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Marquette Iron District

Producer in Marquette county in Michigan, 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. Commodities
  6. Mineral occurrence model information
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Production statistics
  14. Reserves and resources
  15. Bibliographic references
  16. General comments
  17. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10310201
MRDS ID W001391
Record type District
Current site name Marquette Iron District
Related records 10082789, 60001572

Comments on the site names

  • ABOUT 125 INDIVIDUAL MINES

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -87.60558, 46.45611 (WGS84)
Relative position IN UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN WEST FROM CITY

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Marquette(county)

Michigan(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Palmer(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Gwinn(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Marquette(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Escanaba(hydrologic unit)

Northwestern Lake Michigan(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwestern Lake Michigan(hydrologic subregion)

Great Lakes(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Michigan Marquette

Comments on the location information

  • MARQUETTE IRON DISTRICT. CONTAINS AROUND 125 MINES. MOST ARE NOW EXTINCT, BUT THOSE OPERATING, ABOUT TO OPERATE OR RECENTLY CLOSED HAVE BEEN WRITTEN UP SEPARATELY LOCATION IS FOR WINTHROP MINE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Iron Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • ORIGINALLY, THREE OF THE FOUR PRECAMBRIAN U.S. TYPES OF ORES WERE MINED 1) SOFT ORE; 2) HARD ORES; 3) SILICEOUS ORES TODAY, MINING IS BECOMING BASED MORE AND MORE ON LOW GRADE 1) MAGNETITE TACONITE AND 2) JASPER ORES. THESE ORES ARE GROUND, SEPARATED AND PELLETIZED, BEFORE SHIPMENT. (HENCE, ARE CONCENTRATE ORES). TRACY MINE AND MATHER MINE STILL ARE MINING SOFT ORE. HUMBOLDT MINE WAS THE FIRST CONCENTRATE MINE. HUMBOLDT, OPENING IN 1954 (AND CLOSING IN 1971), WAS FOLLOWED BY REPUBLIC MINE, OPENING IN 1956 (AND STILL OPERATING; SUMMER 1972): AND BY TILDEN MINE, WHICH WILL BEGIN PRODUCTION IN 1975

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 241
USGS model code 34a
Deposit model name Superior Fe (BC name is Lake Superior & Rapitan types iron-formation)

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Iron Formation
    Rock unit name Negaunee Iron-Formation
    Rock description Negaunee Iron-Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) -87.60558, 46.45611
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Westward plunging synclinorium open at western end; regional trends: E-W

Ore body information

  • General form STRATABOUND

Comments on the geologic information

  • ARCHEAN ROCKS OVERLAIN BY PALEOPROTEROZOIC MARQUETTE RANGE SUPERGROUP ROCKS. LOWER PALEOPROTEROZOIC CRYSTALLINE ROCKS BLOCK FAULTED AND DIFFERENTIALLY RAISED AND LOWERED; FORMING TROUGHS. MARQUETTE RANGE SUPERGROUP ROCKS AS SEMI-CONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS SLUMPED INTO THE TROUGHS. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME ENTIRE AREA REGIONALLY THERMAL METAMORPHOSED CREATING METAMORPHIC FACIES OR NODES. THE MARQUETTE DISTRICT AFFECTED BY THE REPUBLIC NODE WHICH ZONES FROM CHLORITE TO SILLIMANITE EXCLUSIVE OF KYANITE ONLY. SILLIMANITE ZONE IS IN VICINITY OF AND INCLUDES REPUBLIC TOWN AND REPUBLIC OPEN PIT. REST OF ZONED AREAS ARE REGULAR SHAPED FAIRLY ROUND WITH SLIGHT FLATTENING TO THE NORTHEAST. (JAMES H. L. 1955 P. 1455-1488)

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1844
Year of first production 1848

Mining district

District name Marquette Iron District

Production statistics

  • Year 1968
    Period 1852-1968
    Material ore Fe
    Ore mined 597043602mt
    Accuracy Accurate
  • Year 1971
    Accuracy Estimate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major taconite Iron Iron 8844mt

Comments on the production information

  • ALL TYPES OF ORES

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Name HEMATITE AND GOETHITE IRON-FM WITHIN 1,000 FT OF THE SURFACE; 60-65 WT % FE.
    Estimate year 1978
    Reserves 6350400
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron Fe 62.5 wt-pct Iron Major 1978
  • Type In-situ
    Name MAGNETIC ORE WITHIN 1,000 FT OF THE SURFACE; RECOVERY WOULD BE AT LEAST 20 WT % OF THE CRUDE ORE.
    Estimate year 1978
    Reserves 2721600
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron Fe 20 wt-pct Iron Major 1978
  • Type In-situ
    Name IRON-FM CONTAINING COARSE-GRAIN HEMATITE WITHIN 1,000 FT OF THE SURFACE; RECOVERY IS AT LEAST 20 WT
    Estimate year 1978
    Reserves 635040
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Iron Fe 20 wt-pct Iron Major 1978
  • Type In-situ
    Name SILICATE IRON-FM WITHIN 1,000 FT OF THE SURFACE.
    Estimate year 1978
    Reserves 5689600

Comments on development

  • Still active
  • IN 1960, THE COST OF PRODUCING A LONG TON OF ORE FROM AN UNDERGROUND MINE IN THE MARQUETTE RANGE WAS $10.88, AS COMPARED TO $11.80 FOR THE GOGEBIC RANGE, AND $9.87 FOR THE MENOMINEE RANGE. DECLINE IN COSTS FROM 1959 WAS DUE TO CLOSING HIGHER-COST MINES AS DEMAND DECLINED (MINERALS YEARBOOK 1960, V. III, P. 517).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    JAMES, H. L., 1955, ZONES REG. METAMORPHISM. IN N. MICH.; G. S. A. BULL., VOL. 66, P. 1455-1488.

  • Deposit

    THE LAKE SUPERIOR IRON ASSOC., 1938, LAKE SUPERIOR IRON ORES.

  • Deposit

    THE LAKE SUPERIOR IRON ASSOC., 1952, LAKE SUPERIOR IRON ORES.

  • Deposit

    GRATON-SALES VOL. A. I. M. E., THE MARQUETTE DISTRICT: ORE DEPOSITS OF THE U. S., 1933-1967, P. 508-517

  • Deposit

    CANNON, W.F., POWERS, S.L., AND WRIGHT, N.A., 1978, COMPUTER-AIDED ESTIMATES OF CONCENTRATING-GRADE IRON RESOURCES IN THE NEGAUNEE IRON-FORMATION, MARQUETTE DISTRICT, MICHIGAN: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1045, 21 P.

  • Deposit

    D'ALIGNY, HENRY, 1864, REPORTS ON THE VALUE OF THE COMPANY'S LANDS LOCATED IN THE IRON REGION OF LAKE SUPERIOR, COUNTY OF MARQUETTE, STATE OF MICHIGAN: BOSTON, WRIGHT AND POTTER, PRINTERS, ST. MARY'S CANAL MINERAL LAND COMPANY, 54 P. (GIVES AN EARLY SUMMARY OF RESULTS OF EXPLORATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE 'INEXHAUSTIBLE' IRON RESOURCES OF THE RANGE.)

  • Deposit

    IRON COMPANIES HAVE MADE EXTENSIVE STUDIES OF AREA . MOST ALL OF THIS DISTRICT MAPPED FROM 1940 - 1973 AT 1:24,000 SCALE. TOO MANY GEOLOGISTS TO MENTION INDIVIDUALLY

  • Production

    1). GRATON-SALES, VOL. A.I.M.E., 1968, P. 508.

  • Reserve-Resource

    CANNON AND OTHERS (1978).

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ARCHEAN ROCKS OVERLAIN BY PALEOPROTEROZOIC MARQUETTE RANGE SUPERGROUP ROCKS. ARCHEAN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS BLOCK FAULTED AND DIFFERENTIALLY RAISED AND LOWERED; FORMING TROUGHS. MARQUETTE RANGE SUPERGROUP ROCKS AS SEMI-CONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS SLUMPED INTO THE TROUGHS. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME ENTIRE AREA REGIONALLY THERMAL METAMORPHOSED CREATING METAMORPHIC FACIES OR NODES. THE MARQUETTE DISTRICT AFFECTED BY THE REPUBLIC NODE WHICH ZONES FROM CHLORITE TO SILLIMANITE EXCLUSIVE OF KYANITE ONLY. SILLIMANITE ZONE IS IN VICINITY OF AND INCLUDES REPUBLIC TOWN AND REPUBLIC OPEN PIT. REST OF ZONED AREAS ARE REGULAR SHAPED FAIRLY ROUND WITH SLIGHT FLATTENING TO THE NORTHEAST. (JAMES H. L. 1955 P. 1455-1488)
Deposit DESCRIPTIVE (CANNON, 1986) AND GRADE AND TONNAGE (MOSIER AND SINGER, 1986) DEPOSIT MODELS OF SUPERIOR FE ARE IN COX AND SINGER, 1986, MINERAL DEPOSIT MODELS: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN, 1693, P. 228-230. LARUE (1981) FOUND THAT CHEMICAL IRON SEDIMENTATION APPARENTLY TOOK PLACE WITH LITTLE REGARD TO BASINAL OR PLATFORM ENVIRONMENTS. BOTH ENVIRONMENTS SHOW PERIODS OF CHEMICAL-IRON SEDIMENTATION. HOWEVER, IN BOTH ENVIRONMENTS, DEPOSITION OF IRON WAS RESTRICTED TO PERIODS OF DETRITAL-SEDIMENT STARVATION.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1972 Cannon, Suzanne S. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-NOV-1995 Sutphin, D.M. (Cannon, W.F.) 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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