Iron Mountain Ni-Cu Camp

The Iron Mountain Ni-Cu Camp is a nickel and copper mine located in Sweet Grass county, Montana at an elevation of 9,551 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: Iron Mountain Ni-Cu Camp

Commodity

Primary: Nickel
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Rhodium
Secondary: Cobalt
Secondary: Platinum
Secondary: Palladium
Tertiary: Silver
Tertiary: Gold
Tertiary: PGE

Location

State: Montana
County: Sweet Grass
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

Owner Name: Stillwater Pgm Resources, A Manville-Chevron Joint Venture
Years: 1993 -

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: Stillwater Ni-Cu

Orebody

Form: LENSES, TABULAR CONCENTRATIONS

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: Rocks In Prospect Area Are Cut By Steeply Dipping, Transverse Faults And Mafic Dikes That Are Perpendicular To Layering In The Stillwater Complex. Mineralized Stillwater Cumulates Will Likely Be Truncated At Depth By Longitudinal, South-Dipping High-Angle Reverse Faults

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: None Related To Ore-Forming Process

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: MAX. CONCENTRATIONS IN PULPS OF DRILL CORE ARE PT=530 PPB, PD=2.9 PPM. AND RH=100 PPB
Analytical Data: SEE RESERVE/RESOURCE DATA FOR CU AND NI CONTENTS. PT, PD, AND RH CONTENTS FOR SULFIDE MIERLAIZATION IN THE IRON MOUNTAIN AREA (CAMP AND IRON CREEK AREAS) ARE SUMMARIZED IN ZIENTEK (1993)

Materials

Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pentlandite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Plagioclase
Gangue: Magnetite

Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): DRILL INDICATED RESERVES ARE BASED ON INTERCEPTS IN 9 DRILL HOLES. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT CALCULATION METHOD GIVEN IN ZIENTEK (1993)

Comment (Commodity): NO SITE-SPECIFIC MINERALOGICAL STUDIES HAVE BEEN MADE FOR THIS PROSPECT. SEE PAGE (1979) FOR GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BASAL SERIES MINERALIZATION. ONLY NI AND CU CONTENTS WERE DETERMINED FOR DRILL CORE BY AMAX. PGM AND CO DATA WERE NOT SYSTEMATICALLY ACQUIRED BY AMAX FOR MINERALIED DRILL CORE. SELECT SAMPLES WERE REANALYZED FOR PGM BY THE USGS; SUMMARY OF RESULTS ON PULPS ARE GIVEN IN ZIENTEK (1993)

Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED. IN GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST

Comment (Development): AREA IS PART OF AMAX'S LI CLAIM GROUP, WHICH WAS STAKED IN 1968-1969. AMAX (1968-1979?); MANVILLE AND LATER STILLWATER PGM RESOURCES LEASED CLAIMS FROM AMAX AND HELD THEM UNTIL 1993. AMAX'S EXPLORATION OF THE STILLWATER AREA BEGAN IN THE SUMMER OF 1967 WITH AN ORIENTATION GEOCHEMICAL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY FOLLOWED IN THE FALL BY A LOW-ALTITUDE HELICOPTER MAGNETICS SURVEY. IN JUNE 1968, AN INTENSIVE HELICOPTER-SUPPORTED GEOCHEMICAL STREAM-SEDIEMNT SAMPLING PROGRAM WAS CONDUCTED IN THAT PART OF THE EAST BOULDER PLATEAU NOT ALREADY CLAIMED BY ANACONDA OR FREEPORT, WHICH WAS SOON FOLLOWED BY CLAIM STAKING (J.F. MCKNIGHT, WRITTEN COMMUN., 1969). AMAX CONDUCTED AN EXTENSIVE EXPLORATION PROGRAM INCLUDING MAPPING, GROUND-BASED GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS (IP AND MAGNETICS), GEOCHEMICAL SAMPLING, TRENCHING, AND DRILLING. DRILL TARGETS INCLUDED BOTH GEOPHYSICAL ANOMALIES (PRINCIPALLY IP) AND GEOCHEMICAL ANOMALIES; C AREAS WITH CU >200 PPM IN SOILS ARE ILLUSTRATED IN ZINETEK (1993) 18,688 FT OF

Comment (Development): CORE WAS OBTAINED FROM 45 HOLES, DRILLED DURING 1969-1975

Comment (Workings): NO WORKINGS

Comment (Production): NO PRODUCTION

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF LENTICULAR TO TABULAR SHAPED DISSEMINATED, MATRIX, AND MASSIVE CONCENTRATIONS OF MAGMATIC SULFIDE MINERALS NEAR THE MARGIN OF MAFIC AND ULTRAMAFIC INTRUSIONS OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX. MINERALIZATION OCCURS FOR AT LEAST 1.5 MI ON STRIKE NEAR THE BASE OF THE COMPLEX; RESOURCE CALCULATIONS ARE BASED ON A SEGMENT APPROXIMATELY 2400 FT LONG. THIS RECORD ENCOMPASES MINERALIZED PERIDOTITE ZONE AND BASAL SERIES THAT ARE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH OF IRON MOUNTAIN (PAGE AND NOKLEBERG, 1974); SEE DRILL PATTERN ILLUSTRATED IN ZIENTEK (1993)

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, 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): 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): WOODEN, J.L., CZAMANSKE, G.K., AND ZIENTEK, M.L., 1991, A LEAD ISOTOPIC STUDY OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA: CONSTRAINTS ON CRUSTAL CONTAMINATION AND SOURCE REGIONS: CONTRIBUTIONS TO MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY, V. 107, P. 80-93.

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): 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, ROWE, J.J., AND HAFFTY, JOSEPH, 1976, PLATINUM METALS IN THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 71, P. 1352-1363.

Reference (Deposit): PAGE, N.J, AND NOKLEBERG, W.J., 1974, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISCELLANEOUS GEOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS MAP I-797, SCALE 1:12,000.

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.