Drake Mine

The Drake Mine is a gold, copper, and silver mine located in Sanders county, Montana at an elevation of 3,461 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: Drake Mine
Secondary: Green Mountain
Secondary: Kootenai Copper
Secondary: Trade Dollar
Secondary: Dixon
Secondary: Eagle

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Platinum
Secondary: Palladium
Secondary: Lead
Tertiary: Nickel
Tertiary: Chromium
Tertiary: Cobalt

Location

State: Montana
County: Sanders

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Not available

Production

Year: 1949
Time Period: 1910-1949
Material type: AG
Description: Cp_Grade: ^0.64 Oz/Ton
Year: 1949
Time Period: 1910-1949
Material type: AU
Description: Cp_Grade: ^0.14 Oz/Ton
Year: 1949
Time Period: 1910-1949
Material type: CU
Description: Cp_Grade: ^7.75% (155 Lbs/Ton)

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1910
Year Last Production: 1949
Discovery Year: 1910
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: IRREGULAR TO TABULAR, VEINS

Structure

Type: R
Description: Northwest Folds And Faults, Some Northeast Faulting

Type: L
Description: North-Striking Faults And Shears

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Argillic Alteration Within Shears, Diorite Altered To Serpentine And Talc

Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Neoproterozoic

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: MAX. IN HAND-PICKED SAMPLES: 21 PPM PT, 34.3 PPM PD. RH:PT:PD=1:30:60. 30 ANALYSES OF DIORITE SILL YIELDED TR-3.43 PPM PT+PD (AVERAGE 1 PPM). AU=4.8 PPM, AG=22 PPM, CU=7.70%, PT=3.43 PPM. 15 DIKE SAMPLES RUN 9-99 PPB PD, <0.01-1.0 PPM PT (VAN LOENEN AND OTHERS). CROWLEY CONTAINS MORE ANALYSES. ADDITIONAL ANALYTICAL DATA IN INGERSOLL AND OTHERS (1982). ALL OZ/TON VALUES CONVERTED TO PPM

Materials

Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Ore: Gold
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Sperrylite
Ore: Tenorite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Chlorite
Unknown: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): AVERAGE WIDTH OF QUARTZ VEIN AND MINERALIZED ZONE 2-5 FT. SOME QUARTZ VEINS ARE ALONG FAULTS IN GABBRO. OTHER ORE IS IN RED OXIDIZED MATERIAL; UNPUBLISHED MODEL NAME: REVAIS CREEK CU-AU-PGE.

Comment (Workings): PROPERTY DEVELOPED BY SHAFTS, RAISES, AND DRIFTS. THE USBM DRILLED TWO CORE HOLES THROUGH REVAIS DIKE NEAR MAIN SHAFT (1943)

Comment (Geology): DIKES ARE AS MUCH AS 300 FT WIDE; CHALCOPYRITE AND PYRITE ARE PRESENT LOCALLY IN THEM. ALTHOUGH THE DIKE IS NOT CALLED PART OF PURCELL SILLS IN THE LITERATURE, IT IS SAID THAT THE DIKE IS POSSIBLY RELATED TO SILLS LOWER IN THE BELT SEQUENCE

Comment (Deposit): PROPERTY HAD OPERATING MILL DURING 1940'S BUT NO DATA ARE AVAILABLE ON MILLING COSTS. LOW GRADE STRATABOUND COPPER DEPOSITS ARE PRESENT NEARBY ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION RECORDS INCLUDE DIXON, EAGLE, TRADE DOLLAR, MAYFLOWER, AND LUCKY STRIKE MINES. NO PRODUCTION REPORTED 1914, 1921, 1923-24,1926-30. NO GOLD 1916-18. LEAD ONLY PRODUCED IN 1936. SHIPPED ORE RAN 5-35% CU, 34-137 PPM AG, 1.7-34.3 PPM AU, 1.7-17 PPM PT; MILL CONCENTRATES AVERAGED 40-49.8% CU, 103 PPM AG, 17 PPM AU, 17 PPM PT. OZ/TON VALUES WERE CONVERTED TO PPM

Comment (Development): ANOTHER MBMG PROJECT (UNPUB. RESULTS) ON GEOCHEMICAL SAMPLING OF PERMA SILLS AND REVAIS DIKE WAS DONE FOR KOOTENAI-SALISH TRIBAL COUNCIL 1973-1974. 50 TON/DAY MILL CAPACITY (1941). IDLE SINCE 1954

Comment (Commodity): HIGHEST GRADES ARE AT GABBRO-QUARTZITE CONTACT IN CRUSHED AND ALTERED ZONE. A GENERAL LACK OF PGE MINERALS SUGGESTS THAT MOST OF PGE ARE INCORPORATED INTO OTHER MINERALS

Comment (Location): IN FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION. DISTRICT IS ALSO SOMETIMES CALLED DIXON DISTRICT. ON EAST SLOPE OF REVAIS CREEK. LOCATION GIVEN IS FOR MINE SYMBOL ON MAP

References

Reference (Deposit): 1971 GEOCHEM, MBMG, UNPUB. REPORT

Reference (Production): CROWLEY

Reference (Deposit): CROWLEY, F.A., 1963, MINES AND MINERAL DEPOSITS (EXCEPT FUELS), SANDERS COUNTY, MONTANA: MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULLETIN 34 , P. 35-39.

Reference (Deposit): HARRISON, J.E., LEACH, D.L., KLEINKOPF, M.D., AND LONG, C.L., 1986, RESOURCE APPRAISAL MAP FOR PORPHYRY MOLYBDENUM-TUNGSTEN, PLATINUM-GROUP METALS, AND EPITHERMAL SILVER DEPOSITS IN THE WALLACE 1 X 2 DEGREE QUADRANGLE, MONTANA AND IDAHO: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISCELLANEOUS GEOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS MAP I-1509-H, SCALE 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): INGERSOLL, R.G., JR., GALLOWAY, GARY, AND DUNN, MICHAEL, 1982, FIELD INVENTORY OF MINERAL RESOURCES, FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION, MONTANA: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPORT BIA 22-II, 38 P. + APPENDIX.

Reference (Deposit): VAN LOENEN, R.E., HAFFTY, JOSEPH, AND EARHART, R.L., 1984, PLATINUM AND PALLADIUM IN A MAFIC DIKE, SANDERS COUNTY, MONTANA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1694-G, P. 83-89.

Reference (Deposit): BUCKLEY, STEVE, 1992, GEOLOGIC DESCRIPTION OF THE FLATHEAD RESERVATION, IN MANYDEEDS, S.A., ED., MINERAL FRONTIERS ON INDIAN LANDS: U.S. BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DIVISION OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES, PUBLICATION G-92-2, P. 39-47.

Reference (Deposit): SAHINEN, U.M., 1936, REVAIS CREEK MINING DISTRICT, SANDERS COUNTY, MONTANA: PRIVATE REPORT.

Reference (Deposit): MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, 1971, GEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE AND SOIL SAMPLE INVENTORY OF RAVALLII - DIXON - CAMAS PRAIRIE AREA, SANDERS COUNTY, MONTANA: MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, UNPUBLISHED REPORT.

Reference (Deposit): 1936 GEOLMAP CONSULTANT PRIVATE REPORT

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.