Rouchleau Group

Past Producer in St. Louis county in Minnesota, United States with commodities Iron, Water, Free
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. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10122463
MRDS ID W018572
MAS/MILS ID 0271370008
Record type Site
Current site name Rouchleau Group
Alternate or previous names Rochleau Mine, U S Rouchleau Group, Rouchleau Mine, Great Western Mine, Auburn Mine
Related records 10072872

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Ore Body
Geographic coordinates: -92.5288, 47.51029 (WGS84)
Elevation 442
Location accuracy 10(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

St. Louis(county)

Minnesota(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Virginia(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Vermilion Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Hibbing(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

St. Louis(hydrologic unit)

St. Louis(hydrologic accounting unit)

Western Lake Superior(hydrologic subregion)

Great Lakes(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Minnesota St. Louis

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
4th Principal 058 N 017 W 17 C SWNE Minnesota

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Iron Primary
Water, Free Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chert Unknown
Goethite Unknown
Hematite Unknown

Nearby scientific data

Ore Body (1) -92.5288, 47.51029

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Strike N25E
    Dip 11W
    Area 170HA
    Depth to top 24M
    Field Value
    Type of Orebody #1 SEDIMENTARY
    Shape of Orebody #1 MASSIVE
    Shape of Orebody #2 IRREGULAR
    Primary mode of Origin OXIDATION
    Secondary mode of Origin RESIDUAL CONCENT
    Primary Ore Control LITHOLOGY
    Secondary Ore Control BEDDING
    Degree of Wallrock Alter. UNKNOWN
    Type of Wallrock Alter. #1 OTHER
    Strike And Dip N25E:11W
    Minimum Depth to Top 0
    Avg. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. 24
    Min. Thick. Unconsol. Mat. 0
    Total Surface Area (HA) 170
    Date of Last Modification 820125

Comments on the geologic information

  • MINERALIZATION DIMENSIONS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FROM OWNERS. THICKNESS OF THE BIWABIK IRON FORMATION IN THE AREA OF THIS DEPOSIT IS 220 METERS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1943

Mining district

District name Lake Superior

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Fee Ownership

Land status

Ownership category Mixed

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner U.S. Steel Corp.
    ID 2100284
    Interest 100
    Home office Pennsylvania
    Year 1981

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ADIT UPDATE 1993: THE ROUCHLEAU MINE WAS THE LAST OF THE THREE PROPERTIES TO OPERATE IN 1976. SEE Q-MATRIX 2 FOR THE REMAINING RESERVES.
  • RESERVES OF THE ROUCHLEAU GROUP CONSIST OF RESERVES FROM THE ROUCHLEAU, AUBURN, AND GREAT WESTERN MINES. RESERVE FIGURES ARE REPORTED IN WET TONNAGES AND GRADES. RESERVES COMPILED FOR THE ADIT UPDATE 1993 ARE SHOWN IN MATRIX 2 AND REPRESENT RESERVES FOR ALL THREE PROPERTIES (MINNNESOTA MINING DIRECTORY 1992)

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Area 170HA
    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 24
    Primary Material Cover SAND, GRAVEL
    Percentage 100
    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 6.24
    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 HOLDINGS ARE 170 HECTARES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Reserve-Resource

    DIRECTORY - 1981, ED. BY W.D. TRETHEWAY. UNIV.. OF

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    MINNESOTA. MINN. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 30, 1943,

  • Deposit

    PP. 13-57.

  • Deposit

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL. U. S. - LAKE SUPERIOR

  • Deposit

    REGION STILL HOLDS LARGEST RESERVES. V. 175, NO. 11,

  • Deposit

    NOVEMBER 1974, PP. 81-93, 102-103.

  • Deposit

    MINING CONGRESS JOURNAL. THREE IRON ORE PROCESSING

  • Deposit

    FACILITIES. AUGUST 1981, P. 6.

  • Deposit

    MINING ENGINEERING. ROUCHLEAU, NATURAL OPERATION. V. 25,

  • Deposit

    NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 1973, P. 62.

  • Deposit

    SKILLINGS, J.D., JR. 1974 MINNESOTA TACONITE AND NATURAL

  • Deposit

    ORE ACTIVITY. SKILLINGS' MINING REVIEW, V. 63, NO. 26,

  • Deposit

    JUNE 29, 1974, P. 10.

  • Deposit

    MINERAL RESOURCES RESEARCH CENTER. MINNESOTA MINING

  • Deposit

    DIRECTORY - 1981, ED. BY W.D. TRETHEWAY. UNIV. OF

  • Deposit

    MINN., MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., 1981, 266 PP.

  • Deposit

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

  • Deposit

    RANGE, MINNESOTA. MINN. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 38, 1954,

  • Deposit

    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-95 Popper, G. U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 11/07/1978
MSHA mine ID2100284
Mine name (MSHA)U S Rouchleau Grp
Current operatorUnited States Steel Corp
Current controller (parent)USX Corp (United States Steel Corp)
Mine typeSurface (Metal / non-metal)

MSHA cross-reference per the original MRDS record. Mine status and operator reflect MSHA's last published Mines export (February 2025); MSHA's public bulk feed has been unavailable since, so this may be out of date. See the Mine Data Retrieval System for current status.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

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:

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.