WorldWide Drilling Resource

53 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JUNE 2014 Mining in the USA Part 23 Compiled by Bonnie Love, Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® When people think of early gold mining in the United States, they prob- ably have visions of the California Gold Rush in the mid-19th century. What most people may not realize is the first gold rush was in the Carolina’s some 50 years before the California Gold Rush. In fact, when gold was discovered in California in 1848, many of the experienced miners traveling to the West gained much of their mining experience in the Carolinas. Gold can be found in most of the Peidmont region of South Carolina, in an area northwest of the Fall Line (a geologic boundary between older metamorphic and igneous rocks and the younger sed- imentary rocks of the Coastal Plain). The gold-bearing formations are part of the Carolina Slate Belt - a large package of similar rock formations extending from Virginia to Georgia. The South Carolina section contains volcanic and sedimen- tary rocks formed roughly 550 million years ago. In 1827, another gold deposit was discovered in eastern Lancaster County, South Carolina, near the town of mod- ern-day Kershaw, on the property of Benjamin Haile. The Haile Mine would operate sporadically throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the 19th century, gold mining gradually declined with much of the national focus shifting out west to California by the 1850s. The Dorn Mine in South Carolina’s McCormick County, was another incred- ibly productive mine through the 1850s. Gold was initially discovered in this area in 1852 by William Burkhalter Dorn. Be- tween 1835 and 1852, Dorn made repeated attempts at prospecting in the Western South Carolina region. Finally in 1852, he discovered a large amount of gold on the Peak Hill section of prop- erty he had leased. Full-scale mining operations were soon underway, and in less than a year and a half, Dorn’s first venture had pro- duced over $300,000 worth of gold. South Carolina still produces gold, but at much smaller amounts. Currently, South Carolina is the top producing state of vermiculite. Vermiculite is a hydrated magnesium aluminum silicate mineral which resembles mica in appearance. It is used in a wide number of markets including construction, industrial, horti- culture, and agriculture. South Carolina South Carolina also mines kaolin clay, limestone, granite, manganese schist, as well as other stones and clays. Ever wonder what is mined in South Dakota? Find out as our series continues.