pell mine, descriptions of.."................ 53

Peneplain, location of...................... 16

Pennsylvanian rocks, occurrence of ....... 17, 26

Pentremites florealis, occurrence of:....... 22

godonii, occurrence of.................. 24

pyriformis, occurrence of .............. 24

tuberculata, occurrence of............. 24

Pierce, H. B., work of......................' 50

Pittsburg Mining Company, mine of, description of..................... 58-59

mine of, rocks near .................... 38

Platycrinus huntsvilli, occurrence of...... 2V

Pope County, faults in ..................... 32

geology of.............................. 58

mines and prospects in.............. 11,58-60

ore deposits in, character' of............ 36

rocks in .................... 17,22-23,25,26,30

topography of .......................... 14-15

Powell, W. J., on diverse displacement.... 33

Princeton limestone, equivalent of ........ 23

Production of fluorspar..................... 67-70

Prospecting, guides for..................... 70

Pumpelly, Raphael, on fluorite............ 64

Pyrite, character of........................ 39

QQuartz, character of........................ 37

occurrence of........................... 63

Quaternary deposits, character, and occurrence of ..................... 17-18,27

Quartzite reefs, occurrence of.............. 33

Rainey mine,, description of................ 51

Ransome, F. L., on faulting................ 33

Raum, mines near.......................... 58

Raymond. R. V., on Fairview mine........ 44

Raymond, An ton, and Eilers, on lead mining ............................. 12

Rock, prospecting near...................... 59

Rockville, Wis., galena from, analysis of .. 62 

Rosiclare, cross section from Karbers Ridge

to............................... 30

fl uorspar mines near .................... 11-12

galena from, analysis of................ 62

rocks at and near .......... 21,23,25,28-30,43

Rosichftearea, faults in.................... 43

geologic map of ........................ 18

geo^gy of, re'sume' of................... 43

mines and prospects of................. 43-48

Page.

Rosiclare member, character of............ 22

occurrence of........................ 22,29; 48

Rosiclare mine, description of.............. 45-47

developments at, disclosures of........ 40

discovery of............................ 12

fault at..................'...:........... 33

rocks in ................................ 26,41

water in ............................'.... 42

Rosiclare quarry, rocks in.................. 28-29

S.

SafTord, J. M., on Tullahoma formation.... 20 

St. Louis limestone, character of........ 18,20-21

contact of Tullahoma formation and... 18-20

occurrence of............... 16,18,20-21,28,43

ore in................................... 43

Ste. Genevieve limestone, character of.. 18,21-23

occurrence of......... 18,22-23,28-29,43,48-49

Saline County, mines and prospects in ... 11,60-61.

rocks of................................. 60

Schoolcraft, H. R., on fluorspar ............ 12

Sedimentary rocks, occurrence of....... 17,27-30

Sedimentation, period of, history of........ 34

Seminula trinuclea, occurrence of......... 22

Shawneetown, fluorspar from.............. 12

Shetlerville, fossils and rocks at and near.. 22-23 

Shetlerville Hills, location and character

of............................... 16

origin of................................ ' 36

Showalter mine, location of................ 52

Shumard, B, F., on Ste. Genevieve limestone ........................... 23

Silver, occurrence of............. v ...... 38,62-63

Smith, W. S., Tangier, on fluorspar ........ 37,64

on Illinois igneous rocks ............... 27

Smith and Ulrich, work of................. 14

Smithsonite, character of .................. 39

Soward farm, rocks on ..................... 30

Spar. See Fluorspar.

Spirifer increbescens, occurrence of........ 24

leidyi, occurrence of................... 22,24

Spiriferina Norwood!, occurrence of....... 22

transversa, occurrence of .............. 22

Steiger, analysis by......................... 63,65

Stenopora cervinus, occurrence of......... 24

Stewart mine, description of............... 53

Stibnite, character of....................... 39

Structure, geologic, character of........... 31-34

general relations of..................... ' 31

T.

Taylors Spring, prospects near.............. 59

Tennessee, production of fluorspar in...... 68

Tertiary deposits, character and occurrence

of............................ 16-18,26

Threemile Creek, mine on.................. 53

Topography of Illinois district............. 15-17

Tribune limestone, character of............ 18,24

occurrence of........................ 18,44,46

Tullahoma formation, character of......... 18-20

contact of St. Louis limestone and ...... 18-20

name of ................................ 20

occurrence of...........I................ IS, 20
INDEX. 75

IT. Page.

Ulrich, E. 0. , assistance of ................... 14

fossils determined by. .................. 22, 24

on Birdsville formation..... ............. 25

on Carboniferous rocks ................. 18

on Cypress sandstone. . ................. 23

on Empire mine ........................ 49

on Fairview mine ...................... 44

on fluorite .............................. 64

on Kentucky rocks. .................... 27

on Ohio shale. .......................... 18-19

on Rosiclare mine ...................... 46

on Ste. Genevieve limestone. ........... 21-23

on St. Louis limestone. .............. 20-21, 46

on Tribune limestone. . ................. 24

on Tullahoma formation ............... 19-20

specimens collected by ................. 25

Ulrich and Hayes, on faulting. ............. 33

Ulrich and Smith, work of ................. 14

Upland plain, location, character, and rocks 

of..........:................-.............. 16

Uplift, occurrence of ....................... 31, 35

Valle, . , development by .............. 13

Van Hise,C. R.,on Lake Superior ore bodies. 42

on lead and zinc. ....................... 67

on mineral deposits ................ : ... 40

Page 

Veins, character of ............................ 40r41;

View, Ky., limestone from, analysis of.-.... 65.

Von Cotta, B., on fluorite......:.'........-... 64

Waters, action of........................... 66-67

Wheeler, H. A., on galena.................. 62

White, , development by..'........-... 12

Whitney, J. D., on galena........ A........' 38,62

on lead mining............'........'..... 12

Worthen, A. H., on Illinois geology........ 18

on Kentucky-Illinois district........... 13

on Tertiary deposits."................... 26

Worthen and Engelmann, on Ste. Genevieve limestone. ................ 22

Wrigh t farm, prospects on..................' 52"

Wright mine, description of............'.... 59-60

Zeacrinusmanniformis, occurrence of...... 2-1

Zaphrentis pellansis, occurrence of........ .22

spinulifera, occurrence of............... 24

Zinc, production of......... '................ 13

Zinc, carbonate of, occurrence of.......... _36,59

Zinc, sulphide of, occurrence of............ 36

Zinc blende. Sec Blende.