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LocalitiesElmwood Mine, Carthage, Smith County, Tennessee, USA
4th Nov 2010 03:40 UTCBob Hembree
11th Nov 2010 19:38 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager
13th Nov 2010 21:21 UTCEd Godsey
13th Nov 2010 21:58 UTCBob Hembree
31st Mar 2011 22:22 UTCelmwood miner
-------------------------------------------------------
> Based on my discussions with mine management when
> I was there I would say it is unlikely.
They instead have decided to start sticking slurry in the vug holes and destroying the specimens. They had lied to all of us in stating they were to be sold for the kids of the community, however upon discovery of some major vugs in 2078#14, 3780#4 along with others, current management destroyed nearly a half million dollars in each vug after extracting a total of 2 or 3 specimens for their personal collections.
1st Apr 2011 00:19 UTCAnonymous User
1st Apr 2011 02:13 UTCBob Hembree
Concerning the blasting of pockets this was instituted as a result of some of the employees spending more time collecting minerals than doing their jobs. This has included working in unsafe conditions for which the company would be held liable by federal mine law and others if someone was injured or killed while collecting. The reason the mines were reopened was not for the minerals, but the zinc ore. Unfortunately the best minerals occur in high grade ore zones and that is what is mined. If minerals can be salvaged during the mining process without disrupting the operation then it can happen otherwise it won't. I am an avid mineral collector and hate to see nice specimens destroyed, but I also understand the economics of mining and the money and effort that it would take to mine specimens doesn't add enough value to pay the bills.
1st Apr 2011 23:47 UTCelmwood miner
2nd Apr 2011 08:21 UTCJake Harper Expert
Jake
21st Apr 2011 04:03 UTCgold buster
23rd Apr 2011 15:20 UTCRowan Lytle
:X
It's good to hear that they're sending some to museums though.
Rowan
6th May 2011 02:36 UTCA Real Elmwood Miner
6th May 2011 11:17 UTCEvan Johnson
I understand that profits need to be made to keep people employed and produce resources, but to me something like this is a part of world natural heritage...to say that something like this should be (or really even legally be allowed to be) destroyed to speed production is like saying that housing developments should be built without forethought to archaeological sites, or dams built without consideration to what is flooded. Some things have a monetary value, and some things have a value beyond money. I sincerely hope the mine management will think about whether tons of locally-sourced but universally available zinc or museum specimens preserved for posterity will serve long-term interests better.
EMJ
6th May 2011 16:48 UTCKristopher Dingfield
6th May 2011 17:16 UTCPeter Andresen Expert
6th May 2011 22:08 UTCRock Currier Expert
7th May 2011 03:01 UTCKristopher Dingfield
I have been picking up both old and new Elmwood material lately and the combinations are just, well beautiful! I do hope the mine operators can come up with a solution that would bring more specimen material to the market. I would love to see a program that brought specimens to the surface while helping the local community too. What a thought. I would think it would even keep the value at a premium too.
28th Jun 2011 15:24 UTCRowan Lytle
-Rowan Lytle
23rd Sep 2011 13:30 UTCJohnVW
24th May 2012 17:28 UTCEdward Scherf
24th May 2012 17:42 UTCD Mike Reinke
I'd be amazed if they did. If they wanted the public to come for in, for a fee, they'd surely advertise, and that news would spread through mindat like wildfire.
24th May 2012 18:09 UTCBob Hembree
18th Jun 2012 19:59 UTCEdward Scherf
7th Jul 2012 02:50 UTCJoe Mulvey
http://www.nyrstar.com/about/Pages/contactus.aspx
Good luck!
Joe
7th Jul 2012 02:58 UTCJoe Mulvey
Anthony Simms
Group Manager
Investor Relations
T: +41 44 745 8157
M: +41 79 722 2152
anthony.simms@nyrstar.com
Kate Dinon
Group Manager
Corporate Communications
T: +41 44 745 8154
M: +41 79 722 84 66
kate.dinon@nyrstar.com
Geert Lambrechts
Manager
Corporate Communications
T: +32 14 449 646
M: +32 473 637 892
geert.lambrechts@nyrstar.com
7th Jul 2012 14:01 UTCBart Cannon
Al Gore Sr. and noted environmentalist Al Gore Jr. have earned $570,000 on the royalties from the sale of lead, zinc and cadmium from the portion of the Elmwood Complex underneath the Gore farm. Quite a bit of that figure is in 1970s dollars.
Perhaps Al junior could get the Sierra Club to close the Gore portion of the mine in order to preserve and recover some of our national natural mineral heritage, I have a list of nominations for who the collectors might be. I'm not on the list.
There are hundreds of links to the Gore zinc leases. Seems they didn't maintain their lease after the mines closed, but may be actively working on re-activating that lease.
Bart
31st Oct 2012 06:45 UTCEVander
E
31st Oct 2012 19:06 UTCNelse Miller
7th Dec 2012 21:40 UTCRock Currier Expert
Have you ever been underground in Elmwood and collected specimens there?
1st Jan 2015 17:56 UTCR White
10th Mar 2015 02:43 UTCpam
Rock Currier
one of the managers
4th Dec 2015 21:18 UTCJonelle DeFelice
I didn't expect to find out the location is/was a commercially operated raw-material mine! I thought it would be a privately owned area mined by collectors.
Can anyone give me a short (or long, which is fine with me) history of this area? When did mining originally start, and was it always run by commercial mining companies?
JD
4th Dec 2015 21:52 UTCBob Harman
Discovered in about 1969, the mining complex was mined for ZINC. New Jersey zinc company was the mining company and active mining started in about the early to mid 1970's. Mining was stopped about 15 years ago, only to be reopened on a limited basis about 2010. Currently very low zinc ore prices (and, for that matter, many commodity prices) have again forced mining to a halt (as I understand it) in the mining complex. Several mines are in the complex around the towns of Carthage, Elmwood and Cumberland Tennessee. The mine names include the Elmwood mine.
One fun fact is that the land above part of the mines was owned by Vice President Al Gore's family. When mining was to commence, the secret service supposedly came into the mines and checked out the security so no attempt could be made to put the vice president's life in danger thru coming up under his house. Not sure if this is true or urban legend.
When mining commenced, immediately there were very hi quality mineral specimens found. These included great fluorites, sphalerite (the zinc ore), barites and most of all large fabulous orange calcites. All manner of combinations occurred. Pictures of all these mineral specimens can be seen online, in museums, and many private collections etc. The mine management, enlightened and to their credit, decided to get a specimen contract with several professional collectors. This is why so many great examples quickly came out and onto the collector market.
Prices have climbed to astronomical levels for the very best specimens. All these specimen prices are VERY dependent on crystal color, condition, and overall specimen aesthetics. Even the slightest ding or chipped termination on a calcite crystal can reduce the example price by several magnitudes of price.
CHEERS.....BOB
4th Dec 2015 23:28 UTCJonelle DeFelice
13th Feb 2017 21:57 UTCEdward Bayley
Does anyone know if the mines are still in idle status?
Ed Bayley
https://smithcountyinsider.com/home-page-featured/smith-county-mines-reopen/
http://www.nyrstar.com/investors/en/news/Pages/2045062.aspx
18th Nov 2023 15:42 UTCKevin Conroy Manager
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 23, 2024 07:07:46