| Basis for focus area |
Area of 220 km2 around point location from Port Leyden (MRDS dep_id: 10248435) in the Black River Mining District. |
| Identified resources |
Historical production of titanium (ilmenite), iron, and zirconium (zircon). |
| Production |
Unknown. |
| Status |
Past mining. |
| Estimated resources |
Unknown. |
| Geologic maps |
Miller (1910), scale 1:62,500. |
| Geophysical data |
Inadequate Rank 4 aeromagnetic and Rank 5 aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Placer deposits sourced from granite/granitic gneiss. |
| Deposits |
Port Leyden placer (MRDS dep_id: 10248435). |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
MRDS. |
| Geochemical evidence |
No geochemical anomaly; apatite comprising 30 to 45 volume percent of nelsonite contains less than 2.5% total rare earth oxide (Darling and others, 2018); unpublished oxide chemistry available from Allen Andersen (USGS-GMEG). |
| Geophysical evidence |
Near an eTh anomaly. |
| Evidence from other sources |
Minor geophysical work (magnetics, resistivity/IP) by Fenner and others (2018) and La Force and others (1994) suggest a limited spatial extent. |
| Comments |
Mineral sands deposited on metamorphosed Precambrian gneiss. Known producer but limited spatial extent. Benefit of geophysical surveys not known. Note that adjacent area of Adirondack Park is not available for mining. |
| Cover thickness and description |
Cover estimated to b e<100 m. Mostly glacial sediments, some igneous/metamorphic rock. |
| Authors |
Gregory J. Walsh, Anjana K. Shah, Bernard E. Hubbard. |
| New data needs |
Geological mapping to identify other possible deposits; geophysical data. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
1:24,000 scale mapping, geophysics. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High resolution aeroradiometric data to assist locations of heavy mineral sand deposits. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar complete for small section of the eastern portion of the focus area; planned/funded for the remainder. |
