TheSoutheast Missouri Lead District, commonly called theLead Belt, is alead mining district in the southeastern part ofMissouri. Counties in the Lead Belt includeSaint Francois,Crawford,Dent,Iron,Madison,Reynolds, andWashington. This mining district is the most important and critical lead producer in the United States.[1][2]
The potential for lead mining in Southeast Missouri was first discovered and documented in 1700 by Father James Gravier.[2]Philip Francois Renault ofFrance led a large exploratory mission in 1719 and started mining operations inOld Mines andMine La Motte in 1720, establishing the first lead mining subdistrict of Mine LaMotte-Fredericktown.[2]
Between the 1750s and 1799, production of lead in the region decreased. In 1799,Moses Austin settled inPotosi, originally known asMine a Breton, bringing new mining methods and practices that revitalized lead mining in the district.[2]Austin was the first to sink deep mine shafts and start smelting operations, dramatically increasing lead production. Before this time, lead mines had been surface or near-surface mines of less than 10 feet in depth. In 1808,Moses Austin and Samuel Hammond established the city ofHerculaneum as a shipping point closer to the mining region, replacingSte. Genevieve as the main shipping point to and from the mining district on theMississippi River.[2]
The Old Lead Belt Subdistrict was established in 1864 with the opening of theBonne Terre Mine by theSt. Joseph Lead Company.[2] Notable mines in the subdistrict region included theBonne Terre Mine, and mines nearDoe Run,Desloge, Flat River (Park Hills), andLeadwood. In 1972, the last Old Lead Belt mine at Flat River closed, ending 108 years of lead mining in the Old Lead Belt.
The area of mining has changed over the years. The Old Lead Belt is centered on Park Hills andDesloge, while the New Lead Belt or Viburnum Trend is nearViburnum. TheIrish Wilderness inRipley andOregon Counties has significant lead ore; however, this is a protected wilderness area. Significant among Missouri's lead mining concerns in the district was theDesloge family andDesloge Consolidated Lead Company inDesloge, Missouri and Bonne Terre—having been active in lead trading, mining and smelting from 1823 inPotosi to 1929. Lead mining operations were consolidated under the control ofSt. Joe Lead.
In the late 1940s, reserves in the Old Lead Belt began to decline, spurring new mineral exploration in the Southeast Missouri region. In 1955, theSt. Joseph Lead Company discovered a new orebody nearViburnum, Missouri, leading to the opening of the Viburnum No. 27 Mine in 1960.[2]The St. Joseph Lead Company,Cominco, Kennecott Copper,Amax, Inc., andAsarco companies conducted exploration that led to the opening of 10 additional mines, establishing what is known today as the Viburnum Trend, also called the New Lead Belt.[2]
The Viburnum Trend is the only subdistrict mined for lead in the Southeast Missouri Lead District in modern day. Six lead mines are currently operational in 2022: the Brushy Creek, Buick, Casteel, Fletcher, and Sweetwater mines.[3]
Today, many of the mines and mills of the Old Lead Belt have been abandoned or repurposed.Bonne Terre has large subterraneanmines, now used commercially for recreational tourism and scuba diving. TheMissouri Mines State Historic Site occupies the retired Federal Mill No. 3 inPark Hills.
The formal geological name for the Lead Belt is the "Southeastern Missouri Mississippi Valley-type Mineral District". It contains the highest concentration ofgalena (lead(II) sulfide) in the world[2] as well as significant economic quantities ofzinc,copper andsilver and currently mined sub-economic quantities of metals such ascadmium,nickel andcobalt.[2] Most of the minedore minerals are found assulfides, with the primary ore mineralsgalena andsphalerite, with minor sulfidespyrite,chalcopyrite,bornite,enargite,millerite, andarsenopyrite.[2]Gangue minerals associated with the economic minerals includemarcasite,calcite,dolomite, andquartz.
Sulfide andcarbonate mineral specimens are highly prized by gem and mineral collectors and are found in museums worldwide.
The ore minerals of the Old Lead Belt are hosted in the dolomite of the lowerBonneterre Formation, and can extend into the underlyingLamotte Sandstone and rarely into the overlyingDavis Formation. In the Viburnum Trend, lead-zinc ore mineralization is hosted in the bacterialstromatolite reefs dolomites of the upperBonneterre Formation,[4] and most orebodies are concentrated in areas where theLamotte Sandstone pinches out againstPrecambrian igneous knobs and ridges.[5] The UpperCambrian ageBonneterre Formation was deposited in a shallow sea around thePrecambrian ageSt. Francois Mountains, which formed an islandarchipelago. Ore mineralization most likely occurred during thePermian, when low-temperature hydrothermal metal-richbrines migrated through theOzarks during theOuachita orogeny in theLate Paleozoic.[6][7][4][5]
Ore mineralization in the Lead Belt occurred as part of the same mineralization event, however, the intensity of mineralization and depositional controls differ between the Viburnum Trend and Old Lead Belt.[8] In the Old Lead Belt,galena is more fine-grained and disseminated into the host rock, and large, euhedral crystals are rare. Ore is mostly constrained to the lower 60 feet of theBonneterre Formation, and preferentially follow the lateral sedimentary beds and features. In the Viburnum Trend, zinc and copper are found in higher concentrations, and galena was able to form larger, moreeuhedral crystals. Ore mineralization in this subdistrict is prominently emplaced alongcollapse breccias, and not as influenced by lateral sedimentary features as in the Old Lead Belt. Ore in the Viburnum Trend can be found throughout the entire vertical extent of theBonneterre Formation, but is mostly constrained to the upper 75 feet.[8]
The Lead Belt produces about 70% of the US primary supply of lead, and significant amounts of the nation's zinc.[1] In the year 2000, Missouri produced 313,105 tons, with an estimated value of $128,838,880, according to Missouri DNR Data. About 84% of the lead is used forlead–acid batteries, and a secondary smelter inBoss, Missouri recycles lead–acid batteries. Another major consumer of Missouri lead was Winchester Ammunition, located inEast Alton, Illinois.
From 1720 to its closure in 1959, the Mine La Motte-Fredericktown Subdistrict produced over 325,000 tons oflead. From 1864 to 1972, over 8.5 million tons oflead was produced from the Old Lead Belt Subdistrict.[2] The Viburnum Trend is the only subdistrict still in production, and is primarily mined by TheDoe Run Company. From 1960 to 2022, TheDoe Run Company has reported that nearly 315 million tons of ore has been extracted from the Viburnum Trend.[3]
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| Year | Democrat | Republican | Third Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | |
| 2020 | 14,510 | 20.83% | 54,183 | 77.78% | 965 | 1.39% |
| 2016 | 13,456 | 21.24% | 47,521 | 75.01% | 2,372 | 3.74% |
| 2012 | 21,196 | 35.53% | 37,046 | 62.09% | 1,420 | 2.38% |
| 2008 | 27,890 | 43.69% | 34,795 | 54.50% | 1,158 | 1.81% |
| 2004 | 26,282 | 43.26% | 34,061 | 56.06% | 414 | 0.68% |
| 2000 | 23,481 | 44.04% | 28,556 | 53.56% | 1,277 | 2.40% |
| 1996 | 25,135 | 49.72% | 17,817 | 35.24% | 7,601 | 15.04% |
| 1992 | 26,804 | 49.40% | 16,727 | 30.83% | 10,729 | 19.77% |
| 1988 | 23,744 | 50.05% | 23,561 | 49.67% | 134 | 0.28% |
| 1984 | 21,189 | 42.90% | 28,207 | 57.10% | 0 | 0% |
| 1980 | 23,329 | 44.41% | 27,817 | 52.95% | 1,389 | 2.64% |
| 1976 | 25,909 | 56.69% | 19,568 | 42.81% | 229 | 0.50% |
| 1972 | 14,673 | 35.35% | 26,830 | 64.65% | 0 | 0% |
| 1968 | 17,125 | 39.70% | 20,689 | 47.96% | 5,327 | 12.35% |
| 1964 | 28,062 | 64.04% | 15,760 | 35.96% | 0 | 0% |
| 1960 | 19,603 | 42% | 27,066 | 58% | 0 | 0% |
| 1956 | 21,208 | 45.02% | 25,903 | 54.98% | 0 | 0% |
| 1952 | 22,700 | 47.56% | 24,974 | 52.32% | 59 | 0.12% |
| 1948 | 22,019 | 55.88% | 17,300 | 43.90% | 88 | 0.22% |
| 1944 | 19,971 | 49.12% | 20,630 | 50.74% | 55 | 0.14% |
| 1940 | 24,156 | 49.54% | 24,515 | 50.28% | 87 | 0.18% |
| 1936 | 24,077 | 54.27% | 20,067 | 45.23% | 218 | 0.49% |
| 1932 | 24,822 | 60.51% | 15,836 | 38.60% | 365 | 0.89% |
| 1928 | 13,859 | 37.84% | 22,674 | 61.91% | 90 | 0.25% |
| 1924 | 16,619 | 49.22% | 16,399 | 48.57% | 745 | 2.21% |
| 1920 | 15,986 | 46.82% | 17,619 | 51.61% | 535 | 1.57% |
| 1916 | 11,384 | 51.45% | 10,262 | 46.38% | 479 | 2.16% |
| 1912 | 9,225 | 47.85% | 7,228 | 37.49% | 2,825 | 14.65% |
| 1908 | 10,166 | 46.97% | 10,675 | 49.32% | 803 | 3.71% |
| 1904 | 9,129 | 47.73% | 9,537 | 49.87% | 319 | 1.67% |
| 1900 | 10,056 | 53.36% | 8,575 | 45.51% | 213 | 1.13% |
| 1896 | 9,866 | 56.52% | 7,527 | 43.12% | 64 | 0.37% |
| 1892 | 8,681 | 57.71% | 6,102 | 40.56% | 260 | 1.73% |
| 1888 | 8,878 | 56.48% | 6,485 | 41.25% | 357 | 2.27% |
| 1884 | 8,097 | 61.16% | 5,055 | 38.19% | 86 | 0.65% |
| 1880 | 7,964 | 64.38% | 4,160 | 33.63% | 246 | 1.99% |
| 1876 | 7,697 | 68.82% | 3,461 | 30.94% | 27 | 0.24% |
| 1872 | 4,822 | 62.91% | 2,843 | 37.09% | 0 | 0% |
| 1868 | 2,199 | 54.31% | 1,850 | 45.69% | 0 | 0% |
| 1864 | 717 | 24.41% | 2,220 | 75.59% | 0 | 0% |
| 1860 | 2,380 | 43.19% | 211 | 3.83% | 2,920 | 52.98% |
| 1856 | 2,481 | 57.13% | 0 | 0% | 1,862 | 42.87% |
| 1852 | 1,594 | 60.38% | 1,046 | 39.62% | 0 | 0% |
| 1848 | 1,497 | 54.02% | 1,274 | 45.98% | 0 | 0% |
| 1844 | 1,588 | 54.35% | 1,334 | 45.65% | 0 | 0% |
| 1840 | 1,312 | 54.58% | 1,092 | 45.42% | 0 | 0% |
| 1836 | 703 | 58.29% | 503 | 41.71% | 0 | 0% |
| 1832 | Incomplete returns | Incomplete returns | Incomplete returns | |||
| 1828 | 816 | 70.89% | 335 | 29.11% | 0 | 0% |
