Lunenburg County currently has no active rock or mineral production. In the past, however, granite and schist have been quarried in the county. Schist was produced on the north side of the South Meherrin River near Rocky Mill. This site may have provided the building stone used in the construction of a nearby mill and dam.

The Kenbridge granite quarry is located approximately 2 miles southwest of Kenbridge. The rock at this quarry, known as Red Oak granite, is pinkish-gray, coarse-grained granite gneiss with feldspar phenocrysts about 0.75 inches long. The quarry, operated by C. Markley of Roanoke prior to 1917, produced crushed stone. Later, the Pyramid Granite Company of Philadelphia operated the quarry and produced paving stone, curbstone, and sewer blocks. During the early 1960’s, the Kenbridge quarry was operated by Tidewater Crushed Stone Company and produced rip-rap used in the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The large rip-rap blocks were loaded onto gondola-type rail cars by cranes equipped with grapple hooks. The shipments of rock were sent to Sewells Point in Norfolk where they were loaded onto barges for delivery to the job site. The specifications for the heavy blocks of rip-rap were for the blocks to be composed of angular stones weighing not less than 2 tons each and not more than 4 tons each, averaging 3 tons each. The width or thickness of any block was not to be less than one-third its length.

Gold was reportedly found at a site near Meherrin. The locality, known as the Sylvan Stein prospect, is just west of County Road 662. Sand for road construction and local building purposes has been obtained from the Meherrin River along the Lunenburg-Mecklenburg county line near Union Mill Bridge. Clay was formerly produced near Kenbridge for use in the manufacture of brick. Clay materials at two localities have been collected, tested, and found to be potentially suitable for brick, tile, and porous and structural clay products.

Lunenburg County Geologic Map
Lunenburg County Geologic Map unit descriptions
Lunenburg County Historical Mineral Resource Sites

Virginia Mineral Production, 1986-present
Virginia County Active Mines, 1990-present

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Clay
Sweet, P. C., 1973, Analyses of clay, shale, and related materials-southern counties: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Mineral Resources Report 12, p. 130-132.

Ries, H. and Somers, R. E., 1917, The clays of the Piedmont province, Virginia: Virginia Geological Survey Bulletin 13, p. 53.

Sweet, P. C., 1986, Clay- material samples collected 1981-1984: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 68, p. 67-69.

General Mineral Resources
Sweet, P.C., 1993, Directory of the mineral industry in Virginia-1993: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 129, 29 p.

Sweet, P.C. and Nolde, J.E., 1999, Coal, oil and gas, and industrial and metallic minerals industries in Virginia, 1998: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 153, 25 p.

Gold
Sweet, P. C. and Trimble, D., 1982, Gold occurrences in Virginia, an update: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Virginia Minerals, v. 28, n. 4, p. 39.

Granite
Pharr, R. F. 1961, Utilization of rock materials in Lower Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Virginia Minerals, v. 7, n. 4, p. 2.

Steidtmann, Edward, 1945, Commercial granites and other crystalline rocks of Virginia: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Bulletin 64, p. 68-69.

Watson, T. L., 1913, Mineral production of Virginia: Virginia Geological Survey Bulletin 8, p. 24-25.

General Geology
Burton, W.C., 1995, Preliminary geologic map of the Lunenburg and Fort Mitchell 7.5' quadrangles, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report OF-95-4, scale 1:24000.

Horton, J.W., Peper, J.D., Marr, J.D., Burton, W.C., and Sacks, P.E., 1993, Preliminary geologic map of the South Boston 30 x 60 minute quadrangle, Virginia and North Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report OF-93-244, scale 1:100000.

Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 2003, Digital representation of the 1993 geologic map of Virginia: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 174, compact disc.