Lone Pine Mine

The Lone Pine Mine is a silver, gold, and copper mine located in Beaverhead county, Montana at an elevation of 7,500 feet.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Lone Pine Mine
Secondary: Quartz Hill
Secondary: Argyle
Secondary: Jay Hawk

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Zinc

Location

State: Montana
County: Beaverhead
District: Quartz Hill (Vipond) District

Land Status

Land ownership: Private
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Surface/Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Quartz Hill Mining Co.
Home Office: Portland, Or.

Owner Name: Georesources, Inc.
Home Office: Williston, N.D.

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Vein
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1867
Discovery Year: 1865
Discovery Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Pioneer Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR SHOOTS, TABULAR

Structure

Type: L
Description: Area May Be Roof Pendant Between Pioneer And Boulder Batholiths, Quartz Hill Anticline

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Dolomite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cambrian

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Freibergite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Embolite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrargyrite
Ore: Silver
Ore: Argentite
Ore: Cerargyrite
Ore: Stephanite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Barite

Comments

Comment (Location): SE CORNER, SECTION 25

Comment (Production): MAIN PRODUCTION WAS IN 1933-1962. PRODUCTION YEARS: 1867-1895, 1908, 1933-1950, 1958, 1961-62.

Comment (Development): MINE PRODUCED CONSIDERABLE CONCENTRATING ORE PRIOR TO 1894 SILVER PANIC AND DEPLETION OF LONE PINE ORE BODY. LONE PINE WAS REOPENED IN 1928 AND A DRIFT ON THE 200-FT. LEVEL DISCOVERED THE WEST LONE PINE SHOOT.

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1860'S

Comment (Workings): 600-FT. LONE PINE INCLINED SHAFT WAS STOPED DOWN TO 1800 FT. LEVEL. WEST LONE PINE SHAFT WAS 600-FT. DEEP WITH 200, 300, 400, 500, AND 600-FT. LEVELS. A 600-FT. INCLINED WINZE REACHED A DEPTH OF 850 FEET, WITH LARGE STOPES AND THREE LEVELS OF DRIFTS. BOTH SHAFTS NOW CAVED AT COLLAR (1972).

Comment (Deposit): BEDDING-PLANE ORES ARE AT NOSE OF QUARTZ HILL ANTICLINE WHERE SE-TRENDING FISSURE VEINS ABUT AGAINST SHALE AT OBLIGUE ANGLES. MINERALIZING SOLUTIONS RISING THROUGH THE FISSURES WERE DAMMED AT THE SHALE AND SPREAD UPWARD BENEATH IT TO FORM BEDDING-PLANE REPLACEMENT DEPOSITS. THE LONE PINE BODY IS ON THE EAST FLANK OF THE QUARTZ HILL ANTICLINE, THE WEST LONE PINE BODY IS NEAR THE AXIAL PLANE AT THE ANTICLINE'S NOSE.

Comment (Deposit): THE LONE PINE GROUP PRODUCED 83% OF THE ORE FROM THE VIPOND-QUARTZ HILL DISTRICTS BETWEEN 1902 AND 1965. (ACCORDING TO GEACH FIGURES, 1972) ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Geology): BEST ORE WAS BEDDING-PLANE DEPOSITS. LITTLE COMMERCIAL ORE CAME FROM FISSURE VEINS OVER 100 FEET FROM THE DOLOMITE-SHALE CONTACT.

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 574.

Reference (Deposit): GILBERT, F.C., 1935, DIRECTORY OF MINING PROPERTIES: MT. BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL., MEMOIR 15, P. 5.

Reference (Deposit): LORAIN, S.H., 1937, MINING METHODS, COSTS OF QUARTZ HILL MINING CO: U.S. BUR MINES, INF. CIRC. 6963

Reference (Deposit): GOUDARZI, H., 1941, GEOL. AND ORE DEPOSITS, QUARTZ HILL AREA, MT: MT. COLL. OF MIN. SCI AND TECH., M.S. THESIS,

Reference (Deposit): TAYLOR, A.V., 1942, QUARTZ HILL DISTRICT IN NEWHOUSE, W.H., ED. ORE DEPOSITS AS RELATED TO STRUCTURAL FEATURES: PRINCETON UNIV. PRESS.

Reference (Deposit): GEACH, R.D., 1972, MINES AND MINERAL DEPOSITS, BEAVERHEAD CO., MT: MT. BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL., BULL. 85, P. 137

Reference (Deposit): REYNER, M.L., 1950, DIRECTORY OF MT. MINING PROPERTIES, 1949: MT. BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL., MEM. 31, P. 8.

Reference (Deposit): MBMG BULL 85, P. 137.

Reference (Deposit): 1914 RECON WINCHELL, A.N., U.S.G.S. BULL. 574

Reference (Deposit): 1972 COMPILE M.B.M.G. BULL. 85

Reference (Production): M.B.M.G. BULL. 85

Principal Gold Districts of Montana

In Montana, 54 mining districts have each have produced more than 10,000 ounces of gold. The largest producers are Butte, Helena, Marysville, and Virginia City, each having produced more than one million ounces. Twenty seven other districts are each credited with between 100,000 and one million ounces of gold production. Read more: Principal Gold Districts of Montana.