Little Bill Placer Claim

The Little Bill Placer Claim is a feldspar, quartz, garnet, titanium, metal, and iron mine located in Granite 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

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: Little Bill Placer Claim

Commodity

Primary: Feldspar
Primary: Quartz
Primary: Garnet
Primary: Titanium, Metal
Primary: Iron
Tertiary: Zirconium
Tertiary: Niobium (Columbium)
Tertiary: Tantalum
Tertiary: Thorium
Tertiary: Uranium

Location

State: Montana
County: Granite
District: Sapphire Mountains Area

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Western Fluorite Mining Co., Inc.

Owner Name: Joseph T. And Ivy L. Abbey, Et. Al

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
Deposit Type: Placer
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1954
Discovery Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

Physiography

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

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Granite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pleistocene

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: QUARTZ - 25%
Analytical Data: FELDSPAR - 30%
Analytical Data: MAGNETITE - 34%
Analytical Data: HEMATITE - LESS THAN 1%
Analytical Data: SPHENE - LESS THAN 1%
Analytical Data: MUSCOVITE - LESS THAN 1%
Analytical Data: URANIUM - LESS THAN 0.05%
Analytical Data: THORIUM - LESS THAN 0.05%
Analytical Data: TANTALITE (TANTALIUM) - LESS THAN 0.05%
Analytical Data: THORITE {{ BY X-RAY SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS: { COLUMBITE (COLUMBIUM) - 0.07%
Analytical Data: PYRITE
Analytical Data: EPIDOTE - 1%
Analytical Data: ILMENITE - 3%
Analytical Data: GARNET - 4%
Analytical Data: LIMONITE
Analytical Data: XENOTIME
Analytical Data: RUTILE
Analytical Data: ZIRCON
Analytical Data: CHLORITE
Analytical Data: MONAZITE
Analytical Data: FERROMAGNESIAN
Analytical Data: BIOTITE - LESS THAN 1% {{ TRACES OF THE FOLLOWING MINERALS: { ALLANITE

Materials

Ore: Sand and Gravel

Comments

Comment (Location): Political location in record is Granite county. However, original lat/long plots 27km inside adjacent Deer Lodge county. Original coordinates were: lat/long NAD27 46-12-0N 112-41-42W (46.2 -112.695); UTM N E Z; PLSS line# 1: Meridian- Montana Principal, TWNSHP 005N, RNG 017W, Sect 10, Sect_fract . The location description 35 MILES WEST OF PHILIPSBURG, MONTANA places it 12 miles inside Ravalli county. The description 2 MILES S OF SKALKAHO HIGHWAY also points to Ravalli county -- all the geonames listings for Skalkaho are in Ravalli county. The mining district name "Sapphire Mountains Area" is equivocal because, although geonames places the Sapphire mountains in Ravalli county, they are on its eastern boundary with Granite county. The other 26 MRDS deposits said to be in Sapphire Mountains Area mining district also straddle the border. The bibliographic references will be difficult to check, FS and USBM files, not published or dated. The PLSS coordinates translate to 46.2 -113.7, very close to one degree west of the original lat/long. This places it in Granite county amidst 7 other very similar Sapphire Mountains district records. All are named XXX Placer Claim and have very similar references. So the longitude was likely mistyped. It was changed by 1 degree west to -113.695. The PLSS coordinates were were left as is even though they differ from the new lat/long by 1 section.

Comment (Workings): BULLDOZER CUT - 40 FT LONG, 12 FT WIDE, 4 FT DEEP

Comment (Geology): THERE ARE VARYING AMOUNTS OF RADIOACTIVE BLACK SANDS DISTRIBUTED IRREGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE UNCONSOLIDATED MATERIAL.

Comment (Commodity): SAMPLE - 25 POUNDS OF SAND AND GRAVEL DUG FROM THE DISCOVERY PIT.

Comment (Location): UNSURVEYED LANDS

Comment (Deposit): Discovery Year: 1954 (RELOCATED 1955)

References

Reference (Deposit): 1960 DIREXPL USFS

Reference (Deposit): 1958 DIREXPL USFS

Reference (Deposit): 1954 OTHER BUREAU OF MINES - FIELD INVESTIGATION

Reference (Deposit): FS FILES

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.