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| teacher guide
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Mineral
Wealth
page
6
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Rich
soils, flakes of gold, or deposits of clean sand provide
opportunity for the investor or settler. Early geologic
investigations helped identify resources and inform the public
of their existence.
GOLD!
Gold! Gold in the Iowa River!". A few flakes of yellow
metal stirred the hopeful "gold rushers" of Hardin
County in 1853 and again in 1877. Iowa's glacial deposits
contain a few rare flakes of gold but commercial ventures find
limited success.
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| "many
statements are going the rounds of the newspapers in regards to
the occurrence of gold in Iowa. . . . It may therefore be
advisable to state, that no rocks, such as, in other parts of
the world, have been found to be auriferous, occur within the
region mentioned, or, so far as we know, in any part of the
State." --James Hall
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Limestone:
Limestone provides many opportunities for economic
development. It may be used as sidewalks, building
stones, agricultural lime, cement, or a lithographic
printing stone. Limestone quarries are found in almost
every Iowa county. |
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Galena,
Lead Ore: Rocky crevasses
near Dubuque, Iowa, hold deposits of lead ore called
galena. Lead formed ornaments for native Americans and
bullets for the American Revolution. Commercial mining
of the deposits continued into the twentieth century. |
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Native
Copper Nuggets: Scattered
within the glacial deposits of Iowa are nuggets of
Native copper. Although some nuggets have been made into
ornaments or tools there are no economic deposits in
Iowa. |
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Hematite,
Iron Ore: Iron is found in
scattered hematite nuggets and concentrated limonite
layers in Northeast Iowa. Attempts to mine the deposits
proved a limited success. |
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Coal:
Layers of coal lie under central
and southern Iowa. Open pit and underground mines
provided a profitable fuel source for Iowa industries
and railroads through World War II. Alternative fuels
and environmental concerns limit current coal mining
activity. |
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Sphalerite:
Sphalerite is an ore of zinc
occasionally mined around Dubuque, Iowa. No zinc mining
is currently occurring. |
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Gypsum:
Iowa gypsum mines provide raw
material for wallboard, portland cement, and other uses.
Gypsum mining began about 1870 and continues as a major
Iowa industry today. |
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