Hematite

specimen number:
2062278

location:
A Norrie Mine, Ironwood, Michigan, USA

description:

A good example of what is known as needle ore hematite. Lustrous and complete all around, in great condition. The specimen comes with a series of previous labels as shown at the end of the video.

The Norrie Mine, located within the city limits of Ironwood in Gogebic County, Michigan, was a legendary underground iron mining operation that eventually became one of the most prolific producers on the historic Gogebic Iron Range. Geologically, the deposit sits on a steeply dipping, narrow belt composed of Precambrian sedimentary rocks, where high-grade, direct-shipping Bessemer iron ore was concentrated as secondary hematite and goethite within the localized iron-formations. These massive, soft ore bodies were structurally trapped within cherty strata against cross-cutting igneous dikes, requiring deep, complex underground shaft networks to extract. Following the initial discovery of the massive ore body in 1882 by an exploration party led by Ambrose Lanfear Norrie, the Norrie Mining Company formally organized and commenced commercial development in 1884, with the first major rail shipments leaving the site in 1885. The mine underwent multiple corporate expansions under operators like the Oliver Iron Mining Company, consolidating with adjacent properties to form the sprawling Norrie Group, which in 1906 became the first property in the Upper Peninsula to ship nearly one million tons of iron ore in a single year. Active extraction at the core Norrie property continued through several deep shafts, including the notable A Shaft, until underground operations were consolidated into the neighboring Penokee Mine in 1935, leaving a legacy of profound regional growth and deep surface subsidence pits where the early city center grew around the underground works.

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