Private Mineral Exploration Drilling
Drill core (cut in half) inside diamond drill core bit
Exploration Drilling Data and Maps
The MN DNR's Division of Lands and Minerals compiles data related to private exploration drilling in Minnesota. Provided here is data and maps pertaining to exploration drilling in Minnesota since 1987.
If you have questions please contact:
Glenn Melchert, Geologist
MN DNR - Division of Lands and Minerals
1525 Third Avenue East,
Hibbing, MN 55746
tel. 218-231-8464
fax 218-262-7328
glenn.melchert@state.mn.us
Jump to a topic:
2011
Exploration drilling in 2011
- Map of exploration drill hole locations completed in 2011
- Associated table with drill hole information; County, Township, Range, Section, Company, Drill Hole Name, Depth (if known), Date Drilled, Online Link to Minnesota Department of Health Form, and Online Link to General Map Location.
The map and table do not show 10 drill holes drilled by United States Steel in 2011.
Learn more:
- State regulations for exploration drilling
- *View the PowerPoint presentation regarding 'State Oversight of Metallic Mineral Exploration Activities' including exploration drilling.
- Learn about the exploration drilling process for nonferrous metallic minerals.
- Learn about the mineral exploration steps that precede exploration drilling.
- View historic mineral exploration documents.
Did you know?
- Mineral exploration drill holes make up less than 1% of all drilling (water wells and other) in the state.
- Drill holes are sealed according to state law.
- It costs an estimated $100,000 to drill 1,000 feet of drill core ($100 per/ft). This is an estimate and includes costs such as; geologist, site selection, geophysics, salaries, and drilling costs.
- In 2011 there was 435,000 feet of rock core drilled compared with 320,000 feet in 2010.
- An estimated 84% of the 435,000 feet of core drilled in 2011 was completed by Twin Metals Minnesota at their Maturi deposit in Lake County, MN.
- According to a recent analysis of exploration drilling on state metallic minerals leases (46 years of data); only 2.4% of all state leased parcels had exploration drilling completed on them.
*The PDF includes embedded 'speaker notes' with additional information for select slides. The speaker notes can be viewed in Adobe Reader or Acrobat, and within the following internet browsers; Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, & Safari. Google Chrome does not display the speaker notes.
Table: Exploration Drilling in 2011
| Exploration Company | Number of Drill Holes | Primary Mineral Type(s) | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardero Resources | 11 | Iron and Titanium | St. Louis |
| Cooperative Mineral Resources | 4 | Manganese | Crow Wing |
| Duluth Metals | 8 | Copper (Cu) + Nickel (Ni)+ Platinum Group Metals (PGM) | Lake |
| Encampment Minerals | 7 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| Kennecott Exploration Co. | 6 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Aitkin and Carlton |
| MMG USA | 2 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Brown and Blue Earth |
| Prime Meridian Resources | 3 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Koochiching |
| Twin Metals Minnesota | 133 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis and Lake |
| ^United States Steel | 10 | Iron | St. Louis |
| Western Metals | 4 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Lyon and Renville |
| Total | 188 |
Note, the Primary Mineral Type is an interpretation for this summary table.
^Iron exploration when it is done outside of a "permit to mine" area.
2005-2010
Exploration drilling between 2005-2010
- Map of exploration drill hole locations between 2005-2010.
- Associated table with drill hole information; County, Township, Range, Section, Company, Drill Hole Name, Depth (if known), Date Drilled, Online Link to Minnesota Department of Health Form, and Online Link to General Map Location.
Table: Exploration Drilling 2005-2010
| Exploration Company | Number of Drill Holes | Primary Mineral Type(s) | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACME-OCHS Brick and Stone | 19 | Kaolin Clay | Brown, Redwood, and Renville |
| Cardero Resources | 36 | Iron and Titanium | St. Louis |
| Duluth Metals/Twin Metals | 205 | Copper (Cu) + Nickel (Ni)+ Platinum Group Metals (PGM) | Lake |
| Encampment Minerals | 37 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Lake and St. Louis |
| Franconia Minerals | 50 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Lake and St. Louis |
| Kennecott Exploration Co. | 124 | Cu+Ni+PGM, Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb) | Aitkin, Carlton, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, and Stearns |
| Lehmann Exploration | 14 | Gold | Itasca and St. Louis |
| ^Mesabi Nugget | 3 | Iron | St. Louis |
| Minerals Processing Corp. | 11 | Cu+Ni+PGM, Zn, Pb | Aitkin and Carlton |
| PolyMet Mining Corp. | 234 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| Teck American Inc. | 137 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| ^United States Steel Corp. | 49 | Iron | Itasca and St. Louis |
| Western Metals LLC | 5 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Lyon |
| WMC | 5 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Renville and Yellow Medicine |
| Total | 929 |
Note, the Primary Mineral Type is an interpretation for this summary table.
^Iron exploration outside of permit to mine
Table: Exploration Drilling 2005-2010 By Year
| Exploration Company | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACME-OCHS Brick and Stone | 16 | 3 | 19 | ||||
| Cardero Resources | 36 | 36 | |||||
| Duluth Metals/Twin Metals | 10 | 72 | 72 | 2 | 49 | 205 | |
| Encampment Minerals | 24 | 13 | 37 | ||||
| Franconia Minerals | 4 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 50 | |
| Kennecott Exploration Co. | 19 | 15 | 52 | 17 | 21 | 124 | |
| Lehmann Exploration | 4 | 10 | 14 | ||||
| ^Mesabi Nugget | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Minerals Processing Corp. | 11 | ||||||
| PolyMet Mining Corp. | 107 | 61 | 66 | 234 | |||
| Teck American Inc. | 22 | 115 | 137 | ||||
| ^United States Steel Corp. | 8 | 28 | 7 | 6 | 49 | ||
| Western Metals LLC | 5 | 5 | |||||
| WMC | 5 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 135 | 17 | 194 | 322 | 46 | 215 | 929 |
1999-2004
Exploration drilling between 1999-2004
- Map of exploration drill hole locations completed between 1999-2004
- Associated table with drill hole information; County, Township, Range, Section, Company, Drill Hole Name, Depth (if known), Date Drilled, Online Link to Minnesota Department of Health Form, and Online Link to General Map Location.
Table: Exploration Drilling 1999-2004
| Exploration Company | Number of Drill Holes | Primary Mineral Type(s) | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| BHP Minerals International Inc. | 3 | Iron | St. Louis |
| Encampment Minerals | 6 | Copper (Cu) + Nickel (Ni)+ Platinum Group Metals (PGM) | Lake |
| Kennecott Exploration Co. | 25 | Cu+Ni+PGM, Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb) | Aitkin, Carlton, Morrison, and Stearns |
| Lehmann Exploration | 28 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Lake and St. Louis |
| Rendrag Inc. | 1 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| Wallbridge America LTD | 3 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Lake |
| WMC | 1 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Renville |
| Total | 67 |
Note, the Primary Mineral Type is an interpretation for this summary table.
Table: Exploration Drilling 1999-2004 By Year
| Exploration Company | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHP Minerals International Inc. | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Encampment Minerals | 6 | 6 | |||||
| Kennecott Exploration Co. | 3 | 11 | 11 | 25 | |||
| Lehmann Exploration | 2 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 28 | |
| Rendrag Inc. | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Wallbridge America LTD | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| WMC | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 18 | 67 |
1993-1998
Exploration drilling between 1993-1998
- Map of exploration drill hole locations completed between 1993-1998
- Associated table with drill hole information; County, Township, Range, Section, Company, Drill Hole Name, Depth (if known), Date Drilled, Online Link to Minnesota Department of Health Form, and Online Link to General Map Location.
Table: Exploration Drilling 1993-1998
| Exploration Company | Number of Drill Holes | Primary Mineral Type(s) | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Shield | 5 | Copper (Cu) + Nickel (Ni)+ Platinum Group Metals (PGM) | St. Louis |
| Cominco | 16 | Cu+Ni+PGM, Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb) | Aitkin, Carlton, Lake of the Woods, St. Louis, and Wilkin |
| Exmin Corporation | 8 | Diamond | Beltrami, Koochiching, Marshall, and Roseau |
| Great Lakes Exploration | 1 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Carlton |
| Lehmann | 2 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| Phelps Dodge | 3 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Roseau |
| Total | 35 |
Note, the Primary Mineral Type is an interpretation for this summary table.
Table: Exploration Drilling 1993-1998 By Year
| Exploration Company | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Shield | 4 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Cominco | 1 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 16 | ||
| Exmin Corporation | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | |||
| Great Lakes Exploration | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Lehmann | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Phelps Dodge | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 6 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 35 |
1987-1992
Exploration drilling between 1987-1992
- Map of exploration drill hole locations completed between 1993-1998
- Associated table with drill hole information; County, Township, Range, Section, Company, Drill Hole Name, Depth (if known), Date Drilled, Online Link to Minnesota Department of Health Form, and Online Link to General Map Location.
Table: Exploration Drilling 1987-1992
| Exploration Company | Number of Drill Holes | Primary Mineral Type(s) | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Shield | 1 | Copper (Cu) + Nickel (Ni)+ Platinum Group Metals (PGM) | St. Louis |
| Bear Creek | 1 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| BHP Minerals International Inc. | 5 | Gold | Koochiching and St. Louis |
| Coca Mines | 19 | Gold | St. Louis |
| Cominco | 1 | Base Metals | Norman |
| Exmin Corporation | 30 | Diamond | Beltrami, Benton, Chippewa, Clay, Clearwater, Koochiching, Lac Qui Parle, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Redwood, Renville, St. Louis, Stearns, Stevens, and Wilkin |
| Exxon | 2 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Roseau and Beltrami |
| FMC | 2 | Gold | St. Louis |
| Great Lakes Exploration | 5 | Cu+Ni+PGM, Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb) | Carlton |
| Hibbing Taconite Land Co. | 31 | Iron | St. Louis |
| INCO | 12 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| Kennecott Exploration | 1 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| Kerr-McGee Corp. | 8 | Gold | Koochiching and St. Louis |
| Lehmann | 14 | Cu+Ni+PGM and Gold | Itasca (Gold), Lake, and St. Louis |
| Meridian L&M Co. | 18 | Gold | Itasca |
| Newmont Exploration Ltd. | 134 | Gold | Beltrami, Itasca, Koochiching, Marshall, Norman, Roseau, and St. Louis |
| Noranda Exploration | 27 | Gold | Beltrami, Itasca, Norman, and St. Louis |
| Normin Mining Co. | 27 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Itasca and Koochiching |
| Phelps Dodge | 2 | Cu+Ni+PGM | Lake of the Woods |
| Resource Exploration | 10 | Cu+Ni+PGM | St. Louis |
| Rhude and Fryberger Inc. | 11 | Gold | St. Louis |
| Total | 361 |
Note, the Primary Mineral Type is an interpretation for this summary table.
Table: Exploration Drilling 1987-1992 By Year
| Exploration Company | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Shield | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Bear Creek | 1 | 1 | |||||
| BHP Minerals International Inc. | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Coca Mines | 19 | 19 | |||||
| Cominco | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Exmin Corporation | 4 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 30 | |
| Exxon | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| FMC | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Great Lakes Exploration | 5 | 5 | |||||
| Hibbing Taconite Land Co. | 31 | 31 | |||||
| INCO | 12 | 12 | |||||
| Kennecott Exploration | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Kerr-McGee Corp. | 6 | 2 | 8 | ||||
| Lehmann | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||
| Meridian L&M Co. | 12 | 6 | 18 | ||||
| Newmont Exploration Ltd. | 9 | 19 | 20 | 9 | 72 | 5 | 134 |
| Noranda Exploration | 3 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 27 | |
| Normin Mining Co. | 4 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 27 | ||
| Phelps Dodge | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Resource Exploration | 6 | 4 | 10 | ||||
| Rhude and Fryberger Inc. | 7 | 4 | 11 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 84 | 67 | 41 | 117 | 7 | 361 |
1987-2011
*Exploration drilling per year (1987-2011)
Chart displaying number of *exploration drill holes per year (1987-2011).
*Does not include scientific drill holes drilled by the Minnesota Geological Survey, MN DNR, or Natural Resources Research Institute.