Canyon Creek Phosphate Mine

The Canyon Creek Phosphate Mine is a phosphorus-phosphates mine located in Beaverhead county, Montana at an elevation of 6,240 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

Name: Canyon Creek Phosphate Mine

State: Montana

County: Beaverhead

Elevation: 6,240 Feet (1,902 Meters)

Commodity: Phosphorus-Phosphates

Lat, Long: 45.6917, -112.75750

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.

Satelite image of the Canyon Creek Phosphate Mine

Canyon Creek Phosphate Mine MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Canyon Creek Phosphate Mine
Secondary: Canyon Creek No. 2

Commodity

Primary: Phosphorus-Phosphates
Tertiary: Uranium
Tertiary: Fluorine-Fluorite

Location

State: Montana
County: Beaverhead
District: Melrose District

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

Type: Federal Lease

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Victor Chemical Works
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 1965

Owner Name: U.S. Bureau Of Land Management Lease 086715 2050 Acres
Percent: 100.0
Info Year: 1979

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Underground
Mining Method: Unknown
Year First Production: 1951
Discovery Year: 1948
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Not available

Comments

Comment (Deposit): DEPOSIT IS ON W LIMB OF AN OVERTURNED ANTICLINE. WORKINGS: 5500 FT LEVEL ADIT(MAIN HAULAGE, 2000 FT LONG): LEVELS ON 5900, 6200, AND 6500 FT ELEVATIONS: AND A RAISE LINKING THESE 4 LEVELS. IN 1965 ALL WORKING WERE ACCESSIBLE AND DRY. FROM DEVELOPMENT WORK ABOUT 15000 ST WAS MINED. MINING OPERATIONS ARE HAMPERED BY MULTIPLE FAULTS OF THE BED, HEAVY GROUND, A SOFT MUDSTONE HANGING WALL, AND A DOLOMITE SEAM 6-12 INCHS WIDE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BED. BED CONSISTS OF 2 OR MORE HIGH GRADE PHOSPHATE SEAMS 12-22 INCHES WIDE INTERBEDDED WITH DOLOMIOTE AND PHOSPHATIC MUDSTONES. RETORT MEMBER: BED IS 3 FT THICK AT 30.8% P205, 6.8 FT THICK AT 24.3% P205, AND 22.3 FT THICK AT 22.3% P205. MINING THICKNESS WAS 10 FT. MINE DEVELOPED TO PRODUCE 800 ST PER DAY. SAMPLE LOT 1238 FROM USGS PROF PAPER 313-E IS LOCATED HERE.

References

Reference (Deposit): USGM MRB RPT 113, P. 56.

Reference (Deposit): MBMG BULL. 14, P. 3.

Reference (Deposit): SW MONTANA, USGS PROF. PAPER 313-E, P. 696.

Reference (Deposit): SWANSON, R.W., 1970, MINERAL RESOURCES IN PERMIAN ROCKS OF

Reference (Deposit): PHOSPHORIA FORMATION IN MONTANA, 1948: USGS CIRCULAR 260.

Reference (Deposit): KLEPPER, M.R., 1953, STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS OF THE

Reference (Deposit): PHOSPHATE REPORT, P. 68.

Reference (Deposit): PROPERTIES AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT,

Reference (Deposit): LUFT, STANLEY, 1958, NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY,

Reference (Deposit): MBMG IC 20, 1957, P. 3.

Reference (Deposit): INDUSTRY AND ITS RESOURCES, PT. 2, MONTANA, USBM RI 6611.

Reference (Deposit): POPOFF, C.C., 1965, AN EVALUATION OF THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE

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.