Montana Mine

The Montana Mine is a lead, gold, and silver mine located in Santa Cruz county, Arizona at an elevation of 4,249 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: Montana Mine
Secondary: Rough and Ready

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Arsenic
Tertiary: Cadmium

Location

State: Arizona
County: Santa Cruz
District: Oro Blanco District

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: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc.
Years: 1940 -

Owner Name: K And K Co.
Years: 1986 -

Production

Year: 1958
Time Period: 1870-1958
Material type: ORE
Description: Cp_Grade: ^Averaged 3.5 % Pb, 3.5 % Zn, 5 Oz. Ag Per Ton, 0.5 Oz. Au Per Ton, And 0.3 % Cu.
Year: 1940
Time Period: 1928-1940
Material type: ORE
Description: Cp_Grade: ^.06 Oz. Per Ton Au, 5.4 Oz. Per Ton Ag, 3.9 % Zn, 4 % Pb.

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1875
Year Last Production: 1958
Discovery Year: 1872
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Sonoran Desert

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: LINEAR, TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Block Faulting.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Iron And Manganese Stains.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: EARLY 1870'S.

Comment (Workings): VERTICAL SHAFT & NINE LEVELS - STOPED FROM TUNNEL LEVEL TO 660 LEVEL ON MONTANA VEIN & 300 TO 400 (OR 600) - LEVEL ON ROUGH AND READY VEIN.

Comment (Geology): GEOL.DESC: FRACTURES SEEM TO BE ABUNDANT AND WELL MINERALIZED ONLY IN CONGLOMERATE.

Comment (Location): INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1979) OR 41

Comment (Production): MINED BY EAGLE - PICHER LEAD CO.; LARGEST PRODUCER OF LEAD AND ZINC IN ARIZONA - 1935 TO 1939, THIRD LARGEST IN SILVER IN 1938.

Comment (Development): OPERATOR: HUGO MILLER (1940'S-1950'S). ; ECON.COM: THIS DEPOSIT IS BELIEVED TO BE MINED OUT, ALTHOUGH THE TAILINGS POND REPRESENTS A POSSIBLE RSOURCE FOR GOLD AND SILVER LEACHING. FROM 1935-1939, THIS MINE WAS THE LARGEST PB-ZN PRODUCER IN THE STATE. EARLY PRODUCTION WAS LARGELY AU AND AG FROM THE TOP OF THE DEPOSIT.

Comment (Deposit): "VEIN" IS A REPLACEMENT BY QUARTZ AND SULFIDES OF NUMEROUS SHEARS ARRANGED EN ECHELON.

References

Reference (Deposit): KNIGHT, L.H. JR. 1970, STRUCTURE AND MINERALIZATION OF THE ORO BLANCO DISTRICT ...: UNIV. ARIZ. PH.D. THESIS.

Reference (Deposit): FOWLER, G.M., 1938, 1951, MONTANA MINE: ARIZ. BUREAU OF MINES BULLS. 145 & 158.

Reference (Deposit): WARREN, H.V., AND LOOF BOUROW, R.W., 1932,... MONTANA AND IDAHO MINES ...: ECON. GEOL., V. 27, NO. 6, P. 578-585

Reference (Deposit): ABGMT-USBM FILE DATA

Reference (Deposit): ABM BULL 191, P. 65.

Reference (Deposit): ADMR FILE DATA, MONTANA MINE

Reference (Deposit): NIEMUTH, N.J., 1987, ARIZONA MINERAL DEVELOPMENT 1984-1986: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES DIRECTORY 29, 46 P.

Reference (Deposit): SAWYER, M.B., GURMENDI, A.C., DALEY, M.R., AND HOWELL, S.B., 1992, PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS IN ARIZONA: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES SPECIAL PUBLICATION, 334 P.

Reference (Deposit): ANDRUS, D.E., 1931, MILLING METHODS AND COSTS AT THE MONTANA MINE CONCENTRATOR: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES INFORMATION CIRCULAR 6497.

Reference (Deposit): 1931 U.S. BUREAU OF MINES IC 6497

Reference (Deposit): 1938 GEOLMAP ARIZ. BUREAU OF MINES , BULL. 145

Reference (Other Database): CIMRI

Reference (Production): KNIGHT, 1970 - FROM PRIVATE REPORT.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): NIEMUTH, 1987; SAWYER AND OTHERS, 1992.

Arizona Gold

"Where to Find Gold in Arizona" looks at the density of modern placer mining claims along with historical gold mining locations and mining district descriptions to determine areas of high gold discovery potential in Arizona. Read more: Where to Find Gold in Arizona.