Existing comment:
Mining:
Unearthing South Carolina's Riches:
Mining is one of South Carolina's oldest industries. Today there are about 500 mines in the state. South Carolina ranks at or neat the top nationally in the production of marl, kaolin, vermiculite, and crushed granite.
As early as 14,000 years ago, Native Americans were making tools with chert from quarried in Allendale County. Phosphate, an ingredient in fertilizer, was mined near Charleston in the 1700s.
In the late 1820s, gold was discovered in the Piedmont. The "gold rush" had a profound effect on the state's mining industry. While searching for gold, miners found deposits of kaolin, granite, limestone and other substances. These natural resources created a new mining boom after many South Carolina gold mines were abandoned because of the discovery of richer deposits in California in 1849. |