1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Watseca Mine

Past Producer in Madison county in Montana, United States with commodities Gold, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Arsenic
Map
XML
JSON
KML
A
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. Reserves and resources
  20. Workings at the site
  21. Links to other databases
  22. Bibliographic references
  23. General comments
  24. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10070476
MRDS ID W013424
Record type Site
Current site name Watseca Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -112.50616, 45.6199 (WGS84)
Elevation 1792
Relative position ONE HALF MILE NORTH OF ROCHESTER, MT.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Madison(county)

Montana(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Nez Perce Hollow(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)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Montana Madison

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Montana Principal 002S 007W 31 Montana

Comments on the location information

  • Same location as Rochester (Rabbit) polymetallic vein deposit in Keith Long's significant deposit list.

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Gold Ore
Arsenopyrite Ore
Biotite Gangue
Feldspar Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Kaolinite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Sericitization, Kaolinization, Oxidation, Hydrothermal Alteration

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 > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Granite Dikes, Pegmatite And Lamprophyre Dikes
    Rock description Granite Dikes, Pegmatite And Lamprophyre Dikes
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoarchean
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoarchean
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Pre Belt
    Rock description Pre Belt

Nearby scientific data

(1) -112.50616, 45.6199
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Veins In Northeast System Appear To Be Tension Breaks

Ore body information

  • Strike N 30 E
    Dip 60 NW
    Length 1500M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fractures

Comments on the geologic information

  • SCHISTS ARE LOCALLY HIGHLY CONTORTED BY GENERALLY STRIKE N 30 - 40 DEG E AND DIP 20 - 35 DEG NW

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1865
Year of first production 1869

Mining district

District name Rochester District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Watseca Gold Mining Co.

Production statistics

  • Year 1905
    Period 1865-1905
    Material ore
    Ore mined 47000mt
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major AU Gold Gold 2795363.14g

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCED OVER $1,000,000 IN GOLD BETWEEN 1900 AND 1905.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1985
    Total resources 93000mt ore

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 2000M
    Overall depth 200M

Comments on the workings information

  • 3 COMPARTMENT VERTICAL SHAFT 200 M DEEP, CONNECTED WITH A 120 M INCLINE SHAFT. DRIFTS ON 4 LEVELS.

Comments on development

  • MINE IS INACCESSABLE DUE TO FLOODING WITHIN 30 M OF THE SURFACE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    MBMG MEM 19.

  • Deposit

    USGS BULL 574, P. 127.

  • Deposit

    REYNER, M.L., TRAUERMAN, C.J., 1950, DIRECTORY OF MINING PROPERTIES, 1949: MONTANA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY MEMOIR 31.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1860'S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1976 Mlynarczyk, Meg S.; Krohn, D. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAY-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.

External references

Maps centered on this site