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Katahdin Pyrrhotite Deposit

Past Producer in Piscataquis county in Maine, United States with commodities Cobalt, Copper, Sulfur-Pyrite, Nickel, Sulfur, Iron
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Mineral rights holdings
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Reserves and resources
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10266977
MRDS ID W016569
MAS/MILS ID 0230210006
Record type Site
Current site name Katahdin Pyrrhotite Deposit
Alternate or previous names Katahdin Iron Works Deposit

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Ore Body
Geographic coordinates: -69.19437, 45.44328 (WGS84)
Elevation 238
Location accuracy 1000(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Piscataquis(county)

Maine(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Silver Lake(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Dover-Foxcroft(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Millinocket(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Piscataquis River(hydrologic unit)

Penobscot(hydrologic accounting unit)

Penobscot(hydrologic subregion)

New England(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Maine Piscataquis

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION IS FOR APPROX. CENTER OF OREBODY, NE TOE OF ORE MTN, S OF POND ROAD, IN NW QUADRANT OF SEBEC 15' QUAD. LOCATION IS 9.15 MI N45W OF THE ROUNDHOUSE AT BROWNVILL JCT; APPROX. 0.75 MI WSW OF SILVER LAKE OUTLET. ACCURATE TO 100 m.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Cobalt Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Sulfur-Pyrite Tertiary
Nickel Critical Tertiary
Sulfur Primary
Iron Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • From 1843 to 1890 iron was mined from the gossan capping a massive pyrrhotite deposit at the Katahdin Iron Works. In 1927, the General Chemical Company leased Katahdin Iron Works land as a reserve source of sulphur contained in underlying pyrrhotite.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Limonite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Olivine Gangue
Pyroxene Gangue
Hematite Trace
Chalcopyrite Unknown
Ilmenite Unknown
Magnetite Unknown
Marcasite Unknown

Alteration

  • (Local) Weathering

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Gabbro > Norite

Nearby scientific data

Ore Body (1) -69.19437, 45.44328
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Strike N85E
    Dip 32N
    Length 625M
    Width 122M
    Area 10HA
    Field Value
    Type of Orebody #1 OTHER
    Primary mode of Origin MAGMATIC DIFFER
    Secondary mode of Origin OXIDATION
    Primary Ore Control IGNEOUS
    Degree of Wallrock Alter. NONE
    Strike And Dip N85E:32N
    Total Surface Area (HA) 10
    Date of Last Modification 820319

Comments on the geologic information

  • The source of the iron ore that was mined in the 19th century is the gossan that developed from weathering of a massive pyrrhotite body that is completely enclosed by a norite stock intruding into Silurian and Devonian slates and quartzites. The medium-grained, dark gray norite is composed primarily of labradorite, bronzite, augite, and minor olivine. The norite stock occupies the nose of an east-plunging anticline (Houston, 1956).
  • Pyrrhotite Depth Undetermined, But Evidently Substantial. Pyrrhotite Is Wholly Enclosed In Gabbro Mass of Moderate Size, Intrusive Into Surround Paleozoic Slates.
  • Magmatic Massive, Magmatic Disseminated

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1843
Year of first production 1848

Mining district

District name Katahdin Region

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Fee Ownership

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner General Chemical Co. (As Of 1952 Current Owner Undeterm)
    Interest 100
    Home office Maine
    Year 1976
    First year 1952

Comments on the production information

  • Iron was mined and processed on site starting in 1846. Peak iron production was in the 1880's, with 18-20 tons of pig iron produced daily. The remote location and poor quality of the iron at Katahdin made the operation a marginal producer; operations shut down completely in 1890 when Lake Superior iron was developed.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1976
    Inferred 39200000mt ore
    Total resources 39200000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Sulfur S 27 wt-pct Sulfur Major 1976
    Iron Fe 44 wt-pct Iron 1976
    Cobalt Co 0.1 wt-pct Cobalt Trace 1976
    Nickel Ni 0.1 wt-pct Nickel Trace 1976
    Copper Cu 0.1 wt-pct Copper Trace 1976
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1967
    Measured 1130mt ore
    Demonstrated 1130mt ore
    Total resources 1130mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Nickel Ni 0.1 wt-pct Nickel Trace 1967
    Cobalt Co 0.1 wt-pct Cobalt Trace 1967
    Copper Cu 0.1 wt-pct Copper Trace 1967
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1967
    Measured 10160000mt ore
    Demonstrated 10160000mt ore
    Total resources 10160000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Sulfur S 27 wt-pct Sulfur Major 1967
    Iron Fe 44 wt-pct Iron 1967

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • The surface dimensions of the pyrrhotite body are approximately 100 m by 500 m, but the depth remains uncertain. The deposit is estimated to contain 6.5 million tons of 44% Fe and 27% S per 30 m vertical extent. If the depth equals the surface length (500 m), and the ore grade persists, the total mass of sulfides would exceed 200 million tons. This enormous potential would make Katahdin Iron Works deposit one of the largest massive sulfide deposits in the world.

Comments on development

  • After acquiring the property in 1952, Allied Chemical retained the deposit as a potential sulfur reserve. Superior Mining Company conducted a diamond drilling operation in the 1970's for metal exploration. Recent drilling was in 1989-1990, but no exploration or development has followed.

Reference information

Comments on the other database information

  • Updater F. Beck checked location, commodity codes, references and geologic comments.

Bibliographic references

  • Reserve-Resource

    USBM MINERALS YEARBOOK 1947, SULFUR AND PYRITES. PGS. 11-23.

  • Reserve-Resource

    Miller, R.L., 1945, Geology of the Katahdin pyrrhotite deposit and vicinity, Piscataquis County, Maine: Geological Survey of Maine Bulletin 2, pp. 3 and 18

  • Reserve-Resource

    NORTH ATLANTIC REGIONAL WATER RESOURCES STUDY 4-20-67;

  • Reserve-Resource

    NICKEL AND COBALT. PAGES 1, 2 AND 9.

  • Deposit

    Miller, R.L., 1945, Geology of the Katahdin pyrrhotite deposit and vicinity, Piscataquis County, Maine: Geological Survey of Maine Bulletin 2, 21 p.

  • Deposit

    Houston, R.S., 1956, Genetic study of some pyrrhotite deposits of Maine and New Brunswick: Maine Geological Survey Bulletin 7, 117 p.

  • Deposit

    BRODEL C.H., CORNWALL H.R. NENYIAC-MINERAL RESOURCES STUDY A

  • Deposit

    NICKEL AND COBALT IN NEW ENGLAND AND NY OCT 1954

  • Deposit

    NAR-MINERAL LOCALITIES-PYRITE CHAPTER MAY 2 1967

  • Deposit

    Young, R.W., 1968, Mineral exploration and development in Maine: in Ridge, J.D. (ed), Ore deposits of the United States, 1933-1967 (Graton-Sales Volume): American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, v. 1, p. 125-139.

  • Deposit

    RAND,JOHN,1958, MAINE METAL MINES AND PROSPECTS: MAINE GEOL SUR MIN RESOURCE INDEX NO 3,

  • Deposit

    VHAY J. ET AL., 1973, COBALT CHAPTER in UNITED STATES MINERAL RESOURCES: USGS PROF. PAPER 820 1973 PP 143-155

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit REC 060-ROCK TYPES-THE GABBRO ENCLOSES A PYRRHOTITE ORE BODY PYRRHOTITE ORE BODY WAS ORIGINALLY EVERYWHERE MANTLED BY A B OF LIMONITE OR GOSSAN,WHICH WAS MINED PRIOR TO 1890.-SMALL G DIKES CUT THE NORITE AND SULFIDE BODY AND ONE DACITE DIKE WA IN THE NORTHWESTERN CORNER OF THE ORE BODY-SEE HOUSTON PG 69 REC 060 COLS 37-39 ACCORDING TO MILLER REFERENCE 700 THE GAB INTRUSION AND SUBSEQUENT MAGMATIC SEGREGATION ARE POST SILUR REC 070 COLS 24-27 MILLER(REC 700 PG 12 INDICATES THAT AT TH EDGE OF CONTACT BETWEEN THE PYRRHOTITE AND GABBRO THE ROCK C LESS THAN 10 PCT PYRRHOTITE,WHEREAS AT THE INNER EDGE IT CON MORE THAN 50 PCT PYRRHOTITE-HOUSTON REC 702 PG 73 STATES THA AVERAGE CONTENT OF THE SULFIDES IN THE ORE IS ABOUT 60 PCT. PYRRHOTITE TO SILICATE RATIO IS ABOUT 2 TO 1. REC 080 COL 23 MILLER BELEIVES THE ORE BODY TO BE TABULAR. C 52 MOST OF THE PYRRHOTITE ORE BODY WAS ORIGINALLY MANTLED-A OF RESIDUAL AND BEDDED GOSSAN WHICH HAS BEEN MINED PRIOR TO THIN SOIL MANTLE MAY COVER THE GOSSAN WHERE NOT PREVIOUSLY M REC 010 MILLER 1945 CONSIDERS THA T THE ONLY APPARENT ECONOM VALUE OF THE ORE LIES IN ITS IRON AND SULFUR CONTENT. REC 080 COLS 72-75 ACCORDING TO(MILLER REC 700 PG 3) GEOLOGI DENCE AT THE SURFACE AND THE ANALOGY TO OTHER SIMILIAR DEPOS ELSEWHERE INDICATES THAT THE DEPOSIT PROBABLY EXTENDS SEVERA DRED FEET UNDERGROUND. MATRIX 6 MILLER ALSO ASSUMES THAT THE SURFACE DIMENSIONS AND FACE GRADE ARE PERSISTANT DOWNWARD AND ESTIMATES THAT 410000 METALLIC IRON AND 2500000 LT SULFUR WOULD BE PRESENT FOR EVE FEET. THE USBM IN 1947(MINERALS YEARBOOK PG 1123 ESTIMATED T DEPOSIT CONTAINED 10000000 LT SULFUR.THEREFORE RESERVES WERE LATED ASSUMING AN ORE DEPTH OF 400 FT. REC 010 THE ANALYSES OF PYRRHOTITE FROM THIS DEPOSIT WAS GIV TERMS OF.METAL CONTENT BUT ALL COMMODITIES LISTED IN REC 010 FROM SULFIDES.-SEE RECORDS 700-701
Deposit Pyrrhotite occurs primarily as interstitial masses between silicate minerals. The ore body is structureless with about 75% sulfides in the interior grading outward into the surrounding norite which contains about 5% sulfide. A lack of pervasive replacement textures argues against an hydrothermal origin. The deposit is considered to be a magmatic segregation in which immissible sulfide separated from fractionating mafic magma (Houston, 1956).
Deposit Enormous Pyrrhotite Deposit At Katahdin Is Estimated To Contain 6.5 Million Tons of 44% Iron and 27% Sulphur Per 100 Ft. Vertically.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 21-MAR-95 Buckingham, David A. U.S. Bureau of Mines
Reporter 01-JUL-72 Coury, Anny B. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-98 Beck, F.M. Maine Geological Survey
Editor 07-JAN-04 Woodruff, Laurel G. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 27-OCT-10 Nicholson, S.W. U.S. Geological Survey Merged Record 10067848 for the Katahdin Iron Works with this record

Beyond USGS

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

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