Northwestern Mine

Unknown in Jo Daviess county in Illinois, United States with commodities Zinc, Lead
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Geologic structures
  13. Ore body information
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Ownership information
  17. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10086254
MRDS ID W800126
Record type Site
Current site name Northwestern Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -90.39678, 42.49862 (WGS84)
Relative position 1/4 MI S OF THE WISCONSIN-ILLINOIS STATE LINE AND 6 MI N OF GALENA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jo Daviess(county)

Illinois(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Galena(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dubuque South(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Dubuque(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Apple-Plum(hydrologic unit)

Upper Mississippi-Maquoketa-Plum(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Mississippi-Maquoketa-Plum(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Mississippi(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Illinois Jo Daviess

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
29N 1E 22 E2 OF NW OF NW Illinois

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • ORE IS MAINLY SPHALERITE WITH CONSIDERABLE GALENA AND A RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNTOF IRON SULFIDES.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Leaching, Silicification, Dolomitization

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 224
USGS model code 32a
Deposit model name Mississippi Valley, S.E. Missouri Pb-Zn
Mark3 model number 42

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
    Rock unit name Ion Member;Guttenberg Member
    Rock description Ion Member;Guttenberg Member

Nearby scientific data

(1) Galena Group (Trenton Limestone)

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Southeast Of Wisconsin Dome And On The Gentle West Limb Of Wisconsin Arch. To The South Is Illinois Basin And To The West And Southwest Is Forest City Basin. A Few Minles South O Fthe Zinc-Lead District Is Westward-Trending Savanna-Sabula Anticline. Regional Strike Is N 85 W And The Dip Is South.
Type of structure Local
Structure description On The Same Syncline That Contains The Northwestern, Vinegar Hill, South Unity, Hughlett And Gray, And North Unity Mines.

Ore body information

  • General form ARCUATE

Comments on the geologic information

  • BOTH THE ION MASSIVE MEMBER AND THE GUTTENBERG MEMBER ARE PARTS OF THE DECORAH FM. ORE OCCURS IN WELL-DEVELOPED FLATS AND IN IRREGULAR FRACTURES AND SMALL PITCHES. ALTHOUGH THE MINE WAS DEVELOPED BELOW THE WATER TABLE, THERE WAS SOME OXIDATION OF THE ORE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1903
Year of first production 1904
Year of last production 1913
Production years FROM 1904 TO AFTER 1913 WITH SOME INTERRUPTIONS.

Mining district

District name Upper Mississippi Valley

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner N. M. Kean

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Name of workings SHAFT
    Overall depth 36.88M
    Overall length 121.92M
    Overall width 182.88M
  • Type of workings Underground
    Name of workings SHAFT
    Overall depth 28.04M

Comments on the workings information

  • IN SPRING OF 1904, A 92-FT SHAFT WAS SUNK INTO THE GUTTENBERG MEMBER OF THE DECORAH FM AT THE EAST END OF THE NORTH LIMB OF THE ORE BODY. THIS SHAFT WAS ABANDONED IN 1907. ABOUT 200 FT S, A NEW 121 FT DEEP SHAFT WAS SUNK. THE ORE BODY IS 10 TO 15 FT THICK.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: THE MINE HAD A WELL-EQUIPPED JIG MILL. TEH MINE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ADEQUATELY EXPLORED.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    COX, G.H., 1914, LEAD AND ZINC DEPOSITS OF NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS: ILLINOIS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 21, 120 P.

  • Deposit

    BAIN, H.F., 1905, ZINC AND LEAD DEPOSITS OF NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 246, 56 P.

  • Deposit

    WILLMAN, H.B., REYNOLDS, R.R., AND HERBERT, PAUL, JR., 1946, GEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PROSPECTING AND AREAS FOR PROSPECTING IN THE ZINC-LEAD DISTRICT OF NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS: ILLINOIS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS, NO. 116, 48 P.

  • Production

    HEYL AND OTHERS, 1959, P. 184.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ZINC-LEAD DISTRICT LIES WITHIN THE SO-CALLED DRIFTLESS AREA WHERE NO MANTLE OF GLACIAL DRIFT IS PRESENT TO OBSCURE THE ROCK EXPOSURES. NATURAL CAVES ARE COMMON IN THE DISTRICT.
Deposit Discovery Year: 1903-04

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1994 Hedgman, Cheryl (Cannon, W.F.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAY-1996 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.

External references