Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1894-08-09
LEAD, ZINC AND SPAR.

W SSoSCu WIN u
contradiction that Crittenden county
contains more deposits of lead, zinc,
flour spar and barite than any other
section of the State. Most of these
have been known for many years and
only few are to be regarded as re-
cent discoveries. None of them.
excepting perhaps the Columbia
mines, have ever been worked with
even a semblance of mining capital
to back them. Of course many
shafts were sunk where there was
absolutely no chance for success.
Nor are the usual stories of deposits
of gold and silver wanting. Any
well informed man must however
know that gold is not to be found In
this region. Nor need silver be
looked for save as very minute per
cent. IN the galena. Still, Critten-
den has many mineral deposits that
ought to prove valuable.
1t has been claimed tbst ktba lead
deposits of Crittenden m <;nply
segregations filing cavitist q tbs
limestone. This claim scarcely de-
serves serious REPUTATION, since but
little geological knowledge is requlr-
ed to enable one TO determine that
the county is crossed by numerous
faults, and that the lead deposits in
varlably occur in the line of the frac-
lures. They are therefore in true
assure veins, the origin of which was
N no way dependent upon shrinkage
OF the strata rOr to the eroding or
cavity-maklng effects of water upon
the limestone. On the contrary
these assures are of deep seated
origin, having resulted from convul-
sive movements of the earth's crust,
whereby it was fractured and the
country for some distance on one
side of the dislocation either showed
up or thrown down. The down
throw is several instances in the
county cannot have been much less
than one thousand feet, and only in
few cases among the twenty or
more "faults" that l have determin-
I'd was it less than two hundred feet.
Tie deep seated origin of these
assures was suspected :l:eady by
TIC p.onccr soc. let. David Dale
)weu, w.c WAS Sta:c ceo!csist in the
ia:tor sos. His comparison with
he Devonshire lead deposits was
nearer the truth than he knew. The
comparison seemed to fail in one i'm
portaLt point. In Deyonshire,
namely, the mctalliferous assures
are associated with trap bikes, or
rocks of igneOus origin. and until
lately nothing of that kind had been
known here. My Investigations,
however, have developed the fact
that such dikcs do occur in Critten-
den county. a POINT on one of these
where shaft nearly fifty feet deep
has been sunk, is locally wclI-known
as the "Flanary silver mine" Much
scientific interest attaches to this dis
covery, but beyond the mere determi-
nation of the existence of igneous
rocks in this field. they nave no
economic value. In my report to
the survey | discussed, at length.
the questions relating 10 the source
= OF the lead and other minerals in
c these veins, the horizons at which
C the greatest deposits may be expected
d and the depth 10 which they extend,
1t is neither necessary nor desirabl,
, to go over all that here. A mer,
statement of my conclusions viii
: suffice.
d Biologists are quite agreed that th
minerals In question are derive,
,r chiefly through precipitation and re
&c gregatlon from waters charged wit
4 them issuing from the limestone wall
e OF the assures. Ii this is true