The Trail Creek Placer is a titanium, metal and iron mine located in Beaverhead county, Montana at an elevation of 6,299 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: 6,299 Feet (1,920 Meters)
Commodity: Titanium, Metal, Iron
Lat, Long: 45.6675, -113.81944
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.
Trail Creek Placer MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Trail Creek Placer
Commodity
Primary: Titanium, Metal
Primary: Iron
Secondary: REE
Secondary: Gold
Location
State: Montana
County: Beaverhead
District: Pioneer 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
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Deposit Type: Placer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains
Physiographic Detail: Beaverhead Mountains
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Type: R
Description: Idaho Batholith
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Alluvium
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: SAMPLE CONCENTRATE WAS COMPOSED OF 44.6% ILMENITE, 35.8% MAGNETITE, 2.0% MONAZITE, AND LESS THAN 2% EACH OF GARNET, EPIDOTE, PYRITE, SPHENE, ZIRCON AND ALLANITE
Materials
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Monazite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Ilmenite
Gangue: Epidote
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Allanite
Gangue: Sphene
Gangue: Garnet
Unknown: Zircon
Comments
Comment (Deposit): AREA COVERED BY DEPOSIT IS OVER 14 MILES LONG, AND 50-700 YARDS WIDE. BEDROCK WAS REACHED AT BETWEEN 8 AND 30 FEET DEPTH.
Comment (Workings): UPPER TRAIL CREEK WAS WORKED FOR PLACER GOLD IN 1800'S
Comment (Geology): ALMOST ALL OF THE SMALL AMOUNT OF GOLD FOUND BY HOLT (1964) WAS IN THE CLAY ABOVE BEDROCK.
Comment (Deposit): PLACER GOLD PRODUCTION IS REPORTED FROM MAY CREEK, A HEADWATERS TRIBUTARY, AND DURING 1938 PLACER CREEK WAS BEING MINED WITH A DRAGLINE SHOVEL (LYDEN, 1948) ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Comment (Development): BUR, MINES (1951) DRILLED 25 CHURN-DRILL HOLES 9 TO 33 FEET IN DEPTH, AND TOTALLING 400 FEET. ; ECON.COM: AVERAGE STREAM GRADIENT IS 0.67%. AMPLE DREDGING WATER
Comment (Location): DEPOSIT IS ALONG TRAIL CREEK FOR 14 MILES ABOVE RUBY CREEK. DEPOSIT IS ALSO IN T25, R17W
References
Reference (Deposit): MBMG MEM 26, P. 12.
Reference (Deposit): USBM RI 6365, P. 26-29.
Reference (Deposit): USBM IC 8268
Reference (Deposit): 1964 DIREXP U.S. BUREAU OF MINES, R.I. 636
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.
