Mouat Ni-Cu Verdegris Creek

The Mouat Ni-Cu Verdegris Creek is a nickel and copper mine located in Stillwater county, Montana at an elevation of 6,050 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: Mouat Ni-Cu Verdegris Creek
Secondary: Mountain View

Commodity

Primary: Nickel
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Cobalt
Tertiary: PGE
Tertiary: Silver
Tertiary: Gold

Location

State: Montana
County: Stillwater
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

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: M. W. Mouat
Years: 1949 -

Owner Name: Anaconda Co.
Years: 1977 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1883
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: Stillwater Ni-Cu

Orebody

Form: STRATIFORM, PODS, LENSES, SILL-LIKE BODIES

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)

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: None Related To Ore-Forming Process

Rocks

Name: Quartz Monzonite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: HIGHEST VALUES FOR LONGER CORES WERE 0.81% NI AND 0.60% CU FOR 55 FT
Analytical Data: AVERAGE ORE: CU=0.37%, NI=0.42%. ASSAY: 1.85% CU, 0.55% NI, 291 PPB PT(+RU, RH, IR), 86 PPB PD, 67 PPB AU (CONVERTED FROM OZ/TON TO PPB). AVERAGE PGE: 12.4 PPB PT, 42.2 PPB PD, 6.5 PPB RH (MAX. 58 PPB PT, 120 PPB PD, 14 PPB RH). HIGHEST VALUES IN 5 FT SAMPLES WERE 1.07% NI AND 0.83% CU

Materials

Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pentlandite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Plagioclase

Comments

Comment (Workings): 7 ADITS, INACCESSIBLE; MOUAT TUNNEL. 5,981 FT OF DRILL CORE FROM 8 HOLES DRILLED IN 1940-1941 (USBM); 92,041 FT OF DRILL CORE FROM 95 HOLES DRILLED FROM 1967-1970 (ANACONDA); 3,898 FT OF DRILL CORE FROM 13 HOLES DRILLED IN 1977 (ANACONDA)

Comment (Geology): AGE OF STILLWATER COMPLEX IS 2,705 +/- 4 MA BASED ON U-PB SYSTEMATICS ON ZIRCON-BADDELEYITE (PREMO AND OTHERS, 1990) ; GEOL.DESC: AGE OF HOST ROCKS: PRE CAMBRIAN; MAJOR.UNITS: STILLWATER COMPLEX.

Comment (Commodity): SEE PAGE (1979) FOR GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BASAL SERIES MINERALIZATION.

Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED. IN CUSTER NATIONAL FOREST

Comment (Deposit): 11 LARGE PODS, 24 SMALL PODS AND LENSES DISCOVERED. SIZE OF LARGEST POD: 420 FT LONG, 218 FT WIDE, 116 FT THICK. NORITE SILLS DIP 30-40W, PARALLEL TO BASE OF COMPLEX. MINERALIZED AREA ROUGHLY 1,200 FT IN DIAMETER. INDIVIDUAL MASSES MEASURE AS MUCH AS 100 BY 30 FT ON EXPOSED SURFACES. SULFIDES ARE MOST ABUNDANT IN HORNFELS; PYRRHOTITE IS MOST ABUNDANT SULFIDE. NI AND CU CONTENT IS ERRATIC AND CANNOT BE ESTIMATED BY INSPECTION.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): PAGE AND OTHERS IN CZAMANSKE AND ZIENTEK ESTIMATED SEVERAL MILLION TONS AT 0.4% NI, 0.35% CU

References

Reference (Deposit): HOWLAND, A.L., PEOPLES, J.W., AND SAMPSON, EDWARD, 1936, THE STILLWATER IGNEOUS COMPLEX AND ASSOCIATED OCCURRENCES OF NICKEL AND PLATINUM GROUP METALS: MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY MISCELLANEOUS CONTRIBUTION 7, P. 10-11.

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): PAGE, N.J, ROWE, J.J., AND HAFFTY, JOSEPH, 1976, PLATINUM METALS IN THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 71, P. 1356.

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): ZIENTEK, M.L., AND RIPLEY, E.M., 1990, SULFUR ISOTOPIC STUDIES OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX AND ASSOCIATED ROCKS, MONTANA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 85, P. 376-391.

Reference (Deposit): PAGE, N.J, 1979, STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA - STRUCTURE, MINERALOGY, AND PETROLOGY OF THE BASAL ZONE WITH EMPHASIS ON THE OCCURRENCE OF SULFIDES: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1038, 69 P.

Reference (Deposit): ZIENTEK, M.L., FOOSE, M.P., AND MEI, LEUNG, 1986, PALLADIUM, PLATINUM, AND RHODIUM CONTENTS OF ROCKS NEAR THE LOWER MARGIN OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, MONTANA: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, V. 81, P. 1169-1178.

Reference (Deposit): 1937 DIREXPL ANACONDA CO.

Reference (Deposit): 1940 DIREXPL

Reference (Deposit): ROBY, R.N., 1949, INVESTIGATION OF COPPER-NICKEL DEPOSITS OF THE STILLWATER COMPLEX, STILLWATER AND SWEETGRASS COUNTIES, MONT.: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 4431, P. 6-9.

Reference (Deposit): CORNWALL, H.R., 1973, NICKEL, IN BROBST, D.A., AND PRATT, W.P., EDS., UNITED STATES MINERAL RESOURCES: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 820, P. 440.

Reference (Deposit): CORNWALL, H.R., 1966, NICKEL DEPOSITS OF NORTH AMERICA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1223, P. 45-46, MAP P.10-11

Reference (Deposit): HOWLAND, A.L., 1943-1944, INFORMATION OBTAINED BY ANNY COURY (USGS) THROUGH WRITTEN COMMUNICATION.

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. 6.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): CORNWALL, 1973

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.