Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-04-23
ACTIVITIES IN THE
IRON DISTRICT
&e-----
NEW DISCOVERIES IN THE GOGE-
BIC RANGE ADD TO FUTURE
PROSPECTS
ORE LIES AT GREAT DEoTA
AND SHAFTS GO 5000
FEET

Bessmer, Mich. April While
for the moment the Gogebic range is
not so busy as it has been in the
past as, indeed, is the case in all
the others Of Lake Superior region
and while it is not expected that
the twenty-four mines on the shippiug
list will send out much more than
100000 tons of ore this year, the
future of the district was never
brighter.
New ore bodies discovered at depth
within recent years have added vastly
to the life of the field. Nowhere else
in the lake region do the deposits lie
deeper. There is no hesitancy now in
sinking 1000, even 5000, fee. n
search of ore within the proved gone.
and there is assurance the work viii
be successful. Not all the mineral 5
as desirable as the fancy grades o.
the Marquette and Vermillion ranges.
still the product averages better imam
that OF any other district.
1t is the theory of the geologist that
the ores Of the Gogebic were formed
by teaching from lower grade silicious
iorn beds. These seeped down through
broken and porous rock until they
met with an imperyious trough formed
by the junction Of a wall Of quartzite
on the south with a ilatter bed or
dyke of diOrite on the north. All
the ore had to do these ages ago Wj&s
to purify itself OF the oxide Of silicon
and leach through into the troughs APP
pointed for it's reception. There could
be devised no better method Of con
centrating low grade ores than this
process, worked out in natures own
laboratory.
There is hardly a mine on the Gogc.
bic that is not sinking to develop ore
bodies at lower levels. In this re-
spect he range is undergoing what
has been truly styled a TRANSFORMATION,
The areat majority of the shippers are
now innings between depths of thou
sand and two thousand feet; few
shafts are bottomcd still further down
and ue opening up even greater r.-
sources than met with nearer the sur
face, and at two or three properties 3.-
600 feet is the goal in sight. Given in or
der Oh the strike of the formation
from east to west; the active mines
are the Castle, Sunday Lake, Broth
ertOH Pike, Mikado, Eureka, Anvil
Tilden, Colby, Yale, Ironton, Newport,
Pabst Aurora, East Norue, Norrn
and Ashland on the Michigan side Of
the border line, and the Gernania,
Cary, Superior, Ottawa, Montreal, At
lantic and Iron Belt, on the Wisconsin
end of the range. Michigan properties
in course of development are the New
Davis, Section 10, Geneva, Puritan,
and Asteroids. The latter two should
enter the producing list this season,
and the New Davis and Geneva early
in 1909. The old Comet (now the Me
teor) mine Of Oglebay, Norton & Co.
is a possible shipper this year; it's
last output was 10000 tons in 1904.
peculiar geological characteristic
of the Gogebic is the existence of sue
cessive layers of diorite rock. extend
ing to great depth, and each holding
it's quota of ore This is notably the
case at the Cleveland Cliffs Iron com
pany's Ashland mine, Corrigan, McKin
ney & Cos. Colby, the Steel Corpora
tons Norrie group, and Ferdinand
Schlesinger's Newport which latter.
following the depletion Of the original
ore measures, is opening new and ok
tensive deposits at a depth of 2,4OY
feet after sinking a considerable dis.
lance through barren ground. 1t DC.
ours also at other properties in the
territory between the Montreal river
the Mfchigan-Wisco boundary
and the Black river, east of the Eu'
reka mine; and it is found on the west
side of the Montreal as well. With
the deposits lying deep as rule, dia'
mond drilling is impractical. How
ever, so persistent is the formation
that it is regarded as a safe propose
ton to put down a shaft to a depth Of
1000 or 5000 feet, and then crosscut
in search of ore, such as is being
done at the steel corporations Geneva.
Faith was adduced in this method az
a result Of diamond drill exploration
from the bottom Of Norrie shaft, al
well as from discoveries under cross
dykes at the Newport, and it has
been strengthened by subsequent de-
velopments