The Crystal Mountain Fluorspar Mine is a fluorine-fluorite mine located in Ravalli county, Montana at an elevation of 6,801 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: 6,801 Feet (2,073 Meters)
Commodity: Fluorine-Fluorite
Lat, Long: 46.00583, -113.88667
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.
Crystal Mountain Fluorspar Mine MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Crystal Mountain Fluorspar Mine
Secondary: Crystal Mountain Mine Retirement Group
Secondary: Lumberjack Outcrops
Commodity
Primary: Fluorine-Fluorite
Secondary: Cobalt
Secondary: Nickel
Tertiary: REE
Tertiary: Uranium
Location
State: Montana
County: Ravalli
District: Sapphire Mountains Area
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: Roberts Mining Co., Box 365, Darby, Mt., 59829
Owner Name: R. D. Flightner, A. E. Cumley, L. I. Thompson
Production
Year: 1955
Time Period: 1954-1955
Material type: ORE
Description: Cp_Grade: ^96 % Caf2
Year: 1961
Time Period: 1952-1961
Material type: F
Description: Cp_Grade: ^96% Caf2
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1952
Discovery Year: 1937
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Sapphire Mountains
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Form: TABULAR LENTICULAR
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: CU, CO, BA - 0.01 - 0.1%
Analytical Data: MG, FE, SI, NA, ZR - 0.1 - 1%
Analytical Data: AVERAGE GRADE OF ORE IS 96% CAF2. WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF 9 BUREAU OF MINES SAMPLES SHOWED 97.2% CAF2, 1.44% SIO2, 0.13% FE (SAMPLES FROM LUMBERJACK OUTCROPS). SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS REVEALED A1 - 1 - 5%
Analytical Data: AND NI, TI, CB - 0.001 - 0.01%. DARK FLUORITE ASSAYED: 0.13% EQUIVALENT U AND 0.78% CHEMICAL U.
Materials
Ore: Fluorite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Sericite
Comments
Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1937; FLUORSPAR IDENTIFIED 1951
Comment (Workings): 1956- CRUSHING, SORTING, AND SCREENING PLANT WAS BUILT. MILL CAPACITY: 50 T/HR. OPEN PIT.
Comment (Geology): PURE FLUORITE UNIFORM IN APPEARANCE AND QUALITY. OUTCROPS ARE SEPARATED BY GRANITE DIKES.
Comment (Deposit): FERGUSONITE IN COARSELY CRYSTALLINE LIGHT-COLORED FLUORITE. THE LUMBERJACK GROUP OF OUTCROPS INCLUDES 3 MAIN BODIES 30-60 M WIDE AND 60-100 M LONG WITH A DIP OF 10-35SE. DEPOSITS CONTINUE UNDERGROUND DOWN-DIP. THE SMALLER RETIREMENT GROUP CONSISTS OF 2 ELLIPTICAL OUTCROPS 18 M WIDE AND 45 M LONG WHICH APPEAR TO BE RELATIVELY THIN.
Comment (Development): RETIREMENT OUTCROPS WERE FOUND WHEN A FOREST TRAIL WAS BEING PUT IN. IT IS FOUND NE OF SE 18; AND NW OF SW 17. LUMBERJACK IS IN THE NW OF SW 18. ; ECON.COM: ACCESS ROAD IMPASSABLE IN WINTER DUE TO SNOW. HEAVY-MEDIA PLANT AT DARBY
Comment (Geology): FAULTS AND JOINTS CAN BE GROUPED INTO THOSE THAT TREND NNE, ENE, WNW, OR NNW. THE GEORGETOWN LST. WAS A FAVORED HOST ROCK DUE TO ITS INTENSE JOINTING. THE RELATIVELY UNJOINTED DEL RIO SHALE WAS LESS PERMEABLE AND THE MINERALIZING AGENTS WERE AT FIRST PONDED AGAINST IT. THE GEORGETOWN LST. IS DARK GRAY AND MASSIVE. THE DEL RIO SHALE IS WELL-BEDDED, BLACK, AND PYRITIFEROUS.
Comment (Commodity): THE FLUORITE IS BROWNISH, GRAY-WHITE, AND PURPLISH IN COLOR.
Comment (Production): ITEM 1 (ANNUAL PRODUCTION) - PRODUCTION IS FOR THE MUZQUIZ FLOTATION PLANT WHICH AHS A CAPACITY OF 600 MTPD AND PRODUCES 150,000 MTPA. ITEM 1 IN THE CUMULATIVE PRODUCTION IS FROM VAN ALSTINE.
Comment (Development): ECON.COM: INDIVIDUAL ORE BODIES ARE SMALL AND NOT SUITED TO LARGE-SCALE MINING OPERATIONS.
Comment (Deposit): NO VEGETATION GROWS ON OUTCROP AND IT HAS BEEN WEATHERED WHITE SO IT IS EASY TO SEE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Comment (Deposit): DEPOSITS FROM DISCONTINUOUS LENSES OR POCKETS IN SOLUTION CAVITIES IN LIMESTONE OR REPLACEMENT DEPOSITS IN THE LIMESTONE OR SHALE. IN 1963, TEMPLE AND GROGAN RECOGNIZED 110 DISTINCT MANTOS IN 56 "MINES". THE MANTOS WERE 20 TO 250 FT LONG (AVE. 112 FT), 10 TO 70 FT WIDE (AVE. 28 FT), AND 0.6 TO 13.3 FT THICK (AVE. 2.9 FT). THE MANTOS HAD GRADES RANGING FROM 20% TO 80% CAF2 (AVE. 60%) AND CONTAINED 36 TO 8000 ST OF FLUORITE (AVE. 915).
Comment (Commodity): BIOTITE CONCENTRATES SLIGHTLY RADIOACTIVE.
Comment (Location): THE LUMBERJACK DEPOSITS ARE ABOUT 2080 M. ABOVE SEA LEVEL. THE RETIREMENT OUTCROPS ARE 900 M. TO THE EAST AT 2225 M. ALTITUDE. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1978)
Comment (Production): PRODUCTIVE PERIOD IS 1952 TO AT LEAST 1972 CONTINUOUSLY.
References
Reference (Deposit): MINING WORLD, V 15, NO 7, P. 43-46.
Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 1074-B, P. 19-21.
Reference (Deposit): MBMG BULL 8, P. 22, 55-57.
Reference (Deposit): MBMG BULL 109, P. 26.
Reference (Deposit): 1951 DIREXPL U. S. BU MINES, LUMBERJACK O. C. OUTLINE
Reference (Production): USBM MIN. YBK, 1952-1972., MBMG BULL 8., MBMG BULL 28.
Reference (Deposit): MBMG BULL 28, P. 5-11.
Reference (Deposit): USBM REP INVES 4916.
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.
