Iron Mining in Northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and the Geological “Miracle” that Created the World’s Purest Iron Ore

This class will take place on Saturday, May 3, leaving from the Iron County Historical Museum in Hurley for a four-hour tour of geological, mining and infrastructure sites, before returning to the Museum for a one-hour conclusion.

In 1844 surveyor William Burt and his crew discovered an iron ore deposit near Negaunee, Mich. After being removed from the earth the 15 to 25% iron ore was smelted in charcoal furnaces to remove most of the silica (sand) content and then shipped to steel mills in the East. The smelting process was time-consuming and expensive.

Thirty-six years later another surveyor, Richard Langford, discovered another deposit of iron on Colby Hill just south of the current town of Bessemer, Mich. Astonishingly, this ore was almost pure iron. Within a few years many iron mines were developed, this first direct ship ore was shipped to steel mills in 1884. This ore required no processing and could be directly made into steel. The resulting iron rush ended about 82 years later and produced over 350 million tons of direct ship ore worth between $36 billion and $42 billion at 2024-25 prices.

In our Fe University class we will learn about the unique-in-the-world set of geological events that produced this “miracle” iron ore. We will observe the ancient exposed geological layers and visit at least eight historical mine sites, discuss the mining techniques, and see historic mine buildings and infrastructure. We will learn about the terrible cost of life these mines wreaked. We will discuss and observe the remaining ore in the west end of the range and posit geological, health and economic reasons why it will never be mined.

The one-day class will meet at the Iron County Historical Museum in Hurley, Wis., leaving for a four-hour tour of geological, mining and infrastructure sites. (The tour will require short walks over unpaved and paved surfaces.) We will finally return to the Iron County Historical Museum’s mining museum to solidify our Gogebic Range education.

Please register by April 25 so we can arrange for lunches and the right size of transport vehicle.

This class is limited to 16 students.

Register by April 19 to get a $5 Early Bird discount off the regular registration price of $55!

Instructors: Richard Thiede and Tom Fitz

Offline Registration: Download PDF Registration Form, complete and mail in with payment.

Registration Questions? Contact us or call (715) 862-2032 or (715) 476-2881.