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Black River Falls

Past Producer in Jackson county in Wisconsin, United States with commodity Iron
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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. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Ownership information
  15. Reserves and resources
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10072338
MRDS ID W017463
Record type Site
Current site name Black River Falls
Alternate or previous names Ron Mound, Seven Mile Mound Mine, Black River Falls Mine, Jackson County Iron Mine.
Related records 10302519

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -90.72513, 44.29306 (WGS84)
Elevation 293
Relative position EAST OF BLACK RIVER FALLS IN JACKSON COUNTY.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jackson(county)

Wisconsin(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Hatfield SW(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Black River Falls(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Eau Claire(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Black(hydrologic unit)

Upper Mississippi-Black-Root(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Mississippi-Black-Root(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Mississippi(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Wisconsin Jackson

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
021N 003W 15 SE4 Wisconsin

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Iron Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • HEMATITE 10.7 WT-PCT, MAGNETITE 31.1 WT-PCT. ASSAY FE 34.50 WT-PCT. RESERVES (1981) 25,908,000 MT ORE. AS OF 1996, THERE WERE NO RESERVES; THE MINE WAS MINED OUT IN THE 1980S.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Hematite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Other: Moderate

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Iron Formation
    Rock unit name Black River Falls Iron
    Rock description Black River Falls Iron
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -90.72513, 44.29306
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N45W}XXXX
    Dip 70W}XXXX
    Plunge XXXX
    Plunge direction XXXX
  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N45W}XXXX
    Dip 70W}XXXX

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Lithology: Bedding

Comments on the geologic information

  • GNEISS AND SCHIST ENCLOSE ORE. THE MAGNETITE TACONITE OCCURS IN A STEEPLY SOUTH PLUNGING ISOCLINAL FOLD THAT IS BOUNDED ON THE NORTH, EAST, AND WEST BY SCHISTS OR GNEISSES. THE AXIAL PLANE OF THE FOLD STRIKES N 45 W AND DIPS FRO 65 TO 75 DEGREES TO THE WEST. OVERBURDEN IS SAND AND CAMBRIAN SANDSTONE. THE WEST PIT WALL SCHISTS ARE DEEPLY WEATHERED AND LESS STABLE THAN THE EAST PIT WALL.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discoverer Inland Steel Co.
Year of first production 1969
Year of last production 1982
Production years 1969 TO 1982

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Jackson County Iron Co.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Jackson County Iron Co., A Wholly Owned Subsidiary Of Inland Steel Co.

Comments on the production information

  • CUMULATIVE PRODUCTION REPORTED FOR THE BLACK RIVER FALLS DISTRICT.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1978
    Total resources 13000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron Fe 25 wt-pct Iron Major 1978
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1978
    Total resources 1000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron Fe 25 wt-pct Iron Major 1978
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1981
    Total resources 11000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron Fe3o4 34.5 wt-pct Iron Major 1981

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • AS OF 1996, THERE WERE NO RESERVES; THE MINE WAS MINED OUT IN THE 1980S.
  • THERE IS A 50 PERCENT PROBABILITY THAT 3,520,000 LT OF RESERVES WOULD COME FROM DEEPENING THE PIT. ADDITIONAL RESERVES COULD BE AVAILABLE IF THE EAST WALL WOULD BE STABLE AT A SLOPE ANGLE OF MORE THAN 45 DEGREES.

Comments on the workings information

  • IN 1981 FE PELLETS WERE SHIPPED 285 MILES BY RAIL TO INLAND'S INDIANA HARBOR WORKS STEEL MILL IN EAST CHICAGO, IN. AVERAGE DIMENSIONS OF MINERALIZATION (IN METERS): LENGTH 1,110, WIDTH NA, THICKNESS 1,079. MINING WOULD REQUIRE THE REMOVAL OF 58,761,000 LT OF MATERIAL TO OBTAIN 29,627,000 LT OF CRUDE ORE FOR A WASTE RATIO OF 1.98.

Comments on development

  • EXPLORATION WAS CONDUCTED IN THE EARLY AND MID 1960S BY INLAND STEEL AND U.S. STEEL. ; ECON.COM: IN 1981 THE MINE OPERATED AT A NEAR RECORD PACE, 26 PERCENT ABOVE THE PELLET SHIPMENT OF 1980. 0N 9 APR 1982, THE MINE WAS CLOSED DUE TO THE LOW LEVEL OF DEMAND FOR STEEL AND BECAUSE INLAND STEEL NEEDED TO RESTRUCTURE ITS PELLET CAPACITY. IN OCT 83, THE CLOSURE BECAME PERMANENT.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    HEYL, A.V., JR., AGNEW, A.F., LYONS, E.J., AND BEHRE, C.H., JR., WITH SPECIAL SECTIONS BY FLINT, A.E., 1959, THE GEOLOGY OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ZINC-LEAD DISTRICT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 309, 310 P

  • Production

    MINERALS YEARBOOK 1983, V. II, DOMESTIC, P. 604

  • Reserve-Resource

    MARSDEN, 1978

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit A MAGNETITE TACONITE DEPOSIT.
Deposit JACKSON COUNTY IRON CO. BEGAN INITIAL SITE PREPARATION IN LATE 1967 FOR A NEW 750,000 T/YR TACONITE OPERATION. THE PLANT WILL PRODUCE PELLETS HAVING 65 PERCENT FE BY LATE 1969. BLACK RIVER FALLS IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE APPROXIMATELY 10 PERCENT OF INLAND'S ANNUAL FE-ORE NEEDS. FE PRODUCTION FROM BLACK RIVER FALLS WAS THE FIRST IN WISCONSIN SINCE THE CARY MINE ON THE GOGEBIC RANGE CEASED PRODUCTION IN 1965. ON 10 DEC 69, THE FIRST SHIPMENT LEFT THE PLANT. ORE IS HAULED FROM THE OPEN-PIT MINE LOCATED ON NEARBY SEVEN MILE MOUND. DESIGN CAPACITY OF THE 10 FT X 105 FT FURNACE IS 95 T/HR. 97 PERCENT OF THE WATER USED COMES FROM RECYCLING.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1976 Weeks, Robert U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-1981 Sutphin, David M. 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.

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