1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Tilden Mine

Producer in Marquette county in Michigan, United States with commodity Iron
Map
XML
JSON
KML
A
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  18. Reserves and resources
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10068372
MRDS ID W001397
Record type Site
Current site name Tilden Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -87.63808, 46.4475 (WGS84)
Elevation 572
Relative position SOUTH OF ISHPEMING AND WEST OF PALMER.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Marquette(county)

Michigan(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Ishpeming(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Gwinn(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Marquette(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Escanaba(hydrologic unit)

Northwestern Lake Michigan(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwestern Lake Michigan(hydrologic subregion)

Great Lakes(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Michigan Marquette

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Michigan 47N 27W N1 /2 OF 2 Michigan

Comments on the location information

  • POINT LOCATED AT CENTER OF MAIN PIT

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Iron Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Hematite Ore
Martite Ore
Goethite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Siderite Ore
Chert Gangue
Ankerite Gangue
Feldspar Gangue
Chlorite Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 241
USGS model code 34a
Deposit model name Superior Fe (BC name is Lake Superior & Rapitan types iron-formation)

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Palmer Gneiss
    Rock description Palmer Gneiss
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Compeau Gneiss
    Rock description Compeau Gneiss
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Iron Formation
    Rock unit name Negaunee Iron-Formation
    Rock description Negaunee Iron-Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -87.63808, 46.4475
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Marquette syncline - 33 miles - plunging west ; regional trends: E-W

Ore body information

  • General form STRATABOUND

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Marquette syncline and negaunee iron formation

Comments on the geologic information

  • HOST ROCK IS NEGAUNEE IRON FORMATION; PALMER GNEISS AND COMPEAU GNEISS UNDERLIES ORE BODY.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1929
Year of first production 1929

Mining district

District name Marquette Iron District (Range)

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Cleveland - Cliffs et. al.
  • Type Operator
    Owner Cleveland - Cliffs

Production statistics

  • Year 1950
    Period 1929-1950
    Material ore Fe
    Ore mined 4100mt
    Accuracy Accurate
  • Year 1974
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major pellets Fe Iron Iron 42470mt
  • Year 1975
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major pellets Fe Iron Iron 2845mt
  • Year 1990
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major pellets Fe Iron Iron 3900mt
  • Year 1991
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major pellets Fe Iron Iron 4775mt
  • Year 1992
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major pellets Fe Iron Iron 5600mt
  • Year 1993
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major MAGNETITE PELLETS Iron Iron 5100mt
  • Year 1993
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major hematite pellets Iron Iron 1500mt

Comments on the production information

  • 1975, MINE TO BEGIN PRODUCTION OF TACONITE ORE. FROM 1929 TO 1950, THE ORE WAS HARD, RED, SILICEOUS HEMATITE. IN 1987, ALL IRON ORE PRODUCTION WAS IN THE FORM OF PELLETS FROM THE EMPIRE AND TILDEN MINES PARTIALLY OWNED BY CLEVELAND CLIFFS IRON CO. (MINERALS YEARBOOK 1987, V. II, P. 205). IN 1990, TILDEN BECAME THE WORLD'S FIRST OPERATION CAPABLE OF PRODUCING IRON ORE PELLETS FROM BOTH MAGNETITE AND HEMATITE ORE.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1989
    Reserves 240000000
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron pellets 60 wt-pct Iron Major 1989
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1979
    Reserves 1016000000
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron Fe 25 wt-pct Iron Major 1979

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • RESERVES AS OF 1979 1016 MILLION TONNES FE 36 WT-PCTFE2O3. IN 1989, U.S.B.M. REPORTED THAT TILDEN HAS RESERVES OF 33 YEARS BASED ON AN 8,000,000 LT PELLETS/YR CAPACITY.
  • 1. USBM.

Comments on the workings information

  • JUST BEING OPENED TO OPEN PIT PRODUCTION OF TACONITE; WAS OPEN PIT BEFORE NOW; AND WAS UNDERGROUND MINE BEFORE THAT.

Comments on development

  • Also to begin production in 1975
  • THE OLD TILDEN MINE OPERATED FROM 1929 TO 1950. THE NEW TILDEN MINE IS TO BEGIN PRODUCTION IN 1975. THE NEW TILDEN OPENED IN DEC 1974. IN 1991, FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR IRON-ORE PELLETS FROM BOTH HEMATITE AND MAGNETITE WERE PRODUCED AT THE TILDEN MINE, THE WORLD'S FIRST OPERATION CAPABLE OF PRODUCING IRON-ORE PELLETS FROM BOTH HEMATITE AND MAGNETITE ORE (MINERALS YEARBOOK 1991, V. II, P. 272).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ARCHEAN ROCKS OVERLAIN BY PALEOPROTEROZOIC MARQUETTE RANGE SUPERGROUP ROCKS. ARCHEAN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS BLOCK FAULTED AND DIFFERENTIALLY RAISED, LOWERED; FORMING TROUGHS. MARQUETTE RANGE SUPERGROUP ROCKS AS SEMI-CONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS SLUMPED INTO THE TROUGHS. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME ENTIRE AREA REGIONALLY THERMAL METAMORPHOSED CREATING METAMORPHIC FACIES OR NODES. THE MARQUETTE DISTRICT AFFECTED BY THE REPUBLIC NODE, WHICH ZONES FROM CHLORITE TO SILLIMANITE, EXCLUSIVE OF KYANITE ONLY. TILDEN MINE IS ON THE BIOTITE ISOGRAD. (JAMES, H. L., 1955, P. 1455-1488).
Deposit THE OLD TILDEN MINE WAS A SILICEOUS OPEN PIT. THE NEW MINE WILL BE A TACONITE OPEN PIT MINE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1972 Cannon, Suzanne S. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-NOV-1995 Sutphin, D.M. (Cannon, W.F.) U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 01-MAY-1997 Mason Jr., G.T. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

External references

Maps centered on this site