Lead Belt

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The Lead Belt is a lead mining district in the southeastern part of Missouri. The primary mineral mined here is galena. Counties in the Lead Belt include Saint Francois, Crawford, Dent, Iron, Reynolds, and Washington. European lead mining started in 1720, by Philip Francois Renault of France, who lead a large exploratory mission in 1719 and started mining operations in Old Mines and Mine La Motte. The town of Sainte Genevieve was founded as a river port for transportation of lead out of the area. Moses Austin started large-scale mining, at Potosi, and smelting, at Herculaneum; this lead was originally used as a roofing material. Bonne Terre has large subterranean mines, now used commercially for recreational scuba diving.

The area of mining has changed over the years. The Old Lead Belt is centered around Park Hills, while the New Lead Belt is near Viburnum. The Irish Wilderness in Ripley and Oregon Counties has significant lead ore; however, this is a protected wilderness area.

The Lead Belt is one of the world's largest lead producing areas, producing roughly 92% of the U.S. primary supply. In the year 2000, Missouri produced 313,105 tons, with an estimated value of $128,838,880. About 84% of the lead is used for lead-acid batteries, a secondary smelter in Boss, Mo recycles lead-acid batteries. Another major consumer of Missouri lead is Winchester Ammunition, located in East Alton, Illinois.