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  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Delaware #1 & #2

Past Producer in Itasca county in Minnesota, United States with commodities Iron, Water, Free
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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. Nearby scientific data
  9. Ore body information
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Mining district
  12. Mineral rights holdings
  13. Land status
  14. Ownership information
  15. Production statistics
  16. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10219607
MRDS ID W018366
MAS/MILS ID 0270610003
Record type Site
Current site name Delaware #1 & #2
Alternate or previous names Delaware Mine and Concentrator
Related records 10072712

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Trench
Geographic coordinates: -93.32523, 47.32919 (WGS84)
Elevation 430
Location accuracy 100(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Itasca(county)

Minnesota(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Calumet(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Pokegama Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Hibbing(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Prairie-Willow(hydrologic unit)

Mississippi Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Mississippi Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Mississippi(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Minnesota Itasca

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
4th Principal 056 N 023 W 17 SE Minnesota

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Iron Primary
Water, Free Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chert Unknown
Goethite Unknown
Hematite Unknown
Kaolinite Unknown
Martite Unknown
Quartz Unknown

Nearby scientific data

Trench (1) -93.32523, 47.32919
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Strike N75E
    Dip 07S
    Thickness 4M
    Length 1140M
    Width 570M
    Area 65HA
    Depth to top 30M
    Field Value
    Type of Orebody #1 SEDIMENTARY
    Shape of Orebody #1 TABULAR
    Shape of Orebody #2 IRREGULAR
    Primary mode of Origin OXIDATION
    Secondary mode of Origin RESIDUAL CONCENT
    Primary Ore Control LITHOLOGY
    Secondary Ore Control FRACTURING
    Degree of Wallrock Alter. UNKNOWN
    Strike And Dip N75E:07S
    Avg. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. 30
    Total Surface Area (HA) 65
    Date of Last Modification 820106

Comments on the geologic information

  • AVERAGE DIMENSIONS OF MINERALIZATION ARE IDEALIZED. AVERAGE THICKNESS OF THE BIWABIK IRON FORMATION IN THE AREA OF THIS DEPOSIT IS 183 METERS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1913

Mining district

District name Lake Superior

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Fee Ownership

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner U.S. Steel Corp.
    Interest 100
    Home office Pennsylvania
    Year 1980

Production statistics

  • Year 1973
    Description Crude Iron Ore (Hematite) Produced 3363910 Metric Tons For The Year
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Iron Iron 3363910mt
  • Year 1974
    Description Crude Iron Ore (Hematite) Produced 3019350 Metric Tons For The Year
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Iron Iron 3019350mt
  • Year 1975
    Description Crude Iron Ore (Hematite) Produced Metric Tons For The Year
  • Year 1976
    Description Crude Iron Ore (Hematite) Produced 597410 Metric Tons For The Year
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Iron Iron 597410mt
  • Year 1977
    Description Crude Iron Ore (Hematite) Produced 1583510 Metric Tons For The Year
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Iron Iron 1583510mt
  • Year 1978
    Description Crude Iron Ore (Hematite) Produced 1620690 Metric Tons For The Year
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Iron Iron 1620690mt

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • M1C1=M2C1+M3C1. M9C5=M2C1. M9C6=M3C1. RESERVES ARE IN WET TONNAGES AND GRADES. MATRAIX 1 GRADE IS THE AVERAGE OF DELAWARE #1 & #2 AS REPORTED IN MATRIX 2 AND MATRIX 3 RESPECTIVELY. MATRIX 2 REPRESENTS WET TONNAGE AND GRADE ATTRIBUTED TO DELAWARE #1 AS DERIVED FROM DATA REPORTED IN THE MINNESOTA MINING DIRECTORY (P. 69) AND BUMINES PRODUCTION STATISTICS (1976) RESPECTIVELY. MATRIX 3 REPRESENTS WET TONNAGE AND GRADE ATTRIBUTED TO DELAWARE #2 AS DERIVED FROM DATA REPORTED IN THE MINNESOTA MINING DIRECTORY (P. 70) AND BUMINES PRODUCTION STATISTICS (1978) RESPECTIVELY. ADIT UPDATE 1993: Q-MATRIX 4 REPRESENTS TOTAL RESERVES AT DELAWARE #2 AND #3 (PER MINNESOTA MINING DIRECTORY 1992). THE GRADE IS ASSUMED THE SAME AS THE MATRIX 1 ORIGINAL GRADE.
  • ADIT UPDATE 1993: PROPERTY LAST OPERATED IN 1978. SEE MATRIX 4 FOR REMAINING RESERVES.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Area 65HA
    Field Value
    MAS Development Schedule # 1
    Mining Record # 1
    Status of Mining Method PROPOSED
    Mining Method OPEN PIT
    Swell Factor .61
    Percent Waste Rock 50
    Avg. Overburden Thickness 30
    Primary Material Cover SAND, GRAVEL
    Secondary Material Cover M-HARD ROCKS
    Hardness of Ore M-HARD ROCKS
    Avg. Bench Height (meters) 12
    Max. Pit Slope (degrees) 68
    Capacity 10000
    Capacity Units MT ORE/DAY
    Unit Production Cost 2.21
    Units of Production $/MT ORE
    Operating Days per Year 150
    Operating Shifts per Day 3
    Year of Information 1981

Comments on the workings information

  • TOTAL LAND HOLDING IS 65 HECTARES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Reserve-Resource

    MINERAL RESOURCES RESEARCH CENTER. MINNESOTA MINING DIREC-

  • Reserve-Resource

    TORY-1981, ED. BY W.D. TRETHEWAY, UNIV. OF MINN.,

  • Reserve-Resource

    MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., 1981, 266 PP.

  • Deposit

    EMMONS, W.H. AND F.E. GROUT (ED.). MINERAL RESOURCES OF

  • Deposit

    MINNESOTA. MINN. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 30, 1943, PP.13-57.

  • Deposit

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL. NORTH AMERICAN IRON ORE.

  • Deposit

    V. 175, NO. 11, 1974, PP. 83, 93, AND 137.

  • Deposit

    ROYCE, S. GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR IRON DEPOSITS.

  • Deposit

    MIN. CONG. J., MARCH 1936, PP. 16-41.

  • Deposit

    WHITE, D.A. THE STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF THE MESABI

  • Deposit

    RANGE, MINNESOTA. MINN. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 38,

  • Deposit

    1954, 92 PP.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE PLANT CAPACITY WAS 1500000 MTPY.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 09-MAR-1995 T J M U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

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

Operator history (post-MRDS)

MRDS records operators as of each record's last update (≤ 2019). Some of the operators listed here have since changed hands or dissolved:

  • U.S. Steel Corp. — now part of United States Steel Corporation (2024)
    Mining operations largely divested over the late 20th century; the broader U.S. Steel entity was acquired by Nippon Steel in 2024 (mining footprint is now minimal).

Curated by qvyshift.com from publicly-reported M&A activity (SEC filings, press releases, USGS Mineral Yearbooks). Not authoritative — verify against primary sources before relying on it. The MSHA panel above is the current authoritative source for actively-permitted mines.

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