Geology, geochemistry, and mineral resource assessment of the Southern Nantahala Wilderness and adjacent roadless areas, Rabun and Towns Counties, Georgia, and Clay and Macon Counties, North Carolina
1991
Peper, John D. | Lesure, Frank Gardner | Cox, Leslie J. | D'Agostino, John P.
The Southern Nantahala Wilderness and the Buzzard Knob and Southern Nantahala Roadless Areas are near one another and near the North Carolina-Georgia State line in Rabun and Towns Counties, Ga., and Clay and Macon Counties, N.C. The areas collectively span a region of polydeformed and metamorphosed rocks assigned to three major thrust sheets, from east to west the Tallulah Falls, Helen, and Richard Russell thrust sheets. Outcrop patterns and minor structures in the older sillimanite- grade Richard Russell rocks in the western part of the study area outline an earlier phase of isoclinal folding not apparent in the outcrop pattern of younger kyanite- and staurolite-grade Coweeta Group rocks immediately to the east across the Shope Fork fault in the east-central parts of the study area. Major movement on the Shope Fork fault postdates isoclinal F₁ folding but preceded F₂ isoclinal folding, because F₁ fold traces are covered by rocks above the fault and the fault is folded by F₂ folds. Later shearing along the fault occurred during F₃ cross-folding. Geologic considerations and geochemical sampling and analysis suggest low potential for all mineral resources except common building stone. The potential for some other nonmetallic resources, including corundum, feldspar, sheet mica, and vermiculite, is moderate to low. These are present in limited amounts but are currently of little economic value. The small deposits of soapstone present in the areas are too impure to be considered a resource. Late Archaic-Early Woodland Indian bowl-carving sites in soapstone are an archeological heritage that might deserve conservation. Oil and gas resource potential is unknown but believed to be small. Resource potential for gold is low; for massive sulfide deposits containing some copper and zinc, it is low to moderate. There is little to no resource potential for other metals.
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