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Mining in the USA Part 29: Virginia Adapted from Information Provided by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy M n ng n V rg n a has taken p ace n one form or another s nce man s n t a hab tat on of the and. Over 50 m nera s have been m ned n the state, contr but ng great y to ts economy. Ear y m n ng n V rg n a began w th the retr eva of f nt and stone by Nat ve Amer cans for use as too s, and ater w th the m n ng of bog ron ore near Jamestown, n 1619. The f rst ron furnace n the New Wor d was bu t on Fa ng Creek, a few m es south of present-day R chmond. V rg n a ron p ayed an mportant ro e for the Confederacy dur- ng the C v War, prov d ng the raw mater a for guns and kn ves, as we as sk ets, sur- geon s too s, and horseshoes. unt product on ha ted n 1942, the state supp ed approx mate y 26 m on tons of ron for manufactur ng purposes. H stor ca y, ead depos ts p ayed a key ro e n both the Revo ut onary and C v Wars. Important depos ts m ned for ead to make bu ets were ocated near Aust nv e, n Wythe County, and at Faber, n A bemar e County. Product on cont nued n the state unt 1981. The f rst commerc a product on of coa n the un ted States began n 1748 when m nes n the R chmond bas n began sup- p y ng coa for oca needs and expand ng markets a ong theAt ant c coast. Coa was mned amost cont nuous y from 1748-1904 n the Eastern Coa f e ds w th tota produc- t on est mated to be over 8 m on tons. S nce the 1950s, v rtua y a of the coa produced n V rg n a has come from the Southwest V rg n a Coa f e d. Go d was m ned extens ve y n the ear y 1800s; but n 1849, major go d d s- cover es n Ca forn a caused V rg n a s go d ndustry to dec ne rap d y. Commerc a go d m n ng cont nued on a sma er sca e unt 1947, when product on was ast re- corded. Sa t from m nes n Sa tv e, V rg n a, was once v ta for preservat on purposes. Today, natura gas s stored n the former sa t m nes of Smyth County; and sa t br ne s pumped from a cavern to accommodate the storage fac ty. S nce 2000, the sa t has been sent to an evaporator p ant n Sa tv e where t crysta zes from the br ne to be so d to a host of d fferent markets. In 1996, RGC Resources (now I uka Resources) began m n ng emen te, z r- con, and eucoxene - the most common sources of t tan um - from a heavy m nera sand depos t near the boundary between D nw dd e and Sussex count es. V rg n a s one of on y three states current y produc- ng t tan um mater a s. The m n ng of construct on mater a s, wh ch was f rst documented n the ate 19th century, cont nues n the O d Dom n on State and nc udes sand and grave , gran te, mestone, gne ss, and sandstone used for crushed stone and d mens on stone, a ong w th gypsum, c ay, and others. Mid-lothian Mines Park in Chesterfield County, Virginia, is the site of the first commercial coal mine in the U.S. The above photo shows the park opening in 2004, courtesy of midlomines.org 22 MARCH 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®