Zinc and lead deposits of northern Arkansas

Zinc and lead ores occur in the northern counties of Arkansas, from the Arkansas-Oklahoma line on the west to the Coastal Plain, in Lawrence County, on the east, but are concentrated chiefly in Marion, Boone, Newton, Searcy, Sharp, and Lawrence Counties.  Lead ore was reported in the region as early as 1818, and small reduction plants were built in the vicinity of Lead Hill in 1851 or 1852.  The Confederate forces obtained lead from northern Arkansas during the Civil War.  Zinc mining began at a somewhat later date and reached its peak between 1914 and 1917, but since that time mining has been at a low ebb.  The later history of lead mining in the region has closely paralleled that of zinc.  The production from the region since 1907, according to statistics compiled by the United States Geological Survey, has been, in round numbers, 1,900 tons of lead sulphide concentrates, 11,5000 tons of zinc sulphide concentrates, and 51,3000 tons of zinc carbonate and silicate concentrates.