The Bluebird is a chromium mine located in Sweet Grass county, Montana at an elevation of 8,199 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: 8,199 Feet (2,499 Meters)
Commodity: Chromium
Lat, Long: 45.38861, -109.96139
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.
Bluebird MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Bluebird
Secondary: Blue Bird
Commodity
Primary: Chromium
Tertiary: Rhodium
Tertiary: Palladium
Tertiary: Platinum
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
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1939
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: LENSES
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: Small Faults Offset Chromitite Zone
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Peridotite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Cretaceous
Name: Peridotite
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoarchean
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: CR2O3 IN USBM SAMPLES RAN 1.71-39.99%. ANALYSIS OF B CHROMITITE YIELDED 460 PPB PT, 120 PPB PD, 310 PPB RH. CR2O3 CONTENT: AVERAGE 18% CHROMITE
Materials
Ore: Chromite
Gangue: Olivine
Comments
Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED. IN CUSTER NATIONAL FOREST.
Comment (Geology): AGE OF STILLWATER COMPLEX IS 2,705 +/- 4 MA BASED ON U-PB SYSTEMATICS ON ZIRCON-BADDELEYITE (PREMO AND OTHERS, 1990)
Comment (Workings): TRENCHES AND PROSPECT PITS
References
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. 31-33.
Reference (Deposit): TRENCHING AND ANALYSES BY USBM DURING WWI
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): 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. 9.
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.
