Drumlummon Mine

The Drumlummon Mine is a silver and gold mine located in Lewis and Clark county, Montana.

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: Drumlummon Mine  

State:  Montana

County:  Lewis and Clark

Elevation:

Commodity: Silver, Gold

Lat, Long: 46.75194, -112.22806

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 Drumlummon Mine

Drumlummon Mine MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Drumlummon Mine
Secondary: Drumlin Tailings
Secondary: Marysville
Secondary: North Star
Secondary: Castletown


Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Manganese
Secondary: Copper
Tertiary: Antimony


Location

State: Montana
County: Lewis and Clark
District: Marysville District


Land Status

Not available


Holdings

Not available


Workings

Type: Underground


Ownership

Owner Name: Tailings Operator: Carlos Hieber
Home Office: 1035 12th Ave., Helena, Mt 59601

Owner Name: Goldsil Mining & Milling
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: 26785 Light Lane, Conifer CO 80433-8529
Info Year: 1983

Owner Name: Montana Rainbow Mining Co.
Home Office: Marysville, Mt

Owner Name: St. Louis Drumlummon Mines Inc.
Home Office: St. Louis Mo. 63100


Production

Year: 1952
Time Period: 1876-1952
Mined: 1313000.000 mt
Material type: ore


Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Polymetallic veins, Au-Ag
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Year First Production: 1876
Discovery Year: 1876
Discovery Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: M


Physiography

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


Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins


Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR

Name: Drumlummon
Form: Vein (lode)


Structure

Type: R
Description: Marysville Batholith Thought To Be Related To The Boulder Batholith

Type: L
Description: Vein Filling In Small Fissures Up To 10 Feet Distant From Hanging Wallmarysville Stock Marysville Stock


Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Calcitized, Chloritized Quartz Monzonite, Sulfate Solution Leaching Of Hornstones, Oxidation Near Surface


Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Description: QUARTZ DIORITE
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Description: QUARTZ DIORITE
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic


Analytical Data

Analytical Data: $35-80/TON (1900). LATER ORE 0.5 OZ/TON AU, 7-12 OZ/TON AG.


Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrargyrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Iron


Comments

Comment (Deposit): PAY SHOOTS CONTAINING ORE BETWEEN 10 AND 40 FT WIDE, AVERAGING 20 FT. WALLS OF DRUMLUMMON VEIN VARY FROM 2 TO 20 FT APART. SURFACE ORE IS HIGH GRADE, REST IS MEDIUM GRADE.

Comment (Workings): 1200 FT CROSSCUT INTERSECTED THE LODE AT A DEPTH OF 400 FT. AT THIS INTERSECTION A 1600 FT SHAFT WAS SUNK. THE VEIN HAS BEEN DEVELOPED ALONG THE STRIKE FOR 3000 FT. MOST OF THE MINE IS EITHER CAVED OR FLOODED.

Comment (Production): NO TONNAGE VALUES WERE FOUND, HOWEVER, DURING THE YEARS 1876-1911 VALUE OF COMMODITIES REMOVED WAS QUOTED AS 28,000,000 DOLLARS AND VALUE AFTER 1941 WAS QUOTED AS 1,000,000 DOLLARS. . 60% OF THIS PRODUCTION WAS AU.

Comment (Location): ADIT WAS USED FOR LOCATION, AS INFORMATION WAS GIVEN IT WAS USED PRIOR TO SINKING OF SHAFT

Comment (Workings): APEX 6,000 -- 6,100 FT. BOTTOM OF ECONOMIC MINING APPROXIMATELY @ 1200-FOOT LEVEL (4,600 FT). DEEPEST DEVELOPMENT 1600-FOOT LEVEL (4,200 FT) (WALKER, 1992).

Comment (Workings): MAIN TUNNEL WAS THE ?MASKELYNE TUNNEL? (MBMG FILES, RM 213, MAIN HALL, MONTANA TECH, BUTTE). ?EXTENSIVE UNDERGROUND WORKINGS (APPROXIMATELY 23 MILES); STAMP MILLS AT PEAK TOTALLED 112.? (WALKER, 1992). RECOVERY BY AMALGAMATION AND CYANIDATION (WALKER, 1992).

Comment (Geology): THE MEMBERS OF THE BELT SUPERGROUP LISTED ABOVE HAVE BEEN METAMORPHOSED TO THE "HORNSTONES" FOUND IN CONTACT WITH THE MARYSVILLE BATHOLITH IN THE DRUMLUMMON MINE.

Comment (Commodity): SOME VEINS DESCRIBED AS HIGHLY MANGANIFEROUS, AND ONE CARLOAD OF ORE SHIPPED IN 1927 CONTAINED VALUABLE AMOUNTS OF COPPER DRUMLUMMON VEIN ORE AVERAGED 10:1 SILVER:GOLD RATIO (WALKER, 1992).

Comment (Production): ?$29,000,000 (GOLD/SILVER); TOTAL TONS MINED APPROXIMATELY 1.1 TO 1.2 MILLION. AVERAGE GRADE 0.5 OZ./ PER TON GOLD? (WALKER, 1992).


References

Reference (Deposit): PARDEE, J.T., AND SCHRADER, F.C, 1933, METALLIFEROUS DEPOSITS OF THE GREATER HELENA MINING REGION:USGS BULL 842, P. 69-70, 65, 67, PL. 5.

Reference (Deposit): HANSEN, MILLER, 1971, DIRECTORY OF MINING ENTERPRISES FOR 1970:MBMG BULL 82, P. 13.

Reference (Deposit): CROWLEY, F.A., DIRECTORY OF KNOWN MINING ENTERPRISES, 1959: MBMG BULL 14, P. 21.

Reference (Geology): WALKER, G.E., 1992, GEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE MARYSVILLE MINING DISTRICT AND THE DRUMLUMMON MINE, LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTY, MONTANA: MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY OPEN-FILE REPORT 254, 27 P

Reference (Deposit): BARRELL, JOSEPH, 1907, GEOLOGY OF THE MARYSVILLE MINING DISTRICT, MONTANA:USGS PP 57, 107-9.

Reference (Geology): WEED, W.H., 1903, GOLD MINES OF THE MARYSVILLE DISTRICT, MONTANA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 213, P. 88-89.

Reference (General): HERRIN, JOHN, WALKER, GILES, BALTZER, C.V., AND RATCLIFF, MARVIN, 1987, ROAD LOG NO. 1 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF THE GREATER HELENA AREA -- HELENA TO MONTANA TUNNELS MINE, LUMP GULCH, GRIZZLY GULCH, FORT HARRISON AND MARYSVILLE IN GUIDEBOOK OF THE HELENA AREA, WEST-CENTRAL MONTANA, R.B.BERG AND R.H. BREUNINGER, EDS., MBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION 95, P. 8-12.

Reference (Geology): BALTZER, C.V., 1987, GEOLOGY, MINERALIZATION AND HISTORY OF THE DRUMLUMMON MINE, LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTY, MONTANA IN GUIDEBOOK OF THE HELENA AREA, WEST-CENTRAL MONTANA, R.B.BERG AND R.H. BREUNINGER, EDS., MBMG SPECIAL PUBLICATION 95, P. 61-62.

Reference (Exploration): BLACKWELL, D.D, BROTT, C.A., GOFORD, T., HOLDAWAY, M.J., MORGAN, H., PETEFISH, D., RAPE, T., STEELE, J.L., SPAFFORD, R.E., AND WAIBEL, A.F., 1974, GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE MARYSVILLE GEOTHERMAL AREA--1973 RESULTS: BATELLE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LABORATORIES REPORT NO. NSF/RANN-74/027B, 12 P.

Reference (Exploration): BLACKWELL, D.D, HOLDAWAY, M.J., MORGAN, H., PETEFISH, D., RAPE, T., STEELE, J.L., THORSON, D.C., AND WAIBEL, A.F., 1974, RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF EXPLORATION AND DEEP DRILLING AT THE MARYSVILLE GEOTHERMAL AREA: BATELLE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LABRATORIES REPORT NO. 23H1-01410, 116 P.

Reference (Economic Factors): WADE, W.R., 1945, REOPENING THE DRUMLUMMON MINE...WITH NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF THE MARYSVILLE, MONTANA DISTRICT: MINING WORLD, V. 7, NO. 7, P. 27-32

Reference (Geology): MCCLERNAN, H.G., 1983, METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS OF LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTY, MONTANA: MBMG MEMOIR 52, 73 P.

Reference (General): JACKSON, W.T., 1959, THE IRISH FOX AND THE BRITISH LION: IN MONTANA, THE MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY, V.9, NO.2, APRIL 1959, P. 28-42.

Reference (Deposit): KNOPF, ADOLF, 1913, ORE DEPOSITS OF THE HELENA MINING REGION:USGS BULL 527, P. 68-72.


Principal Gold Districts of Montana

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.