Mineral resource potential map of the Cohutta Wilderness and the Hemp Top Roadless Area, northern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee

The Cohutta Wilderness and the Hemp Top Roadless Area have minor occurrences of metallic minerals, but no known resource potential for such minerals in the forseeable future, judging by available data, and only a very minor potential for stone for aggregate, road construction, and similar nondimension use. The rocks of the Ducktown massive sulfide district to the northeast do not appear to extend into the study area, and geochemical data derived from samples of rock, soil, and alluvium do not reveal any anomalously high concentrations of trace elements that could be representative of hidden mineral deposits. Sedimentary rocks underlying the metamorphic rocks exposed at the surface have an unknown potential for hydrocarbons in the form of natural gas. No reasonable estimate of the potential can be made until some test drilling is done in the area.