Melrose Phosphate

Producer in Beaverhead county in Montana, United States with commodities Phosphorus-Phosphates, Fluorine-Fluorite, Vanadium, Uranium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Ownership information
  14. Links to other databases
  15. Bibliographic references
  16. General comments
  17. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10011224
MRDS ID D005560
Record type Site
Current site name Melrose Phosphate
Related records 10197049

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -112.73422, 45.66657 (WGS84)
Elevation 2134
Relative position 20 MILES SW OF BUTTE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Beaverhead(county)

Montana(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Melrose(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Butte South(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Dillon(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Big Hole(hydrologic unit)

Missouri Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Missouri Headwaters(hydrologic subregion)

Missouri(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Montana Beaverhead

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Montana Principal 002S;002S 009W;010W Montana

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION POINT IS SHEPHERD MTN., WHERE H.S. GALE DESCRIBED PHOSPHORIA FMT.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Phosphorus-Phosphates Primary
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Tertiary
Vanadium Critical Tertiary
Uranium Tertiary

Analytical data

Result THE UPPER HALF OF THE RETORT MEMBER GENERALLY CONTAINS OVER 24% PHOPHATE. THE LOWER HALF CONTAINS LESS THAN 16%. (SWANSON, 1970)

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Mudstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Dolomite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Phosphorite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Chert
    Rock unit name Phosphoria
    Rock description Phosphoria

Nearby scientific data

(1) -112.73422, 45.66657

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Complex Folds And Faults, Pluglike Quartz Monzonite Bodies.

Ore body information

  • General form BEDDED, PELLETAL, OOLITIC
    Thickness 7.62M

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant No
Discovery year 1910
Discoverer H.S. Gale

Mining district

District name Melrose District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Stauffer Chemical Co.
    Home office P.O. Box 89 Mt. Pleasant,Tn. 38474 Phone(615)379-7781 Attn: George A. Herr
  • Type Owner
    Owner U.S. Bureau Of Land Management

Comments on the workings information

  • TWO RECENTLY ACTIVE UNDERGROUND MINES - THE MAIDEN ROCK AND CANYON CREEK.

Comments on development

  • ECON.COM: MELROSE DISTRICT IS ONE OF THE RICHEST PHOSPHATE AREAS IN SW MONTANA.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MELROSE DISTRICT DEPOSITS ARE SPREAD OVER AT LEAST 6 TOWNSHIPS NORTH AND WEST OF MELROSE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1980 Loen, Jeffrey S. (Pearson, Robert C.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Operator history (post-MRDS)

MRDS records operators as of each record's last update (≤ 2019). Some of the operators listed here have since changed hands or dissolved:

Curated by qvyshift.com from publicly-reported M&A activity (SEC filings, press releases, USGS Mineral Yearbooks). Not authoritative — verify against primary sources before relying on it. The MSHA panel above is the current authoritative source for actively-permitted mines.