Gish Mine

The Gish Mine is a chromium mine located in Sweet Grass county, Montana at an elevation of 5,679 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: Gish Mine
Secondary: Bonanza Claims
Secondary: Boulder River
Secondary: M & R Group

Commodity

Primary: Chromium
Tertiary: Platinum
Tertiary: Palladium
Tertiary: Rhodium

Location

State: Montana
County: Sweet Grass
District: In Stillwater Complex

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: David Davis
Home Office: Roundup, Mt.
Years: 1985 -

Owner Name: Anaconda Co.
Years: 1942 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1918
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
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, 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: Graham Creek Fault And Other Faults With Small Offsets

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Harzburgite
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoarchean

Name: Harzburgite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: AVERAGE OF CHROMITITE: 187.5 PPB PT, 139.5 PPB PD, 149 PPB RH (MAX. 290 PPB PT, 400 PPB PD, 260 PPB RH). TRENCH SAMPLES RANGED FROM 0.5-5.2 FT LONG AND 0.78-42.91% CR203 (AVERAGE 5.37 FT AT 15.1% CR2O3). DIAMOND DRILL HOLES (5) INTERSECTED 1.4-6.7 FT CHROMITE AT 12.3-21.7% CR2O3. MASSIVE ORE AVERAGES 36.33% CR2O3, DISSEMINATED 13.21%

Materials

Ore: Chromite
Gangue: Olivine

Comments

Comment (Location): IN GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST. UNSURVEYED. LOCATED WITHIN CLAIM GROUP ON EAST SLOPE OVERLOOKING BOULDER RIVER.

Comment (Development): SOME ORE MINED BUT NONE WAS MILLED DURING WWI AND WWII

Comment (Deposit): THICKNESS AVERAGES 4.8 FT. 2 MASSIVE BANDS WITH SHARP FOOTWALLS AND DISSEMINATED ORE UP INTO HANGING WALL

Comment (Workings): TWO ADITS, 61 TRENCHES, 770 FT DIAMOND DRILL HOLES (ANACONDA), 1,924 FT DIAMOND DRILL HOLES (USBM)

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): 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): 1937 COMPILE MBMG MEM 18

Reference (Deposit): 1949 RECON HOWLAND, GARRELS, JONES, BULL 948-C

Reference (Reserve-Resource): SCHAFER FOR MASSIVE AND DISSEMINATED ORE OF BONANZA CLAIMS, AND M & R GROUP

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. 10.

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. 22-26.

Reference (Deposit): HOWLAND, A.L., GARRELS, E.M., AND JONES, W.R., 1949, CHROMITE DEPOSITS OF BOULDER RIVER AREA, SWEETGRASS COUNTY, MONTANA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 948-C, P. 73-81.

Reference (Deposit): SCHAFER, P.A., 1937, CHROMITE DEPOSITS OF MONTANA: MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY MEMOIR 18, P. 11.

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.