Geophysics - Gravity Investigations in the Iron River-Crystal Falls Mining District of Michigan

THERE has been considerable speculation among mining geologists and mining men in general as to the relative merits of gravity methods in iron-ore exploration. Most of the investigations which have been carried out in recent years have been done by mining companies, and few if any of the results have been published. Three gravity surveys have been made in the Iron River-Crystal Falls area,' " one by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, with inconclusive results, and the other two by Radar Exploration Co. for the Cleveland-Cliffs and the M. A. Hanna companies, with results not known to the writers. Both the last-mentioned surveys were detailed investigations, the stations being spaced as close as 10 ft along traverses,' and were made to determine the feasibility of locating iron ore by gravitational methods. Because of the presence of a large body of ore already extensively drilled, Dr. Harold L. James of the U. S. Geological Survey, Iron River, Mich., suggested that a further test of gravitational methods of exploration be made in the Round Lake area of Iron County, see Figs. 1 and 2. This survey indicated a considerable regional gradient and led to a study of the surrounding gravity field and its relation to the major structural features of the syncline within which the iron formation lies. The southwestern part of Iron County presents a series of hills and hollows elongated in a roughly north-south direction. The bedrock topography is of pre-glacial origin. Relief is moderate; a maximum elevation difference of approximately 350 ft was observed during the survey. Major drainage is dendritic with the larger streams: the Brule to the south, the Paint to the north, and the Iron in the central part. Hills are thickly grown with hard- woods, and lowland areas, not under cultivation, are usually covered by second-growth softwoods. The area covered in this paper includes the southern half of Iron County, Mich., with a deep synclinal basin occupying the central part of the area, and the southeast corner of Gogebic County, immediately to the west of Iron County. The upper Huronian iron formation, slates, and graywackes which form the synclinal basin rest upon a greenstone basement. The basin has not been completely outlined by exposures, drill records or other means, as outcrops are scarce and the thick mantle of glacial drift makes geological investigations extremely difficult. Glacial drift varies in depth up to 300 ft or more. The drift is usually thickest under the hills and is thinnest in the depressions and along drainage courses where most of the bedrock exposures occur. The area over which gravity investigations were made is almost, entirely covered by glacial material. Bedrock of the basin consists of a complexly folded series of iron formation, slates, and graywackes. One of the series of slates has a high magnetic susceptibility due to the fine-grained magnetite it contains. This formation can be detected readily. by magnetic methods and provides a marker horizon which can be easily followed. The magnetic slates are stratigraphically above the iron formation, and much of the geological interpretation of the area is based upon the magnetic anomalies they produce.