The Little Rocky Creek Ni-Cu is a nickel and copper mine located in Stillwater county, Montana at an elevation of 8,451 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: 8,451 Feet (2,576 Meters)
Commodity: Nickel, Copper
Lat, Long: 45.35722, -109.80472
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.
Little Rocky Creek Ni-Cu MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Little Rocky Creek Ni-Cu
Secondary: Benbow
Secondary: Rocky Group
Secondary: Chrome Lake
Commodity
Primary: Nickel
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Cobalt
Tertiary: Gold
Tertiary: Silver
Tertiary: PGE
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
Type: Underground
Ownership
Owner Name: Amoco Minerals Co. (Operated Rocky Group)
Years: 1985 -
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1883
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: Stillwater Ni-Cu
Orebody
Form: MASSIVE 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 Displacement
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: None Related To Ore-Forming Process
Rocks
Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Cretaceous
Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoarchean
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: AVERAGE OF ANALYSES OF SURFACE SAMPLES: 32.8 PPB PT, 9.1 PPB PD (MAX. 190 PPB PT, 18 PPB PD)
Materials
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pentlandite
Gangue: Plagioclase
Gangue: Magnetite
Comments
Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED. IN CUSTER NATIONAL FOREST
Comment (Commodity): SEE PAGE (1979) FOR GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BASAL SERIES MINERALIZATION.
Comment (Workings): 4 ADITS, INACCESSIBLE; 9 DIAMOND DRILL HOLES TOTALING 5,564 FT DRILLED IN 1967-1970; 14 DRILLHOLES IN 1983 TOTALLING 20,073 FT
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): ZIENTEK, M.L., AND RIPLEY, E.M., 1990, SULFUR ISOTOPIC STUDIES OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX AND ASSOCIATED ROCKS, MONTANA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 85, P. 376-391.
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): PAGE, N.J, 1979, STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA - STRUCTURE, MINERALOGY, AND PETROLOGY OF THE BASAL ZONE WITH EMPHASIS ON THE OCCURRENCE OF SULFIDES: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1038, 69 P.
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. 1356-1357.
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): 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. 6.
Reference (Deposit): HOWLAND, A.L., PEOPLES, J.W., AND SAMPSON, EDWARD, 1936, THE STILLWATER IGNEOUS COMPLEX AND ASSOCIATED OCCURRENCES OF NICKEL AND PLATINUM GROUP METALS: MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY MISCELLANEOUS CONTRIBUTION 7, P. 11.
Reference (Deposit): ROBY, R.N., 1949, INVESTIGATION OF COPPER-NICKEL DEPOSITS OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, STILLWATER AND SWEETGRASS COUNTIES, MONTANA: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 4431, P. 10.
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.
