RI 4433 Investigation Of Sweetsprings Manganese Deposits Monroe County, W. Va., And Craig County, Va.

The Appalachian Ores Co., Sweetsprings, W. Va. was a small but persistent producer of manganese ore for several years prior to 1942. Most of the ore mined was hard, nodular psilomelane, with some pyrolusite and, wad, occurring in clay. The Bureau of Mines started an investigation of the area in January 1942 and completed the work in May 1942. Twenty-four churn-drill holes were bored, aggregating 2,084 feet. A total of 420 feet of test pits was sunk on selected drill holes to check the churn-drill sampling. Twelve drifts and crosscuts aggregating 139 feet were driven from the bottom of test pits to investigate concentrations of manganese nodules. Three hundred sixty-six churn-drill samples and 102 other samples were sent to Bureau laboratories for analyses. Beneficiation tests were conducted in the Burp.au of Mines laboratory in Rolla, Mo. Results of testing 10 samples indicated that approximately 80 percent of the material in crude ore could be discarded by log washing. Gravity tests indicated 'that 55 percent of the total manganese in the crude ore was recoverable as a gravity concentrate averaging 34.6 percent manganese.