130 New YORK STATE MUSEUM 



4 The Clinton Hematites of Central and Western New York 



The Clinton ores are discussed in a special bulletin of the State 

 - Museum,^ from which the following brief notes are mainly taken. 

 The Clinton formation comprises an assemblage of shales and lime- 

 stones mainl}^, with which one or more seams of hematite is com- 

 monly associated. The iron ore is not universally present, but 

 occurs quite generally in the portion of the outcrop between Herkimer 

 and Monroe counties, a distance of 120 miles, about two-thirds of 

 the entire length of the belt. 



The Clinton hematite has a characteristic habit, being a " fossil " 

 ore, so-called; in most examples fragm.ents of fossil organisms are 

 discernible, originally of calcareous nature, but now partially or 

 completely replaced by the iron oxide. The extent to which the 

 process of replacement has taken place varies considerably, and 

 with it the grade of the ore which ranges from around 20 per cent 

 to about 45 per cent iron. This fossil ore has a calcareous base. 

 In the eastern section of the outcrop, included by Oneida and Oswego 

 counties, an oolitic bed is usually encountered. This ore differs 

 remarkably from the nomial phase, having a granular texture 

 which arises from the occurrence of the iron oxide in the form of 

 small round particles, that are cemented into a solid mass by the 

 same material. The particles usually have a central core of quartz, 

 and the oolitic ore has thus a siliceous rather than calcareous gangue. 



From a mining standpoint the ore belt includes four areas that 

 have present or prospective importance by reason of the presence 

 of ore-seams of commercial grade. The first of these in regard to 

 actual output is the area centering about Clinton, Oneida county, 

 extending about 10 miles east and west, with two seams — an upper 

 of fossil nature 6 feet thick but low grade and a lower oolitic bed 

 20 to 36 inches thick containing 40 per cent or more of iron on the 

 average. The oolitic bed is in some places split into seams by a 

 shale parting, but there is no ground for assuming the existence of 

 two distinct layers of this ore as is sometimes done. The Clinton 

 mines altogether have yielded about 2,000,000 tons. The second 

 area of potential importance lies at the west end of Oneida lake, 

 where an oolitic bed was shown by a test drilling, but has not been 

 exploited or even satisfactorily explored as yet. The third area is 

 encountered in northern Cayuga county, beginning near Sterling 

 Station and reaching west as far at least as Wolcott, Wayne county. 

 The excavations and drill tests about Sterling Station show 30 to 36 

 inches of fossil ore in a single seam. At Wolcott two layers, 12 and 



* Iron Ores of the Clinton Formation in New York State, Bui. 123, 1908. 



