Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report

This report is a continuation of an earlier work which can be viewed here: http://hdl.handle.net/10792/2850This report and associated databases are updates on many of the holes that have been recently logged by the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) in the Keweenawan Duluth Complex, the Paleoproterozoic Biwabik Iron Formation of the Mesabi Iron Range, and the Archean Deer Lake Complex of northeastern Itasca County, Minnesota. The main emphasis of this project was to update some of the databases that were presented in an earlier NRRI report (Patelke, 2003) with regard to lithologies in Duluth Complex drill holes that were logged by the NRRI since 2003 (and discussed in Severson and Hauck, 2008). To date, all of the publically available drill holes (except for around 30 drill holes) have now been logged in the Duluth Complex by the NRRI. These 30 holes are all that are missing from either the databases in this report or the databases in Patelke (2003). It is strongly suggested that the databases herein be combined, at the user’s discretion, with corresponding databases in Patelke (2003) in order to make an all- encompassing database for lithologies for all NRRI logged drill holes in the Duluth Complex. A secondary goal of this project was to present a header file database for all the holes that were recently drilled in the Duluth Complex (post-2003). Most of these holes are not yet publically available, but data regarding drill hole locations can be gleaned from abandonment files. Combining Duluth Complex header files in this report with the similar header file in Patelke (2003) could provide an all-encompassing database of locations for all of the holes drilled to date in the Duluth Complex (pre-2010 data). This combining of the data is left to the user’s discretion. Lastly, additional goals of this project (time permitting) were to present lithologic databases for all holes logged by the NRRI in the Mesabi Iron Range and, to a much lesser extent, holes logged by the NRRI in the Deer Lake Complex. The database for the Mesabi Iron Range contains information for almost 300 drill holes (over 5,947 lines of lithologic data) in regard to the lithologic picks pertaining to informal members and submembers of the iron-formation. The data in this file is about 80% complete in that not all of the iron-formation submembers are presented for holes drilled at the Keetac Taconite mine or in the Coleraine, MN, area (the latter holes are discussed in Zanko et al., 2003)

Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report

Plates 1-7B mentioned in the report are also attached to this record. Disks 1-4 have not been located yet.Minnesota has a variety of clays and shales that have potential as industrial clays. These clays are: 1) Precambrian clays; 2) Paleozoic shales; 3) pre-Late Cretaceous primary (residual) and secondary kaolins; 4) Late Cretaceous ball clays and marine shales; 5) Pleistocene glacial clays; and 6) Recent clays. Minnesota clays are currently used for brick and as a portland cement additive. Other potential uses include filler and coating grade kaolins, ceramic tile, refractory products, lightweight aggregate, sanitaryware, and livestock feed filler. Precambrian clays occur in the 1 .1 Ga Keweenawan interflow sediments of the North Shore Volcanic Group, the Middle Proterozoic Thomson Formation and in the Paint Rock member of the Biwabik Iron-Formation on the Mesabi Iron Range, all in northeastern Minnesota. The Paint Rock clays have potential as red coloring additives and glazes. Paleozoic shales in southeastern Minnesota are primarily kaolinitic and illitic shales that are interbedded with limestones. The Ordovician Decorah and Glenwood Formations are marine shales that, in the past, have been used to make bricks, tile, and lightweight aggregate. The thickness of these shales ranges from 10-90 feet. The Decorah Shale has the lowest firing temperature with the best shrinkage and absorption characteristics of all the Minnesota clays. The pre-Late Cretaceous primary and secondary kaolins are found in the western and central portions of Minnesota; the best exposures are located along the Minnesota River Valley from Mankato to the Redwood Falls area and in the St. Cloud area. The primary or residual kaolinitic clays are the result of intense weathering of Precambrian granites and gneisses prior to the Late Cretaceous. Subsequent reworking of these residual clays led to the development of a paleosol and the formation of pisolitic kaolinite clays. Physical and chemical weathering of the saprolitic kaolinite-rich rocks produced fluvial/lacustrine (secondary) kaolinitic shales and sandstones. Recent exploration activity is concentrated in the Minnesota River Valley where the primary kaolin thickness ranges from 0 to 200 + feet, and the thickness of the secondary kaolins ranges from 0-45 + feet (Setterholm, et al, 1989). Similar kaolinitic clays occur in other areas of Minnesota, e.g., St. Cloud and Bowlus areas. However, less information is available on their thickness, quality, and areal distribution due to varying thicknesses of glacial overburden. Cement grade kaolin is extracted from two mines in the residual clays in the Minnesota River Valley, and a third mine there yields secondary kaolinite-rich clays that are mixed with Late Cretaceous shales to produce brick. During the Late Cretaceous, Minnesota was flooded by the transgressing Western Interior Sea, which deposited both non-marine and marine sediments. These sediments are characterized by gray and black shales, siltstones, sandstones, and lignitic material. Significant occurrences of Late Cretaceous sediments are found throughout the western part of the state, with the best exposures located in Brown County, the Minnesota River Valley, and the St. Cloud area. In Brown County, the maximum thickness of the Late Cretaceous sediments is > 100 feet. These sediments thicken to the west and can be covered by significant thicknesses ( > 300 ft.) of glacial overburden in many areas. Current brick production comes from the Late Cretaceous shales in Brown County. In the past, the Red Wing pottery in Red Wing, Minnesota, used Cretaceous and some Ordovician sediments to produce pottery, stoneware, and sewer pipe. Glacial clays occur in glacial lake, till, loess, and outwash deposits, and these clay deposits range in thickness from 5 to 100 + feet. Much of the early brick and tile production (late 1800s and early 1900s) in Minnesota was from glacial clays. The last brickyards to produce from glacial lake clays, e.g., Wrenshall in northeastern Minnesota and Fertile in west-central Minnesota, closed in the 1950s and 1960s. There has also been some clay production from recent (Holocene) fluvial and lake clays that have thicknesses of 2-10 + feet. Both recent and glacial clays are composed of glacial rock flour with minor quantities of clay minerals. Carbonates can be a significant component of many of these clays. Glacial lake clays in northwestern Minnesota (Glacial Lake Agassiz - Brenna and Sherack Formations) begin to bloat at 1830 ° F due to the presence of dolomite and smectite clays. These clays are a potential lightweight aggregate resource. Geochemistry, clay mineralogy, particle size, cation exchange capacity (CEC), raw and fired color, and firing characteristics are useful in distinguishing different potential industrial uses for Minnesota clays. These physical and chemical characteristics help to distinguish potentially useful clays from those with less desirable characteristics, e.g., high quartz or silica content, high shrinkage or absorption upon firing, undesirable fired color, too coarse-grained, CEC of < 5 milliequivalents, etc. Certain clays, e.g., the bloating Decorah and Brenna Formation clays, and the high alumina, refractory, pisolitic clays of the Minnesota River Valley, have physical and chemical characteristics that indicate further exploration and product research are necessary to fully evaluate the potential of these clays.Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN 55811-1442; Funded by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resource

Natural Resources Research Institute Report of Investigations

This project attempts to identify the melting point of the brass dross.Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth MN 55811-144

Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Summary Report

October 2007, Technical Summary Report, NRRI/TSR-2007/05, Project No. 187-6565. Natural Resources Research Institute, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth MN 55811-1442Taconite aggregates (collectively termed Mesabi Hard Rock™) have been used as construction aggregate in Minnesota for nearly 50 years, dating back to the early days of the taconite industry. Coarse taconite tailings are a ready-made, free-draining, fine aggregate equivalent suitable for use as select granular and fine filter aggregates. Their angular interlocking form, when placed with water and covered with Class 5, produces sound embankment fill material. Their hardness, strength and durability produce superior wear and friction properties in bituminous mixes. This, coupled with 100% fractured faces, makes them ideal for Superpave mixes. Their cleanness (very low -200 mesh) makes them a valuable tool for adjusting volumetric properties in bituminous mix design. Crushed taconite rock brings the same hardness, strength and durability to the coarser aggregate size fractions, making it ideal for crushing to desired specifications for use as fill, filter material and the coarse aggregate component in bituminous and concrete mixes. Historically, taconite aggregate products have been used most when road construction, maintenance, and repair projects are in close proximity to the taconite operations, i.e., on the Mesabi Range. The 1970s and 1980s saw the use of coarse taconite tailings spread to the Twin Cities metropolitan area, as well as to the southern and western reaches of the state for use in bituminous overlays and surfacing. The 1990s and 2000s saw taconite aggregates become a staple of Duluth area bituminous contractors and road constructors, to the degree that they are used in some capacity in nearly every project. Millions of tons of taconite byproducts are produced every year in the mining and pellet production process. Couple this with nearly 50 years of production and the enormous size of this resource becomes obvious. While much of this material is consumed by the taconite mines for day to day operations (haul roads, tailings dams, shovel pads, drill hole stemming, etc.), much remains stockpiled and available for use. Infrastructure already in place for shipment of pellets (roads, railroads, and Lake Superior docks and ship-loading facilities) can be accessed for shipment of aggregates throughout the United States and beyond. This report is a historical narrative of the highlights of taconite aggregate usage as road construction aggregates in Minnesota. It documents how taconite byproducts have evolved from stockpiled "wastes" to become premium "in-demand" aggregates suitable for meeting today's infrastructure needs.Natural Resources Research Institute, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth MN 55811-144

Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report

Pleistocene glacial lake clays found in west-central Kittson County, Minnesota, were identified as bloating clays in 1989. One of the primary uses of bloating clays is as lightweight aggregate in structural concrete. Such lightweight structural concrete is used in the construction of high-rise buildings, where the reduced weight allows building higher while reducing the amount of structural steel support. While Minnesota has several different bloating clay deposits, most lightweight aggregate currently used in Minnesota is shipped by barge up the Mississippi River from West Memphis, Arkansas. Among Minnesota's bloating clays are the Cretaceous shales near Springfield in southwestern Minnesota, the Ordovician Decorah Shale of southeastern Minnesota, and the Pleistocene Brenna Formation clays of Kittson County in northwestern Minnesota. The Kittson clays bloat at a lower temperature than the other Minnesota bloating clays and have a unique spherical bloating habit. In addition, the deposit is homogeneous over a large areal extent and thickness and lies within 20 ft. of the surface. The clays would be easily accessible for open pit mining. This project was undertaken to determine whether the Kittson clays, when fired, produced a suitable lightweight aggregate for use in structural concrete. Testing was done according to American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) standards by an independent testing laboratory. Tests results showed that the Kittson clays meet all ASTM requirements for use as a lightweight aggregate in structural concrete.Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, Minnesota 55811; Funded by the Minerals Coordinating Committee Through the Minerals Diversification Pla

Natural Resources Research Institute Report of Investigations

Coarse taconite tailings and crushed taconite rock (Mesabi Hard Rock™) have been a staple of the road construction industry on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range for over four decades. Comparable to trap rock in quality, taconite aggregates have proven to be strong and durable when used as subgrade and base material and in bituminous pavements. The superior hardness and durability of these materials make them a viable candidate for exporting to the Twin Cities metro and out-state areas and to surrounding states as stand alone aggregate or for blending with local aggregates to produce more competent pavements. Documenting how and where taconite byproducts have been used in Minnesota, along with related test and longevity data, will provide the potential end user a basis for selecting these materials over another aggregate source.Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN 55811-144

Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report

The original report contained a 3.5-inch Imation 2HD IBM floppy disk (capacity 1.44 MB) labeled "NRRI/TR-98/20 DISKETTE APPENDIX II NCPSA.WQ1 Location and Particle Size Analysis Data APPENDIX III NCGCHEM.WQ1 Geochemistry Data." Two files were extracted from that disk in August 2019, NCGCHEM.WQ1 and NCPSA.WQ1. Both files are attached to this record. Since the software used to create those files (Quattro Pro for DOS, version 1-version 4) is old and difficult to find, staff attempted to convert the files to a more accessible format. NCGCHEM.WQ1 was opened with Quattro Pro X9 software and converted to a comma separated values (.csv) file (also attached). Please note that the number of columns and rows in NCGCHEM.WQ1 (and NCGCHEM.CSV) doesn't exactly match the description in the report, but it's unknown whether that's due to an error in the opening of the file in Quattro Pro X9 or an error in the description. Also please note that there are charts in NCGCHEM.WQ1 that won't convert to .csv (or .xlsx, or any other file format attempted). NCPSA.WQ1 would not open with either Quattro Pro X9 or OpenOffice Calc 4.1.6 but is included here in case someone else can find a way to access the data.Kaolin mining and exploration in Minnesota has been concentrated in the Minnesota River Valley, in the south-central part of the state. Potential exists for kaolins in northern and central Minnesota. Using the resources of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Drill Core Repository, over 1,250 drill logs were reviewed for references to kaolin bearing materials. This process resulted in 170 drill holes that contained references to kaolin bearing materials. Examination of these drill holes resulted in the selection of 60 drill holes containing kaolinitic materials for detailed logging. Detailed logging resulted in the collection of 287 samples from 40 drill holes. All samples were run for particle size analysis, and 27 selected samples were run for geochemistry. Many regions in the study area show potential for kaolin clay exploration. All areas sampled have favorable geochemistry and particle size analyses for current industrial clay uses, which include brick manufacturing, ceramics, and portland cement production. The areas with the greatest potential are Cass, Crow Wing, Stearns, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, and Pope Counties. Other possible uses for these clays include, refractory materials, fillers and pigments for industrial and agricultural applications, and coating and fillers for the paper industry. Exploration for kaolin deposits may be hindered by the lack of outcrop and thick overburden in some of these areas. The use of geophysical techniques, coupled with the examination of other drill holes and water well log data, may aid in the location of areas of further interest for exploration companies

Natural Resources Research Institute Report of Investigations

The purpose of this interagency project is to provide public online access, in standardized form, to the multitude of reports, documents, and maps produced or held by the three public minerals agencies in Minnesota, i.e., the Minerals Division of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS), and the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI). Initial work on the indexing project is focused in the area of non-ferrous minerals to better serve this exploration industry. The scope of NRRI’s part in the project extends to indexing all published reports on nonferrous minerals projects undertaken by NRRI since its inception in 1983. These include 21 reports published at NRRI and 3 reports published at NRRI’s Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory (CMRL). The reports are listed in Appendix A and referenced by NRRI report number. Report numbers beginning with “CMRL” are held at NRRI’s Coleraine facility (Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Box 188, Coleraine, MN 55722). In addition to indexing its non-ferrous reports, NRRI is responsible for starting a Locality Thesaurus—a listing of geological names and terms associated with a physical locality, such as “Virginia Horn,” “Duluth Gabbro Complex,” “Vermilion District,” and “Camp Rivard Fault.” This thesaurus will be used as a foundation from which a fully cross-referenced locality thesaurus for the State of Minnesota will be built. Multiple names applied to any particular “locality” are crossreferenced. Initial efforts are concentrated in the non-ferrous area, but include ferrous and glacial locality terms as well.Funded by the Minerals Coordinating Committee from the Minerals Diversification Program of the Minnesota Legislature with funding through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; and the University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN 55811-1442