The Nye Basin Lip is a chromium, platinum, palladium, and rhodium mine located in Stillwater county, Montana at an elevation of 5,899 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
Elevation: 5,899 Feet (1,798 Meters)
Commodity: Chromium, Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium
Lat, Long: 45.38083, -109.85750
Map: View on Google Maps
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.
Nye Basin Lip MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Nye Basin Lip
Secondary: Lower Basin
Commodity
Primary: Chromium
Primary: Platinum
Primary: Palladium
Primary: Rhodium
Location
State: Montana
County: Stillwater
District: In Stillwater Complex
Land Status
Land ownership: National Forest
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
Not available
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Middle Rocky Mountains
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Bushveld Cr
Orebody
Form: MASSIVE BAND AND DISSEMINATED
Structure
Type: R
Description: The Stillwater Complex Is Exposed Along The Northern Margin Of The Beartooth Uplift, One Of Several Laramide Basement-Cored Ranges That Make Up The Rocky Mountain Foreland Of South-Central Montana (Foose And Others, 1961: Kulik And Schmidt, 1988)
Type: L
Description: Local Faults Of Small Offset
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Peridotite
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoarchean
Name: Peridotite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Cretaceous
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: DRILL HOLE ANALYSES INDICATED ABOUT 5% CR2O3. AVERAGE OF CHROMITITE SAMPLES: 65.8 PPB PT, 45.2 PPB PD, 53.3 PPB RH (MAX. 110 PPB PT, 89 PPB PD, 100 PPB RH)
Materials
Ore: Chromite
Gangue: Olivine
Comments
Comment (Deposit): 2-3 FT OF DISSEMINATED ORE LIES ADJACENT TO MASSIVE BAND. DEPOSIT IS NARROW AND LOW GRADE
Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED. IN CUSTER NATIONAL FOREST
Comment (Workings): A FEW SHALLOW CUTS
Comment (Geology): AGE OF STILLWATER COMPLEX IS 2,705 +/- 4 MA BASED ON U-PB SYSTEMATICS ON ZIRCON-BADDELEYITE (PREMO AND OTHERS, 1990)
References
Reference (Deposit): PAGE, N.J, RILEY, L.B., AND HAFFTY, JOSEPH, 1972, VERTICAL AND LATERAL VARIATION OF PLATINUM, PALLADIUM, AND RHODIUM IN THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 67, P. 918.
Reference (Deposit): PAGE, N.J, RILEY, L.B., AND HAFFTY, JOSEPH, 1969, PLATINUM, PALLADIUM, AND RHODIUM ANALYSES OF ULTRAMAFIC AND MAFIC ROCKS FROM THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 624, P. 7-8.
Reference (Deposit): ZIENTEK, M.L., 1993, MINERAL RESOURCE APPRAISAL FOR LOCATABLE MINERALS: THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, IN HAMMARSTROM, J.M., ZIENTEK, M.L., AND ELLIOTT, J.E., EDS., MINERAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF THE ABSAROKA-BEARTOOTH STUDY AREA, CUSTER AND GALLATIN NATIONAL FORESTS, MONTANA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 93-207, P. F1-F83.
Reference (Deposit): PREMO, W.R., HELZ, R.T., ZIENTEK, M.L., AND LANGSTON, R.B., 1990, U-PB AND SM-ND AGES FOR THE STILLWATER COMPLEX AND ITS ASSOCIATED SILLS AND DIKES, BEARTOOTH MOUNTAINS, MONTANA: IDENTIFICATION OF A PARENT MAGMA?: GEOLOGY, V. 18, P. 1065-1068.
Reference (Deposit): WIMMLER, N.L., 1948, INVESTIGATION OF CHROMITE DEPOSITS OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, STILLWATER AND SWEETGRASS COUNTIES, MONT.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 4368, P. 26-29.
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.
