Looking at the geological survey of Bland County Virginia I found that some of the following items were in sufficient quantity to be mined from the land if someone was so inclined:
Anthracite: good old fashioned coal mined by the dwarves only from deep shafts...anthracite is a "hard burning" coal and can even be used in the home as a heating element.
Arsenopyrite: used to produce arsenic and tiny amounts of gold. The arsenic is used by dwarves to treat the small amounts of lumber they use in their mines (only as temporary joists and such) as well as pesticides (to kill off dangerous underground vermin like giant centipedes and so on) and for use in their creation of fine brass. The "Golden Halls" of the dwarf princes are actually richly gold looking due to the addition of arsenic into the brass sheets the dwarves decorate with.
Baryte: as a white dye for paint
Building Stone: granite, syenite, gneiss, sandstone and limestone in plenty all over
Calcite: aka Rock Crystal; semi-precious stones (50 g.p. base)
Chalcopyrite: extraction of copper used for minting coins and creation of copper and brass pottery and utensils.
Cryptomelane: extraction of manganese (called "lesser iron" by the dwarves, they use it to make fine grade steel in their iron alloys)
Dolomite: construction and smelting (used for furnaces, dolomite is a high temperature bearing stone that won't crack under heat stress like other stones might)
Fluorite: ornamental stone (10 g.p. base)
Galena: lead and silver production; the dwarves gain most of their wealth from this silver bearing "stone" and it is the cornerstone of their wealth; although the lead is actually a valuable trade item as well for everything from white dye/paint to using as sling bullets. The walls of Walker's Hold are actually white-washed from using lead based paint!
Malachite: ornamental stones (10 g.p. base)
Manganite: the primary source of manganese (aka Lesser Iron) this ore is valued by the dwarves for the creation of their strong armor and weapons which are highly resistant to rust
Niter: used to make soaps
Psilomelane: another "stone" used for the extraction of manganese
Pyrite: used by some dwarves and gnomes to make cheap jewelry, but also for dying leather, making ink & cleaning
Pyrolusite: another "stone" used for the extraction of manganese
Pyrrhotite: the primary ore for the extraction of iron (at high temperatures it becomes Magnetite). Currently only the dwarves of Clan Arnar and Clan Birnir have iron mines in the area; the humans aren't experienced enough with deep mining and there are no appreciable deposits of surface iron for humanity to use.
Quartz: the gnomes of Clan Jasper pull a great deal of quartz from their mines and from that is produced both Agate and Jasper in plenty.
= Agate ornamental stones (10 g.p. base)
= Jasper semi-precious stones (50 g.p. base)
=Amethyst fancy stones (100 g.p. base); this stone is currently "unknown" in the area; but there exists an Amethyst mine within the dungeons of The Dwarf King
Sphalerite: the dwarves use this for the extraction of zinc (and some small amounts of iron). The dwarves use it with copper to make brassware that they sell abroad and use at home as well. The Brass of Clan Arnar is especially prized.
Talc: used in the creation of pottery making (a strong pottery trade exists in Walker's Hold) and as powder for workmen and farmers both
Wavellite: ornamental stones liked by druids (10 g.p. base)
There are other minerals in the area as well; but I thought these would be more than sufficient to establish trade and an economy for the areas dwarves, gnomes, elves and humans. While humans in the area don't mine much at all (their lives are focused more on hunting, trapping and farming), this did help me to see why dwarves and gnomes would even be inclined to be in the area at all.
I fudged on a couple of things to make the campaign work:
The coal doesn't actually run in the mountains of either dwarf clan's holdings; but instead runs along the Brushy/Round Mountain areas (where the dungeon of The Dwarf King rests actually!). I figured since I'm having goblins and dragons running around Bland County though, I can make there be more coal too.
I'm also adding Amethyst gemstones into the dungeon mines of The Dwarf King; although they haven't been noted in the area in the real world, it is a fantasy game and I thought that such gems would be a good addition to a "lost mine of the dwarves" for the campaign...specifically because there is a gem mine in the Dyson Mega-Delve.
I'm not concerned about the bad qualities of lead in the environment. I'm running a fantasy campaign; not going to get into lead poisoning most likely.
A MAJOR difference in my Advanced Dungeons and Dragons campaigns is that I use a monetary system based on Silver instead of Gold. So the silver produced by the dwarves is a great deal of wealth indeed! Gold is a rare thing to be had in my campaigns, but silver hoards are vitally important. In fact, a Silver Weapon is pretty much akin to a minor magical item!
Well, that's all for now...not sure what I'll put up next; but it may be something along the lines of the Silver Monetary System I use.
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