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Unlike many other western North Carolina counties, Wilkes isn’t known for its mineral resources.

There are stories of attempts at mining for gold and other precious minerals in mountainous parts of Wilkes, but none produced enough to raise any attention.

Except for granite quarries, there hasn’t been any commercial mining in Wilkes for many years.

Sheet mica and asbestos were once commercially mined in Wilkes. There reportedly was even an asbestos mine within what now is the Finley Park subdivision in North Wilkesboro. Asbestos is a silky, fibrous form of silicate minerals first discovered in 1871.

Most of the mica mining was in mountainous western Wilkes.

A report on mica deposits in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, jointly produced by the U.S. Geological Survey and the state in 1968, said an area of western Wilkes and the adjoining edges of Ashe, Caldwell, and Watauga counties had 45 or more muscovite mica mines between 1895 and the 1960s.

 During World War II, about 30 deposits of muscovite were mined or prospected in this area, producing about 5,000 pounds of sheet muscovite worth $22,000.

Muscovite is a silver-gray form of mica occurring in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. It’s the most common form of mica.

The report said that between 1951 and 1962, 15 mines in that area of Wilkes, Ashe, Watauga and Caldwell produced less than 3,000 pounds of muscovite valued at less than $6,000.

Garnet, biotite, magnetite and tourmaline were also found in some of the mica mines.

The report said most pegmatite deposits with muscovite were less than 5 feet thick, but a few were 25 feet or more in thickness and were as much as 200 feet long.

Mica, known locally as “isinglass,” was used in sophisticated communication equipment during WWII. Between 1930 and 1959, North Carolina was the nation’s leading sheet mica producer.

There is a report of ilmenite deposits, a heavy, black ore used to make titanium, being found in western Wilkes. Titanium is a metal used to make a variety of high-performance alloys.

Most of the ilmenite mined worldwide is used to manufacture titanium dioxide, an important pigment, whiting and polishing abrasive.

John Shepherd, longtime resident of the section of Purlear that used to be known as the Maple Springs community, tells the story of a man with the last name Sifford who reportedly mined lead in or near the South Prong of Lewis Fork Creek in that area in the mid-1800s. Others tried to find lead there in later years but couldn’t.

There are records of iron ore mines in parts of Wilkes, including the Brushy Mountains, in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

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Some clouds. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.

Some clouds. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.

A mainly sunny sky. High near 95F. Winds light and variable.

Some clouds. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.

A mostly clear sky. Low 68F. Winds light and variable.

A few clouds. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.

Mostly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms mainly before midnight. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, with mostly cloudy skies overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Partly cloudy. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable.

A few clouds from time to time. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable.

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