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Big Seven Mine

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10071381
MRDS ID W014726
Record type Site
Current site name Big Seven Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -110.70556, 46.94908 (WGS84)
Elevation 2134
Relative position ABOUT 1 3/4 MILES NE OF NEIHART, MONTANA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Cascade(county)

Montana(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Neihart(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

White Sulphur Springs(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

White Sulphur Springs(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Belt(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 Cascade

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Montana Principal 014N 008E 28,27 Montana

Comments on the location information

  • U.T.M. COORDINATES TAKEN ON PIT LOCATION

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Secondary
Lead Secondary
Molybdenum Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SILVER SULFIDES MAINLY IN UPPER WORKINGS - PERCENTAGE OF LEAD & ZINC INCREASED WITH DEPTH HIGH GRADE ORE GENERALLY FOUND AS NARROW STRINGERS WITHIN THE VEIN.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Freibergite Ore
Galena Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Proustite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Sericitization & Silicification

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Snow Creek Porphyry-Pluton And Dikes Of Rhyolite Porphyry;Pinto Diorite-Large Phenocrysts Of Feldspar & Hornblende
    Rock description Snow Creek Porphyry-Pluton And Dikes Of Rhyolite Porphyry;Pinto Diorite-Large Phenocrysts Of Feldspar & Hornblende
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Rock unit name Belt, Neihart Quartzite;Gneiss And Schist
    Rock description Belt, Neihart Quartzite;Gneiss And Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -110.70556, 46.94908
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Zone Of Igneous Intrusions Covering Over 800 Square Km.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Domal Uplift Caused By Intrusion Of Snow Creek Porphyry, Northeast-Trending Fractures And Faults

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR
    Strike N 20 - 40 E
    Dip 75 - 90 NW
    Thickness 2M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Northeast-Trending Fractures, Snow Creek Porphyry; Vein Narrow In Pinto Diorite, Wider And Richer In Gneiss

Comments on the geologic information

  • PRECAMBRIAN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS ARE PRE-BELT. SNOW CREEK PORPHYRY ALSO CALLED NEIHART PORPHYRY

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1892
Discoverer Big Seven Mining Co.

Comments on exploration

  • 1890?S ONWARD - OPERATED BY THE BIG SEVEN MINING CO. THEN D.L.S. BARKER.

    1935 - MONTANA SILVER QUEEN MINING COMPANY INCORPORATES.

    1940-1943 - LEXINGTON MINING COMPANY OPERATED. ENLARGED AND REMODELED 100-TON BULK FLOTATION MILL TO 150-TON SELECTIVE FLOTATION PLANT. REOPENED SOME OF THE ADITS.

    1943-1946 - MONTANA LEASING COMPANY OPERATED.

    1946 - LEXINGTON SILVER-LEAD MINES, INC. ACQUIRED CONTROL

Mining district

District name Montana (Neihart) District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Montana Silver Queen Mining Co.
    Home office Washington, D. C.

Production statistics

  • Year 1943
    Period 1902-1943
    Material ore
    Ore mined 131000mt
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^About 0.2 %
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Gold Gold 0wt-pct
  • Year 1943
    Period 1902 - 1943
    Material CU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^About 0.02 %
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Copper Copper 0wt-pct
  • Year 1943
    Period 1902 - 1943
    Material AU
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^About 0.12 Oz/St
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Gold Gold 3g/mt
  • Year 1943
    Period 1902 - 1943
    Material AG
    Accuracy Accurate
    Description Cp_Grade: ^About 16 Oz/St
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Minor Lead Lead 64987.99mt
    Major Gold Gold 545523.95g
    Minor Copper Copper 237396.18mt
    Major Silver Silver 71735606.71g 452g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION FIGURES PRIOR TO 1902 UNAVAILABLE BUT RECORDS SHOW EARLY ORES HIGH GRADE SILVER (100 - 500 OZ/ST) WITH GOLD (1 - 3 OZ/ST) SHIPPED.

    1902-1943 - 143,274 TONS OF ORE, YIELDING 17,538.86 OZ AU, 2,306,353 OZ AG, 63,022 LBS. CU, 523,369 LBS. PB.

    OVER $1,000,000 TOTAL PRODUCTION.

    1N 1897 - ORE CARRIED 100 TO 500 OPT SILVER, AND $50/TON GOLD. (WEED, 1899)

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • MOST OF HIGH GRADE ORE BELIEVED MINED OUT - DEVELOPMENT OF LOWER GRADE ORES AT DEPTH POSSIBLE BUT VEIN MAY BE THINNER AT DEPTH.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1500M
    Overall depth 100M

Comments on the workings information

  • MINE ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED BY 4 ADITS. THE 3 UPPER ADITS FOLLOW THE VEIN SOUTHWARD; THE LOWER, BIG SEVEN, ADIT WAS A CROSSCUT THE FIRST 800 FT. THEN A DRIFT ON THE VEIN THE NEXT 3000 FT. MUCH OF WORKINGS NOW CAVED OR INACCESSIBLE. TWO ORE SHOOTS, EACH ABOUT 600 FT LONG WERE DEVELOPED.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: EARLY 1890'S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1976 Mlynarczyk, Meg S. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references

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