FLINT MILL ROADLESS AREA, TENNESSEE.

A mineral-resource survey was made on the Flint Mill Roadless Area in northeastern Tennessee. Studies of known manganese deposits, most of which are small and mined out, evaluation of iron prospects, and the results of a geochemical survey for other metals in stream sediments indicate there is probable resource potential for the occurrence of small iron-manganese resources in the roadless area. Nonmetallic minerals such as clay, carbonate rock, and other industrial raw material are found in the area but, similar commodites are found outside the area. The remote possibility of deep oil or gas in the southern Appalachians, of which the roadless area is a part, cannot be evaluated with existing data. Further geophysical study and possibly drilling would be necessary to evaluate the resource potential for gas and oil in the roadless area.