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PhotosHematite - Montreal Mine, Gogebic Range, Iron Co., Wisconsin, USA

6th Sep 2013 17:05 UTCCarl J. Schroeder

Hematite

Montreal Mine (33 Company Mine; Section 33 Mine), Montreal, Gogebic Range, Iron County, Wisconsin, USA

I just bought a remarkably identical specimen - same size, curve, and appearance - in Raleigh at a Gem and Mineral Show from a guy who bought out an old woman's collection. He had no label and didn't even know what it was other than that it was from the US, so he charged me just $45. I have a smaller specimen of "needle ore" from Cumberland, but it seems obvious this big blade is from the Montreal Mine and is worth far more than what I paid. Any estimates of value? Can someone comment on what it looks like when mined, would it have been a large slab of hematite that was pulled apart or is each blade some kind of "floater"? Perhaps mine and the one photographed here were siblings from the same find? thanks!

6th Sep 2013 19:44 UTCKeith A. Peregrine

Take a look on eBay. A trio of needle ore pieces are up for sale.

Keith

6th Sep 2013 20:20 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager

I wouldn't necessarily assign the Montreal mine as the locality for your specimen. A number of other mines in the area (and up into Michigan) had similar ore.

6th Sep 2013 22:04 UTCDan R. Lynch

Yeah, David is right; "needle ore" is/was produced in nearly all of Lake Superior's iron ranges. It occurs when fibrous ores "splinter," and are not floater crystals or anything like that.

6th Sep 2013 22:18 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Agree!

I wouldn't attribute this specimen to any one mine up there without having a label as definite proof. Even a state would be hard to pin down as I have seen material like this from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Even some of the Ontario specimens can look like this. Sad to say, you're likely going to have to just label it as hematite and leave it at that.

7th Oct 2013 13:23 UTCCurt L

I found these 2 pieces of Needle Ore in my back yard in south east Wisconsin (Milw suburb) and both weight approx. 4lbs .....can't figure out how they got there but find them to be very interesting. I also included some others all of which were found in a 10ft circle....may need to dig some more ;-)

I would appreciate anyone knowledgeable of it's rarity and possible value to contact me at love2velo@gmail.com

4th Nov 2019 16:06 UTCSusan Robinson

The value of the needle ore increases if it has a natural, sculptured appearance. Some needle ore pieces are curved, and artistically pleasing to people. The Seaman Mineral Museum, Houghton, Michigan, has a huge variety of the many forms of the mineral hematite on display. Some specimens of needle ore on exhibit are spectacular.

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