Is there platinum under Decorah?

2013 file photo courtesy of Bob Modersohn at www.bobmodersohn.com

Remember those airplanes and helicopters that were flying over Decorah in January and February of 2013?  As decorahnews.com reported at the time, the flights were being conducted "to help determine if there is a potential for nickel, copper and platinum deposits to exist in this area."

Now the results of those surveys have been processed by U.S. Geological Survey scientists--and it appears there may be platinum deposits underneath Decorah.

The Winneshiek County Board has scheduled a presentation for 12:00 noon on Monday, August 25th, about the findings.  Supervisors will describe the current USGS research study and will discuss the preliminary results.  Supervisors will talk about what might be expected from potential future industry exploration in the area and how mining operations might develop--if they do develop. 

Supervisors will also try to answer questions about the potential resources and how exploration and extraction operations might affect the County.

The Northeast Iowa Plutonic Complex is a series of iron-rich intrusive rocks similar to the geology of the Duluth Complex in northeastern Minnesota.  Recent industry exploration of the Duluth Complex has led to the discovery of extremely valuable platinum in those rocks, leading to the suggestion of similar mineralization in the Iowa rocks. 

Future plans include the deepening of a water well north of Decorah to obtain additional core samples of the target rocks and the expansion of aerial gravity and magnetic information in the area around the 2013 Winneshiek County survey.