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Blue Bird Mine

Past Producer in Jefferson county in Montana, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Arsenic, Antimony
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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. Materials information
  8. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Ownership information
  17. Production statistics
  18. Workings at the site
  19. Links to other databases
  20. Bibliographic references
  21. General comments
  22. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10071325
MRDS ID W014656
Record type Site
Current site name Blue Bird Mine
Alternate or previous names Pen Yan Mine
Related records 10173151

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -112.16699, 46.35879 (WGS84)
Elevation 2158
Relative position ABOUT 10 KM SOUTHWEST OF JEFFERSON CITY, MONTANA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Jefferson(county)

Montana(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mount Thompson(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Butte North(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Butte(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Missouri(hydrologic unit)

Upper Missouri(hydrologic accounting unit)

Missouri-Marias(hydrologic subregion)

Missouri(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Helena-Lewis and Clark 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 Jefferson

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Montana Principal 007N 005W 13 Montana

Comments on the location information

  • UTM LOCATION OF MAIN ADIT PORTAL

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Secondary
Lead Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Malachite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Anglesite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rhodochrosite Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Pyritization, Sericitization

Analytical data

Result 19 OZ/TON AG, 3% CU FROM LAST 70 YRS (1963)
Result FROM MAIN TUNNEL: 6-7% CU, 0.5 OZ/TON AU, 65 OZ/TON AG, 1-3% ZN.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
    Rock unit name Elkhorn Mountain Volcanics;Butte Quartz Monzonite
    Rock description Elkhorn Mountain Volcanics;Butte Quartz Monzonite
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff

Nearby scientific data

(1) -112.16699, 46.35879
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Boulder Batholith, South-Trending Syncline In Elkhorn Mountains Volcanics
Type of structure Local
Structure description Bluebird - Mount Washington Shear Zone About 4 Km Long, Roof Pendant Of Elkhorn Mountains Volcanics

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR SHOOTS
    Strike N 80 W
    Dip STEEPLY SOUTH
    Length 2000M
    Width 15M
    Depth to top 0M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Along The Brecciated And Tourmalized Contact Between Shale And Granite Dike.

Comments on the geologic information

  • POST-MINERALIZED FAULTING.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1887
Year of first production 1887
Year of last production 1957

Mining district

District name Colorado (Corbin-Wickes) District

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Louis Peura
  • Type Owner
    Owner Louis Peura, 1821 Lowell Ave., Butte, Mont.

Production statistics

  • Year 1893
    Period 1887-1893
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Estimate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^0.56 Oz/Ton Au
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Gold Gold 16g/mt
  • Year 1946
    Period 1902-1946
    Material ORE
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^ 65 Oz/Ton Ag
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Silver Silver 1835g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • PEN YAN PRODUCTION TOTALED 428 ST AT 0.2 TOZ/ST AU, 10 TOZ/ST AG, AND 0.25% CU.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Length 2275.64M
    Overall depth 400M

Comments on the workings information

  • OPENED BY 1000 FT VERTICAL SHAFT, 4146 FT OF DRIFTS, 2320 FT ADIT. MAIN LEVEL IS A 2000 FT ADIT TO CUT VEIN 400 FT BELOW OUTCROP. 2 LEVELS WERE DRIVEN FROM A 200 FT WINZE BELOW THE MAIN ADIT AND AT LEAST 1 LEVEL WAS DRIVEN ABOVE MAIN ADIT. INACCESSABLE IN 1963.

Comments on development

  • BLUEBIRD MINED MAINLY FOR AG. 5 PATENTED CLAIMS: BLUEBIRD, EVENING STAR, ESCANABA, BLUE BELL, BLACK BIRD.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    MBMG BULL 30, P. 24.

  • Deposit

    USGS PP 428, P. 72-73.

  • Deposit

    MBMG BULL 16, P. 49.

  • Deposit

    MBMG BULL 10, P. 25.

  • Deposit

    USGS BULL 527, P. 50-51, 111-14.

  • Deposit

    USGS BULL 842, P. 242-43.

  • Production

    MBMG BULL. 16

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ORE IN 2 BODIES: ONE NEAR BLUEBIRD SHAFT AND ONE WEST OF IT NEAR THE PENYAN SHAFT. THE PEN YAN ORE WAS VALUABLE FOR AU, THE BLUE BIRD HAD MORE AG. THE ORE OCCURS IN SHOOTS ALONG A PROFOUNDLY TOURMALINIZED ZONE. THE ROCK OF THIS ZONE HAS BEEN SO THROUGHLY RECRYSTALLIZED THAT ITS ORIGINAL CHARACTER IS NO LONGER RECOGNIZABLE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1976 Krohn, Douglas H. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUN-1981 Wise, Kristine K. (Elliott, James E.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

Maps centered on this site