The sources of our iron ores. II

Abstract

In this instalment** the iron ore deposits of the Lake Superior States, which normally furnish about 80 per cent, of the annual output of the United States, are described together with historical notes on discovery and transportation of ore. Deposits in the Mississippi Valley and Western States are likewise outlined and the sources of imported ore are given. Reviewing the whole field, it is indicated that the great producing deposits of the Lake Superior and southern Appalachian regions are of hematite in basin areas of sedimentary rocks, that hydrated iron oxides and iron carbonates are generally found in undisturbed comparatively recent sediments, and that magnetite occurs in metamorphic and igneous rocks; also that numerical abundance of deposits is not a criterion as to their real importance as a source of supply. Statistics of production of iron ore and estimates of reserves of present grade conclude the paper.