Mineral resource potential map of the Bell Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Iron County, Missouri

Under the provisions of the Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577, September 3, 1964) and the Joint Conference Report on Senate Bill 4, 88th Congress, the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines have been conducting mineral surveys of wilderness and primitive areas. Areas officially designated as "wilderness," "wild," or "canoe" when the Act was passed were incorporated into the National Wilderness Preservation System, and some of them are presently being studied. The Act provided that areas under consideration for wilderness designation should be studied for suitability for incorporation into the Wilderness System. The mineral surveys constitute one aspect of the suitability studies. This report discusses the results of a mineral survey of some national forest lands in the Bell Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Iron County, Missouri.