DOLLY ANN ROADLESS AREA, VIRGINIA.

Mineral-resource surveys indicate that much of the Dolly Ann Roadless Area, in the George Washington National Forest, Alleghany County, Virginia, has substantiated iron resource potential. Inferred low-grade iron resources occur in folded sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age. The area has an estimated 540 million long tons of contained iron in hematitic sandstone and 700,000 long tons contained iron in deposits of sandy Limonite. Other mineral resources include various rocks suitable for crushed rock, quartzite suitable for high-silica uses, limestone suitable for agricultural uses, and clay and shale suitable for structural clay products, all of which can be readily obtained outside the wilderness. A potential for natural gas and geothermal energy may exist but cannot be quantified from present knowledge.