Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-01-31
Southeast Missouri Mineral Region.

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The Austin grant is now owned and
operated by the Macarthur Brothers.
Copper ores have been discovered, and
some mining and smelling has been
carried on in Ste. Geneveive and 9th
er counties of the Southeast. The Ste.
Geneveive Copper Mines were discov-
cred on or about 1872. The formation
belongs to the Upper Silurian, which
extends far toward the west and reach
es within few miles of the Mississip-
pi River on the east. The copper ores
occur in three beds; number of drifts
or levels have been run into the hill.
The character of the ores and rocks
renders mining very easy. Large
quantities of copper have been mined
and shipped from those mines. Copper
also exists in Shannon, Washington,
Madison, Iron and Franklin counties,
but little attention has been paid to
the mining of these ores in this part
of the State. In Shannon mining was
commenced. and the ores shipped by
way of Current River to New Orleans,
in 1912. For some reason mining
operations ceased until 1873. but clos
ed again in 1875. There is no doubt if
a railroad should be built near it would
become valuable mining property. 1t
is owned by St. Louis parties.
Considerable mining for copper has
been done in Franklin county within
the past few years, and very rich cop
per ores have been discovered near
Sullivan. A party of St. Louis capital
lists have expended a great deal of cap
ital in their development. The rock
formation in which these ores occur is
limestone, and they lie in deposits
which are generally the sulphurets and
green carbonates.
The copper industry of Southeast
Mis- souri, is in its infancy. 1t is well
known fact that this ore is found not
only in limestone. but is also being
discovered in the quartz veins that
trend through the granite and porphy-
ry rocks of this region. The old Cop
per Mine is located near Jacks Fork,
a branch of Current River. The dis
covery of ore at this place was made
prior to 1889. This ore was in fat or
sheets, in red clay. and was
some four or five feet thick. About
of the ore was on the por-
phyry, and one third on the limestone,
the ore was the yellow sulphuret.
About one hundred and sixty tons of
pig copper were made from the ore
taken from this place. The ore was
smelted in blast furnace run by wa
ter power. The stack to smelt the ore
was built much the same as what is
known as s.slag hearth" in the lead
region, and used in the lead fields to
smelt lead slags. This copper was
hauled twelve miles and shipped in
flatboats down Current River to New
Orleans. These mines embrace six
thousand three hundred and twenty
acres of land, and are located near
Shannon county, owned by
the Missouri Copper Mining and Smelt-
ing Company of St. Louis.
On Big Creek, in Iron county, near
Brunot, is similar occurrence of cop
per ores. The yellow sulphuret and
green carbonate are found in a lime
stone rock which lies on the base of
hill, and very fine copper
specimens have been taken from this
place. but very little mining has been
done here toward its development.
This property is owned by Chicago
party.
On Imboden Creek, copper is found
in a decomposed porphyry at the foot
of a low hill near the bed of the creek.
The ore here is fonnd in veins of
quartz About three miles west, and
on the Shut-In Fork, copper is also
found in we'll defined quartz veins in
porpbyry. At this point the ores are
the yellow and gray copper; this is an
extension of the Imboden copper veins.
Copper also occurs in a quartz vein
about five miles south of Ironton, the
county seat of Iron county.
In the porphyry and granite district.
which forms part of the great Ozark
uplift in the Southeast, there exist
true fissure veins of quartz, varying in
width from few inches to forty feet.
In these veins are found silver. gold,
lead, copper, etc. In 1864 Prof. Up
ham Shepherd examined several local
tiles in Madison county. and reported.
after going over the ground carefully,
that veins of quartz were to be seen
cutting through the granite rock,