Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geology Of The Middle Member Of The Bakken Formation In Divide County, North Dakota, Mandy Brewer

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation of Williston Basin is a large unconventional oil and gas play consisting of a lower shale member, a middle member, and an upper shale member. The middle member is a production target because it contains porosity and petroleum expelled from the shale members around it. Variable production and sweet spots of the Bakken in the study area of Divide County, ND and 15 miles around Divide County in the USA prompted a closer look at middle member Bakken sediments. For this study, 606 wells were correlated and thin sections from two wells located 10.17 …

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 …

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 …

Comparing Distributed Acoustic Sensing To Three-Component Geophones In An Underground Mine, Nikolas Nesladek

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Geophones have become the industry standard for seismic data collection. However, a relatively new method is gaining popularity called Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). DAS uses changes in backscattered light of a fiber-optic cable to detect strain from acoustic energy. The purpose of this project was to make a direct comparison between DAS and three component geophones, specifically in a mining setting. Experiments were done in the Underground Education Mining Center on the campus of Montana Tech. The sources used for this project were vertical sledgehammer shots, oriented shear sledgehammer shots, and blasting caps set off in both unstemmed and stemmed …

Aeromagnetic And Spectral Expressions Of Rare Earth Element Deposits In Gallinas Mountains Area, Central New Mexico, Usa, Mo Li

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Gallinas Mountains located in the conjunction of Lincoln County and Torrance County, New Mexico, USA are a series of alkaline volcanic rocks intruded into Permian sedimentary rocks. The Gallinas Mountains area is known to host fluorite and copper as veins containing bastnasite while hydrothermally altered rocks associated with iron oxides have been found in the area as well. In this study, multispectral band ratio method was used for surface mineral interpretation by processing satellite image, while aeromagnetic inversion method was applied using aeromagnetic data, digital elevation model and physical properties for 2-D subsurface structure modeling. Bastnasite has higher magnetic …

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 …

Naturally Occurring Acid Rock Drainage In The Anaconda-Pintler Mountain Range, Montana: A Case Study Of Geochemistry In Two Streams Flowing From Mount Evans, Margaret Doolittle

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Mount Evans is located in the Anaconda-Pintler mountain range of southwest Montana approximately 22 km southwest of Anaconda, Montana. Mount Evans appears reddish orange on Google Earth amongst the rest of the mountain range which is a grey white color, indicating the presence of limonite staining and probable sulfide mineralization. In addition, two streams draining opposite sides of the mountain, and either side of the continental divide have conspicuous white coatings on boulders that are clearly visible with Google Earth. During a mineral resource assessment in the 1980s, the USGS suggested that the Mount Evans area could be the top …

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 …

Sequence Stratigraphic Correlation Of The Bow Island Member Of The Thermopolis Formation Using Surface Outcrop And Subsurface Data, Liberty And Hill Counties, Montana, Michael Vineyard

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Bow Island Member of the Thermopolis Formation in Montana is a low-pressure gas producer, which formed due to the first (Kiowa-Skull Creek) transgressive–regressive cycles of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway.

The Bow Island Member and its correlative units (Viking and Muddy Formations) have been extensively exploited for oil and gas throughout Canada and Wyoming, but remains relatively unmapped in Montana. The area of stratigraphic study is located at section 15, T36N, R5E Liberty County, Montana. This area located on Dafoe Ranch exhibits a moderately exposed stratigraphic section of Cretaceous Thermopolis Formation. The Bow Island Member lies between the Skull …

Characterization Of Granite And Subsequent Ground Control Management Plan At Orphan Boy Mine – Butte, Montana, Emily Rose

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Underground Mine Education Center (UMEC) and World Museum of Mining facilities began as shallow underground mines in the 1880’s during the mining boom that populated Butte, Montana. The UMEC is a multi-disciplinary facility that provides an on-campus underground laboratory environment and a place for students to learn and practice practical underground mining techniques; therefore, the longevity of the facility is important to Montana Tech. The goal of this project is to develop a Ground Control Management Plan (GCMP) for the UMEC and World Museum of Mining facilities.

The World Museum of Mining (Orphan Girl) and UMEC (Orphan Boy) facilities …

Structural Reliability Analysis Of Tunneling-Induced Ground Settlement And Damage To Adjacent Buildings: A Case Study Using Moment Methods And Flac2d, Powers Michael

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Tunnels are widely used for underground space development in urban areas such as mass transit. However, tunneling in heavily congested areas is a very risky operation that can impose significant damage to adjacent buildings. In the traditional analysis of tunnel structures, the deterministic approach is commonly used. The owners or regulatory agencies establish the limiting ground surface settlement value and angular distortion value for buildings as a means of preventing tunneling-induced failure and damage to adjacent buildings. In addition, significant uncertainties in geotechnical parameters exist in the prediction of tunneling-induced ground settlement and damage to adjacent buildings. Design and analysis …