Cassiterite occurrences in the Shelby area, North and South Carolina

Coarse-grained cassiterite was identified and an abundant amount panned in Hawkins Branch, 10 km southwest of Shelby, N.C., in September 1978. Since then, coarse-grained cassiterite has been found in appreciable quantities in alluvium at 37 stream sites in an open-ended zone about 35 km long by 30 km wide southwest of Shelby. Most of the zone is between Shelby and Forest City, N.C., and extends southward to the vicinity of Cowpens, S.C. Many of the cassiterite sites are streams in the vicinity of Hawkins Branch where much prospecting was done.