Last Chance Mine

Past Producer in Mineral county in Montana, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper
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. Land status
  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 10010264
MRDS ID D003855
Record type Site
Current site name Last Chance Mine
Alternate or previous names Ben Hur Mine, Us Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -115.52629, 47.45543 (WGS84)
Elevation 1341
Relative position 3.5 MILES WNW OF SALTESE, MONTANA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Mineral(county)

Montana(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Saltese(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Wallace(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Wallace(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle Clark Fork(hydrologic unit)

Pend Oreille(hydrologic accounting unit)

Kootenai-Pend Oreille-Spokane(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Lolo 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 Mineral

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Montana Principal 020N 031W 34 NE Montana

Comments on the location information

  • ON A TRIBUTARY OF THE WEST FORK OF PACKER CRK, CADASTRAL LINES UNSURVEYED, BUT LINES EXTENDED.

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Siderite Gangue
Stibnite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Hydrothermal Bleaching Is Common Within A Belt Approx. 1 Mi Wide Along The North Side Of The Osburn Fault Zone. It Has Been Used As A Guide To Ore Deposits.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Rock unit name Revett Quartzite;Wallace Formation
    Rock description Revett Quartzite;Wallace Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Argillite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -115.52629, 47.45543

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description A Major Structural Grain Trends Nw And Consists Of Subparallel Faults And Folds. Major Fault Is The Osburn. This Fault Seems To Demarcate A Change In Folding Form With Folds To The North Showing Signs Of More Intense Structural Deformation Than Those To The South.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Ne-Striking Fault Which Dips 65s, Folding.

Ore body information

  • General form POD/LENS
    Strike NE
    Dip 65 S

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Osburn Fault Zone

Comments on the geologic information

  • HOST BEDS STRIKE W AND DIP 85 DEG S TO 50 DEG N. NORTH DIPPING BEDS ARE PROBABLY OVERTURNED. REVETT AND WALLACE FORMATIONS SEPARATED BY A FAULT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Packer Creek District

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Jupiter Mining Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1940
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Silver Silver 2894g/mt
    Minor Ore Zinc Zinc 0wt-pct
    Major Ore Gold Gold 3g/mt
    Minor Ore Lead Lead 1wt-pct
  • Year 1943
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Minor Ore Zinc Zinc 0wt-pct
    Minor Ore Lead Lead 13wt-pct
    Major Ore Silver Silver 548g/mt
    Major Ore Gold Gold 1g/mt
  • Year 1943
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Minor Ore Copper Copper 1wt-pct
    Minor Ore Zinc Zinc 0wt-pct
    Minor Ore Lead Lead 0wt-pct
    Major Ore Silver Silver 892g/mt
  • Year 1951
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Minor Ore Lead Lead 3wt-pct
    Major Ore Silver Silver 68g/mt
    Minor Ore Zinc Zinc 0wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • ABOVE FIGURES RECORD AMOUNT OF ORE PER SHIPMENT RATHER THAN ANNUAL PRODUCTION. IN 1912, PRODUCTION IN EXCESS OF $200,000.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 1219.2M

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS CONSIST OF SEVEN LEVELS AND A 2000 FT CAVED TUNNEL. AS OF 1956 , ONLY THREE OF THE LEVELS WERE ACCESSIBLE. THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL OPEN CUTS

Comments on development

  • SOME NEW DEVELOPMENT WORK OCCURRED AROUND 1970

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    WALLACE, R. E. AND HOSTERMAN, J. W., 1956 , RECONNAISSANCE GEOLOGY OF WESTERN MINERAL COUNTY MONTANA: US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 1027-M, PP. 588 , 601 , 604 .

  • Deposit

    CALKINS, F. C. AND JONES, E. L. JR., 1914 , ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF THE REGION AROUND MULLAN, IDAHO AND SALTESE, MONTANA: US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 540 , P. 192 .

  • Deposit

    LAWSON, D. C., 1972 : DIRECTORY OF MINING ENTERPRISES FOR 1971 : MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BULL. 86 , P. 14 .

  • Production

    WALLACE, R. E. AND HOSTERMAN, J. W., 1956 : US GEOL SURVEY BULL. 1027-M, P. 604 .

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DEPOSIT IS CONTAINED WITHIN A LOCAL NE STRIKING FAULT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-1979 Rojstaczer, Stuart A. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

External references