Earth Sciences Commons^™

Foundations For A Geobiochemical Characterization Of Mudpots In Yellowstone National Park, Georgia Dahlquist

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Mudpots are acidic, turbid thermal features formed by the argillic or sericitic alteration of rock with enough fluid to create a viscous feature. Prior to this research, the combination of interdisciplinary sampling for geochemistry, mineralogy, and microbiology of rhyolite hosted mudpots, particularly in chemically distinct subregions of an area, remained largely unavailable. This work discusses mudpots and nearby hot springs sampled in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in July 2016 and the measured in situ pH, temperature, and conductivity values, and dissolved oxygen concentrations. Water, filtered via gravity pre-filtration and 1.2 μm and 0.8/0.2μm syringe filtration, yielded δD and δ18O values …

Biogeochemical Interactions In Flooded Underground Mines, Renee Schmidt

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

This study presents a biogeochemical analysis of microbial communities in flooded underground mines in Butte, Montana, USA. Samples were collected from nine mineshafts representing three distinct geochemical zones. These zones consist of the East, West, and Outer Camp mines. The East Camp mines, bordering the Berkeley Pit Superfund site, have the highest concentrations of dissolved metals and the most acidic pH values. Dissolved metal concentrations in the West Camp are one to three orders of magnitude lower than in the East Camp and have nearly neutral pH values. The Outer Camp mines have similar metal concentrations to the West Camp …

Tracking Potential Leakage Of Tailings-Lake Water Into Background Groundwater In Butte, Montana, Using Geochemical And Stable Isotope Tracers, Matthew Berzel

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

This study was conducted to identify environmental tracers using water chemistry and stable isotopes in the Moulton Road area adjacent to the Yankee Doodle tailings impoundment north of Butte, Montana. The water level of the tailings lake is being raised as tailings slurry is pumped up to the impoundment, and numerous residential wells are located in close proximity. Although it has an alkaline pH (> 9), the water in the tailings lake is much higher in some chemical constituents than the wells and some of these constituents could be used as tracers to determine if lake water is migrating out …

Supergene Mineralization Of The Continental Pit, Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana, Kyle Eastman

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Butte porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag deposit has been considerably altered by supergene processes that enriched Cu and Ag, and mobilized other metals. Supergene enrichment provided early miners with excellent ore grades, and contributes significantly to current mining operations in Butte. The Continental Pit exhibits the classic leached and enriched vertical zonation that is common in near-surface porphyry systems around the world. Although studied by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company during the mid-20th century, significant and economically relevant questions remain regarding this deposit’s supergene heavy metal geochemistry and its relationship to the local hydrology and tectonic history.

This thesis investigates the paragenesis …

Mineralogy And Geochemistry Of The Heddleston Porphyry Cu-Mo Deposit, Montana, Ben Schubert

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Heddleston porphyry Cu-Mo deposit is located in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, near the headwaters of the Blackfoot River. It is immediately west of the historic Mike Horse mine, an important producer of Pb-Zn from polymetallic veins and lodes. The Heddleston property was explored extensively by the Anaconda Company in the 1960s and 1970s, but was never mined. Specimens of polished drill core from the deposit are archived in the Anaconda Research Collection at Montana Tech campus. The purpose of this research project was to use the archived samples to examine the geochemistry and mineralogy of the Heddleston and …