Earth Sciences Commons^™

Hydrologic And Chemical Interaction Between Waste Dumps And A Flooded Mine Pool At The Combination Mine, Philipsburg District, Montana, Corey Swisher

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Combination Mine, located approximately 12 miles northwest of Philipsburg Montana, was intermittently mined for silver, gold, and copper from 1885 until the 1990s. After the Combination Mine was formally abandoned groundwater seeps downgradient of the mine and waste rock pile were found to be above the regulatory water quality standards. Since the groundwater seeps were downgradient of both the mine pool and waste rock pile the source of the groundwater seeps could have been from the mine pool or shallow flow paths through the waste rock pile. In order to properly plan and execute a remedial action on the …

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 …

Paragenesis And Geochemistry Of The Calvert Tungsten Skarn Deposit, Pioneer Mountains, Montana, Joshua Messenger

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Calvert tungsten skarn deposit is located in the northern extent of the West Pioneer Mountains, approximately 40 miles southwest of Butte, Montana. The orebody was a significant tungsten producer from 1956-1957 and 1960-1962 during which time the mine produced a total of approximately 113,000 tons of ore averaging 1.10% WO₃. The mine has a measured reserve of 128,000 tons at 1.10% WO₃. The scheelite-bearing deposit occurs within skarn developed in the Pennsylvanian Amsden Formation near or in contact with a satellite pluton of the Late Cretaceous Pioneer Batholith.

Mineral paragenetic studies reveal at least three …